Table of Contents

  1. Chapter 600 - DarkStar Remnants
  2. Chapter 601 - No Reason Not To
  3. Chapter 602 - Perfect Mechanical Sense
  4. Chapter 603 - Machinery Innovation!
  5. Chapter 604 - Bad Feelings Most Likely Will Turn True
  6. Chapter 605 - The Tyrant’s Invitation, Shattered Star Ring Territories
  7. Chapter 606 - Bloodshed Land
  8. Chapter 607 - Provoke
  9. Chapter 608 - Probing
  10. Chapter 609 - New Territory, Empire Envoy
  11. Chapter 610 - Openly Poaching
  12. Chapter 611 - The Battle
  13. Chapter 612 - Resource Battle?
  14. Chapter 613 - Turned Table
  15. Chapter 614 - Official Party
  16. Chapter 615 - Austin’s Gift
  17. Chapter 616 - The Party Ends, Trip to Sunil.
  18. Chapter 617 - Planet Sunil’s Natives!
  19. Chapter 618 - Class Advancement!
  20. Chapter 619 - Sunil’s Grade A Main Storyline
  21. Chapter 620 - Budding Civilization
  22. Chapter 621 - The Race with the Highest Potential
  23. Chapter 622 - Plan B, Migration
  24. Chapter 623 - One Batch at a Time (1)
  25. Chapter 624 - One Batch at a Time (2)
  26. Chapter 625 - The Strongest Tribe, Launching of Biochemical Weapons
  27. Chapter 626 - Victory
  28. Chapter 627 - Black Spirit Race
  29. Chapter 628 - Two Years Later
  30. Chapter 629 - Mysterious Killer
  31. Chapter 630 - Development Status and Bottleneck
  32. Chapter 631 - : Prologue of the Crimson Tide, Request From a Star Cluster Civilization
  33. Chapter 632 - Gundam Is a Man’s Romance
  34. Chapter 633 - Formation of the Organization, an Assault Invitation
  35. Chapter 634 - The Calamity Battle
  36. Chapter 635 - After I Plant a Ward on You, You Will Be My Teammate
  37. Chapter 636 - How Can One Draw a Prize Without Touching Feidin?
  38. Chapter 637 - In the Chaotic Crimson Tide, Storms Are Forming (1)
  39. Chapter 638 - In the Chaotic Crimson Tide, Storms Are Forming (2)
  40. Chapter 639 - This Talent Is Wonderful to the Point I Don’t Want to Upgrade It
  41. Chapter 640 - Ambush
  42. Chapter 641 - Mid Lane High Ground, Come for a Team Fight.
  43. Chapter 642 - Counterattack
  44. Chapter 643 - Crushed
  45. Chapter 644 - The Ancient Ones
  46. Chapter 645 - Galaxy Pro League Season Two
  47. Chapter 646 - Training Soldiers
  48. Chapter 647 - Advanced Strengthened Life
  49. Chapter 648 - Divisions
  50. Chapter 649 - Group Taunt
  51. Chapter 650 - Milestone
  52. Chapter 651 - The End of Season Two
  53. Chapter 652 - Version Update, the Start of Ten Years
  54. Chapter 653 - Ten Year Plan
  55. Chapter 654 - The War Begins
  56. Chapter 655 - The First Battle
  57. Chapter 656 - Danger Is Equal to Opportunity
  58. Chapter 657 - Gloat When Winning, Hide When Losing
  59. Chapter 658 - Fighting Eight People Alone!
  60. Chapter 659 - Beyond Grade A Level Attack!
  61. Chapter 660 - Legendary Point: Indestructible Body.
  62. Chapter 661 - A New Level
  63. Chapter 662 - Multiplied Strength
  64. Chapter 663 - Psionic Core, War Situation
  65. Chapter 664 - Lagi’s Past, Creeping Evil
  66. Chapter 665 - Thrashed
  67. Chapter 666 - Round Three
  68. Chapter 667 - Sudden Situation
  69. Chapter 668 - My Network Is Beyond Your Imagination
  70. Chapter 669 - Ambush and Counter-Ambush
  71. Chapter 670 - Child’s Play
  72. Chapter 671 - I Recognize You!
  73. Chapter 672 - Suddenly Clear
  74. Chapter 673 - Are You Surprised? Are You Shocked?
  75. Chapter 674 - Intense Battle and Disasters
  76. Chapter 675 - Promotion!
  77. Chapter 676 - Broken Balance
  78. Chapter 677 - Class Advancement Requirement
  79. Chapter 678 - Hail Feidin!
  80. Chapter 679 - Saving the World with Normal Attacks
  81. Chapter 680 - End of Slacking Off
  82. Chapter 681 - Black Star’s Weakness
  83. Chapter 682 - Hope of the Village
  84. Chapter 683 - One Combo!
  85. Chapter 684 - Deciding Victory
  86. Chapter 685 - Postwar Conference
  87. Chapter 686 - Tyrant’s Plan
  88. Chapter 687 - DarkStar Leader and the Fallen Ark
  89. Chapter 688 - Leeks Coming from Everywhere! (1)
  90. Chapter 689 - Leeks Coming from Everywhere! (2)
  91. Chapter 690 - Three Years
  92. Chapter 691 - Successor
  93. Chapter 692 - Any Day That No One Attempts to Assassinate Me, I Feel Uncomfortable
  94. Chapter 693 - Are You Eloping with Me!
  95. Chapter 694 - Steady as Always
  96. Chapter 695 - Army State and Holiday Target
  97. Chapter 696 - Handover
  98. Chapter 697 - Another Familiar Face
  99. Chapter 698 - Rejected
  100. Chapter 699 - This Leek Is Bleeding Internally
  101. Chapter 700 - Rossellin Compound Fertilizer
  102. Chapter 701 - Fangs
  103. Chapter 702 - Lord of Fallen Ark
  104. Chapter 703 - Surprise, I’m Back
  105. Chapter 704 - Scapegoat
  106. Chapter 705 - Transfer
  107. Chapter 706 - I’ve Become Black Star’s Shape
  108. Chapter 707 - Planetary Obliteration Grade Weapon and Apostilization
  109. Chapter 708 - Spending Money Brings Me Joy
  110. Chapter 709 - The Crimson Dynasty: What the Hell, Klent?
  111. Chapter 710 - Confused DarkStar Leader
  112. Chapter 711 - Discrimination Transformation Movement
  113. Chapter 712 - DarkStar’s End, the Leader’s Sacrifice
  114. Chapter 713 - Grade S Mission Reward!
  115. Chapter 714 - Dried Experience
  116. Chapter 715 - Seven Years
  117. Chapter 716 - New Version-Crimson Tide!
  118. Chapter 717 - Changing in a Blink
  119. Chapter 718 - Defensive Measures Against Thieves
  120. Chapter 719 - Fertilization
  121. Chapter 720 - Players, I’m Gonna Earn Till I Explode!
  122. Chapter 721 - The World Doesn’t Lack ‘Smart People’
  123. Chapter 722 - Going to War
  124. Chapter 723 - Money Is the Most Terrifying Weapon
  125. Chapter 724 - Fertilizer
  126. Chapter 725 - Hidden Scheme
  127. Chapter 726 - Psyker
  128. Chapter 727 - Psychic Toxin
  129. Chapter 728 - Enchantment and Leaving Tutelage
  130. Chapter 729 - Wanted
  131. Chapter 730 - Universal Treasure
  132. Chapter 731 - Return
  133. Chapter 732 - Cultivation Plan
  134. Chapter 733 - Protecting the Law
  135. Chapter 734 - Mislead
  136. Chapter 735 - Evolve! Advancing on the Path of a Tank!
  137. Chapter 736 - Plans of Expansion
  138. Chapter 737 - Changes
  139. Chapter 738 - Purple Crystal“s Thoughts
  140. Chapter 739 - Guests
  141. Chapter 740 - Swaggering through the Novice Village
  142. Chapter 741 - Hidden Talen
  143. Chapter 742 - One Cannon Is Enough
  144. Chapter 743 - News from Harrofal
  145. Chapter 744 - EsGod“s Intention The
  146. Chapter 745 - 745 Tomar
  147. Chapter 746 - 746 Planet Macipher and the Cornerstone Summit Corporation
  148. Chapter 747 - 747 Eternal Light and Sardeem“s Attention
  149. Chapter 748 - 748 Target: Evolution Cube!
  150. Chapter 749 - 749 It Will Not Be So Easy!
  151. Chapter 750 - Unexpected Invitation
  152. Chapter 751 - 751 Arrival
  153. Chapter 752 - Emperor Mechanic!
  154. Chapter 753 - Striking Firs
  155. Chapter 754 - Did I Become Blind?
  156. Chapter 755 - Preparing for a Hot Potato
  157. Chapter 756 - Genetic Optimization and Ambitions
  158. Chapter 757 - This Is Not Personal; It“s Just Too Tempting.
  159. Chapter 758 - Like Rain Pouring on a Field
  160. Chapter 759 - Born!
  161. Chapter 760 - Exclusive Race!
  162. Chapter 761 - Negotiations
  163. Chapter 762 - Apologies, I Won“t Let You Support My Ass
  164. Chapter 763 - Intense Battle
  165. Chapter 764 - The Impending Storm
  166. Chapter 765 - Prelude to Change
  167. Chapter 766 - Setting Up the Black Star Guards Regimen
  168. Chapter 767 - 767 Announcement 1
  169. Chapter 768 - 768 Announcement 2
  170. Chapter 769 - Huge Sensation!
  171. Chapter 770 - Independence
  172. Chapter 771 - You“d Better Not Run
  173. Chapter 772 - Negotiations and Hidden Currents
  174. Chapter 773 - Star Field Trend
  175. Chapter 774 - Spending Potential Points Sure Is Comfortable
  176. Chapter 775 - The Battle Begins!
  177. Chapter 776 - The Battle
  178. Chapter 777 - Sudden
  179. Chapter 778 - Counter
  180. Chapter 779 - 779 Your Ally Is Not Bad...
  181. Chapter 780 - Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation
  182. Chapter 781 - EsGod“s Suggestion
  183. Chapter 782 - Interlude, an Unexpected Gues
  184. Chapter 783 - Celebrities of the Future
  185. Chapter 784 - Voluntary Retreat!
  186. Chapter 785 - Forums“ Response and Themed Episode
  187. Chapter 786 - Everything Comes at the End of Fawning
  188. Chapter 787 - Showing One“s Face for the Mission
  189. Chapter 788 - Migration and Negotiation
  190. Chapter 789 - Meeting and Goal
  191. Chapter 790 - Main Storyline— Flickering World
  192. Chapter 791 - Star Field Profit Blueprin
  193. Chapter 792 - Teny Amenos
  194. Chapter 793 - Golden Leek!
  195. Chapter 794 - The “True Protagonist“
  196. Chapter 795 - Goal
  197. Chapter 796 - Plan
  198. Chapter 797 - Inter-Star Field Stargate
  199. Chapter 798 - Dynasty Mother Plane
  200. Chapter 799 - “Dynasty Ruler“ Urranrell and “Dark Lord“ Clotti
  201. Chapter 800 - Pressure
  202. Chapter 801 - Spar
  203. Chapter 802 - Eat and Sleep Before Fighting EsGod
  204. Chapter 803 - No Coincidence
  205. Chapter 804 - Main Body
  206. Chapter 805 - Overwhelming
  207. Chapter 806 - Clue
  208. Chapter 807 - EsGod Character Summon Card: Esper Silence
  209. Chapter 808 - Harvesting Wild Leeks
  210. Chapter 809 - Decision and Guilds“ Stand
  211. Chapter 810 - Ultimate Knowledge—Mechanical Life Tinder!
  212. Chapter 811 - Chapter 811
  213. Chapter 812 - Stealing Leeks Makes Me Happy
  214. Chapter 813 - Ames“ Reques
  215. Chapter 814 - Players: I Don“t Want To Socialize. Han Xiao: No, You Do.
  216. Chapter 815 - Socializing Mad Genius
  217. Chapter 816 - Mechanic Class Top Mentor
  218. Chapter 817 - Pioneering
  219. Chapter 818 - Black-sheep-wall!
  220. Chapter 819 - Special Exploration Route
  221. Chapter 820 - 820 The Star of the Main Storyline and Stowaways
  222. Chapter 821 - 821 Aesop“s Fully Automated Enemy Radar
  223. Chapter 822 - 822 Handle
  224. Chapter 823 - Natives
  225. Chapter 824 - Homeland
  226. Chapter 825 - 825 Unexpected Hidden Mission
  227. Chapter 826 - 826 Great Cosmos Corps
  228. Chapter 827 - Black Star Army? Never Heard of I
  229. Chapter 828 - 828 Player Military Operation
  230. Chapter 829 - Black Star Army, Not Bad
  231. Chapter 830 - Surrounding Calamity Grade
  232. Chapter 831 - 831 First Kill
  233. Chapter 832 - 832 Merit Seeker
  234. Chapter 833 - Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference
  235. Chapter 834 - Arcane Church“s Trace
  236. Chapter 835 - Four Months
  237. Chapter 836 - Spacetime Amber
  238. Chapter 837 - The Last Witness
  239. Chapter 838 - Inheritance of a Primordial One and Tes
  240. Chapter 839 - Change and Superstition
  241. Chapter 840 - 840 The Biggest Butterfly Effect!
  242. Chapter 841 - The Approaching Storm
  243. Chapter 842 - 842 Enemy Whereabouts
  244. Chapter 843 - 843 Showing themselves!
  245. Chapter 844 - 844 Shocking Change!
  246. Chapter 845 - The Battle Begins!
  247. Chapter 846 - External Reinforcements!
  248. Chapter 847 - 847 Ten Thousand Deity Scepter
  249. Chapter 848 - 848 Appearance of the Spacetime Amber!
  250. Chapter 849 - The Scheme Deepens as EsGod Appears!
  251. Chapter 850 - The Key to Victory!
  252. Chapter 851 - New Talent!
  253. Chapter 852 - Forced Retrea
  254. Chapter 853 - Repor
  255. Chapter 854 - Lord Mechanic
  256. Chapter 855 - 855 Time to Counterattack!
  257. Chapter 856 - Fakisen“s Plan
  258. Chapter 857 - Apostle Weapon and Ultimate Knowledge
  259. Chapter 858 - Ames“ Actions
  260. Chapter 859 - 859 Return Gift!
  261. Chapter 860 - Invitation and Announcemen
  262. Chapter 861 - Changes and Spies
  263. Chapter 862 - A Devastating Number
  264. Chapter 863 - Red-Named Monster, Please Stop!
  265. Chapter 864 - Whereabouts Exposed
  266. Chapter 865 - Falling into the Trap
  267. Chapter 866 - The Curtains Close
  268. Chapter 867 - Demonstration
  269. Chapter 868 - Lock On Removed
  270. Chapter 869 - Federation of Light, Do You Think I“m Invisible?
  271. Chapter 870 - Manison“s Interes
  272. Chapter 871 - Business Snatching Mid-Version
  273. Chapter 872 - Banquet and Reques
  274. Chapter 873 - S Grade War Hire
  275. Chapter 874 - Isolation
  276. Chapter 875 - Unable to crack The
  277. Chapter 876 - Great Mechanic Han in Seclusion, Do Not Disturb
  278. Chapter 877 - The Mysterious Individual Watching the Players
  279. Chapter 878 - Suspicion
  280. Chapter 879 - End of the Penalty
  281. Chapter 880 - Thanks, Arcane Church
  282. Chapter 881 - Whereabouts
  283. Chapter 882 - Meeting, Second Chain Mission Completed
  284. Chapter 883 - Breaking the Ice and Setting Conditions
  285. Chapter 884 - Probing and Surprise
  286. Chapter 885 - Brewing Influence, Rising Waves
  287. Chapter 886 - Borrowing Strength
  288. Chapter 887 - Troops Established
  289. Chapter 888 - Future Dynasty Ruler
  290. Chapter 889 - EsGod“s Preparation
  291. Chapter 890 - Mission Triggered
  292. Chapter 891 - Plan and Meeting
  293. Chapter 892 - Upgraded EsGod
  294. Chapter 893 - Appearance
  295. Chapter 894 - Key Variable in the Operation
  296. Chapter 895 - Success, Return
  297. Chapter 896 - Talent Upgrade The Legendary Mechanic
  298. Chapter 897 - The Fall of EsGod Even
  299. Chapter 898 - Impac
  300. Chapter 899 - Popularity and Recognition
  301. Chapter 900 - Eternal Power Source
  302. Chapter 901 - Clue on Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy
  303. Chapter 902 - Evolutionary Totem
  304. Chapter 903 - Transformation
  305. Chapter 904 - Ames“ Invitation
  306. Chapter 905 - Floating Dragon“s Warning
  307. Chapter 906 - Exchanging Blows
  308. Chapter 907 - Interes
  309. Chapter 908 - Old Friend
  310. Chapter 909 - Half a Year
  311. Chapter 910 - Ultimate Mechanical Engineering
  312. Chapter 911 - Opening of the Pro League
  313. Chapter 912 - Warning
  314. Chapter 913 - Entrapmen
  315. Chapter 914 - Top Eigh
  316. Chapter 915 - Surging Currents
  317. Chapter 916 - High Grade Mechanical Sense
  318. Chapter 917 - Indestructible Body !
  319. Chapter 918 - Finals
  320. Chapter 919 - Prospect and Version Update 1
  321. Chapter 920 - Prospect and Version Update 2
  322. Chapter 921 - Level 300
  323. Chapter 922 - Meeting
  324. Chapter 923 - Old Fox and Lobbyists
  325. Chapter 924 - True Colors
  326. Chapter 925 - Hila“s Farewell
  327. Chapter 926 - First Phase of Development
  328. Chapter 927 - Flickering World First Chain Mission Completed
  329. Chapter 928 - Required Knowledges Gathered!
  330. Chapter 929 - Preparations Complete, Construction Begins
  331. Chapter 930 - The Prototype Plan of Three Great Calamities
  332. Chapter 931 - Trouble Surfaces
  333. Chapter 932 - The Capacity of a Beyond Grade A
  334. Chapter 933 - Black Star“s Tour
  335. Chapter 934 - You Are Truly Bold
  336. Chapter 935 - I Will Harvest Crops with a Sickle in My Hands
  337. Chapter 936 - Dealing with Sorokin
  338. Chapter 937 - Feidin, Being Lucky Is So Troublesome
  339. Chapter 938 - Meeting an Opportunity Even When Shopping
  340. Chapter 939 - Scheme in the Dark
  341. Chapter 940 - Chaos
  342. Chapter 941 - Interference, Suppression
  343. Chapter 942 - Want to Escape? Do You Think That“s Possible?
  344. Chapter 943 - Favor and Attitude
  345. Chapter 944 - Box of Enticemen
  346. Chapter 945 - Heart Sucking Demon
  347. Chapter 946 - Level 300 Promotion!
  348. Chapter 947 - Divine Throne Mechanic
  349. Chapter 948 - Causing Trouble
  350. Chapter 949 - High Profile Action
  351. Chapter 950 - Showing Oneself, Entering the Scene!
  352. Chapter 951 - Mechanical Deity!
  353. Chapter 952 - Crazy Beating
  354. Chapter 953 - Shattered Mentality
  355. Chapter 954 - Behind Every Tank Is the Willingness to Sacrifice
  356. Chapter 955 - Undercurrents Move Once Again
  357. Chapter 956 - Education Plan
  358. Chapter 957 - The Mechanic Emperor“s Counter
  359. Chapter 958 - Nero“s Campus Lifestyle
  360. Chapter 959 - Forceful Infiltration
  361. Chapter 960 - You Know Everything That I Know?
  362. Chapter 961 - Manison Is Truly A Good Man
  363. Chapter 962 - Gains and Losses
  364. Chapter 963 - I Won“t Suffer a Loss
  365. Chapter 964 - Theme of the Era
  366. Chapter 965 - Perfect Mechanical Sense
  367. Chapter 966 - The Second Exploration Phase
  368. Chapter 967 - Changing the Tracks of Destiny
  369. Chapter 968 - Shadow of the Exploration Era
  370. Chapter 969 - Familiar Face and Exchanging Fire
  371. Chapter 970 - Taking Out Unknown Technology
  372. Chapter 971 - Spacetime Splicing Technology
  373. Chapter 972 - Nero, a Non-Tanky Mechanic Doesn“t Have a Soul
  374. Chapter 973 - Master Thief
  375. Chapter 974 - Arranging It Clearly
  376. Chapter 975 - Mission Generated
  377. Chapter 976 - Great Director Han
  378. Chapter 977 - The Concept of Superimposed Mechanical Senses
  379. Chapter 978 - No Retrea
  380. Chapter 979 - Certainties and Uncertainties
  381. Chapter 980 - Settlemen
  382. Chapter 981 - Interrogation and Wish
  383. Chapter 982 - Proof of Leadership
  384. Chapter 983 - Mastermind
  385. Chapter 984 - Punishmen
  386. Chapter 985 - Migration and Clue
  387. Chapter 986 - Deity Assassinator, Gold Grade Par
  388. Chapter 987 - Primeval Star River Mechanic Emperor
  389. Chapter 988 - Decisive Action.
  390. Chapter 989 - Record It in the Little Book
  391. Chapter 990 - Go for Wool and Come Back Shorn
  392. Chapter 991 - Galaxy Calendar: Year 729
  393. Chapter 992 - Incoming Storm 1
  394. Chapter 993 - Incoming Storm 2
  395. Chapter 994 - The “Whore“ of the Beyond Grade As
  396. Chapter 995 - Exchange Three for One?
  397. Chapter 996 - Tricky Question
  398. Chapter 997 - A Simpleton“s Killing Move
  399. Chapter 998 - Storm Rises and Falls
  400. Chapter 999 - Return, Accepting the Battle

Chapter 600 - DarkStar Remnants

In Star Zone 4 of the Garton Star System was a Godoran public space station containing a certain erotic clubhouse.

Colorful and lively lights flickered, and the energetic, exciting music elevated the atmosphere. Ladies of different races with minimal clothing danced seductively on the round, rectangular shaped booths all around the place. Under them was a screen introducing, or making up, each lady’s background, age, and so on, filling them with all sorts of terrible and erotic stories, stimulating the audiences’ lustful thoughts.

Every booth was surrounded by a large group of males not taking their eyes off the dancer for a second. Their laughter was rough, and some even reached out to touch the dancer from time to time. Not far away was the bar with semi-private seats. Most of the people in them were males too, hugging and moving their hands around the alluring-eyed ladies accompanying them to drink.

Waitresses in revealing clothes carried drinks around, and the male customers from all sorts of races occasionally groped them.

The sound of laughter, mumbling, and teasing filled the extravagant atmosphere. It was like the air was painted with a layer of seductive pink.

At a luxurious table, a few males were chatting loudly and gulping down one drink after another. They were clearly mercenaries.

These people all had ladies in their arms. Their groping was rough and aggressive, such that pain could be seen in many of the ladies’ eyes, but they did not dare to say anything. They could only smile.

These ladies knew who these mercenaries were; they were from a relatively well known mercenary group and were all Grade B Supers. In the eyes of these regular people, Grade B Supers were someone they absolutely could not mess with.

However, among these mercenaries looking for fun, there was an outcast.

At the side of the table, there was a tall and skinny man without any lady beside him. The drink in front of him was untouched, too. He was sitting up straight with his hands on his thighs. He was the odd one out in this environment; the others were having a whale of a time, but his expression was so serious as if he was doing scientific research. Even the passion of the other mercenaries was brought down.

“Come on Reynold, don’t be so serious, drink some booze. It’s on me anyway. Have as much fun as you like,” the captain of this mercenary group said as he looked at his odd comrade. His tone did not sound like superior but instead was almost fawning.

Reynold’s body did not move—only his neck turned as he looked over. His eyes were bright and sharp, like an owl in the night. Monotonously, he said, “Alcohol slows down my brain, makes me think slower. I need to keep myself sober.”

“Er, then you can find a woman…”

Before the captain finished, Reynold said, “Women distract me and break my thoughts. Biological desire also affects my clarity.”

“Alright then…” The mercenary captain giggled. He could not do anything about Reynold. Reynold’s position in his mercenary group was very high and irreplaceable.

That was because Reynold was a Grade B Mechanic.

In the universe, the number of Mechanics was relatively low. They were rare, especially high-level Mechanics. Unlike Pugilists, Espers, and Psychics, Mechanics needed tons of knowledge. Only Mages could be compared with the amount of knowledge Mechanics needed. To Mechanics, knowledge was fundamental to becoming stronger.

His team had worked together with Reynold for quite a long time. Reynold had been providing them with weapons, devices, and repairing their spaceship and machines; he basically took care of the logistics of the entire group. Plus, he had Grade B combat ability. Reynold’s position was even slightly higher than his, the captain.

If not because Reynold was so important, the mercenary captain would have been done with his strange personality long ago.

“Have you heard? Many freelance mercenaries want to join the Black Star Army. They say Black Star will monopolize the Garton Star System’s mercenary business. What do we do?” a mercenary asked.

“Ignore them. It’s still a long way to go for Black Star to monopolize Garton Star System even if he wants to. By then we will just go to another Star System to find work.” The mercenary captain curled his lips and did not care.

Then, Reynold spoke with an expressionless face. “Let’s join Black Star.”

It was silent.

The mercenaries looked at Reynold in shock.

“What do you mean? I’m the captain, don’t make decisions for me,” the mercenary captain said with a displeased tone.

“Okay.” Reynold nodded. He instantly took out his communicator, pressed it a few times, then stood up and walked away immediately after.

“Wait, where are you going?” The mercenary captain suddenly felt something was not right.

“I’ve left the group.” Reynold walked further and further.

The mercenaries were stunned. Did he just quit the group without any hesitation because of a single disagreement? So decisive?

The mercenary captain panicked. He quickly stood up and yelled, “Are you out of your mind? No matter what, we’ve fought alongside each other for so long. We all took you as a friend, and you’re just leaving like this‽”

“Me and you, we were cooperating equally. I did not sell myself to you, so why can’t I leave?”

Without even turning his head around, Reynold walked out without stopping at all. Every step felt like it was measured precisely with a ruler. His back disappeared at the door.

The group of mercenaries exchanged looks with confusion.

“What the hell is Reynold thinking? Does he think there’s no future working with us?” one of them said frustratedly.

The mercenary captain’s face was gloomy. He threw the lady in his arms onto the floor without looking and heavily bashed the table.

Clank!

Cracks spread out on the table, startling everyone.

“That asshole!”

Without Reynold, the strength of his group was hugely reduced. Knowing that, the mercenary captain was furious, but there was nothing he could do.

…

Inside a passenger room on a galactic traveling spaceship in the Garton Star System, Brock looked at the interview notification from the Black Star Army on his communicator, and his eyes flickered.

He was a hybrid Godoran, a freelance mercenary. His resume had passed the first round of selection, and he had been notified by Phillip to go to the interview.

However, being a mercenary was just part of his fake identity. Brock’s real identity was a hidden member that DarkStar had left in the outside world. Before he became a mercenary, he had been an elite member trained by DarkStar.

DarkStar’s fleet had been wiped out, and almost all his superiors had been captured, but there was a group of DarkStar members who did not follow the fleet and hid in the outside world, keeping up their fake identities. These people had once been DarkStar’s intelligence network, and now they were DarkStar remnants. Since the leader had gone bankrupt and bolted, they now had no leader and could only be concerned with their own safety.

Recently, Godora had been cleaning up the remaining DarkStar forces, and it was quite effective. Many of DarkStar’s hidden intelligence channels were torn down.

For safety, the DarkStar remnants had stopped contacting each other. Some wanted to escape, some wanted to clean their background, and some wanted to change sides.

Brock was one of the people who hid very well. Not long after DarkStar was destroyed, he had actively broken away contact with the other remnants. His mercenary resume had nothing suspicious. On the surface, he had no connection to DarkStar—his identity was well hidden.

However, he did not plan to clean up his background.

Before DarkStar was attacked, Brock had accepted a mission to infiltrate Black Star, and he had decided to continue carrying out this mission.

With the help of his clean identity, he planned to pass the interview, become a member of Black Star, and stay hidden.

The first reason was that Godora was very close to Black Star, so with the identity as a Black Star mercenary, he could protect his secrets better.

The second reason was Brock’s main motive. He was loyal to DarkStar and loathed Black Star; he strongly believed that the DarkStar leader would one day return!

With a gloomy expression, Brock thought, The Black Star Army is an obstacle. If I infiltrate it, maybe I can climb up to become a team leader or even an officer. I can split the Black Star Army from inside. Once the leader returns, it will be time for me to fulfill my duty. I will become a nail in the heart of the enemy…

…

The players bought the new equipment and excitedly started new missions.

While doing the missions, they were also exploring the universe. They were still at the first stage of familiarizing themselves with the universe, and it would probably take two to three more missions for them to fully get used to the galaxy.

On the other side, the hundreds of thousands of players on Planet Aquamarine were passing the test one after another. Every so often, tens of thousands of players would join the Black Star Army. These players were considered newbies, but they at least knew how to start a mission with the help of the forums, so they did not start with nothing. If there was anything they did not understand, they could even ask the first group of players that joined the Black Star Army.

Hence, Han Xiao did not have to worry about the players for some time. It was going in the right direction; he just had to leave them be and let them have fun.

Fifteen days passed by quickly, and it was finally the day to interview the newcomers.

Over the past two weeks, Han Xiao had placed himself in solitude and built many new machines. However, updating all his equipment was a very demanding task, so he had yet to complete it. He had no choice but to pause for a moment and take the time to interview these mercenaries.

In the base’s vast hall, thousands of mercenaries waiting to be interviewed had gathered. There were humans, beasts, and insects, women, men, or sexless. They sized each other up.

“So, this is Black Star’s headquarters.”

“Looks quite grand, not bad.”

Brock looked around. When he followed the big group in, he had kept observing the structure of the base, looking for weak spots and memorizing them, forming a map in his mind.

After waiting for a while, the alloy floor in front of the thousands of people opened up in a spiral manner, showing a circular hole. Dressed in his windbreaker, Han Xiao slowly flew up and landed in front of everyone.

The eyes of the thousands of people concentrated on Han Xiao. Some were curious, some were passionate, and some were filled with admiration.

With Han Xiao’s current fame, strength, and position, he was indeed an important person in the Garton Star System.

“So, he’s Black Star…” Brock narrowed his eyes slightly. He had seen a recording of Han Xiao before, but this was the first time seeing the real person. He sized Han Xiao up secretly.

Han Xiao glanced over the people, turned around to look at Sylvia, and nodded.

Sylvia nodded in return, then walked forward, cleared her throat, and spoke in her crisp voice.

“Welcome, everyone. You are all experienced senior mercenaries, anyone that passes the interview will become a member of us Black Star Army. You will need to sign the Mercenary Alliance’s contract; all the benefits and privileges are stated inside. Of course, so are the rules and regulations of the Black Star Army, as well as your responsibilities.”

Then, Sylvia stepped aside. Herlous was not there, so Han Xiao was using her as an assistant.

Han Xiao glanced over the crowd again and loudly said, “You all know the rules. If you have any problems, you can leave now.”

The thousands of mercenaries murmured, but none left.

“Okay, we shall not waste any more time. Let’s start the test.” Han Xiao raised his hand. “It’s simple. Every one of you will walk in front of me and let me tap you. Through the tap, I can roughly sense your Energy Rank. Those who pass will wait to the side.”

The mercenaries had no problem with that. No one there questioned the ability of a Calamity Grade.

However, many were unconfident. This kind of test depended purely on Black Star’s judgment. If he said that someone passed, they passed; if he said someone failed, they failed. There was no physical standard.

This time, Han Xiao said again, “Don’t worry, for those who do not pass, I won’t allow you to have wasted your time coming here. You will have two choices. One is, of course, to leave. The other is to accept training from the Black Star Army and increase your strength through high-intensity training. During that time, you won’t be allowed to accept missions until you pass the test. Only then will you be allowed to use the Black Star Army’s name to accept missions.”

He took talents seriously. Clearly, the more strong freelance mercenaries, the better, but he knew that not every skilled mercenary would be willing to be under his command. Talents needed to be cultivated.

Therefore, Han Xiao had decided to create the Mercenary Training Camp.

The Great Mechanic Han had thought of this long ago; it was an important part of his expansion plan. In his plan, the sub-bases were not only strongholds but could also recruit and train people.

His recruitment target was not limited to mercenaries; he was going to recruit people from different planets. Planet Aquamarine was one example. Other than the players, there were also the planet’s natives that wanted to enter the galaxy. Planet Sunil was the next target for that.

Upon hearing this, many mercenaries’ eyes gleamed. The fact that they could still join Black Star even if they did not pass wiped away their worries.

They queued up properly to be tested by Han Xiao.

This interview method was to look at their attributes through the combat information triggered on the interface through touching.

While these mercenaries were clueless, Han Xiao knew their every ability back and forth, even their trump cards.

Testing one person took two seconds. There were six to seven thousand people there, so it would take many hours. This method was very troublesome, but the origins of freelance mercenaries were extremely complicated. Many of them were not citizens of the Garton Star System, so God only knew what their background was. Hence, Han Xiao felt he had to be careful. Plus, it had been peaceful recently, so he was able to squeeze out the time.

After some time, it was finally Brock’s turn.

Without panic or worry, he walked forward and let Han Xiao tap him.

There was no risk of being exposed through testing his Energy Rank. After all, it was absolutely impossible for Black Star to know that he belonged to DarkStar just by touching him.

Brock was confident.

An opportunity to observe Black Star so closely was very rare. This was even an amazing chance for assassination. However, Brock suppressed those dangerous thoughts and prepared to wait by the side like the person in front of him.

The moment he turned around, Han Xiao’s voice came behind him.

“You… wait!”

Chapter 601 - No Reason Not To

Why did Black Star ask me to stop? And with such a strange tone…

Brock stopped instantly. He was shocked, and various guessed flashed through his mind.

Did I show the cloven hoof?

That’s impossible… Brock took a deep breath, suppressed his worries, and turned around to face Han Xiao with a surprised expression.

“Your Excellency Black Star, is there a problem?”

Han Xiao sized Brock up then looked at the information on the interface again.

His level was way higher than those freelance mercenaries, so none of their attributes, abilities, or talents were secrets to Han Xiao.

Brock was Grade B borderline. Most of the freelance mercenaries there were Grade Cs with only a few Grade Bs. Brock was an elite among them, and he was the first Grade B tested by Han Xiao.

However, inside the Class List of Brock, there was a [DarkStar Elite Warrior], and there were also DarkStar abilities in his Ability List. Han Xiao had dealt with DarkStar for a few years, so there was no way for him to mistake it.

Plus, Brock was a hybrid Godoran, so the identity of this person was crystal clear.

He was one of the remnants, a secret member of DarkStar!

Some guts this guy has, coming to join my faction…

Han Xiao slightly squinted his eyes. Within a short moment, Han Xiao had guessed what Brock was thinking.

Wants to gain my trust, hide in my faction as a spy? Was this his decision, or was he ordered to? Han Xiao thought. What he was thinking of was further into the future. Not long ago, the Godorans had told him a piece of bad news—they had lost the DarkStar leader and Ember.

The DarkStar leader was a dangerous person, and Godora had let the master evil escape. Han Xiao kept feeling that they would make a comeback. He was wondering if Brock had been ordered by the DarkStar leader. If he had been ordered, that would mean that the DarkStar leader had secret means to contact his remaining forces!

He might be able to follow the lead brought by Brock and find the DarkStar leader!

With those thoughts, Han Xiao raised his eyebrows and smiled. He said to Brock, “You are quite skilled. I want to give you a special job. Are you interested?”

Brock was finally relieved. Suddenly, he felt like he had been too anxious.

I’ve really overthought this. There’s absolutely no way that I’m exposed. Brock was completely relaxed now. Acting as if he was flattered, he said, “What do you need me to do?”

“Er, I want you to become the drill sergeant of the training camp temporarily, helping me train the mercenaries who have yet met the requirements.”

“Sure, no problem.” Brock nodded, secretly overjoyed.

Although the trainer was not considered an officer, and there was no opportunity to touch the core of the Black Star Army, this was a good start. The fact that he had been given a special position as soon as he joined meant that Black Star had taken notice of him. This way, it would be easier for him to gain Black Star’s trust!

“Do your best. Go to the side and wait. After the test ends, I will make the appropriate arrangements.”

Han Xiao encouraged him and sent away the excited Brock, then secretly threw an Observer’s Mark onto the spy.

The Observer’s Mark could locate up to five targets at once, he had the last slot left, and he used it on Brock. Next time, if he wanted to mark a new target, he would have to remove one of the five old targets.

Brock’s spy identity was already exposed. However, not only was Han Xiao not going to eliminate Brock, he was boldly going to use him. With Phillip and the Observer’s Mark, none of Brock’s actions would escape his eyes. As soon as he did anything unusual, Han Xiao would know of it. Of course, Brock had just joined, so he definitely would not do anything bizarre for the sake of his disguise.

Most importantly, a spy would definitely work extra hard to gain his trust without any complaints. This was great manual labor. If he did not drain him properly, he would feel wasteful.

It just so happened that the training camp of Base No.1 had not yet been built, so only a Grade B could be the trainer of a large group of Grade C Supers. Training others was very troublesome, and Han Xiao did not want to waste his free time. Initially, he was going to call Ginette back, but now that Brock was there, it was enough. After all, no matter how much Han Xiao used or overworked him, he would not feel sorry for him.

…

This small incident did not cause any commotion and made many people more excited.

In their eyes, this meant that Black Star cared about talent. As long as they were strong enough, there was a chance for them to get a better position on the spot.

Time passed by, and Han Xiao tested them for another few hours more. More than 5,000 passed and became official mercenaries, and more than 1,000 failed and were sent to the training camp.

During the test, he discovered another three Grade B Supers. Sadly, they did not have any outstanding talents or abilities. They were considered regular Grade B Supers. Nonetheless, they were Grade Bs no matter what, so Han Xiao promoted these three to team leaders on the spot, giving them the authority to gather a certain number of Black Star mercenaries and form a fixed team.

There were two ranking systems implemented in the Black Star Army. One was based on merit, from 1-Star to 5-Star, followed by the honor title of ‘Black Star Eighteen Knights’. They were promoted through contribution points, earning better benefits.

Another was based on position, meaning the management structure of an army. Han Xiao had learned from the Sky Ring Army about using both the class ranking system and merit ranking system. The higher one’s contribution was or the stronger one was, the higher their position would be, and the more people they would be able to manage in a team.

Grade B Super met the requirement in terms of strength, so they got the position of team leaders.

Currently, the Black Star Army was divided into numerous factions: the Sunil Faction led by Herlous, the Battle Alliance Faction led by Harmon, the Associates Faction including Aroshia and other officers, and the Free Faction made by the players and some mercenaries. The Free Faction had the most people and could be considered the most common group of people.

Only Han Xiao could command everyone. Usually, these factions all did their own thing. This was most obvious for the Sunil and the Battle Alliance Factions; their members were close and very united.

Where there were people, there would be competition. Forming groups and factions was a problem that was definitely going to happen with larger numbers. As the Black Star Mercenary Group’s size grew, so did the difficulty in managing it. In order to develop better, they had to imitate other large mercenary groups and design a layered management system, making sure everyone had their own responsibilities. This was also something that Han Xiao had been thinking about recently.

The upper positions were a difficult problem.

Currently, all the officers were basically combat personnel; there was no clear difference in their positions other than Herlous, who could barely be considered his assistant. Many positions were unoccupied, such as Deputy Captain, Area Manager, Business Manager, Logistics, Spaceship Commanders, and many more.

These positions were like screw holes, and elites and officers were the screws. Han Xiao needed to find suitable screws, fit them into the right holes, and tighten them. Only then would the management structure of the Black Star Army become solid.

“The army has hundreds of thousands of members. The base manpower is very high, but we’re short of elite manpower. Sigh, I need to recruit more high-level people.”

Han Xiao shook his head. Although the size of his base troops was superior compared to many large mercenary groups, high level combat powers were the drawback of his faction at the moment. He was the only Calamity Grade Super in the Black Star Army, and they only had about ten Grade B elites. When compared to the Sky Ring Army who had three Calamity Grades and hundreds of Grade Bs, he was far below.

Han Xiao was not short in people with potential under him. Sylvia, for example, had been Grade A in the previous life, Herlous had the potential to reach Grade A, and Hila and Aurora’s Esper Potential even exceeded Grade A, not to mention the players with enormous potential.

However, the potential was not strength. These people had yet to fully grow, and Feidin who had the protagonist aura above his head was not his subordinate, just an employer who tagged along. The players had the version restrictions too. They could not become Grade B yet, at least not in Version 2.0.

It would be great if I could get a Calamity Grade Super.

Han Xiao sighed. Expanding his faction meant more accompanying difficulties. There were too many things that needed improvements.

The last candidate stepped forward. Han Xiao tapped him, and that person’s attributes appeared on his interface.

With just a single glance, Han Xiao’s expression changed.

Level… 135‽

This person’s level was the highest in all the freelance mercenaries!

Just seven levels lower than himself!

Han Xiao felt wide awake. He looked up at this freelance mercenary called Reynold.

Hmm… Spacehuman, snow-white skin, seems to be a hybrid. Longer than the usual face, high nose bridge, not as handsome as me but gives off a special vibe. Looks like his character is colder and more rational. This guy’s eyes are really bright… and he’s staring at me too.

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows and looked at the other attributes of this person.

Reynold… 1147 Intelligence, Grade B+ Mechanic? Wow, that’s rare! This guy is the strongest among these people… Hmm, more than 600 blueprints, he has quite the rich pool of knowledge. Tsk tsk, as for talents… wait a minute, this guy has a Molding Talent‽

Chapter 602 - Perfect Mechanical Sense

The Great Mechanic Han had a total of twenty-three talents, Reynold only had six fewer, seventeen talents. This was almost double what the three other Grade B freelance mercenaries had!

For those with high potential, as their level increased, they would regularly receive new talents.

In the current Black Star Army, Herlous was the one with the most talents among the officers—fifteen. He was much stronger than back then when he joined.

When Han Xiao recruited him, he had only had twelve talents.

In terms of the quality of talents, Feidin and Harmon were at the top. They both had Molding Talents.

Feidin’s Advanced Luck Glow, of course, was undisputedly overpowered.

Harmon’s [War God’s Tenacity] and [Desperate Straits] combined with his Basic Luck Glow as a protagonist type character was like a health lock cheat and unlimited buff cheat, which was also very powerful.

The Molding Talent was what differentiated regular people from elites and bosses. Han Xiao was genuinely surprised that Reynold had one too.

_____________________

[Perfect Mechanical Sense]

Total Machinery Affinity * 1.4. (Includes basic value, bonuses from passive abilities, and talents. This effect applies to the total value.)

When enhancing machines using Mechanical Force, the quality of the machinery will be temporarily increased by 1 – 2 Grades, up to Pink Grade.

+4 levels to all Mechanic class active abilities. This effect can exceed the level limit.

Remark: In your senses, every machine is a world of ecological balance.

_____________________

“It’s this talent!”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

In his previous life, there were players who had listed all the Molding Talents of the characters in Galaxy on the forums. Some of these talents were class exclusive; [Perfect Mechanical Sense] was exclusive to the Mechanic class and was considered one of the best Molding Talents. It influenced three things that were all connected to each other.

Needless to say, the 1.4 times multiplier to total Machinery Affinity was powerful.

Machinery Affinity was the core abilities of the Mechanic class, and it was used to increase the power of machines. For example, if a Mechanic had 500% Machinery Affinity provided by all his talents and abilities, [Perfect Mechanical Sense] would take 500% and multiply it by 1.4, making that 700%!

The rules of this bonus were the same as the Calamity Grade talent [Superhuman], applying to the total value. This meant that the stronger one’s fundamentals were, the higher the bonus was. As their level increased, the effect of this talent would become greater and greater.

The other two effects of [Perfect Mechanical Sense] were also useful. The temporary increase of the Machinery Grade meant an enhancement of the machines’ basic attributes. In simpler terms, trashy gray equipment would have the same effect as green equipment when he used it.

The last effect of adding four levels to all Mechanic class active abilities while ignoring the level limit meant the Level10 [Surging Mechanical Force] had the effects of Level14.

Those who had this talent could be deemed as ‘one in more than a century’ Mechanic class geniuses.

High level, strong talent, Grade B+… Reynold was the strongest person Han Xiao had ever recruited.

This was a high-quality wild leek!

“You’re a Mechanic?”

“Yes.” Reynold nodded.

“You’re very strong, stronger than all of the officers under my command.”

Han Xiao took it very seriously. He told Phillip to show him Reynold’s mercenary resume. As he looked, he frowned slightly.

“The data shows you’ve worked as a mercenary for seven years, moved through five small mercenary groups. You were active in the Hyde Star System in the earliest days, only coming to the Garton Star System in the last two years. With your strength, it’s more than enough for you to become a high ranking officer in large mercenary groups, why have you been in these small mercenary groups?”

He then stared at Reynold with inquiry in his eyes.

With a serious tone, Reynold said, “Large mercenary groups are too safe. I need more dangerous challenges to increase my alertness.”

Han Xiao squinted. “Then why do you want to join mine? My mercenary group is a large one.”

“I’ve faced enough challenges. What I need now is to break through, to learn more knowledge, to reach a higher level,” Reynold answered with a very straight face.

“What you mean is, you want to step into the Calamity Grade?” Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

“Yes.” Reynold nodded heavily. “This is also why I’m here.”

Then, he lowered his head slightly and said respectfully, “We are both Mechanics, and you have stepped into the territory of the Calamity Grade. To me, you’re a pioneer on this path, and I’m still exploring, so… I hope to receive your guidance. For that, I’m willing to work for you.”

So that’s his motive for joining… Han Xiao figured it out. It was not the Black Star Army’s privileges that attracted Reynold but my strength.

This guy is Grade B+ and wants to become Grade A. Hence, he came to find me, a Grade A Mechanic, to learn from, wanting to become my student. Well, this motive is nothing but logical; I don’t see a problem.

In the five Super classes, Mechanics and Mages were keenest to learn. Exchanging and communicating knowledge was common for these two classes. Han Xiao understood Reynold’s actions very well. It was just like the players who looked for NPCs to learn abilities from.

This isn’t a bad thing… Han Xiao pondered silently. Reynold had a lot of potential. After recruiting him, the Black Star Army would have one more elite officer.

Sylvia was his only student, so adding Reynold would not be a problem. With his Calamity Grade strength and knowledge level, it was more than enough to teach Reynold.

As for helping Reynold get to Grade A, it depended on personal potential. Since Reynold had [Perfect Mechanical Sense], becoming Calamity Grade was basically a certainty, except Reynold did not know that himself.

Han Xiao made the decision very quickly. He nodded and said, “I can teach you, but you need to sign a longer-term contract.”

“Of course.” Reynold nodded. He believed that returns only came with hard work; Black Star was already much more casual about it than he had expected.

“Since you’re a Mechanic… how about this? You will be responsible for the logistics. You shall manage the workshop factory and the product line in the base, building more production lines and carrying out daily maintenance, repairs, and technical adjustments. This will all be your responsibility; you can gather some people to help you.”

Letting Reynold manage the workshop factory was very suitable. With his abilities, the machines that he built would be more than enough to meet the players’ needs—it would be just as popular.

Plus, Reynold knew how to build product lines, and he also knew many blueprints. He was the only one that could help Han Xiao in terms of building!

This way, the job of building new product lines could be entrusted to Reynold from now on. Han Xiao did not have to do everything himself anymore. According to the needs of the hundreds of thousands of players, he would be able to save at least one to two months every year for other things!

After all, the production rate of a single person was limited; a logistics department had to be created.

“No problem.” Reynold was very content with this position. What he wanted to do now was just train peacefully—he did not want to go out and fight people.

All the candidates were done with the test. Phillip made the new mercenaries sign the contracts before sending the information to the Mercenary Alliance. This way, the new mercenaries were officially members of the Black Star Army.

Other than a number of talented people, Han Xiao let Phillip arrange the positions for the new mercenaries and told Sylvia and some senior mercenaries to show the newbies around to familiarize themselves with their job. After all that, the newbies would take on their positions.

He had recruited thousands of people this time, so including the older mercenaries, Black Star Army had about 8,000 NPC mercenaries. It was many times larger compared to before.

Compared to the number of players, there were still very few NPC mercenaries. It was very difficult for it to explode in size, so the only way was to keep recruiting and building the numbers up.

The biggest surprise this time was Reynold. Even Han Xiao was tempted by the Molding Talent [Perfect Mechanical Sense]. If he could obtain this talent, he would not only be tanky but stronger in all aspects!

Sadly, he had yet to find a way to obtain this Molding Talent. Reynold was not an enemy, and even if he was, it was not certain that he could obtain [Perfect Mechanical Sense].

No matter, Han Xiao had plenty of patience.

…

Two days later, the new mercenaries all started to carry out their jobs.

The training camp of Base No.1 was officially built, too.

The more than a thousand unselected freelance mercenaries became the first batch of students. As the only drill sergeant at the moment, Brock officially took on the job.

On the first day, he was so exhausted that he almost vomited blood.

Training mercenaries was not as simple as just speaking—there had to be physical hands-on combat lessons, which was quite easy to get injured from. To train more than a thousand people alone, the amount of work Brock had to do was almost pitiful; he had completely no time to do anything else. After an entire day, he felt like his bones were about to collapse.

Remembering that he had to continue such a taxing job the next day too, Brock felt his world spinning.

However, after the first day ended as a trainer, Han Xiao deliberately went to encourage him. Brock was instantly motivated and full of energy.

Han Xiao’s attitude gave him the wrong idea. Brock thought that his performance had been noticed by Black Star. Him getting this special job right after joining meant that he was important to Black Star.

After all, among all the candidates, he and that Mechanic called Reynold were the only ones that had received special treatment.

Black Star might be testing his abilities.

As long as he completed the mission as a drill sergeant and proved himself, he might be accepted by Black Star and promoted to a high rank officer!

Only after becoming a high rank officer would he be able to monitor the intelligence network of the Black Star Army.

Thinking about that, Brock decided to clench his teeth and hang on, not looking for an assistant and completing the mission alone. Only that way would he be able to prove his abilities to the highest degree, making an impression on Black Star!

“How dedicated…”

Inside his room, Han Xiao monitored Brock’s every move in his Chaos Body.

Indeed, people with ulterior motives were the easiest to use.

Deactivating Chaos Body and returning to his human body, Han Xiao straightened his clothing and walked out of his room. He went to the machinery modification room of the base where Reynold and Sylvia were waiting.

It was a lesson day.

Sylvia was used to Han Xiao giving her these privileges, but now there was another person to share her teacher with, she felt very uneasy. She secretly sized Reynold up from time to time, with an unexplained sense of hostility.

Reynold looked straight forward at Han Xiao with an extremely serious face.

From that day forth, he would be learning from Black Star. This was an opportunity that he had earned with a five-year contract. It was very important to him.

Han Xiao stood before the two of them, pondered, and said, “The strength difference between the two of you is too huge. Reynold, I will teach you first. Sylvia, you can observe from the side.”

The power difference between the two was way too high. The knowledge that seemed too deep for Sylvia would just be fundamental for Reynold. Of course, he was not going to teach them at the same time.

As soon as Han Xiao finished speaking, Sylvia opened her eyes wide. How could her teacher teach the newcomer first?

She instantly felt indignant and gave Reynold a fierce glare, only to realize that he was not even looking at her at all, so she could only bloat her cheeks and turn away angrily.

Bringing Reynold and the angry Sylvia aside, Han Xiao cleared his throat and prepared to start the lesson. This time, Reynold took out a pen and notebook with lightning speed from his pocket.

“Er, what are you doing?”

“Recording the lesson content.” With a very serious face, Reynold quickly jotted down this conversation.

After taking a peek at the notebook, Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, and he said, “There’s no need to note casual chitchat…”

“No, any parts missing is disrespectful for you.”

“Then wouldn’t it be better for you to video…”

“No, as a Mechanic, observing all the details is a way of training too.”

Reynold wrote down this conversation without hesitation, even drawing Han Xiao’s expression when speaking. The speed of a Mechanic’s hands was undoubtedly fast, so he was done recording almost as soon as Han Xiao finished speaking.

How stubborn. He’s more like a Mechanic than me…

Han Xiao now had a rough understanding of this new comrade of his. He then started to officially teach the lesson.

It was called a lesson, but it was more like sharing his knowledge. What Reynold really needed was High-End Knowledge. After all, it was very difficult for him to make money. Plus, he did not have as many channels as Han Xiao did. Hence, Han Xiao slowly explained the High-End Knowledge to him.

Reynold was not a player, so he could not learn it instantly and had to slowly absorb.

Reynold listened extremely carefully, and his pen never stopped moving. Sylvia was completely lost. This knowledge was too deep for her—she could not understand it at all.

Clenching her teeth, Sylvia forced herself to focus and memorize the content even though she did not understand it. Reynold’s appearance made her feel threatened; she did not want to get left far behind.

After teaching Reynold, Han Xiao then taught Sylvia.

Reynold did not leave however but listened at the side. Even though what Sylvia was learning was way too fundamental for him, he did not show any sign of being impatient and still listened attentively.

Time passed by slowly.

Han Xiao finally stopped his lesson. He looked at the time and announced the end of the lesson before leaving in a hurry to continue building his machines.

Sylvia and Reynold were the only ones left in the room, looking at each other.

“Er, if you have anything you don’t understand, I can teach you too.”

There were still many days ahead, so Reynold thought that he had to build a good relationship with Black Star’s apprentice. He gave a smile that he thought was very friendly and charming.

However, he rarely smiled, so his smile was ferocious no matter how it was looked at.

“Who needs you to teach me?” Sylvia rolled her eyes. “You’re new, so you should call me big sis, do you know that?”

Reynold frowned.

Oh no, is he angry? Sylvia suddenly felt a little regretful. Reynold could easily butcher her with one hand. He was even stronger than Herlous.

To make someone this strong lower his head to a barely Grade C Super, he would probably think it was a form of humiliation.

However, Reynold stayed silent for a while then nodded.

“Big sis,” said Reynold with a serious tone.

“Ah, are you really calling me that?” Sylvia was shocked. With an awkward face, Sylvia said in an unnatural tone, “I was just kidding.”

“No, you’re right. I just thought about it. Since I’m new, calling you big sis is what I should do. I was ill-mannered earlier, I apologize. Thank you for reminding me.”

There was not a single sense of unhappiness to be found on Reynold’s face. His expression was earnest, and his tone was serious as always.

Sylvia’s face stiffened. She found it difficult to deal with how serious Reynold was. She giggled and said, “No need. You don’t have to be so serious. You can just call me by my name.”

“No, I have to call you big sis, or it’s too disrespectful,” Reynold said solemnly. He even lowered his head to show his respect.

Sylvia felt her scalp tingle and could not take it anymore. She quickly carried her books and ran away.

…

After he finished interviewing the mercenaries, Han Xiao almost spent all the time in the days after that updating his combat mercenaries.

“It’s finally done!”

Ten days later, Han Xiao’s excited voice came from his personal machinery modification room.

Chapter 603 - Machinery Innovation!

In the room, a strong metallic stench lingered. There were even heat waves in the air caused by the high temperature of melting steel.

Han Xiao had long become accustomed to such a smell. He hurriedly took out the last machine from the rapid cooling box, transforming it into a compressed orb, before placing it on the desk.

The table in front of him was lined with compressed orbs, all of which were new-generation machines.

This new generation of machinery was crafted with his Grade A Mechanic skills. Be it technical content, attributes, functions, and power, it had completely surpassed the older generation of machinery created when he was at Grade B. Thus, the machines replaced all his old equipment to become his new primary weapons.

His previous generation of equipment was unable to keep up with the battles at the Calamity Grade and was relegated to backup equipment.

This time, Han Xiao’s comprehensive equipment outfitting could be said to be the largest scale he had done so far.

The original combat style had not changed; it was still his continuous stream of soldiers with the Army Style. Han Xiao had only strengthened these current styles.

Buzz!

With a flash of Mechanical Force, a portion of the compressed orbs were activated. Following the clanking sounds of machinery whirring to life, thirty-six new generation Hovering Shield Shuttles floated up, revolving around Han Xiao.

The new generation Hovering Shield Shuttle, codenamed [DT-03 Nano Transformed Floating Guard]. The whole set was labelled ‘Watcher Instrument’.

Compared to the Halo Array of the previous generation, many aspects of the Watcher Instrument showed a definite change. The first was the shape of the Hovering Shield Shuttles, which had turned into a diamond shape. They had more edges and corners, and the color had also changed from white to a deep red. The connecting lines gleamed brilliant gold from the Kyle Alloy used.

In terms of function, the most significant change was the energy. Each floating shuttle was equipped with an ultra-micronized plasma arc reactor. It adopted the process of cold nuclear fission to generate sufficient energy with extremely low radioactivity, giving them high power outputs. The power output could also be adjusted at will. This equipment set was immensely strong, a dark purple Grade.

With the addition of two more High-End Knowledges, [High Class Energy Control] and [High Energy Weapon Control], Han Xiao had utilized them to create this new generation of machinery. He had even raised the blueprints of his machinery to the highest level, obtaining some potential points to cover his original reserves. It took a total of twenty-one potential points to upgrade both high-end knowledges to level five and four respectively.

Thus, just in terms of looking at his energy portfolio, he had already obtained good technological skills for it.

This time, he focused on strengthening his equipment. Reforming the energy cores was one of the main objectives, and the majority of his machinery had basically been swapped out to now contain controlled nuclear fusion technology.

The blueprints of the nuclear fusion reactors also had different drawings. Of which, the Plasma Arc Reactors were the best grade of blueprints that Han Xiao had obtained. The technology could be summarized as internally energized to form a magnetic field, which would heat the plasma and promote the fusion reaction. Not only was it efficient, it was also clean and controllable.

Above this High-End Knowledge would be Cutting-Edge Knowledge, which was about the study of stronger yet more unstable energy sources, such as antimatter and psionic energies. Generally speaking, only the Star Cluster Civilizations would possess Cutting-Edge Knowledge, so Han Xiao had to be satisfied with High-End Knowledge for now.

In the short term, Han Xiao had no intention of getting any Cutting-Edge Knowledge. Because he specialized in the Virtual Mechanic profession, the Cutting-Edge Knowledge in the Energy and Armed Branches would now cost three times their initial potential points. He only had two extra potential points left.

With a flicker of his Mechanical Force, Han Xiao began to operate the Watcher Instrument, testing out various functions.

The first was the most basic artillery power. He had Phillip open the weapon test module of the machinery modification room, and an alloy wall rose from the ground.

Hum!

The golden lines of the Hovering Shield Shuttle started to glow with a blue light, and the edges and corners at the tip of the shuttle suddenly unfolded, turning into a circular caliber gun. A blue laser beam blasted out, easily penetrating the alloy wall, leaving a smoking hole that could be seen from both sides.

“The penetrative power is indeed strong…” Han Xiao nodded. While the interface had described the weapon’s attack power, he had a habit of testing it himself. He followed up by switching the weapon forms, testing the blasting type, assassination type, the subduing type, and the full blast type.

Because the energy output was controllable, it possessed multiple attack settings.

Han Xiao also tested the Watcher Instrument’s shield durability. Unlike the Halo Array, a single floating shuttle of the Watcher Instrument could form a shield, with a high durability attached to it.

The most convenient feature of the Watcher Instrument was its Nano-Transforming ability. They could be combined with each other to become a larger caliber floating cannon or shield, and they could also be turned into a hand-held cannon. The Watcher Instrument could even transform into battle mode, turning into a Berserk Ape mechanical suit. Each of the miniature plasma arc reactors would continuously supply the mechanical suit for a wide range of uses.

“It is indeed worthy of being a Grade A mechanic’s weapon.”

Without any additional machinery, Han Xiao believed that Herlous could be beaten with just this Watcher Instrument.

Satisfied with the floating shuttle, he activated another pile of compressed orbs.

This time, the machinery that unfolded was the Giant Mechanical Hand. After replacing its energy core, the various functions had been significantly improved.

The Giant Mechanical Hand had always been a multifunctional equipment. It belonged to the Prosthetic category of machinery, where it could be used to slap, and the fingertips and palms could release ion cannons. It could also be turned into a compressed orb to hide in one’s hands and feet to begin the series of chain attacks.

The machine could also be turned into an electromagnetic lock, used to suppress a target, or it could be changed into various tools to alter the terrain. It was quite versatile.

Han Xiao had also added new functions to the Giant Mechanical Hands. They could now merge with each other and become a single entity over hundreds of meters tall, akin to the Buddha’s Palm of legends.

They could also be combined into an aircraft vehicle. Although the Berserk Ape mechanical suit was capable of interstellar navigation, it was only for a single passenger. The combination of the Giant Mechanical Hands could carry a small squad.

Talking about aircraft vehicles, Han Xiao had also developed an important piece of machinery.

[Short-Range Hyperdrive Engine]!

This blueprint came as a result of combining [Basic Spatial Technology], [Advanced Radar technology], [Interstellar Navigation Technology], and [Advanced Applications for Quantum Entanglement].

Unlike the large hyperdrive engines of the interstellar spaceships, this short-range hyperdrive engine was mainly used by individual soldiers or small aircrafts.

Of course, even though it had short range in the name, that was only compared to the normal hyperdrives in spaceships.

The Short-Range Hyperdrive Engine also had a limit—it needed a long period of time to locate the coordinates. The short-range hyperdrive engine had a charging time of twelve seconds, where the user could not move or break the connection, or else they would experience coordinate deviation, which could be fatal.

And its minimum cooling time was two minutes.

The BlackLight Stealth’s microsecond hyperdrive was made by the Federation of Light, which was currently too complicated for Han Xiao to replicate.

Even though that was the case, his current device was still quite useful, allowing one to shift their troops strategically in a battlefield or to rush to a destination.

Han Xiao had already installed one of them in the Berserk Ape as well as some of the aircrafts. The effect was great, equivalent to a mechanical version of Hexflash [1. Hexflash is the shortened name for Hextech Flashtraption, a rune/skill seen in League of Legends (LoL).].

As for the burden shouldered by the single target while in hyperdrive, it was nonexistent to Han Xiao.

As a void species, his resistance to space was naturally extremely high.

Other than the enhancement to individual equipment, the Mechanical Army had also undergone significant innovations.

The first task was to fully restore the original four legions: Number 001, [Mechanical Beast Guards Army]; 002, [Strike Artillery Regiment]; 003, [G-1 Steel Army Corps]; and the Elite Troops Number 101, [Oathkeepers]. At the same time, Han Xiao had also slightly increased the size of the legions.

Building on these, Han Xiao had added another two legions.

Number 004, [G-2 Heavy Armor Riders]!

This unit consisted of 600 heavy-loaded mechanical soldiers. They resembled huge men riding on high-speed propulsion vehicles. Their way of attacking was charging forward as the vanguard, with a strong impact to cut through the formation of the enemy. These heavily armored riders were mainly melee, equipped with weapons such as high-temperature blades, high-speed drills, and spiral wheel saws. All the weapons could easily set off a bloody storm.

Number 005, [Mini Cube Troops]!

This was a special unit consisting of 1,500 micro-mechanical warfare soldiers. Such a mechanical soldier was dubbed the ‘magic cube robot’. It measured only the size of a normal human palm, but even if something was small it could still contain the essentials. They possessed a high level of combat quality, and their size could work to their advantage on some occasions. This was why Han Xiao had created this army.

This unit also possessed an auxiliary function. The drawings of the ‘magic cube robot’ was derived from the knowledge [Super Nanometer Force], which would allow them to combine with each other to form a larger mechanical soldier. Each individual cube could be understood as parts of a larger mechanical soldier, and these parts could move freely and reshape at any given time.

At present, the scale of his Mechanical Army had reached 20,000. The number was still rising, as new mechanical soldiers were still being produced every day in the workshop.

The extra manufactured mechanical soldiers would either be directly merged into the various legions or used as backups.

In addition, the weapons of all mechanical soldiers had been upgraded, such as adding shock converters to the melee weapons, high pressure blades, and so on.

Plasma cannons, heat ray cannons, and radiation guns had been added to the slew of ranged weapons. The enhancement was also reflected in the turret structure, as Han Xiao had created a new type of turret.

Ammunition and detonation bombs had also undergone a reformation, having new devices such as vacuum oxygen detonation bombs, space warping bombs, thermonuclear mines, miniature nuclear grenades, and the new orbital sniper bombs.

Other than the original combat mods, Han Xiao had created two more battle tactics.

The first was the Restrain and Control Style.

Han Xiao had obtained a blueprint of an electromagnetic superconductor particle, about the size of a grain of rice. He had manufactured a lot of them, and placing them in a pile made them resemble some sort of black sand.

Superconductor particles contained strong magnetism, which could be manipulated through mechanical force.

This set was also known as ‘Electromagnetic Adsorption Marsh’. When activated, the superconductor particles would resemble a black wave, carrying with them a strong electromagnetic force. Once they reached the target, the particles would entangle the target, releasing the adsorption force and binding the target.

The longer the controlling time, the wider the coverage of the superconductor particles, and subsequently, more difficult for the target to break free. Through mechanical force, the adsorption and its shape could be varied, which allowed this equipment to actively capture the target.

This was a strong crowd control device that lacked lethality. Han Xiao’s inspiration for this came from Ember’s fighting style, and Han Xiao’s electromagnetic adsorption marsh also controlled particles, which resembled Ember’s ability.

His second combat mode could be called the ‘Dirt Cheap Style’.

In his previous life, players had named this style as the Tactical Support Style.

A few months ago, when DarkStar attacked Planet Aquamarine, they had used the main cannon to strike at himself from outer space. That was called Tactical Support.

The essence of this mode was to summon missiles to scrub the ground, summon space-based weapons to strike down, summon fleet salvos… it was essentially an upgraded version of the Multi-Turret Firepower Coverage Style.

Also referred to as being gangster!

The Army Style would crush most mechanic styles. Only two schools of thought were the most troublesome opponents of the Army Style.

The first was the Virtual Intrusion Style—that was the Virtual Mechanic profession that Han Xiao specialized in.

The other was this Tactical Support Style.

Han Xiao dropped all his compressed orbs and looked toward the other side of the modification workshop.

Over there sat a giant machine.

It was actually an impact railgun!

Chapter 604 - Bad Feelings Most Likely Will Turn True

This impact railgun was called ‘Eye of God’, a satellite weapon that could move on its own after being detached from the spaceship. It could be plotted at the edge of the atmosphere to orbit around the planet.

Unlike the DarkStar main cannon, the Eye of God was not a particle beam weapon; it used physical ammo. Its shells were exceptionally large and could be used with many different types of ammunition, providing more tactical options. Attacking the surface from outer space, its attacks would gain more kinetic energy from the initial thrust and gravity. With Han Xiao’s calculations, its accuracy was very precise.

The cost of this impact railgun was remarkably high, only next to the Berserk Ape mechanical suit, not including the cost of every shot it took.

With so much money spent, the returns were certainly great. The damage of Eye of God was outstanding. It was like a gigantic turret placed in outer space. There were only two restrictions. One was that its attack speed was very slow—the shell had to fly for some time. Another was that it could not be used in space—it could only be used to attack the surface from above. It was rather suitable for missions that involved airdropping down to the ground to deal with issues.

This was now the most destructive weapon that Han Xiao possessed, but there was only one. The Tactical Support Style only had a brief outline. However, Han Xiao had a lot of money, so he could build more if he had the time.

When the Tactical Support Style was complete, tens and hundreds of impact railguns firing together would be able to annihilate an entire planet in a short time, fully proving the fact that money meant strength for the Mechanic class.

Bigger was greater, more was better. When other Supers hit a barrier and were unable to move forward, only the Mechanic class could steadily increase their strength by spending money.

“Only with this equipment have I reached the level of strength I should have.” Han Xiao nodded in his head.

The total cost was close to a million Enaus. After updating all his combat machines, his destructive ability had really reached the Calamity level. He could summon nuclear bombs onto planets and destroy the ecology of the surface in a short period.

Watcher Instrument, Mechanical Exterior Prosthetic, Short-Range Hyperdrive Engine, Mechanical Armies 004 and 005, Strong Electromagnetic Swamp, Eye of God… Han Xiao checked all the machines. He then arranged the compressed orbs and wore them. As for the large weapons like the Mechanical Armies and Eye of God, they were placed in the spaceship warehouse.

Other than machines for combat, Han Xiao had also fused an interesting blueprint used for battles between spaceships, which he had built during the time.

The Barbarian Charge Cabin, a landing battle device.

This was a suspended cabin, attached to a spaceship and equipped with shock absorption devices. When the enemy’s shield was destroyed, this charge cabin could be launched to bite onto the enemy spaceship. With its heat slicing equipment, it would then melt the enemy’s armor and send the people inside it into the hostile spaceship. Of course, if things did not go well, the charge cabin could self-destruct.

During galactic wars, charge cabins were regularly used. The people inside had no means of retreating—they were all basically in a do-or-die situation.

Han Xiao felt this was perfectly suitable for the players.

Han Xiao was still studying the Violent Falcon spaceship, but he was short of a part of the knowledge, so his progress reverse engineering it was stuck. In his previous life, high-level Mechanic class players could build spaceships, but it was mostly done by a team. Everyone had different knowledge of the spaceship and assembled different parts.

Han Xiao did not want to divide the labor; he wanted to learn the entire process of building spaceships.

Building a spaceship alone was one of the Special Legendary Point milestones, just like the [Legendary Hunter] milestone that he had yet to complete.

However, he was still short in a part of its knowledge, and he happened to be lacking Potential Points. He was in quite a pinch.

After entering the galaxy, Han Xiao had not harvested as much experience, mainly just money.

He needed time to update his equipment after leveling up, and he had spent quite a lot of experience leveling up and fusing blueprints.

Therefore, his experience was almost dry.

I should find the time to get some experience…

His equipment was all updated, and other than getting more Potential Points, he also needed to continue increasing his strength.

I’m now level 142. Although I just entered Grade A, I can match up to higher level people with my equipment. Plus, my talents mean I can take a beating, so my advantage is huge. If the enemy’s ability is common, the chances of me winning will increase significantly…

Han Xiao estimated his combat capability. Usually, most people in Galaxy entered Grade A between level 150 to 160; it all depended on talents, abilities, and attributes. He, however, entered Grade A at level 142. This was not common even among these powerful protagonist-type characters.

At Grade A, each Promotion at every twenty levels or each Class Advancement for the main class could be considered a separation line. Han Xiao was now at the level 140 to 160 grade, so the amount of experience needed to level up was enormous—billions and billions.

In his previous life, when the version that allowed players to level up to this level was released, the missions had all given at least tens of millions of experience. Despite that, the players had still had to spend a tremendous amount of time to level up just once.

Even though he could shear the players, it was still extremely difficult to obtain the amount of experience needed to level up to 160 straight away. Promotion was too far away at the moment, but there was another way to increase his strength—main class Class Advancement.

Han Xiao’s [Virtual Mechanic] was now Level17. He was three levels away from his Class Advancement, which would need about three billion experience.

This time, Han Xiao did not plan to sell knowledge. Selling knowledge was a one-time sale, so he could only do it so many times. Plus, it was not suitable for him to give everything to the players at once.

He decided to sell blueprints, which was the larger profit chain.

Although the target market for blueprints was limited to Mechanic class players and the profits were not as high as with Promotion Knowledges, the upside of this was that there were way too many blueprints that could be fused, almost infinite. During Version 1.0, Han Xiao had acted as the Mechanic class mentor and made more players become Mechanics. The reason that he had done that was to expand the market for blueprints.

Furthermore, he did not just have to sell the players low level blueprints; he could even sell very high-level blueprints.

The players did not have the required knowledge, so even if they bought the high-level blueprints, they would not be able to use them until much later. Nonetheless, people would still buy them. It was better to have a high-level blueprint that they could not use than not having one at all. Just looking at it would make them look forward to the day they could use it.

He never underestimated the Chinese players’ desire to stock up.

Thinking of the players… Han Xiao opened the forums. As usual, it was boisterous.

The players used the tactical equipment that he had sold last time in their new hire missions, and many people sent screenshots to share. Among them, the Worker Bee Armor received the most positive comments; it made many players find a new way to make money—mining! It was much more peaceful and steadier than fighting and killing.

The second most popular one was surprisingly the Nuclear Flying Backpack. The focus of the comments was not even flying but all about how good it felt to self-destruct…

This made Han Xiao even more confident about the Barbarian Charge Cabin.

He knew it—self-destruction and the players were a perfect match!

Han Xiao browsed through the posts. Other than sharing posts, chatting posts, and other random posts, there were also highly skilled players who posted guides which explained strategies among other things. Suddenly, Han Xiao realized a post was going up the popularity list very quickly.

‘Wayne Cards Newbie Guide—Issue 3’

He clicked in, then realized that the player who had written the post was charmed by Wayne Card and used all the money that he earned to buy Wayne Cards, not equipment…

Noob!

Playing meaningless games every day and not doing missions properly‽

In the end, these players have still been contaminated by Wayne Cards…

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. Could Wayne Cards actually be his biggest competitor?

He briefly scanned through and realized that the Shattered Star Ring card set had been updated, which was the focus of this post. It was being madly discussed by the players. In the updated cards, there was the Black Star Army.

_____________________

Shattered Star Ring Card Set adjustments:

Mercenary Card [Black Star Mercenary Group] changed to Mercenary Card/Force Card [Black Star Army]. Increased card attributes, added special effects.

Civilization Card [Godora] attributes increased.

Force Card [Floating Dragon Island] attributes increased.

Added Strong Card [‘Black Star’ Han Xiao]

Added History Card [End of DarkStar]

Force Card [DarkStar] moved to Disposed Card Set.

_____________________

Han Xiao suddenly understood why this post was so popular.

Currently, in the eyes of the players, the Black Star Army represented their faction. Seeing that their faction had appeared in the card set, the players were more than just excited. The comments were exploding. In their eyes, the updated Wayne Cards showed the result of their hard work for the growth of their faction.

Wayne Cards’ update represented the changes of all areas in Galaxy to a certain extent. They had added an exclusive Strong Card for Han Xiao, and it had some decent attributes…

This meant that his actions had spread far, and he was someone very well known.

Han Xiao suddenly realized that Wayne Cards seemed to be a subtle leaderboard or list, showcasing the fame and position of people in the universe.

…

After looking through the forums for a while longer and extracting some potions from Sykes and the rest, Han Xiao closed the door and left the machinery modification room.

While spending close to two months building machines, Han Xiao did not forget his mission to escort Hila and Aurora to Floating Dragon Island.

Since the Black Star Army had grown in size, the players and the regular mercenaries took care of a lot of missions. Currently, there did not seem to be any high difficulty mission that he needed to complete himself. Hence, Han Xiao decided to first fulfill Ames’ request.

Hila was usually in the Combat Training Room along with Aurora.

On the way there, Han Xiao met Sylvia, who seemed to be avoiding something nervously. She hastily greeted him and quickly escaped. Han Xiao did not pay any attention to it. He then walked further ahead and noticed Reynold looking around at the intersection, so he went up to him and gave him a few words of encouragement. Seeing that Reynold was about to take out his notebook, Han Xiao quickly shut his mouth and walked away with wide strides.

Upon arriving at the Combat Training Room, Hila was expectedly undergoing combat training, and Aurora had been dragged into it.

Due to past experiences, Hila had a very strong desire for power. After entering the galaxy and seeing so many people that were so strong, she felt an even stronger sense of danger. She would not have slept at all just to train if she could; she put all her time into training.

Of course, the results were visible. The Training Room could simulate real combat and force out the combat potential of Supers. Hila’s talent had always been rather good. Combined with hard work, her strength grew quite quickly recently. A few days ago, Han Xiao had sparred with Hila and realized that she was many levels higher than before.

Han Xiao opened the door, and the simulated battle environment disappeared.

Hila stopped. She wiped away the sweat on her forehead, frowned, and said, “What are you doing here? You want to spar?”

She was wearing an extremely tight, black battle suit that looked like a layer of black skin, highlighting her alluring body shape, curvy and thin everywhere it should be.

Han Xiao looked at her and could not help but shake his head. “Can’t you change into a more useful battle suit. Do I not have enough armor for you to choose from?”

Hila gave Han Xiao a look of disgust. “Too bulky.”

“Bulky? It’s called safe. Don’t you just not like them because they don’t look pretty? What do you know about aesthetics?” Han Xiao rolled his eyes. Tsk, women.

While those two argued, Aurora leaned on her knees and gasped for air, unable to even speak.

She had been forced to join the special training. Unable to keep up with Hila’s training intensity, her body was almost collapsing due to exhaustion.

However, Aurora was not completely unwilling. She had experienced times of hardship and knew how important strength was, so she did not slack in her training at all. After all, the simulated battled would not deal any real damage, so if she was just slacking, she would not be so tired.

Han Xiao took out a concentrated nutrition bar and threw it to Aurora. “That’s enough. Stop training and pack up. I’m taking you guys to Floating Dragon Island.”

Aurora heard that and quickly stopped biting open the packaging of the nutrition bar, surprised. “Are we finally going to meet big sister Ames‽”

Hila’s eyes became slightly brighter, and her lips curved up a little. After entering the galaxy, only then did she understand how powerful Ames was in the universe. She had been looking forward to training with her.

Di di di…

Han Xiao was just about to say a few words when the communicator suddenly rang. He took it out, and it was surprisingly Ames’ communication request.

Speak of the devil.

“Ames?”

“Hmm, Black Star, when are you bringing my students over?” Ames’ projection appeared, and a long pair of white, python-like legs entered Han Xiao’s sight.

“I was settling some stuff earlier, so it was delayed. I will bring them to Floating Dragon in a few days.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Okay.” Ames paused and suddenly said, “Best come quicker. When you’re here, I want you to go somewhere with me.”

“Where?”

“Bloodshed Land,” Ames said calmly without any noticeable emotion.

Han Xiao’s eyebrows shot up. He had a bad feeling like his casual and relaxing time was about to end. “Can I not go?”

“Humph, no.” Ames ended the communication.

Chapter 605 - The Tyrant’s Invitation, Shattered Star Ring Territories

Speechless, Han Xiao put the communicator away and thought on it.

Why is Ames going to Bloodshed Land? To make trouble?

Malekith had once said that Ames had some issues with Bloodshed Land. The Tyrant had taken one of her officers, and they had battled furiously, ending with Ames’ loss. Han Xiao felt that Ames was not going there with good intentions this time.

She insisted on bringing me. Does she want me to assist her and stop the Tyrant’s officers?

Han Xiao’s lips twitched. He was now Floating Dragon’s strongest officer. Back then, Ames did not have anyone whom she could use under her command. Now that she finally had someone who could fight, was she going to make full use of him?

There were plenty of strong people under the Tyrant. The eight Grade A Vanguard Officials were just the tip of the iceberg; Vanguard Officials were not the only position for their high-ranking officers. If Ames only took him along to Bloodshed Land, of course, she would end up being fine, but the same could not be said for him.

I hope we are not going there to fight… Han Xiao had a slight headache.

Hila had watched their conversation from the start till the end. Confused, she asked, “What kind of place is Bloodshed Land?”

“That’s a gathering ground for a group of muscular men. It’s just a dangerous place,” Han Xiao replied unhappily.

As Ames had told him to hurry up, Han Xiao did not delay any longer.

He found Reynold and told him to stay in Base No.1. Then, he found Sylvia and told her to take care of the other issues. This was just standard procedure; the one who was actually managing Base No.1 was Phillip, and Han Xiao could monitor the situation remotely. Hence, there were not that many things to say. The Black Star Army’s business could carry on as usual even though he was not in the base.

Settling these issues only took half an hour. Han Xiao gathered Hila and Aurora, who had now changed into new, neat clothes, and the three of them boarded the Blacklight Stealth, which was parked in the hangar.

Woo woo!

The rooftop gate of the hangar opened, and the anti-gravity stabilizer below the Blacklight Stealth activated, emitting a dark blue light.

The spaceship took off vertically, and a purple flame shot out from the thrusters.

In the blink of an eye, the spaceship turned into a stream of light and disappeared into the sky.

…

The Blacklight Stealth exited hyperdrive, slowly caught up with Floating Dragon Island, and docked.

“So, this is Floating Dragon Island…”

Disembarking from the spaceship, Aurora looked left and right curiously. She saw the brutes gathered on the dock immediately, who all looked fearsome. They were clearly not good people.

The brutes turned around and looked at them.

Hila saw this and quickly caught up with Aurora. She stood beside her and looked around at the brutes with alertness in her eyes, like a lioness protecting its child.

“Don’t be so nervous. Although Floating Dragon allows galactic pirates, scavengers, and wanted criminals to stop here, no fighting is allowed… Er, not usually of course. Ahem, anyway, they won’t bite.”

As Han Xiao spoke, he walked over to the two of them, then wrapped his arm around Hila shoulders and looked around. “Hey, what are you people still looking at?”

The brutes then all turned and looked away, continuing with their business. Han Xiao’s ride was too famous; no one wanted to mess with Black Star, on Floating Dragon Island especially.

Hila glanced at Han Xiao then looked at the hand on her shoulder and moved her body uncomfortably.

“My friend, you’ve returned again.”

This time, Wilsander’s voice came from nearby. He had gotten the news long ago and had been waiting to welcome Han Xiao.

What Han Xiao did not expect was that Jenny was there, standing right behind Wilsander.

He greeted Wilsander before looking at Jenny. He chuckled and said, “You’re here, too, huh? Work has been busy, I suppose; you look gaunter than the last time I saw you.”

Without any change to her expression, Jenny snatched a weapon from a guard and started firing at Han Xiao like a maniac.

Bang bang bang!

Han Xiao let the small-caliber laser land on his body without moving. This could not hurt him at all.

At the side, Aurora’s jaw dropped from watching this. Hila clenched her teeth, looking like she was wondering whether to stop it or not. Wilsander was shaking his head and sighing.

Ka ka ka!

When the firearm overheated and could not continue firing anymore, Jenny finally threw it away and coldly said, “Ames is waiting for you in the palace.”

Then, she turned and instantly walked away.

She knew that she could not hurt Han Xiao; she just wanted to vent her frustration.

As the Head Butler, Jenny had been as busy as a bee recently. Being very understanding, Han Xiao did not mind letting Jenny enjoy herself for a moment.

Anyway, this would not affect his actions. He would still expand as he planned to. Jenny’s relaxed time was over and never coming back, just like her youth.

Han Xiao patted his clothes, unconcerned. He turned to look at Hila and said, “Let’s go. I’ll take you to see Ames. Memorize the roads on the way.”

Speechless, the two of them looked at each other before nodding.

After bidding farewell to Wilsander, they went all the way to the palace at the center of the floating island.

The dragon bone throne floated in the palace. Ames was sitting on it, resting her head on her hand, and watching the three of them walk into the palace. She sighed and said, “Black Star, you’re so slow, only bringing them here after a few months.”

Han Xiao did not agree or disagree. Hila and Aurora bowed as a greeting.

Ames controlled her force field, lowering the height of the throne, and landed in front of the three of them. She smiled and said, “Alright, you will be my students from now on. You can call me teacher.”

“Teacher,” the two of them replied.

Ames was very pleased by that. Her smile became even more gentle. This was what she had once called Aesop. Now that she had her own students, it felt very special.

“Although our Esper abilities are different, I can teach you methods to develop yours using my experience, helping you to make use of your potential,” Ames said gently.

Hila nodded solemnly. “Okay, when do we start?”

She was a training maniac, and with such a strong teacher, she could not wait to start training.

However, Ames shook her head and said, “Not now. I want you guys to go somewhere with me.”

Han Xiao’s eyebrows twitched. “Bloodshed Land?”

“Yes, all three of you are coming with me.”

She’s bringing Hila and Aurora too? Then it seems like we’re not going there to fight… Han Xiao was relieved.

This was good news. He did not want to mess with the force of another Beyond Grade A out of nowhere.

However, to confirm Ames’ intention, Han Xiao still asked, “That’s Heber’s territory. I heard there were problems between you and him. Why are we going?”

Ames’ smile became dimmer as she slowly said, “The Tyrant is an ambitious guy. We don’t get along. He even once stole someone talented from me, but this time, we are not going there to cause trouble.

“Every once in a while, the Tyrant hosts an enormous party. He sends out invitation letters to the important people of the Shattered Star Ring. Almost everyone shows him respect and attends. There are high ranking government officials of Star Cluster civilizations, representatives of large organizations, and sometimes even emissaries of the three Universal Civilizations. Of course, the Beyond Grade As of Shattered Star Ring are invited, including me… Humph, despite that guy being a pain in the neck, he is a very unpredictable man. Back then, I battled through his headquarters, but the next party, the Tyrant still invited me.

“Anyway, the Tyrant’s parties have continued for many years. It has become an unspoken tradition between large organizations. This is a chance to make connections for many important people. The Tyrant has the ability to be the host. At the party, many important people will communicate and discuss various topics. A large amount of information will be leaked out every single party. The discussions between these people during the party decide the future developments of the Shattered Star Ring to quite a large extent.”

So that’s what this is… Han Xiao realized what was going on.

Simply put, the Tyrant hosted a Shattered Star Ring party, which people attended to make friends, chitchat, gossip, and all that. The difference was, the attendees all held very important positions, which, when all combined, could even decide the future of Shattered Star Ring.

Hosting this kind of gathering and turning it into a tradition for the high-class organizations… the Tyrant was indeed ambitious. His goal was massive.

“So, are you going to attend the Tyrant’s party?”

Han Xiao was surprised. Floating Dragon had always stayed neutral. Plus, considering Ames’ personality, she did not seem to care about this sort of thing.

“Of course I’m going!” Ames’ voice became deeper. “I don’t want to look so petty!”

What? What does this have to do with petty? Han Xiao was puzzled.

He then tried to think from Ames’ perspective and finally realized what Ames meant.

I hate his guts. How dare he invite me to join his party! To show he’s generous? F*ck, did he invite me because he thinks I won’t go? If I don’t go, doesn’t that show that I’m petty? Go! I must go! I’m generous and awesome, why would I be afraid of going!

To Han Xiao, he thought this guess was about at least ninety percent right. This seemed like the kind of thing Ames would think.

Then why bring me? Oh, because the Tyrant has so many strong people under his command, so Ames doesn’t want to lose on that front. That’s why she’s taking me there!

At least we’re not going there to make trouble… Han Xiao was a little puzzled and could only comfort himself this way. “When does the party start?”

“There’s still some time. We will leave tomorrow, heading straight toward Bloodshed Land’s headquarters.”

Bloodshed Land was located in the Seoul Star Cluster. If the Shattered Star Ring could be described in a flat 2D map, the middle would be the most dangerous, unstable cluster, filled with wormholes appearing and disappearing at random, connected to all places in the universe.

On the map, one side would be the edge of the known universe, beyond which was the unknown part of the universe that was unexplored.

The other side would be the tunnels toward other Star Fields that cover astronomical distances of the unpopulated desolate universe. That was how Risda had arrived, traveling through Star Fields for a very long time from another Star Field.

Surrounding the wormhole cluster were ten or so Star Clusters, all divided and controlled by the seven Star Cluster Civilizations of the Shattered Star Ring.

The Taralam Star Cluster was the closest to the wormhole cluster. It was plagued with scavengers. When Han Xiao was doing the Chen Xing missions, he had gone there once.

Between the Colton Star Cluster and Seoul Star Cluster was a desolate area. It could almost be considered their border.

On the other side of the Seoul Star Cluster was the largest Star Cluster, the Setin Star Cluster. Seoul was in the middle of Setin and Colton; it was the second smallest Star Cluster in the Shattered Star Ring.

In terms of government, the Star Cluster Civilization that ruled Seoul was called the Klent Kingdom, and the Star Cluster Civilization that ruled Colton was the Purple Crystal Civilization. These two civilizations coexisted peacefully. They had built many large Stargates in each other’s territory. Godora’s Stargate had been built by the Purple Crystal Civilization.

The Tyrant’s Bloodshed Land was the Klent Kingdom’s VIP. With a Star Cluster Civilization behind them, the Tyrant’s party represented both the influence of a Beyond Grade A and the position of a Star Cluster Civilization. Hence, so many people would attend.

“So, we’re going to the Seoul Star Cluster, right?” Han Xiao sighed. “Take my spaceship then.”

Smiling, Ames said, “That’s exactly what I thought.”

Chapter 606 - Bloodshed Land

In the middle of Seoul Star Cluster, the stars shone brightly. A stream of light slashed across the universe, bolting through the darkness. It was the BlackLight Stealth in hyperdrive. On the ship were only Han Xiao, Ames, Hila, and Aurora.

After a few days, the four of them finally arrived at Seoul from Colton, passing through many stargates and Star Systems. When passing through the entry stargate from Colton to Seoul, they were even searched by the stargate station.

Klent Kingdom’s management of the Seoul Star Cluster was rather strict. They had set checkpoints around the entry stargates from other Star Clusters.

The entry stargate allowed teleportation across the desolate area between the two Star Clusters, saving a huge chunk of time. All the galactic travelers with a clean background would use the stargate, whereas those who took the path through the desolate region were mostly wanted criminals and secret organizations.

Bloodshed Land’s headquarters were in the heavily controlled Star System, the core Star System in the middle of the Seoul Star Cluster.

In the ship’s hall, Han Xiao looked at the location marked on the star map and curled his lips.

“Planet Heber. Tsk tsk… he used his own name for the headquarters, such a…” Just a Han Xiao was about to comment, he suddenly realized that he had done the same thing, so he instantly changed his sentence. “Such a wise choice!”

“Are we almost there?” Aurora looked at the star map curiously and realized that she could not understand it.

“The hyperdrive will end in about ten minutes and twenty-seven seconds.” Han Xiao looked at the control panel presented by Risda. The spaceship was on autopilot at the moment, and all four of them were at the hall.

Aurora turned and asked, “Teacher, is Planet Heber similar to Floating Dragon Island?”

Ames lay down sideways on the sofa, elegant and casual. She smiled and said, “Different, Planet Heber’s costs are higher. It’s a modified planet, built by Klent Kingdom with Star Cluster level technology. It’s more like a portable fortress. It’s Heber’s second strongest weapon.”

Star Cluster Civilizations’ ability far exceeded that of Star System Civilizations; they were on completely different levels. The most obvious difference was mobility—Star Cluster Civilizations could build stargates, so their transport speed was countless times faster than Star System Civilizations’.

Also, Star Cluster Civilizations had the technology to build planet-grade battleships, the most common one being the Planet Mining Mothership. It could ‘devour’ an entire planet, breaking it down inside and turning it into all kinds of resources.

For example, Planet Heber was a planet-grade space fortress built by Klent Kingdom.

“Second strongest? Then what’s the Tyrant’s strongest weapon?” Hila asked with a serious expression. She was more interested in the abilities of the strongest people in the Shattered Star Ring.

“His strongest weapons is, of course, his own body.” Ames shook her head. “He can use his physical body to penetrate straight through a planet.”

“Impossible!” Aurora exclaimed.

Han Xiao had Phillip search for Heber’s history. It seemed like there was more than one record of him crashing through a planet. Rather, it looked like it was Heber’s usual activity.

“Heber’s body is extremely strong. Mud and stones cannot stop him. The high-density rock layer under deep under the surface is as fragile as paper to him, and lava is his bathing water. Even a planet’s core isn’t hot enough to burn him. Maybe a Fixed Star could hurt him, but not a planet, so crashing through a planet is not a challenge for him.” Ames sighed.

Heber was almost her nemesis, yet even the highest strength force field could not tear Heber apart. Heber could move freely even under the pressure. If she used Floating Dragon to hit him, it would be shattered by Heber instead. The nemesis of force field type Espers was indeed this kind of indestructible enemy. After all, although force field Esper abilities were well rounded, it was more toward controlling—damage was not its strength.

Despite Ames being carefree, she was not ignorant. She knew her own weaknesses.

Hila frowned and kept silent. Heber’s strength currently exceeded her knowledge range, so she did not know what to say.

“Heber penetrating a planet is like a sniper bullet penetrating several planks.” Han Xiao shook his head. A Beyond Grade A Pugilist was terrifyingly powerful.

After chatting for a while, the Blacklight Stealth finally exited hyperdrive state. The light tunnel outside the porthole disappeared, and the universe reappeared.

Right under the spaceship, a small, metallic planet entered their sights. Its color seemed solemn and serious.

Planet Heber!

Han Xiao received a communication request from Planet Heber. If they did not identify themselves and continued loitering around Planet Heber, they would be deemed as an enemy.

Ames had the invitation letter, so after verifying their identity, Planet Heber sent the parking coordinates. Han Xiao told Risda to control the spaceship and land at the given location.

As Planet Heber was a moving fortress like Floating Dragon, it did not have natural sunlight. The top of it was covered with thick, dark artificial clouds to block the radiation from the universe.

The spaceship slowly descended. After passing through the black clouds, Planet Heber’s surface appeared in their eyes.

Planet Heber was mainly made up of cold and dark colors; there was almost nothing dramatic.

Castle-like buildings stood tall, and tons and tons of bases were like mountains. These buildings emitted a dark blue light. It was somewhat futuristic and mysterious. Advanced technology seemed to be a planet-wide theme. Between the many bases, there were gigantic hollow-in-the-middle circular devices up to two kilometers tall. A purple light was rippling at its hollow part like it was operating as something.

Above the bases, battleship fleets patrolled.

This was a planet-level armored fortress!

Hila and Aurora were stunned.

The Blacklight Stealth landed at a dock between the bases. When they got out of the spaceship, a group of people were already waiting there. They were all Bloodshed Land soldiers, led by the Vanguard Official Malekith.

“Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, thank you for accepting the invitation. Welcome to Bloodshed Land.”

Malekith gave a common bow. He had personally delivered Ames’ invitation letter.

Ames did not reply. She looked at the surroundings, snickered, and said, “It’s been a while since I last came. This place is boring as always. Heber really has no taste.”

“Battleships and fortresses are the best decorations,” Malekith replied. When he saw Han Xiao beside Ames, his eyes gleamed, and he said coldly, “Black Star, I said we would soon meet again.”

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows, played dumb, and said, “Who are you? I’ve never seen you before.”

“…”

The others looked over and stared at him.

“Alright, I was kidding.” Han Xiao curled his lips.

Bloodshed Land’s people were really interesting, trying to pick them apart as soon as they met. Malekith deliberately used such an ambiguous tone to hint that he had met Black Star privately before.

Han Xiao did not tell Ames that he had met Malekith before, and Ames had once had someone stolen from her side. Due to the previous incident, she should be very sensitive to this. If she knew that her trusted officer had met with Bloodshed Land privately again, she would probably not be happy with him.

Malekith looks like a savage with a small brain, but he’s actually quite dirty, isn’t he?

Okay, I will remember this.

Chapter 607 - Provoke

A sharp green light flashed through Ames’ eyes. She stared at Malekith and deliberately said, “What are you guys trying to do to my people again?”

“Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, don’t be so sensitive. Black Star and I just happened to meet. That’s all,” Malekith replied calmly.

Ames squinted and turned to look at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao had nothing to hide, so he honestly replied, “He found me and wanted me to leave Floating Dragon to join Bloodshed Land. Tsk tsk, he gave me some good terms.”

“And? What did you say?” Ames asked with a faint smile.

“Had I agreed, he wouldn’t have brought this up again.” Han Xiao shrugged.

Ames smirked, turned to Malekith, and said, “Hear that? Give up your tricks and lead the way.”

Seeing that the provocation did not work, Malekith did not speak anymore and led the way.

There were still a few days till the party, but many people had already arrived. Bloodshed Land had prepared many rooms for the guests to rest in.

The four of them headed toward the rooms. As they passed through the numerous bases, patrolling soldiers and carriers were everywhere.

Han Xiao had time on the way to observe all sorts of facilities in Bloodshed Land. It was similar to how he remembered. In his previous life, there had also been players that were recruited by Bloodshed Land, so he remembered the map structure of Planet Heber.

If I remember correctly, the Planet Heber’s surface is just a small part. There are bigger strongholds underground, Han Xiao recalled.

This time, the voice of a stranger suddenly came from not far behind them.

“Long time no see, Ames.”

Han Xiao’s first intuition was that the tone of this person sounded very taunting.

They turned around. A team of soldiers crowded around a man appeared behind them, the man was the one that spoke. He wore an exquisite robe and had a more feminine than masculine face, staring at Ames with a mocking expression.

The look in Ames’ eyes slightly changed when she saw this person. “Carroll.”

Carroll’s unrestrained eyes scanned Ames’ gorgeous face, snow-white neck, flat abdomen, and her thin, long legs, sizing her up fearlessly. He snickered and said, “I left Floating Dragon so long ago, but you’re still as beautiful as before.”

Ames’ face was cold and indifferent.

Han Xiao noticed Ames’ abnormal reaction; it seemed like her relationship with this guy named Carroll was unusual. He turned and glanced at Malekith and saw the rubbernecking expression on this broken horn Demon’s face.

I see, Carroll is Ames’ ex-subordinate… Han Xiao realized.

If Carroll had resigned normally, Ames would not have said anything. Instead, Carroll had openly deserted and joined Bloodshed Land with a high profile. He had even given away some of Floating Dragon’s technological secrets and their map structure. Plus, he was now in a high position. To Ames, this was no doubt a betrayal. She felt hostile toward Bloodshed Land, even more so toward Carroll. Back then, when she battled toward Planet Heber, she had most likely had another goal—to kill Carroll. Only, she had been stopped by the Tyrant.

The truth was just as Han Xiao speculated; Ames and her old subordinate Carroll had become enemies long ago.

“To dare come and look for me, are you tired of living?” Ames said coldly.

Carroll had the Tyrant to rely on, so he was confident and unafraid. With a derisive smile, he said, “This is Bloodshed Land’s headquarters. What, do you want to kill the Tyrant’s logistics manager here? By the way, I heard you found an insect to replace my position. Hehe, you have quite a heavy taste.”

With an expressionless face, Ames started to get intense.

Hila and Aurora noticed that the atmosphere was not right and became alert.

However, Carroll did not hold back at all. It was clear that he had come just to provoke them. He turned to look at Han Xiao and casually said, “Black Star? So, you’re Ames’ new officer? I can be considered your senior, do you want some advice and tips?”

“Tips?” Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. He was just standing aside and did not speak, but unexpectedly, Carroll spoke to him.

“That’s right, I know her very well, and I have a feeling you need my guidance.” Carroll shrugged and mocked, “After all, you like being her pet—shouldn’t you know what your master likes?”

“Wow, this is the first time I’ve met someone who’s even more of an ass than me.” Han Xiao could not hold back his laughter. “Pal, do you sometimes have like punching yourself in the face when you look into a mirror?”

Carroll had thought that Han Xiao would be angered by his provocative words, so he was choked by this completely unexpected reaction. He paused then spoke again with mockery. “Don’t get angry, I’m just speaking the truth. You’re the same as the old me, just her pet. The difference is, you’re just my replacement. Without you, there will be a Red Star or a White Star to replace you.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin. Before he could return the taunt, Ames spoke first.

“Black Star is not like you; he’s more trustworthy than you.”

“Oh, then you’ll have to be more careful.” Carroll stared at Han Xiao with a sneer. “The more she trusts you, when you want to abandon her, the more determined she’ll be to kill you… Hehe, you’re probably worse than a pet, just a slave tied to her side.”

This guy sure talks a lot of trash… Han Xiao rolled his eyes. A few words were far from enough to anger him.

Then, Carroll looked at Ames again, this time with even more apparent lust. “Did you know this? I once did not even have the courage to raise my head in front of you, but now…”

“I have no interest in what you think.” Ames stopped Carroll from speaking. With an ice-cold look in her eyes, she raised her hand and said slowly, “Since you’re deliberately taunting, it seems like you’re prepared to bear the consequences.”

Boom!

As soon as her sentence ended, a powerful force field appeared, and the ground cracked open inch by inch under the extremely heavy pressure. The force field headed straight toward Carroll.

This time, three roars came from around the place. Three shadows moved swiftly in front of Carroll, and thick Pugilist flames rose from their bodies.

The three of them blocked the force field with all their might.

The three of them were all Grade A Bloodshed Land Vanguard Officials, one being Malekith.

In an instant, an impact wave exploded, and the Bloodshed Land soldiers around all turned into rolling stones, falling and rolling away.

The three Vanguard Officials were sent flying, too. They launched a wave of energy midair to stop the momentum, landed on the ground, and stared at Ames with caution.

It had taken all three of them to stop Ames’ one simple force field attack.

“As expected.” The look in Ames’ eyes became darker, and the air started to vibrate.

The attack earlier was just the most casual, simple hit from Ames, and now she was going to get serious.

Ohm!

A much stronger force field brewed, and the ground and buildings around started to crack.

Seeing this, Han Xiao had no choice but to take a few steps forward to stand in front of Ames. With a flash of Mechanical Force, Watcher Instrument hovered behind him in a circle, like a circle of light behind his head.

A dark light appeared in the barrel of the Hovering Shield Shuttle, targeting the enemies. Han Xiao smirked and said, “So, do you guys want to duel or fight me together? I’m fine with anything.”

The eyes of the tree Vanguard Officials including Malekith all sparkled with anticipation.

Despite saying so, Han Xiao knew that the fight was not going to happen. This was Bloodshed Land’s showcase of power; the Tyrant would definitely interfere. After all, they were guests no matter what. Plus, Heber would not allow Ames to destroy his party.

Nonetheless, he still had to express his stand. He could not stand aside and let Ames face the enemies alone.

Just when everything was about to erupt, a new energy force arose from far away, shooting straight up into the sky, as if flooding over the entire Bloodshed Land. Even the star lights in the sky seemed to have lost their color and become dimmer.

Boom!

From a distant place, the voice of a person appeared, deep and loud, like the sound of thunder.

“Ames, fighting in my territory, are you ignoring my existence‽”

As soon as he heard this voice, Han Xiao immediately felt the menacing tone.

Subconsciously, this reminded him of what he had felt when he went to the zoo during his previous life and faced the roar of a tiger.

The Tyrant, Heber!

Chapter 608 - Probing

Everyone looked toward the source of the sound. The sound came from the middle district of Bloodshed Land and the location of Heber’s palace.

Ames’s eyes gleamed coldly, and she looked at Hila and Aurora before letting out a soft sigh. Her palm was then lowered and hidden within her sleeves. She was no longer planning on taking action, and the force field that had been brewing disappeared.

The tense atmosphere relaxed in that instant.

She then looked at Carroll and Malekith who had blocked her attack and calmly said, “Don’t just stand there, lead the way.”

When she decided to accept the invitation of the Tyrant, Ames had already predicted that something like this would happen. Her previous attack had already displayed her attitude. However, since the Tyrant had interfered personally and she was in his territory, she did not want a greater conflict to break out. After all, she did not come here to create trouble.

Malekith nodded and led the way.

Han Xiao then turned around to glance at Carroll.

Carroll did not say another word as he witnessed Ames’ departure. He then retracted his smile and shook his head at the other two Vanguard Officials. “I thought that she would continue attacking despite the warning. Although I made sure not to go too far, with my understanding of Ames, this level of provocation should have been enough to enrage her.”

Another Vanguard Official then said with a sigh, “The Dragon Emperor has changed. The rumors are true. She indeed wants to expand.”

The Black Star Army represented Floating Dragon’s expansion. Many organizations had noticed this situation, and Bloodshed Land was no exception.

Carroll’s mission was to probe Ames’ attitude. The majority of his words were targeted at Black Star and did not directly humiliate Ames. Through Ames’ reaction, they would be able to gain plenty of information. If she truly wanted to expand, she would not provoke a greater conflict.

…

At the same time, in Heber’s palace, only Heber and a Klent emissary were present. The footage of Ames and her entourage was displayed on the screen.

The Klent Kingdom placed great importance on the Tyrant’s gathering and treated this as an important diplomatic mission. The emissary was a high official in the Klent Kingdom and personally attended the gathering to show the close ties between the Tyrant and the Klent Kingdom.

The Klents usually had slim figures, and when standing beside the seven-meter-tall Heber, the emissary seemed extremely tiny.

“Your Excellency Tyrant, you are as powerful as ever. You do not even need to make an appearance and can make the Dragon Emperor back down with a single roar. I still thought that I would be able to witness the majestic appearance of Your Excellency taking action,” the Klent emissary said with a respectful tone.

“Hmm.” Heber shook the gigantic, specially-made wine glass in his hands without saying a thing.

“It’s a pity. If only she had decided to take action.” The Klent emissary shook his head and smiled.

“The gathering this time is a huge event. She will offend many big shots if she creates trouble. Since she wants to expand, she won’t take action,” Heber said calmly.

“Aren’t you afraid of her taking revenge after the gathering?” The Klent emissary chuckled. “She is someone who would do something like that.”

“Isn’t that what you guys would like to see the most?” Heber asked calmly.

“Haha, you are right. That would give you an excuse to suppress Floating Dragon Island.” The Klent emissary laughed. He was the one who wanted to see Ames go all out without any consideration the most. “Even the Purple Crystal Civilization wouldn’t stop you from entering Colton with this reason.”

Heber glanced at him and could not be bothered to reply. While both parties were in an alliance, their motives were different.

The Klent emissary looked at Ames’ figure on the screen and muttered to himself, “Ames… tsk tsk. If I could obtain such a woman who has the halo of a beyond Grade A Super, all other women would pale in comparison to her.”

With his status and authority, he had countless partners, and appearance was no longer what he cared about the most. Status and identity were what made a woman more charming in his eyes. As the only female among the four beyond Grade A Supers in the Shattered Star Ring, Ames was naturally the woman who was the hardest to tame.

A Star System level civilization did not dare provoke a beyond Grade A Super, but to a Star Cluster level civilization, while a beyond Grade A Super was powerful, they would not be that wary of one.

Only a gigantic organization like the Tyrant’s would be of significance to a Star Cluster level civilization.

Thus, the Klent emissary did not mind displaying his desire for Ames. In any case, it was no more than a thought.

“I hate willful women,” Heber said slowly. “Her character needs to be polished more.”

Upon hearing that, the Klent emissary shook his head. Ames was no more than a thought for him, but Heber was the one with the capability to take action.

…

Han Xiao and the others were on their way to the guest room.

After the previous conflict, the mood of the group was a little downcast.

“Black Star don’t think too much,” Ames suddenly said. “Carroll said those words on purpose.”

“I know.” Han Xiao shrugged in response.

“They should’ve been following Heber’s instructions,” Ames explained. “I wonder what his intentions are. Aesop predicted that this gathering would be different and asked me not to act rashly.”

It turned out that Ames had already gotten Aesop to make a prophecy. Perhaps Aesop had also recommended that she come for this gathering.

“Carroll was one of the earliest members of Floating Dragon. However, he betrayed me for the Tyrant, gaining a high status in Bloodshed Land.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and said, “To allow a traitor to take on an important position, the Tyrant is truly charismatic.”

Do not use an individual you doubt, and do not doubt an individual you use. Heber definitely needed to offer extremely plentiful conditions in order to poach people. When Malekith tried poaching him, Malekith had also offered him the position of Vanguard Official.

“He is the Tyrant, so he is not afraid of betrayals.”

“Why?”

“When Carroll betrayed me, the Tyrant was able to protect him, but if he betrays the Tyrant, no one in the Shattered Star Ring will be able to protect him.” Ames let out a sigh. “Furthermore, I have to admit that the Tyrant is far more charismatic a leader than I am.”

“Are you very wary of him?” Han Xiao said with his brows raised. “I still thought that you weren’t afraid of anything.”

“Of course, I am not afraid of him, but no matter how much I hate him, I cannot change the fact that he is extremely powerful.” Ames shook her head and paused for a moment before continuing. “Thus, try to remain low profile in the Tyrant’s territory. You don’t have to be angry because of Carroll. He said those words intentionally.”

Ames looked at Han Xiao and took the initiative to give an explanation. She was afraid that Han Xiao would take those words to heart.

Han Xiao felt warmth in his heart. He did not mind what Carroll had said but did not think that Ames would care about his feelings.

According to his understanding of Ames, she did not seem like the person who would care about others.

“I feel that you have changed.”

“How have I changed?” Ames smiled.

“You are more patient than before.”

Ames smiled and did not reply. She then turned around to look at Hila and Aurora.

“Aesop said that only a little child would act in such a willful manner. He asked me to change. If not, I will suffer a loss one day.”

Han Xiao rolled his eyes and replied, “That old Aesop is still so shameless. How does he have the right to say such a thing?”

“I think so too.” Ames broke out into a bright smile and chuckled.

…

The guest room provided was located in a building to the side of Heber’s palace. It was a gigantic castle that was made up entirely of guest rooms. There were already some guests who were currently staying in the guest rooms.

There were still a few days before the official start of the gathering, and many organizations would come earlier. The few days before the official start of the ceremony was the best chance to network and expand their social circle. After all, it was a rare opportunity for the big shots of the various organizations to gather together.

Malekith led the way into the castle.

At the moment, the main hall was filled with guests in small groups. The guests were all of different races and came from the different organizations of the Shattered Star Ring.

Upon hearing someone walk in, all the guests turned around to take a look. After recognizing that the incoming guest was Ames, all of them had strange looks on their faces. They wanted to come up to give their greetings but seemed to be wary about something and thus remained on the spot without moving.

All of them had heard the loud roar of the Tyrant. Since Ames and Heber had already clashed, they all felt that it was better for them to suck up to the Tyrant. Thus, no one stepped forward to strike up a conversation with her.

Ames could not be bothered, and their group left the main hall toward the rooms.

Bloodshed Land had prepared the rooms for them. Ames had her own room, Han Xiao had his own room, and Hila and Aurora shared a room.

When they got back to the rooms, Han Xiao was left alone.

He then activated a compressed orb, and it transformed into a detection device. After scanning the room, he confirmed that there were no listening devices.

Han Xiao nodded and took out another machine.

Buzz!

A brilliant beam of light flashed, and a holographic image covered the entire room. Even if there was a magic monitoring device, only the holographic image would be captured, and they would not be able to tell what he was doing.

While there were many big shots living in the castle and there should not be any listening devices, Han Xiao was used to being careful.

“Carroll…”

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and he transformed into his Chaos Body. Activating his Void Vision, his sight ignored all physical distance, and he could monitor Carroll’s actions.

The instant Ames had decided to step back, Han Xiao had planted an Observer’s Mark on Carroll and removed the position of the space pirate.

The Observer’s Mark was only there as a precautionary measure. In times of emergency, this Observer’s Mark could come in handy.

Furthermore, Carroll was the Logistics Manager of Bloodshed Land and could come in contact with important equipment and blueprints frequently. Han Xiao felt that there would be a lot to gain from him.

I can make use of the Observer’s Mark to gather intelligence during the gathering, Han Xiao thought to himself.

In his previous life, none of the players had discovered the Tyrant’s gathering because they were not able to reach such a level. This was the first time that he had heard about the gathering.

While there was a conflict along the way, this gathering should be relatively safe.

Ames was probably there to show her presence, but this was an extremely good opportunity to gather intelligence for Han Xiao. Han Xiao decided to make use of it well. With all the participants of the gathering being big shots, they might be able to reveal some important information. With his memory of the various storylines, a small hint would allow him to think of many things.

The Version refresh had always been something of great importance to Han Xiao. After all, the players in his previous life had only received very vague details of the exact timing of the refresh. Han Xiao needed greater details and hoped to gain some insights from this gathering.

Chapter 609 - New Territory, Empire Envoy

For a few consecutive days, Han Xiao and the others waited in the castle.

Everything was peaceful. Bloodshed Land’s people did not start another conflict, and the Tyrant’s Eight Ass Kissers… ahem, Eight Vanguard Officials did not appear again.

Other than not being allowed in the restricted areas, the guests could move freely in Bloodshed Land, and the soldiers would lead the tours.

Han Xiao occasionally toured Bloodshed Land.

Even the regular soldiers in Planet Heber’s headquarters were low-grade Supers; there were almost no normal people. The people under the Tyrant were mostly Pugilists, so buff guys could be seen everywhere.

The soldiers wore gray, specially-made heavy armor, which enhanced their body strength and the effect of their Pugilist energy.

Han Xiao noticed that other than the normal soldiers, Bloodshed Land also had some elite soldiers. Their individual physique was stronger, and they wore better armor. Their armor had many exterior prosthetics such as tails, wings, huge claws, and so on. From what the soldier that led the way said, those soldiers were called Thousand Beast Soldiers, one of the elite armies of Bloodshed Land.

Han Xiao was more interested in Bloodshed Land’s weapons and carriers; they were all incredibly unique and exclusive to Bloodshed Land. Clearly, the Tyrant had a group of Mechanics designing special equipment.

Bloodshed Land was happy to showcase their power to the guests, but what they showed was only the tip of the iceberg.

Han Xiao could not help but feel a sense of pressure. He was building his own organization, and although they had risen very quickly, there was still a very vast difference between them and large organizations like this, which had been around for so many years and gathered so many resources.

There was still a long way to go for the Black Star Army.

Over the past few days, guests had been arriving and entering the castles continuously.

Although Ames had come to attend the party, she was clearly unconcerned about such things. She had been staying in the room to teach Hila and Aurora, while Han Xiao represented her and socialized.

When he was not touring Bloodshed Land, Han Xiao was chatting with the guests. The guests all represented known organizations in the Shattered Star Ring, so this was a good opportunity to expand his connections and get to know other people.

There were leaders of huge financial groups, representatives of Star Cluster Civilizations, and the most successful people in various industries such as intelligence organizations and ammunition organizations. Han Xiao even saw the Mercenary Alliance’s person in charge of Shattered Star Ring, who was very friendly and had a great chat with Han Xiao.

The position, identity, and influence of the guests invited were all at the top of the pyramid in the Shattered Star Ring.

Most of the organizations had heard of Black Star. Although they did not pay much attention to him, he represented Floating Dragon, and the Black Star Army had become quite famous lately.

Han Xiao’s current Renown and Legendary Points had reached a certain level, so most of the guests acknowledged that Han Xiao could be part of the circle.

Up until now, Han Xiao had only been active around various Star Systems, which were just the tip of the iceberg of the Shattered Star Ring, so his influence was limited. Now, he had finally stepped into a higher level and met with the people that made up the ‘core’ of the Shattered Star Ring.

The other guests were divided into several levels. The comparatively lowest level consisted of the large financial groups, and in the middle were the large organizations. Floating Dragon Island was between the low and medium level.

The highest level comprised enormous organizations like Bloodshed Land, as well as the representatives of the seven Star Cluster Civilizations of the Shattered Star Ring. The degree of acknowledgment that they had for Han Xiao decreased as their level increased.

The attitude of the Star Cluster Civilization representatives toward Han Xiao was mostly limited to formalities, except two civilizations who were friendlier—the Purple Crystal Civilization and the Klent Kingdom.

Colton was Purple Crystal’s territory. Plus, Dragon Emperor had been hanging around the Colton Star Cluster. To the Purple Crystal Civilization’s representative, Han Xiao was considered half an ally to them. The Purple Crystal Civilization’s attitude was gentle and friendly.

The Klent Kingdom’s high ranked officials were more passionate. They even actively approached Han Xiao to chat, clearly showing their intention of establishing a relationship. Of course, Han Xiao had no reason to refuse.

Nonetheless, he had never had contact with any Klents, so he was quite confused as to why this guy was as passionate as an animal in heat…

After a few days, Han Xiao’s communicator obtained the contacts of hundreds of people, who were all the best in their industries. Just these connections had already made this trip worth it.

When he returned to Floating Dragon Island and shares these contacts with Jenny, she would definitely be very touched.

…

Finally, the last day before the party arrived.

That day, to their astonishing surprise, the Tyrant sent someone to Han Xiao and the others, inviting them to attend a private meeting hosted in Heber Palace.

“Heber wants to meet privately? What’s his goal?” Han Xiao was curious.

“No idea.” Ames shook her head. “We’ll know when we get there.”

She wanted to know Heber’s stance, so she accepted the invitation.

They walked into Heber Palace and arrived at a huge conference room. Three thrones hovered three meters above ground in a triangular shape.

On one of the thrones sat a seven-meter-tall giant, giving off a very strong vibe. As soon as they walked into the room, they subconsciously looked over. Heber’s presence was dominating, so he could attract the attention of others immediately.

This was the first time that Han Xiao had met Heber in person, and he was instantly reminded of a crouching lion.

Huge. That was Han Xiao’s first impression of Heber.

“Sit.” Heber looked over. His eyes were tranquil, and his tone was calm, yet it possessed a natural pressure as if dominance was deeply embedded in his bones. No matter what he did, it would give people that feeling.

Ames snorted. She hovered up and sat on one of the thrones. Han Xiao and the two sisters stood beside the throne.

“What did you call me here for?” Ames asked in a deep voice.

Heber looked at the empty third throne and said, “There’s one more person missing. We’ll talk when everyone’s here.”

Then, Tyrant closed his eyes and rested, leaving Ames aside.

Assertive… Han Xiao’s lips twitched uncontrollably.

Ames snorted, already used to it. This was Heber’s way of doing things. Straight forward and forceful, he did not like to have peaceful chats.

After a while, the gate opened again.

A child wearing an oversized Mage robe floated in wobbly, and a few tiny magic dragons swam around his body obediently.

This child’s face was chubby and round, and his ears were sharp. He only looked six or seven years old. A red and white Mage robe hung on his tiny body, like an exquisite and luxurious blanket. Instead of him wearing the Mage robe, it was more like the Mage robe wrapped him up, the tail of which almost touched the floor.

Beneath the child were a few masked men wearing black hooded robes. They were looking down as they walked, seeming mysterious.

“You’re here, too?” Ames’ tone heightened.

“Heard there’s something huge this time, so I’m here to take a look.” The child sat on the empty throne. With an exceptionally tender and childish voice, he nodded at the other two and said, “Ames, Heber, it’s been some time since we last met.”

Han Xiao then realized that this child was another Beyond Grade A in Shattered Star Ring—[Magus] Austin. An unfathomable Mage.

Austin looked very young, but he actually belonged to a long-lived race. He was born with an incomparable Magic Affinity. Like the others, he had many titles: ‘Bender of Rules’, ‘Creator of Forbidden Spells’, ‘Half Spell Body’, ‘Ruler of Arcane’, and others.

Han Xiao looked at the hooded black robe masked Mages below Austin. Every Mage crossed their arms in front of them, their hands hidden in the large sleeves, and stared at the ground like silent sculptures.

So, these are the Forbidden Sorcerers. Han Xiao squinted.

[Magus] Austin’s organization was called Hidden Red Robe Abbey, one of the holy lands of Mages in the Shattered Star Ring. They focused on studying and discussing magic, occasionally handling magic-related investigations for some civilizations. As long as one was a Mage in the Shattered Star Ring, most of them would be willing to join Hidden Red Robe Abbey. That organization had the characteristics of a guild.

Hidden Red Robe Abbey was separated into outer members and inner members. Outer members were all free people that would not have to hold much responsibility, if any. If one wanted to learn deeper magic, they had to pass tests and sign a magic contract to become inner members of Hidden Red Robe Abbey, following orders.

Only the inner members were considered to be under Austin’s command. The Forbidden Sorcerers were Hidden Red Robe Abbey’s elites. Due to different organizational structures, their military power was not as strong as that of Bloodshed Land, but if the outer members were included, their numbers would probably be much larger than Bloodshed Land.

Other than Ames, Heber had invited another Beyond Grade A. There were four Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring, and three were gathered there.

Heber then opened his eyes and said, “Everyone’s here. Let’s get down to business.”

“Wait, where’s the other guy?” Ames asked. She was talking about the last Beyond Grade A who was not there.

“He said that it’s too far, and he’s too lazy to come.”

“That sounds like him indeed.” Austin chuckled.

Heber did not want to waste time chitchatting. He got straight to the point and slowly said, “The purpose of this meeting is to introduce someone to you guys.”

The other side of the gate opened, and a person walked in. Everyone looked over with curiosity, wanting to see who this person that Heber wanted to introduce to the other two Beyond Grade As was.

This person was a human species, about 2.5 meters tall. His skin was light red, he had short hair, and his face was unique but mostly suited the aesthetic of Spacehumans. He wore a soft, uncommon robe, it looked very complex and luxurious; the material could not be determined. The patterns on the robe were exquisite, the base of which was crimson red.

Facing three Beyond Grade As, this person remained calm. He stood in between the three thrones and greeted the three of them gently.

“Let me introduce,” Heber said slowly, “the Crimson Empire’s envoy, Zoel.”

The pupils of everyone instantly contracted.

Han Xiao’s face remained the same, but there was a storm in his mind.

The Crimson Empire, one of the three Universal Civilizations!

The highest level civilization sent an envoy to attend the Tyrant’s party‽

Has Heber already formed connections with the three Universal Civilizations?

Wait a minute… Han Xiao suddenly realized a problem.

On paper, the Shattered Star Ring belonged to the Federation of Light’s territory. However, the Crimson Empire had sent an envoy secretly to the Tyrant’s party where all the important people would attend. The meaning of this was extraordinary.

Han Xiao’s mind worked fast. Suddenly, he recalled something, and the look in his eyes changed slightly.

He remembered that the background of Version 3.0 [Crimson Tide] was the expansion of the Crimson Empire, affecting various Star Fields.

It turned out that a sign had already appeared.

Han Xiao took a deep breath and calmed his emotions. The Tyrant’s party might be an ambush!

Ames frowned slightly and recalled Ames’s prophecy before departing.

This party is indeed not simple…

The room fell silent.

Zoel looked around slightly and broke the ice. “I’m honored to meet the three Beyond Grade As of the Shattered Star Ring.”

“We’re honored, too,” Austin replied before looking at Heber inquisitively.

Introducing a Crimson Empire envoy, what did this mean?

“What we are going to talk about next is the theme of this party. I’m now telling you guys in advance,” Heber said with a deep voice. “Not long ago, the Exterior Universe Explorer Device that the Federation of Light had outside the Shattered Star Ring sent a report back. It crossed an enormous area of desolate universe and was circling around a new Star Cluster area outside the edge. That’s an unowned Star Cluster, and it needs to be explored and included in the Shattered Star Ring’s map.”

The others had different expressions on their faces.

No wonder the seven Star Cluster Civilizations all sent a representative to attend this party, Han Xiao realized.

Ever since the Peace Treaty was signed, all three Universal Civilizations had been trying to explore the unexplored universe and expand the known universe.

Every time a new land appeared, new battles erupted.

Since all the Star Clusters of the Shattered Star Ring belonged to the seven Star Cluster Civilizations, the new Star Cluster was a cake that everyone wanted a piece of, if not the whole cake.

“The Federation of Light wants the new Star Cluster to be added to the Shattered Star Ring. We, however, want to deem it as the starting point of a new Star Field,” Zoel said.

Although he did not speak of the details, everyone understood what he meant.

The Shattered Star Ring was Federation of Light’s territory, but a new Star Field did not belong to anyone. The Crimson Empire’s goal was huge—what they wanted was not just a Star Cluster.

In the explored universe, the center Star Fields were bustling, and the Star Fields at the edge were more chaotic and backward. Star Fields at the border like the Shattered Star Ring were where the competition was most intense—only these places had opportunities to continue to explore and expand further.

“Therefore, on behalf of the Crimson Empire, I hope to receive help from you.” Zoel stated his goal.

Heber stayed silent. He had introduced the Crimson Empire envoy to the others, so it was clear that Bloodshed Land had made its decision.

So, the Federation of Light or the Crimson Empire?

Austin and Ames exchanged looks and stayed silent.

Han Xiao’s eyes became firm. They’re making a big move!

Chapter 610 - Openly Poaching

The three thrones floated in midair, surrounding the emissary of the Crimson Empire in the middle.

“What can we get if we help you?”

After pondering for a while, Austin was the first to respond.

Everyone present had a certain status, and even the emissary of the Crimson Empire could not expect them to work for nothing.

It was no more than a pipe dream if he wanted the beyond Grade A Supers to help him without offering any conditions.

“A new territory represents new opportunities. Only a piece of white paper is easy to color. If we are able to transform this newly discovered Star Cluster into the beginning of a new Star Field, anyone who wants to explore or expand their territory will have to enter the territory of the new Star Field. At that time, the new Star Field may become a Star Field that has the same weight as the Shattered Star Ring. The benefits hidden within it are frightening,” Zoel explained as he waved his hands to reveal a holographic star map from his communicator that had the new territory marked.

It was outside the boundary of the Shattered Star Ring, and a dark unexplored region of space was marked on it.

After crossing through a long, desolate space belt, a bright region appeared from within the dark region of space. That was the new Star Cluster that the Federation of Light had found.

From smallest to largest, the regions of the galaxy were classified as planet, Star Zone, Star System, Star Cluster, and finally Star Field.

The Crimson Empire wanted to obtain this new Star Cluster not just to expand their territory but because it formed the bridgehead for any future exploration. The Crimson Empire would then be able to make use of this new territory of theirs as the starting point of their exploration and continue to expand their territory. All the new regions that they discovered after this would belong to the new Star Field, which was part of the Crimson Empire.

The Federation of Light controlled the Shattered Star Ring, and the Crimson Empire wanted to obtain another neighboring Star Field. They were not willing to share this exploration path with the Federation of Light.

As Zoel analyzed the pros and cons of supporting him, Austin and Ames listened silently by the side.

As for Han Xiao, his attention was drawn to the star map that Zoel showed.

No matter how he looked at it, he felt the position of the Star Cluster to be extremely familiar.

After taking a closer look at it, something clicked in his head, and Han Xiao was filled with agitation.

My goodness, isn’t that part of the Flickering World‽

The [Flickering World] was the Main Storyline of a later version, and it was a completely new Star Field. Billions of stars shone brightly to light up the dark universe.

Pioneering the discovery of a Star Field would definitely bring about plenty of benefits.

The players of the entire galaxy would all participate in this Main Storyline mission to pioneer the discovery of a new Star Field. There were also countless races and civilizations that entered the Flickering World. This became an event that caused a huge reshuffle in power among all the organizations and battles to break out everywhere.

The new Star Cluster that Zoel had shown was a part of the Flickering World. It was the tip of the iceberg.

Who would have thought the events of the later versions were already beginning to unfold?

Only a small corner of the region has been discovered. To explore the new region fully, many years will be required. It is still a long way from the current version…

In the past, the players had performed missions for the various organizations, but this time, they might have the opportunity to be the ones in control. Just as the emissary had said, a new territory represented new opportunities. Perhaps this was the best chance for him to move up the food chain.

While the Black Star Army was not powerful enough and was still a great distance away from large organizations such as Bloodshed Land, Han Xiao had a huge advantage. He knew how things would develop.

If he wanted to have the rights to be in control, he needed to have a more powerful organization. They stronger he was, the more benefits he could obtain. His present self was far from sufficient. Thankfully, there were a few more versions to go.

Han Xiao could not help but grow anxious as he pondered silently.

The birth of the Flickering World meant one thing. The Crimson Empire succeeded in the end and managed to snatch the new Star Cluster from the Federation of Light and transform it into a new Star Field.

When he was deep in thought, Zoel had finished explaining his conditions. In summary, the Crimson Empire would provide them with aid in secret.

The support of a Universal Civilization was a very tempting condition. While the Federation of Light was in control of the Shattered Star Ring, they rarely interacted with the various organizations of the Shattered Star Ring and appeared to be high above.

Austin frowned and had a serious look on his face. However, when coupled together with his childish appearance, it looked extremely comical and adorable.

“I am not too interested in such a matter and would rather study curses at home. So, I apologize, but I would like to remain neutral. I can only promise you that I will not help the Federation of Light.”

After considering for a while, Austin gave his response. He wanted to stay out of this matter and remain neutral.

“I understand.” Zoel was not too surprised. They were all beyond Grade As, so he could not force the other party. The outcome of the other party remaining neutral was not too bad. Zoel had only managed to persuade Heber to help him after putting in a great deal of effort. The main purpose of the meeting today was to inform them of their empire’s stand and reduce the number of helpers for the Federation of Light.

“What about you, Ames?” Heber asked.

Ames was not interested in such a matter and was about to follow Austin and reject the proposition. However, she paused for a moment and looked at Han Xiao.

“Black Star, what do you think?”

“Hmm?”

Han Xiao was currently deep in thought, and upon being called, he was stunned for a moment.

Seeing everyone’s gaze on him, Han Xiao pondered for a moment before nodding. “The Crimson Empire can naturally be trusted with their reputation. The esteemed emissary is correct in saying that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity with great benefits hidden within it. I personally feel that the Crimson Empire has a sixty percent chance of succeeding at the very least.”

Zoel’s eyes lit up, and he revealed a smile. While wondering when he had successfully converted this fellow, he nodded at Han Xiao and said, “Good eyesight.”

Han Xiao also nodded back in response. “Thus, I feel that you shouldn’t be in a hurry to reject. This isn’t a bad thing.”

Upon hearing that, Ames thought for a moment and did not reject Zoel directly but said, “Let me think about this.”

The expressions of both Austin and Heber immediately changed.

Both of them had known Ames for years and knew that Ames had actually intended to reject the proposition. However, she had immediately changed her mind after listening to Han Xiao’s advice.

Black Star’s importance to the Dragon Emperor had far exceeded their expectations.

Not just a hired thug but an advisor? Austin stroked his chin and fell into deep thought. That’s right, with Ames’ personality, she will need a reliable strategist if she wants to expand, and Black Star seems pretty capable.

“Black Star, I heard from Malekith that he tried to poach you but was rejected,” Heber said.

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed, and he slowly nodded.

“I rarely try a second time, but I would like to ask you again personally.”

Heber raised his arm out to Han Xiao and said in a solemn tone, “Black Star, join me.”

Boom!

Ames’ aura exploded, and an immense pressure was exuded.

Her tone was chilly.

“Trying to poach one of my men before me, do you not respect me at all‽”

The frightening pressure assaulted Heber from all directions, but it seemed as though he could not feel it. He ignored Ames and fixed his gaze on Han Xiao. “Do you agree or not?”

Han Xiao’s face began contorting.

Oh my goodness, poaching someone so openly, he is truly tyrannical.

He had never expected Heber to personally make an invitation at this moment. This fellow truly did not care about what the occasion was and only about how hard his fists are!

“My apologies, but my answer is the same.” Han Xiao shook his head helplessly.

Heber nodded and was not angered by the rejection. It was as though he had never brought up this topic at all.

He liked talents but was not willing to force someone who did not want to submit.

The force field was still growing in strength, and Heber turned around to look at Ames. “Aren’t you going to stop your force field? Do you want to fight?”

Ames remained expressionless as her aura continued to grow. She almost wanted to completely ignore the advice that Aesop had given her.

Austin could only interfere helplessly lest they ended up fighting. With a snap of his fingers, he cast a calming spell on Ames.

“Alright, alright, this isn’t the first day you’ve known her. Don’t act so rashly.”

Chapter 611 - The Battle

After dozens of layers of buffs were cast on Ames, her fury was finally dampened. She snorted and deactivated her Esper ability.

Heber did not mind it; it was not the first time he had confronted Ames. He turned and nodded at Zoel.

“So, I shall leave. I look forward to the result of your consideration.” Zoel got the gesture, gave his contact details to Ames, smiled, and was about to turn around and walk out of the room.

Looking at the envoy’s retreating back, Han Xiao was suddenly hesitant. Should I plant a mark on Zoel? It seems quite rewarding.

He did not forget that this was a private meeting before the party officially started. When the party started the next day, only then would Heber introduce Zoel to all the guests. That would be the time that things started to escalate.

The Crimson Empire would not snatch the territory themselves because once they did, the Federation of Light would act, and the conflict would grow into a much bigger issue. Since this was not yet the stage to have such a large-scale conflict, the Crimson Empire was trying to bond with the Shattered Star Ring’s organizations, drawing more chess pieces to their side of the universe chessboard.

Throwing an Observer’s Mark would allow him to see what the Crimson Empire was doing backstage and how many organizations joined the Crimson Empire. This was very precious intelligence.

However, although Observer’s Mark left close to zero trails and even Ames could not notice it, there were two more Beyond Grade As present, so there was a chance that he might get noticed. Plus, the Crimson Empire’s people might have special techniques to prevent things like that.

Hmm, I’ll give it a try. Even if I get noticed, it’s not too serious a problem. He wants us to be on his side, and we’re not enemies.

A tiny tint of gray light flashed through his eyes, and an Observer’s Mark was planted on Zoel.

Ames and Heber did not notice at all.

Neither did Zoel. He left the room, and the gate covered his figure.

This time, Han Xiao suddenly realized that someone was looking at him. He turned around and saw that Austin was staring right at him.

He noticed? Han Xiao’s heart skipped a beat.

Everyone’s abilities were different. Ames and Heber could not notice, but Austin was a Mage, so he was sensitive to all kinds of energy. Despite the ripples of Void Energy being miniscule, they did not escape his senses.

However, Austin did not say anything. He just gave Han Xiao a friendly smile and looked elsewhere.

Han Xiao did not get what he meant. Anyway, not being exposed was a good thing.

“If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving.” Ames was annoyed by the sight of Heber and did not want to stay there.

“Wait.” This time, Heber spoke.

“What else?” Ames frowned.

“I heard you’ve been expanding your forces recently. We can work together,” Heber slowly said.

“Work together?” Ames gave a faint smile. “Do you think we have a very good relationship?”

“I can forget about that nonsense when you fought your way onto Planet Heber,” Heber said.

“Then keep remembering.” Ames could not be bothered to argue. She stood up from the throne, turned away, and left.

Han Xiao took along Hila and Aurora and followed her out of the room.

Austin laughed loudly. “Hahaha, Heber, she just dislikes you more and more.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Heber was not bothered.

“I thought you were going to make the marriage proposal again.”

“Forget it, she probably won’t agree this time too.” Heber shook his head.

“Seriously, you both have very tough personalities. If you want to get her, you have to tone it down,” Austin said jokingly. His personality was very casual, and he had a good relationship with both of them. He knew the history of Heber chasing Ames.

“I won’t change for any woman.” Heber waved his hands.

He was not too determined about Ames. In the entire Shattered Star Ring, Heber thought only Ames who was Beyond Grade A like him could match him, only she was strong enough to be his partner. It had no element of love or emotion.

If he could get Ames, his organization would have two Beyond Grade As, which would be a tremendous increase.

Heber disdained deception and did not bother wasting time; he had always been straight forward and did not avoid speaking of his real goal of chasing Ames.

Austin still remembered back then when Heber first proposed to Ames and how furious Ames had been. He wanted to laugh every time he thought of it.

…

When Han Xiao and the others reached the gate of the palace, Carroll just happened to be on the way in, and they met.

“You people again.”

Carroll did not have any intention of taunting this time and did not glue his eyes to Ames, unlike last time. His expression was calm as if Han Xiao and the others were just passersby.

Ames glanced at him. Although she was unhappy, she could not do anything in Tyrant’s territory, so she ignored Carroll.

Just as they were about to pass each other by, Han Xiao suddenly pressed onto Carroll’s shoulder and grabbed him tightly like an iron claw.

Puzzled, Carroll turned around and asked, “What are you doing?”

“I remember that you said before I’m just your replacement?” Han Xiao squinted. “Since you call yourself my senior, give me some guidance then.”

Carroll’s expression changed. He had thought that the previous taunting incident was over, but Han Xiao’s sudden action after a few days was unexpected to him.

Ames stopped, also surprised.

“What do you mean? Do you want to fight here? This is Planet Heber!” Carroll said in a slightly threatening manner.

“Don’t worry, I just want to spar with you. I want to see how strong the traitor is.” Han Xiao chuckled. “The Tyrant’s subordinate wouldn’t not dare accept a challenge, right?”

“I got it. This is Ames’ orders, isn’t it?” Carroll felt that he had guessed correctly. It had to be because Ames was unhappy about the outcome of what had happened earlier, so she had ordered Black Star to challenge him. If it was just a spar between officers, Heber would not say anything.

Hehe, is she this confident in this new officer of hers?

Carroll’s face turned cold and said, “Okay, I accept your challenge. Hope you don’t lose too fast.”

Bloodshed Land was his stage; he could use countless machines. Even if Black Star’s name had been loud recently, he did not step back.

Carroll had heard about Ames’ new officer. He also wanted to gauge Han Xiao’s full strength. He wanted to see what kind of person Ames had found to replace him.

Furthermore, his position was sensitive. He now represented the Tyrant. Since Ames had ordered Black Star to challenge him, he could not back down. Even though Heber could protect him, considering the Tyrant’s personality, things would not go well for him if he was afraid of the challenge.

Bloodshed Land despised cowards the most. Someone that was not a battle maniac had no chance of obtaining a high position under the Tyrant.

Han Xiao curled his lips and suddenly said, “We’re both Mechanics, just sparring isn’t fun. How about a bet?”

“On what?”

“Let’s bet… five sets of machinery blueprints, what do you say? The loser has to give whatever blueprint the winner requests.” Han Xiao smiled wickedly.

Betting blueprints… Carroll frowned heavily. Blueprints were the lifeline of a Mechanic, so Mechanics betting blueprints on was not uncommon.

“Okay.” Carroll nodded.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

There were many factors that had made him suddenly challenge Carroll.

Ames could not battle, but he could. Being high profile to a certain extent and showcasing his abilities was beneficial to increasing his position in this circle. Plus, it could help Ames relieve some anger.

If the Tyrant interfered in a spar between officers, it would be utterly embarrassing.

Secondly, he had been peeking on Carroll for the past few days and roughly knew his strength. Knowing the enemy guaranteed him an edge in the battle. Furthermore, he had noticed that Carroll had a few rather good machines, so he had proposed a bet to win some machinery blueprints.

He would never fight a battle without benefits.

The third and the most important reason was that a new faction mission had appeared on his interface.

_____________________

[Ames’ Fury]

Mission Introduction: The traitor’s provocation and the Tyrant’s disrespect have made Ames enraged. As a member of Floating Dragon, you know what you need to do.

Mission Requirements: Defeat Carroll publicly.

Reward: 15,000,000 Experience. +2500 Floating Dragon Faction Favorability, +30 Ames Favorability, +2 Heber Favorability, +15 Renown.

Failure Punishment: -20 Ames Favorability, -5 Heber Favorability.

Remarks: Different mission results will result in different effects.

Chapter 612 - Resource Battle?

“Here will do.” Carroll brought the others to Bloodshed Land’s Open Air Combat Training Ground No. 30 and stood opposite Han Xiao. He then moved a long distance away till Han Xiao became a small dot in his eyes.

Han Xiao looked around. This training ground was empty and unobstructed. Around its edges were tall mechanical towers connected by dozens of blue, high-temperature electromagnetic wires. It looked like a futuristic baseball field but many times larger.

The floor was made of gray metal plates. Burn marks left by explosions and slash marks could be seen all around the place, some pits too. Clearly, this training ground was often used.

“In my territory, you have to follow my rules.” Carroll’s voice came from afar. “First, the battle area is limited to this training ground. If you cause destruction outside of this, you’ll bear the consequences. Second, causing severe damage to the opponent is not allowed. So, don’t worry, your life won’t be in danger.”

As Carroll spoke, he activated the training ground. The floor trembled. Pits appeared from the metal floor, and mechanical soldiers rose up one after another, surrounding Carroll.

Hum!

The mechanical towers at the edge of the training ground vibrated. A beam of light shot out from their peaks, gathering on top, forming a projection of a three-minute timer.

Carroll smirked and said, “Don’t say I’m bullying you. Before we start, you have three minutes to prepare. After three minutes, this place will be covered by a protective shield.”

Black Star was a guest. He would not have brought too many combat machines, and they would most probably be stored in his ship. By giving him three minutes to get the machines, after the shield covered the place, Black Star would be unable to receive external support and would only be able to fight with the machines in the venue.

As for Carroll, he had a continuous supply of armies because Combat Training Ground No. 30 was a facility that released machines from below to let people train with them. Many routes used to transport mechanical soldiers were hidden under the metal plates on the floor, connected to the logistics warehouse underground. This meant that even with the protective shield, Carroll could obtain a nonstop supply of backup.

Carroll knew that a battle between two Mechanics would most likely become a battle of resources. Black Star had limited resources while he had infinite, so he was already undefeated.

The protective shield was transparent. It was a perfect opportunity for him to publicly shame Black Star.

He could basically foresee the ending of the battle—Black Star’s machines would be used up, scraps would be everywhere, Black Star himself would be surrounded by his army, and he could look down on Black Star from a high spot casually, making Black Star admit his defeat.

Ames wanted to let her subordinate vent her anger, so defeating her subordinate would make her even more embarrassed.

Furthermore, he did not hide his main stage advantage. If Black Star cowered from it and cancelled the challenge, knowing it would end in his defeat, Ames would lose face as well.

One way or another, he was only going to benefit from it.

Carroll smiled confidently.

On the other side, Han Xiao was not surprised by Carroll’s main stage advantage at all. He contacted Risda and told him to bring the Blacklight Stealth over, airdropping his Army Boxes.

Ames was still standing by him. “Black Star, are you confident?”

“A little,” Han Xiao replied casually.

“Then, I shall trust you.”

Ames’ tone was gentle like the wind. Although Han Xiao challenging Carroll to a battle surprised her, it was clear that Han Xiao was doing it for her. She was happy for some reason.

She had always placed a lot of trust in Han Xiao, and this was no exception. She patted Han Xiao’s shoulders and took Hila and Aurora out of the place. They went up the tall building beside the training ground and watched the fight from above.

Around the training ground, there were people climbing up the buildings to watch the fight every minute. There were hundreds of them, all Bloodshed Land officers or elite soldiers. Malekith and a few other Vanguard Officials were among them. They formed small groups and chatted.

The fight between Carroll and Black Star was not kept secret; the message very quickly got passed to the officers. They all came to the scene to watch the battle.

“Black Star is quite daring to challenge our officer in our territory,” a Vanguard Official said as he looked at the two people in the venue.

“He challenged Carroll because he’s Floating Dragon’s traitor?”

“Must be. A few days ago, Ames was forced to hold back by His Excellency Tyrant. She’s probably resentful, so she let Black Star fight for her. Hehe, it’ll be embarrassing to lose.” Someone looked at Ames who was also watching from afar and speculated, “Maybe Ames will stop the fight when her subordinate is in danger.”

“Carroll’s strength, tsk…” Malekith shook his head slightly.

The impression that the Vanguard Officials had of Carroll was very complicated. On one hand, he was a traitor. Although Tyrant was confident using him, him being a traitor still made others not want to get close to him.

On the other hand, Carroll was in charge of logistics and had almost no opportunity to fight. Unlike them, the Vanguard Officials, who were signatures of Bloodshed Land and all well known, Malekith and the others did not know Carroll’s strength clearly. All they knew was that he was also Grade A.

“He has the location advantage no matter what, so he basically won’t lose.”

…

In the palace, Heber was still casually chatting with Austin.

This time, Austin’s expression suddenly changed, and he said in a strange tone, “Tyrant, it seems that a problem is occurring in your territory.”

Heber frowned, took out his communicator, pressed a few times, and got the report from his subordinates.

“Black Star challenged Carroll?”

Austin cast a spell, and space rippled. A large mirror appeared, showing the scene of the training ground.

“It seems like they’re about to fight. Aren’t you going to stop them?” Austin asked.

Heber looked at the mirror, thought for a moment, and shook his head. “Since Ames is not involved, I have no reason to stop a normal spar.”

“What if your man loses?”

“My Bloodshed Land is not one to never admit defeat.” Heber pointed at the mirror. “Keep watching.”

…

At the same time, three party guests were following a Bloodshed Land soldier and touring the place.

The Purple Crystal Civilization’s representative Ralph was walking side by side with a high-ranking Klent official and having a great chat. The relationship between Purple Crystal and Klent had always been good.

Behind them, the leader of a financial group followed. His name was Rossozzi. His business was huge and invested in both Star Clusters. He could be somewhat considered Ralph and the Klent high ranking official’s friend.

The three of them were discussing business issues, when a group of people suddenly flew over them, catching their attention.

“Where are those people going?’ Ralph asked curiously.

The soldier shook his head and said, “I don’t know. They seem to be heading toward Combat Training Ground No. 30.

Just as he was done speaking, another group of people bolted past them from above, and a dark spaceship quickly flew by.

The three of them were all knowledgeable people. They recognized that the spaceship was the Federation of Light’s Stealth Grade spaceship. Of all the guests, it seemed like only one person had a Blacklight Stealth.

Floating Dragon’s Black Star!

The Klent high ranking official was instantly interested. “Looks like something happened. Let’s go and take a look.”

Ralph shrugged and did not mind it, neither did Rossozzi.

…

When the countdown had about a minute and a half left, the Blacklight Stealth arrived above the venue. Six Army Boxes descended from above like meteors, dragging a long tail of flames.

Han Xiao raised his hand toward the sky, and a bolt of tree-shaped lightning shot up into the sky from the ground, hitting the six Army Boxes. They opened in midair, and compressed orbs fell like rain onto the floor.

Clank!

The instant they landed, the compressed orbs expanded and turned into six Mechanical Armies.

Mechanical Beast Guards Army, Strike Artillery Regiment, G-1 Steel Army Corps, G-2 Heavy Armor Riders, and Mini Cube Troops occupied the venue and surrounded Han Xiao. Han Xiao was in a sea of machines.

Twelve Elite Oathkeepers guarded Han Xiao. Their exterior armor rippled from head to toe like moving scales, carrying out a self-check.

All sorts of artilleries landed behind him or hovered in midair. Other than the regular electromagnetic artilleries and laser artilleries, there were the new lava artilleries and heat artilleries.

The number of troops is a little high.

Carroll was surprised.

Nonetheless, he was still completely confident.

Black Star’s Mechanical Army only occupied a small part of the training ground, while his Mechanical Army had a much higher number and almost occupied half of the place.

And it was still increasing.

There was a round of machinery transport gates at the edge of the training ground. Standard mechanical soldiers crawled out one after another, surrounding Black Star’s army.

Almost endless backup, this was where Carroll’s confidence came from.

So many machines. Black Star definitely spent a lot of time and money.

Evil intentions flashed through Carroll’s eyes.

If I destroy all his machines, Black Star’s strength will be greatly decreased. His stock will all be gone.

The formation was complete. Since there would be a protective shield later, Han Xiao did not use Eye of God. He checked through the machines; there was around ten seconds left on the timer.

Boom!

The mechanical towers at the edges activated. A light blue shield slowly rose up and shrouded the venue. All the spectators were blocked outside.

The ceiling was hundreds of meters high. When the shield completely closed, the countdown would end.

The style, technology, and model of the machines controlled by Carroll were all clearly different from Han Xiao’s. Most of them were standard disposable machines.

Buzz!

The two of them released Mechanical Force at the same time. Thunder and lightning roared. Calamity Grade Mechanics had the [Mechanical Force Field] ability, which made the Mechanical Force enhancements cover an area. The entire place was covered.

After so long, I’ve finally encountered a Mechanic of the same grade. Han Xiao squinted. This was his first time battling a Mechanic of his grade.

Berserk Ape wrapped around his body, and a virtual screen appeared before him, displaying the Virtual Intrusion image.

Carroll was not a Virtual Mechanic; he wore a Single Unit Mechanical Suit. Pieces of armor extended from his armor and quickly turned into a more than thirty-meter-tall heavy fortress, covering Carroll from all angles. The thick and heavy armor clearly had impressive defensive capabilities.

From the gap between the fortress, many large-caliber cannons extended out.

Carroll used the Heavy Machinery Style. Large size; heavy, thick armor; strong firepower… those were the clear specialties. This was a heavy, defensive carrier. Carroll wanted to make use of his advantage in a battle of resources, so he gave himself a hard, thick turtle shell.

He was not Han Xiao; he did not have a tough body and was most afraid of enemies rushing close. Therefore, he used a defensive strategy and planned to not even let Han Xiao touch him.

“Correct method.” Malekith and the other spectators nodded. They did not think that Carroll was a coward—this was a suitable strategy given the situation.

Just as Carroll’s fortress was fully expended, the shield completely closed, and the countdown ended!

Boom!

The next instant, lasers flashed, and cannon fire roared!

The battle had erupted!

Han Xiao’s Mechanical Army clashed with Carroll’s!

Boom boom boom!

The armies fought intensely; the scene became chaotic.

Machines could not talk, so they fought in silence. Metal crashed against metal, creating bright sparks.

Boom!

The large-caliber cannons on Carroll’s heavy fortress locked onto Han Xiao and fired. Every shot made the barrels recoil instantly. The sound of firing was like a hammer smashing onto metal.

Hu!

Huge balls of light went straight to Han Xiao, and the high temperature bent the air around them.

Just as they were about to hit Han Xiao, Watcher Instrument opened like a peacock opening its feathers. It appeared behind Han Xiao and flew in front of him, turning into force field bending shields. The attacks did not explode when hitting the shield but were diverted toward other directions.

Bang bang bang!

All the cannon fire was deflected. Some shots flew far away, hit the protective shield, and exploded; some landed on the ground, stirring up a strong wind, tearing down the mechanical soldiers of both sides in the area.

Han Xiao glanced around. He clenched his fist. Mechanical Force lightning landed on the parts on the ground. [Waste Modification] resurrected his mechanical soldiers, allowing them to continue the battle.

Seeing this, Carroll stopped attacking Han Xiao. His heavy fortress started targeting Han Xiao’s Mechanical Army, wanting to quickly eliminate Black Star’s army.

“It won’t be so easy!” Han Xiao snorted.

Buzz!

He raised his hand. The pipe on his arm launched a string of compressed orbs. They expanded midair and turned into more than ten huge mechanical arms. The next second, these mechanical arms nano-shapeshifted, combined together, and turned into a hundred-meter-wide palm, three times bigger than Carroll’s heavy fortress!

Han Xiao waved his hand. The gigantic palm slapped right down onto the top of the heavy fortress, like a palm hitting a ping pong ball.

Boom!

The wind blew away the surrounding mechanical soldiers. Even through the protective shield, Malekith and the others outside could feel it.

The metal ground cracked open from the heavy pressure, but the heavy fortress was covered by a shield and was hardly damaged.

Inside the heavy fortress, Carroll sneered. This fortress was not something ordinary but an important equipment that he had made; it could block Calamity Grade attacks.

This time, Carroll felt the fortress suddenly start trembling.

The gigantic palm’s fingers bent and pulled the heavy fortress out of the ground. Like throwing a baseball, it swung and sent the heavy fortress flying across a long distance, heavily landing on the protective shield and creating a string of electrical sparks.

Boom!

The Bloodshed Land elites in that direction of the protective shield almost fell from seeing a huge pile of metal flying toward them.

The heavy fortress rolled and landed on the ground, shaking the floor. However, the shield still protected the fortress. Its damage was negligible—remarkable defense. Only Carroll, who was inside, suffered from the sudden fall.

Malekith saw this and analyzed, “Carroll’s defense is very strong. Black Star seems to be unable to break through Carroll’s armor. It looks like this battle will be under Carroll’s control and turned into a complete battle of resources. That’s Black Star’s fatal weakness.”

Chapter 613 - Turned Table

“This fortress’s defense is quite good. It’s Grade A equipment.”

Excitement flashed through Han Xiao’s eyes.

Carroll’s information popped up on the interface. His level was higher, some of his attributes and abilities were question marks, and his Energy Rank and health could not be seen.

Han Xiao was not surprised. He was only level 142, so even regular Grade As had a higher level than him.

The heavy fortress’ defense was very strong but not indestructible. However, Han Xiao did not want to fight head-on. As a Virtual Mechanic, he had his professional ethics. He started Virtual Intrusion and gave the controls of the gigantic palm to Phillip.

“Phillip, have some fun with him. Block his fire and don’t let him destroy too much of my army.”

“Order confirmed. Executing, hum…”

The gigantic palm slapped down again. Suddenly, the bottom of the heavy fortress emitted thrusting flames. The bulky fortress took off and dodged the attack, moving quickly in midair.

This was a flying fortress.

The gigantic palm chased the heavy fortress, and they started to duel in midair.

As Han Xiao focused on Virtual Intrusion, flames surrounded him, and the Mechanical Armies of the two sides fought intensely.

The strength of the five newly updated armies did not just increase by a little. Turquoise lava cannons blasted through iron; heat cannons melted metal; Space Bending Bombs were like mini black holes, creating vortexes in space everywhere they exploded; not to mention, the Mini Nuclear Mines could even plant mushrooms.

The Cube Army formed teams of three sizes: normal-sized Mini Cube Robots, small fused mechanical soldiers about half a man tall, and robots that were the height of a mini giant. They all had their advantages; some were swift, and some were tough.

The G-2 Heavy Armor Riders slashed right through the enemies. All sorts of melee weapons shattered their foes into countless parts all over the floor, creating blank spaces on the battlefield like erasers.

The performance of Han Xiao’s Mechanical Army was an entire level higher than Carroll’s standard mechanical soldiers; they were all semi elites.

The efficiency of the slaughter was exceptional, cutting down Carroll’s mechanical army area by area.

Han Xiao’s Mechanical Army had the upper hand from the moment the battle started.

However, the backup came nonstop and could not be fully eliminated. The wreckages stacked up on the ground. Carroll was dedicated to using up Han Xiao’s stash; he did not even control the army to attack Han Xiao and only focused on his Mechanical Army. He did not care even if he had to lose three of his units in exchange for one of Han Xiao’s.

As such, Han Xiao’s five armies were slowly losing numbers.

The mechanical soldiers that occasionally got close to Han Xiao were either blasted by the Watcher Instrument or shattered by Oathkeepers.

This kind of battle of resources was like a stalemate.

A Vanguard Official could not help but ask, “How long are they going to fight for?”

Malekith shook his head and said, “At least a few hours.”

This time, another shadow jumped up. The other Vanguard Officials looked over and were shocked.

“Number two, you’re here too!”

“Hmm, the commander told me to take a look.” The person who had just arrived was a tall, skinny human. His body shape was a breath of fresh air among the muscular men that filled Bloodshed Land.

This guy’s nickname was Hunting Blade. There were different styles among the Pugilist class, not just the brutal style. The one that he took involved using swift weapons. He was ranked second among the Eight Vanguard Officials, hence, number two.

There were rankings among the eight Vanguard Officials. The commander Vanguard Official was the boss; he was the most senior and strongest among the Vanguard Officials. He had been receiving personal guidance from Heber, reaching Grade A+, and was a training maniac. He spent almost all his free time in training. Second seat Hunting Blade was very strong, too. The two of them usually carried out more dangerous missions and could hardly be seen. Now that Hunting Blade had suddenly appeared, it surprised the other Vanguard Officials.

Upon briefly looking at the battle, Hunting Blade quickly analyzed it and slowly said, “Black Star looks to be having the upper hand but is actually stuck. Carroll wants to drag the battle out, so Black Star must quickly end the battle. If he can’t penetrate Carroll’s defense, when his armies are too damaged, the situation will take a direct turn downward, and he will lose for sure.”

“That’s what I thought.” Malekith nodded. “The situation is looking good. Carroll has the home advantages and is considerably strong. Black Star has a very slim chance of winning.”

“Carroll is… not too bad.”

Hunting Blade nodded and expressed his approval for Carroll’s strength.

On the other side, Ralph and the other two arrived. They climbed up the building to watch the battle, asked the spectators around them, and figured out what was going on.

“Black Star challenged Bloodshed Land’s officer in their territory? He’s got some guts.”

Ralph was shocked.

“He’s doing it for Ames. Floating Dragon Island’s current officer challenging an ex-officer and traitor, it’s meaningful.” The high-ranking Klent official chuckled.

Ralph nodded. He turned to look at Ames, who was not far away, and realized that Ames was completely focused on the battle.

…

Boom!

The attacks from both sides never stopped, and it was entering a stalemate.

Suddenly, Carroll’s heavy fortress sped up in an instant and distanced itself from the gigantic palm before shapeshifting.

The heavy machines split up into mechanical parts and combined again. At the same time, Carroll threw out a pile of compressed orbs that expanded into new parts. Countless parts quickly fused together.

In the blink of an eye, the parts became a forty-meter-tall huge, human-shaped mechanical suit!

Large Battle Suit, [Giant Soldier—Ship Destroyer]!

The Ship Destroyer was human-shaped. It had two arms and two legs but no head. Its top was the tapered ending of its body. Its color was striped black and green. Thick, heavy armor covered its joints and weaknesses. It was wide and short on top, and narrow and long below. Its legs were equipped with thrusters and caterpillar track wheels. Its body was covered in mounted weapons, and behind it was a pair of metal thruster wings.

To describe it in a simpler way, this thing looked like an upside-down green trash can with limbs and wings.

Carroll looked at Han Xiao from above before sitting in the cockpit in the middle of its body.

Bang!

The Ship Destroyer made a swift roll after landing, its huge body shaking the ground. It then half squatted on the floor and pulled out a Thermal Melting Sword with one hand as its other hand’s armored plate expanded into a huge bulky alloy shield.

The Heavy Machinery Style replied on various enormous machines for combat. These large mechanical suits were usually called Giant Soldier Mechanical Suits. Its thirty to forty meters height could compare to some smaller spaceships.

Such a large size meant that more energy sources and complex structures could be included inside, so its performance was remarkably high, and it could be used to battle in space. It was equivalent to a more mobile and agile galactic carrier.

Virtual Mechanics could take part in universe wars by hacking; Heavy Armor Mechanics could build these Gundam-like Giant Soldiers to fight battleships.

The Ship Destroyer Giant Soldier held the alloy shield in front and started sprinting forward. Its shield heavily clashed with Han Xiao’s gigantic palm. The tremendous force instantly deflected the gigantic palm aside. Overpowering the gigantic palm twice its size, the Ship Destroyer raised its Thermal Melting Sword and slashed horizontally across the battlefield.

Hu!

The high temperature produced white light that slashed across a huge area. Friend or foe, countless mechanical soldiers were shattered into pieces by the heavy sword.

Han Xiao squinted. The Watcher Instrument fused together into a large caliber cannon. A bucket thick dark blue light beam launched out and landed straight on the Ship Destroyer’s chest.

Hum!

A light-yellow shield appeared and blocked this light beam. The light beam exploded into countless pieces and could not hurt the Ship Destroyer itself.

Even Gundam is out. He’s really motivated.

Han Xiao curled his lips. He was not surprised at all. After so many days of peeking, he had seen Carroll maintaining this Giant Soldier mechanical suit several times.

The Class Advancement of a Mechanic also affected the result of fusing blueprints. After choosing one branch, other than the Potential Point cost of learning knowledges from the other branches being tripled, some of the blueprints of the other two branches could not be fused.

Han Xiao had chosen Virtual Mechanic, so when he gambled on blueprints, he could not get some of the Heavy Armor Mechanic blueprints, such as Giant Soldiers like the Ship Destroyer.

Carroll clearly did not use the Giant Soldier to just defeat Han Xiao; it would be like trying to kill a mosquito with a cannon.

His goal was to use the Giant Soldier to quickly wipe out Black Star’s Mechanical Army.

He did not want to use the Ship Destroyer trump card initially, but the quality of Black Star’s Mechanical Army was beyond his expectations. His disposable troops died too fast, and the backup could barely keep up. If he did not use the Giant Soldier, Carroll worried that he might have lost control of the situation.

“Carroll turned from defensive to offensive. Even I can feel the energy wave of this Giant Soldier. It’s very strong. It would take me a very long time to defeat it.” Outside the protective shield, shocked, Malekith’s impression of Carroll improved.

Hunting Blade nodded. “Now, this is decent.”

Far away in the palace, Heber let out a faint hum, expressing commendation.

At this time, a sudden change occurred on the battlefield!

The mechanical soldiers on the training ground suddenly all stopped moving as if someone had pressed the ‘pause’ button.

Carroll was stunned. Just as he wanted to control the Ship Destroyer and move, what he got was a bunch of random noises from the control panel. The artificial intelligence did not reply at all, and the nerves connection completely stopped working.

The Ship Destroyer stood still just like all the machines on the training ground.

The battlefield that had just been filled with bullets suddenly became deadly silent.

The sudden change caused the expressions of all the spectators to stiffen.

Ding!

A crisp sound came from the Berserk Ape’s Virtual Intrusion panel.

Han Xiao clenched his face and snickered.

His voice traveled out, extremely loud and clear on the completely silent battlefield, so everyone could hear him.

“Alright, the foreplay is finished.”

Han Xiao clearly knew that Carroll had the home advantage, so he had never been willing to turn this into a battle of resources. He had used the Mechanical Armies to stall the enemy’s troops and give himself time to use Virtual Intrusion.

Now, with Risda and Phillip’s support, the hacking was complete.

These standard machines were all controlled by the same artificial intelligence, which was beaten up by Risda and had lost control. All the machines controlled by Carroll stopped functioning—they would only recover after a system reboot.

Taking the opportunity, Han Xiao walked toward the Giant Soldier.

Dong! Dong!

As he walked forward, rows and rows of mechanical soldiers fell to the ground, all paralyzed. The scene was magnificent, like thousands of people kneeling to welcome their king!

One word, glorious!

Han Xiao walked forward unobstructed—this was the easiest process of closing the distance he ever had.

Virtual Mechanics were best at fighting other Mechanics. As the saying went, ‘No cannons, no guns? The enemy will build for us.’

Seeing all his machines being taken over by Han Xiao, Carroll’s face inside the Ship Destroyer cockpit was furious. He felt a strong sense of humiliation.

As a Mechanic, when his machines were taken away by someone else, it was an indescribable feeling, like losing all dignity.

“Quickly, reboot the system!” Carroll yelled.

“Dia—Diagnosing, getting rid of the virus, estimated time unknown…”

An alarm echoed in the cockpit, accompanied by a piercing noise.

“Sh*t, it’s too late!” Seeing Han Xiao approaching, Carroll finally started to panic.

However, he still held onto the last bit of hope. As Black Star wanted to do this as quickly as possible, he only used the most brutal way to paralyze the Ship Destroyer’s operating system and did not obtain its control. Therefore, he could still hide in the Ship Destroyer.

As long as Han Xiao did not penetrate the Ship Destroyer’s armor before he rebooted the system, he would still have a chance to regain control of the situation.

However, the next moment, Carroll’s last hope was gone.

All of Han Xiao’s Mechanical Army aimed at the Ship Destroyer, and countless attacks covered the sky. The Ship Destroyer’s shield only lasted two seconds against those attacks before shattering.

Boom!

The chest armor was focused on as explosions erupted. The Ship Destroyer could not handle such a strong force and collapsed to the ground, face up.

The gigantic hand disassembled itself and turned into more than ten large mechanical hands, which became drills and dug out a hole in the Ship Destroyer’s body.

Between the wires and energy pipes, Carroll’s cockpit was exposed.

Due to the system failure, Carroll could not even parachute out. The Ship Destroyer became a cell that imprisoned him.

Looking at Han Xiao jumping into the cockpit, with a horrified expression, Carroll hastily said, “I admit…”

Before he could finish, Han Xiao’s large hand grabbed onto his mouth like an iron claw, making Carroll swallow the rest of his words.

“Go!”

Berserk Throw!

Boom!

Carroll was thrown out of the Ship Destroyer and flew right into the sky rolling, ascending hundreds of meters quickly and landing on the ceiling of the training ground’s shield.

He did not have a strong physique. Despite being Calamity Grade Super, his toughness was far beneath that of a Pugilist. His head was spinning from this throw, and he entered the [Stunned] state from the Berserk Throw.

However, before he landed, Han Xiao flew right under him in an instant.

Hundreds of meters was just one leap for Berserk Ape.

Buzz!

The next second, blinding lightning emerged from Han Xiao’s body, illuminating Carroll’s terrified expression.

Like pulling a bow, Han Xiao’s arms pulled back before his fists bashed down heavily onto Carroll’s chest, pressing him onto the ceiling of the protective shield.

Boom!

Like a ball of lightning in midair.

Power Detonation!

Gene Liberation!

Germinal Organization Leader Character Summon Card—Armor Piercing Consecutive Attacks!

Han Xiao did not hold back. With the three layers of bonuses, his attack power was elevated to a terrifying level.

Boom!

The explosive soundwave created a circular wave.

The power of this punch penetrated Carroll’s body and shattered the protective shield of the entire training ground!

Amid the shattered shield, Carroll flew up into the sky like a rocket, leaving circles of expanding waves.

Dark red blood dripped from the sky.

All the Bloodshed Land spectators opened their mouths wide and looked up at Carroll, who was flying into the sky.

Malekith was stunned. In just ten seconds, Han Xiao had ended the battle of resources and finished the duel.

It was way too fast!

So fast that he could barely react to it!

Chapter 614 - Official Party

Carroll flew higher and higher.

While the other spectators were stunned, Hunting Blade was the first to react. He jumped up into the sky, caught up to Carroll’s ascending body, and grabbed Carroll with his hands like a chicken, not giving Carroll the chance to yell, “I’ll be back!”

The two of them landed in the training ground filled with machine scraps, stirring up a wave of dust.

As soon as Hunting Blade let go, Carroll collapsed to the ground. With one hand supporting himself and another clutching his chest, he coughed nonstop.

“Ahem…”

Blood spilled from the corners of Carroll’s mouth, his face pale. Despite wearing a simple single unit battle suit, this punch still did quite a lot of damage to him.

However, he had the physique of a Calamity Grade Super. Although it was far from Pugilists’, he did not lose combat capability from one attack; he had just broken a few bones, and his lungs had almost exploded.

Although Han Xiao did not hold back at all, he knew that a Calamity Grade would not be heavily injured easily given the fact that they still had energy to protect their body. Furthermore, this was a spar; he could not kill one of Bloodshed Land’s men in their territory. Beating the opponent was enough.

Virtual Intrusion had created an opportunity, and Han Xiao had always been good at grabbing opportunities. He was cautious, too. In order to prevent any accidents, he did not ridicule Carroll and directly blew him away, guaranteeing his victory.

Carroll’s injuries were not too severe, and he still had the ability to fight. However, he had been blown out of the venue, and the machines that he controlled were temporarily paralyzed. Even though he could continue to fight after the system rebooted, it was clear that he had been defeated by Black Star.

The battle had ended, and the result was his defeat.

“You…”

Carroll’s face was filled with frustration. He clutched his chest and coughed a few more times while glaring at Han Xiao, who landed nearby.

“Sigh, that was close. I almost lost.”

Han Xiao removed Berserk Ape, smiled, and shook his head.

Bullsh*t! You clearly won easily! many spectators screamed in their minds.

Han Xiao looked at the Virtual Intrusion panel. There was close to no time left before Carroll’s artificial intelligence rebooted, so he looked around and said, “You’ve lost. There are so many people watching. You’ll accept it, won’t you?”

Carroll noticed the eyes of the spectators on him. He clenched his teeth and felt beaten. He had a huge home advantage but was easily defeated by Black Star. This guy’s combat capability was too strong…

The identity difference between the two of them amplified the effect of his loss.

Black Star was Floating Dragon Island’s current officer, whereas he was a traitor in others’ eyes. Now that the traitor had been defeated by someone from Floating Dragon, it was clearly the result people wanted to see. Not to mention, he had just provoked Ames a few days ago, and then he was beaten by Black Star. With those thoughts in mind, Carroll felt extremely embarrassed.

Carroll looked in Ames’ direction subconsciously, only to notice that Ames did not even look at him, the loser, but at Black Star. This made him even more furious.

In the spectator area outside, Ames exhaled lightly and smiled in relief.

At the moment Black Star blasted Carroll away with that thunderous punch, she had felt the unhappiness that she had kept in over the past few days all disappear, vented with Han Xiao’s punch. She immediately felt that even the sun was brighter.

Ames found that Han Xiao looked pleasing to her eyes no matter how she looked at him, so she kept staring at Han Xiao.

As for the person whom she had always been ‘thinking about’, Carroll, Ames did not even want to take another look at him. The position of this traitor had become nothing in her eyes; she had let it go.

“I have someone better,” Ames murmured.

Not far away, Ralph sighed. He had only met Black Star a few days ago. At that moment, Han Xiao’s position in his mind became slightly higher. “Dragon Emperor found a spectacular guy.”

If there’s a chance in the future, maybe I can entrust some sensitive missions to Black Star… Ralph pondered and thought about hiring Black Star Army. The Purple Crystal Civilization ruled Colton, and Black Star Army’s stronghold was in Colton, so there was a natural reason for them to work together.

Rossozzi rubbed the tentacles on his chin. On the surface, he was not affected at all, but in his mind, he thought. I heard that Noriosse have invested in the Black Star Army. They have quite the potential. Hmm… seems worth investing in them.

After socializing over the past few days, he knew Black Star, too. Due to the fact that there were many important people among the guests, he did not make any proposals to Han Xiao; only now did he think of investing.

The high-ranking Klent official squinted slightly and suddenly said, “Black Star defeated Tyrant’s man in Bloodshed Land. What will Heber do?”

Not far away, Malekith and the other Vanguard Officials were thinking about this question, too.

Someone frowned and asked, “Will His Excellency Heber interfere?”

Malekith shook his head. “This is a spar, so probably not…”

Carroll’s defeat was certain. The Vanguard Officials were used to battle; they were not too shocked or stunned by the result, only surprised by Black Star’s strength.

Many Vanguard Official were eager to spar with Han Xiao, too.

The question that they were most interested in at the moment was Heber’s stand toward this.

At the same time, in the palace…

“Your man lost,” Austin said jokingly.

“I have eyes.” Heber frowned slightly before waving his hand. “Nothing to watch anymore, turn it off.”

“Aren’t you going to reply?”

“No need to.” Heber was not angry. Since it was a fair fight and Black Star had won fair and square, it just showed how capable Black Star was.

Austin stopped the stream, and the two of them stopped paying attention to the incident.

Heber did not interfere, but no one thought that he did not know about this. Seeing nothing happened, they understood that Heber approved of the result of this battle.

Bloodshed Land believed in strength; Carroll being defeated publicly made the others embarrassed, too.

Many spectators shook their heads and left. Malekith and the others gave Carroll a disappointed look and disappeared.

Carroll knew that the result was decided and had nothing to say.

“Don’t forget our bet,” Han Xiao kindly reminded.

“What blueprints do you want?” Carroll clenched his teeth. The Tyrant definitely knew about the bet. If he did not live up to it, it would bring shame to Bloodshed Land.

He did not have a choice but to carry out the promise.

“Let me think, the mechanic fortress earlier and that Giant Soldier mechanical suit. I want these two.” Han Xiao chuckled.

“Okay!” Carroll’s heart was bleeding.

Then, Han Xiao requested three other blueprints. He had peeked at Carroll’s weapon inventory before, and there were many things that he wanted, but Carroll did not use all of them in the battle, so Han Xiao could not request them.

As a Virtual Mechanic, although he could not fuse the blueprints for some exclusive machines from other branches, he could still directly learn them if he obtained the blueprint. After all, when gambling on blueprints, a single knowledge combination had dozens of possible blueprint outcomes. Class Advancements only made some of them unavailable, but with the blueprint, as long as his knowledge met the requirements, he could build that machine.

“I will give you the blueprints tomorrow. You don’t have to worry about me going back on my word; I have at least this much credibility.”

Frustrated, Carroll said that before leaving without even cleaning up the training ground. He did not even dare look at Ames.

Unbothered, Han Xiao looked at the interface notification.

_____________________

[Ames’ Fury] Completed!

You have received 15,000,000 Experience

You have received +15 Renown

+2500 Floating Dragon Faction Favorability

+20 Ames Favorability. Current relationship: [Confidant]

+2 Heber Favorability. Current Relationship: [Indifferent]

_____________________

This time, Ames landed beside Han Xiao with a smile on her face.

“Good fight.”

“Well, I couldn’t keep watching you get bullied,” Han Xiao joked and found an excuse to explain his actions.

“I know.” Ames smiled faintly. She suddenly felt somewhat nostalgic.

Ever since she reached Beyond Grade A, it had been a very long time since she had felt what it was like to be protected. She had never expected to feel that way again.

I’m so much stronger than Black Star, but he was the one that helped me in the end… Ames laughed in her heart.

Aurora looked up at Han Xiao, then at Ames. She tugged on the edge of Hila’s clothes and said softly, “Big sister…”

Hila looked straight and coldly said, “What?”

“No—Nothing…” Aurora shrank back.

…

After collecting his machines and placing them into the Blacklight Stealth, Han Xiao and the others returned to their rooms.

This challenge did not cause anything afterward, but very soon, all the party guests knew about the battle between Han Xiao and Carroll through the spectators.

Black Star had fought for Ames in Bloodshed Land, defeating Floating Dragon Island’s traitor openly in the Tyrant’s territory, and the Tyrant approved it with silence. Black Star had gained respect on the Dragon Emperor’s behalf, and many were surprised.

After the battle, the day passed peacefully.

The next day, the official party finally started.

The people had waited days for the official party.

All the guests dressed up neatly and formally, gathering in Heber’s palace hall. This place had been rearranged into a party venue. There were all kinds of rare food and drinks as well as musicians standing by at the side.

Not just the hall, around half of the entire palace was the party venue, all arranged properly. The guests could walk around the place as they like. There were also many small, private rooms upstairs for guests that wanted to communicate privately.

The goal of the party was to invite the people of the top organizations in Shattered Star Ring to discuss all sorts of topics, expand their connections, build relationships, exchange information, plan the development of the Shattered Star Ring, and so on. It was like a social club but more serious, business-focused, and high class.

The guests were chatting with each other. Ames stood by the side and did not talk to anyone. Hila and Aurora were beside her. They did not know what to say during this kind of occasion, so they did not speak either.

Han Xiao was socializing on behalf of Ames. People came to chat with him passionately from time to time. He dealt with the guests while at the same time observing others, quietly collecting information.

Not a long wait after, the host of the party, Heber, finally appeared. The place instantly became quiet. Everyone stopped talking and looked at Heber, waiting for him to speak.

“I’m glad to see so many familiar faces this time once again.” Heber looked around. “I hope you guys will benefit from this party like always. So… let the party begin.”

Chapter 615 - Austin’s Gift

As the musicians started to play, the party officially began. The guests all had their own goals. They split into twos and threes and headed to more private areas to discuss business.

Heber took a few guests up the stairs. Not far away, the Klent high ranking official also went upstairs with a few others.

Seeing this, Han Xiao squinted and pondered.

The Tyrant and the Klents are allies. He has already secretly joined the Crimson Dynasty’s side, so maybe the Klents have become the Crimson Dynasty’s friend, probably even earlier than Tyrant. After all, the Crimson Dynasty wants to rope in the Shattered Star Ring’s organizations, so their priority should be the Star Cluster Civilizations. The Klents got persuaded first, then recommended Bloodshed Land as an ally. The reason Heber introduced the envoy to the Dragon Emperor and Magus might be because the Klents asked him to negotiate with the Beyond Grade A Supers…

This would mean that in the seven Star Cluster Civilizations of Shattered Star Ring, Klent Kingdom might have already joined the Crimson Dynasty’s side.

Connecting to the storyline of his previous life, the main storyline of Version 3.0 [Crimson Tide] was the Crimson Dynasty’s expansion stirring up all the Star Fields, including the Shattered Star Ring. However, most of that chaos were not directly caused by the Crimson Dynasty but the organizations of these Star Fields themselves.

Back then, the players did not have access to any inside knowledge. After Han Xiao connected these two things… the Crimson Dynasty might have been behind all the organizations that caused trouble during [Crimson Tide]. They pulled strings and made the structure of the universe unstable.

Heber did not introduce Zoel to all the guests, probably because the Crimson Dynasty did not want to be too high profile. They might have only invited some representatives of the stronger organizations to private meetings, like the Beyond Grade A meeting a day ago.

So, the storm is already brewing…

Han Xiao shook his head. According to his calculations, the effect brought by the Crimson Dynasty’s actions would not appear in Version 2.0. The most likely scenario would be these effects gradually appearing over the ten or so years during the version update after Version 2.0, which would then turn into the Version 3.0, [Crimson Tide].

Currently, it was only the early stage of Version 2.0. Other than the Planet Aquamarine players, the players on other novice planets were still playing with mud. There were still a few more years till the next version update. During this period, the likelihood of something huge erupting was very low.

Planet Aquamarine’s original main storyline was the conflict between DarkStar and Godora. However, DarkStar was gone, so his Black Star Army had become the players’ new main storyline. The storyline was now semi free exploration, so the players would not face something huge in Version 2.0.

This was the best time for his faction to grow.

As the Great Mechanic Han was contemplating, Rossozzi approached.

“Black Star, I have some things I want to speak to you about.”

Han Xiao stopped his train of thought, smiled, and nodded. “Mr. Rossozzi, what is it?”

Rossozzi rubbed the messy tentacles on his chin and said, “I want to invest in Floating Dragon Island and your Black Star Army. Maybe we should discuss the detailed terms and conditions.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. Lucky, another one here to give me money!

He turned around and looked at Ames. Ames did not disapprove and let Han Xiao fully handle it. Han Xiao pulled Rossozzi aside, and the two of them discussed the details.

Not long after, the two of them quickly decided on the investment plan. Similar to the terms and conditions of the Noriosse Financial Group, Rossozzi’s group would also provide resources to the Black Star Army and Floating Dragon Island in exchange for returns in other aspects.

Investing in military organizations had always been important to large financial groups; Rossozzi’s was no exception. After finalizing the details, he left satisfied and content.

The official contract and terms would be sent over after the party ended. Han Xiao was rather glad. The Black Star Army had obtained one more investor, which was very helpful to the development of the faction.

“Black Star.”

Someone else called out to him.

Han Xiao turned and looked. To his surprise, it was Austin. He brought along a group of Forbidden Sorcerers and came before Han Xiao.

“Your Excellency Magus, what is it?” Facing a Beyond Grade A, Han Xiao was formal.

Austin did not reply. He smiled and opened his palm. A dark blue light appeared in his hand. It turned into a vortex, and the light quickly disappeared. Then, a small gray orb appeared.

Han Xiao looked closely. This small orb was not solid but was made of flowing gray fog. It was compressed by a certain power and kept its shape of a small ball.

“This is…” Han Xiao was confused and did not understand Austin’s intentions.

Austin played with the small gray fog ball and slowly said, “Once upon a time, my spiritual body travelled to a phantom secondary dimension and met a strangely strong Void Lord. It almost eroded my spiritual body but was defeated by me in the end. This is the core essence that the Void Lord left behind after dissipating. I want to give it to you.”

Han Xiao was stunned.

A Void Lord’s core essence was extremely rare. Almost only Mages could obtain such materials.

Entering a secondary dimension was an ability only high-level Mages possessed. They could often obtain all sorts of strange and weird items.

In terms of profiteering… ahem, production abilities, Mages and Mechanics stood at the peak among the five Super classes. In terms of collecting materials, Mages might be even better than Mechanics.

Mechanics were mostly in a bankrupt state all the time, completely the opposite of Mages. A class that could burn their mana bar to earn money with zero cost, via Enchanting, was basically everyone’s common enemy.

Han Xiao deeply understood the meaning behind the phrase ‘random acts of kindness only lead to either rape or robbery’. So, what is Austin’s intention behind suddenly giving me a gift? Don’t tell me he’s trying to win me over like Heber, but took a more subtle and gentle route?

“Why give it to me?”

“Because I feel you might need it more than me.” Austin winked.

Han Xiao was then reminded.

That’s right, when I used Observer’s Mark on Zoel yesterday, Austin noticed it.

Could this be the reason?

“You’re not a Mage, but you can control Void Energy. It seems like you’ve been eroded by Void Genes before. Most species turn into monsters after that, but you controlled it and turned it into your ability. You’re very lucky. Therefore, the Void Lord’s core essence can enhance this ability and give you stronger power…” Austin proved Han Xiao’s guess.

Austin had no idea that Han Xiao had the player interface. To him, the reason Han Xiao could use the Void Energy was because he had been eroded by Void Genes before. Plus, there were skeletons of Void Dragons buried within Floating Dragon Island, so he thought that he knew what had happened to Han Xiao. Hence, he wanted to help Ames’ officer.

Anyway, it was nothing to him.

Han Xiao could only cough and agree with Austin’s speculation with silence. Then, he started pondering.

His race was already a Void Race, and a Void Lord’s core essence could enhance the strength of his Void Genes and increase his attributes. Furthermore, during his next Race Evolution, there would be a chance that he would be able to skip the next stage in the evolution chain and jump to the stage after that, giving him even stronger void race options.

It was indeed very useful. Plus, it was extremely rare and almost unobtainable on the market.

“What do I need to give in exchange?” Han Xiao squinted. He was definitely tempted, but he knew not to take gifts without asking its price.

Austin had a huge amount of resources, and a Void Lord’s core essence was just a drop in the ocean, but Han Xiao did not think that Austin needed to give it to him.

Even if Austin was helping Ames’ officer because of Ames, Han Xiao was not willing to accept a gesture of kindness from a Beyond Grade A stranger.

The relationship between him and Austin was far from him being able to accept gifts so easily.

“This is a gift. You don’t have to… hmm…” Austin seemed to suddenly recall something. He then changed his words mid-sentence and said, “Maybe, one day in the future, I will need your help. Consider this a prepayment.”

“Sounds good, as long as it doesn’t go against my position and principles.”

“Of course.”

Han Xiao nodded and accepted the Void Lord’s core. He gave it a close look.

_____________________

[Void Lord’s Essence]: The core of an advanced Void being, contains high quality void energy, extremely precious. Many Mages are willing to pay a high price for it. You can also give it to certain special characters to trigger missions. You can even eat it, if you’re not afraid of it giving you a stomachache… oh, I mean not afraid of being eroded by Void Genes.

_____________________

Han Xiao placed it into his pocket and bowed to Austin to express his gratitude.

Austin smiled with his adorable face before slowly saying, “Heber is reckless, and Ames is careless. I know your potential clearer than they do. One day, you might leave the Dragon Emperor and build your own name. It has been too long since a legend was born in this Star Field… I will be observing you. Don’t disappoint me.”

Before Han Xiao could reply, Austin took his Forbidden Sorcerers and left.

Han Xiao had a strange expression on his face.

Austin did not speak as if he was high and mighty; he was very friendly and gave Han Xiao a good impression, but those words made him feel like he was facing an elder…

…

The party went on. The people present all had their business to discuss. Occasionally, someone would approach Han Xiao to discuss some topics, but not often.

Other than Rossozzi and Austin, the others that went to chat with him mostly just had a casual conversation. Han Xiao was happy with not being busy. When he had no one to chat with, Han Xiao would enjoy the food and drinks in a corner with Ames and the sisters, chitchatting.

As time passed, the party gradually came to an end. The guests got most of the intelligence or partnerships they wanted. Han Xiao eavesdropped on some intelligence that was not really considered a secret but was unobtainable to regular people. After all, everyone there had high positions, so even the information they casually leaked was quite valuable.

In the private room upstairs, the Crimson Dynasty envoy, Zoel, had already privately met important people one after another.

Chapter 616 - The Party Ends, Trip to Sunil.

“We will consider your offer.”

The Star Cluster Civilization representative opposite Zoel stood up, bowed respectfully, and left the bright guest room. Zoel was the only one left in the room.

Zoel shook his head lightly, lifted the wine glass from the table, and took a sip. The heated emerald-colored wine poured like a string of fire down his throat.

He had seen more than ten people who represented the top organizations of the Shattered Star Ring. Everyone had been respectful to him due to his identity, but when they discussed the details, none had made a clear decision.

However, siding with the Crimson Dynasty was a huge decision that needed a long time to consider—Zoel understood that.

The Shattered Star Ring was the Federation of Light’s territory, but Star Cluster Civilizations were not the Federation of Light’s subordinates. There was no loyalty. All civilizations were independent. They only approved of the Federation of Light’s authority—that was all. Every civilization had its own ambitions, every civilization wanted to expand, and the new Star Field was the opportunity.

“Currently, of the seven Star Cluster Civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring, only Klent is siding with us firmly. Judging from the current situation, there should be some more Star Cluster Civilizations that will side with us. Combined with some large organizations like Bloodshed Land, there should be sufficient chess pieces.”

The Crimson Dynasty’s ambition to expand was not limited to just this. Zoel was only in charge of the Shattered Star Ring; there were envoys in other Star Fields. They had included the entire Galaxy in their plan. The new area outside the Shattered Star Ring was just one of the things that the Crimson Dynasty wanted.

It would take years just to complete the initial part of the plan.

…

The party was coming to an end. The people were done with business and gathered in the hall. Heber appeared again, gave a closing speech, and announced the end of the party.

The party looked casual, but it was everything but casual. Many issues that could affect countless people were decided there, through a few words between some important people. This was part of the fundamentals of how the universe operated; one’s power was closely related to their resources.

Han Xiao benefitted quite a lot as well. Not only did he get to know secret information about the Crimson Dynasty’s plan and mentally prepare himself, he also made a lot of connections. He had finally made it to the top of the social circle.

Although he had achieved this mainly because of his position on Floating Dragon Island, this was a good start. He would not have gotten the chance to join this party with his own strength and power. The right to enter the circle was more important; his position would gradually become higher.

If ‘connections’ could be quantified, Han Xiao’s connections had multiplied tens of times in this party. The people he had contact before were mostly Star System Civilizations and people in the mercenary industry. Now, he had the contacts of top organizations from all kinds of industries in the Shattered Star Ring. If he faced difficulties in the future, he would be able to receive more comprehensive and stronger support.

The nickname ‘Black Star Networking Group’ became even more suitable.

Furthermore, he had met other two Beyond Grade As of the Shattered Star Ring and surprisingly made a connection with Austin.

The guests bade farewell to Heber and left. Han Xiao and the rest walked out of the palace and immediately saw Carroll, who was waiting right outside with a long face.

“Black Star, here are the blueprints you wanted.” Carroll threw Han Xiao a new communicator; the five blueprints were stored inside.

Han Xiao took a brief look and confirmed that the blueprints were right. He nodded and walked past him. He did not want to have any further communication with Carroll.

Ames looked forward and walked past Carroll as well.

Carroll was left alone, feeling awkward and completely ignored.

This time, a shadow occupied his vision.

Carroll looked up and saw Heber standing beside him, looking at him from above.

“Your Excellency Heber…” Carroll’s face turned pale and stuttered, “Sorry, I lost this time.”

“Will you lose next time?” Heber said coldly.

It was a simple question with zero blame. Carroll suddenly felt energized like he was encouraged. “Absolutely not!”

“That’s my subordinate.” Heber slowly nodded, turned around, and walked away.

…

Han Xiao and the rest did not want to stay on Planet Heber. They headed directly to the dock, boarded the Blacklight Stealth, and left Bloodshed Land, heading back.

While Ames trained the sisters, Han Xiao told Risda to control the spaceship and went to the training room, checking the five new blueprints.

One of them was the heavy fortress that Carroll had used during the spar. Its official name was ‘Flying Fortress’. Its defense was extraordinary and could be used as a flying carrier.

There was also the Giant Soldier, which could replace spaceships as a weapon in space. Its mobility, armor value, destructive power, melee and ranged combat capabilities, and other attributes were all beyond average. It was quite the well-rounded equipment, as well as Han Xiao’s first Giant Soldier blueprint.

Heavy Armor Mechanics built heavy machines; these machines’ basic attributes were usually higher. These two things could be used as Grade A standard combat equipment directly.

The other three were also important blueprints to Carroll. One was medium-sized armor that was about six to seven meters tall, operated by more than one person. Its performance was excellent and was best for offensive combat. It was suitable to be sold to guilds.

Another was a type of anti-gravity electromagnetic hovering motorbike carrier that was equipped with a shield to block the universe’s radiation and allowed interstellar travel. Han Xiao had the Berserk Ape mechanical suit, so he did not need it. However, the great thing about these kinds of motorbikes was that they looked extremely cool. It could be the next tier replacement for the Nuclear Flying Backpack. Of course, Han Xiao had to improve the blueprint and add a self-destruct function.

The last one was high-caliber, ship-mounted artillery, a type of spaceship attachment blueprint. Ship-mounted weapons were mostly heavy firearms, which were, of course, much more powerful than portable weapons.

The prerequisite knowledges for those five blueprints were mostly from the Armed Branch, and the highest level knowledge was only High-End Knowledge.

After checking through the loot, Han Xiao took out the Void Lord’s core essence and looked at it carefully.

This tiny ball filled with gray fog had a very special texture when he held it. It was as if it did not exist and he could just shatter it easily. But when he actually tried to, he would feel a very strong repelling force.

Void Lord’s core can enhance Void Genes, like the Void Dragon Pith but stronger. Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

In the power pyramid of Void species, the Void Lord was at the top. Most of them existed in the secondary dimension as seen by Mages or hid in Void Vision and rarely interfered with reality. A Void Lord could be considered a high dimensional life form. A similar being would be Magic Beings. Void Lords gathered Void Energy to build their body and project it onto reality. They had thousands of forms. Even in Galaxy, where there were so many races, they were still considered rare beings.

This was not the first time he used this kind of item. Consuming the Void Lord’s core was very beneficial to him. Usually, there would be risks of consuming genetic items, but the adaptability between the same species was very high. The chance of a side effect occurring was minimal.

Han Xiao opened his mouth and swallowed the tiny gray ball of fog. A freezing feeling exploded from his mouth and instantly expanded to his entire body as if even his soul was frozen.

Han Xiao could sense his own body at a microscopic level, and he could see his cells gradually growing stronger under these waves of highly-concentrated Void Energy. His genes changed once again.

_____________________

You have used a Void Lord’s Essence.

Fusion Progress: 38%… 61%… 100%

Fusion Complete!

Compatibility: Perfect

Permanent Attribute Increase: +8 Strength, +12 Dexterity, +10 Endurance, +10 Intelligence, +15 Mystery, +8 Charisma

Your Talent [Intermediate Strengthened Life] became slightly stronger.

_____________________

The freezing cold quickly went away. Han Xiao took a deep breath and looked at the interface notification.

The attribute increase was quite impressive, a total increase of sixty-three points. More surprisingly, there was a clear notification related to [Intermediate Strengthened Life]

This talent had been with him for a long time and provided him with a lot of health. The last time this talent leveled up, he had already speculated that he would have to use more gene items with no side effects to continue making the talent stronger. The Void Lord’s Essence had proved him right.

Although the effect of [Intermediate Strengthened Life] was unchanged and did not level up, since there was a notification, it meant that this was the right path to take. Han Xiao decided to make collecting rare Void species’ materials a new mission.

…

Han Xiao first took Ames and the sisters back to Floating Dragon Island. It was a peaceful trip.

Arriving on Floating Dragon Island, the Blacklight Stealth parked at the dock. Ames and the sisters got out and turned to look at Han Xiao, who was beside the hatch.

Han Xiao looked at Hila and Aurora and smiled. “You guys, train with the Dragon Emperor properly and quickly become stronger. I’m still waiting for you to help me.”

Aurora raised her tiny hand up and said very seriously, “I will definitely work hard.”

Hila opened her mouth but did not know what to say.

She suddenly realized that the two of them had to part again. She and her sister would be training on the unfamiliar Floating Dragon Island and start a new chapter in their lives.

It could be a very long time before she saw Han Xiao again. Hila could not help but think of the times back on Planet Aquamarine when she used to look up at the starry night. She felt her emotions become a mess.

Hila knew that she did not know Han Xiao very well. They had spent little time together, less than the time they had spent apart…

She hesitated then softly said, “Be careful.”

“Got it, bye.”

Han Xiao waved, and the hatch closed.

The next moment, the spaceship took off and disappeared.

Ames turned toward the sisters and said, “From now on, you will be starting your official training. I’ll be very strict.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” Hila inhaled deeply, her expression dignified.

…

Away from Floating Dragon Island, the Blacklight Stealth entered hyperdrive and headed toward Planet Sunil.

Attending the Tyrant’s party in the Seoul Star Cluster had taken quite a lot of time including travel. During this time, the Black Star Army had been maintaining its business. The players had yet to cause any big problems, so everything was operating as usual.

Not long ago, Herlous had sent a message. After 200,000 players worked for months, the Sunils finally made a huge breakthrough. They got rid of a large amount of Prophecy Stone mines, and the strength of the Psychic Current visibly weakened.

At this pace, the threat of the Catastrophe would very soon be completely eliminated, saving the Sunils.

However, as they dug deeper into the mines underground, they noticed some strange phenomena, so Herlous requested backup from him personally.

The information Han Xiao gained during Tyrant’s party gave him quite a lot of pressure. He wanted to speed up the Black Star Army’s development, so he decided to visit Planet Sunil himself and completely solve the Sunil’s problems. At the same time, he would scout the area and prepare to build the third sub-base.

Furthermore, while doing that, he could reap the experience of 200,000 players, collect three billion experience, and level up to level 145, meeting the Class Advancement requirement.

Chapter 617 - Planet Sunil’s Natives!

The pure white clouds flew in the sapphire sky of Planet Sunil like pieces of silk. The gentle wind brought along a thin veil of fog and blew across the dense sea of trees, shaking them like a wave.

Green was an amazing color. Looking down on the surface, Han Xiao felt soothed.

The Blacklight Stealth slowly landed in the military area outside Forest City. Herlous was already waiting there with the Sunil superiors. Further away were many patrolling armored Sunil soldiers.

As soon as Han Xiao walked down the gangway, Herlous rushed toward him and gave him a passionate hug.

“Black Star, you’re finally here!”

Han Xiao patted Herlous’ shoulder, signaling him to let go. Herlous excitedly introduced the Sunil superiors to Han Xiao one after another.

They shook hands and greeted each other. The Sunil superiors were very humble. Black Star’s position in the galaxy was far above that of the entire Sunil race. Plus, Black Star had helped them solve the issues of their planet. They would never forget this.

After the introduction, they started talking business. Han Xiao asked, “What’s the situation now?”

“Amazing!” Herlous was exhilarated. He knew the most about the effect of the Black Star Army over the past few months; the situation of the Sunils had tremendously improved.

As he spoke, Herlous took out his communicator, opened the map projection of Planet Sunil, and explained in detail.

The threat on Planet Sunil came from the beasts. The cause of the Catastrophe was the Prophecy Stone mines hidden underground in various places. The sheer quantity caused a reaction and formed Psychic Currents, making the beasts go haywire.

Therefore, Sunil’s first target was to clear out the Prophecy Stone mines of this planet.

However, due to the wild being dangerous, the exploration difficulty was exceedingly high. The Sunils only controlled a very small area and could not bear the cost of expanding their territory—many young warriors would be sacrificed if they did.

Thus, the Black Star Army just so happened to make up for this. With the help of spaceships and carriers, 200,000 players fearless of death discovered close to a thousand Prophecy Stone mines within a few months.

The shorter the distance from the mine, the stronger the Psychic Current. There was almost no beast living nearby, so the players could easily destroy all the Prophecy Stones in those mines.

According to the calculations of the Sunil Research Department, the overall strength of the Psychic Current on the planet had decreased considerably. The interval between Catastrophes was likely extended to more than ten years, which was two to three times greater than before. This meant that the Sunils’ situation was not as urgent anymore. They had more time to rest and prepare. The result was exceptional.

This result was announced to the entire race, giving them previously unseen energy and hope.

The situation of their race was tremendously improved. All the Sunil warriors were excited.

Among them, Herlous was the most excited. His race was his home. The Black Star Army was the savior of Planet Sunil, and he was the one that connected the two sides. On one hand, he was excited due to his decision back then; on the other hand, he sincerely appreciated Black Star’s help.

Of course, this result was not good enough. Since they wanted to solve the problem, the Sunils hoped to be more thorough.

“What are the difficulties faced in clearing out these mines?” Han Xiao asked.

As soon as he said this, the faces of those present became grave. Herlous said in a deep voice, “We had speculated about all sorts of situations and obstacles we might face, but we never expected it to be this serious.”

Han Xiao was suddenly curious. From the way Herlous put it, it seems like even 200,000 players cannot get rid of this problem.

“By the way, where are the mercenaries? Why don’t I see them?” Han Xiao looked around and realized that there was not even one mercenary.

“Mostly still exploring and fighting outside in the wild. We built many camps to make sure that the mercenaries could resupply in the wild and not have to keep returning to Forest City. Only a small portion of the mercenaries currently reside in Forest City,” Herlous explained.

I see. That’s completely normal… Han Xiao nodded. It seemed like he needed a reason to recall all the players in the wild so that it would be more convenient for him to reap experience.

Putting this thought aside for the moment, Han Xiao rubbed his chin and asked with confusion, “So, what difficulty did you guys meet?”

“Well, the shallow mines were easy to clear out, but there are also tons of mines deeper underground, maybe many times deeper than the shallow mines. These are more difficult to clear and need bigger tools and more manpower, but this isn’t the main issue…” Herlous sighed and projected an image. On it were many strange-shaped beasts, but they all had the characteristics of insects.

“This is…” Han Xiao frowned.

“As we dug deeper, we reached a completely different layer of rocks. We shockingly discovered the tracks of some unidentified beasts. After the initial investigation, we realized that they are ancient underground beasts that never came to the surface. They are an enormous race living under Planet Sunil’s surface. From just the few nests we’ve discovered, there’s already more than a hundred million of these beasts. We have no idea how many more are in the underground world we have yet to explore…”

With a grave tone, Herlous said, “Maybe they are the real owners of this planet.”

Han Xiao now understood.

Sunil’s original mother planet had been destroyed, and they had only migrated to this Planet Sunil after that. Thus, they could be considered guests taking over the owner’s home.

As there were limited resources, Sunils did not explore underground, up till today. Only now did they realize that a large race existed under the planet’s surface. Those monsters were the natives of this planet.

If not for the Black Star Army, Sunil would still not have noticed such a huge threat lurking within the very planet that they lived on.

“For some reason, these monsters built their nests around the Prophecy Stone mines and indirectly protect the mines. They reject outside beings very strongly. Their body is very hard, they’re very swift, and they are able to secrete corrosive slime on their skin. They are about the same size as wild wolves. Dozens of underground exploration teams have been wiped out. The underground is their stage. It’s very difficult for us to fight when we can’t maximize our strength underground.

“Protect the Prophecy Stone mines?” Han Xiao pondered. Most underground creatures liked to be close to radioactive minerals—some even consumed them as food. However, the Prophecy Stone mines were not radioactive but stimulated beasts into a crazed state. Logically speaking, beasts would get as far away from the Prophecy Stone mines as they could, but these underground beasts had built their nests surrounding Prophecy Stones.

A word popped up in Han Xiao’s mind.

Mutation!

“Their race might be traced back to thousands of years ago. Lives change to adapt to the environment. Over a very long time, their genes mutated,” Han Xiao said. “Think about it, the Catastrophe causes all the beasts on this planet to go crazy, but you people have never met these monsters before. This means that they have never gone crazy and come to the surface, which shows that they’re used to the Psychic Currents and are immune to them. They have developed an extremely strong psychic resistance.”

The Sunils were guests that only migrated to this planet recently, while Prophecy Stones had existed for countless years. They had no idea about the Prophecy Stones’ effects on the native beasts throughout those countless years.

Herlous nodded. “That’s right. We call these underground monsters Subterranean Mutants.”

“Therefore, you guys summoned me to…” Han Xiao had a guess.

“Your Excellency Black Star, we hope to get your help,” a Sunil superior said seriously with the utmost respect. “We want to eliminate all Subterranean Mutants and completely control Planet Sunil. Our problems can only be resolved if we kill these underground monsters. Plus, there are countless resources underground. We can only collect them after the Subterranean Mutants are dealt with.”

In order to completely get rid of the Catastrophe, destroying all the underground mines was the only way. Hence, the Subterranean Mutants were the biggest obstacle. Furthermore, mining for underground resources would be unavoidable in the future. Subterranean Mutants were clearly a barrier for their development. In terms of population alone, the number of Subterranean Mutants was probably hundreds or even a thousand times that of the Sunils. The Sunils had absolutely no intention of coexisting with a species this large in numbers.

I thought so… Thinking of the beautiful nature that he had seen earlier when looking down from above, Han Xiao sighed. He looked at Herlous and said, “What do you think?”

“I agree.” Herlous was firm.

“Ok…” Han Xiao slowly said. “I hope you guys can understand that the nature of this incident has changed. This is a war hire; I will gather more spaceships and mercenaries.”

“Marvelous!” The Sunils were overjoyed.

“To ensure the transport of people and resources, I need to build a sub-base on Sunil immediately. Do you guys have any objections?”

“No.” The people shook their heads.

Coming to an agreement, Han Xiao walked aside and contacted Phillip.

“Help me to contact the Noriosse and Rossozzi financial groups. I will be building the third sub-base here in the Garton Star System, Planet Sunil. List the resources needed and send them to these two financial groups; we’ll use their channels.

“Gather the 200,000 mercenaries on Planet Sunil in Forest City. They are needed to build the base.

“Also, send out an Army Assembly on Planet Sunil, targeting all Black Star mercenaries!”

After accepting a string of orders, Phillip replied, “Orders confirmed, hum…”

Han Xiao did not stop there. Through the faction interface, he directly announced a new mission to all the players.

[Army Expansion—Base No. 3]!

…

Sunil soldiers patrolled outside a certain wild camp. In the camp, some players set up stores and formed teams.

There was quite a number of players in every camp. There were mission points and exploration points around the camps, and the players resupplied in the camps. Hence, they naturally became the players’ frequent spots.

Maple Moon sat in a corner with a ‘Repair’ mark on her head. She had set up a repairing store for equipment, and business was booming.

Back then, she had decided to follow the majority and went to Planet Sunil.

As a casual player, she did not like fighting and killing. She had always felt the Mechanic class was most suitable for her. In Version 1.0, she had followed Black Star for a very long time and benefitted a ton, so she was ahead of the other players. Her ability to repair and build was clearly far above many players of the same class. She was considered one of the top players.

Although she did not receive Black Star’s special treatment in Version 2.0, due to her already being ahead, her business had always been popular. Other players were more willing to go to her for repairs and purchases. With the large amounts of profits that she made from that, she had more resources to increase her strength, which formed a cycle.

However, Maple Moon rarely battled. Compared to fighting, she enjoyed the storyline more. The Sunil mission was right up her alley. Saving this race in danger and getting gratitude from the Sunils made her very happy.

There were quite many players who liked the storyline, similar to Maple Moon. To some players, profit was not the priority; what they wanted was a good story. The business plan that Han Xiao had set for the Black Star Army was to let the players experience various storylines through the hiring missions. The Sunil storyline was one of them. This way, their stories would become the army’s history.

At this time, Maple Moon realized that the players on the street had all stopped and opened their interface at the same time. This told her that something huge had happened, so she hastily checked the interface.

The mission to build the third base appeared in her eyes.

“Hmm? Black Star came to Sunil? Strange, the mission to save Sunil is not completed yet, and Base No. 3 can already be built?”

“Who cares? It’s a good thing that a new base can be built.”

The players chitchatted and left in groups, heading toward Forest City. The camp suddenly became empty.

Most players had already immersed themselves in the Black Star Army. They felt that their performance on Planet Sunil had made their faction grow again. They felt a sense of achievement.

Every time the faction developed, the players would feel fulfilled. Han Xiao’s method of building a sense of belonging was really working well.

Maple Moon packed up her store and headed to Forest City, too. Other than missions, she had another goal—to learn better blueprints from Black Star. She had stocked up quite a lot of experience over the past few months. She was not the only one; all the Mechanics on Planet Sunil were hoping to do the same.

Chapter 618 - Class Advancement!

The chosen location for Base No. 3 was not far from Forest City. All 200,000 of the players that were outside returned immediately after receiving the mission. With the help of spaceships, they gathered in no time.

Outside Forest City, 200,000 players gathered and focused their eyes on Han Xiao. Han Xiao borrowed the Dragon Emperor’s style once again, sitting on a mechanical throne that hovered in midair. He was not really trying to look cool. There were so many players, so they would not be able to see him if he was not flying.

It had been a while since Han Xiao had last been in close contact with players. He briefly observed the players. The equipment of the 200,000 players that had stayed on Planet Sunil for a few months had visibly changed. They could roughly be grouped into three types of people. The first type was those that wore heavy armor, mostly Sunil Enlistee Class armor and some Worker Bee Armors. What was worth mentioning was that the Sunil Armors these players wore all came from his army. The Sunils clearly knew that Han Xiao had secretly learned about their blueprints… but it did not matter even if they knew.

The second type of players were those that did not wear armor; these players made up about one-tenth of all the players. The Great Mechanic Han could not figure out whether they were poor… or poor. Be it Pugilists or Espers, buying a set of armor had pros and no cons. Even Bloodshed Land’s Vanguard Officials wore specially made armor.

Although these players did not wear armor, they still had some mechanical equipment on them, such as firearms, melee weapons, shield generators, and other sorts.

The third type of player did not use armor, too. What they wore was the Nuclear Flying Backpack. It was clear they were all ‘artists’.

In conclusion, all the players were using the Black Star Army’s products. Their equipment had been updated from head to toe, and they all looked refreshed. Finally, these players looked somewhat like galactic warriors. However, in Han Xiao’s eyes, they looked more like yards of green leeks.

Planet Sunil was the resource ground of NPCs. He had left 200,000 players to grow here for months, and they had stocked up a large amount of resources. Every single leek was looking fresh and nutritional.

Seeing that everyone was staring at him, Han Xiao coughed, put on a serious expression, and said in a low voice, “Due to your hard work, Sunil’s troubles have been alleviated. However, a new obstacle has appeared in this mission, and we need more help. Hence, the original plan is being brought forward, and we will be building Base No. 3 on this planet as a stronghold.

“Phillip has sent the exact location to your communicators. Building a new base requires everyone’s help…”

Han Xiao explained the situation briefly. The players had no problems with it. They followed him to the chosen location for the base and started to clear out the trees and flattening the terrain.

[Army Expansion—Base No. 3] was a faction mission; it included many construction jobs that needed the players to complete. Every sub-mission rewarded experience and Contribution Points. The players were very motivated, not only because of the reward but also because they were personally taking part in the construction of the base, contributing to the growth of the faction.

The addition of Base No. 3 was beneficial to them. A new base meant that the army would store much more resources there. By that time, the players would no longer have to pre-order faction products and could collect them directly at Base No. 3. Furthermore, as hire missions could only be accepted in the base, the players now had one more place where they could accept hires and rest, other than the Planet Aquamarine and Planet Golden Gate bases. This was the Black Star Army’s new stronghold in the vast universe.

Han Xiao notified the galactical construction team that had been working with him from the beginning; they would arrive at Planet Sunil very soon. However, the construction teams could only build the buildings. The facilities still had to be completed by his own people. With 200,000 players, the construction speed of Base No. 3 would be tremendously increased.

The Noriosse and Rossozzi financial groups provided some help, too, and sent a large amount of supplies through their channels.

Han Xiao made a rough calculation. These two investors saved him about 600,000 Enaus. This time, he planned to put in 2,700,000 Enaus to build Base No. 3. His account had close to 50 million Enaus saved up, so he could easily afford this expense.

One and a half years ago, he had only had the three to four million Enaus that he had borrowed, and it had taken him more than half a year to build Base No.1. Less than two years later, his assets had multiplied more than ten times. It was a very remarkable increase.

The players were very efficient. Not long after, a huge, flat area appeared in the forest. As the construction materials that he had bought had yet to arrive, the players could not start working for the moment.

The tens of battleships that were on standby around Planet Sunil were all moved there, forming a temporary camp. Players were gathered there, as did Han Xiao.

Making use of this great opportunity, the players all approached Han Xiao, wanting to learn abilities. Most of them were Mechanics. After not seeing Han Xiao the Mechanic Mentor for a few months, they had all been looking forward to this moment.

This was exactly what Han Xiao had expected. He had planned long ago not to sell knowledge but blueprints this time.

He had a talent from his Scholar subclass—[Research Theory].

The effect of that talent was one bonus Intelligence point for every three abilities, which now gave Han Xiao about three hundred Intelligence points. This meant that Han Xiao now had close to a thousand blueprint abilities, which had cost him countless experience. This was an unimaginable number for the players.

Selling some low-level blueprints had a very limited effect on him. Han Xiao put up tens of low-level machinery blueprints at the same time.

The players were mostly above level 70. At this level, low-level blueprints were no longer rare; the players could fuse these themselves. However, due to the variety of knowledge combinations, hardly any Mechanic players could fuse the blueprints they wanted. Hence, the blueprints that they had were all very different.

He, however, sold blueprints directly, helping the players to escape the bottomless hole of gambling on blueprints.

Seeing so many blueprints, the Mechanic players’ eyes were all sparking.

After working on Planet Sunil for a few months, those players were not short of experience. Although the blueprints that Han Xiao was selling did not involve very high-level technology, they covered all kinds of things. There were firearms, explosives, mechanical soldiers, shields, mechanical suits, energy sources, carriers, and many others. Gambling blueprints relied on luck. Therefore, every player could find useful blueprints for themselves and make up for their weak spots.

Han Xiao was not worried about Mechanic class players affecting the sales of the Black Star Army after learning those blueprints. From a cost perspective, the players definitely could not compete with production lines and had no chance of selling things at the same low price. Furthermore, spending in the faction store rewarded players with Contribution Points. Besides, Han Xiao did not sell blueprints of the faction products; what he sold were the blueprints of the same type of machines but half a standard lower.

Han Xiao’s development plan also included partnering with material industries and selling players raw materials to make more money, expanding the Black Star Army’s business range while at the same time bringing convenience to the players so that they could buy the materials that they needed in the faction store without having to collect them themselves.

Of the 200,000 players, there were about 50,000 to 60,000 Mechanic class players. They bought blueprints joyfully, and most of them bought more than one.

Han Xiao’s experience quickly increased, shooting past the one billion mark, and continued to grow.

The players shockingly noticed that other than the low-level blueprints, there was also an extremely tempting high-level blueprint!

The Void Dragon Mechanical Suit!

“Thi—This is a god-tier blueprint!”

“Holy, now this is something!”

The Mechanic players were extremely tempted. Looking at the price—600,000 experience and 2,000 Enaus—many felt a heartache. However, the impressive stats on the Void Dragon mechanical suit were like an erotic dancer in revealing clothing that kept telling the players, “Come and play.”

In the eyes of the players, Void Dragon’s stats were undoubtedly in the ‘god tier’ range. Some players that could afford it hesitated before clenching their teeth and buying it.

Seeing this, Han Xiao faintly smiled. Although this blueprint was high level, he had Berserk Ape now and had no use for Void Dragon anymore, so he sold it to the players.

The difficulty of making the Void Dragon mechanical suit was very high. The players would only be able to build it after level 90. Plus, its core material were Void Dragon bones; this was the most important factor to Han Xiao. Even if some players really built it, it would be impossible to replicate.

What, you want to build in bulk? Sure, go to Ames and ask to have her Floating Dragon. You should be able to experience what it’s like to die from pressure.

Within one to two versions, the chance of a player being able to build it was very slim. They could at most look at it and feel good after they bought it. What if they wanted to build it? Not going to happen!

From the players’ perspective, the mechanical suit blueprint that suited their current situation the most was actually Amphiptere, which Han Xiao had gotten rid of long ago.

With the Mechanic players’ current ability, they would be able to build Amphiptere and keep its cost within an acceptable range. If he sold the Amphiptere blueprint, this Single Unit Mechanical Suit would quickly become popular among the players. The average combat capability of the players would be hugely increased… which was exactly why Han Xiao was not going to sell Amphiptere.

If the players got what was most suitable for them, how was he going to use the Sunil series armor to harvest those leeks time after time?

Thus, the Great Mechanic Han decided to sell the Void Dragon blueprint, giving the players a dream to chase. A man without a dream was no different from a fish, and this ‘dream’ just so happened to be able to earn him more profits.

Nonetheless, he did not scam the players too much. At the very least, the price of the Void Dragon blueprint was much lower than its value. Mechanical suit blueprints of this level could be sold for at least 100,000 Enaus in the galaxy.

After this harvest, Han Xiao’s experience rocketed once again, easily surpassing three billion. Han Xiao could not help but smile in satisfaction.

Maple Moon learned the Void Dragon blueprint, too. She quickly browsed through the materials and murmured, “Void Dragon Bone… Hmm, looks familiar… Isn’t this Floating Dragon’s specialty‽”

As a player who had followed Han Xiao since Version 1.0, Maple Moon had visited Floating Dragon Island personally. She was the only Mechanic player present who had any idea what Void Dragon Bone was.

After about half a day, night came, and only then did the Mechanic players dissipate and return contentedly.

Han Xiao’s experience stash had reached 9.4 billion!

The average price of low-level blueprints was about 40,000, and there were about 50,000 to 60,000 Mechanic players, each buying more than one blueprint on average. There were also a few thousand players that bought the Void Dragon blueprint. All in all, he had earned about 9.4 billion experience.

This is plenty. Han Xiao was rather satisfied. Exchanging some blueprints that he had no use for anymore for so much experience was worth it.

Since he had enough experience, Han Xiao did not delay. He returned to the training room on the spaceship, opened his interface, threw in three billion experience, and leveled up three times consecutively.

_____________________

[Virtual Mechanic] leveled up to Level20 (max).

+350 Energy, +3 Dexterity, +3 Endurance, +6 Intelligence.

You have received 6 Free Attribute Points.

You have received 1 Potential Point.

Main Class level limit achieved. Complete Class Advancement requirements to continue leveling up.

Class Advancement requirements: Intelligence > 1,300, Machinery Affinity > 580%. (Active ability bonus not included)

_____________________

I got attribute requirements? Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Increasing attributes for regular players was quite complicated; it would usually be difficult for them to achieve the Class Advancement attribute requirements, and they would often have to learn subclasses.

However, to Han Xiao, this kind of Class Advancement was the easiest. The Class Advancement requirements were related to the nature of the class itself most of the time, such as the core attributes, Intelligence and Machinery Affinity. For these things, Han Xiao had always been well above the regular standard for his level.

For his Intelligence, his basic value reached 1,536 after spending all the Free Attribute Points that he had just earned on it, which was already above the Class Advancement requirements. Adding on the ten percent bonus as a Calamity Grade Super, as well as the more than three hundred Intelligence given by [Research Theory], his Intelligence was close to two thousand!

As for basic Machinery Affinity, including his talents and passive abilities, it was 686%, also exceeding the Class Advancement requirements.

This meant that Han Xiao had no need to learn any new subclasses. His attributes had already met the Class Advancement standard.

Huh, I’ve become lucky recently. Han Xiao rubbed his hands with excitement. Could it be that the effect of touching Feidin is permanent‽

Since he met the requirements, without hesitation, Han Xiao put the experience in and leveled his main class up once more, completing his Class Advancement.

With the regular sharp pain in his head, he suddenly gained insight into many new things.

_____________________

Class Advancement requirements completed!

You have received a new class [Galaxy Mechanic Level1].

+180 Energy, +1 Strength, +3 Dexterity, +3 Endurance, +8 Intelligence.

You have received 6 Free Attribute Points.

You have received 1 Potential Point.

You have acquired ability [Master Machinery Affinity]!

You have acquired ability [Rapid Virtual Intrusion]!

You have acquired ability [Quantum Network Matrix]!

You have obtained talent [Machinery Theory Summary!

Your talent [Virtual Technology Essence] is enhanced!

Your ability [Strengthened Smart Defense] is enhanced!

Your ability [Strengthened Hacking] is enhanced!

_____________________

Chapter 619 - Sunil’s Grade A Main Storyline

As a [Galaxy Mechanic], Han Xiao had stepped into the advanced stage of a Mechanic. At this stage, he could already be considered a master. This stage increased the level limit of his main class by five, the maximum being Level25. As Han Xiao recalled, most of the Mechanic players in his previous life entered Grade A when they became Galaxy Mechanics.

The new class [Galaxy Mechanic] meant that he could build stronger machines that could now be used in galactic wars, machines that were more advanced and precise.

For example, Carroll was a Galaxy Mechanic, and the Giant Soldier, Ship Destroyer, was a blueprint that he invented at the Galaxy Mechanic stage.

From the players’ perspective, the best improvement that this Class Advancement brought was related to fusing blueprints. The class [Galaxy Mechanic] was a prerequisite for more advanced blueprints. The same combinations as before could now unlock more blueprints.

In terms of abilities, [Galaxy Mechanic] strengthened the branch selected during the previous stage, which was Han Xiao’s Virtual Technology. The related abilities and talents were enhanced, and he also obtained two new Virtual Technology abilities.

[Rapid Virtual Intrusion], as the name suggested, sped up the speed of Virtual Intrusion. In exchange, the duration of the authority obtained through Virtual Intrusion would become shorter.

[Quantum Network Matrix] was a core ability. It had two effects. One was a huge increase in the range of intrusion.

Range was a very important attribute of Virtual Technology. Clearly, there was an enormous difference between hacking something right in front of it and hacking something an entire Star System away. The quantum network existed everywhere, and the level of Virtual Technology determined the degree to which a Mechanic could make use of the quantum network. Han Xiao’s range increased tremendously, but of course, it was still far from being able to use Virtual Intrusion across Star Systems.

Only Beyond Grade A Mechanics like [Mechanic Empire] Manison could do it across such terrifying distances, hacking from Star Systems or even Star Clusters away.

The second effect of this ability was the Virtual Intrusion version of ‘splashing’.

For example, if the targets of the intrusion were two independent artificial intelligences but the two of them were exchanging data, if one artificial intelligence was hacked, through its data exchange with the other artificial intelligence, the other artificial intelligence would also be indirectly hacked. It was similar to computers spreading viruses, like an AOE Virtual Intrusion. However, the judging difficulty of indirect intrusion would be higher.

As for [Master Machinery Affinity], it was a very practical ability. It provided +75% Machinery Affinity at the max level.

[Machinery Theory Summary] was a talent. It was considered one of the core abilities of the Mechanic class just like [Machinery Analytical Comprehension]. It increased Machinery Affinity based on Intelligence at a rate of thirty Intelligence to 2.2% Machinery Affinity.

As the main class continued to level up, the core attribute of the class would have a bigger impact on his strength, which was why Han Xiao put all his points into Intelligence.

Level 146…

Han Xiao thought about it and did not continue levelling up. He maxed the levels of the new abilities and kept the remaining billions of experience.

Class Advancement was a new stage, which was why it made him much stronger, but the benefits of continuing to level up were not very high. Leveling up to 160 required an enormous amount of experience, and what he had was far from enough. It was better to keep it and use it to level up abilities, getting some Potential Points. What he was shortest of was Potential Points—they were in single digits.

Energized and refreshed, energy flowed in Han Xiao’s body like a stream. Han Xiao could feel his body’s changes clearly. His senses were clearer. He gently touched a compressed orb, and his brain subconsciously presented its structure. His understanding of machines was now deeper.

After enjoying this feeling for a while, Han Xiao left the training room satisfied. Only now did he see the message that Herlous had sent him, inviting him to attend the meeting before the battle, to discuss how to deal with the Subterranean Mutants together.

Han Xiao could not help but shake his head.

Sunils had hired the Black Star Army to get rid of the Subterranean Mutants, so they had most likely formulated a rough plan long ago. Instead of calling it a discussion, it was more like the Sunils introducing their plan.

…

Han Xiao went to the military conference room, and he could hear the heated argument even through the door. Han Xiao opened the door and walked in. Everyone looked at him, and the discussion suddenly stopped. The Sunil superiors all stood up to welcome him. Herlous and Sehrinde were there, too.

Han Xiao placed his fist in front of his mouth and coughed. “How’s the discussion going?”

“Your Excellency Black Star, we are waiting for you to make the decision,” a bold Sunil superior said respectfully. Han Xiao recalled that this superior was called Otis, the right-hand man of the Sunil leader. His position was very high.

“I’m just the executor, only responsible for carrying out the plan. The overall strategy is up to you, not decided by me.” Han Xiao waved his hand. As a mercenary, he did not like to cross boundaries.

“Oh… okay. Then I shall talk about the strategic goal—eliminate Subterranean Mutants or shrink their number down to a safe standard, at least allowing us to safely destroy the Prophecy Stone mines underground. We now have three possible ways to deal with them…”

Otis turned on the projection and explained the plans in detail.

“The first plan is to send soldiers underground and destroy Subterranean Mutant’s nests one after another. This plan will need a lot of manpower, and the casualty number is difficult to estimate. The underground world is their stage; we can’t fully make use of our strength. We will also meet all sorts of difficulties like getting lost, being caved in, and so on. This is considered the last resort.

“Second, lure the Mutants up the surface in groups, then use war weapons such as spaceships and missiles to bombard them. This would be much more efficient, killing tens of millions at once. The problem is how we are going to lure them out. Also, it’s best not to use nuclear weapons. We don’t want to cause too much pollution.

“The last plan is to capture some Subterranean Mutants alive. Study their body structure, invent specially made bioweapons, and drop them underground. Eliminating them en masse without combat. However, the difficulty, cost, and time of inventing such a thing are all unknown. The level of uncertainty is too high.”

This time, Han Xiao’s interface suddenly popped up.

______________________________________________

You have triggered Grade A Faction Mission [Eliminate Subterranean Mutants]!

Mission Introduction: An ancient species lives under Planet Sunil’s surface. They’re the natives of this planet, but they have become enemies that obstructed the Sunils’ development. You accepted Sunil’s request to completely resolve this hidden threat.

Reminder: This is a Faction Series Mission. You can complete the requirements stated below during this mission.

Research Sample I: Capture 1 Subterranean Mutant alive. Reward: 20,000 experience

Research Sample II: Capture 10 Subterranean Mutants alive. Reward: 200,000 experience

Research Sample III: Capture 50 Subterranean Mutants alive. Reward: 1,000,000 experience

Slaughterer I: Kill 10 Subterranean Mutants. Reward: 50,000 experience

…

Slaughterer V: Kill 1,000 Subterranean Mutants. Reward: 5,000,000 experience

Mine Destroyer (Repeatable): Destroy a Prophecy Stone mine. Reward: 200,000 experience

8 targets remaining… [Expand/Collapse]

When the mission ends, based on the number of targets completed, a rating and bonus reward will be given.

______________________________________________

A new Grade A mission?

This appeared to be Planet Sunil’s main storyline. When the plan officially started, the players would be able to trigger it as well.

Different planets all had their own main storyline missions, which was why Han Xiao always took NPC resources very seriously, using them to make up for the Black Star Army’s ‘storyline’. Not only were there missions, but there were also main storyline missions. Double the rewards, double the happiness.

The people stared at Han Xiao, and Herlous asked, “Black Star, which plan do we use?”

Han Xiao knocked on the table, pondered, and said, “All of them.”

With joy written all over his face, Otis nodded rapidly and said, “That’s the best. We Sunils will deploy soldiers as well to fight together with the Black Star Army.”

After discussing the details of the plan, they agreed to first capture some Subterranean Mutants and study their bodies.

It was a task better done sooner, so Han Xiao did not waste any time. After the meeting ended, he took Herlous and Sehrinde in a spaceship, heading toward one of the Subterranean Mutant nests’ entrances.

The three of them were strong enough to not worry about any danger, so it was most efficient for them to do the job. This was also why Han Xiao did not bring along any players. If not because the task of capturing them alive was more troublesome, he would rather have worked alone.

The spaceship arrived there very quickly. This place was in the middle of being dug up, so many drilling machines were scattered around the place. There was a huge hole in the ground, dark and extending to the underground.

This had initially been a cave for the Prophecy Stone mine underground, but it had become the first place to discover Subterranean Mutants. There were a lot of armored Sunil soldiers stationed there. Since they had very limited knowledge of the Subterranean Mutants, this was to prevent them from coming up to the surface.

The spaceship landed, and Han Xiao notified the camp commander. The commander welcomed the three of them, and the patrolling soldiers looked at them with respect.

It was late at night, and the sky was dark. The illuminating devices around the camp were the only sources of light. The three of them stood at the edge of the cave and looked down. Even the strong light could not reach the bottom.

Han Xiao was about to go down. This time, Herlous suddenly said, “Black Star, do you think this is… unethical?”

“Oh?” Han Xiao paused and turned to Herlous. “You mean eliminating the Subterranean Mutants?”

“Yes.” Herlous’ tone was anxious.

The appearance of Subterranean Mutants changed the nature of the issue. No one had expected to discover Planet Sunil’s natives. The Sunils was outsiders. If they wanted to resolve the Catastrophe, they had to deal with these native Subterranean Mutants. In a way, this had become an invasion.

Without the Black Star Army’s help, the Sunils would not have had the ability to deal with the Subterranean Mutants. They would have had no choice but to coexist with them in terror. Only with Black Star did the Sunil have confidence in eliminating them.

Comparing the power between the two sides, it was clear that as soon as the battle started, it would be a single-sided slaughter of the Subterranean Mutants.

Herlous was a Sunil, and he stood on the Sunils’ side. Even if this was not very ethical, he had to do this for the future of his race, but Black Star was different.

Black Star’s home, Planet Aquamarine, had once been invaded by DarkStar. Their situation was similar to that of the Subterranean Mutants, both victims of a higher civilization. Would Black Star stand on the Subterranean Mutants’ side and be unhappy with the Sunils’ actions?

Herlous was very worried about this and wanted to know what Han Xiao was thinking.

Chapter 620 - Budding Civilization

Han Xiao looked into Herlous’ eyes and saw nervousness and hesitation in them. It seemed like Herlous cared a lot about what he was going to say next.

Ever since Han Xiao became Calamity Grade, the Grade B officers had started to respect him more and more. He had known Herlous for many years and knew him well. Herlous had wasted many years before starting to help his race. Compared to these Sunil warriors who had been suffering for a long time, he was not as decisive and thought more about things.

In the previous life, Herlous had been willing to die while stopping the Catastrophe; he was very heroic. Now that his experiences were different, naturally, his mindset was different as well.

“You’re overthinking it. There are no ethics or morals in the battle of survival, just different sides. If I don’t help, the Sunils will be the ones that meet their end. Isn’t this what you guys hired me to prevent?”

Han Xiao patted Herlous’ shoulders and said, “Indeed, Sunils are outsiders, and the Subterranean Mutants are innocent. They’ve done nothing wrong. However, the rules of the jungle apply everywhere; the Subterranean Mutants are an obstacle to the survival of Sunil. Since you have no choice, don’t empathize with your enemies…”

“I know that, but how are we different from DarkStar if we do this?” Herlous replied.

Sunil’s mother planet had been invaded and destroyed by DarkStar; they were the victims. Now, they had become the invaders like DarkStar. Herlous did not know how to feel about this change of character.

“Sunil isn’t DarkStar. DarkStar destroys for the sake of destroying, but you people are trying to ensure your race’s future. The motives are different. This is a battle for survival between races. Since you Sunils can’t migrate again, the only thing left to do is to eliminate your enemies. There’s only the weak and strong, no wrong or wrong. Don’t feel too guilty about it…”

Han Xiao paused and added, “If the Subterranean Mutants paid to hire me and told me to chase the Sunils away, I might be on their side. You wouldn’t hope for me to chase away your race, would you?”

As a chaotic neutral and a professional mercenary, this was not an issue at all. He had no intention of interfering with Sunil’s decisions.

Battles of survival happened every day around the universe. A large number of species were being killed every second while many were being born.

Han Xiao’s attitude toward this made Herlous feel relieved. At least Black Star did not dislike him because of this.

“Stop chatting, let’s start,” Sehrinde said coldly and impatiently before jumping right into the cave.

Herlous sighed and jumped down, too.

Han Xiao activated Berserk Ape and followed behind.

…

The three of them descended for a while, and the cave entrance started to become hard to see. Their vision was filled with darkness, and there was not a single light source. Han Xiao turned on night vision.

About a few thousand meters underground, the three of them finally arrived at the bottom of the cave and stepped on solid ground.

In front of them was the pitch-black underground, the tunnels were twisted and complex. There were quite a few Prophecy Stone mines around there, which meant there were also many Subterranean Mutant nests. The Sunils had first discovered the Subterranean Mutants’ existence when they drugged till here. They had lost some exploration teams, so the digging had been stopped.

There were only marks of mining near the cave—any areas further in were the world of Subterranean Mutants. It was enormous; just the discovered area was already much bigger than Forest City. The Subterranean Mutants had probably reproduced for many years to be able to build such a magnificent underground world.

The temperature this deep under the ground was very high and contained rich heat energy. Han Xiao opened the vital sign detection radar. On it, a nest far away was filled with dense dots. Each dot represented a Subterranean Mutant, so their numbers were terrifying. In just one nest, there were tens of millions of Subterranean Mutants.

Sunil numbered these nests. The one that they were going to was the nearest Nest No. 1.

This was just the tip of an iceberg of the underground world. With how large Planet Sunil was, there was still an unknown number of nests that they had yet to discover. There were hundreds of millions of Subterranean Mutants. They were undoubtedly the owner of this planet.

The nests spread out from the Prophecy Stone mines. The dots were most dense right around the nests, like a city center.

After following the radar for a while, the three of them got closer to the nest. The corrosive slime from the Subterranean Mutants started to appear on the ground and the walls. From years and years of the Subterranean Mutants living here, the slime had turned into a thick and rubber-like layer. It felt dense and tough to the touch.

Beep beep!

This time, the radar suddenly rang. More than ten Mutants passed by in front of them. Han Xiao turned on the binoculars and locked onto the Mutants.

With one acceleration, Han Xiao instantly closed in on them. His movements left a series of afterimages, and in the blink of an eye, all the Mutants were beaten to the ground. In the face of Han Xiao’s Calamity Grade strength, the battle was completely one-sided.

Herlous and Sehrinde approached and secured the Mutants. Their mission was just labor work.

The Subterranean Mutants were more than one meter long, and they had certain characteristics of insect species. Their carapace protected their muscles, and hair extended from the gaps in between their carapace, secreting slime from the inside. Their head was very small, and they had yet to develop eyes, only four agile antennae on their head. Their mouth was filled with sharp teeth to aid them in consuming rocks. They had four very lean legs with backward joints, allowing them to sprint and jump. They had a spine and a tough tail covered in carapace with a shovel-shaped end. Their overall appearance was rather vicious.

“We’ve caught the samples. Shall we return now?” Herlous asked softly.

“You guys go first, I’m going deeper into the nest to take a look.” Han Xiao waved. The two of them did not object; they had no reason to worry about Han Xiao, given how strong he was. They took the ten or so Subterranean Mutants and returned the way they came from.

Han Xiao was the only one left. He looked at the battle information from earlier, and the attributes of the Subterranean Mutants popped up. Their total level was about thirty to forty, and they were beast type beings. They all had the Psychic Resistance talents. Other than that, there was nothing special.

Their psychic resistance is quite high indeed; they won’t be affected by the Prophecy Stones. Han Xiao nodded. Now, he had to find out the reason these Subterranean Mutants lived near the Prophecy Stones.

Activating the stealth function, Han Xiao moved deeper into the nest. He started to meet Subterranean Mutants more and more frequently. However, Berserk Ape’s stealth function was definitely not something that the Subterranean Mutants could discover. It was a smooth journey.

The closer he got to the center of the next, the bigger the Subterranean Mutants got. From over one meter long to more than four meters long, their carapace was also thicker.

Han Xiao suddenly realized that there were some skew slash marks on one of the stone walls that formed images with unknown meanings. He looked at it carefully and confirmed this was a drawing made by Subterranean Mutants using their tails.

“Is this a type of recording? The Subterranean Mutants’ language?”

The creation of words usually meant that civilization was sprouting.

Are the Subterranean Mutants in the transition from beasts to an intelligent species?

This thought flashed past, and Han Xiao continued forward. Very soon, he came to a Prophecy Stone mine. He noticed that there were not any signs that it had been mined before, as if the Subterranean Mutants had never used the Prophecy Stones, only guarding the mine.

Do the Subterranean Mutants just like the radiation from the Prophecy Stones? Han Xiao was curious. Suddenly, he thought of destroying a part of the mine so that he could test what the Subterranean Mutants’ reaction would be.

Han Xiao deactivated his stealth mode, took out the Watcher Instrument, and ruthlessly bombarded this small mine.

Boom!

The explosions made this part of the tunnel tremble.

The next moment, the radar showed that the Subterranean Mutants in the entire nest were gathering toward this place as if they had gone crazy.

The Subterranean Mutants sprinted over from all directions. Han Xiao casually set the Watcher Instrument into explosive attacks and free fire mode. Beams of light exploded within the beasts as its power easily tore many Subterranean Mutants apart.

The Subterranean Mutants came nonstop, but not even one could get close to Han Xiao without turning into shattered meat and becoming a part of the carcass pile that kept growing taller. Han Xiao strolled about casually. The huge difference in strength made the Subterranean Mutants’ advantage in numbers meaningless.

Although there was no danger, this phenomenon made Han Xiao realize one thing.

Why is that when I caused damage to the Prophecy Stone mine, this entire nest went haywire and they all came toward me?

This feels like the reaction a being will have when its weakness is attacked… Han Xiao started to speculate.

This meant that this nest had a collective mind. Maybe their communication method was psychic waves and there was a psychic network around the nest. The Prophecy Stones then happened to possess psychic radiation, which had affected these Subterranean Mutants for many years, causing their psychic abilities to evolve. Maybe the Subterranean Mutants were using the Prophecy Stones to maintain their psychic network.

Therefore, the Subterranean Mutants were using the Prophecy Stone mines as tools. It was a ‘communication base station’ for them!

That would explain why the Subterranean Mutants had set up their nests around the Prophecy Stone mines, or tribes might be a more suitable term. One mine could only be used by one Subterranean Mutant tribe, each tribe had no connection to the others, and the Prophecy Stone mines could be considered a part of these Subterranean Mutants.

This type of race specialty… why is it somewhat similar to the World Tree Civilization?

Suddenly, Han Xiao felt slight dizziness. Notifications popped up on his interface continuously like he was being spammed.

_____________________

You have received a psychic attack. Due to the high difference in level, you are immune to its damage. Judging debuff… passed. You are immune to the [Confused] status!

_____________________

Psychic attack? Han Xiao was shocked. He quickly looked at the battle information and noticed that the usual Subterranean Mutants did not have this ability, but these three- to four-meter elite Mutants all had the [Psychic Confusion] ability.

The level difference was too large. Plus, Han Xiao had [Advanced Psychological Resistance]. Most of the psychic attacks from the elite Mutants had no effect on him, but there were also very few of them that did pass the judgment out of luck and disrupted his mind.

Han Xiao became alert. Psychic attacks were a counter to his mana to health cycle. He did not remain in place anymore. The Berserk Ape activated in an instant and turned into a stream of black light, opening a bloody path in the wave of beasts.

Going back the way he had come and arriving at the cave entrance, he killed thousands of Subterranean Mutants in a short period. As long as Han Xiao had enough time, slaughtering all the Subterranean Mutants would be a piece of cake to him. However, the level difference was too huge; killing one Subterranean Mutant only gave one experience point. Even if he killed ten million Subterranean Mutants by himself, it would only give him the same number in experience. It was far from harvesting his leeks.

However, to the players, killing was a path to leveling up fast. There were players who did exactly that in Han Xiao’s previous life. In the end, they were wanted by countless organizations and used up all their revives every single day. These were even more fearless than the Great Mechanic Han.

Having collected quite an amount of intelligence, Han Xiao went out of the cave and returned to the surface. As soon as he came up, he saw Herlous and Sehrinde waiting for him. The ten or so Mutants that had been captured alive were all in cages and secured.

“Black Star, what did you discover?” Herlous smelled blood.

“Hmm, quite a lot of interesting information. We’ll talk when we get back.”

The three of them boarded the spaceship and returned to Forest City. The Sunil Research Department was already waiting. They smoothly handed over the Subterranean Mutants that they had captured.

Han Xiao shared his discoveries with the Sunil Research Department, regarding signs of Subterranean Mutants becoming a civilization, the use of the Prophecy Stone mines, and so on.

He easily completed many small goals from the Sunil Main Storyline missions. All the goals under ‘Slaughterer’ were completed, which gave him a few million experience. The Mission Rating increased visibly, too.

Next, he needed to wait for the Sunil Research Department to finish their study on the Subterranean Mutants, as well as wait for the galactic construction team to arrive and build Base No. 3. After these two things were done, the elimination of Subterranean Mutants would officially start.

…

Right after Han Xiao left, the Subterranean Mutants in Nest No. 1 collected all the carcasses and piled them up together. It was very bloody. If a normal person saw this, they would most likely vomit.

Countless Subterranean Mutants waved their antennae as if they were communicating silently.

After quite some time, all the Subterranean Mutants seemed to have come to an agreement. They all gathered around the mine area and lowered their bodies as if they were worshipping the mine, similar to worshipping ancient totems.

Right after that, all the Subterranean Mutants suddenly started to use their shovel-shaped tails to mine the Prophecy Stones, digging them up, and piled them together under tight protection.

A few hundred Subterranean Mutants wanted to eat the Prophecy Stones but were attacked by the others and quickly bitten to death.

The Subterranean Mutants dug very quickly. With their large numbers, not long after, the huge mine was entirely harvested. All the Prophecy Stones were dug out.

The tall, elite Subterranean Mutants moved the large Prophecy Stones and formed an enormous group, protected by countless other Subterranean Mutants that surrounded them. Then, this Subterranean Mutant tribe with tens of millions of members gave up their original nest and moved to further away.

During that, there were some that took a bite at the Prophecy Stones. Like the others, they were killed. Their bodies were torn apart, and the Prophecy Stones were dug out from their stomachs to continue to be transported.

This Subterranean Mutant tribe started to migrate, going further away from the nest that Han Xiao and the others had entered.

Chapter 621 - The Race with the Highest Potential

A few days later, the interstellar construction team finally arrived on Planet Sunil, and the temporary camp of the players completed its gorgeous transformation into a construction site. The structure of the buildings in Base No. 3 was created based on Base No. 1. In order to demonstrate their capabilities, the engineering team used their advanced equipment to quickly lay the foundations, allowing houses to be built.

The players also came in handy, being highly enthusiastic about their work. They were able to endure hardship for the sake of success, working hard to contribute to the expansion of the Black Star Army. Coupled with the efficient engineering team, the construction efficiency of Base No. 3 was surprisingly high.

More members of the Black Star Army responded to the call, gathering on Planet Sunil. All the officers such as Aroshia, Reynold, Sylvia, Harmon, and Ginette brought thousands of mercenaries with them. As for the other mercenaries, they arrived in streams one after another. So far, the number of players on Planet Sunil had increased to 280,000.

The Sunils shared a Grade A Ranked mission, generating a high degree of enthusiasm from the players. So far, all Grade A missions that players had seen were main storyline missions, and the upcoming war between the Sunils and the Subterranean Mutants was also seen as a new main storyline by the players.

Ever since the players entered the interstellar region, they had not experienced an incident that could be considered a main storyline. Because they all belonged to Black Star’s faction, they saw it as their core. Everyone believed that the Black Star Army was the main point to start the next main storyline, and the current situation only confirmed their line of thought.

Because of the Black Star Army, the players could obtain the main storyline of Planet Sunil. This was the storyline brought by the faction. The players could clearly distinguish between their primary and secondary relationships, and they could see the potential of being in the Black Star Army.

This meant that they would be able to grow with the faction and trigger more main storylines due to the nature of their work. The future would be bright for them!

Recognizing this, the players got extremely excited. Just fantasizing about the future of their faction would result in their hearts feeling as though there was an itch to be scratched. Maybe, the true advantage of being born on Planet Aquamarine was being able to join the Black Star Faction.

Han Xiao had always paid attention to the players’ dynamics, and such collective activities helped to improve cohesion. Main Storyline missions like the Sunils’ would make the players feel more at home. In his memory, Han Xiao could remember many Grade A missions, and this was part of his plan. Using the Sunils’ main storyline as a gauge, he would occasionally release a ‘main storyline’ mission to the players.

…

In the conference room, the officers gathered. This was the first time in many months that many of them had been present. All officers had been recruited to participate in this employment task. They had also brought out most of the army’s spaceships as well as a large amount of supplies.

Han Xiao sat at the head, projecting the data on the table as he explained the situation.

“The Sunils have studied the physiological structure of the Subterranean Mutants and have produced results. The Subterranean Mutants have some level of wisdom, and the antennae on their heads are important organs for perceiving the outside world. They release weak signals to detect their surroundings, which will feedback to the brain. In other words, the antennae can be said to serve as their eyes…”

Reynold nodded as he added, “It is a biological creature with awareness. This race has great potential.”

Everyone glanced at him but said nothing.

Han Xiao then continued. “The Subterranean Mutants have two ways of communicating with each other. The first method is to have their antennae in contact, and they can communicate spiritually. The second involves being in contact with a certain amount of Prophecy Stones. They will then be able to perform wide-area spiritual connection and communicate with all in the range at the same time. The number of Prophecy Stones determines the range.

“Other than this, the Subterranean Mutants have a weakness. They seem to be afraid of ultraviolet rays. Research has shown that normal sunlight can give them burns. This is both good news and bad news, as it means that we are unable to lure them up to the surface.

“Thus, we currently have two countermeasures. The first is to send the mercenaries underground to fight, clearing the mutant species out step by step. The second is to attempt to create a large-scale biochemical weapon against the Subterranean Mutants. Emerald Grass, this mission will be left to you.”

Han Xiao speedily explained the situation and began to assign tasks. Since he had a Pharmacist in his team, he could not be bothered to spend money on consulting various drug research facilities.

“Humph, only thinking of me when you have a problem and not looking for me when you are fine. Let me tell you, right now, I love to save people. As for researching whatever poison gas, don’t look for me. I only want to be a good person.”

Emerald Grass crossed her arms and turned her head sideways to express her dissatisfaction.

Han Xiao only shot a glance at her before saying, “The research funding that you applied for has been approved.”

“Relax, I’ll definitely research the poison out for you!” Emerald Grass immediately changed her tone without any shame.

Rolling his eyes, Han Xiao turned to look at Feidin, changing into a smile. “Feidin, I also need your help this time. I need you to help me detect the mental networks of the Subterranean Mutants and help us understand their communication status. Try and see if you can mislead them.”

Because the Subterranean Mutants utilized mental communication, this was where a Psychic would come into play.

“Is that why you called me over?” Feidin had on a helpless look, shaking his head. “I refuse.”

He was not a mercenary but a client. Thus, he did not wish to participate in the slaughter.

“Alright then…” Han Xiao did not press the issue. After all, he still had the Volga brothers. As he was about to address them, he suddenly recalled something and asked, “That’s right, how are things going on between you and Chen Xing?”

He still remembered his personal mission with Feidin.

“I’m chatting with her every day. Our relationship is still okay, I guess…”

Feidin scratched his face, looking a little embarrassed.

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly.

What are you embarrassed about? Are you sure your relationship is only okay?

Han Xiao felt his scalp turning numb. He felt that the result that he had foreseen seemed to be coming into reality…

This is too scary. Would I really see what soul partners look like in the flesh?

Coughing, Han Xiao knocked on the table, returning to the original topic.

“At the moment, we have only found seven nests, all of which are built near the Prophecy Stones underground. Reynold, capitalize on the high radiation nature of the Prophecy Stones and create an equipment that can detect the veins in a wide range. It would be best if it is detectable from the surface level. Configure it on a spaceship and have the spaceship search for the veins throughout the entire planet to find all their lairs.”

Reynold was seated on the edge of his seat, and he calmly nodded. “It shall be done.”

At this time, Herlous scratched his head before suddenly interrupting. “I have a question.”

Han Xiao turned to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Actually, I wanted to ask this since just now…” Herlous pointed at Reynold. “But who is he?”

Reynold had joined less than a month ago, and other than Sylvia and Aroshia who always stayed at Base No.1, the rest of the Officers present were not aware of him. However, they could feel the imposing aura released by Reynold, which was probably the strongest other than Black Star himself. Thus, Herlous asked the question that was in everyone’s hearts.

“My name is Reynold. I’m a Mechanic. Because I admire His Excellency Black Star’s style and grace, I specially came to join the Black Star Army and to learn from him. Black Star is now my teacher, and Sylvia my Senior Sister. I’m currently handling the post of Logistics Manager in the Black Star Army and look forward to working with all of you.”

Reynold’s tone was solemn and serious.

“Senior Sister‽” Everyone present was shocked, staring at Sylvia with wide eyes. Every one of them had their suspicions carved directly on their faces.

Sylvia shivered in response, shrinking back as she exclaimed, “I’ve said it hundreds of times already, don’t… don’t call me that!”

With this episode, everyone now knew who Reynold was and accepted this new colleague.

After finishing this matter, Han Xiao stood up and simply said, “Get to work.”

…

Two days passed.

The sun shone brightly overhead.

The players gathered at the military camp that was situated beside the burrow. There was also a fully armored squadron of Sunils, ready to set off.

It was the day on which they would act officially. Due to the fear of ultraviolet rays, the plan to lure the Subterranean Mutants out of their holes had been abandoned. It also took time for the development of poisons and the detection of more burrows, so all that could be done now was to forcefully attack.

Unlike the serious and silent atmosphere on the Sunil side, the players were excited and raring to go.

“With so many people moving, this will be a big scene!”

“Hehe, the more the merrier.”

The Main Storyline mission officially started, and a large portion of players had arrived. The majority were basically battle hungry people. With this mission being a war between races, to participate personally in such a battlefront with over 100,000 people would rouse the blood in most people.

However, most of the players did not care about the ethnic status of the Subterranean Mutants. They only cared about the task requirements. He just had to tell them where to go, who to kill, and how much they would get in return.

Hundreds of thousands of players as well as the squad from Sunil faced the commander of this operation, Herlous. Behind him stood Sehrinde and a batch of Sunil warriors, and beside him was a portion of the Black Star Officers, mainly Aroshia, Ginette, Harmon, and the Volga brothers.

Han Xiao did not move out with them. He was busy supervising the progress of Base No. 3, preventing any deaths as well as preventing the engineers from cutting corners.

In order to allow the huge number of troops to enter the ground, the Sunils had widened the diameter of the cave’s entrance over the last few days. The yawning black hole of the cave’s mouth resembled the mouth of an abyss.

Herlous faced the crowd and started to speak. Using his Pugilist energy, his voice was amplified into surging waves, spreading to the whole army.

“Warriors of Sunil, our race has suffered too many hardships. The last enemy is now hidden underground. Only by getting rid of them can we end it all and lead Sunil to a brighter future. My comrades, let us battle!”

Every Sunil soldier’s breathing turned heavy. Every person who was willing to become a soldier had long decided to sacrifice their life for their race. Now, there was hope. Everyone was full of zeal, and the Subterranean Mutants in the ground seemed to have suddenly become the enemies in their eyes.

“Let’s go!”

Herlous led the charge into the cave, and the huge expeditionary force followed close behind him, entering the hole with a mighty roar.

The long, arduous march failed to obliterate the high morale of the Sunils, and many players were also affected by the atmosphere, feeling that they were saving Sunil and developing a sense of pride.

Finally, the vanguard reached the bottom and quickly took out various lighting equipment, brightening the dark underground world. Unexpectedly, the troops did not continue to move forward but rather stayed around the entrance to construct a camp.

Because the subterranean world was too large, there were several nests around them that would not be able to be eliminated overnight. Therefore, their tactic was to build a camp step by step in the subterranean world to serve as a bridgehead and supply point for both the soldiers and the mercenaries.

After arranging the teams, Herlous turned on the life detection radar. A glance at it gave him a huge surprise.

In the area of the first nest that they had explored prior, all life signals had already disappeared!

This time, their target was Nest No. 1, but their target had vanished.

Herlous’ surprise showed on his face, and he even wondered if the radar had malfunctioned.

Herlous started to become alert. Because they did not know much about the Subterranean Mutants, this lack of knowledge meant danger.

At this time, the rear troops entered one after another. Herlous quickly passed down the order to have the construction of the camp passed over to the main force before taking the vanguard to Nest No.1.

As they penetrated deeper underground, Herlous grew more vigilant, preparing to be attacked at any time. However, he went unimpeded all the way to the depths of the lair.

The Subterranean Mutants in Nest No. 1 seemed to have vanished into thin air.

“Where have they gone?”

Herlous could not wrap his head around it, and without being stopped, he quickly reached the location of the Prophecy Stone Mine.

Upon seeing the condition of the stones, everyone present was stunned.

The veins were all empty, and there were obvious traces of mining left by the Subterranean Mutants, as if they had dug out all the Prophecy Stones.

Herlous hurriedly asked the team to investigate the entire lair. Before long, he came to the conclusion that the Subterranean Mutant tribe had left the lair with the Prophecy Stones.

“Why would they do this? The other nests have obviously not changed, but the nest we last explored disappeared…”

Herlous suddenly opened his eyes wide in realization. Could it be that their appearance had caused the Subterranean Mutants to relocate?

The level of wisdom displayed by them had gone beyond his imagination.

And there were tens of millions of such Subterranean Mutants! It had only taken them a few days to withdraw completely—this efficiency was too frightening!

“What do we do now?”

Everyone gazed at each other. They had come over with high morale, only to find out that the enemy had disappeared. It felt as though they had taken a full swing on a cotton bed. Their hearts were empty, full of disappointment.

Herlous hesitated a moment before replying, “We’ll set up camp first. The situation is now beyond our control. I’ll first report back to the upper echelons.”

…

“What, you said that the Subterranean Mutants are showing incredible wisdom‽”

The Sunil superior Otis sucked in a breath of cold air when he received the report.

The Prophecy Stones were something that the Sunils had to destroy. They had thought that the Subterranean Mutants were confined to the Prophecy Stone veins, but they did not expect that they would be able to actively dig out the stones and move around.

Even though the veins would go, the Prophecy Stones produced by the veins would still exist. To have the Prophecy Stones follow the Subterranean Mutants as they moved around would undoubtedly make it harder to destroy.

Furthermore, the potential shown by the Subterranean Mutants raised warning bells in Otis’ heart.

“With time, the Subterranean Mutants will surely grow into an intelligent race, and sooner or later, they will form a new civilization, competing with us for the resources of the planet. They must be smothered while they’re still in the cradle!” Otis clenched his fists tightly.

…

“Ah? They took the Prophecy Stones and ran? What nonsense is this?”

Han Xiao had also received the report, and his expression was thoughtful.

He suddenly thought of a bold idea.

Chapter 622 - Plan B, Migration

Han Xiao had originally thought that the Subterranean Mutants needed to set up their nests near the mines and would not move. However, Herlous’ report had completely refreshed his understanding of these Subterranean Mutants. They could actually move house as well!

They had just gained the high ground and were about to extract all the crystals but found out that the other party had run away with all the crystals!

“They actually took the initiative to escape? Could it be because of our last raid on their nest?” Han Xiao tried to work out what was going on.

The entire nest had surrounded him back then, but he had still been able to escape while killing many of their brethren. Although he had only killed a few thousand Subterranean Mutants, all the other mutants who were telepathically connected could clearly feel the pain of death. As such, he single-handedly terrified the tens of thousands of mutants.

Fearing the strong was an innate instinct. As such, the mutants of the first nest treated him as their natural enemy and decided to all migrate away. Their telepathic connection provided the mutants with an extremely efficient way to make such a decision.

“That should be the case.” Han Xiao rubbed his head and felt that his guess was probably right. The Subterranean Mutants behaved just like animals. They would retreat if they faced a danger that they could not resist.

Such a situation immediately gave him a new plan.

The Sunils wanted to get rid of the Subterranean Mutants mainly to wipe out the Prophecy Stone Mines that the Subterranean Mutants were protecting. However, recent events had proven that the Subterranean Mutants were capable of digging up the mines and shifting them away. Since those mines were able to be shifted, the contradiction had been resolved.

As long as these Subterranean Mutants left the planet with the Prophecy Stones, the problem would immediately be solved. This way, the Sunils would not need to wipe out the Subterranean Mutant race, and it was a win-win situation for both parties.

Han Xiao immediately frowned and understood the difficulty of such a task. While this is a great idea, it was not a very feasible one. He would have to catch the Subterranean Mutants that numbered in the billions one by one and choose an uninhabited planet. He would then have to prepare a large number of spaceships to transport them all. This would require much more manpower and resources.

If they could migrate, the Sunils would have left by now.

Obviously, the Sunils did not have such strength and were not willing to abandon their homeland.

Thus, the likelihood of exterminating the Subterranean Mutants seemed higher, and it would get rid of their problem once and for all. To the Sunils, protecting the Subterranean Mutants was just a waste of resources, and destruction was the simplest.

“If I want to use migration as an alternative to elimination, I will need an external force like a large financial group to step in…”

Han Xiao’s brows were furrowed. Just what was the meaning of migrating all the Subterranean Mutants? Could the benefits of an undeveloped race exceed the cost to migrating them? If the benefits did not outweigh the costs, the value of saving them would reduce greatly.

According to their employment terms, protecting the mutants was completely unnecessary.

Furthermore, Han Xiao knew that the Sunils would definitely favor extermination.

Thus, this meant that the survival and death of an entire race would be determined by a thought of his.

Should he save them or not?

Han Xiao began hesitating. Even if the Sunils detected this other possibility, they definitely would not take the initiative to mention it. Thus, as long as Han Xiao did not suggest this alternative, the Subterranean Mutants would definitely be exterminated.

Originally, he had been no more than an executioner to complete the employment contract, but after realizing this alternative, his role had changed. He was no longer a simple mercenary but the individual who could decide the fate of an entire race. The pressure of the decision lay squarely on his shoulders.

When he had no other choice, Han Xiao would not feel the slightest bit of guilt. However, things were different now. A weak race did not have the ability to control their own life or death, but he had the authority to determine the fate of an entire race.

After pondering for a long while, Han Xiao let out a long sigh and ordered, “Herlous, continue the operation and attack another nest.”

“Understood.” Herlous hung up the call.

Han Xiao then called Sylvia over. He got her to overlook the construction team and left the construction site to find Feidin, who was enjoying nature in the forest.

In the lush forest, Feidin was seated underneath a tree with his formless psychic energy creating ripples in the air. This was the phenomenon of a Psychic cultivating.

Psychic energy was the combination of both energy and mental energy and there were some Espers who had such abilities. However, the Psychics were ranked as one of the top five Super systems because they had a complete training system. As long as one had the talent, one would be able to grasp psychic energy through training alone and didn’t require the mutation of genes.

“Why are you here?”

Upon hearing Han Xiao’s footsteps, Feidin opened his eyes and revealed a courteous smile. However, a distant look could be seen in his eyes.

Feidin truly felt disgusted with the current employment mission of the Black Star Army. Wiping out an entire race had touched his bottom line, and his attitude toward Han Xiao had changed because of this.

“I wish to seek your help. It is the same request as before. I hope that you can attempt to communicate with the Subterranean Mutants,” Han Xiao said slowly.

“Didn’t I reject you already? My answer is the same,” Feidin replied without even thinking. He knew that this war was not wrong, but he did not wish to be the accomplice of a massacre.

Han Xiao was not too surprised. Based on his understanding of Feidin, he knew that Feidin was a kindhearted individual.

“You misunderstood me. The same reason isn’t the same as before…” Han Xiao then briefly described his idea of a migration before saying with a smile, “If we can establish a bridge of communication, this hypothetical situation may become reality.”

Feidin’s eyes brightened up, and he stood up abruptly. “Are you serious‽”

“You know my reputation.” Han Xiao smiled.

Feidin looked at Han Xiao and revealed a warm smile that would cause youthful girls to shriek in excitement. “I didn’t misjudge you after all. Let’s go. I will do my best to help you.”

They smiled at each other.

Seeking help from Feidin was Han Xiao’s decision. He had decided to protect the Subterranean Mutants.

It was not out of the kindness of his heart but his desire for growth.

The benefits of the Sunil employment would be gone after the completion of the mission, but migrating the Subterranean Mutants would leave him with future benefits. This was akin to planting two different kinds of crops in the same piece of land.

The Subterranean Mutant race was a race with great potential, and there was a chance for them to develop into a new NPC resource. There was value for Han Xiao to make such an investment. While the initial investment would not be a small amount, Han Xiao had the capital at the moment to have a few additional investments.

Telepathic communication would resolve the problem of communication. If the Subterranean Mutants could come to an agreement with him and willingly leave Planet Sunil, he would not need to capture them one by one, and it would save him a lot of trouble.

However, the Subterranean Mutants might not be able to understand the concept of the galaxy and planets. They had not even explored the entire planet before. Thus, the only solution would be to let those Subterranean Mutants feel the threat of death and control them with fear.

Thus, massacres still could not be avoided.

Apart from this, there was another reason. The accomplishment of saving an entire race was much greater, and the players would enjoy playing the role of being saviors much more. Thus, this would help create a better sense of belonging to the Black Star Army.

Of course, his Favorability with Feidin was also another reason. Han Xiao did not want the crops planted in his backyard to escape from him.

…

Half an hour later, the expedition forces set up a temporary camp, and their illumination equipment lit up the dark underground world. The Sunil armed forces were currently on guard outside the camp.

Herlous had already received his next order and led the army to the coordinates of the second nest.

As they approached the nest, the vanguard forces met a large group of around three hundred mutants.

“Woah, they are much uglier than in the pictures.”

Many players revealed looks of disgust with some players turning pale. The Subterranean Mutants that had the appearance of bugs looked like monsters with unpardonable sins in this superficial generation.

These Subterranean Mutants also spotted the expedition forces and gathered together as though they were curious about these creatures that they had never seen before.

Tuk tuk tuk!

The next moment, the cannons were fired!

The Sunil soldiers remained expressionless as they fired their cannons without any hesitation. The cannon fire broke the silence of the underground world and illuminated the darkness. The dense wave of cannon fire landed on the bodies of the Subterranean Mutants and reduced them to meat paste.

“Advance!”

The sergeants of the various squads roared, and the Sunil force marched forward in neat rows and synchronized steps.

Rumble!

Right at this moment, a rumbling sound could be heard from the direction of the nest, and the ground began to tremor. It was the sound of thousands of beasts approaching them.

“Defensive formation! Hold your ground!”

The Sunil forces adjusted their formation swiftly and prepared themselves for the impact.

Boom!

A black wave flooded over from all the different tunnels. The second nest was also home to millions of mutants.

Right at this moment, Herlous’ voice thundered.

“Black Star mercenaries, all weapons free!”

The army of players charged out, and rainbow-colored lights covered the entire battlefield.

Boom!

Both waves collided with each other, and war broke out!

…

At the same time, Han Xiao arrived at the Sunil research facility with Feidin and borrowed the few Subterranean Mutants that they captured alive previously.

The ten or so Subterranean Mutants were locked up separately and were not allowed to come into contact with each other. A small pile of Prophecy Stones was placed in the middle for them to establish telepathic connection.

“You are the expert; I shall hand them over to you,” Han Xiao said.

Feidin smiled and released his psychic energy.

The Subterranean Mutants used the Prophecy Stones as a communication hub. As long as a Psychic could tune his psychic energy to the same frequency as the mutants, he would be able to communicate with the mutants.

After a period of adjustment, Feidin’s eyes lit up. “Success!”

Just as he said that, his expression immediately became weird.

“What’s wrong?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Er… things are slightly different from what I expected,” Feidin said with a weird tone. “Accept my mental connection. I will pull you into the conversation.”

Han Xiao nodded and did not reject Feidin’s mental connection.

The instant he accepted the connection, his vision was split into two. One was the real world, and the other was a vast white colored space without an end in sight. This was the telepathic space, and he could cut off the connection at any time.

The Subterranean Mutants and Feidin were also in this space, and their locations were the same as in reality. They all took on the appearance of glowing bodies, and only their silhouettes could be seen.

Before Han Xiao could even react, he could hear the mutants chattering away.

“Eh? Another one of our brethren.”

“Why do they look slightly different? They’re too ugly.”

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment and never expected the Subterranean Mutants to treat him as one of them. The mutants must have thought that the only ones who could enter this telepathic world were their own kind.

These Subterranean Mutants then changed the topic and began to chat among themselves.

“Why are we locked up?”

“I don’t know. Also, you asked this question before.”

“Those long creatures look so strange. They actually feed us food and take away our feces.”

“Haha, I understand! Our feces must be their food!”

“I see! I understand too! So, the more we excrete, the more they will feed us!”

“How sick, there are actually those who eat feces.”

“Hehe, I just had a nice, big sh*t. They will definitely have a full meal.”

“Woah, how amazing.”

Just what is this nonsense… Han Xiao listened until his mouth cramped up. However, this conclusion was truly sensible from the perspective of the mutants.

He had thought that these mutants would be filled with hatred but never expected their conversation to be so casual and light-hearted…

Chapter 623 - One Batch at a Time (1)

While the picture was completely different from what Han Xiao had expected, Han Xiao received quite a bit of information from their conversation.

The Subterranean Mutants had the ability to think logically and had a certain level of intelligence. However, their ability to recognize and differentiate the different races was not fully developed yet.

After knowing that Feidin was able to communicate with the Subterranean Mutants, Han Xiao terminated the mental link.

“We can definitely communicate with them through the Prophecy Stones. If we make use of the mine, we should be able to communicate with the entire nest,” Feidin said.

“Then let’s find a nest to try.”

Han Xiao nodded and had a target in mind.

…

A thick bloody smell filled Nest No. 2, with puddles of blood all around. This was the scene after a massacre.

The faces of many players turned pale as the scene before them was truly too shocking. Even after completing a small part of their mission, the players could not be happy. Many of them could not help but turn on the green filter mode.

Only the Sunil warriors were completely calm. They were far too used to seeing such a sight and were completely indifferent toward it. Furthermore, they had lost some of their soldiers in the previous battle, and their armor was full of cracks.

Herlous led the vanguard troops ahead and destroyed the entire nest. He killed millions of mutants, and the remaining few escaped in fear, taking with them a portion of the Prophecy Stones.

The logistics troops began to mine the Prophecy Stones, and the main troops reorganized their formation on the spot. They used flamethrowers to burn up the corpses of the Subterranean Mutants.

Herlous held onto his Battleship Slicing Blade and was resting by the side. Previously, he had been the tip of the spear and was like moving meat grinder, single handedly killing tens of thousands of Subterranean Mutants. His strength was far from Han Xiao’s, and he consumed a great deal of stamina in the battle.

After a while, a soldier ran over and gave a military salute.

“The mining is complete. Commander, please give us your next order.”

“Return to the temporary camp and replenish our ammunition.”

While the Subterranean Mutants were not strong, their numbers were frightening. Cleaning up a single nest had exhausted over sixty percent of their ammunition, and almost all the players had some injuries.

If they continued to attack the nests, the number of casualties would definitely increase. Thus, Herlous decided to return to camp and rest for a few hours first.

The troops marched back to their temporary camp, and Herlous saw two figures appearing in the camp—Han Xiao and Feidin.

“Why are the two of you here?” Herlous welcomed them with a questioning look on his face.

Han Xiao did not reply to the question and looked toward the troops. “How are the casualties?”

“There are very few casualties, but…” Herlous brows were furrowed. “This is only the first battle, and there are many nests all around the planet. The number of casualties isn’t ideal. The deaths of the Sunils will be too severe, and we can only rely on our mercenaries.”

The mine detector that Reynold had developed was already in use, and Han Xiao had deployed a few dozen spaceships to scan the entire planet. In just a short few days, they had already found a few dozen underground mines all over the planet.

Some of the nests were large and some small. The largest had a population of a few hundred million while the smallest had millions at the very least. The total number of Subterranean Mutants underground had reached a staggering few billion.

The moment he thought about the staggering number of enemies, Herlous’ heart sank.

Furthermore, the positions of the other nests were different, and new underground tunnels had to be made in many locations. Without the undying Black Star Army, it was no more than a dream for the Sunils to wipe out the mutants. Only the Black Star Army would be capable of such a feat.

Han Xiao knew what Herlous was thinking about and briefly explained his plan of migrating the mutants. “I am here to communicate with the Subterranean Mutants. If I can convince a portion of the mutants to submit to us and get the mutants to convince other mutants, we will be able to greatly reduce the number of enemies.”

Herlous’ eyes lit up. He would naturally be willing to do so if it would reduce the number of casualties when cleaning up the mutants. “Do we have to change our strategy?”

“No, continue to attack the nests of the mutants, but there isn’t a need to chase those who escape. I want to plant a seed of fear in their hearts as it will make it easier to persuade them,” Han Xiao said slowly.

Compared to killing, this was a much more efficient method.

After leaving the camp, Han Xiao and Feidin paid a visit to the second nest and caught up to the mutants that had escaped.

The number of casualties in this tribe was disastrous, and upon discovering Han Xiao and Feidin, a fight could not be avoided. However, they could not threaten Han Xiao in the slightest.

Han Xiao summoned his Mechanical Army and killed a path toward the Prophecy Stones that these mutants were moving. They then infiltrated the mental network of the mutants.

The next moment, all the attacking mutants suddenly paused. If they had expressions on their faces, they would surely have looked dumbfounded.

In their knowledge, only those of their kind were capable of connecting to them mentally. However, Han Xiao had just killed them and was obviously not their kind. This situation confused the Subterranean Mutants, whose intelligence was not fully developed.

“Who are you?”

In the mental network, many of the mutants revealed emotions of shock.

“I am Black Star, an emissary from the galaxy…” Han Xiao then briefly explained what was going on with ‘appropriate’ changes.

He threw the entire blame of massacring the Subterranean Mutants to the Sunils, and Han Xiao described the Sunils as though they were demons. He then described himself as someone willing to help their race and a friendly emissary who was convincing the Sunils to stop their massacre. He then promised that he could stop the slaughter on the condition that they surrendered and moved out of this planet.

To allow the mutants to understand what was going on, Han Xiao had also briefly mentioned some basic knowledge of the universe and some of the benefits that they could receive.

The efficiency of a mental connection was extremely high, and the entire race fell into deep thought. It was as though they had just listened to the preaching of a heavenly book.

To the galactic residents, what Han Xiao had just said was no more than common sense. However, it completely changed the view that the mutants had of the world. In their eyes, the underground world was their entire world, and the planet and galaxy were completely new concepts.

The Subterranean Mutants viewed those who came from above ground as their enemies, and the Sunils treated them the same.

A mutant that seemed to be the leader of the tribe then took the initiative to communicate with Han Xiao.

“We are willing to surrender. Please do not hurt us anymore.”

Almost all the mutants knelt down on the ground and displayed their intent to submit.

The tribe leader treated Han Xiao extremely respectfully. The words that came out from Han Xiao’s mouth far exceeded the boundaries of his knowledge and was far too shocking to him. Because of their undeveloped intelligence, they treated Han Xiao as a god-like figure and began worshiping him.

The persuasion process was far easier than he had imagined.

But thinking back, it was not too surprising. The intelligence of the Subterranean Mutants was no different from children. They did not understand any complex feelings such as glory or humiliation, and their view of hatred was also extremely basic.

The Subterranean Mutants had not grown out of their bestial nature. Beasts that were afraid would reveal signs of submission. This tribe that had been massacred by Herlous was already thoroughly frightened.

The Subterranean Mutants did not have any natural predators, and they could feed on the rocks underground without fighting with each other. Thus, they lived in peace and rarely experienced battle. At the very most, they would have small conflicts with other tribes. As such, their race was extremely simple.

The only downside was that they were far too ugly. It was probably because the underground world was far too dark, and no one could even see their appearance. Thus, they just grew as they wished.

With the ability to communicate, Han Xiao could now understand the structure of their civilization. After a series of questions, Han Xiao finally had a clear understanding of the Subterranean Mutant race.

The Subterranean Mutants knew that there were other nests near them, and they would occasionally fight each other to snatch Prophecy Stones. The structure of their society was at the caveman stage, and every tribe had a tribe leader with the development of every tribe being different. There were some with more intelligence and others that were more boorish. Their culture was starting to sprout into many different kinds of flowers.

If they developed according to their original path, the Subterranean Mutants would take many more years before the various tribes combined into a civilization with intellect and began forming kingdoms. With his interference, their development speed will be shortened by thousands of years.

“What do we need to do?” the tribe leader asked obediently.

Han Xiao thought for a while before saying, “Convince the tribes in this region and disseminate my intention. From now on, you will be my emissary, and if you complete my mission, go to the cave nearby to find the guests from the surface. They will not harm you.”

“Woah, this is great!”

“They won’t attack us anymore!”

The entire tribe broke out in cheers.

After giving a series of instructions and ensuring that the tribe knew their mission, Han Xiao was prepared to leave. He then realized something and asked the tribe leader, “Right, what is your name?”

“What is a name?” The tribe leader was puzzled.

Han Xiao could only helplessly explain, “It is a way to address you to allow others to know that this word represents you. For example, I am Black Star, and Black Star is me…”

The tribe leader nodded, looking as though he understood what Han Xiao said.

“Sigh, alright. I shall give you a name…” Han Xiao then looked at Feidin beside him and immediately had an idea. “Since you are so good looking, you shall be called Chen Xing.”

Feidin’s mental energy immediately began fluctuating wildly, and Chen Xing who was inside him began roaring, “I will definitely kill you! Do you hear me‽ I will definitely kill you!”

The ugly Subterranean Mutants sharing the same name as her was something that Chen Xing would never be able to accept.

Feidin had a helpless look on his face. “Black Star, don’t tease her so much.”

“Tsk tsk, the two of you are indeed of one body. You are so protective of her.” Han Xiao clicked his tongue before saying to the tribe leader, “Okay, ignored what I just said. You shall be called Germinal.”

There should not be anyone jumping out from their graves to disagree with him.

“Germinal…” the tribe leader muttered to himself before suddenly crying out with joy. “I have a name!”

“As for your tribe…” Han Xiao stroked his chin. “Let’s just call it the Germinal Tribe.”

Wait… does this mean that this fellow is the Germinal Leader?

Seeing the overjoyed tribe leader, Han Xiao had a strange look on his face.

Chapter 624 - One Batch at a Time (2)

It was much more effective for the Germinal Tribe to persuade their own kind.

This region had five nests. One had been scared away by Han Xiao, and the Germinal Tribe had surrendered. Over the next few days, Herlous would first cripple the final three tribes before sending the Germinal Tribe to persuade the remnants of the tribes.

This method was far more effective than purely massacring, and the region was cleared out very quickly.

This truly surprised the Sunil soldiers. They had never imagined that the legendary Black Star would have such a brilliant strategic mind, and they were truly convinced by his abilities. They did not need to waste any time chasing after the mutants that had escaped, and the escapees of the three tribes had been convinced by the Germinal Tribe to submit. These mutants then brought their respective Prophecy Stones Base to surrender. This saved them a great deal of effort and prevented many casualties.

The players who participated in the battle were locked in a fierce debate on the forums. After learning that the Subterranean Mutants had intelligence, a portion of the players began to disagree with the action of ‘massacring’ them. As such, Han Xiao’s action of persuading the mutants to submit had gained the approval of many players. However, such players formed the minority, and they were players who were extremely emotional.

In the beginning, only a small portion of players discussed such an issue, and the majority of the players were only bothered about completing their mission and did not think so much. But as more and more threads related to this matter were created, many players could not help but input their opinion and choose a side.

Most people were used to feeling empathy for the weak and after seeing the cruel massacre, many players started to feel apprehensive about massacring the mutants. While the Subterranean Mutants look pretty disgusting, after looking at them for a long time, they were still pretty pleasant to the… what bullsh*t! They aren’t pleasant looking in any way at all!

In any case, despite feeling compassion toward the mutants, the players wouldn’t hold anything back when carrying out their mission.

However, the name of ‘Germinal Tribe’ had truly made all the players laugh until their sides ached.

All these players had been through the events of Version 1.0 and had a deep impression of the Germinal Organization. Thus, they could not help but joke about it on the forums.

“Germinal: Coach, I want to eat a boxed lunch!”

“Germinal: Now that things have developed to such an extent, I shall not hide matters anymore. It is time for me to reveal my true self! Are those of noble birth worth more than us‽”

“Shock! Germinal is actually the true boss. It is a mysterious force in the universe with their alternate accounts all over the galaxy. The Germinal leader that we saw on Planet Aquamarine was no more than one of its doppelgangers. Such a powerful organization has been hidden for billions of years, and we have only seen the tip of the iceberg…”

“Germinal: Hmm? Has my alternate account been exposed?”

“I understand now. This is the legacy of one’s faith and beliefs. I must spread the seeds of revolution throughout the entire universe. Germinal shall live forever! Our spirit will live forever!”

“The Germinals up in the heavens are watching all of you and have given you a like.”

“Continue bragging. The Germinals are extremely pleased.”

The presence of the Germinal Tribe lightened the heavy mood considerably.

In this region, only the final tribe that had escaped was left. Herlous personally led the troops and gave chase to the escaping tribe. All the surrendered mutants led the way with their superior digging abilities. Under the guidance of the radar, they very quickly found the new nest that had been dug by the final tribe.

This time, a battle did not break out, and the Germinal Tribe Leader communicated with the leader of the escaping tribe to convey Han Xiao’s message.

This escaping tribe did not fight back at all. When Germinal displayed Han Xiao’s figure, this tribe immediately recognized him.

Han Xiao was the one who had scared them into escaping and left a shadow in their hearts. This tribe was extremely timid, and the moment Germinal mentioned Han Xiao’s name, they did not even hesitate in the slightest and instantly came to an agreement in their mental network to surrender.

This was the first time that the problem had been taken care of without fighting. From the depths of his heart, Herlous truly felt that Han Xiao’s decision was extremely wise.

The five nests in this region had been completely cleaned up, and Herlous pulled back all of his troops from the underground world. There were many more regions for him to clean up, and dealing with these surrendered mutants would be another problem.

Herlous sought instructions from Han Xiao, and Han Xiao’s reply was simple. Since there were too many Subterranean Mutants and they were not willing to come above ground, together with the fact that it was too expensive to watch over them, the Subterranean Mutants would temporarily remain in their region with the five tribes living together. Han Xiao would then set up some monitoring devices to monitor the actions of those surrendered tribes. Following which, the expedition force would take the Germinal leader and a few tribe members as a diplomatic team to persuade the other tribes.

After seeing the effectiveness of Han Xiao’s plan, Herlous had no disagreements with his arrangements.

…

In the following days, the expedition force adopted the same strategy again.

All the underground mines on Planet Sunil had been detected by the radar, and there were 127 Subterranean Mutant nests in total. They were divided into 41 different regions, and the expedition forces cleared up almost half of the mutants all across the planet. The number of surrendered Subterranean Mutants reached a staggering 1.7 billion, and the number slaughtered would only be higher.

However, the persuasion method did not always work. Every mutant tribe had developed independently, and the level of development differed from region to region. There were certain regions that had not even developed intelligence and were not able to understand words at all, only capable of unintelligible grunts. Without any way to communicate at all, the only way to take care of them would be to slaughter them all.

All the players received great rewards from the [Eliminate Subterranean Mutants] quest, and Han Xiao was extremely pleased as well.

With the players joyfully earning their reward, Han Xiao did not remain idle and continued to harvest the wallets and experience of the players as well. His experience stash slowly approached the one billion mark.

The amount of experience points he would require in the future to level up was a sky-high figure. He had no choice but to work hard and harvest them now.

The expedition force was on track, and Base No. 3 had been fully constructed. A new and majestic Black Star base had taken root on Planet Sunil.

All the players gave a good review and shared its glory.

Everything went smoothly for Herlous, and Han Xiao did not have to personally take action. He had more than enough time to perfect Base No. 3, and this time, he was no longer alone. With Reynold as his assistant, everything went as planned, and both of them very quickly completed the factory for Base No. 3.

Reynold’s personality was far too serious, and he was extremely unbearable normally. But when it came to work, his serious personality was perfect. Han Xiao was extremely pleased with Reynold’s efficiency, and his [Perfect Mechanical Sense] came in extremely handy.

Han Xiao had been eyeing this talent for a very long time already. With both of them working together for a long period of time, Han Xiao tried every possible method up his sleeves to try and activate Reynold’s mission but failed miserably. When facing the blockheaded Reynold, Han Xiao truly did not know how to obtain the [Perfect Mechanical Sense] Molding Ability.

However, Han Xiao did know about other Mechanic talents that were not Molding Abilities, such as [Elementary Grade Mechanical Sense], [Accurate Mechanical Sense], and so on. Their effects were naturally far from being compared to [Perfect Mechanical Sense], but something was better than nothing.

He was a Mechanic after all, and it was truly depressing that he did not even have a Mechanic talent. Looking at all his talents on the interface, those who did not know him would think that he was a main tank.

It was a pity that the Mechanical Sense talents were pretty far away. They were not in this Star Cluster, and Han Xiao did not have time to go right now.

Emerald Grass finally had some progress with her research. She managed to develop an infectious biological weapon that targeted the Subterranean Mutant’s body structure and genes. After being infected, the Subterranean Mutants would slowly become weak with their outer shell slowly shedding. Their appetite would gradually be reduced to the point they were not able to consume anything. They would then die from either sickness or hunger in about ten days.

According to current circumstances, there was no need to make use of this biological weapon. After all, the mission was no longer to exterminate but migrate.

However, since the research had already been completed, Han Xiao still gave some of it to Herlous and instructed him to use it carefully. At the very least, this would greatly increase his efficiency.

On the second day after the development of the biological weapon, the upper echelons of Sunil came to visit.

In the guest room of Base No. 3, the two were seated opposite each other.

“This is truly a magnificent base.”

Otis took the initiative to speak. His words were said with a fawning tone, and the envy in his eyes could not be concealed.

In just a short period of time, Black Star had created an astounding base. The wealth that Black Star had displayed truly made the Sunils feel their inferiority.

“It’s fine.” Han Xiao sat with his legs crossed and slowly said, “The expedition is going smoothly. Is there another reason behind your visit today?”

“Your Excellency Black Star, we wish to make a suggestion,” Otis replied in a deep voice.

“You guys are the employers and have this right.”

“Your plan is remarkably effective, and many of the Subterranean Mutants are gathered together. I think that this is a good opportunity to make use of the biological weapon and kill them all.”

Han Xiao suddenly paused and studied Otis’ expression carefully.

Otis instinctively avoided Han Xiao’s gaze, but then, he felt that there was nothing to be afraid of. After all, Black Star was a mercenary who they had hired, and they naturally had the right to make such a request as the employer. He then mustered his courage to meet Han Xiao’s gaze.

“Those Subterranean Mutants have already surrendered, and I will shift them to another planet. Are you requesting that I give up on this plan and wipe out their race instead?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Yes.” Otis nodded heavily.

“Interesting. I am the one paying the cost for the migration, and you guys do not need to come up with a single cent. So, please give me a reason.”

Otis fell silent for a moment and skirted the question. “I think that this is a very reasonable request. We are the employers, and we hope that you will carry out the mission according to our request. You will also be able to save the migration fee this way.”

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and he said with a smile that did not seem like a smile, “Indeed, the mercenaries are supposed to complete the employer’s request. However, we have the right to decide how to carry out the request. You guys only want to control Planet Sunil, and in my eyes, extermination isn’t the best option. While we are mercenaries, we do not have to obey the orders of our employers. I have the right to reject any request that I deem to be inappropriate. If you do not have a reason for this request, this matter shall be put to rest.”

Upon seeing Han Xiao’s stubborn attitude, Otis grit his teeth and revealed his true intentions.

“If we do not remove all future troubles, what should we do if the Subterranean Mutants attempt to snatch Planet Sunil back after they develop on another planet? If you do not exterminate them all, can you ensure that such a thing won’t happen‽”

Heh, they indeed want us to uproot the Subterranean Mutants entirely. Han Xiao then folded his arms and said, “Indeed, I cannot ensure that the Subterranean Mutants will not be a future trouble.”

Otis heaved a sigh of relief. “Then, please…”

Han Xiao then interrupted him and chuckled. “Even if they will be trouble in the future, this is completely irrelevant to the current mission. So what if they come back to attack Sunil? What has that got to do with me?”

Otis was taken aback and almost flew into a rage. However, upon remembering that Han Xiao was not someone whom he could afford to provoke, he could only suppress his rage and reply with a stern voice, “Since all of you are mercenaries, you should have some professional ethics, right? How can you say something like that? We are hiring you to resolve our present circumstances.”

“That’s right. Isn’t the Black Star Army resolving your problems? What else do you think we are doing?” Han Xiao said with a provocative smile. “We mercenaries are not nannies. You guys pay us for our services, and this is a one-off transaction. It does not mean that we will have to take responsibility for your future. Even if the Subterranean Mutants do fight back, that is another issue entirely.”

“How many years will it take for the Subterranean Mutants to gain sufficient strength to retaliate? Without any obstructions, can’t you develop? If both of you really end up fighting… you can just hire us again!”

Han Xiao then folded his arms and gave a ‘what can you do if I want to be unreasonable’ expression.

Otis’ eyes widened, and he was angered to the point he did not know what to say.

To think that there would be such a shameless person!

“Of course, it isn’t impossible for me to wipe out the Subterranean Mutants,” Han Xiao suddenly said.

Otis could see some hope again.

“However…” Han Xiao smiled like a crafty merchant and rubbed his fingers. “You have to add money.”

Otis clenched his fists in anger.

He would definitely have flipped the table in front of him if not for the fact that he could not afford to provoke Black Star.

He was too damn shameless!

Chapter 625 - The Strongest Tribe, Launching of Biochemical Weapons

“Since you Sunils believe that the Subterranean Mutants are a blight, you have to pay the respective price to resolve it.” Han Xiao waggled his finger. “Let me remind you, strictly speaking, these Subterranean Mutants are now technically our captives and war loot. If you want me to abandon the war loot, you must at least pay me the equivalent price.”

He had long suspected that the Sunils would not be able to pay more, which allowed him to use this as a form of rejection.

Now that they had already decided on migrating the mutants, it would be impossible to change the plan to slaughtering them, otherwise it would be equivalent to deceiving Feidin. The pretty boy raised by the Goddess of Fortune would be frustrated and angered, and his Favorability would decrease.

Furthermore, going back on his word would also affect the image of the Black Star Army in the hearts of the players.

Otis’ expression alternated between white and green for a while. He very much wished to eradicate the Subterranean Mutants, but he was reluctant to pay a high price for this.

“Our financial situation is not optimistic. We’ve spent a lot of savings just to hire you for this mission. Our people are suffering, and there must not be any more risks. Since it is as easy as raising your hand…”

Otis did not give up. As the right-hand man of the Sunil Leader, he was the buffer zone for communication between the two sides. While he saw the meaning of Han Xiao’s words, he pretended not to understand and tried to force his way through.

Hearing this, Han Xiao also lost his patience, and his smile slowly vanished. Staring his Otis, he stressed heavily, “Your finances are not optimistic? Don’t forget, if it wasn’t for the discount I gave, you would not be able to hire my services.”

Otis was startled.

“What does the plight of the Sunils have to do with me? If it was not for Herlous, do you think I would care about the life and death of your people?”

The words stuck in Otis’ throat. The present scenario was all credited to Herlous, and he could not deny this.

Han Xiao’s eyes were fiery and his voice stern as he warned, “Don’t take my kindness for granted.”

This was a warning.

The atmosphere quickly turned tense.

“You… you’re mistaken…” Otis hurriedly explained, his expression cramped and palms sweating. He did not dare contradict Han Xiao.

“In short, I don’t want to hear the suggestion of exterminating the entire race.” Han Xiao waved his hand. “Sylvia, please escort him out.”

The door opened, and Sylvia stood there with a passive expression.

“Please follow me.”

“Your Excellency Black Star, you really are mistaken…”

Seeing the indifferent face of Han Xiao, Otis could only hold his tongue, not daring to explain further. He followed behind Sylvia and slipped away, only gathering his courage to bid farewell when he was at the door.

“I’m very sorry to have bothered you.”

“Hmm.” Han Xiao waved his hand, seeing Otis off with his gaze. He could not help but curl his lips in ridicule after he left.

“What a dreamer. Not willing to pay the price but wanting to see someone else play the bad guy? No one would accept such a deal.”

Because this was a private meeting, Han Xiao was not worried that it would affect the relationship between both parties. Currently, Sunil required his help, which was why they would not attempt to do anything underhanded, but he would not hold any hope toward their government. As long as they stuck to the terms and conditions, he did not care how they looked at him.

Thinking about this matter, he then took out his communicator and contacted the two financial groups.

Since the mission was already more than halfway through, it was time to begin the migration plan. Moving two to three billion Subterranean Mutants was no small task, and there was a need for a large number of spaceships. Thus, it was easier to use the power of the financial groups to double the work with half the effort.

…

Nest No. 77 was by far the largest Subterranean Mutant tribe. This was the new target of the negotiation team.

Based on the statistics provided by the radar, Nest No. 77 had a population of about thirty to forty million. Herlous did not dare act rashly and could only use the old method of having the Germinal Tribe negotiate and attempt to convince Nest No. 77.

The Germinal leader led a few of his tribesmen to approach Nest No. 77. They discovered the presence of guards, who stopped them.

After expressing their intentions, the Germinal Tribe established a mental link, connecting with the leader of Nest No. 77.

“I am Germinal, the emissary of Black Star.”

“I am Sulu-Sulu, the leader of New Rock Tribe. Very pleased to be able to communicate with you,” the other party replied immediately, displaying friendliness.

Germinal got excited. “That’s great, you guys have names, too!”

After persuading so many tribes, this was the first tribe that he had met that was named.

Sulu-Sulu was also happy. “We guessed correctly; the world still has other tribes similar to us.”

While there were many tribes within the Subterranean Mutant race, the civilization progression of the New Rock Tribe far outstripped their peers. However, the Germinal Tribe did not understand the meaning within the other leader’s words. The two of them started to converse.

Sulu-Sulu started to describe his tribe’s history to Germinal.

“This place originally had four lairs. Under the lead of our ancestors, we fought fiercely with the other tribes, finally managing to annex the rest and merge them into our New Rock Tribe. This is the place where we live and thrive, but we’ve always believed that there are others of the same species as us in this world. Today, we have finally found our own brethren. This is a major discovery…”

Sulu-Sulu was very excited.

The Germinal leader listened as though he was a fool or drunk. This was the first time that he had heard an epic tale. If Han Xiao was present, he would immediately have known that the civilization of the New Rock Tribe had reached a new level. With the concept of history, they knew how to record past deeds, passing down inheritances and thoughts. Both their abilities and emotional performances were beginning to move away from that of the habit of beasts and transform into intelligent species.

If they had left their development alone, over time, the New Rock Tribe would probably have had the opportunity to unify all the Subterranean Mutants.

When it came to the Germinal leader to speak, he did not forget what Han Xiao had told him and transmitted the meaning of surrendering instead of fighting, as well as the basic information about the universe.

However, not only was Sulu-Sulu not afraid after he had finished talking, he was even enraged. “This is our homeland; we will definitely not leave!”

The news brought by the Germinal leader far outstripped Sulu-Sulu’s expectations. However, their New Rock Tribe had already developed a sort of consciousness toward their homeland. In the face of a mass slaughter, he chose to resist.

Within the mental network, the members of the New Rock Tribe displayed their unity toward the enemy. This gave the Germinal Tribe a shock; they did not understand why the New Rock Tribe members would flare up so because they still did not understand the concept of hate.

“Emissary of Black Star, I thank you for your kind intentions, but we’ve decided to resist to the end!” Sulu-Sulu’s attitude was firm.

In this matter, Han Xiao’s self-acclaimed role played a part. To the Mutants, he was on the good side, there to save them from the evil clutches of the Sunils. As the Emissary of Black Star, the Germinal Tribe was responsible for salvation and had taken it as the mission of their tribe. Thus, Sulu-Sulu did not make things difficult for the Germinal Tribe but rather just sent them away from the New Rock Tribe.

Returning to the temporary camp, the Germinal leader recounted the New Rock Tribe’s lack of intention to surrender.

Herlous had no choice then but to lead the army against the New Rock Tribe. Thirty to forty million enemies was a huge number, almost a hundred times the number of their current forces.

Yet another battle happened. The Sunil soldiers and players had long repeated this till they were numb. The difference was that, for this battle, the opposition of New Rock Tribe was fiercer than all the previous tribes.

…

Tuk tuk tuk!

Hot steel punched through the exoskeletons of the Subterranean Mutants. Blood splashed like blooming red flowers as countless Subterranean Mutants fell on the onslaught. However, the members of the New Rock Tribe seemed as though they were endless, like the tide rushing in.

There was a small team of Sunils responsible for this line of defense. Their fingers were tightly wrapped around the trigger, emptying box after box of ammunition at top speed without caring if their barrels overheated. The ground below them was full of empty metal casings.

Just at this point, an elite Subterranean Mutant, two or three times larger than the average, appeared in the area this team was responsible for. It waved the antennae on its head, and a wave of mental pressure quickly crossed the distance, ignoring the protection of the soldiers’ armor, directly piercing their brains.

“Argh!”

A number of the Sunil soldiers felt as though their brains had been cut with thousands of knives. Blood sprayed from their every orifice, and they felt their vision spin and their bodies lose control. The defensive firepower stopped immediately.

The result was fatal.

The Subterranean Mutants that acted as the vanguard immediately rushed into this line of defense, swamping the team. Their tails and mouth caused dazzling sparks to appear as they clashed with the armor, and the durable armor was quickly ripped apart.

Swoosh!

A dazzling half-moon-shaped razor swept across suddenly, dismembering hundreds of the mutants in half.

Dragging his ten-meter-long Battleship Slicing Blade, Herlous approached the scene quickly and began to force the attackers back, resolving the dangerous situation.

The original team had been almost decimated by the mutants, but reinforcements quickly came up to replace those fallen.

Herlous wiped the blood and sweat from his face, but he had no time to rest. Just as he was about to return to his original position, he subconsciously looked down at the fallen soldiers. Their armor was riddled with wounds, and the soldiers were mostly ripped open, a mockery of their previous forms.

A glance, and Herlous found someone very familiar. His footsteps slowed down, and he looked carefully.

The soldier was covered with blood, his eyes wide and dagger clenched within his hands. He had pierced into one of the mutant bodies, as if he had died together with them. However, his face looked a bit immature.

Herlous suddenly recalled that this deceased soldier had been one of the neighbors back when he was running his bar in the city. His name seemed to be… Lana.

To think that this child would also choose to enlist.

The memories bubbled up like boiling water. Herlous twitched and ruthlessly removed all excess emotions, bellowing as he rushed back into the fray.

…

The first attack from the Subterranean Mutants was finally repelled.

The scale of the New Rock Tribe was too large, and the enemies were endless. Even if a large number of them were slaughtered, the New Rock Tribe did not choose to escape like the other nests but got even more violent, unafraid of death.

The tactics used by the New Rock Tribe varied and took full advantage of them being underground. This was their home field, and they could dig tunnels from above or at the bottom of the underground, directly entering the enemy camp. Through their mental network, the cooperation of the New Rock Tribe was seamless and difficult to predict.

The casualties on the Sunils’ side continued to rise, and even the players died two or three times each. Everyone was exhausted, and Herlous finally decided to make a tactical retreat, returning to their temporary camps.

However, the New Rock Tribe members pursued them all the way, attacking the campsite directly. Herlous led the army to resist for a period of time but was finally unable to withstand the pressure and had to retreat to the surface. They had been forced out of the underground by the New Rock Tribe.

The sun was scorching overhead, and only after they had left the underground did the New Rock Tribe finally stop pursuing. The Subterranean Mutants hated the sun, and many of them were sunburned, so they did not rush to the surface, returning to their nest instead.

The New Rock Tribe had forced the attackers to retreat, and the casualties on both sides were exaggerated.

Because they retreated in a hurry, they did not even manage to retrieve most of their comrades’ corpses. Herlous was in a sullen mood, allowing the troops to rest while they counted the casualties. He then contacted Han Xiao, reporting the situation on his side.

“You’ve been repelled by them?” Han Xiao had a strange look on his face.

“The number of enemies was overwhelming, and we can only slowly clear out their nest by fighting them. However, our casualties will be incalculable…” Herlous gritted his teeth. “Black Star, I wish to utilize the biochemical weapons, preventing more casualties.”

“See to it yourself.” Han Xiao shook his head before cutting off the communication.

Herlous took a deep breath. In his memory floated up the corpse of the young soldier, and he no longer hesitated.

Calling an officer from the Logistics Unit, he gazed at the other party’s blood-covered face and said, “Deploy someone to throw in all the biochemical weapons. Execute it immediately!”

“Understood!” The officer gave a military salute without hesitation.

…

The people of the New Rock Tribe also dragged their exhausted bodies back to the nest and cleared up the battlefield. They stacked up the corpses of their comrades, forming a small hill.

Within the mental network, the tribe members discussed nonstop. The previous battle had a great impact on them, and with the deaths of multiple members, it allowed them to feel even more fear, anger, and desire for revenge. However, they cheered at the same time for their victory as they had managed to repel the enemies and successfully defend their homeland.

Although they had suffered heavy casualties, Sulu-Sulu was full of fighting spirit. His ancestors had passed down the notion that even while the enemy had retreated, they could still attack anytime. If they wished to win, they had to take down the enemy’s ‘nest’.

The Subterranean Mutants then collected the corpses of the Sunil soldiers. An old Subterranean Mutant slowly hobbled out, and the others bowed in greeting.

This Subterranean Mutant was an outlier in the New Rock Tribe, and it could retrieve the memories of the dead. In the entire New Rock Tribe, only this mutant possessed that ability.

If Han Xiao was present, he would have realized that this mutant was a naturally awakened Esper.

The tentacles on its head touched the heads of the Sunil soldiers one by one, and various memory fragments flashed. It quickly organized the information that it wanted and then shared the memory image in the mental network.

It was a picture of Forest City as well as a map of the Planet Sunil.

“The nest of the surface dwellers is on the surface.”

“What a weird nest.”

“The enemies live on the surface. How do we get to them?”

The members of the New Rock Tribe started to debate.

At this moment, a thick fog appeared on the edge of the lair and spread.

Chapter 626 - Victory

Ten or so days later, the expedition force returned to Nest No. 77 again, and the entire tribe had become a region of death with the corpses of Subterranean Mutants littering the underground world.

Even the hardened Sunil soldiers could not help but take deep breaths upon witnessing the hellish scene before them. Many players felt their hearts tremble and could not help but feel pity.

With a solemn mood, Herlous instructed the mining of the Prophecy Stones to begin and all the corpses to be burnt.

They also began searching for the corpses of their deceased brothers.

After cleaning up the New Rock Tribe, the expedition mission did not meet with any further trouble. They continued to battle and persuade the other tribes with little to no trouble.

After a long period of battling, the final Subterranean Mutant tribe surrendered and Herlous returned to Forest City.

…

Outside Forest City, almost all the Sunils had left the city, and they waited in the rain to receive the victorious return of the troops.

Hu!

Ten or so spaceships flew over from afar and landed outside the city.

As the hatch of the spaceship opened, all the Sunil soldiers disembarked from the spaceship wearing their ordinary uniform with fatigue all over their faces. The players were in a better state, and they still looked pretty energetic.

Herlous stepped out of the spaceship and led the troops toward the crowd.

“Hero!”

All of a sudden, the Sunils broke out into a deafening cheer and rushed forward to surround the returning warriors. Their faces were full of agitation, excitement, and gratitude as they welcomed the return of the victorious troops.

Herlous was surrounded by countless individuals, and wherever he looked, he could see gratitude and reverence in their eyes.

The Sunils knew that the Black Star Army had only been willing to help them because of Herlous. In the eyes of all the Sunils, Herlous’ status already exceeded that of the rest; he was the hero and idol of every Sunil.

The crowd cheered loudly and were filled with endless praise toward the expedition forces, including the players.

More accurately speaking, the Sunils were extremely grateful toward the Black Star Army and Han Xiao was like a messiah to them. The prestige of the Black Star Army was also at its peak.

“We are truly extremely grateful to all of you.”

“All of you have saved Sunil!”

“Black Star Army, you are our benefactors.”

The Sunils surrounded the players and showered them with words of gratitude.

Many of the players were taken aback and had an inexplicable sense of accomplishment in their hearts. The mission this time was truly a meaningful one, and their collective effort had changed the fates of the Sunils.

This sense of accomplishment was truly a different experience for many. They felt both satisfied and enriched. This was something completely unrelated to benefits; it was a sense of satisfaction on a spiritual level.

Many of the young soldiers rejoined their families, and the joy of their families wiped away the fatigue of the soldiers, putting a bright smile on all of their faces.

Parents received their children, wives received their husbands, and children received their fathers.

This warm scene unfolded all around.

Every day, the families of the soldiers lived in fear—fear that they would one day receive a notice of death. Now, everything had ended, and there would not be any more war sacrifices.

There was no need to despair or fear. A beautiful tomorrow awaited them.

The darkness had gone, and the Sunils could see the light.

The day for peace and tranquility had finally arrived.

Upon looking at the smiling faces of their people, all the Sunil soldiers felt comfort. Everything that they had done for their people and family was worth it.

However, not everyone was happy.

With a heavy mood and expression, the officers handed the ashes of the deceased soldiers back to their families.

There were some who were filled with disbelief, others argued loudly, and some cried as they hugged the box of ash.

The cries of these families were a stark contrast to the cheering crowd. The light shower also seemed slightly depressing, and the temperature of the morning seemed to have fallen a bit.

Lana’s parents hugged onto his box of ashes and knelt on the ground as though they had lost their souls.

As Herlous saw such a scene, he went forward to help Lana’s parents up and softly said, “He was a truly exemplary man.”

Lana’s parents looked at him and did not say a word.

Upon seeing this, Herlous knew that any words of consolation would be useless. He turned around and walked away silently with his fists clenched tight. The Sunils had been through far too many life and death separations. Thankfully, this would be the last time.

Looking up, Herlous saw Han Xiao standing outside of the crowd with the officers of the army and walked over toward him.

Upon seeing Herlous approaching, Han Xiao said, “It’s finally ended. Only the final step is required for this mission to be completed.”

Herlous looked at Han Xiao and suddenly bowed deeply. “I thank you on behalf of the entire Sunil race.”

“You don’t need to have such a big reaction. I have only fulfilled my promise to you,” Han Xiao said helplessly and raised his arm out to help Herlous up. However, Herlous refused to budge.

“No, let me finish.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao allowed Herlous to continue bowing.

Herlous then said slowly, “Your name shall be recorded in the history books of our Sunil race. You are not only the benefactor of our Sunil race but also my benefactor…

“In my eyes, this isn’t just a promise, transaction, or employment. This is a kindness that I will never be able to repay.

“Your Excellency Black Star, from today onward, I am willing to be your blade and follow you to the ends of the universe.”

As those words sounded, all the officers looked at Herlous with many different expressions.

Is he pledging loyalty to me? Han Xiao fell silent for a while before nodding. “Alright.”

Only then did Herlous get up and reveal a smile.

“The price of peace is always filled with blood.” Ginette shook her head.

“I hope that the Sunil race will always remember this war. I hope that all of them will remember what kind of violence we so-called heroes have committed,” Herlous lamented.

“This is natural selection. Every civilization will eventually become demons as they carry history on their backs and carry on their journey,” Han Xiao said casually before looking to the side. The upper echelons of the Sunils walked over, and this time, it was not Otis who spoke to him but the leader of the Sunils.

The Sunil leader personally expressed his gratitude, and Han Xiao replied appropriately.

After conversing for a while, the Sunil leader then expressed that the employment would only be considered complete when all the Subterranean Mutants were migrated off the planet.

After seeing the departure of the Sunil upper echelons, Sylvia smacked Herlous on the back and angrily said, “These fellows are so annoying.”

Herlous did not disagree. “I also hate politicians.”

At this moment, Feidin said, “Black Star, about the migration…”

Just when Han Xiao was about to reply, his communicator rang. Upon glancing at his communicator, he said with a chuckle, “Right on time.”

The next moment, their vision turned dark, and a gigantic shadow covered all of them.

The Sunils and players all raised their heads in astonishment.

More than a hundred large cargo spaceships landed from the sky and covered the sun.

“I called the movers.”

Han Xiao let out a long breath and smiled.

He had borrowed a large batch of transportation spaceships from the two financial groups to transport all the Subterranean Mutants. As long as these spaceships made a few trips, they would be able to transport all the mutants and Prophecy Stones to a designated uninhabited planet. Since the Subterranean Mutants consumed rocks for their survival, it was pretty easy to find a suitable planet for them.

The players had already been informed about the migration plan, and upon seeing the arrival so the spaceships, many of the players could not help but become excited.

“That should be the migration fleet, right?”

“Helping a population of billions migrate. What a spectacular sight.”

“The Subterranean Mutants won’t be exterminated. Black Star didn’t disappoint me.”

Upon witnessing their own faction putting on such a spectacular display, all the players welled up with a sense of pride and collective honor. At the same time, many players agreed with the decision of Black Star to relocate the Subterranean Mutants.

After a long period of battle and witnessing so many tragedies, the players felt that the Subterranean Mutants were the weak party.

Pitying the weak was a habit, and from the moment the players took pity on the Subterranean Mutants, they also began to agree with the plan to migrate. The outcome of this choice was to create a greater sense of belonging toward the Black Star Army.

Han Xiao was extremely clear of this point, and he also intended to make use of their compassion to leave a deep impression in the hearts of the players and increase their sense of belonging to the faction.

The outcome seemed pretty good.

By the side, Feidin also revealed a smile. He felt that this was the best way to resolve the problem for both parties.

Looking at Han Xiao’s back, Feidin was deep in thought.

His strength had grown rapidly, and he could already single handedly suppress Chen Xing who was inside of him. Furthermore, his conflict with Chen Xing had already been resolved, which meant that he no longer needed the help of the Black Star Army.

He had originally intended to find a time to say goodbye, but at this moment, he felt that perhaps staying in the Black Star Army would not be a bad choice.

Chapter 627 - Black Spirit Race

Galactic migration was a huge project.

All the surrendered Subterranean Mutants brought their Prophecy Stones onto the spaceships. Without these Prophecy Stones, even if Planet Sunil had a few small mines left, it was impossible for a large-scale Psychic Current to form again.

In other words, the calamity was over, and this planet was now suitable for the Sunils to live on.

The amount of resources that the Black Star Army could mobilize had awed the upper echelons of Sunil and made them even more respectful. Upon witnessing the arrival of the transport fleet, they did not dare delay any further and took the initiative to process the payment to the Mercenary Alliance.

Han Xiao received a notification to inform him of the funds entering his account. At the same time, the interface also notified him of the completion of the mission.

_____________________

[Sunil Rescue Operation: Large Scale Employment Mission]. A large sum was deposited into your account to cover some of the transportation cost. Completing a Large-Scale Employment Mission alone has given the Black Star Army a shiny battle record and increased your credibility rating greatly. The Mercenary Alliance has once again revised their rating of the Black Star Army.

Summary: A renowned super-large army, Floating Dragon’s Field Team. Mainly operates within the Garton Star System and is an iconic mercenary group in the Garton Star System. Has a few hundred thousand undying mercenaries with an average strength of Grade C. The Black Star Army has plenty of connections in the mercenary world, a solid financial foundation, and has bases on Planet Sunil, Planet Aquamarine, and Planet Golden Gate. To date, the mercenary group has maintained an extremely high completion rate and has a good reputation. This mercenary group is one worthy of trust.

Army Commander Black Star has the nickname of ‘Undying Body’ and ‘DarkStar Destroyer’. Black Star also has a good relationship with a few civilizations and is the holder of Godora’s Golden Gal Badge.

_____________________

The upgrade of his summary also indicated an upgrade in his status. The happiest bunch about this upgraded reputation had got to be the players, and they all felt a great sense of accomplishment.

Apart from the official employment mission, the Grade A Sunil Mission [Eliminate Subterranean Mutants] had also been completed. The players’ pockets were full of rewards, and their faces were full of smiles.

This time, Han Xiao did not pursue the highest mission rating and got a [Good] rating. According to the details of the mission, exterminating the mutant race would give him the highest rating. However, the reward of the mission could not be compared to the future benefits that migrating the mutants could bring him. Thus, Han Xiao chose the option that brought him greater benefits.

Han Xiao did not need this little mission reward anyway. In any case, the experience points that the players received from the mission would eventually become their spending power. All Han Xiao needed to do was harvest them again.

However, the Grade A mission gave him an unexpected reward, a new dungeon.

[Underground Subterranean Mutant War].

A new dungeon? Not bad. Han Xiao’s eyes lit up. He had accumulated a few dungeons, but because the players’ levels weren’t high enough, he did not release them all. However, he would be able to make use of all the dungeons eventually as the players increased their levels.

Over the next few days, Han Xiao stayed behind on Planet Sunil to oversee the transportation of the Subterranean Mutants.

After the end of the employment, he also terminated the Army Assembly.

A portion of the players remained on Planet Sunil. While the employment mission was over, Planet Sunil still had tons to do, and there was plenty of benefits to be gained. Base No. 3 formed the faction headquarters on Planet Sunil, and the missions on Planet Sunil could groom the players as well.

With the crisis of Planet Sunil resolved, the Sunil warriors no longer had to take any more risks on the outside. Sehrinde and the other Sunil mercenaries wanted to return to their homeland and quit being mercenaries. As such, they all approached Han Xiao and requested to leave. All of them felt extremely guilty and felt that they had let Black Star down.

Han Xiao had already predicted such a situation and had prepared a win-win situation for both parties. He allowed Sehrinde and the others to remain on Planet Sunil without the need to go out on missions and train up the mercenaries in Base No. 3 instead.

All the Sunil warriors accepted this proposition. They truly wished to do something for Black Star to repay his kindness. Since there was no danger for them when grooming the newbies on their home planet, Sehrinde and the others no longer mentioned the matter of leaving.

Finally, the last cargo spaceship set off, and Han Xiao left together with the Black Star Army. Countless Sunils looked up into the sky to send the Black Star Army off.

…

The Subterranean Mutants were all migrated to some uninhabited planet suitable for their kind, and Han Xiao followed the cargo ships to monitor the situation.

Because all the Subterranean Mutant tribes were reorganized, they were no longer separated by distance like before. Instead, the development of the tribes was sped up, and the tribes were mixed together to live together. They had skipped an entire phase, and all the various tribes were now united.

From the angle of a civilization’s development, this was a truly frightening start.

Because the Germinal leader was Black Star’s emissary and the one who had spread the knowledge that Han Xiao had bestowed onto him, the Germinal leader became the undisputed leader of the Subterranean Mutants.

To the members of the Germinal Tribe, Black Star was like a divine being, like a messiah, to them. The Germinal Tribe’s respect of Han Xiao was spread to the hearts of all the Subterranean Mutants. After they settled down in their new residences, the Subterranean Mutants treated Han Xiao as a figure to worship.

Because of the uniqueness of the mental connection, culture could spread at an unbelievable rate, and all the mutants began to create names for themselves.

When Han Xiao arrived, the Germinal Tribe were leading the Subterranean Mutants to construct a gigantic nest. Han Xiao was greeted with an extremely warm welcome when he arrived, with the leader of the Germinal Tribe coming out to receive him personally.

“This is our new home.” The Germinal leader dashed into the new nest excitedly like a little child running after candy.

“Very good. This planet shall be your land from now on.” Han Xiao nodded with a smile. “You are a new civilization and shouldn’t be called Subterranean Mutants anymore.”

“Are you going to give us a new name?” the Germinal Tribe leader asked excitedly.

“No, this is your own right.”

After a simple conversation, Han Xiao left the planet and did not interfere with the development of the Subterranean Mutants. They were still in their infant stage, and Han Xiao planned to let the Subterranean Mutants develop naturally.

His spaceship then left the planet, and a new notification popped up on his interface.

_____________________

You have received a new Legendary Point.

Star System Legendary Point (Garton Star System): Savior of a Race—You saved a large race and prevented them from facing the fate of extermination, helping them form a new civilization. This is a noble action, and this incident will be spread across the Garton Star System. Many organizations will be friendlier toward you.

_____________________

Han Xiao was truly surprised. He had never expected to have such a reward.

Furthermore, this was not the only notification

_____________________

+10,000 Black Spirit Race Faction Favorability

Current Relationship: Worship

_____________________

Black Spirit Race?

Han Xiao was taken aback for a moment before coming to a realization. The Subterranean Mutants must have given themselves an official name. However, why did the Black Spirit Race sound as though it was related to his nickname?

He did not understand his position in the hearts of the Subterranean Mutants. They had made use of ‘Black Star’ as reference and named themselves the Black Spirit Race.

Han Xiao immediately became interested.

Interesting, I wonder what kind of civilization the Subterranean Mutants will develop into.

Smiling, Han Xiao piloted the Blacklight Stealth and disappeared into the sky.

…

The result of the migration was reported to the players, and after seeing the Subterranean Mutants begin their new life, many of the players heaved sighs of relief. At the same time, they could not help but feel proud for being a part of the Black Star Army.

On the forums, the Sunil incident became the hottest topic of discussion. The players enjoyed the feeling of changing the fate of an entire race and becoming saviors. Their sense of belonging toward the faction also increased greatly as a result of this incident.

On Planet Sunil, the Sunils were extremely grateful to the Black Star Army, and people went to visit Base No. 3 every day.

Sehrinde and the other ‘retired’ mercenaries set up an official training camp in Base No. 3 and began to accept disciples to train.

The training camp was an avenue to provide a never-ending stream of soldiers for the army. While the training camp was only starting out, it was filled with great potential. As long as the Sunils continued to reproduce normally, there would definitely be some who were willing to become mercenaries.

It could be said that as the Sunils developed, the benefits of Base No.3 would also increase. The prosperity of both parties was closely related.

After the Sunil mission, the development of the Black Star Army in the Garton Star System was finally on track.

The players who stayed behind on Planet Aquamarine gradually began to complete the test.

Finally, apart from a few new players who joined the game, all the players on Planet Aquamarine had entered the galaxy and become members of the Black Star Army. The size of the Black Star Army had also reached the one million mark.

Even among large mercenary groups, such a number was extremely rare.

The Black Star Army wanted to develop their foundations firmly in the Garton Star System and had begun to expand into many different businesses and construct new bases. Apart from trying to monopolize the mercenary market of the entire Garton Star System, Han Xiao’s hands had also stretched out into the nearby Star Systems. His connections provided him with great aid, and the speed of their development astounded Godora.

Han Xiao would occasionally personally lead a couple of high difficulty employment missions or would find some planets with benefits to be reaped with his familiarity of the storyline. Every now and then, he would take on a large-scale employment mission as the Main Storyline Mission to build cohesiveness among the players.

The Black Star Army grew steadily without any outside force interfering with their development. There was almost no risk involved, and everything went according to Han Xiao’s plan.

In the blink of an eye, two years passed.

Chapter 628 - Two Years Later

Including Godora, there were six Star System level civilizations that wanted to gain control over the Hyde Star System, which was located in the Colton Star Cluster. Their forces were deployed to the respective region that they had control over, and skirmishes were extremely common.

Outside the region controlled by the armies of these six civilizations, the Hyde Star System had many planets that served as a transit station for the galactic travel agencies. Because the territorial borders of the Hyde Star System were blurred, these transit stations became gray regions where dragons and snakes mingled. Not only were there scrap pickers, pirates, and wanted criminals, even the officers of the armies would occasionally visit these transit stations for leisure.

Planet Orange Transit Station was such a gray area, and a group of players were currently operating in this district.

Hao Tian, Sleepy Winter, Twinkle Fried Rice, and the others were walking down the bustling streets. Of the ten or so players in the group, a portion of them were the pro players of Club Long Sky, and the others were the players of the club. Frenzied Sword, together with his teammates, were currently working together with Long Sky.

Both parties had accepted the same Hidden Chain Mission, and the final portion of the mission was located on Planet Orange Transit Station. Hao Tian and Frenzied Sword had immediately clicked, and thus, both the parties traveled together.

Because of Frenzied Sword’s spectacular performance in the first Pro League, Club Rivervale had built a new team with Frenzied Sword as the core. The majority of Frenzied Sword’s teammates were newbies, and they were currently warming up to each other.

Preparations for the second Pro League had already started, and it was a hot topic at the moment. Galaxy Times had revealed that there would be changes to the tournament format this time, and all the teams were currently preparing for the Pro League.

More than a year ago, the players of the other novice planets had also stepped into the galaxy and hit the level limit of the current version, level 90. Their skills, equipment, talents, and special tools were the main focus for all the players.

Both Long Sky and Rivervale worked together because they were eyeing the reward for this hidden mission.

As the core of the team, Frenzied Sword felt immense pressure and wanted to obtain good results to prove himself. He did not wish to disappoint the club and would not let go of any opportunities.

“Captain, the person we are looking for is on this planet, but how should we find him?” Evil Sword asked Frenzied Sword.

Evil Sword was Frenzied Sword’s teammate and an extremely talented newcomer. In the entire Rivervale team, only Evil Sword’s skill had caught his eye, barely making him Frenzied Sword’s assistant. As for his other teammates, they were no more than ordinary players who did not make mistakes to Frenzied Sword.

“The last phase of the mission will definitely be extremely difficult. The mission hint asked us to find clues on our own. According to my experience, the entertainment centers of these gray districts are the go-to places for information. We can start there,” Frenzied Sword said with a deep voice.

At this moment, the captain of Long Sky, Hao Tian, said, “We can find the clues later. We should first worry about our safety.”

Upon hearing that, the players began to look around, only to see groups of pedestrians dressed in tattered battle suits staring at them greedily. Their gazes were fixed on the exquisite battle suits and weapons of the players and seemed intent on snatching them.

The majority of the pedestrians around them had red colored names, and the others had neutral yellow names. Not a single green could be found.

“Pirates or scavengers?”

Everyone remained calm. As members of the Black Star Army, they had killed an uncountable number of galactic pirates over the past two years.

Yellow Mechanical Force covered Frenzied Sword’s body, and his helmet appeared to cover his head. Following which, his armor began unfolding with the various components of the armor appearing to form heavy armor that looked like a luxurious knight’s armor.

This was weakened Commander Class armor called [Mountain]. It was a pink grade equipment that the guild had obtained after paying a sky-high price to Han Xiao to custom make. With the players’ current level, [Mountain] was the best equipment currently available.

He took off the long box on his back and activated it with his Mechanical Force. The box rapidly changed shape and transformed into a long, heavy close combat weapon that had both the blade of an axe and a cannon barrel. This was a modified Strike Cannon, and it was almost half the size of a person.

All the other players entered their battle mode with a myriad of different weapons. Even the weakest piece of equipment in the group was purple grade. The function of a club guild was to serve the professional players, and thus, it was impossible for these professional players to be lacking in equipment. All their equipment was of the highest tier among the players currently.

The atmosphere grew tense and both parties were locked in a standoff.

Just when the pirates were about to take action, one of the members suddenly cried out, “Stop! Don’t move! They’re Black Star’s men!”

The moment the words sounded, the menacing gaze of the pirates disappeared, and their expressions drastically changed. A second ago, they had wanted to pounce forward, but the next moment, they had all retreated in fear with their eyes widened as they studied the equipment of the players carefully.

On a hidden location of the players’ equipment, an insignia could be seen. The insignia was a black round gear with white borders and four straight lines extending away from the gear to represent light beams. It was like a black star that was emanating light.

All the pirates understood what this insignia represented.

This was the insignia of the Black Star Army!

All the pirates revealed looks of horror and did not dare move.

Right at this moment, a deep voice sounded from the other end of the street.

“Humph, this place seems extremely lively.”

Everyone turned around only to see a couple of Godoran officers walking over slowly with their cold gazes fixed on the pirates.

In the player’s vision, the only green that they could see came from the sudden appearance of the Godora officers.

The officer in the lead cracked his neck and said with a chilly tone, “Our friends from the Black Star Army, do you need any help?”

The previously ferocious pirates were immediately reduced to trembling little rabbits. In the Hyde Star System, there was an unspoken rule that must not be broken. They should never attack the officers of the six civilizations. If not, the army would not mind sweeping through the gray area.

The entire Colton Star Cluster knew that the Black Star Army and Godora were allies. These pirates had kicked a steel plate that they could not afford to provoke and were truly unlucky.

“Run!”

The pirates immediately scattered in all different directions.

The players seemed to be extremely used to such a scene and put their weapons away without bothering to chase after those small fries.

Upon seeing this scene, the Godoran officers did not take action. They nodded toward the players before turning around to take their leave. Their intention was very simple. They had just gone over to help because they saw members of the Black Star Army.

Both the camps were allies, and Black Star was the recipient of the Golden Gal Badge. All members of the Black Star Army would be able to gain extra help from the Godorans, and the Black Star Networking Group that the players joked about gradually became a reality.

…

After running for a long while, two space pirates only dared stop after making sure that no one was giving chase. They placed their hands on their knees and bent forward while panting heavily.

“Hu… I thought that we would be dead for sure. Thankfully, they didn’t give chase,” the shorter pirate said.

The taller pirate nodded in agreement with a face full of relief as though he had just escaped death.

In the few Star Systems around the Garton Star System, apart from Star System level civilizations, no organization was willing to provoke the Black Star Army.

“Thankfully, we are only a small gang without any bounties. If not, we would be in huge trouble,” the shorter pirate said while panting heavily.

“We don’t even have the right to be wanted criminals.” The taller pirate laughed bitterly and did not know whether he should be happy or sad.

There was a saying among the pirates—they would rather meet the Dragon Emperor than meet Black Star!

One of the reasons for the swift uprising of the Black Star Army was because they took on the role of bounty hunters. All the galactic pirate groups around the Garton Star System had become the prey for the Black Star Army. These pirate groups had been wiped out, and all their battleships had been captured. The Black Star Army had at least four hundred battleships that had been snatched in this manner.

The pirates in the neighboring Star Systems had felt threatened, and a portion of them had joined hands to assassinate Black Star for their own survival. However, they had ended up falling into an ambush with over a million mercenaries being sent into battle. In the end, those allied pirates had ended up being completely wiped out.

While many infamous pirates had been captured, the majority of these pirates had been hidden by Black Star with only a small portion being exchanged for their bounties. These pirates that were taken out by Black Star had been tortured by Black Star to the point they did not even seem like humans.

After this piece of news was spread, many pirates trembled in fear and all felt that Black Star had some sick fetish toward pirates. Thus, Black Star immediately seemed a hundred times more ferocious in their eyes, causing the saying that they would rather meet the Dragon Emperor than Black Star to spread.

Dragon Emperor Ames was on neutral ground, but her field team had something against galactic pirates. Thus, they would rather land in Ames’ hands than end up being in Black Star’s hands.

As such, the pirates in the Star Systems surrounding the Garton Star System all escaped, and the security of these few Star Systems became extremely good. Currently, there were only a few small, puny galactic pirate groups left behind.

“Who would have thought that the members of the Black Star Army would appear here? Could it be that the Black Star Army think that it isn’t enough to monopolize the jobs in the Garton Star System and want to expand into Hyde?”

“Who knows? However, that isn’t impossible. In the few neighboring Star Systems, apart from the few Star System level civilizations, which other organization dares provoke the Black Star Army? They’ve already monopolized this region.”

After catching their breath for a while, both of them continued running.

…

Frenzied Sword and Hao Tian were currently searching for clues in the transit station. After a few hours, they finally managed to piece together the clue for the last phase of the mission.

All of them came to a deserted maintenance workshop, and their target was a crippled maintenance worker. He had lost both his arms and replaced them with prosthetic limbs. He was currently repairing a badly damaged communicator and had an ordinary aura.

However, according to the information that the players received from the Detect skill, this maintenance worker called Ronaldo was ‘Fatally Dangerous’.

Hao Tian and Frenzied Sword looked at each other and pushed Sleepy Winter into the workshop in unison. Sleepy Winter had the highest Charm stat among them and was the most suitable to talk to NPCs.

Sleepy Winter took out the mission item, handed it over, and respectfully said, “Hello, someone requested that we hand this over to you.”

They had accepted a hidden mission that required them to hand this mission item over to Ronaldo. The mission item was a letter.

Upon hearing that, Ronaldo looked up and glanced at the crowd. He then placed the machine in his hands down before calmly asking, “Who are all of you?”

“We are from the Black Star Army.”

“Black Star Army‽” Ronaldo’s gaze flickered, and he said in a deep voice, “I’ve heard of you guys before. It’s said that Black Star is an extremely powerful Mechanic. It’s truly a pity. If it was a year ago and both my arms were still around, I would have wanted to exchange pointers with him.”

Frenzied Sword and the others were shocked.

Han Xiao was a Grade A Super, and if the person before them dared say exchange pointers, he should be a Grade A Super as well. This hidden mission was truly unfathomable.

“Don’t be in a rush to leave. Let me see what’s written.”

Ronaldo lowered his head and opened the letter that was filled with secret codes. He lived in seclusion due to some reason and could only use such a method to transmit information.

All the players waited for a moment, and Ronaldo sighed after reading the letter.

“These are truly turbulent times. A new storm is about to arrive. Sigh, please tell your employer that I am in seclusion and will not accept any hires. I only wish to stay here silently; the tremors of the Shattered Star Ring shall not affect me anymore.”

The final mission objective on their interface changed to ‘report back to their employer’, and they would be able to accept the mission reward at any time. However, these players did not leave immediately as they were extremely sensitive to hidden storylines. Upon hearing Ronaldo’s words, they knew that there was information to be dug up.

“I wonder, what do you mean by a storm?” Sleepy Winter asked.

Ronaldo looked at him and perhaps found Sleepy Winter to be more pleasant to the eyes. “Have you guys not noticed the hidden currents in the Shattered Star Ring over the past year or two? The seven Star Cluster level civilizations’ actions have been weird; this is the signal of a storm. A whirlpool is gradually forming and is only in its infancy. When this whirlpool surfaces, the entire Shattered Star Ring will be dragged in, and not a single organization will be able to avoid the storm.”

Everyone was completely puzzled. They had only visited the few Star Systems around the Garton Star System and did not understand much about the storm in the Shattered Star Ring. After all, their area of operation was not large enough.

There were some players who wanted to explore new maps and visit other Star Clusters. However, the effort that they put in and rewards they received usually did not match. They could only view the scenery most of the time and make a wasted trip.

The galaxy was extremely large, and just the Shattered Star Ring alone was already enormous. Trying to find a mission alone was akin to finding a needle in a haystack. On the contrary, the Black Star Army had numerous missions for them to choose from, and they would definitely have returns. Thus, their target was extremely obvious.

Sleepy Winter continued asking, and Ronaldo replied, “No one knows the target of these Star Cluster level civilizations, but the storm definitely isn’t a coincidence. I think that there must be a powerful organization directing the changes in the Shattered Star Ring.

“Powerful organization? Is it the three Universal Civilizations that have only appeared in the background, or is it someone else?” Everyone guessed to themselves.

The players did not know about the Tyrant’s gathering and naturally did not know what was going on behind the scenes. However, this did not stop Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, and the others from guessing that this was related to the storyline of the future version.

After all, this was not the first time. Black Star had also revealed Version 2.0’s Mutation Disaster during Version 1.0.

Having clues of the future version ahead of time could provide them with a huge advantage.

Right at this moment, Ronaldo seemed to have thought of something and said, “Right, all of you are Black Star’s subordinates. Give something to him for me.”

Everyone was stunned for a moment before nodding. This was obviously a new mission.

Following which, Ronaldo took a pen and paper to write a long list of names before handing it over to the players.

Sleepy Winter received the piece of paper, and the interface notified him that he received a copy of [List of Names].

This time, Frenzied Sword could not help but ask, “What is this?”

“This is a list…” Ronaldo said with a deep voice. As though he thought about a terrible memory, he grabbed the position of his arm, and a trace of anger and fear flashed past his eyes. “A list of targets.”

“Er, why do you want us to pass this to Black Star?”

“Because… he is on the list!”

Chapter 629 - Mysterious Killer

Who had put Black Star as their hunting target?

A look of surprise appeared on Frenzied Sword’s face.

The expression of everyone present turned weird. Black Star was the leader of their faction, and upon hearing that someone was going to deal with him, the group inexplicably felt some hatred toward the other party.

Hao Tian’s eyes gleamed, and he communicated to them through the channel. “We might have picked up on a hidden storyline. Sleepy, continue asking. Try to trigger more of the storyline.”

Sleepy Winter nodded. “Black Star is our leader; we will definitely pass this list on to him. However, we would like to know more about this. Could you tell us more about the list itself?”

“The people on this list are all well-known Supers around the Shattered Star Ring,” Ronaldo said in a deep tone. “None of them are ordinary Grade A Supers, either having powerful influences or solo powers with a strong personal force. The goal of those who released this list is to kill or capture these strong Supers. As far as I know, there are already some people on the list who have gone missing.”

“Who are the people in charge of pursuing those on the list?” Sleepy Winter took the chance to continue down this lead.

“It seems to be a mysterious organization. I don’t know their origin and just refer to them as ‘Hunters’. They have captured a few of the stronger Supers on the list. I’ve only met with them once. At that time, I chanced upon two of the hunters, and their strengths were perversely strong, probably having the level of Grade A+.”

A sense of heaviness passed through Ronaldo’s eyes as he added, “My hands were broken by one of them.”

“So, you were their target as well?”

“Nope.” Ronaldo shook his head.

Sleepy Winter paused, suspicion filling his face as he asked, “Then why…”

Ronaldo cut in as he leisurely explained, “I was an outsider that was implicated. Hence, I got off with only my arms being broken.”

After pausing for a while, he said, “I have a friend who’s also a Calamity Grade Super. He was the actual target they were looking for on the list. He runs an armed organization in the Skywalker Star System, which has a close relationship with the Hutt Civilization.

“A year ago, while I was paying a visit to his headquarters, two of the hunters suddenly appeared. They killed their way into the headquarters, without anyone being able to stop them. Thus, I went to meet the enemy with my friend, but those two had overwhelming power, and we ended up being wiped.

“I managed to steal some of their information through their communicators during the battle, which was this incomplete list. Their target was my friend, and they captured him in the end, throwing me aside after giving me some serious injuries.

“I’m technically a Grade A Super, and you would think that they would capture me too, but they didn’t even look at me before swaggering out. They seemed indifferent to non-targeted people.”

Ronaldo laughed bitterly. “They did not look at me at all, which is why I managed to escape.”

Everyone present was stupefied.

The goal of the hunters was to capture the strong, but they did not even bother taking along a Calamity Grade Super that could not retaliate. Was it because they had specific targets, or were their goals too lofty?

No matter what the case was, this group of mysterious hunters seemed unfathomable.

“This hidden storyline must not be a simple one,” Frenzied Sword said within the team channel.

“While the hunters themselves are mysterious,” Ronaldo said, “the missing people on the list cannot be hidden. This means that the hunters are continuously on the move. Please be sure to transfer the name list to Black Star. While I might not know him, the Black Star Mercenary Group has helped me, so I don’t mind repaying my debt by reminding your leader.”

He had also calculated that behind Black Star stood the Dragon Emperor, and they could probably handle the hunters. If Black Star really succeeded, he would not need to remain in hiding forever.

The reason for him being low key was because he feared that his name would one day appear on the hunters’ list. Although he had only exchanged blows with them once, he was thoroughly afraid of their strength.

At this time, the interface of the players showed a notification.

_____________________

You have triggered the Hidden Mission: [Mysterious Hunting List]!

_____________________

They all glanced at each other, nodding in return.

…

In a random Star System of the Shattered Star Ring, a spaceship with visible signs of damage was moving at full speed, like a streamer, across the dark universe.

“Warning! Warning! Fuel reserves have fallen to the critical line. Exiting hyperdrive in one minute.” The Artificial Intelligence issued a reminder.

“Dammit! Those two fellows will catch up at this rate!”

Bang!

Within the cockpit, Kernid desperately smashed the control panel, an anxious expression on his face.

He belonged to a humanoid race with darker complexion, with natural wrinkles on his skin. He wore a special rune armor combat suit that combined mechanical and magical techniques. The armor was filled with countless mysterious runes on the inside and outside, with dozens of enchants as well. It was equipped with hundreds of different magical combat means and was the most commonly used type for interstellar magicians.

However, this high-end rune armor was currently torn and ragged, covered in Kernid’s own blood.

Kernid was the first official Grade A Super of a random civilization in the Star System, as well as an honorary member of the Hidden Red Robe Abbey. He was adept in magic and was named the Dark Purple Warlock, giving him high prestige. However, he was currently fleeing like never before.

And everything was because of the two enemies that had unexpectedly appeared.

While he was enjoying a paid vacation, exploring the interstellar regions, he chanced upon these two mysterious men, who attacked him without a single word.

Afterward, Kernid actually found out that he was not a match for the two of them and received heavy injuries.

Fortunately, he had kept a trump card, and managed to shake them away before boarding his spaceship and escaping. However, the two mysterious assailants continued chasing after him nonstop, causing him to be unable to stop.

The hyperdrive consumed his remaining fuel quickly, and the aircraft speed finally slowed down, exiting from hyperdrive and returning to normal flying speed.

“Drat!” Kernid had a face full of sweat, as he gripped his head tight.

Just as his voice sounded, the hum of magic waves passed through the many layers of the bulkhead. Kernid keenly captured the waves of magic through his senses, causing his expression to change greatly.

A bright blue ring was lit up around the abdomen of the spaceship, and the ring quickly expanded into a portal. A duo walked out leisurely from within the portal.

The two wore similar white overcoats without any embellishments. The material of the clothes seemed strange, gleaming dully, and was covered with countless enchantment inscriptions.

Both of them wore specially alloy masks to cover their faces. The man’s mask resembled a bird’s head, whereas the women’s resembled a cat.

More than a dozen thick, ancient-looking books were seen floating around the man, all of which were open. They were filled with magic texts and glowing with colorful spell rays. The golden yellow inscriptions morphed into several circles, surrounding the man’s body.

“The positioning is confirmed.”

The man’s tone was passive, and as he flicked his fingers, one of the pages turned up. The portal behind him then narrowed down to a point and disappeared. This man was a master of magic!

Suddenly, the bulkhead in front of the duo burst apart as tens of purple light beams arced out from Kernid, who was in the cockpit. The gorgeous purple lights pierced through the walls, striking the two uninvited guests.

Knowing their capabilities, he chose to attack first.

Boom!

Between the flashing lights and fire, the masked man changed his stance, which caused all the books to begin flipping at once. A blue magic circle covered him and the woman beside him, isolating them from all attacks. The purple arcs were deflected into space instead, unable to even touch them.

Kernid flew out of the gap, and his rune armor lit up, casting lights all around. Countless magical forces gathered around him and, like a colorful streamer, crashed toward the blue magic circle.

He had already suffered once from their attacks, and because it was humiliating to compete with the opponent in long-range magic, he switched to melee.

Kernid had condensed all his power, and his control over it was exquisite, not allowing any of the energy to dissipate. If an ordinary Grade A Super was faced with this attack, they would basically choose to avoid the blow instead of going head on. However, faced with these two strong and mysterious enemies, he did not have much confidence in being able to damage them.

Boom!

The resulting sound was like ramming a huge bell. The blue magic circle failed to withstand the blow and burst apart, turning into numerous glass-like energy fragments.

“Success!” Kernid was jubilant, and his confidence returned at the same time.

However, he saw the resulting burst of light illuminating the masks of both his assailants. Their eyes remained calm and indifferent, as though they did not view Kernid’s full powered blow as a threat at all.

The next moment, the magic shards suddenly integrated together before bursting in a beam of blue white light, which struck Kernid. The beam had superimposed the power that Kernid had used to attack them with previously, which was equivalent to him facing his own attack.

Kernid’s remaining offensive was interrupted, and he was blown back. Suppressing his pain from the injury, he exclaimed in amazement.

“What sorcery is this‽”

It was just protective-type magic, but it was surprisingly able to withstand his advanced-level Calamity Grade strike and could even rebound the power. This sounded simple, but at their level, the rougher and simpler a type of magic was, the more terrifying it would be. Unlike those magic shields that were layered with many inscriptions resulting in a ‘quantity change’, this was a qualitative change.

“Self-created,” the masked man replied simply, but this answer caused Kernid’s eyes to open wide, an expression of disbelief on his face.

At this moment, the woman by the side also attacked. Raising her right hand, she punched out violently.

Ka ka ka!

With the shrieking of bent metal, the entire spaceship started to rip apart.

The spaceship suddenly crunched up, as though it was violently pinched and crushed by a large hand.

Boom!

A large amount of oxygen leaked out, and the fuel tank as well as the engines of the spaceship exploded.

Fire burst outward, and the ‘sphere’ spaceship exploded directly, disintegrating instantly. Various debris flew outward into empty space.

In just a few seconds, a spaceship had been turned into space junk floating around the universe.

A spherical magic shield protected the duo, allowing them to levitate in the universe. Not far from them, Kernid’s rune armor also flashed with a flickering shield of light.

The spaceship exploding had worsened the already serious injuries of Kernid, and his rune armor was also on the verge of being destroyed.

Without the spaceship, there was no way to escape, and a hint of despair leaked out from Kernid’s eyes.

Within the magic shield filled with oxygen, the woman waved her arm.

All the wreckage came together once again, this time directly clamping Kernid in the center. It slowly turned into a huge sphere, as though there was some invisible force crushing it inward. The metal sphere slowly shrank further, as the original irregular shape turned round.

While there was still resistance within the sphere initially, it slowly turned lighter and weaker. Finally, there was no longer any more movement.

“Capture is complete for the Dark Purple Warlock Kernid,” the woman coldly said.

The man then took out a communicator and opened up a list, crossing off Kernid’s name. He sighed. “Shana, who’s our next target?”

Shana was the name of the woman. She glanced over and tapped on the list, saying, “I pick him, the commander of the Black Star Army.”

“Oh, this guy entered the list a year ago. His forces are developing very quickly, and if not for that, we might not even have paid attention to him. Yes, this guy is a bit special—he has the nickname of immortal. Seems difficult to handle. We should lead him to a suitable place to isolate him before capturing. That requires enough preparation time, and we also have to take Kernid back. Let’s change targets.”

“There’s no need. We’ll move separately. You take the captive back; I’ll go handle Black Star,” Shana blandly said. “Based on the intel, he only entered the Calamity Grade two to three years ago. Furthermore, he’s a Mechanic. I alone can resolve this.”

The man paused before smiling. “I almost forgot, your ability can restrain the Mechanic profession. Very well, I’ll go and complete our mission while you proceed on to capture him. It seems like our harvest this trip will be quite fulfilling.”

As for the relationship between Black Star and the Dragon Emperor, they did not even mention it once as though it was irrelevant.

Chapter 630 - Development Status and Bottleneck

In the headquarters of the Black Star Army on Planet Golden Gate, a battle was currently going on.

Bang!

A black, streamlined, mechanical soldier knocked five purplish blue mechanical warriors aside and charged in front of Reynold while withstanding the laser beams being shot out from ten artillery towers. The arm of the mechanical soldier changed form into eight gears that rotated at high speed and struck Reynold’s shield.

Reynold had a solemn expression on his face and left an electromagnetic trap behind as he retreated. At the same time, he released a blinding bolt of Mechanical Force lightning. He then used a skill to boost the might of his artillery towers and sent out a barrage of never-ending fire.

Ka ka ka!

All of a sudden, the black mechanical soldier suddenly disintegrated into black nanoparticles and flew back to the side of a figure not too far away. The black nanoparticles then reconstructed themselves back into the form of a mechanical soldier and stood beside this figure silently.

“You are becoming more and more powerful. It is only a matter of time before you breakthrough into the Calamity Grade,” Han Xiao said with praise while clapping his hands.

Compared to two years earlier, Han Xiao was still young and handsome with his height increasing a bit. His aura was even more unfathomable than before. Han Xiao was currently dressed in a low-profile black windbreaker and was not wearing a mechanical suit.

“This is all thanks to your tutelage,” Reynold said solemnly.

Han Xiao waved his hand and said out of politeness, “It is because of your talent.”

After two years of guidance, Reynold was growing closer and closer to the Energy Rank of Grade A. He frequently exchanged pointers with Han Xiao, and since both of them were comrades, there was no need to exhaust each other. Thus, they would limit their spar to a small area and only test the strength and control of their machines.

The black mechanical soldier beside Han Xiao was one of the new models that Han Xiao had researched over the past two years. It had the ability of nano transformation, and its individual capability was spectacular, exceeding that of the Protectors. It was an elite machine that belonged to Han Xiao’s Calamity Grade arsenal called [Phantom].

Reynold would always be shocked whenever he exchanged pointers with Black Star. Black Star would always be able to take out a different but powerful machine and would make use of him to test out his new machines. Reynold could not imagine how many different blueprints Black Star actually had.

Even at his level, it was no easy task to learn a single blueprint, and researching a new machine would take even more effort. However, Reynold just was not able to grasp Black Star’s realm, and he could not understand why Black Star’s efficiency in researching new machines was so frightening.

Furthermore, Reynold could feel that Han Xiao could deal with him more and more easily whenever they exchanged pointers. Black Star was already a Calamity Grade Super, but he did not seem to have a bottleneck and could continuously grow stronger. This made Reynold extremely baffled and felt that Han Xiao was unfathomable.

Reynold had always felt that he was an extremely talented individual and had great confidence in his own abilities. However, Han Xiao truly dealt a huge blow to his confidence. Reynold felt a sense of inferiority before Han Xiao with his attitude becoming more and more humble.

There was truly too much for him to learn from Black Star, and Reynold hated the fact that he could not use every minute of his life to follow Han Xiao and record his every single action.

After putting his machine away, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something and casually asked, “How are the logistic reserves for the army?”

When it came to work, Reynold’s expression grew serious, and he replied unhurriedly, “We have ample stock for all the different resources, and our reserves are healthy. Only Bases 17, 21, and 24 have a shortage of resources, and they mainly lack ammunition, fuel, and materials for commonly used machines. Four days ago, I channeled resources from the five nearest bases, and the first wave of resources should reach in two days…”

Upon hearing the report, Han Xiao nodded and got Reynold to leave while he thought to himself in his room.

Over the past two years, the Black Star Army had experienced rapid growth, and just as industry insiders predicted, they gradually monopolized all the employment missions within the Garton Star System and set up dozens of bases across the Garton Star System. They had even built an office on the mother planet of Godora.

The one million or so players brought the Black Star Army endless benefits. Han Xiao borrowed the hen to lay eggs, and the reputation of the Black Star Army grew continuously. As the scale of the Black Star Army expanded, more and more freelance mercenaries were attracted to join the Black Star Army.

Currently, apart from the one million or so cannon… cough, players, the army had a hundred thousand official mercenaries. Furthermore, the number of students that they were training in the various training camps had three to four times this number. Even by relying on only NPC mercenaries, the Black Star Army was an undeniable super-sized mercenary group.

The target of the training camps was no longer limited to the freelance mercenaries that did not make the cut but also ordinary individuals without any foundation. In the various bases on all the different planets, there would definitely be young individuals who wanted to enter the universe or become Supers.

The entire army was restructured with a clear system being developed to ensure that it could be managed more efficiently. The officers all had their own roles with some of them becoming managers of a region to manage hundreds of mercenary teams, trump card mercenaries to tackle high difficulty missions, commanders of fleets, instructors of the training camps, prosperity figures, and the female secretaries of the Army Commander.

The position of vice Army Commander is still empty. The individual who sat in this position needed to be sufficiently powerful in order to convince everyone in the army. Han Xiao was the only Calamity Grade Super in the entire Army, and his vice commander would also have to be of the Calamity Grade. Among all his officers, only Reynold was the nearest to the Calamity Grade.

Over the past two years, Han Xiao had hired over a hundred Grade B Supers. There were some who took the initiative to join the army, and others were elites who he sought based on his memory. There were some low-grade protagonist level characters to fill up the middle ranks of the army.

After monopolizing the entire Garton Star System, Han Xiao continued his expansion with the Garton Star System as the core. He also began to target the surrounding few Star Systems and snatched a portion of the markets.

The larger the market that his army occupied, the greater the demand on the strength of his market.

As a young teen who grew up in a capitalistic society, Han Xiao invested all his resources into the construction of new bases and the expansion of his fleet. He tried his very best to create a never-ending cycle of benefits.

Currently, the Black Star Army had 26 fleets, which were in charge of various responsibilities such as battle, transport, reinforcements, and so on. The Black Star Army had a total of 1,600 battleships, and the truth showed that robbing galactic pirates… cough cough, getting rid of tyrants to help the weak was a very beneficial action.

The number of Black Star Army bases also increased to 34, and apart from Noriosse and Rossozzi, the Black Star Army had three new sponsors. Two of them were ordinary financial groups, and one of them was actually the Godoran government. They had also increased the strategic resources provided to the Black Star Army, and the relationship between the two had grown even closer.

The influence of their faction expanded even further, and the Black Star Army was now ranked among the famous private organizations within the Colton Star Cluster. This time, it was Floating Dragon Island that benefited from the fame of the Black Star Army. The strength of the Floating Dragon field team made it such that Ames was no longer the only deterrent force in Floating Dragon.

However, Han Xiao could feel that the development of his faction was reaching a bottleneck.

As a mercenary group, the Black Star Army had already reached the peak, and if they continued to expand their operations, their efficiency would only decrease. Distance was a very obvious restriction. The larger the scope of their operations, the greater the requirement of a faction’s strength. Monopolizing the Garton Star System was already the limit, and they did not have the ability to monopolize a second Star System.

The other reason behind the bottleneck of a faction was the nature of a faction. A mercenary group was a more relaxed organization, and if they wanted to enter the next level, the organization would have to be transformed to let the employment missions be of secondary importance. The faction would have to become a semi-private armed organization like Bloodshed Land.

The difficulty of such a task was extremely high, and this was not the right time to make such a change. However, Han Xiao was one to plan far ahead and knew that this was something that they had to do eventually.

“The only thing I don’t have to worry about is my strength…”

In the blink of an eye, Han Xiao was already at level 170. His level had only risen by over twenty levels, and he was currently stuck on the [Galaxy Mechanic] Class Advancement Mission.

This was because Han Xiao did not place his attention on leveling up but stored most of his experience points up. His stash of experience points was already sky high, and even at his current level, the amount of experience that he had stored up was enough for tens of levels.

However, Han Xiao did not do so. He had not met any strong opponents over the past two years and was not in a rush to increase his level. As such, he invested his experience points into his skills in exchange for Potential Points and gambled on a large number of blueprints.

More importantly, Han Xiao considered the problem of the next version update.

The time taken for the next version update would be a full ten years in the game. This meant that he would not be able to harvest anything for a full ten years. His experience stash was like his rations for the winter, and the more the merrier.

“We are already at the end of Version 2.0. The version update should be coming after the Pro League. Sigh, that’s a full ten years…”

Han Xiao could not help but let out a long sigh of worry. He then opened his interface to take a look at his personal stats.

_____________________

Level: 170

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Chaos Observer (Human Form)

Attributes: 254 Strength, 634 Dexterity, 608 Endurance, 1956 Intelligence, 263 Mystery, 105 Charisma, 1 Luck

Free Attribute Points: 0

Potential Point: 31

Health: 93,732

Stamina: 94,180

Energy: 17,580 [Level11]

Level11 Energy bonus stat: +111 Strength, +158 Dexterity, +174 Endurance, +204 Intelligence, +129 Mystery, +21,220 Stamina Limit, +142% Machinery Affinity

Energy Rank: 14,780

Grade: A

Grade A Ranked Bonus: +10 Endurance Bonus, +8 All Resistances, +10% Highest Stat(s), +5% Other Stats, Additional 30 Free Attribute Points, Additional 5 Potential Points

You are an experienced Grade A Super, and your enemies will have a taste of their nightmares.

_____________________

Compared to the development of the faction, his own strength did not face a bottleneck. If he met a perverse Class Advancement or Promotion mission, he still had the option of using a Mission Completion Card.

As long as his experience stash could keep up, his own strength would increase rapidly. This was something that Han Xiao did not need to worry too much about.

His level was not the only thing that contributed to his strength. In the past two years, Han Xiao had looked around for talents.

While Han Xiao still had no clue on how to obtain Reynold’s talent, Han Xiao managed to grab a similar talent, [Elementary Grade Mechanical Sense], and finally had a Mechanic Class talent.

His [Intermediate Strengthened Life] talent also gave him a few notifications that it was strengthened. Han Xiao estimated that he should be able to level the talent up if he consumed a couple of Genetic Medicine of rare lifeforms.

It was a pity that Molding Abilities were extremely rare, and Han Xiao had only managed to obtain ordinary talents in the past two years.

Apart from the change of attributes on his interface, the change in his combat strength was even more obvious!

Han Xiao’s Mechanical Army had been expanded a couple of times, and he had strengthened the battle tactics of the various styles. He had added many new Calamity Grade machines, and his combat capabilities were more well-rounded than before. He was a changed man from two years ago, and Han Xiao felt that he should be able to fight five to six of himself from two years ago at once.

Whoosh!

At this moment, the room door suddenly swung open, and Sylvia was standing outside.

“Teacher, I finally found you. There are a couple of mercenaries who wish to meet you. They say that they have some important intelligence.”

Two years ago, Sylvia had still been a budding young lady, and now, she had matured greatly. She was a beautiful young lady with nice curves and the perfect height. She was glowing with radiance, her eyes like the starry night sky.

Her position was Han Xiao’s secretary, and her potential was fully unleashed by Han Xiao.

The homework that Han Xiao gave to her could make the Sylvia from two years ago crack her head with frustration but was extremely easy to the current Sylvia. She grew up faster by the day. Although her potential had not been converted to strength because of the lack of time, she could unleash the strength of a C+ Super with the mechanical suit that Han Xiao had built for her. She was able to exchange a few blows with an ordinary Grade B Super and was slowly gaining the aura of the ‘Mechanical Lady Knight’ from Han Xiao’s previous life.

Han Xiao glanced at Sylvia for a while before asking, “Who wants to meet me?”

“These few individuals.” Sylvia handed some information over to Han Xiao, who was stunned for a moment when he saw it. The ones who wanted to see him were Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, and the gang.

Chapter 631 - : Prologue of the Crimson Tide, Request From a Star Cluster Civilization

When Han Xiao entered his office, Sylvia brought Frenzied Sword and the others in.

“Black Star.”

Including Bun-Hit-Dog, Frenzied Sword and the rest called Han Xiao’s name simultaneously with excitement.

As the faction developed, Bun-Hit-Dog could not follow Black Star around everywhere anymore. Upon hearing that Frenzied Sword and the others were visiting Hao Tian, he instantly had an idea. For the sake of material for his show, he did everything he could to convince the others to let him join them. He started videoing as soon as he entered through the door.

Han Xiao looked across them and stopped at Frenzied Sword. He then loaded the ‘Faction Leader’ emoticon bundle and nodded. “It’s been a long time, my friends.”

Hearing this familiar tone, the others smiled. They had all been members of that highly skilled group of players, and they felt that Black Star speaking to them in a different manner was a special privilege.

“What important information do you have for me?” Han Xiao was curious. The players would not do things if there were no profit involved, so they had definitely accepted a mission from someone.

“We heard this is a hunting list. You’re on it…”

Frenzied Sword explained about what had happened, took out the list, and passed to Han Xiao.

Ronaldo? Never heard of this name before, and what are hunters? Han Xiao frowned. He scanned through the list, and his name was indeed on it.

Someone is targeting me? Who could it be? Han Xiao pondered. The only similarity the people on the list shared was that they were all well-known Calamity Grades in the various areas of the Shattered Star Ring. Some of their names were very famous. He had even heard of them before in his previous life.

The fact that they dared target these people, no matter what these hunters’ goals were, proved that they had an unfathomable amount of strength.

Are they targeting me because of my fame and strength? Han Xiao contemplated.

The Black Star Army had risen very quickly in these two years. There were barely any opportunities for Han Xiao to do things himself. The fact that he was one of the targets meant that he was seen as one of the well-known people in the Shattered Star Ring.

“Did that Ronaldo say anything else?”

Frenzied Sword shook his head. “No.”

“Looks like we lack information and can’t prove the credibility of this list. I will let Phillip search for the whereabouts of the people on this list. If there really is a group of hunters like he suggested, because he gave too little information, I can’t figure out who these people are either.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

Things like this were not very rare. In other words, Calamity Grades were like rare resources in the universe. They were always targeted by organizations with ulterior motives.

Currently, storms were quietly brewing in the Shattered Star Ring. Version 3.0 ‘Crimson Tide’ was slowly approaching, so all sorts of people might appear. In fact, not just in the Shattered Star Ring, but other Star Fields too. The effects brought by the Crimson Dynasty’s expansion spread across the entire Galaxy.

The three Universal Civilizations had finally entered the ‘exhausted stage’ of peace. Just like the ‘seven years itch’ between partners, although it would not lead to a divorce, quarreling and fighting would become frequent. The couple might be able to sort things out after these small emotional fights, but the damage caused during the fights would not disappear.

In his previous life, the Crimson Tide had been a chaotic era. Many hidden organizations had shown up, made use of the chaotic situation, and blamed the Crimson Dynasty for it. Those were troubled and chaotic times that the players faced back then.

Although Han Xiao was very familiar with the storyline, there was more than one organization that targeted people like him during the Crimson Tide. Some had been exposed in his previous life; some had never been discovered. He could not yet confirm who these hunters were with the limited information that Frenzied Sword and the others had given him.

It might just be an ambitious private organization, such as DarkStar, which indeed did the same thing in his previous life, but it might also be a sign of the ‘Calamity of the Supers’ or the ‘Silver Revolutionary Army’. It was all unclear at this point.

Regardless, this list at least reminded me to be wary of my safety…

Although Han Xiao did not know who the enemy was, he knew that someone had their eyes on him. Hence, he knew that he had to be alert.

According to the intelligence, these mysterious hunters were very strong, strong enough to easily beat usual Calamity Grades. They were very likely Grade A+, which gave Han Xiao a little pressure.

I should find time to deal with the Class Advancement mission. I’m now level 170, and the Promotion at level 180 will be the next Race Evolution. It will make me much stronger. By then, I won’t have to worry about Grade A+ Supers.

Sadly, the information of the enemy was too little. He could only stay defensive and could not search for the enemy. This was like a time bomb.

I shall find the time to go back to Floating Dragon Island and have old man Aesop do some foresight…

This time, Frenzied Sword, who had the highest Favorability with Han Xiao among the rest in the room, spoke again.

“Black Star, do you know about the changes happening in the Shattered Star Ring recently?”

They had received some hidden information from Ronaldo and felt it was related to the storyline of the next version. Now that they had finally gotten the chance to meet their faction leader, they felt that since Han Xiao was the mission target, he might know some of the information.

Frenzied Sword wanted to know as much as he could about it.

“The changes recently? What are you referring to?” Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

“Ronaldo told us that there has been a lot of unrest in the Shattered Star Ring recently. He said that there’s an organization behind this…” Frenzied Sword broached the subject in a very subtle way.

“Ah, I know, the Crimson Dynasty.”

The atmosphere suddenly became silent.

Frenzied Sword opened his mouth wide.

Hao Tian’s face twitched.

Everyone looked like they were struggling with constipation.

He—He said it this easily…

Although they got the answer they wanted, all of them felt somewhat empty. They had that thought this was a huge secret that no one knew about, but this was only the second person they asked, and he just casually said it.

It seemed that the things happening behind the curtain of the Shattered Star Ring, which Ronaldo took so seriously and could not understand at all, were just normal business to Black Star.

The process was so simple that Frenzied Sword and the others could not help but doubt whether this information was even important at all.

Except for Bun-Hit-Dog, who was the most excited. His eyes were sparkling.

During Version 1.0, Black Star had hinted at Version 2.0’s Mutation Disaster. Now, Black Star gave the hint about the next version once again.

They felt that Han Xiao was more and more mysterious as if he knew everything.

Frenzied Sword had known Han Xiao the longest. Even he could not help but feel he did not know Han Xiao at all.

Han Xiao then changed the topic and said, “The information you have given me is indeed valuable. I have a mission for you guys…”

As he was speaking, he quickly wrote a reward mission and gave it to the players. Its rewards were very rich, and there was even a reward where they could pick one piece of equipment for free. Overjoyed, Frenzied Sword and the others quickly accepted the mission.

Han Xiao gave them a few words of compliment and gave them five points of Favorability. His Favorability was like a product discount. Then, he told Sylvia to send away the satisfied Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, Bun-Hit-Dog, and the rest.

After they left, Han Xiao leaned back, crossed his legs, and started pondering.

He had always been paying attention to the players. All the players had left their own novice planets and entered the galaxy. Among the others, his Black Star Army was undoubtedly the best guiding faction. The players from Planet Aquamarine were all fed very well and healthy. The second Pro League was about to start. He had quite high hopes for the performance of the Chinese clubs this time as well.

Most players had reached the level limit of level ninety; they would be able to make use of more of their class specialty. Their strategies would vary, so this season would be more exciting than the previous one.

The better the results of the Chinese clubs, the more attractive his faction would become. When the players entered the stage of inter-Star-Field travel in the future, his faction would be able to attract players from other areas. No number of leeks would ever be too much for Han Xiao.

These Genetic Medicines will be very popular.

Han Xiao smiled. After sucking dry countless galactic pirates, he had a lot of these stocked up in the warehouse.

After looking at the forums for a while, just as Han Xiao was about to get up and play with the cuties in the machinery modification room, Sylvia suddenly entered the room.

“Teacher, there’s an important invitation.”

“Invitation?”

“Colton Star Cluster’s ruling civilization, the Purple Crystal Civilization, wants to hire you specifically.”

Star Cluster Civilization!

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

The Black Star Army’s business was limited to Star System Civilizations and had yet to get in touch with any Star Cluster Civilizations. Although Han Xiao had gotten the contact of a Purple Crystal Civilization official during Tyrant’s party, the requests made by Star Cluster Civilizations were all given to selected groups—the Black Star Army was not in them.

Now, they had finally received a mission from a Star Cluster Civilization. The Purple Crystal Civilization was the ruler of Colton. As they had invited him by name, it seemed rather important.

Completing a mission from a Star Cluster Civilization would add a huge amount of value to the resume of the army.

A few years ago, Han Xiao had no contact with any Star Cluster Civilizations because he was in no position to, but now he could.

Furthermore, contacting a Star Cluster Civilization was something that he could not avoid on his path of personal growth.

In the past two years, Han Xiao had learned almost all the High-End Knowledges; he now had to look for the next stage of knowledge—Cutting-Edge Knowledges. Star Cluster Civilizations were a very important part of gaining Cutting-Edge Knowledges.

This is an opportunity!

Han Xiao told Phillip to transfer the communication and added protection to the channel at the same time.

The image flashed, and a familiar face appeared. It was the Purple Crystal Civilization representative whom Han Xiao had met during Tyrant’s party, Ralph.

“Black Star, it’s been some time,” Ralph said in a friendly manner.

Han Xiao chatted with him a little before they started to get down to business.

“You people wanted to hire me specifically?”

“That’s right. Your army has a very good name, so you’re one of our top choices.”

“And what are the mission’s details?”

“It’s an elimination operation. The target is a fleet. They have disguised themselves as travelers, but their background is much more complicated than that. We plan to eliminate this fleet as a warning to the people behind them.”

Ralph described the situation very vaguely. Han Xiao could not help but guess what the organization that the Purple Crystal Civilization wanted to warn was.

After giving it a little bit of thinking, he had a rough idea.

Purple Crystal had decided to find mercenaries to deal with this instead of doing it themselves, which was clearly not because they were not able to, but the identity of the enemies was sensitive, which caused Purple Crystal to not want to do things the official way.

“Klentans?” Han Xiao spoke softly. Purple Crystal and Klent looked like they had a very good relationship, but they were targeting each other secretly. In his previous life, Purple Crystal and Klent had even fought.

Ralph smiled and did not answer this question. He changed the topic and said, “There has been a lot of unrest in the Shattered Star Ring recently. These organizations have been crossing the line more and more, so they have to be dealt with.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin.

Two years had passed, and the effects of the Crimson Tide had been fermenting. Many organizations wanted to make use of it, so many organizations had been showing themselves, the disorder was spreading quickly. The waves created by the Crimson Dynasty made civilizations that stayed neutral such as the Purple Crystal Civilization very annoyed. Strange things kept happening in the Colton Star Cluster, and the security of their territories had become more and more threatened. Purple Crystal finally could not take it anymore and decided to make an example of these people.

“So, Black Star, do you want to accept our hire?”

“Let’s talk about the reward first.”

“Of course, what do you want?”

“Mechanic Cutting-Edge Knowledge,” Han Xiao replied.

Ralph’s face became troubled when he heard this.

“That might not be possible. Cutting-Edge Knowledges are very precious. The people above will not agree. I can only pay you with money…” Ralph paused momentarily. “However, you’re Floating Dragon’s officer, and we respect Ames a lot. Therefore, if we have the chance to work together again in the future, Cutting-Edge Knowledge might not be impossible.”

Cutting-Edge Knowledge is indeed not easy to obtain… Han Xiao had expected this, so he was not disappointed.

What Ralph meant between the lines was, this hire was like an entry ticket for the Black Star Army. If he completed it, Purple Crystal would hire him for more missions in the future. Once he made a big enough contribution, Purple Crystal would be willing to give him Cutting-Edge Knowledges. It was basically the path of increasing Faction Favorability.

Cutting-Edge Knowledges were very precious; only at this stage could one study antimatter, psionic energy, and the like. Han Xiao did not think that there was a problem with the way Purple Crystal was doing it. Nothing was free in the world—he needed Cutting-Edge Knowledges, and Purple Crystal needed stronger unofficial military power to do things for them privately. It was all part of a deal.

Han Xiao pondered for a while before nodding. “Okay, I can try it.”

“Great.” Ralph smiled. “I will send you a gathering location later. There are other people on this mission. The mission details will be sent to you later.”

“Okay.” Han Xiao had no objection. This was not the first time that he had a group mission like this.

Chapter 632 - Gundam Is a Man’s Romance

The gathering location was in another Star System within the Colton Star Cluster, very far away from Garton. Han Xiao had Risda fly him to the planet used for the gathering.

This was an unpopulated planet with just a series number. When the Blacklight Stealth arrived at the coordinates, there were already quite many spaceships parked on the ground, and a crowd had already formed. They all looked up one after another at the newcomer.

The spaceship descended steadily. Han Xiao walked out of the hatch and looked around casually. There were only two people there whose vital signs reached the level of Grade A. It seemed like they were two leaders, but they were unfamiliar. They both led a group of people, meaning there were two organizations present.

“The Garton Star System’s Black Star? I’ve heard of him.”

“He came too.”

“Did he not bring those undying mercenaries?”

The crowd looked at Han Xiao with surprise and chatted among themselves.

A member of the Purple Crystal Civilization got out of the spaceship and stood in front of Han Xiao. “Welcome, Black Star. I’m the one responsible for this operation, level 3 diplomat of Secret Service Department 4, Dodder.”

“Hi.” Han Xiao nodded. “Where’s Ralph?”

“His Excellency Ralph’s position is very high; I’m his subordinate’s subordinate. This operation does not require him to be in charge personally.”

Ralph’s position was quite high in the Purple Crystal Civilization. What Han Xiao did not know was, of all the people who were invited to this operation, he was the only one that had been invited by Ralph personally. The others only had contact with Dodder.

This special treatment was because Han Xiao had attended the Tyrant’s party before. To Ralph, Black Star was a member of the upper-class social circle, so he personally involved himself in this small operation that he did not need to be bothered about, showing that he took Han Xiao seriously.

“There are three organizations that are going to be working together for this operation. Let me introduce you to the other two.”

Dodder took Han Xiao over and introduced him to the leaders of the other two organizations.

“This is Jayne, a strong Esper. The others call him ‘Seaquake’. This is Gadeli. His nickname is ‘Hundred Rounds Cannon’. He’s a Cannon Master.”

The two of them sized Han Xiao up and shook hands with him respectfully.

Jayne and Gadeli’s equipment was very sophisticated, especially Gadeli’s. His battle suit was made of super-nanotechnology. Han Xiao could see that this battle suit had very strong shapeshifting capabilities from a glance. This guy was a Cannon Master, so he might have turned his trump card firearms into parts of the battle suit and wore it on his body.

Han Xiao had never heard of the two of them before, so he told Phillip to do a search. He then realized that the two of them were not mercenaries but small private military organizations only formed a few years ago and had a rather small size.

Speaking of which, the Black Star Army had only been formed for a couple of years, yet it had risen extremely quickly at an unmatched speed.

In Galaxy, the number of such organizations was right below mercenary groups. There were various reasons that these organizations were formed, but it could be mostly categorized under two reasons. One was for private reasons; these organizations had their own goal and did not accept requests.

The other was similar to mercenaries but did not accept public hires like normal mercenaries. They only accepted private invitations or looked for long-term partners. Hence, they were not a part of the mercenary industry. They had much stricter regulations toward their members compared to mercenary groups. The Bloodshed Land belonged to this category.

Usually, as long as the organizer had enough money and strength, forming a private military was simple. The strength of the leader was the ceiling of the private military—those created by Calamity Grades were the comparatively stronger ones. Jayne and Gadeli had both formed such organizations. Their active areas were in Star Systems rather far away, so their name was unheard by Han Xiao. However, they had both heard Han Xiao’s name before. It was clear which one of them was more famous.

This time, Jayne suddenly asked in a confused tone, “You came alone?”

“I alone am enough.” Han Xiao smiled. As this was a sudden mission, he did not waste time to gather others.

Jayne and Gadeli looked at each other with hidden joy in their eyes.

They were new organizations, so this cooperative operation was a good opportunity to get in touch with the Purple Crystal Civilization. To the two of them, this was a competition for the opportunity to have a long-term partnership with the Purple Crystal Civilization. The other organizations were all competitors, so they had to perform well.

Initially, when they saw Black Star, they had been very worried. If Black Star had brought the undying army under his command, the two of them would be completely unable to compete.

However, now that they realized that Black Star had come alone, they felt relieved that they had the opportunity to put on a performance.

After the introduction, Dodder took out the star map and explained the details of the operation.

“We are currently in Star Zone 3 of the Thousand Lights Star System. The target is in Star Zone 7. According to the target’s movements, we can intercept them in Star Zone 9…

“We have three Calamity Grade Supers and forty-four battleships. The target has sixty-five battleships, but some of them are civilian spaceships used as cover. Therefore, the actual combat capability of the enemies will be lower than that. The strength of their members is unknown. They entered the Colton Star Cluster from the desolate universe and did not go through any identity checks. They have also yet to stop and resupply along the way.”

The others nodded. The intelligence network of the Purple Crystal Civilization covered the entire Star Cluster—all they had to do was rush in. They had three Calamity Grades, so the enemy’s advantage of just more than twenty battleships was meaningless.

“Just a small fleet…” Han Xiao raised his brows. He had initially thought it would be a high difficulty mission, but as it turned out, it was just clearing out some shrimps. Yet, the Purple Crystal Civilization had invited a few Calamity Grades for it. He felt that their main goal was probably to select some new private military organizations for future partnerships.

Ding.

A notification popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered the mission [Purple Crystal Civilization’s Warning]!

_____________________

Han Xiao scanned through quickly and skipped the experience reward. Even the reward of more than a million Enaus was not a big deal to him now.

The only reward that he felt was actually valuable was the Faction Contribution Point of the Purple Crystal Civilization, which was 330 points.

The higher level the faction was, the more difficult it was to obtain its Favorability. However, due to Han Xiao’s pile of Legendary Points and titles, his current relationship with the Purple Crystal Civilization was not the initial [Indifferent] but [Neutral], so he had a starting Favorability of 450.

In order to obtain Cutting-Edge Knowledge, farming Faction Favorability was the method with the highest odds of success.

This time, Dodder suddenly thought of something.

“By the way, one more thing. The Star System Civilization ruling the Thousand Lights Star System requested backup from the Purple Crystal Civilization. One of the strongest people in their territory has gone missing, so they requested that we help them find him. The missing person is called Kernid, nickname Dark Purple Warlock. This is what he looks like. If you happen to discover any clues, do remember to tell me.”

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment. The name sounded very familiar.

Kernid seemed to be one of the names on the hunting list.

Han Xiao kept this in mind.

…

The target of the cooperative operation—the fleet that was disguised as galactic travelers—was slowly moving through Star Zone 9 of the Thousand Lights Star System.

In the command room of the main ship, the captain, Bret, was recording the various data.

“Voyage dairy K-003015: It has been 134 days since entering the Colton Star Cluster. Everything is normal at the moment. Currently carrying out the 6th data collection. The scouting area is the Thousand Lights Star System. The transfer of data for civilization development, civilian planet ecologies, security, and the others have been completed. The next station is the core area of the Colton Star Cluster, the White Ceiling Star System. We will gather intelligence on the Purple Crystal Civilization there.”

After the voyage dairy was sent out, the system completely destroyed its data.

Bret rubbed his eyes and soothed his tiredness.

“Alert! Alert! An unknown fleet is approaching!”

At this time, the lights inside the room turned bright red. The alarm of the spaceship artificial intelligence rang and instantly alerted Bret. He rushed to the radar screen, where an unknown fleet was shown to be heading directly toward them and would soon enter their vision.

“Send a message to them and ask about their entity,” Bret yelled. “Tell them we’re just galactic travelers.”

However, like throwing a pebble into the sea, the message got no reply at all.

Very soon, the fleet appeared and, without any hesitation, started firing at Bret’s fleet. The battle erupted in an instant!

“They’re not galactic pirates; we’ve been targeted!” Bret was experienced. He instantly knew that this would not end well for them.

Being very decisive, Bret ordered to counter-attack while recording a video and sending it back to his organizations, letting the headquarters know who these enemies were.

This fleet that suddenly attacked belonged to Han Xiao and the others. Jayne and Gadeli were commanding the fleet and fighting with the enemy. The Blacklight Stealth was watching from the side.

In the cockpit, Han Xiao looked at the battlefield and squinted.

“Although the enemies are not much of a threat, it is a good opportunity to test my new weapon.”

As he thought, Han Xiao switched to autopilot and walked to the ejection area in the middle of the ship. Berserk Ape quickly covered his body as he directly jumped into space.

The difference between Han Xiao’s size and the battleships’ was like the difference between an ant and an elephant. However, the next moment, the light of Mechanical Force flashed. Countless mechanical parts expanded from within the Berserk Ape mechanical suit, and compressed orbs opened up one after another.

In the blink of an eye, a more than thirty-meter-tall Giant Soldier mechanical suit was assembled. Its size was not much different from small assault ships. The huge energy wave attracted the attention and surprised both sides of the battle.

Giant Soldier, Ship Destroyer, Gen 3 Improved Version!

In the past two years, after obtaining the various High-End Knowledges, Han Xiao had finally reverse engineered the blueprint of spaceships and learned to build battleships. With this technology, he had improved the Ship Destroyer blueprint that Carroll had lost to him. He had enhanced it two times and updated many parts of it. Compared to the first generation, the third generation Ship Destroyer looked much more aesthetically pleasing. From a tube-shaped body, it became human-shaped, possessing four limbs and a head.

Giant Soldier mechanical suits were made for galactic battles, so their performances were all very high. With Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force bonuses, this Giant Soldier was terrifyingly strong. Other than Virtual Intrusion, Han Xiao now had a more direct method to battle in space.

Inside the cockpit of the Gen 3 Ship Destroyer, Han Xiao completed the nerve connection. The giant mechanical suit became as easy to control as his arms and legs, and the small burden it brought to Han Xiao’s mind was nothing to someone as strong as him. Han Xiao could not help but feel a little nostalgic.

“It’s been so long since I piloted a large mechanical suit. I wonder if I got rusty.”

Bret’s eyes opened extremely wide. His voice was breaking as he said, “It’s a Giant Soldier mechanical suit! Focus fire on it and destroy it!”

Every qualified commander knew what a Giant Soldier could do in galactic battles. Compared to bulky battleships, the mobility of the Giant Soldier mechanical suits was a nightmare for the entire fleet. As soon as a Giant Soldier appeared in galactic battles, they would definitely become the primary target.

Countless missiles rocketed through space and expanded in Han Xiao’s eyes, yet a sense of anticipation for battle appeared on Han Xiao’s face.

With just a thought, the three-dimensional mechanical body of the Gen 3 Ship Destroyer activated. Like a bullet, it entered the rain of fire, barely dodging the attacks one after another while the high level energy shield blocked the stray attacks.

The Great Mechanic Han’s piloting skills had been honed by countless battles. Only a Giant Soldier mechanical suit could allow him to express his real skills.

The huge mechanical suit moved like a shadow, quickly closing in on the enemy fleet.

This time, two enormous cannon barrels extended from behind Gen 3 Ship Destroyer and mounted on both of its shoulders. They fired thick, massive beams of hot energy cannons, shaking up the shields of many enemy ships with every shot.

Then, four enormous hovering guards appeared, circling around the Gen 3 Ship Destroyer as a means of protection as well as to counter-attack.

The moment Han Xiao took out the Giant Soldier mechanical suit, the focus of the entire battlefield had been on him!

After some time, the Gen 3 Ship Destroyer finally approached an enemy ship at the edge of their formation and was stopped by the spaceship’s shield. This time, the space around the Gen 3 Ship Destroyer suddenly looked bent and twisted. Han Xiao had activated the anti-shield impact waves. The shield of the enemy ship in front of him suddenly became dim and started flickering. Its defense was tremendously reduced.

Han Xiao had not wasted his time over the prior two years. He had spent a huge amount of Experience and built countless pieces of new equipment. A lot of different technology had gone into the Gen 3 Ship Destroyer.

The next moment, a Thermal Chainsaw extended from the Gen 3 Ship Destroyer’s hand, slashed down, and cut the enemy ship right in front of it in half like cutting through tofu, leaving a hot, red light at the fracture.

Time seemed to stop for an instant.

The next moment, the enemy ship that was split in half exploded into fireworks. If not for the vacuum environment, the sound of the explosion would have been deafening.

Looking at the blinding explosion, Jayne and Gadeli’s faces uncontrollably twitched.

There was no way their performances could be better than Black Star’s Giant Soldier mechanical suit.

Just as Black Star had said, it was indeed enough for him to come alone without bringing any troops.

“How much money did it cost to build this Giant Soldier?” Jayne murmured.

Gadeli clenched his teeth in envy. Jealousy had turned his expression twisted. “Damn, it must be good to be rich!”

Chapter 633 - Formation of the Organization, an Assault Invitation

There was no suspense in that crushing battle. With Bret’s troops being completely destroyed, the battlefield that was crisscrossed with artillery fire turned completely silent, with corpses and metal debris floating all around.

Han Xiao had cooperated with the forces of Jayne and Gadeli, driving the 3rd Generation Ship Destroyer straight into the enemy’s fleet like a knife to vegetables. The enemy fleet had no way to retaliate. After all, he currently possessed two interstellar combat methods. Virtual Intrusion served as internal disturbance, whereas driving the Giant Soldier was just mindless violence.

For such a small fry, why was there a need to utilize Virtual Intrusion? Just cut through them like a hot knife through butter, that would be more enjoyable.

In the past, Han Xiao had seen battlefields where thousands of battleships bombarded each other and had even participated in such battles himself. Compared to the large-scale artillery warfare density, this small-scale operation did not give him any pressure. There was no difficulty in controlling his mechanical suit to avoid and hide.

The 3rd Generation Ship Destroyer was also a crucial factor. Han Xiao had spent a lot of effort to perfect the blueprint of this giant mechanical suit. He had lost count how much materials he had poured into it. This sort of ship destroyers would show the greatest effect in such small-scale interstellar warfare. A 3rd Generation Ship Destroyer cost at least 3.5 million Enaus, which was more than some small high-end battleships. If it was the him two years ago, this sum of money would have hurt him.

But right now, it only made a sizeable dent.

The ability of the Black Star Army to rake in gold could even destroy Floating Dragon Island. Han Xiao faintly remembered that the last time he checked the account balance, there seemed to be more than 80 million Enaus worth of liquid funds, and their fixed assets were several times that number. This was far less when compared to a financial group, but he could be considered a young and promising leek scholar [1. Loosely translated, it refers to an organization that profits off dumping of stocks and shares to force a drop in the market before capitalizing on it.]. Oh no, a better word would be a powerful leader.

Originally, Jayne and Gadeli’s troops were supposed to be the main attackers, but the moment Han Xiao entered the battle, he immediately snatched away their position as he dominated the fight. They ended up only being able to contain the enemy and watch the whole process. Watching Han Xiao control the Giant Soldier, his style gave them a deep impression, which could be summed up as…

Stylish!

Luxurious!

Mischievous!

The Third Generation Ship Destroyer had also received some minor damage, along with losing a large amount of its fuel in just this short battle time. Han Xiao retreated in the 3rd Generation Ship Destroyer, returning to the Blacklight Stealth and regrouping with Jayne and Gadeli. The three of them left the crime scene as one whole, heading toward the nearest unmanned planet for a rest.

“You guys did a good job.” Dodder contacted the trio, praising their success.

The reward was already transferred into each person’s accounts, and Han Xiao received a notification to show that his mission had been completed. The Favorability of the Purple Crystal Civilization had also risen slightly as a result.

“Everyone should have some sort of speculation in their hearts. That’s right—this was a simple test for us to select some reliable unofficial armies to cooperate with us. You have all demonstrated your strength, and we hope to have a happy cooperation in the future.”

Jayne and Gadeli immediately exclaimed. They had thought that since their limelight had been stolen away by Black Star, they would no longer have an opportunity. Thus, they got excited.

“With the chaos present in the Shattered Star Ring during the past two years, we think that the future will be host to even more unpredictable and complex dangers,” Dodder explained. “Thus, we have planned to secretly form an organization of various armies. We’re looking for more people of your caliber to cooperate with us, to defend the Colton Star Cluster in secret. As for the specifics, I can’t disclose them to you yet, but what I can reveal is that we’re building a secret army, and all of you are potential candidates.”

A secret organization comprised of various armies?

Han Xiao perked up. He recalled which storyline this was at last.

In Version 3.0 ‘Crimson Tide’, due to the flurry of activity all around, joining a faction had become a sort of culture. It was not just the Purple Crystal Civilization, but many Star Cluster Civilizations also recruited various armed forces to aid them in times of need, creating a secret organization much akin to the Protectors.

For example, the Shattered Star Ring Mercenary Alliance in Version 3.0 was one of such products of combining various armed forces.

The allied organizations would form the basis of the factions that the players could join in on Version 3.0, and their choices were plenty.

Han Xiao recalled that the organization formed by the Purple Crystal Civilization was codenamed ‘Section Zero’. It referred to the hidden organizations and departments of the Purple Crystal Civilization. The members within were strong and came from various galaxies, accepting a long-term employment from the Purple Crystal Civilization in exchange for resources.

In other words, both Jayne and Gadeli would likely be comrades in the future.

Han Xiao would never reject such a good deal, and furthermore, he would still have to approach the Purple Crystal Civilization in order to obtain the Cutting-Edge Knowledge he required. Just his title as a member of Section Zero would net him quite a few benefits. This was a connection to having a long-term cooperation with a Star Cluster Civilization.

In his previous life, when the players entered Version 3.0, the joint organizations had already been formed way ahead of time. What the players gazed on was merely the end product, but what was before Han Xiao right now was the early stage of the preparation for the joint organizations. This was obviously a bigger opportunity for him!

Even without his shameless self-recommendation, the Purple Crystal Civilization already had him in their sights. His position today would not have been possible without all his hard work to manage his faction as well as the blood, sweat, and tears of the players.

If he could become the main force behind Section Zero, this would be akin to raising his reputation in the Shattered Star Ring, which would boost his name to become one of the first-rate organizations within the Colton Star Cluster.

This was his own shortcut to a higher level of prestige!

“If I receive a reasonable pay for my efforts, I would be pleased to,” Han Xiao replied.

Jayne and Gadeli also recovered from their ecstasy and hurriedly replied, expressing their willingness to join in this organization.

“You will not be disappointed with the remuneration. At present, the organization is still in selection. When it is formally established, there will be many huge missions,” Dodder replied.

This move from the Purple Crystal Civilization was akin to military conscription on Earth. The Purple Crystal Civilization initially had a fixed number of organizations that were in cooperation with it, but in the past two years, Klent had been restless, which had led to the Purple Crystal Civilization having a premonition that there would be a conflict with them sooner or later. As the conflict intensified, there was a chance of a secret war happening.

The so-called secret war was merely both sides screaming at each other to ‘come get a piece of me’, yet refusing to declare war on each other. Instead, they would secretly use their affiliated organizations to attack the other party, cutting off their wings. This is a torturous method under the Peace Treaty, where the killing and killed was all borne by the allied organizations.

Of course, the Star Cluster Civilizations knew the theory that if you wished to have good race horses, you had to allow the horses to graze. They were immensely generous with their benefits and were able to support the resource needs for the allied organizations. It could be said that as long as an organization could survive this secret war and cooperate as the pawns of the civilization, they would face a qualitative change and rush toward the sky in one shot.

Han Xiao understood the idea of the Purple Crystal Civilization. If he wished to develop and aim higher, it would be impossible to do so without facing danger. While he had a good organization at the moment, expansion would not happen on its own. Han Xiao knew that he had to correct his position at any given time.

Unless Ames became a collaborator with the Purple Crystal Civilization, he would not have enough leverage nor say when against a Star Cluster Civilization. He had not reached a point where he could haggle with a civilization of that level. The Purple Crystal Civilization was not begging him to join, but rather, this was a chance for him to properly develop his forces, which was essentially a fair deal.

As long as the reward was enough, he did not mind fighting for them. Right now, he was no longer the past self where he was weak and needed to be careful with every step. With enough strength and capabilities, he could bravely charge in.

Unlike Jayne and Gadeli who had expressions of joy, Han Xiao had already begun to deduce the consequences of his every choice.

A secret war… Han Xiao stroked his chin.

This was one of the most important storylines for Version 3.0. If one ignored the complicated interests behind Crimson Tide, the theme of Version 3.0 could be summarized in one word: fighting!

The various allied organizations would be in conflict with each other, and Section Zero would also have to face off against the Klent Kingdom many times. They certainly would not be excluded from the battlefield.

As long as the Tyrant did not appear, everything could be settled. He was not afraid of any other muscle-heads at all, and he had never been afraid of people at the same level as him.

Swoo!

At this time, the sound of a spaceship passing by was suddenly heard above them. Han Xiao stopped his communication and quickly looked up, seeing a small and exquisitely designed single-person spaceship. It was not known when this spaceship had entered the planet.

“Coincidentally here to collect some resources?” Jayne asked.

“Unclear.” Gadeli shook his head in return.

The single person spaceship’s hatch opened, and a woman dressed in white robes floated out in midair, with a white colored cat mask on her face. She surveyed the surroundings with a cold expression.

“Who are you?” Gadeli shouted out. Toward this uninvited guest, he could not help being vigilant upon feeling the powerful fluctuations coming from her.

This was a Calamity Grade Super!

Shana ignored him, instead looking around before her gaze landed on Han Xiao. She blandly asked, “Black Star?”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and did not answer. He faintly felt that this visitor had unkind intentions.

“It doesn’t matter even if you do not answer. You can’t escape today.” Shana swept her eyes across before muttering to herself, “Three Calamity Grades, a little tough.”

Ka ka ka!

The next instant, Shana moved. From the time she showed herself till she attacked, it did not even take ten seconds!

She reached out, and the dozens of spaceships parked on the surface immediately turned into metal fragments. The spaceships violently exploded, and the fragments were transformed into a metal storm grinder. In a split second, the subordinates of Jayne and Gadeli were sliced into minced meat.

Gadeli was furious, and the battle suit on his body resonated like a giant wave. Nanoparticles gathered in his hands, turning into a giant firearm. The muzzle of the firearm fired toward Shana, and the cannon rays were extremely strong, incorporating all of his Mechanical Force.

Dong! Dong!

A sudden fierce battle unfolded!

Shana pointed, and an invisible magnetic field shield appeared around her. The defense of the shield was quite strong, and even after the flames from the explosion covered the body, they were all isolated outside of the magnetic field, leaving her unharmed. Then, Shana gripped with her hand.

Bang!

The huge firearm in Gadeli’s hands immediately disintegrated, turning back into nanoparticles like sand falling off from one’s hands.

Magnetic Field Control and Metal Manipulation‽ Han Xiao’s expression contorted. This uninvited guest had come here to deal with him and could completely restrain any Mechanics. It was unknown where she came from. As he thought, the only thing he could link it to was the hunting list.

It can’t be. How is there so much of a coincidence? Han Xiao was surprised. He secretly wondered how the enemy was able to discover his location.

Only he was involved in the operation this time, and those who could leak the report, other than the Purple Crystal Civilization, would only be his comrades, Jayne and Gadeli…

No, there was another possibility!

Han Xiao thought of the fleet that he had annihilated previously. Before they got destroyed, they had sent the intelligence out. Could it be that this mysterious hunter was associated with Klent?

Whoosh!

The huge metal fragments shot toward his head with a whistling sound, distracting him from his thoughts. It was not the time to consider such factors. Han Xiao wanted to use the Berserk Ape, but upon recalling the abilities of the enemy, he frowned and could only remove the thought of using his Mechanical suit. He relied on his own body to dodge the fragments, escaping far away.

The metal fragments slammed into the ground, creating a large pit and scattering stones everywhere.

Shana had faced everyone alone, but with just a few finger movements, she had already destroyed the army of Gadeli and flung him away hand. Seeing this, Jayne’s face lost all color. The battle capabilities of this uninvited guest had far outstripped her expectations!

Han Xiao had a headache. Facing such an opponent, the Mechanic profession was bound to have its arms tied behind its back. The many methods at his disposal would all be easily resolved by the other party, causing him to lose a lot of money.

This was by far the enemy that most countered his abilities!

Metal Manipulation is the kryptonite of the Mechanics. This woman probably also has a battle capability at Grade A+. If this carries on, the situation won’t be good…

Chapter 634 - The Calamity Battle

Every class had its nemesis.

Among them, the Esper class was the most unique—they could sometimes be the nemeses of the other four classes, but the other classes might also sometimes be their nemeses. This was all because of the randomness of Esper abilities.

In the five Super classes, Espers’ pros were just as clear as their cons. Their combat capability was almost solely dependent on their different Esper abilities. Also, their class knowledge tree was very straightforward, such as enhancing Esper ability’s strength, range, accuracy, and so on.

Espers could shine brightly in one aspect and lack in others; all their abilities had their limitations.

For example, teleportation lacked defense, high speed recovery lacked the ability to deal damage, and prophecy… well, no need to rub salt in the wound.

Of course, these were all rather extreme examples of Esper abilities, which explained the clear distinction of Espers’ pros and cons. To the players, the gaming experience would, of course, be greatly enhanced if one could obtain a special type of Esper ability. There were tons of players who topped up real money into their accounts to buy Esper Gene Awakening Potions.

Other than the lucky ones, some unlucky but rich ones would keep creating new accounts and use Gene Awakening Potions till they got an Esper ability that they are satisfied with.

During the team battles in the Pro League, forming teams that could counter the opponents was also a strategic focus.

For an Esper with the ability to control metal and the magnetic field, of course, they would not be much of a problem at all to Pugilists and Mages. However, it just so happened that someone like that was the nemesis of Mechanics. It would be a lie to say Han Xiao was not troubled.

Although, as a Mechanic, his energy had magnetic attributes as well, his ability to control the magnetic field was far from that of the enemy, who had the Esper genes to do so.

The Mechanical Force was more focused on enhancing machines; controlling the magnetic field was just a bonus. The most he could do was disrupt the opponent’s Esper ability. In order to completely nullify the opponent’s magnetic field, more specific machines would be needed.

In an instant, Han Xiao looked at the battle information and knew that the opponent’s name was Shana. Shockingly, her level was a question mark. Han Xiao was already level 170. Even if Shana was not Grade A+, she would not be far from it. The huge difference between their strength was very difficult to overcome.

“Risda, leave the battlefield!”

Han Xiao dodged the attacks from shattered metal and ordered Risda. If the Blacklight Stealth was torn apart, it would be a huge loss.

The Blacklight Stealth quickly ascended and was about to accelerate and leave the battlefield. Unbothered by this, Shana reached out her hand and aimed at the Blacklight Stealth as she was about to clench her fist, crushing Han Xiao’s spaceship just like she did to the other spaceships.

Bang!

The next moment, a while colored shadow of a man clashed toward her like a meteor, dragging a lightning-like tail behind. It broke the sound barrier and bashed heavily right onto Shana’s magnetic field shield.

The invisible magnetic field shield was dented, and it bounced the white shadow out like it was elastic. Shana was not hurt, but she was sent flying a short distance away by the clash. She quickly controlled the metal on her and stabilized herself midair. She looked down at the white shadow.

In her eyes, Han Xiao wore a bone white mechanical suit. It was the Void Dragon mechanical suit that he had not used for a long time.

This person’s Esper ability counters me, so I can only use non-metallic weapons… Han Xiao thought.

The metal content of the Void Dragon mechanical suit was very low. Although its attributes could not match up to a battle between Calamity Grades, at least it was not as restricting as the Berserk Ape, so it was barely usable.

Most of his machinery was made with alloys—non-metallic machinery might only make up ten percent of them.

Many machines had very strict requirements on their materials; high density and non-metallic materials that could replace alloys were very difficult to fuse. Depending on different materials, the machinery’s attributes would be different as well. Before meeting an enemy that could control metal, it was clear that alloys were the most suitable choice.

If alloys could not be used, carbon nanotubes would be a very good choice as well. However, Han Xiao’s previous opponent was Ember.

Even if he had to build machines that could deal with this situation, he would have to do it after this battle ended. Hence, most of Han Xiao’s main machines, as well as his Army Style, could not be used unless he ignored the loss that he would incur.

From the way he saw it, the current situation was far from that desperate.

Test her limits first. Han Xiao squinted.

Using the instant when Shana was distracted, Risda accelerated and successfully escaped the battlefield, avoiding the fate of being turned into scrap metal.

All the rest of the spaceships were crushed into pieces by Shana and formed into a metal storm, directly going toward Han Xiao.

Other than the three Calamity Grades including Han Xiao, everyone else died without any ability to fight back. These Grade C warriors in metal battle suits were crushed by their own battle suits.

Whoosh!

Han Xiao dashed through the metal storm, deftly dodging the attacks. The cannon in his palm kept firing at Shana, but the Void Jet Sprays could not penetrate Shana’s magnetic field shield.

At this time, Jayne clenched his teeth and yelled, “Ha!”

His shirt shattered into pieces, revealing his muscular body. His body was vibrating at a high frequency. The air around him trembled, the vibration transferred into the ground below, and the cracks on the ground rapidly expanded.

Right after that, Jayne slammed his palm toward Shana, who was in midair.

Boom!

An invisible vibrating wave headed directly to Shana. Everywhere it passed, the air was bent, outlining an oval shape.

Shana frowned slightly as she moved sideways in midair, dodging the attack.

Jayne was the only one present who was not countered. Han Xiao looked over. Jayne’s upper body was naked, and his long chest hair was flowing and vibrating with the air.

That’s some macho heart-protecting chest hair!

This time, a sudden mission popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered the hidden Grade A Chain Mission [Prey]!

Mission Introduction: You have become the prey of a terrifying organization. They will try to hunt you again and again till they succeed. Don’t think about escaping; their background is beyond your imagination. You have no choice. Keep struggling. By becoming stronger through these battles, you may have a tiny chance.

First Round: Defeat Shana

Reward: 37,000,000 Experience. Draw one of Shana’s ability or talent

_____________________

Han Xiao saw the mission introduction and thought, A horrifying organization? Interesting.

He remembered the storyline in his previous life; however, Shana could not fit into any organization in his memory. It seemed like it was a hidden organization that the players in his previous life had no contact with. Their hunting targets were all renowned Grade As, so it would make sense if the players did not know about them at that time.

This thought flashed past during the battle. The three of them attacked Shana together.

Both Jayne and Gadeli were Calamity Grades. There was no need for words; they could easily cooperate with Han Xiao.

Since there were helpers, there was no reason for Han Xiao not to make use of them. He took on the job of direct battle, standing before the metal storm and attacking Shana’s magnetic field shield. Jayne took on the job of the main attacker; his vibration attacks were quite threatening and forced Shana to keep dodging. As for Gadeli, he did not come closer after being blasted away. He went dozens of miles away and made use of his ranged attack strength as a Cannon Master by attacking from afar.

Tens of miles was nothing to Grade A Cannon Masters; his accuracy was still very high, and he could still shoot from even further away. His nickname ‘Hundred Rounds Cannon’ explained his attack frequency. The nonstop ranged attacks caused Shana quite a lot of trouble. She wanted to deal with Gadeli but was limited by Han Xiao.

Boom!

The three of them were embroiled in the fight. The power of Calamity Grade attacks was very high. The ground cracked, and explosions continuously occurred.

They were in a stalemate; Shana was quite irritated.

Bret, who had been crushed by Han Xiao and the others, was actually a member of an intelligence organization under the Bloodshed Land. He had received a mission from Klent to come to Colton and gather intelligence. It just so happened that the organization Shana belonged to had a special relationship with Klent, and she happened to be in this area after capturing Kernid. After Bret was attacked, the intelligence organization that he was in had informed Shana, who was nearby, to rescue them.

However, Shana had arrived too late, but she did discover Black Star. Hence, she changed the goal and targeted Black Star. The way she saw it, Black Star had presented himself to her, so she did not have to go all the way to the Garton Star System to find him anymore.

Shana had been confident in dealing with Black Star, so she had never expected to end up in such a tough battle.

Bret’s intelligence did not include Jayne and Gadeli’s information. As Han Xiao had quickly eliminated the fleet with the Ship Destroyer, the two of them did not act. Hence, they were unexpected backup for Han Xiao.

“The game has ended.”

Shana did not want to waste any more time. She yelled coldly before suddenly placing her hands on the ground, fully activating her Esper ability.

Rumble!

The ground started trembling violently.

The next moment, something shocking happened!

Dozens of miles away, holes suddenly started to appear on the ground. Almost a hundred gigantic snakes made of metallic dust soared up from the ground. They were all more than ten meters wide and almost endlessly long.

The ground was suddenly filled with holes!

The next second, almost a hundred gigantic metal snakes flew up and rushed toward Han Xiao and the other two.

Controlling the magnetic field of a planet and using the metallic elements underground… Horrifying ability strength.

Han Xiao felt it was quite a difficult situation. Espers that could control metal definitely needed metal to make use of their ability. With only those spaceship pieces, Shana was not very threatening. However, her ability was strong enough to control the magnetic field of the planet. This meant that the entire planet was Shana’s armory.

She was indeed a calamity!

Gadeli’s eyes opened wide. He quickly wanted to back away but was caught by two gigantic metal snakes. One of the snakes swallowed Gadeli, then the two snakes fused into a hundred-meter-wide metal ball, falling right down onto the ground.

Ka ka ka!

The sphere kept squeezing its interiors and increasing its density, trapping Gadeli inside. This was an attack that Shana loved to use.

Seeing this situation, Jayne’s fists slammed down onto the ground, clearly using some kind of ability. A ring of shockwave expanded on the ground.

Boom!

The vibration triggered chain reactions, and the ground started rapidly trembling at a much higher frequency. An earthquake appeared in this area, and countless gigantic metal snakes were shattered into metallic dust.

The movement caused by this attack was humongous. Further away, a huge fissure appeared in the ground as if the planet had opened its mouth.

Boom!

The shockwave hit the metallic sphere that trapped Gadeli. The next second, the sphere was shattered into pieces, and Gadeli quickly escaped.

Han Xiao was surprised. Jayne’s destructive power gave him quite a shock. His nickname ‘Seaquake’ was indeed accurate. There were practically no Grade A Espers that were weak. After all, if one’s Esper ability potential could not reach A, that person would never reach Grade A.

Bang bang bang!

Shana and Jayne did not hold back at all. The battlefield kept shifting, and everything with hundreds of miles was turned into ruins and shattered, like a disaster crawling through the planet surface.

However, although it caused a lot of destruction, Shana was hovering in the air. The earthquakes had almost no effect on her. She had the absolute upper ground.

Glancing at Han Xiao, who was dodging around far away, a shade of disdain flashed past Shana’s eyes. She shook her head.

Although Black Star was the target on the list, he had almost no sense of presence, much worse than Jayne’s. On the other hand, Jayne seemed more qualified to be a target.

Shana was somewhat disappointed. The rumors said that Black Star was very strong, but she now felt that it was exaggerated.

However, she then realized that her ability countered Black Star so heavily, so it was normal for Black Star to not be able to fight back.

If these two guys were not here, it wouldn’t be this troublesome.

Shana frowned. As long as she could get rid of Jayne and Gadeli, Black Star would be a piece of cake.

However, she had a new plan. Jayne was quite strong and would sooner or later be on the list, so she decided she might as well capture both Black Star and Jayne.

As for that Cannon Master, she did not feel that capturing him would be of any use.

At this time, Jayne’s defense showed a tiny flaw. Shana accurately captured the opportunity, and the gigantic metal snakes instantly surrounded Jayne and turned into a sphere. Jayne kept vibrating from within, wanting to break the cell. However, Shana used most of her attention on her; she controlled tens of metal snakes and made them part of the sphere one after another.

The huge sphere kept shrinking as its density kept increasing. Its ability to resist vibrations grew stronger and stronger, and the frequency of the vibration kept decreasing. Finally, Jayne could not move anymore.

Done! Shana’s eyes sparkled. To her, controlling Jayne meant that this battle had ended. Black Star did not have any strong backup, so she could capture him easily.

Shana turned around, her vision penetrated the dust everywhere and stared at Han Xiao. “Your helper is no more. Now it’s your turn.”

Han Xiao suddenly stopped and stood opposite Shana.

Just as Shana thought that Han Xiao had given up resisting, Han Xiao suddenly laughed.

“You’re right, it’s my turn.”

Hum!

The next second, continuous sounds of explosions came from above.

Shana quickly looked up.

Fifty ‘stars’ were falling down at an unbelievable speed above her head.

These ‘stars’ were all Eye of God’s attacks. One beam from the energy cannon was almost eight meters wide!

Shana’s pupils rapidly constricted.

All she had time to do was form a magnetic field shield. The next moment, fifty satellite cannons’ attacks plummeted!

Boom!

The deafening sound of explosions spread everywhere!

The impact waves blew everything around them away. Gadeli was sent flying far away, and the metal sphere trapping Jayne was shot up and crashed into a mountain more than 10 kilometers away.

A bright mushroom cloud rose from the ground. It was white everywhere and almost nothing was visible.

Countless stones turned to ash, and the gigantic metal snakes melted into liquids.

It was like the end of the world!

Even in outer space, a bright red mushroom could be seen rising on the planet’s surface!

It looked like Han Xiao was not doing much, but he had actually been giving orders to Risda, who had left the battlefield to plant the fifty Eye of Gods from the warehouse. One round of fire from those cannons was more than enough to destroy an entire city!

The enemy had shown extraordinary abilities. It would be very difficult for him to defeat her even if he was very tanky. Only such strong firepower could decide the outcome of the battle.

Han Xiao placed his hands on his waist and chuckled.

“Did you really think I was out of my depths? Let me introduce the Tactical Support Style. I’m the representative of rascals.”

Chapter 635 - After I Plant a Ward on You, You Will Be My Teammate

The Tactical Support Style was known for its powerful firepower beyond the battlefield. Han Xiao had a liking for this kind of style. In the two years’ time, he had built enough Eye of Gods and kept them in the Blacklight Stealth at all times. It was a necessity for family travels, killing, and robberies.

The hot mushroom cloud was still continuously expanding, and a huge crater was created on the ground.

Han Xiao did not waste any time. With the mechanical suit’s thruster accelerating, he advanced into the explosion area, heading right toward the bottom of the crater.

The combat information notified him that Shana had kept fortifying her magnetic field shield and blocked a lot of the damage. With her equipment’s defense and her own resistance, this attack was not enough to heavily injure her. Furthermore, when the fifty Eye of Gods fired together, the attack was not concentrated enough, and a lot of its power was wasted.

The most important effect of this attack was to temporarily turn the situation around, putting a stop to the opponent’s control of the battle. Han Xiao was not planning to give Shana any time to take a break, so he quickly advanced. As he entered the area, he saw Shana and her shield crushed into the soil. A semi-sphere magnetic field shield was at the bottom of the crater, very conspicuous among the flames and dust.

Boom!

At this time, Shana hastily looked up. Her mask was already destroyed, showing her face with a twisted expression. Blood flowed down from her forehead; her face was completely filled with murderous intent. As if she had expected Han Xiao to approach at this time, she pressed her hands on the ground. Suddenly, a metal particle fountain shot out from below Han Xiao and grabbed onto him.

Grade A Supers all had rich combat experience. The instant Shana was attacked by Han Xiao, she had guessed what Han Xiao would do next. As she blocked the attack, she had also planted a trap and concentrated the metal particles under the ground around her. This was to capture Black Star, who was dodging her like a fly.

However, the next moment, Han Xiao suddenly disappeared.

Hu!

Suddenly, the sound of wind appeared less than one meter behind Shana. Her senses told her that there was now another person in her magnetic field shield.

Racial Talent-Advanced Void Travel!

How did he enter here through the magnetic field shield? Shana’s expression drastically changed. Before she could turn around, the back of her head was grabbed by a big hand covered in a bone-white mechanical suit. An irresistible force exploded from within and pressed her face down into the soil.

The next second, the gray light of Void Energy spilled out from within the Void Dragon mechanical suit and focused on Han Xiao’s arm.

Maximum output Void Jet Spray!

Boom!

Void Jet Spray could be used continuously without any cooldown; the price of that was the increasing energy cost. Han Xiao did not hold back at all and almost finished up all the energy of the Void Dragon mechanical suit.

During just the first spray, he had already activated the injection module inside the mechanical suit and injected a Genetic Medicine. In the last two years, he had captured countless galactic pirates. He had even changed the name of his private prison into “Galactic Pirates’ Warm Little House”. He had gathered a lot of Genetic Medicines that could cater to any situation. The temporary ability given by this medicine was that continuous attacks had a higher chance to cause the ‘stun’ effect.

The chain Void Jet Sprays triggered this effect easily, and Shana entered the ‘Stunned’ status. Her brain was a mess, and she could not fight back at all. All she could do was take in Han Xiao’s storm of attacks as her body trembled.

As the last spray ended, Shana was still in the ‘Stunned’ status and could not use her abilities. Without hesitation, Han Xiao immediately equipped Berserk Ape and entered the Berserk Overload Form!

With his arms high above his head, blinding lightning energy formed on his fists.

The next instant, his fists slammed down heavily!

Bang!

Lightning exploded like a spider web, and the bottom of the crater was once again filled with cracks!

Han Xiao used everything he had on this attack. Berserk Ape’s (Power Detonation), his own (Gene Liberation), and the occasional critical damage triggered due to Shana’s ‘Stunned’ status. The damage multiplier was greater than ten!

Ka!

Even with the deafening sound of impact, Han Xiao could clearly hear Shana’s bones breaking below him.

Han Xiao calmly grabbed onto Shana’s neck without mercy. He then took one step forward and turned rapidly, throwing Shana out like throwing a baseball. The moment Shana left his hand, a ring of impact waves appeared in the air.

Berserk Throw!

Hu!

Shana was sent flying out like a cannon, flying out of the mushroom cloud in an instant, and kept getting further away, almost disappearing from Han Xiao’s vision.

However, this combo had yet to end!

As Shana was about to recover from being stunned while flying, tens of light suddenly appeared in the sky again.

The second round of fire!

Boom!

The second mushroom cloud appeared.

The impact wave arrived as expected. The mechanical suit on Han Xiao’s legs shapeshifted and grabbed tightly on the ground, preventing him from being blown away.

Han Xiao waved his hand, and a huge square-shaped firearm appeared beside his feet. It was two meters tall and looked like a huge box. The top of the box had more than twenty openings. This was an explosives ejector. Han Xiao carried it on his shoulder with one hand and fired at the center area of the second mushroom cloud far away.

Bang bang bang!

Countless specially-made grenades arced through the air and landed on the target area, causing nonstop explosions.

All these grenades were Mini Nuclear Grenades and Space Bending Bombs, and the clip was quickly emptied.

Far away, Gadeli finally saved Jayne from the metal sphere.

The two of them looked at this and simultaneously gulped.

How brutal, this is a complete ravage…

With the clip emptied, this combo dealt tons of damage. However, there was still no notification showing that the target had been killed. This meant Shana was still alive. As an almost Grade A+ Super, her ability to resist damage was also very strong. Han Xiao equipped Void Dragon once again, using his energy to recover some of the mechanical suit’s energy.

Just as he was about to continue, Shana suddenly dashed out of the mushroom cloud from above, rapidly heading toward the sky. All the gigantic metal snakes followed behind and fused together, like a mountain rising from the ground.

She’s escaping? Wait, no! She wants to destroy my satellite railguns.

Han Xiao activated his thrusters and chased after Shana.

The two of them headed toward the outer space.

Damn it… Shana glanced at Han Xiao below her and clenched her teeth.

She had suffered the most during the time she was stunned, and after the combo attack, she was quite heavily injured. Her left arm was soft and dangling. Its bones had shattered into some abstract artwork. Her left leg was also twisted unnaturally. The left side of her body had been heavily damaged by Han Xiao. Even she did not know how many of her ribs were still connected. Her chest and her back were in extreme pain. She was in a terrible state.

It has been a very, very long time since she had been this badly injured. She was both shocked and furious. Shocked by Black Star’s suddenly explosive power and furious about how heavily injured she was.

If Eliot was here… Shana unavoidably thought of her Mage partner and regretted doing this alone. This time, she had been overconfident.

Although she was heavily injured, Shana had no intention of retreating. She planned to go to outer space and dismantle all of Black Star’s firepower support. This way, the fight would still be possible to win.

In Han Xiao’s vision, the planet surface rapidly shrank. The two of them rocketed into the sky. He controlled all the Eye of Gods and aimed at Shana, firing one after another, hoping to slow her down.

However, Shana was prepared. Her flight path had no pattern at all, and she never flew in a straight line. At the same time, she used the huge metal snakes as shields. The attacks from the railguns were either blocked or dodged by her.

It seems like I can’t stop her… Han Xiao calmly analyzed. Without hesitation, he activated the return program of all the satellite railguns. The Eye of Gods flew back to the warehouse in the Blacklight Stealth one after another. He planned to let Risda take the weapons and escape the battlefield once again. With the Blacklight Stealth’s mobility, there would be nothing Shana could do.

The two of them finally closed in on the edge of the atmosphere. Before them was pitch-black space. The Blacklight Stealth had already collected all the satellite railguns and was about to get away from this planet.

Shana clenched her teeth, barely raised her right arm, and was about to activate her Esper ability.

Han Xiao’s Advanced Void Travel was still in cooldown. He was just about to give Shana another Void Jet Spray when curved cannon light arrived from the surface and accurately landed on Shana. This time, she was not prepared at all. She was blown away and rolled in midair.

On the ground, Gadeli was operating an enormous Sniper Railgun with both of his hands. This shot had come from him. As a Cannon Master, he brought along firearms that could cater to various situations. This enormous firearm was used for extreme long-distance sniping.

Gadeli was a Grade A Cannon Master. Although he had been beaten up by Shana due to her Esper ability, he was not completely powerless. To snipe a target in outer space from the planet surface, even data such as the spinning speed of the planet had to be considered. However, with his level, this was just a regular thing to do. As long as the firearm had enough power, his sniping distance was extremely

long.

This shot prevented Shana from activating her ability. The Blacklight Stealth escaped Shana’s ability range within an instant.

Shana barely stabilized her body in midair and glared at Han Xiao. She realized that the situation had become very difficult.

In her current state, there was a very thin chance that she could defeat and capture the three Calamity Grades including Black Star. Shana started thinking about retreating.

Shana did not want to risk her life for something that clearly had a very small chance of success. There was no need for that. Even if she failed this time, she could bring an ally and come back again. This failure would at most alert the target.

However, in her eyes, even if Black Star was alert, it would be meaningless. She did not expose any information, so Black Star had no idea who was targeting him.

All she had to do was bring a strong enough ally next time. In a battle where one side was overwhelmingly stronger, regardless of whether Black Star was prepared or not, he would still end up being defeated.

Realizing this, Shana’s flames of fury dissipated, and she calmed down.

She did not want to stay there any longer. She raised her hand, and the gigantic metal snake pounced right onto Han Xiao. She then summoned her single person capacity spaceship and quickly entered the cockpit.

Han Xiao was held back by the gigantic metal snake and could not chase her, nor did he want to. The Void Dragon mechanical suit could not race with a spaceship, and Berserk Ape would be completely countered. It would indeed be very difficult for him to hold Shana back.

Most importantly, although Shana was a rare tough enemy, Han Xiao did not want to kill Shana straight away.

Shana’s spaceship quickly left. Before she entered hyperdrive, Han Xiao threw an Observer’s Mark on her.

Without Shana’s control, the gigantic metal snakes shattered into pieces in an instant and fell to the ground like rain.

Han Xiao hovered in midair, looking at the tracks left behind by Shana’s spaceship. He smirked.

Making me your prey won’t be this easy…

The mysterious organization that Shana belonged to had targeted him. Even if he killed Shana, there would still be strong enemies that came to chase after him. It would not solve the root of the problem.

Currently, Han Xiao knew nothing of this mysterious organization. What he needed urgently was information.

The Observer’s Mark was a perfect ability to steal intelligence. Letting Shana go was part of Han Xiao’s plan to catch the bigger fish.

Finding out what this mysterious organization was, their size, and the location of their base—that was the key mission. After all, Han Xiao did not want to keep his guard up every single day, worrying about being attacked at any time.

This mysterious organization was a ticking time bomb. In order to get rid of it, this was the most efficient method.

Although this would mean he would have to face Shana, who countered him, in the future, Han Xiao decided to shift the focus of the machines that he would be building from now on. He planned to start building a lot of non-metallic machines, as well as special machines that were focused on controlling magnetic fields. This would minimize Shana’s ability against him.

As long as a Mechanic was given enough time, they could counter anything.

Nonetheless, that woman was quite strong. Without these two helpers, I would’ve had a very tough fight.

Han Xiao took a deep breath. If it was a duel, with his blood mana cycle, the battle would have been a battle of stamina. There would be an extremely low chance that Shana would be able to defeat him. Nonetheless, he would have had a very difficult fight. Luckily, Jayne and Gadeli had helped him take on some of Shana’s power, so he had not been at a disadvantage the entire time.

After defeating Shana, a notification popped up showing that the first round of the hidden Grade A Chain Mission (Prey] was complete, giving Han Xiao more than 30 million Experience. Han Xiao did not instantly draw Shana’s ability-Feidin was not beside him, so he had no confidence.

I shall draw after returning to the base… Han Xiao shook his head.

He could not be together with the Goddess of Luck no matter how hard she tried, but Feidin could make the Goddess of Luck willingly spread her legs. The treatment was just so different-it made him despair.

Chapter 636 - How Can One Draw a Prize Without Touching Feidin?

Han Xiao lowered his head and took a look at the battlefield from high above. The ground was cracked up like a biscuit that had been stepped on. There were still two gigantic craters and a dust cloud that had not subsided.

Han Xiao then flew back to ground and took the Void Dragon suit off.

Jayne and Gadeli immediately came forward to welcome him. Both of them were covered completely in dust with Jayne being covered with injuries all over.

“Black Star, did you get rid of that woman?” Jayne asked anxiously.

“No, she managed to escape.” Han Xiao shook his head.

“You were her target. Do you know who that woman

is?”

“I am not sure. This is the first time she’s attacked

me.”

Han Xiao knew that she was called Shana, but there was no need to let both of them know.

Both of them were truly furious. They had met a calamity that did not have anything to do with them, and all of their subordinates and battleship fleet had been wiped out.

However, it was useless for them to blame Black Star. Black Star was equally clueless and never intended to set them up. Besides, Black Star’s strength and status were things that they would not be able to compare to, so the two of them could only treat it as their own bad luck.

While Gadeli and Jayne were feeling extremely sh*tty, they were also extremely shocked at Shana’s combat capability. Even three Calamity Grade Supers were not enough to keep her behind. If not for Black Star’s timely burst of strength, both of them probably would not have been able to defeat the

enemy.

After the three of them adjusted their conditions a bit, Dodder sent an emergency communication request and asked about the situation.

“How are all of you? What happened just now?”

“An unfamiliar A+ Esper suddenly attacked us. Her identity is unknown…”

Han Xiao briefly explained what had happened and also asked the Purple Crystal Civilization to help him investigate the matter.

“No problem. We will thoroughly investigate the other party’s identity. We will inform you of our investigation results.” Dodder agreed to the request solemnly. “We are still in the midst of preparations for the alliance of organizations. There should be news within the year, and we will gather everyone when the time comes. I hope that the three of you will make appropriate preparations.”

After a short conversation, Dodder ended the transmission.

Han Xiao put his communicator away and looked at the two others. “What do the both of you intend to do after this?”

Both of them let out a bitter laughter.

“We are truly too unlucky.” Gadeli sighed.

“Start my recruitment and purchase battleships again to make up for today’s loss,” Jayne replied helplessly.

Upon hearing that, an idea immediately sprung up in Han Xiao’s mind. These two individuals were powerful Grade A Supers. With their organizations being crippled, he might have a chance to recruit them.

“Actually, both of you can come to my Black Star Army. With your strength, there won’t be a problem with you being vice commanders. I sincerely invite both of you to join me.”

Han Xiao smiled and extended his invitation.

The both of them were taken aback. After pondering for a moment, they gave their response.

“Thank you for your invitation, but I do not have any intention of joining another organization,” Jayne said.

“I still prefer to build my own organization. I’m sorry.” Gadeli shook his head.

“No worries. My invitation will always be open to both of you. We can talk about this again in detail whenever both of you are interested.”

Han Xiao was not too disappointed by the result.

It was far more difficult to recruit a Calamity Grade Super than a Grade B Super. Every Grade A Super had the strength and right to dominate a region, and their ambition would usually be in line with their strength. Gadeli and Jayne wanted to build their own organizations and were not willing to submit to others.

After all, even a beyond Grade A powerhouse might get rejected when trying to recruit a Calamity Grade Super.

“Black Star, we would like to trouble you with something.” Jayne was slightly embarrassed, and his chest hair shook.

“Feel free to speak.” Han Xiao tried his best not to get distracted by Jayne’s chest hair.

“Er… our spaceships were destroyed, so…”

Han Xiao chuckled and slapped Jayne on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, we are comrades who fought alongside each other. Take my spaceship. I’ll take both of you to the nearest port.”

“Haha, we shall trouble you then.”

Upon seeing that Black Star was such an easy going guy, Jayne stroked his chest hair happily. He belonged to a race that judged beauty based on their chest hair. Soft and silky chest hair was the benchmark of a suave man.

Han Xiao immediately forced a smile and said, “Please put on some clothes first… don’t drop any hair on my spaceship.”

Shana’s spaceship was currently flying through the universe.

In the cockpit, Shana injected herself with some healing medicine and could barely walk properly. Only then did she send a transmission to her comrade.

Eliot appeared on the screen. He was Shana’s mage comrade, and both of them usually worked together.

The moment the transmission was connected, Eliot asked, “Shana, have you caught Black Star… Eh? Your complexion looks extremely terrible. Did something happen?”

“I failed.” Shana briefly described what had happened calmly.

“Hahaha. How miserable…”

Eliot did not display any anger but laughed out loud in schadenfreude instead.

Shana’s expression was ugly, and she hatefully said, “I will kill you one day.”

After laughing for a while, Eliot regained his cool and calmly said, “You acted rashly and failed your mission. You will cause us to face the risk of exposure. All of us will have to remain low profile for a period of time.”

Shana grunted and did not say anything. She did not attempt to find an excuse for her failure but did not feel guilty about it either. So what if she failed? It was not a big deal to her.

“Black Star’s strength has been underestimated,” Eliot said slowly. “While you did not reveal any information about us, he will now be wary, and it will be more difficult to capture him in the future. We should place him by the side temporarily and deal with the other targets.

“In any case, go back to headquarters and meet up with me there. We will discuss our plans back in the headquarters. Remember to shake off anyone following you, and do not reveal our location.”

“I don’t need you to remind me,” Shana replied coldly and hung up. She then activated the stealth function of her spaceship and traveled toward the headquarters.

However, she did not know that an eyeball was looking at her silently from the void.

After sending Gadeli and Jayne off, Han Xiao returned to the Garton Star System without stopping and stopped at the base on Planet Golden Gate.

The mercenaries in the surroundings saw the landing spaceship and recognized that this was Han Xiao’s personal spaceship. The Blacklight Stealth then flew straight into Han Xiao’s personal hangar, and he walked to the core region of the base through a priority tunnel. Without saying a word, he immediately went to find Feidin.

Feidin would usually be meditating on the rooftop on normal days. The moment Han Xiao came to the rooftop, he saw Feidin meditating cross legged with Psychic energy being emanated from his body.

Feidin’s eyes were shut at the moment as he sang melodiously. The path he took was identical to Chen Xing’s, and they used their Psychic energy through singing. The heavenly music was like elves within the winds to calm all fatigue and pain. Han Xiao also calmed down as he heard Feidin’s song.

Feidin’s song could cover the entire base and could give the players a temporary buff. This was the specialty of Planet Golden Gate, and Feidin was like the background music of the base.

Feidin had inherited all of Chen Xing’s knowledge and was an extremely talented individual himself. Thus, his strength improved at a rapid pace.

Two years ago, he could already suppress Chen Xing on his own but did not choose to leave. Instead, he chose to continue cultivating in the Black Star Army and occasionally follow the troops out on their missions.

Occasionally, he would travel alone to explore the galaxy but would always return to the Black Star Army to rest and reorganize. Han Xiao was extremely willing to be Feidin’s backer as long as he could touch Feidin.

Full marks for touching, zero marks for not touching

However, Feidin’s mission had not been completed yet. Ever since Feidin fulfilled his promise to hand over all of Chen Xing’s savings, his relationship with Chen Xing had entered a cold war period.

Han Xiao estimated that when two of them could open up their hearts to each other, a new world would be open to the both of them, and they would enter a phase of passionate love. That would also be the completion of his mission.

There was another person seated on the rooftop as well. Aroshia was seated by the side, enjoying Feidin’s singing. Two years ago, Han Xiao had shared the mission to find Aroshia’s memories with the players, and the effect over the two years was obvious. The mission progress had accumulated quickly and was about to be complete. Aroshia enjoyed listening to Feidin sing as it could allow her to recall more memories.

When she saw Han Xiao arriving, Aroshia transformed her arm into energy and wrapped it around Han Xiao’s waist like a belt as a greeting.

Noticing Han Xiao’s footsteps, Feidin stopped singing and turned around. With a smile, he said, “Black Star, are you looking for me for something?”

“Nothing much. You can continue singing. I am only here to find some luck.”

Han Xiao then walked forward and touched Feidin all over before turning around to take his leave.

Feidin touched his nose and laughed bitterly.

He had always felt that Black Star had somehow misunderstood him. Was his luck very good? Why did he not hear about it?

After Han Xiao touched Feidin to his heart’s content, he left the rooftop and opened the interface. Before his luck could dissipate, he hurriedly concluded the [Prey) mission to draw for Shana’s ability.

First round complete.

You have received: the opportunity to draw one of Shana’s abilities or talents.

Note: Shana is a unique Esper, and the abilities that you draw will be adjusted based on your class.

Randomizing… draw complete.

Please select one of the five rewards:

[Magnetic Field Vision) – talent: You will gain a keen insight into magnetic fields. +12% Machinery Affinity, +6% Mechanical Force bonus range

[Magnetic Vortex] – skill: Control skill. Release a burst of magnetic energy to create a magnetic field. Chance to inflict a target within the magnetic field with the (Chaos) status. Chance determined by Intelligence and external environment. Energy Usage: 160, Cooldown: 46s

[Electromagnetic Shooting Stars] – skill: Long ranged skill. Overlay multiple objects with electromagnetic force. Accumulate a large amount of kinetic energy before shooting the objects out and causing a damage between 210 – 742. Damage determined by the size of object and accumulated electromagnetic time. Energy Usage: 75, Cooldown: 12s.

(Strong Magnetic Field Shield] – skill: Defensive skill. A magnetic shield will be formed within a 3m vicinity of the user. Shield durability is unlimited, and maintaining the shield will exhaust energy. If the damage taken by the shield within a second exceeds the critical point, the magnetic shield will be shattered. Cooldown 2.5s. The critical point is determined by the amount of energy exhausted per second with the maximum damage being 22,000. Every time the shield takes damage, additional energy will be exhausted.

(Super Electromagnetic Sense] – talent: Your ‘magnetic’ attribute will be enhanced. The bonus received from every energy level will change.

This was the result after the skills had been modified, and Han Xiao was not too surprised. All of Shana’s skills were rooted in her Esper ability, and it was impossible for him to gain the other party’s Esper ability. The abilities to strengthen the control of metal in a magnetic field would be useless to him.

Thankfully, control of metal within a magnetic field was extremely compatible with the Mechanic class. After a series of adjustments, most of the skills were useful to Mechanics as well.

There was not a single skill that stood out from the rest, but the skills were not too terrible either. Han Xiao felt that he had drawn the average skills this time.

If I didn’t touch Feidin, I am afraid that I would have drawn some sh*tty skills. It seems like Feidin’s luck cancelled out my bad luck.

Chapter 637 - In the Chaotic Crimson Tide, Storms Are Forming (1)

Chapter 637 In the Chaotic Crimson Tide, Storms Are Forming (1)

Han Xiao was not interested in the first choice, [Magnetic Field Vision), at all. He now had almost a thousand percent Machinery Affinity; this bonus would not make a difference.

Among the three abilities, (Strong Magnetic Field Shield] was undoubtedly the strongest. If a player obtained this, it could almost be a god-tier ability. Its only flaw was that its energy cost was very high. Nonetheless, to Han Xiao, he could totally afford its cost.

Sadly, he really did not want another tanky ability. [Strong Magnetic Field Shield] clashed with his mana health cycle. Only the damage taken by his body would be absorbed and turned into energy. If it hit a shield, it would not activate.

Although this ability was quite good, he was not really in need of it.

The names of the other two abilities were kind of lame, but their effects were quite good. They could be used as a means of attack when he was not using machines. However, it was too rare for him to not use any machines, so he would not use these skills as much.

The last talent (Super Electromagnetic Sense) had a very simple introduction. Han Xiao had seen similar talents before in his previous life; they enhanced the basic attributes of one’s energy, causing the bonus given by energy to increase tremendously. This kind of talent was rather rare. Not just the Mechanic class, the other four classes had talents that enhanced their energy as well. Shana’s Esper attribute just so happened to be suitable for the Mechanic class.

The magnetic attribute was related to the Mechanical Force. If he chose this one, the increase in his Machinery Affinity would be many times greater than the first talent on the list. Furthermore, when he acquired a new level of energy bonuses in the future, this talent would still be effective. It was the same as increasing his potential.

This was a high-level Mechanic talent that was rather difficult to obtain. It had growth potential.

Tsk, I can only choose one…

Han Xiao scratched his hair. Other than the first option, he wanted all four.

After pondering for some time, he decided that long term potential was more important and made his choice.

You have received (Super Electromagnetic Sense)!

Your Magnetic Energy has been enhanced!

Your energy bonuses have changed!

When Han Xiao opened his attributes and looked at it, he smiled.

His Machinery Affinity was largely increased in every energy level. His Energy Level was currently [Lv11), which originally gave him 142% Machinery Affinity. With this talent, it became 262%

A 120% increase in Machinery Affinity!

Almost double!

Nice, that makes it worthwhile.

Han Xiao was quite satisfied. This 120% bonus affinity made his Machinery Affinity go beyond 1,000%. Furthermore, this talent had more long-term benefits and would become stronger as his level increased.

Although it could not be compared with Reynold’s almost cheat code level (Perfect Mechanical Sense), it was still quite good. Including his (Elementary Grade Mechanical Sense), he finally had two Mechanic class talents.

Now, this is more Mechanic like.

Han Xiao chuckled.

Nonetheless, the other three abilities were good. He was quite upset that he could not choose all of them. This is just the first round. Shana is still alive. If every round’s reward includes drawing her ability…

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he could not help but fantasize. He wanted to meet Shana a few more times.

Shana was an ability treasure trove!

He looked at the second-round mission of (Prey), but it had yet to update.

The second round would probably only start when the enemy attacked again.

The enemies are hiding, and I’m in the open. Luckily, I planted a ward on her, or I really wouldn’t be able to guard against their sudden attack. Just like the mission name, they’re hunters waiting for opportunities to strike, and I’m the prey they have targeted. If I’m attacked during an important part of another mission, I will incur a huge loss. These hunters really are a bunch of sh*t stirrers.

Han Xiao was glad.

On the way back, Han Xiao had peeked at Shana and Eliot’s conversation through the Observer’s Mark, discovering that that woman was heading toward the headquarters.

If he could confirm the location of this mysterious organization, he might be able to drag Ames along and advance to the high ground.

One slam from Floating Dragon Island, and not just the enemy Nexus, the enemy fountain might not even exist…

Patience was the basic of peeking; there was no use in hurrying. The Observer’s Mark would only gain useful information as time went on.

Han Xiao went to the training room and tested his new talent for a while, then gave a lesson to Sylvia and Reynold, followed by letting Sylvia report the matters of the army. After he was done with those things, he shut himself in the machinery modification room and went into solitude.

Shana’s attack had put him under some pressure. If all her friends had about Grade A+ strength, they would be strong opponents that he had never faced before. Han Xiao planned to build a batch of non-metallic machines and magnetic field reversal devices to nullify Shana’s Esper ability.

With plenty of Experience in his bag, Han Xiao was not worried about spending. He gambled a lot of blueprints and found quite a lot of useful ones.

Including the blueprints, he already had more than a thousand abilities. The effect of [Research Theory] now gave him more than three hundred bonus Intelligence.

Building non-metallic machines was one part of becoming stronger; Han Xiao also felt it was time to increase his level.

He was now level 170 and stuck at the Class Advancement mission of [Galaxy Mechanic). If he completed the Class Advancement, his strength would be largely increased once again. He would also obtain the crucial Mechanic abilities of the next stage.

The Class Advancement requirement was very direct – learn one Cutting-Edge Knowledge.

However, it was not easy for Han Xiao.

In his previous life when the players were at this level, it was already the later versions. After playing for so long and experiencing so many main storylines, the players had built up relationships with several factions by that time, so they could exchange Cutting-Edge Knowledge directly.

However, Han Xiao was too ahead of the schedule. Limited by the version, he did not have the chance to farm the relationship with any Star Cluster Civilizations. Hence, this Class Advancement requirement that was quite easy in his previous life suddenly became an obstacle.

It was not difficult to do, but it took a lot of time and effort.

Han Xiao had used up the random rewards that he had stocked up. Being unlucky as always, he did not get any Mission Completion Cards.

Mission Completion Cards were actually really cheap and not rare at all. Most of the things he got in these random rewards had a higher value than Mission Completion Cards, such as the rare Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid that he had shockingly obtained twice. Including one from long ago, he now had three of them.

He kept feeling that trying to obtain Mission Completion Cards after touching Feidin was having the opposite effect.

Cutting-Edge Knowledges were a must learn, so Han Xiao did not want to gamble on Mission Completion Cards. What he hoped now was that the Purple Crystal Civilization could quickly form its Section Zero. During the (Crimson Tide), faction missions were in the least shortage.

At the outer space track outside the Purple Crystal Civilization’s Mother Planet, a garrison satellite code-named ‘Curved Blade’ was circling the mother planet. This was a newly built space station, an office for a new department. This department’s members were all elites selected from the various departments within the Secret Service.

At this time, inside the Curved Blade garrison satellite station, a row of Foreign Affairs Captains were sitting in the office of the highest commander, staring at the top commander of this department, Ralph.

Ralph flipped through the report of these people and listened as the captains explained the situation.

“The candidate list for the partner organizations has been sorted. There’s a total of 173 new organizations selected, all of which we have contacted and are willing to work with us. Please take a look.”

“It’s too few,” Ralph said coldly. In front of his subordinates, he was very strict.

“From an entire Star Cluster’s perspective, it is indeed not many. However, the 173 candidate organizations are the result of our careful selection. They all have Calamity Grades in their organization, a compulsory requirement. They are spread across the various Star Systems in Colton, and all are renowned among the locals.”

“Such as?”

“Severide’s Arc Light Organization, Skywalker’s Hero Group, Rain’s New Phylen Rebels… These are the largest and strongest organizations among the candidates.”

“It’s still not enough. The strength of these unofficial military organizations is far from the forces gathered by Klent.” Ralph shook his head in dissatisfaction. “The development of private organizations in Colton is too chaotic. Klent has the Bloodshed Land. Just that alone is enough to stop all of our partnered organizations. Klent has been helping its ally, the Bloodshed Land, expand over the years, fusing about half of the private organizations in their territory. Klent wants to build an alliance organization using the Bloodshed Land as its core. In the face of such an enormous organization, these partner organizations we’ve found will have no chance of resisting. If they want to start a secret war, we will have absolutely no chance of winning.”

“Indeed. The enemy has the Bloodshed Land. If we don’t use our official army, no one can stop the Tyrant. However, Beyond Grade As won’t act easily. We also have Beyond Grade A too; the Dragon Emperor is here.”

“However, Dragon Emperor Ames remains neutral. She isn’t our ally.” Ralph frowned.

“The Black Star Army is on the list of partner organizations. Although he cannot be compared with these three strongest candidates I just mentioned, their strength can be ranked in the second tier within the list. Their background is the military force of Floating Dragon. Maybe we can use the Dragon Emperor’s power through him.”

“I know Black Star; he’s a very smart guy. Don’t try to use him to get close to Ames. Plus, Ames might not be as strong as Heber.” Ralph shook his head.

After a pause, he continued to warn his subordinates. “Klent is still holding back currently, but they will become more and more rampant. The secret war will happen sooner or later. The people above have made the call; we cannot be forced by the enemy to use our official army, or an all-out war might really break out. Klent wants to snatch parts of Colton’s territory. Even if the three Universal Civilizations come to stop the war, the Crimson Dynasty is behind Klent. We are at a disadvantage politically, so we might be forced to sign an unfair treaty. I’m not satisfied with the current list. The reason that this department was created is to deal with Klent’s ambitious expansions. You must get more military forces.”

“Understood!”

“Also, the people above have given this department an official code name. When the time comes, you will notify the candidates of the name of this organization formed by all the partnered forces.”

“What’s the code name?”

Ralph knocked on the table and solemnly said, “Secret Service, Section Zero!”

Chapter 638 - In the Chaotic Crimson Tide, Storms Are Forming (2)

In the Seoul Star Cluster, Klent Kingdom territory, Bloodshed Land headquarters, Planet Heber…

Inside Heber’s palace, the emissary from Klent met with Tyrant to deliver the message from his superiors.

“The Purple Crystal Civilization eliminated the scouting team that we sent to Colton. This is their warning. According to the information transmitted back, the people that attacked the scouting team were all private forces in the Colton Star Cluster. This means that Purple Crystal is creating an alliance. We need to make the corresponding reaction.”

“You guys need my help.”

“Yes. In these two years, Klent has been helping you assemble many private military forces in the Seoul Star Cluster. The size of the Bloodshed Land is many times bigger than two years ago. We plan to form an alliance force with you as its core and secretly invade the Colton Star Cluster, starting a secret war with the Purple Crystal Civilization.”

“Okay.” Heber gave a short and simple reply.

“Although the Dragon Emperor Ames is in Colton, she is basically neutral. However, the Black Star Army under her seems to be on Purple Crystal’s side. If Ames interferes, we hope you can deal with her.”

“When it’s necessary, I will.” Heber shook his head.

Back at the party, Dragon Emperor and Black Star did not directly reject the Crimson Dynasty’s invitation. After that, they did not make any decision. However, even if the Floating Dragon decided to choose the Crimson Dynasty’s side, they were still not his ally. The two of them had different goals and were in two opposing Star Cluster Civilizations. The Crimson Dynasty did not mind their chess pieces fighting each other. The more chaotic the situation, the better.

Klent was willing to step forward and execute the Crimson Dynasty’s belief of being as high profile as possible. With such a strong backer, Klent had been more and more daring over the prior two years, especially toward neutral civilizations not under any of the three Universal Civilizations such as Purple Crystal.

The Seoul Star Cluster under Klent’s rule was the second smallest Star Cluster in all of the Shattered Star Ring, as well as Colton’s neighbor. Klent was very ambitious; their goal was not only just taking a bite on the profits of the Flickering World but also to get their hands on the Colton Star Cluster. Although they maintained a good relationship with Purple Crystal on the surface, they secretly wanted to snatch a few Star Systems from Purple Crystal.

Of course, this would not have worked out in the past. However, now that the Crimson Dynasty wanted to stir things up, the restriction of the peace treaty suddenly became much weaker. The strong had the right to make rules. The laws and balance in the galaxy seemed unbreakable in the eyes of normal people, but to the three Universal Civilizations, they were very fragile. The other civilizations were just players that had to obey the game rules they had set.

Even Heber felt that the Klents were very greedy.

However, this suited what he wanted. He needed an ambitious ally, not an ally content with what they had. The greedier they were, the more they would rely on him.

Heber stood up. His gigantic body cast a shadow over the Klent emissary.

“I understand what Klent wants. Go back and tell your boss that I will be in charge of this war. They don’t have to worry about anything.”

The Klent emissary nodded and smiled with the confidence of a certain victory.

The difference between the Bloodshed Land and the alliance force built by Purple Crystal was like an iron fist and a plate of sand. For this secret war, Klent had been preparing for two years. Purple Crystal’s reaction only came much later. This meant that they were at a disadvantage before the war even started.

With the Tyrant, Heber, taking care of the situation, demolishing Purple Crystal’s alliance force was just a matter of time.

Through continuous victories, the Bloodshed Land had never disappointed Klent before.

Shana returned to the headquarters that were shockingly in an area so remote it was the desolate area at the edge of the Shattered Star Ring. There was absolutely nobody around; it was a truly unpopulated area.

All the Star Fields had desolate areas that very few stepped into. Their characteristics as a whole were that there were very few planets, hardly any resources, and no signs of life. Some wanted or mysterious organizations would occasionally choose these desolate areas as the location for their headquarters.

When Shana entered the headquarters, all of her colleagues were waiting. Other than Eliot, there were four others. They all wore different masks and gave off a vibe of unfathomable strength. They were all looking at Shana.

With a husky voice like an old man at the end of his days, a short man among them slowly said, “You failed and exposed your face. For the next few years, you will replace Adrian to guard the headquarters. He will go out to carry out missions with Eliot.

“Humph.” Shana was not happy about it but did not object. This was their internal rule. In order for them not to be targeted by anyone, once someone failed, the person working in the field had to be swapped.

This secret organization had very few members, but they were all elites.

Adrian was a muscular and tall male being with the characteristics of a Beastman. He took out a palm-sized metal disk and threw to Shana. “It’s your turn to guard the headquarters. Enjoy the boring times.”

This metal disk was one of the specially made keys of the jail inside the headquarters. There were four of those keys.

All the captured targets on the list would be locked up in the prison. Usually, four of them would be guarding the headquarters, and two of them would go out to capture the targets on the list. This was their usual way of doing things.

Eliot shrugged and said, “Looks like we can’t be partners. Shame, I always thought we worked very well together.”

Adrian pointed at himself and said, “I’m your old partner, too.”

Eliot shrugged and replied, “Other than Mister Albert, all of you have been my partner before.”

Albert was the short, old man, the leader of this team, and had always been guarding the headquarters.

Adrian had never failed, so he was the only one that had never been swapped out. All the other four had been his partner before.

“Now, let’s talk about the problem regarding Black Star.” Albert stared at Shana. “Due to your failure, we now have the risk of being exposed. Black Star is now alert and will actively look for our whereabouts. We have two choices; one is to ignore Black Star and wait for the dust to settle before we move again. The other is to capture him as soon as possible and eliminate the risk of being exposed. Then, we keep a low profile afterward…”

“I’ve done some research on him,” Shana suddenly said. “Previously, the Garton Star System’s DarkStar organization did not take him seriously at the start and was destroyed by him. This man is very dangerous. We can’t leave him be.”

Albert nodded and said, “Makes sense. He’s dangerous. Eliot, Adrian, the only target of your next mission is Black Star. You must capture him. If you can’t capture him alive no matter what, I allow you to eliminate him.”

“Alright.” Eliot nodded.

“Mister Albert, I have fought with Black Star before and could not make him show his ‘Indestructible Body’. He must have hidden more strong abilities. Two people won’t be enough. My ability counters his, so please let me join the mission,” Shana said with a deep voice.

Albert contemplated and felt that it was reasonable. He told Shana to give him the key and said, “Okay, I’ll make an exception this time. The three of you will work together. Don’t be reckless. Only act after you’re absolutely certain you’ll succeed.”

Shana nodded. Revenge was just part of the reason she insisted on joining the mission; more of it was just as she had said. Although she had lost, she remembered the fight, and her ability was indeed very suitable for dealing with Black Star.

“Klent seems to be starting to move. Apparently, they’re going to start a fight with the Purple Crystal Civilization. Black Star should be involved in it, so we’ll have plenty of chances.”

Eliot smiled. He was a Grade A+ Super, and the other two were close to Grade A+, but the opponent was just Black Star alone.

He felt that success was certain.

At the same time, inside Base No.1 of the Black Star Army…

“Tsk tsk, three people just to deal with me, how scary.”

Through the Observer’s Mark, Han Xiao watched the conversation between Shana and the others like watching a movie.

After waiting for many days, Han Xiao had finally obtained valuable information from the Observer’s Mark. He was quite shocked.

He suspected Shana to be Grade A+, so the other two would not be weaker than her. Sending all three of them to capture him… Did I dig up your ancestor’s grave? Do you people really have to send such an elite team after me?

Nonetheless, Han Xiao did not panic. After all, the problem was massive, so there was no use in panicking.

With my strength, the chance of winning against these three is negligible. Even if I’m very tanky and might not be killed, I will most likely be captured. If these six people have about the same strength, they could capture just about anyone under Beyond Grade

A.

Being targeted by these people. Han Xiao felt heavy pressure.

These people seemed to be obeying orders to capture people. Han Xiao had a feeling that the six people whom he had just seen were merely the tip of the iceberg of this mysterious organization.

However, not only was Han Xiao not panicking, he almost wanted to laugh.

Originally, the situation was that the enemies were hidden, and he was in the open. If Shana did not join the mission, he would not have been able to guard against the sudden attack of the enemies.

However, Shana insisted on joining the mission and became a moving ward that allowed Han Xiao to monitor their movements at all times.

Such a great teammate!

This ward was more than worth it.

Han Xiao could not help but feel glad about how careful these people were. If they headed there right away, he would indeed be in quite a tough situation.

Hmm, let me think, how I should welcome them…

Han Xiao rubbed his chin and pondered.

Chapter 639 - This Talent Is Wonderful to the Point I Don’t Want to Upgrade It

The situation was extremely clear. Three of them were coming after him, and three others were staying behind in the base to guard their camp.

However, he could only spy on a single party. The problem was how Han Xiao should maximize his benefits.

He was considering how he could nab all the enemies in one fell swoop and also complete a few more phases of the (Prey] mission. Such a mission that could give him the opportunity to draw the abilities of a Grade A Super was extremely rare. If he was lucky, his strength could undergo a massive increase.

There seems to be only six enemies. I needed to think of a way to get rid of them all without alerting them, Han Xiao pondered to himself. The situation is now reversed. The enemy is out in the open while I am in the dark. This is my biggest advantage, and I need to make use of it well.

Should I deal with Shana and her group or attack the main camp of the enemy first?

All the trump cards that I can mobilize include the Black Star Army, my connections in the mercenary world, Ames’ support, and the organizations behind those on that hit list. If the powerhouses captured by the enemy are all in the main camp, I’ll be able to easily convince the organizations behind them to work together and fight the enemy. Every single enemy is extremely powerful alone, and their advantage is their high mobility. It would be extremely troublesome if even a single person escapes.

Han Xiao shook his head and felt that he could not attack their main camp under such circumstances. No matter what, the three who were keeping guard seemed to have the strength of Grade A+ as well. Even if he invited the Dragon Emperor to take action, the enemy would still have time to contact their comrades. The moment he alerted the enemy, it was extremely likely for the three on the outside to split up and escape. At that time, he would only be able to capture Shana, not the other two.

After considering for a while, Han Xiao also eliminated the plan of splitting up his forces. It would be a far more complex operation with too many factors that could go wrong. If he chose to split his forces, choosing how to allocate his forces would be a huge problem. After all, the enemy were not weaklings, and they might have some strange escaping abilities.

I shall do it this way…

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

If he wanted to attack the enemy’s main camp, he would want all the enemies to gather together first to capture them all in one fell swoop.

If he captured Shana’s group of three, he would not be able to spy on the rest. If he only captured one of the three, the enemy might shift their main camp due to fear of being exposed. The moment they entered the depths of the unexplored region of the universe, it would be extremely difficult to give chase.

Han Xiao pondered for a moment and decided on a plan. He would only fight off Shana’s group of three and cause them to fail again. The other party would then return to their base for sure, and the six of them would be gathered together. He would just have to gather his troops and gain the high ground. He would not allow a single enemy to escape and could even save all the captured Grade A Supers.

For the sake of secrecy, Han Xiao decided to wait for Shana’s group of three to find him. Taking the initiative to attack them would only reveal the fact that he had locked onto their position.

He felt that the role of hunter and prey had been swapped. He was like a hunter patiently waiting for the prey to step into his trap.

However, I have to find some helpers first.

Han Xiao opened up his communicator, and an endless list of leaders from the various organizations appeared.

In the office of Section Zero, Ralph was staring at his communicator with his brows locked as though he was troubled over a huge problem. His secretary did not dare disturb him.

In truth, the communicator was currently showing a galactic entertainment program, and he was avoiding work.

It could not be helped. The mission of scouting for private organizations fell on the shoulder of the envoys. Even if the mission to organize an alliance was extremely urgent, he could only wait for the envoys to complete their mission first. The war had not begun yet, and there was no point in him being anxious.

Right at this moment, an incoming call sprung up from his communicator and disrupted his show.

Ralph picked up the incoming call without a change in expression. It was Han Xiao.

“Black Star, it is rare for you to take the initiative to contact me.”

“I have already received your notice. How many people are there in Section Zero right now?”

Not too long ago, Purple Crystal had sent out the name of the alliance to all those involved in the alliance. Han Xiao had also received news of it.

This organization was only in its infancy, so the structure of the organization had not been formed. They did not know the names of the other participants of the organization, and no notification of a new faction popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

“The members of Section Zero are temporarily a secret. We will gather all the members when it is formed officially. You will know who the members are then.”

In his past life, the players only saw the organization in Version 3.0, which was perfected during the time of the update. This time, Han Xiao was personally joining the organization from the very start.

Han Xiao chuckled and could briefly remember which organizations joined Section Zero in the end. However, he felt that he had an opportunity to change the storyline this time.

“I have an idea to allow Section Zero to recruit more experts.”

Ralph’s eyes lit up. “Let’s hear your plan…”

The Light Rune Civilization was the ruler of the Thousand Lights Star System. Of the many Star System level civilizations of the Colton Star Cluster, the Light Rune Civilization had always been an open supporter of Purple Crystal. The level of the Light Rune Civilization exceeded an ordinary Star System level civilization, and they had a close relationship with Purple Crystal.

Recently, the person in charge of Light Rune Civilization’s national defense, Kemas, had been extremely frustrated.

It was because the most powerful expert of the Light Rune Civilization, Kernid, had disappeared on his holiday. The higher ups were enraged and ordered him to locate Kernid.

Kemas was heavily pressured by his higher ups to find Kernid. However, the pressure from his higher ups was not the only reason. Kernid was his biological brother, and it would be impossible for him to keep his current position without Kernid. As such, Kemas was more anxious to find his brother than anyone else.

However, he did not have a single clue. Kemas had already applied for aid from the Purple Crystal Civilization but to no avail. He was truly frustrated to the point his body hair was about to drop.

Ring ring!

Right at this moment, his communicator rang-his secretary was calling.

“Your Excellency Kemas, someone is requesting to speak to you.”

“Who is it?” Kemas suppressed the frustration in his heart. His secretary was the one in charge of managing his incoming calls, and for his secretary to personally contact him, it meant that the caller definitely had a significant status.

“He is the leader of the Black Star Army, Black Star of the Garton Star System.”

“Oh, so it’s him.” Kemas had heard of such an individual before, and it seemed like he was creating a storm in Godora. Despite being doubtful of why Black Star was looking for him, it would not be good for him to treat the other party rudely. Thus, he got his secretary to divert the call over.

The holographic screen lit up, and Han Xiao’s face appeared.

“Kemas? I haven’t got the wrong person, right?”

“It’s me, Black Star. Why have you called for me?”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and said, “I heard from Purple Crystal that you guys are looking for someone called Kernid.”

“Yes.” Kemas was not aware of what Han Xiao’s intentions were and thus gave a short reply.

“What if I say that I may know his whereabouts? Will you guys be willing to work with me?”

The moment Han Xiao said those words, Kemas! expression changed, and his breathing became heavy as though he was stimulated.

The Star Beast Organization was a special armed organization that was located in another Star Cluster. It was in an alliance with the Star Cluster level civilization that ruled the Star Cluster.

This organization was extremely famous in the Shattered Star Ring and their specialty was the ability to control various dangerous galactic beasts. They did not like to expand and chose to maintain neutrality most of the time. They would never sell or rent their beasts but only provide them to the Star Cluster Civilization that they were in an alliance with.

Their specialty came from the Esper ability of their leader, Gobili. He had a monstrous level of affinity with beasts and was able to control various different types of beasts over long periods of time. If these beasts remained under the influence of his ability for long periods of time, they even had a chance of evolving and mutating.

However, the Star Beast Organization was in a complete mess at this moment because their leader had disappeared.

The vice commander had sent out numerous search parties, but he could not find a single clue.

If their leader was gone, their organization was finished.

Everyone in the Star Beast Organization was filled with grievances. Don’t we only like to rear pets? We only rear pets in our homes and do not provoke anyone. Why do others still have to come and provoke us!

Just when they were on the brink of collapse, the vice commander received a call from Han Xiao.

“I am Black Star from the Colton Star Cluster. You may or may not have heard of my name before. However, that isn’t important. The important thing is that I may know the location of your leader. Are you interested in working with me?”

The same scene happened in various locations throughout the Shattered Star Ring. Han Xiao called all the organizations of the names listed on the hit

list.

With his huge network, finding these numbers was a piece of cake. His chain of calls immediately mobilized a large number of organizations.

As for the ones who were on the list but had not been caught, he could only say wrong number.

Just as he was gathering aid in secret, Shana’s group of three was also approaching the Garton Star System.

On the spaceship, the three of them were discussing their strategy.

“Black Star may be on high alert this time. I feel that we shouldn’t take care of him immediately.” Eliot shook his head. He had always been a calm individual. However, since Albert had given his orders, he could only follow the orders.

“Not necessarily. I did not reveal much information, and Black Star may think that I am only seeking revenge. This is a very common thing for a leader of his status.”

Shana shook her head and felt that her loss was not that big a deal. The way she saw it, Black Star was definitely puzzled about her origin.

“We should still be careful no matter what.” Eliot paused to think for a moment before continuing. “It is said that Black Star has an undying body with his subordinates being immortals. A long, drawn-out battle will be to his advantage, so we must come up with a plan to take him down quickly.”

“Should we wait for him to be alone before attacking?”

“Not necessarily. After facing an ambush recently, Black Star will definitely be more careful when he is alone. We should strike him at the most unexpected moment.”

“What should we do?”

“Hmm… I know. He doesn’t recognize me and Adrian. I can use a spell to conceal our aura and appearance to mix with the mercenaries and attack him from up close. The two of us shall control him, and you will take action to capture him. The three of us will then retreat immediately. With the three of us working together, we should be able to take care of him very quickly.”

“If that’s the case, we can take action in his base.”

“Yes, this way, he will be caught off guard. The other mercenaries in the base won’t be able to stop us, and he won’t have other Calamity Grade helpers this time.”

Adrian then spoke in a muffled voice. “I understand. We want to deal a lightning fast strike and not give him the chance to react.”

Eliot nodded.

Shana pondered for a moment and also felt that it was a good plan. She could not think of how Black Star would be able to escape from their grasp this time.

Meanwhile, Black Star was on his way to Floating Dragon Island.

“Oh, I see.” Han Xiao now understood their plan.

Chapter 640 - Ambush

Han Xiao had convened a large group of helpers, with the core person being ‘Long Legs’ Ames.

He had rarely returned to Floating Dragon Island in the past two years, only occasionally communicating with Ames. The high amount of trust Ames had in him meant that he could move around in his own activities outside and not be doubted.

When the spaceship landed at the dock, Han Xiao walked out of the hatch to see Wilsander waiting for him. Every time Han Xiao returned, he would be the one to fetch him with great enthusiasm.

Looking around, Han Xiao did not spot the figure of Jenny, which made him a little surprised.

“Why didn’t Jenny come? I thought she would come and give me a few jabs.”

“She’s very busy, no time for you.” Wilsander grinned.

“It seems like she is still very dedicated to her role.”

Han Xiao laughed in return.

Wilsander rolled his eyes in response. Is her dedication not forced by your activities?

After a brief greeting, Han Xiao headed directly to the palace.

In the past two years, Ames had remained on Floating Dragon Island, attentively training Hila and Aurora. Upon hearing that Han Xiao had come to visit, the three of them were quite happy.

Rising from her throne, Ames floated up to Han Xiao as she smiled. “It’s been a while. I’ve missed you. What’s your reason for coming this time?”

“Can’t I return to see you if I have no time?” Han Xiao smiled. “But I do need your help this time.”

“Let’s hear it.”

Han Xiao briefly explained the situation. He did not intend to ask Ames to deal with Shana and company but rather utilize her pressure to suppress the enemy whilst he stormed the base, to ensure complete control on his part.

At the same time, this was an opportunity. He had gathered many influential people from around the Shattered Star Ring and stationed them to ambush from a secret location. The moment he pushed back Shana and company, they would join forces to destroy the mysterious force’s camp and rescue all the Supers. With so many various influences, if Ames was present to hold the fort, she would be able to command all these influences with her title of a Beyond Grade A Super.

To call in so many organizations just to deal with six Grade A Supers was akin to using a butcher’s knife to slaughter chickens. However, his greater goal was to turn this into sensational news, to further expand his own influence.

With so many organizations under the lead of Floating Dragon, this cooperation would be able to reverse the public impression of Floating Dragon. Floating Dragon would also rise from a powerless neutral faction into a powerful one. Even if this was a misunderstanding, it would prove useful.

The general consensus was that among the four Beyond Grade A Supers within the Shattered Star Ring, Ames power was the weakest. This time, their knowledge of Ames would be refreshed.

While one’s true strength could not be improved quickly, influence and connections could serve as a shortcut. The stronger Floating Dragon was, the more it would be able to protect itself.

Moreover, after fighting side by side, if they managed to save all the Supers from the powerful organizations, they would owe Floating Dragon a debt of gratitude. This would form a good relationship between the latter with the rest of the powerful organizations. While the organizations definitely had some status, they would give some face toward the prestige of a Beyond Grade A Super, and Han Xiao, through Floating Dragon, would be able to convert the forces into his connections.

Han Xiao had always attached great importance to organizations. After all, the universe was so large, an individual was limited in scope. Even Beyond Grade A Supers needed aides. One’s individual combat power and organization strength had to be grasped with both hands, and both hands had to firmly hold on to each area.

Sooner or later, there would yet be another version update. The players would disappear for about a decade once more. During this period, if he wished to prevent the faction from sinking, he needed to be pre-emptive and search for external support.

After hearing the explanation from Han Xiao, Ames did not hesitate and immediately agreed.

She fully supported Han Xiao, and besides, having been cooped up for so long, she wished to go out and stretch her muscles, at the same time allowing Aurora and Hila to get some experience.

Hila and Aurora had stood to the side without interrupting once. After two years, their temperament had shown changes once again.

Ames had taught them how to develop their abilities, and Hila’s aura had become colder, whilst the exact opposite had happened for Aurora, who had become sunnier and warmer.

In the area of strength, Hila had made rapid progress. She initially already possessed a strength of Grade C. Coupled with her own talents, it did not take much guidance from Ames for her to breakthrough and enter the realm of Grade B.

As for Aurora, her battle role was to be a super nanny. While her rank was not as high, her abilities got strengthened a lot more.

Hila’s appearance did not change much, but she had received a life sublimation, allowing her to become more beautiful and elegant. Aurora did not grow much in height, but her figure showed obvious signs of becoming a real ‘milkmaid'[1]. The front of her Battle Suit was packed tightly.

Her ability gave her frightening vitality, and with three nutritious meals a day, her appearance did not pale in comparison to her sister’s.

Glancing at Aurora’s chest, Han Xiao sighed. “Your training is too tough. Just look, how could a girl like you be beaten so hard that you are so swollen?”

Aurora could hear the teasing in Han Xiao’s voice and immediately blushed. She did not wish for herself to become this huge, but this was linked to her abilities. She had no choice, and she even had to bear the soreness in her shoulders every day. If only she was able to remove them and put them in her pockets instead, that would be so good!

Having not seen him for two years, while Hila’s expression remained passive, she was a little excited in her heart. However, upon hearing those words from Han Xiao, her face immediately darkened. She stared daggers at Han Xiao as though wishing to rip off his face. However, the result was that she could not do anything to his face, and Han Xiao even ignored her.

Han Xiao also brought up the issue of Section Zero and expressed his intention to work for the Purple Crystal Civilization for a period of time. Ames had no objections, brushing off everything. Jenny could only grit her teeth and inwardly curse.

Han Xiao secretly gathered his helpers, and after making sufficient preparations, he looked for one of his bases that was not so important and camped there, waiting for the enemy to step into the trap.

This base was located on one of the colonial planets of Godora. Many players often chose to settle there, and choosing this place as the battlefield had been carefully considered by Han Xiao. This was to paint a positive image in the eyes of the players. This face engineering process was extremely important.

At this moment, the Black Star Army had already completed the function of guiding the faction into the universe. Han Xiao’s next objective was to retain the players and focus on managing the Black Star Army.

Starting from the next version, there would be a multitude of factions available to choose from. Many of them were combined organizations, which could offer large benefits and large main storylines. The players would inevitably be tempted. Han Xiao had to maintain the attractiveness of his faction, so as the leader, he had to continue to improve the players’ impression of him.

After waiting for a few days, Shana’s group finally moved. In fact, they had arrived in the Garton Star System much earlier, always monitoring the movements of Han Xiao.

Han Xiao was doing the same thing to them. The Chain Mission (Prey) had already released the second mission earlier on.

The mission requirement was to repel the attack of the three people. In addition to the high experience provided, he would receive a random reward of an ability from the trio. Han Xiao predicted that this series of difficult missions would each provide an additional special reward of being able to draw an ability. As long as his luck was good, he would be able to profit handsomely off this.

Because this was a colonial planet that belonged to Godora, the attacking trio did not wish to make too much noise, opting to use stealth and assassination tactics instead. They wanted to get Black Star and quickly evacuate.

Eliot was responsible for the advanced concealment and camouflage. While the base had access restrictions, in front of the abilities of a Grade A Super, it was useless. Adrian and Eliot very easily sneaked into the base without alerting Phillip, whilst Shana remained outside.

The camouflage technique that Eliot used turned them into common mercenaries. Eliot was extremely confident of his techniques, thinking them unbreakable. The two of them swaggered into the area, as though it was their own backyard.

However, after walking a short distance, they noticed that something was off. All around them, it seemed that the Black Star Mercenaries all started to turn around and look at them with weird expressions, as though they were out of place.

“I feel that the situation is a little weird,” Adrian whispered.

“Could it be that we’ve been discovered? That’s not possible. How can my technique be seen through so easily?” Eliot refused to believe it.

His deception was indeed effective, and the players around them could not see any sort of information about them. Even their names appeared as ‘???’.

However, the question marks for both Eliot and Adrian were bright red!

Two red-named people representing enemies walking around scared the players stiff. No one knew what sort of situation this was.

While Brock was part of DarkStar, he was an undercover agent. Furthermore, DarkStar had already kicked the bucket. Before he joined Black Star, he had merely appeared as a yellow name, but since Eliot and Adrian were downright enemies to Black Star, they appeared red named in the eyes of the players, the most dazzling attraction in this place.

Boom boom boom!

A player suddenly opened fire at the two of them, and the surrounding players immediately followed suit. A barrage of bullets enveloped the two of them, and a violent explosion sounded.

While the players were unaware of what was going on, they decided that since they were red names, they might somehow trigger a mission and earn something

Hum!

The magic shield was deployed, blocking all attacks.

“We’ve been exposed!” Eliot was shocked. He could not understand it. How did all those Grade C mercenaries crack his seamless camouflage

At this moment, Han Xiao, who had long prepared himself, appeared, floating in the sky as he overlooked the two. He put on a show, pretending that he was not aware of their origin.

“The last time I was attacked, I felt that something was amiss. Indeed, there are people targeting me. To think I actually managed to wait for you to arrive. Who are you guys?”

Eliot did not reply, merely shouting lowly. All sorts of magic was deployed, and Adrian’s body began to increase in size.

When Shana realized that her teammates had been exposed, she immediately acted by tearing apart the walls of the base. She was prepared to join them in attacking Black Star. With three Grade A+ Supers present, they could just forcefully suppress Black Star and end the battle quickly.

However, Han Xiao leisurely dodged their attacks, saying, “Did you think I did not do any preparations beforehand?”

Just as his voice fell, strong auras exploded from the sides of the base. Nagakin as well as two other Godoran Grade A Supers shot out from the hiding spots.

Han Xiao had gathered the other organizations for the sake of attacking the enemies’ base camp. Thus, his goal here was just to repel the three of them, and as such, he had chosen the Godoran Colonial planet, which would allow him to request assistance from Godora. Without overwhelming suppression on his side, it would allow things to flow more naturally and allow Shana’s group to ‘escape’.

The Black Star Army had close ties with Godora, so this small request was merely a phone call away from Han Xiao. Nagakin was extremely glad to help.

Eliot furrowed his brows. They were faced with four Grade A Supers, and while they were not afraid, they had no way of forcing a quick end to the battle. This was Godoran territory; the moment they got entangled, Godora’s fleet would be able to give them no small amount of trouble.

The three of them exchanged glances, immediately coming to the same consensus.

Black Star was just too vigilant. Merely a single attack, and without knowing their histories, he decided to make a mountain out of a molehill. It seemed like he was a cautious yet decisive person.

The three of them did not once suspect that their whereabouts had been leaked. Han Xiao pretended that he was using his stupid idea to wait for a reward, and this did not raise their doubts. They were confident enough that their actions were secretive.

Furthermore, if Black Star knew that they had three people, then he would not have brought along just three other Calamity Grades.

Han Xiao continued with his performance, speaking in a deep tone. “You have no way of escaping. No matter who you are, I’ll find out your origins today.”

“You’re overconfident in being able to stop us. You can try!” Eliot snorted.

Just four Calamity Grades would not be enough to enter his eyes. Maybe only Black Star would give them some difficulty.

The three of them did not panic, for they were confident in their own capabilities. Black Star could not stop them with so few people; they could leave as and when they wished to.

[1] The original phrase can be read as either ‘nanny’ or ‘milk mother/maid’, so I decided to go with the latter to convey what the author wanted to say

Chapter 641 - Mid Lane High Ground, Come for a Team Fight.

The battle erupted in an instant. The impact caused by seven Calamity Grades was tremendous!

The shockwave destroyed about half of the entire base, and the streets nearby became a wreck. Many players were blown away. Their level limit was currently 90, so just the shockwave alone had already taken away a bar of their health. There was nothing they could do.

Boom!

It was a battle between seven Calamity Grade Supers. Even with Han Xiao, Nagakin, and the other two trying to control the damage, it still caused quite a lot of destruction. However, Han Xiao did not mind how badly the base was damaged. Only the surface buildings were damaged, and it was cheap to rebuild them. Furthermore, he was already at the level of “I’m not interested in money”, so he did not mind paying such a small price to lure these three people.

This was the second time that he had fought Shana. Han Xiao had built a team of non-metallic mechanical soldiers, mainly elites. They were strong and powerful under his Mechanical Force bonuses. It was difficult for Shana to counter him, so she could only fight him directly.

Eliot was a very strong Mage; he used all sorts of high-level spells like it was nothing and clearly was not even using his full strength. Adrian was a typical muscular man, taking on the job of a meat shield, holding back three Pugilists including Nagakin alone.

The three of them cooperated with each other very well. Nagakin and the others were no match. Han Xiao was ‘doing his best’ controlling the mechanical soldiers to attack. It seemed like he was having an intense fight with Shana.

Nagakin and his two colleagues were all Pugilists. Their raw strength was grossly inferior to the three opponents. Just Adrian alone could stall the three of them. They were instantly at a disadvantage. However, Eliot and the other two had no intention of continuing fighting. They kept retreating, and the battlefield kept moving.

Black Star had set up an ambush, so the fight would not end quickly. This was a Godoran planet, so there were fleets stationed nearby. Eliot and the rest did not want to be surrounded by the garrison. They planned to retreat as soon as possible, and they were very confident in doing so.

This was because Eliot knew how to use the teleportation spell, which was outstanding for escaping. Black Star would be dreaming if he thought that he could capture them. Therefore, Eliot thought that it was really funny. He did not know where Black Star got his confidence.

Whoosh!

This time, the sound of spaceships came from the edge of the sky. A fleet stationed there quickly reacted, and about a hundred battleships were approaching as backup.

“There’s no need to fight the Godoran fleet. Let’s

go.”

Eliot told Adrian to hold back Nagakin and his colleagues, then cast a spell. He then performed a stroke in the air with his finger, and an energy vortex suddenly appeared behind him, which then expanded into a teleportation gate.

“Sh*t, he can teleport!” Nagakin gave an exaggerated shocked expression. Han Xiao glanced at him and could not help but gave a like to his acting skills. His expression was lively, and his eyes had very intense emotions in them. This acting skill of his was definitely Grade A.

Eliot then cast another spell. A huge magic barrier separated all the enemies from him and his two comrades.

The magic shield blocked all the attacks and kept vibrating. Adrian and Shana entered the teleportation gate and disappeared.

With his two colleagues retreating successfully, Eliot looked at Han Xiao and mocked, “Hehe, as I said, you’re overconfident. This level of ambush is far from being enough to capture us. We want to leave now—are you able to stop us?”

Han Xiao heard that and made his expression gloomy. He then deliberately said nothing and continued to attack with greater force, pounding loudly on the magic barrier.

In Eliot’s eyes, Black Star was turning his embarrassment into fury. He immediately felt better; even the unhappiness from the mission failing diminished quite a bit.

Eliot squinted and suddenly said, “Wait for it. We will come to find you again. There won’t always be someone helping you.”

Then, Eliot turned and walked into the teleportation gate. The gate disappeared, and the three of them retreated successfully like they could just come and go as they wished.

They’re finally gone… Han Xiao finally relaxed his tight facial muscles and uninstalled the ‘Angry.jpg’ expression bundle.

Although the battle was short, the streets nearby were badly destroyed. The level of strength that the enemies had shown made Nagakin feel a lot of pressure.

“Black Star, who are these people? They’re way too strong. They have targeted you, so you’ve got to be careful,” Nagakin said seriously.

“Don’t worry, they can’t escape.”

Now we will just have to wait till they get home… Han Xiao smiled but said no more.

Eliot exposed his teleportation spell, which was bonus information that Han Xiao did not expect to obtain. This was a god-tier escaping ability. Had they not made any preparations for it, the enemies might have escaped when they attacked their base. Now that he knew about this, he could think of ways to deal with it.

Thinking that Eliot and the rest thought that they had successfully escaped, Han Xiao almost burst into laughter.

Things were going even better than he had expected!

After contacting the construction team to repair the base and getting rid of a huge number of players trying to trigger missions, Han Xiao used the Observer’s Mark and peeked at those three’s whereabouts.

The range of the teleportation gate that Eliot had hurriedly created on the spot would not be too far. The teleportation gate was connected to their spaceship, which orbiting the colonial planet.

As soon as they returned to the ship, they activated its stealth mode and went far away from the planet, preventing the garrison from chasing after them.

The escape was successful. The three of them did not even suspect that Han Xiao had purposely let them go. They retreated with Eliot’s ability. There was nothing suspicious about it. They just thought that Black Star had misjudged their strength and did not set up a strong enough ambush.

Making Black Star’s ambush a failure was nothing to the three of them. They felt that it was normal.

“This mission has failed. Should we continue looking for opportunities?” Shana asked.

Eliot shook his head. “Black Star is very cautious. After just one attack, he made a trap purely out of suspicion. Now that he has been attacked a second time, he will be certain that we’re his enemies. He will only be more alert from now on. We can’t attack him again for a short period.”

After what had just happened, the only thing they could do was leave Black Star be for the moment.

His threat before leaving was just a scare technique to make Black Star keep being cautious about them so that he would always be afraid, alert, and careful, only to realize in the end that it was all for nothing.

Annoyed, Shana frowned and said, “That’s our only choice.”

“Hmm, I will suggest this to Albert and put Black Star under the Processing List,” Eliot said.

They actually had two hunting lists. One was for the confirmed targets; one was the Processing List. Those on the latter list were targets that they had failed to capture the first time, targets who they had alerted. They would not attack these people any time soon. They had to wait at least a few years until the target let their guard down, only then would they attack again.

Black Star was such a target. Eliot did not want to attack Black Star within five years, and he believed that Albert felt this way.

“You were right. We should have dealt with this by leaving him be.” Shana did not expect Black Star to be so cautious.

Eliot smiled and said, “It’s not too late. Although we exposed our hostility and let Black Star know that the three of us are targeting him, he knows nothing about our background. It will be useless no matter how much he searches for it. It will only make us keep a low profile for a while at most. He definitely will get no results and will never know who’s targeting him.

“As for us, we’re hidden and have the upper hand. He can’t be this cautious forever.

“Let’s return first. We might have to stop making moves for the next few years.”

Many had witnessed Black Star being attacked, and the message got out very quickly. However, there was all sorts of news in the Shattered Star Ring nowadays, and huge matters were occurring all the time. Although Black Star was quite well known in the Colton Star Cluster, he was not famous enough throughout the entire Shattered Star Ring. The news that he had been attacked was like a droplet of water in the sea of news and did not attract much attention.

More than ten days later, Han Xiao arrived at an unpopulated planet in a desolate area nearby after nonstop traveling. This planet that had been desolate for countless years was not remarkably boisterous.

All the forces that Han Xiao had contacted earlier had gathered there. Spaceships were parked everywhere on the planet’s surface.

All these forces wanted to find a lost person. They had followed Han Xiao’s request and come to this planet. They had all initially thought that they were the only ones, but now that they were there, they were shocked and did not expect Han Xiao to have called so many people.

Many organizations there were well known in the Shattered Star Ring and recognized each other. After a little bit of conversation, they all knew that everyone had assembled for the same reason. They were all stunned. Could all the people that were lost be connected in some ways? What clue had Han Xiao found?

The moment Han Xiao’s spaceship got close, everyone noticed it. After Han Xiao landed, all the people surrounded him.

These were all high-level officers of their organizations and very important. Usually, it would be difficult just to meet one of them, but now they were all gathered there. If Heber was there, he might think that someone was imitating his Tyrant Party.

“Black Star, when will we make a move?”

“Where are the enemies? Stop hiding.”

When Han Xiao contacted them, he did not say everything and only told them to gather there. Many were unhappy about that.

However, Ames was also there to stabilize the situation. Black Star was Dragon Emperor’s officer. Even though the people there all had very strong backgrounds, they did not dare cause trouble.

“The time has come. We will attack the enemy’s headquarters together. Your lost friends are imprisoned there…”

Han Xiao explained the situation. Through his Observer’s Mark, he confirmed that Shana and the others had returned to their base. The opportunity to get all of them had finally arrived.

Things were different now. Although it had taken many years to take down the Germinal Organization and DarkStar, that was because he had not been strong enough back then.

Now, however, the Black Star Army was rising quickly, and he had become someone important in the Shattered Star Ring. He did not want to have such strong enemies for that long. As soon as there was an opportunity, he would eliminate them and not leave any hidden threats.

So many organizations had sent out their elite troops; their power together could shock any civilization or organization in the Shattered Star Ring. There were dozens of Calamity Grades from different organizations in various areas. It was complete overkill for just six enemies.

The Great Mechanic Han’s networking ability was incomparable. The Black Star Networking Group was definitely not an exaggerated title!

The crowd was overjoyed upon hearing this. For the same goal, these organizations were all willing to follow Han Xiao’s orders temporarily.

When Han Xiao was communicating with the others, the players that he had brought along were all observing curiously from the back.

He had used a mission to have some players follow along. He did not need them to battle on this trip; he only needed them to be ‘reporters’ and send the video to the forums. This was the opportunity that he planned to use to deepen his impression and to remind the players of his charisma, increasing his personal charm and the faction’s attractiveness.

At the same time, Eliot and the rest returned to their hidden base in the desolate area of the universe.

Albert welcomed them and said, “I’ve heard about the situation. Leave Black Star be. We will keep a low profile for a while. Everyone stays in the base, don’t go outside.”

The others nodded. This could effectively avoid risks. They would only start their hunting mission again after hiding for some time.

They instantly threw Black Star to the back of their minds. To them, this matter was already dealt with.

What they did not know was… a disaster was secretly approaching

Chapter 642 - Counterattack

Kernid slowly opened his eyes. In front of him was a transparent light curtain, and outside was an area that looked like a prison. Translucent single person cells were spread evenly throughout the area, and almost every cell had a tenant.

He was one of them.

This was the prison that belonged to Shana and the others. It was to imprison the captured targets on the list.

All the prisoners had specially made mechanical rings on their wrists and ankles. These limited the power of these Grade As. These rings were embedded in their flesh. The rings on their wrists sent out nano-level needles into their blood vessels, hearts, brains, and other vital spots. The mechanical rings on their ankles were Super-Gene suppressors that weakened their recovery speed.

They had collars on their necks, too. These were enchanted with very powerful magic that disabled them from using spells and weakened them. The person that enchanted these spells was clearly much stronger than the prisoners. Hence, the effect was very long-lasting.

Other than this, many drugs were also injected into them, preventing the cells inside their bodies from generating energy.

So many imprisonment methods made these Grade As extremely weak.

On the first day that Kernid was imprisoned, he shockingly realized that the others imprisoned there were all as famous and important as him, if not more. However, they had all been captured and imprisoned there. He was justifiably petrified.

Kernid tried to escape but failed. So many others were unable to escape, and he was no exception. Furthermore, even if he did manage to escape the prison, there would still be enemies guarding and waiting outside, which made him despair.

After being imprisoned for so many days, he had given up and clearly knew that he would not be able to escape by himself. All he could do was pray that someone would come to save him. However, no one had come to save those other prisoners who all had such high positions. He could not help but feel that the chances of escaping were close to none. He was rather pessimistic.

However, speaking of being pessimistic, he was far inferior compared to his neighbor.

A male Spacehuman was imprisoned in the cell beside Kernid. That person had been maintaining a long face the whole time. He looked not just miserable but almost depressed. His name was Lagi[1], a lone Calamity Grade. From what he said, he had been imprisoned there for almost ten years. He was the most senior around.

The days of imprisonment were very boring. Their only entertainment was chatting with each other, trying to find at least a shred of joy in those hopeless days.

When those prisoners were having a good time chatting, as long as Lagi opened his mouth, he would unquestionably shatter the atmosphere.

Everyone there had once been important, and everyone was pessimistic about ending up like this. However, in terms of being pessimistic, Kernid felt that they were all trash compared to Lagi.

This time, the gate of the prison opened. Albert, Shana, and Eliot walked in. The prisoners started an uproar.

“Let me out of here. Do you know who I am?”

“You’ve messed with someone you shouldn’t mess with. You’re going to pay for this!”

“What is your goal!”

Many spoke with rage. Every time someone came to patrol, they would try to threaten them.

The three of them ignored the prisoners completely. They were not there to check on the prisoners as per schedule today. Due to the two failures that Black Star had caused them, out of caution, Albert had decided to keep things at a low profile and not do anything for a few years. Hence, they were now making a count on the prisoners and preparing to move them somewhere else.

They definitely did not capture these targets because they wanted to collect stamps from their areas; they had other goals. This place was not the final location that these prisoners would end up in.

The yelling and cursing did not stop, but the three of them did not care. They split up and did a count. Very soon, Shana came to Kernid’s cell.

Kernid bashed the transparent wall heavily and furiously said, “I remember you. You’re the one that caught me! The Light Rune Civilization will definitely get me out!”

Shana sneered. “You’ve still not given up? Do you really think someone will come to save you?”.

This time, Lagi slowly said, “Don’t worry, no one will come to save us. We’re definitely going to die.”

Kernid was instantly at a loss for words. He covered his face with one hand and said, “Whose side are you actually on?”

Even Shana was speechless. This guy had been imprisoned for almost ten years, so he had probably gone haywire.

After the count, the three of them prepared to leave. The prisoners were still yelling and cursing. Albert paused before turning around and saying to everyone, “I know, you all think you’re someone important. In reality, your positions in the Shattered Star Ring are not even worth mentioning in my eyes. In a few days, I will freeze you and send you out of the Shattered Star Ring. You will be determined as lost forever. You will never see your organizations or your families again. Fate is waiting for you ahead.”

All the prisoners quietened down, furious and frustrated. If what Albert said was true, it would really be the end of them.

Many were despairing, anxious, and afraid of what was going to happen in the future. No one knew what the goal of this organization was.

Lagi sighed and said, “Sigh, I’m guessing they’re going to make us experimental subjects and study our bodies. When we lose our value to them, they will then anatomize us; tear apart our bones, muscles, and organs; and place them in containers as specimens. Our name and life experience might be written somewhere on these containers. We will then become a collection to be displayed to others. ‘Look, this is the very developed brain of the Calamity Grade Kernid’ and so on…”

The others felt a chill run down their spines.

Kernid’s face was filled with question marks. Why didn’t you use your own name?

Albert stayed silent for a while, thought about it, and decided not to explain. He then said calmly, “Anyway, enjoy your last few days of clarity. The next time you wake up, you will be in another Star Field…”

The moment his words sounded…

Boom!

A loud bang!

The entire prison suddenly started shaking violently!

Albert staggered and almost bit his tongue. Shocked, he asked, “What’s happening?”

“Something’s happened above!” Eliot said with surprise.

The three of them hastily left the prison and closed the gate after them. The prisoners looked at each other.

“Could it be that someone is here to save us?”

They were instantly energized and saw hope again.

With his usual long face, Lagi slowly said, “Even if there’s someone here to rescue us, they might not be a match for the enemies. They will be killed in an instant. All of them will be wiped out. Their fleets will shatter, and the people inside will all be crushed and burnt into pieces. Your comrades, subordinates, and families might be among them. You will then be forced to eat those shattered parts of them, demolishing your spirit before anatomizing your body…”

“Shut the hell up!”

…

The shaking continued. Albert and the others returned to the main hall and met with the other three colleagues.

“What’s going on?”

“Enemies!”

Albert’s face turned grave. He then took the others out of the headquarters. When they got out, they discovered that an enormous amount of power was digging their headquarters out of the ground.

Two people were floating in the sky. When they saw who those two people were, Albert and the others were stunned and stupefied!

Black Star!

Dragon Emperor!

Ames was using her Esper ability to tear the ground apart, pulling their base right out of the ground.

“How can he be here?” Albert opened his eyes wide.

They had attacked Black Star not long ago, and now he was here. Their location was very well hidden, so how did Black Star find them?

Eliot could not believe it. He had never thought that Black Star would appear.

A thought suddenly appeared in his mind. He had just returned, and now Black Star had found this place—could it be that he had exposed them somehow?

The last time they attacked Black Star, he could only cautiously wait for the next attack. However, after his failure, Black Star was now able to come right for them. Even though he could not understand how Black Star had done it, he could only be the one to blame for it. There was no other explanation.

Could it be that letting him escape was part of Black Star’s plan?

Eliot was befuddled, feeling ashamed. Thinking back to when he escaped from Black Star’s ambush, he felt that he was an idiot for not realizing that something was wrong and that Black Star had bigger plans.

Shana was extremely upset. She felt that this was all because of her failure when she attacked Black Star the first time. If she did not act alone but worked together with her partner, they would have been able to capture him, and Black Star would have become their prisoner.

Albert forced himself to calm down. He knew that Black Star was dangerous, but he never expected Black Star’s counterattack to come so fast, bringing them so much danger.

Dragon Emperor was clearly helping Black Star. He had no confidence facing a Beyond Grade A at all, but he did not despair.

“Don’t panic. Although the opponent is Beyond Grade A, we still have a tiny bit of hope. Although we’re no match for the Dragon Emperor, we can at least stall her for a few moments. Eliot, whether we can escape or not all depends on you. We will create an opportunity for you to cast your spell.” Albert clenched his teeth.

At this point, he could not care about the prisoners anymore. They were in extreme danger, so they had no choice but to stand the pain of letting go what they had been working on for so many years.

Ensure their own safety first, explain to the people above later!

“Understood!” Eliot replied.

At this time, Han Xiao took a deep inhale and said with a deep voice, “Everyone, come here!”

Hum!

The next moment, countless streams of light slashed across the sky and hovered above Han Xiao.

The fleets covered the sky, and countless cannons aimed at the six of them. The Calamity Grades arrived and sealed all their escape routes, surrounding the six of them.

Albert and the others were petrified. They could not believe it.

How did Black Star… gather so many people ?

“Do it!”

Without saying much, Han Xiao told everyone else to attack altogether.

Villains always died for talking too much. He had no intention of speaking with the enemies. After they captured all of them, there would be plenty of time to have conversations with them.

“Run!” Albert screamed.

Seeing so many enemies, his last bit of hope shattered, leaving him only despair.

Covered in sweat, Eliot hastily tried to cast his teleportation spell. However, when he had only created a space vortex, it suddenly became extremely unstable. The teleportation gate that had always worked perfectly suddenly disappeared before it could even form.

Not far away, the eyes of a Grade A mage wearing a red robe was shining in the blue light of magic, and the staff in his hand was illuminating.

Spell Counter!

This time, only one thought was in the minds of Eliot, Shana, Albert, and the other three.

It’s over!

[1] The name ‘Lagi’ has the same pronunciation in Mandarin as the word ‘trash’ or ‘rubbish’.

Chapter 643 - Crushed

The battle erupted in an instant.

Albert and the others were surrounded but did not give up resisting; they did everything they could to escape.

Indeed, all of them were very strong. However, the superiority of their individual strength could not overcome the collective strength of dozens of Calamity Grades. They were barely holding on.

Only Beyond Grade As could deal with a situation like this. Despite them being stronger individually, they were still in the Grade A range.

Boom!

The battle was intense, and the battlefield stretched across hundreds of miles. The earth was split open, and the ground was trembling. All sorts of abilities were flying all over the place; even the terrain was tremendously changed.

Following Han Xiao’s information, a few Mages kept their eyes on Eliot at all times. As soon as he showed any signs of trying to cast a teleportation spell, they would use all sorts of abilities to prevent him from doing so.

Eliot was completely restrained. He was furious and had nowhere to run.

He regretted using his teleportation spell to escape from Han Xiao’s ‘ambush’ not long ago. Clearly, that was why the enemies were so prepared.

Among the six of them, Albert was the strongest. He was a Psychic; his powerful psychic waves covered an extremely large area. He took on many people alone, hoping to create an opportunity for Eliot to cast a spell. However, his effort was wasted.

Black Star had gathered more people than he could ever have expected. Albert was filled with despair. Just the tens of Calamity Grades would be more than enough to cause them a lot of trouble, yet there were still tens of thousands of battleships in the sky and the Beyond Grade A Dragon Emperor.

This force that he had gathered would be more than enough to challenge the official army of a Star Cluster Civilization!

He had known that Black Star was dangerous but not this terrifying!

On the spaceship, the players that Han Xiao had brought along were having an exciting time doing nothing.

They had never seen anything like this. The excitement and awe of this battle between dozens of Grade As could even match up to the video where Dragon Emperor crushed the mothership in the previous version. Furthermore, in terms of thrill, this was even more exhilarating.

The players were all looking down from above. They could see the entire battle on the surface clearly. They all recorded videos of it and felt that their recordings might become the most astonishing videos on the forums.

On the way there, the players had all come to discover that Han Xiao had staged this. They felt like they were watching a cut scene of the storyline.

Han Xiao watched at the side. With so many helpers, there was no need for him to join the battle-he would have to repair his machinery if any of them got damaged.

It was completely one-sided.

He had planned to only receive the reward for the second round of the mission after he touched Feidin, but he had thought that attacking the enemies’ base might be the third round of the mission, so he had completed the second round long ago, hoping to receive the next round of the mission. However, the third round did not appear; attacking their base did not become a mission requirement.

Han Xiao was not surprised by this. He could not decide the mission requirements. Even though this was not a mission, he would still attack their base. The fact that the third round did not appear meant that there were more enemies—he had to find out the true identity of this organization.

Without touching Feidin for luck, the abilities that he had drawn from the second round were very ordinary. Han Xiao had selected one of Adrian’s normal talents (Bones of Steel), which gave him thirty Strength and twenty Endurance. This was already the most practical choice among the rest; it increased his maximum health by around three thousand points.

Bang bang bang!

The battle was one-sided from start to end and only lasted a while. The six’s resistance was meaningless; they had no chance of escaping. They were all captured and thrashed without any hiccups.

After capturing the six of them, the organizations all sent people into the prison to find the person that was missing from their organization.

Albert and the others were heavily injured and taken to Han Xiao. All their masks were taken off, showing their furious faces. There was still shock in their eyes; they still could not believe that they had been defeated by Black Star so easily.

Black Star’s counterattack came so quick and strong, easily defeating all of them. This was too difficult for the six of them to accept.

Han Xiao scanned through them and nodded.

Finally, all these people had been captured, and no one had escaped. He had achieved his goal.

“Who are you?”

Albert kept silent and glared at Han Xiao.

“No reply? Then let me change a question.” Han Xiao took out the hunting list and coldly demanded, “Who ordered you to capture these people in the Shattered Star Ring? Where did this list come from?”

Albert was shocked. “Why do you have this list?”

“You really think I don’t know about it? I’ve known about you people for a long time. Who’s the mastermind behind you?”

Shana could not believe it. She had thought that her failure had alerted Black Star, but it turned out Black Star had known about them long ago. Where did he get that information?

Albert still kept silent. It seemed like he had decided not to sell out the people behind him no matter what.

Han Xiao crossed his arms and said, “Do you think you’re able to stay silent after falling into my hands? I have plenty of ways to make you talk.”

Behind Han Xiao stood the Calamity Grades of many organizations, staring at Albert and the others. They were definitely not going to let the people behind this go easily. If Albert and the others were not going to talk, they were clearly going to be painfully tortured. These organizations would think of every way to get information from them.

Albert looked at these people then spoke slowly. “The end is death anyway; there’s no difference between talking or not talking. Unless you can let us live.”

“You’re not in a position to make requests,” Han Xiao said. “I can only ensure that you will be tortured less.”

“Okay… I will tell you.” Albert seemed to have made up his mind. “The Klent Kingdom ordered us to do this.”

Han Xiao frowned.

“I need proof.”

“I can prove our relationship with Klent. Our intelligence came from an intelligence organization under the Bloodshed Land; there are records for it. The hunting list was given to us by the Klent upper echelons. They want the Shattered Star Ring to be more chaotic, so they hired us to get rid of enemies and capture stronger individuals,” Albert slowly said.

No, it’s not Klent. Han Xiao frowned even more. It sounded like things were all connected, but the mission introduction clearly suggested otherwise. The truth was definitely not this simple.

He felt that Klent was most likely not the mastermind behind this mysterious group-there were contradictions in both their method and motive. Albert might be deliberately putting the blame on Klent.

Albert was done for; he had no choice but to give out some information. He might be lying to cover the truth and protect the real mastermind behind this, letting Klent take the blame.

As for why he chose Klent, it might be because Klent really was connected to this mysterious organization in some way. It might also be because Klent was the best choice to push the blame onto in the Shattered Star Ring.

Han Xiao stared at Albert’s eyes but could not see anything but sincerity. He squinted but did not continue to question Albert.

“I see.” Han Xiao suddenly smiled. “So, Klent is the mastermind. I believe you.”

“That’s right. If you want any evidence, I can provide it. I hope that you can keep your promise and not torture me.” Albert insisted that it was Klent.

The emissaries of the other organizations felt an immense sense of hostility toward Klent. They were furious.

“Is Klent out of their mind? How dare they do something like this? Do they think we’re easy to mess with?”

After Klent joined the Crimson Dynasty, they had become more and more imperious. Many organizations knew that Klent was ambitious, so they believed most of the ‘truth’ that Albert revealed.

The Purple Crystal Civilization emissary’s eyes sparkled, and he was secretly delighted. If Klent ended up taking the blame, they were willing to believe it regardless of whether it was the truth or not. This would make these organizations hostile toward Klent.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Albert and the others clearly wanted to hide the real mastermind, but Han Xiao was not planning to expose them and went with the flow of letting Klent take the blame.

le

He could search for the truth privately. After all, these people were now in his hands. He could do anything he wanted. Letting Klent take the blame was most profitable for him at the moment. This way, he could indirectly get more allies to help with the pressure during the secret war.

After so many organizations found out about this ‘truth’, the news would definitely spread across the entire Shattered Star Ring. By then, Klent’s reputation would be heavily damaged. Even if it was not the truth, it would become the truth for many people. There was no way Klent would be able to come clean from this.

Han Xiao initially only wanted these organizations to owe him a favor and build partnership relationships with them; letting Klent take the blame for this was a pleasant surprise. Furthermore, he would not be responsible for it.

This time, the team that had gone to find the prisoners brought all of them back. These unlucky people got rid of the constraints over their bodies and finally started to recover.

“Haha, people really have come to rescue us!”

“There are so many people here.”

Kernid and the others looked around with joyful faces. Many of them saw their organizations and returned to chat with their friends. Very soon, they got to know that it was Black Star who had provided the information that saved them.

They approached Han Xiao one after another to show their appreciation excitedly.

“If not for you, we would be done for.”

“Thanks, we owe you one. If there’s anything you need our help for in the future, be sure to tell us.”

“Black Star, from now on, you’re my brother.”

Han Xiao replied friendlily one by one. Notifications kept popping up on his interface; the relationship with these organizations rocketed and all jumped right to ‘Friendly’. For people that were saved such as Kernid, their Favorability increased the most.

He expressed his intention to keep this partnership going. Of course, the others were not going to reject. Not mentioning this favor, the Black Star Army itself was an organization that they were willing to work together with. This incident had become the bridge of their partnership.

After saving those unlucky people, Han Xiao’s network expanded tremendously.

The Purple Crystal Civilization emissary got what they wanted, too-some organizations were willing to join Section Zero and help Purple Crystal fight Klent, their shared enemy.

This was all thanks to Han Xiao. His Favorability with Purple Crystal increased by 2,000 points straight away. He was one step closer to exchanging Cutting-Edge Knowledge.

Han Xiao had another goal. Some of the people captured were lone Calamity Grades. After saving them and increasing their Favorability, there was a chance to recruit them.

After asking around, most of those lone Grade A Supers rejected him and expressed that they had no intention of joining another organization. Only one person was an exception, which made Han Xiao overjoyed.

Being able to recruit just one of them was already more than good enough. He was currently the only Grade A in the army; adding one more meant that the number of Grade As doubled.

This was also the first Grade A whom he had recruited.

The person that accepted the invitation looked very ragged and depressed it was no other than Lagi.

Lagi did not hesitate when he was invited. After being imprisoned for ten years, he did not want to go anywhere. Han Xiao had saved him, so he was willing to follow Han Xiao. The way he looked at it, no matter where he went, he would be rotting and dying anyway. It did not make a difference.

Han Xiao shook his hand and passionately said, “Welcome to the Black Star Army. You will definitely be satisfied with our treatment. We will be friends from now on. What’s your name?”

Lagi shook Han Xiao’s hand, sighed, and said, “I’m ‘trash’.”

“Come on, dude, you’re too humble…”

Chapter 644 - The Ancient Ones

Lagi’s expression darkened, and an extremely bitter look could be seen on his face.

Han Xiao immediately knew that he had said something wrong and quickly replied, “Oh, sorry for the misunderstanding. Your name is… pretty good.”

“Very regretfully, my father seems to agree.” Lagi let out a sigh.

Why is this fellow speaking so politely? Han Xiao’s expression was painfully awkward.

No wonder this fellow is always so pessimistic. Whenever he introduces himself to others, he has to say, ‘I’m Lagi[1]’. How can he still face the world with a smile? It’s only natural for him to be depressed and unable to see the hope in the world!

“It’s alright. I’m used to it already.” Lagi waved his hands to show that he did not mind. “In any case, we will all decompose into nothingness at the very end and not leave anything behind. I will disappear into the winding history with my name, and no one will remember me anymore.”

Han Xiao’s face was full of black lines.

This fellow’s negativity was truly overflowing!

Lagi was a Grade A Mage, and apart from researching magic, he did not have anything that he wanted to do. He was like a piece of ambitionless salted fish.

He had accepted Han Xiao’s recruitment because, first, he owed Han Xiao a favor and had nowhere to go, and second, joining an organization meant that he would not have to worry about his research expenditure.

The Black Star Army finally had a new Grade A combatant. Despite Lagi being a rather eccentric character, Han Xiao was still pretty happy. Even though Han Xiao wanted to understand this new partner of his more, Lagi did not seem to like talking at all. Whenever he asked Lagi about his past, Lagi would always give him a perfunctory response, and even after a long conversation, Han Xiao was still completely clueless about Lagi’s past.

Han Xiao could not help but ask, “Do you have any friends or relatives?”

Lagi let out a depressed sigh and slowly said, “Just treat it as I don’t have any.”

Han Xiao rolled his eyes in response.

If he gave Lagi a cigarette and stubble grew all over his chin, the picture would be complete.

To think that such a depressed and lifeless individual was actually able to reach Grade A. Just what kind of tragic event happened in his life to transform him into such a depressed individual, or could it be that he had always been like that since young? If it was the latter, Han Xiao truly could not imagine what kind of a talent Lagi had.

Could it be that I picked up a protagonist level character? Han Xiao was extremely tempted to give Lagi a slap to see his attributes.

Right at this moment, all the organizations that were present had found their returning officers and were prepared to leave. Before they left, they all bade farewell to Han Xiao.

After fighting together this time, Han Xiao had built a good relationship with all these organizations, and his personal influence extended beyond the Colton Star Cluster.

Forming alliances and searching for allies was also an important aspect of developing his organization. Han Xiao’s goal was to have friends all around the Star Field, and he had taken the first step in that direction.

The Star Beast Organization was extremely grateful to Han Xiao saving their leader, Gobili. They had never made any deals with outsiders but had expressed their willingness to enter a business partnership with the Black Star Army.

The Star Beast Organization only started to hire outsiders during Version 3.0, and players could complete faction missions to earn favorability points. Players could purchase rare Genetic Medicine and could even purchase pets and mounts. Since players already had spaceships, the purpose of a mount was only to increase their swag.

Han Xiao wanted to purchase a few rare galactic beast materials to upgrade his (Intermediate Strengthened Life) talent.

The last time, he had consumed the core of the Void Lord and confirmed this idea of his. Han Xiao needed rare materials that could fulfil this condition, and the Star Beast Organization was undoubtedly the experts in this field. They agreed without any hesitation and promised to complete the request.

There were a few lone wolves among those who were saved. Despite rejecting Han Xiao’s recruitment, they left behind their contact numbers and promised to aid Black Star if he needed their help in the future.

Han Xiao treated this as a hidden trump card to be played in the future. The words of a Grade A Super could definitely be trusted.

Albert’s gang of six became Han Xiao’s captives, and after dismantling their headquarters, Han Xiao left together with Ames.

…

A few days later, the huge incident that Han Xiao had directed exploded in the Shattered Star Ring and caused another huge wave!

Including the seven Star Cluster level civilization, countless organizations in the Shattered Star Ring were shocked by the chaos that Han Xiao had created.

Numerous organizations from all directions had responded to Black Star’s summons and formed a force that even Star Cluster level civilizations would not dare to underestimate. Since when did Black Star have such a huge influence?

Ames had also participated in the operation, which allowed many to draw their own conclusions.

All the while, the Dragon Emperor had appeared to be a weak, neutral party. While the appearance of the Black Star Army had gradually increased the prestige of Floating Dragon, it was not enough to change the impression that most people had of Floating Dragon.

But this time, many individuals had misunderstood Han Xiao’s actions to be those of Floating Dragon. They all thought that Floating Dragon was trying to flex their might and could not help but be startled.

Floating Dragon had unknowingly formed such a large alliance, and the seven Star Cluster civilizations could not help but reevaluate Floating Dragon’s position.

As a beyond Grade A Super, Ames had always seemed disinterested in vying for power and influence. However, she seemed to have been getting more and more active since Black Star joined Floating Dragon. Black Star seemed to be the catalyst that allowed Floating Dragon to have a drastic transformation and rise rapidly.

After this incident, the strength that Floating Dragon had displayed planted some ideas in the minds of some private organizations.

With a beyond Grade A Super at the helm, as long as Floating Dragon wished, they would definitely be able to draw many to their side. If Han Xiao could draw more supporters for Floating Dragon, he would also receive benefits from it.

The other outcome of this operation was the ‘truth’ that Albert had revealed. Klent ended up becoming the scapegoat and was criticized by every organization within the Shattered Star Ring.

In truth, many civilizations had performed such an act before and had a tacit understanding with each other. However, the moment such an act was exposed, they would undoubtedly become the target for all criticism.

The Klent Kingdom was truly miserable. They were shot even while lying down, with a calamity falling on their heads even though they did not do anything.

Klent naturally released an official statement to deny their involvement, but it was not of any use.

Many organizations began to become wary of Klent after this incident. While living in turbulent times, every organization had no choice but to be on high alert.

In truth, Albert did indeed work together with Klent. However, Klent did no more than provide them with intelligence. Albert and the others came from another Star Field, and Klent was not their true master. Klent had indeed decided to provide intelligence to this group of six with the intention to kill with a borrowed sword and muddy the waters within the Shattered Star Ring. Thus, Klent truly was not maligned at all.

For such an incident to explode when they were in conflict with Purple Crystal, this was akin to providing Purple Crystal with more allies without doing anything. The Klents truly suffered a loss and were extremely frustrated by the incident.

Black Star’s actions had disrupted Klent’s original plans.

The Bloodshed Land had no choice but to adjust their plan and delay the time for war.

The Blacklight Stealth was currently on its way to the Garton Star System. In the spaceship, Han Xiao was currently extracting the Super-Genes of the six Supers. He had extracted a few dozen tubes of Super-Genes, and the six of them were extremely weak.

The (Prey] mission was not over yet, and the third phase had not been refreshed. The mastermind behind this incident would be his enemy for sure. In order to command six Grade A Supers who were all extremely close to having the strength of A+, the mastermind was definitely no simple character.

“I have said before. Klent is the one giving us orders,” Albert said weakly.

Han Xiao shook his head and replied, “I didn’t stop all of you from framing Klent because this is in line with my objectives. However, this doesn’t mean that I truly believe you. I know that torture may not be useful to all of you. Thankfully, I brought a specialist for this.”

Aesop then walked into the room. Aesop had also joined in the fun together with Ames and had always been on the spaceship. Aesop’s Esper ability was extremely suitable for finding clues, and it would not matter if Albert and the others did not want to speak. Aesop naturally did not mind doing Han Xiao a small favor.

“Old man, I shall hand them over to you.” Han Xiao moved out of the way.

Aesop touched the six of them and shut his eyes to use his Esper ability. After a long while, he opened his eyes with a strange look on his face.

“Old man, any luck?”

“I can’t believe that it’s them,” Aesop muttered to himself with a grave voice. “Black Star, you have truly provoked some extraordinary characters.”

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and he replied, “I didn’t provoke them; they set their eyes on me.”

“You are right. The winds howl around the highest peaks, and you can only blame yourself for being unlucky.” Aesop sighed. “I thought that I would never have any more dealings with this group of individuals. Anything related to them will become extremely troublesome.”

“Stop beating about the bush. Who exactly are they?”

“Have you heard of The Ancient Ones?”

Han Xiao’s expression changed, and a solemn look could be seen on his face.

He naturally knew about this famous organization. Even in his previous life, The Ancient Ones was a famous organization among the players. Furthermore, Risda had also mentioned that Manison from the Mechanic Empire was also a member of The Ancient Ones.

This organization was extremely special. They did not have many members, and their members were in different Star Fields. They were all top figures in the galaxy and had lived for an extremely long time. The organization was one without much restriction, and it could be understood as a top social circle in the galaxy. Even the three great civilizations had to treat them with respect.

In the (Calamity of the Supers) storyline, many of The Ancient Ones beyond Grade A Supers formed their own faction, and Manison was one of them.

Aesop had once been a member but had withdrawn after that.

“You are saying that The Ancient Ones are the mastermind?”

The Ancient Ones was indeed an organization that he could not afford to provoke yet.

“I’m not sure. I did not manage to see any details; I was only able to see that this matter is related to The Ancient Ones,” Aesop explained.

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao looked at Albert. Albert had a tranquil expression on his face and did not show any change in expression as though it had nothing to do with them. Who knew if he was putting on an act?

After thinking for a while, Han Xiao bent down and looked at Albert in the eyes, “Are The Ancient Ones your true master?”

“No.” Albert frowned. “I’ve said more than once that it’s Klent. It is up to you if you want to believe me.”

Han Xiao frowned and raised his brows. “If this matter isn’t related to The Ancient Ones, you would have been extremely glad for me to provoke them.”

Albert fell silent and no longer said a word.

Han Xiao could not be sure that The Ancient Ones were his final enemy. Furthermore, The Ancient Ones were a loose organization, and it could be the plan of just a single member.

What a coincidence. This is the second matter related to The Ancient Ones. First, it was Aroshia, and now them… Han Xiao pondered to himself. It was truly too much of a coincidence.

Regardless of whether the mastermind is The Ancient Ones, I can’t deal with them for now. Before reaching beyond Grade A, it will be difficult for me to even protect myself. Han Xiao’s mood was heavy. The enemy had already set their eyes on him, and with Albert and the others caught, new enemies would definitely appear. However, he did not even know the identity of his enemy.

This threat made him feel an immense sense of pressure.

However, worrying would not be able to change anything. There was currently a problem before him. Just how should he deal with his six captives?

It would not be a good choice for him to lock them up and squeeze them like orange juice. They were not rookie galactic pirates, and if they managed to escape, Han Xiao would not be able to suppress them. Furthermore, Han Xiao probably would not be able to find out anything else from them, so keeping them would only be a risk.

Eliot could feel Han Xiao’s killing intent, and his body shuddered.

[1] Lagi is pronounced the same as trash in Mandarin.

Chapter 645 - Galaxy Pro League Season Two

Han Xiao first returned to Floating Dragon to drop Ames and Aesop back. He then killed Albert and the others without hesitation. On the way to Floating Dragon, he had made a lot of Genetic Medicine from the six of them.

He was not planning to lock the six of them in the Galactic Pirates’ Warm Little House because he did not want to take that risk. He was never soft-hearted toward enemies.

After killing the six of them, Han Xiao received a lot of Experience and a few Character Summon Cards.

Albert and the others were very calm toward death; only Eliot was panicking and furious. Nonetheless, none of them revealed the true identity of the mastermind till the end. This did not affect Han Xiao in his decision to kill them, but he was surprised by their loyalty.

Someone that could make a Grade A+ this sincere was definitely terrifying. That someone being a Beyond Grade A was the only possibility. No matter which member of The Ancient Ones the mastermind was, it was not someone he could deal with.

He would definitely become that person’s enemy now that he had killed that person’s subordinates. Han Xiao had no other choice. The enemy had targeted him, and he could not have not resisted. Thus, it was unavoidable.

The third round of (Prey) had yet to appear. He had no idea how strong the next attack would be. The only good news was that at least Beyond Grade As would not casually go to another Star Field, which meant that he would not have to fight a Beyond Grade A. Nonetheless, he still felt immense pressure.

For that, Aesop personally did a one-time ‘fortune-telling’ on him. He roughly foresaw that this issue regarding the hunters had come to an end for the moment, and that nothing would happen any time soon. This made Han Xiao feel relieved.

Star Fields were separated by very wide desolate regions. Whether it was traveling across Star Fields or getting information across, they were not easy things to do. Now that Albert and the others had died, the enemy would not be able to get to him shortly.

Han Xiao’s position in Floating Dragon had been rising. He was Ames’ best assistant, and Aesop had high hopes for him. On the way to Floating Dragon, he told him quite a lot of secrets about The Ancient Ones and helped Han Xiao guess who the mastermind was.

The Ancient Ones were not united; every member had their ambitions. The reason they had formed an organization was to fuse the members’ influence into one and obtain a superior position in the universe, benefiting all the members. They rarely did anything using The Ancient Ones’ name.

Aesop felt that the master of Albert and the others was just one member of The Ancient Ones. At least that was much better than the entire The Ancient Ones.

After killing Albert and the others, the matter had come to an end. Han Xiao took Lagi back to the Base No.1 in the Garton Star System. Lagi was the only Grade A officer in the Black Star Army. Han Xiao introduced him to the other officers and let everyone know that there was a newcomer. Lagi had just escaped from imprisonment and was still rather isolated. He did not communicate with the others and went to familiarize himself with the environment. Han Xiao did not give Lagi any jobs yet.

With his Grade A strength, he was more than qualified to be the deputy captain. However, Lagi had just joined, and Han Xiao felt that he needed to know more about him more before giving him any important positions.

The secret war between Klent and Purple Crystal would not start any time soon, so Han Xiao could not increase his relationship with Purple Crystal even if he wanted to. There was nothing urgent to do, so he was quite free.

During the time he went out to look for trouble, there happened to be one huge matter that had attracted the attention of the players.

Pro League Season Two was about to start!

Some players uploaded the video of a scrimmage between tens of Calamity Grades, showcasing the Black Star Networking Group’s ability. Bun-Hit-Dog’s new video also mentioned information about the next version, which was related to the Crimson Dynasty as Han Xiao had said. These posts all got Han Xiao some attention. However, compared to the popularity of the Pro League, everything else was pushed side. Even he could not compete with the Pro League for popularity.

It was already the late stage of Version 2.0. Galaxy’s players had been steadily increasing through the version. Although it had not reached the explosive increase stage, there were already many players.

The first season was quite successful. There were now many people paying attention to the second season. Galaxy Times had been talking about the Pro League for a few consecutive episodes, heating things up.

Han Xiao returned to his room, took out a bottle of ‘Handsome and Happy’ water and gulped it down. He then opened the latest Galaxy Times episode. This was the last episode before the start of the Pro League. It was their last effort to add more wood to the flames of this huge event.

The two hosts showed off their ability to make cold jokes before talking about the main focus of the episode, emphasizing on the rules of the second season of the Pro League.

Version 2.0 added a few novice planets. However, most players had already left their novice planets and entered space. Hence, the divisions were adjusted and were no longer based on novice planets. The divisions were now based on Star Fields that had novice planets in them. As some novice planets were in the same Star Field, they were combined into the same division.

There had been thirteen divisions in the previous season, but now there were nine. This meant that the teams of some countries would meet before the main event. Strong teams would face off against each other to qualify for the next stage. Even though more teams were allowed to advance this season, the competition would still be more intense.

The locations for the divisions were no longer on novice planets but a few nearby unpopulated planets in every division. The entire planet would be the venue. As the players had already entered the galaxy, they would definitely be able to come to the venue.

The format did not change much; it was still Singles and Groups.

There had only been three types of battles in the previous season-Duel, Groups, and Singles. One more was added this season-Survival. As the name suggested, it was about surviving. This would appear both in the point-based Division Regulars and the International Regulars. There would also be two types of Survival matches, one for teams and one for single players.

According to the Galaxy Times’s introduction, the Team Survival was a battle between four teams. The only winner would be awarded a lot of points, the second and third would be awarded a certain number of points, and the last would not get any points. The Singles Survival would be a brawl between sixteen Singles players.

As for the schedule, the first stage was still the Division Qualifiers and Division Secondary League. All players would be able to register for the Division Qualifiers. The Division Secondary League was a jumping board for the second-tier teams of some clubs. The top forty teams and sixty-four Singles players would enter the Pre Season to warm up, followed by the Divisions Regulars.

The Divisions Regulars was point-based. The top eight teams and sixteen players would enter the Division Finals. After the Divisions Regulars, the ones at the top of the scoreboard would take part in the entertainment-oriented International All-Stars.

The Divisions Finals used the best of five format to determine first place and the runner up. As there were fewer divisions this season, the top four teams and eight Singles players would all be able to enter the International Regulars.

This time, the gap between the Internationals and the Divisions was hugely reduced; the schedule would be much tighter than the previous season.

The Internationals was also point-based. The most elite players from the various divisions would fight to determine the top eight teams and sixteen Singles players who would enter the International Finals, where the world champions would be determined.

Han Xiao looked at the forums’ videos and nodded in approval.

The format was the same as in his previous life; the difference was the people taking part in it.

The show then heavily focused on introducing players with potential in China. When the time for the interviews came, the captains of the four biggest clubs in China were invited. Frenzied Sword, who had finished among the top in the International Singles in the previous season, was also invited.

The two hosts asked them a few questions and chatted. The atmosphere was light and relaxed.

For the last question, the two hosts asked every team about their goal this season and what they expected. The answers these people gave made the Chinese viewers feel excited.

Dynasty’s King Admiral smiled lazily and said, “Dynasty only has one target this season, to win every single battle. We’re going to be the Division champion and the world champion!”

Temple of God’s Li Ge sounded very formal. “We will do our best to win every match and make use of all our strength. We hope to achieve enough in the Internationals to not disappoint the supporters of Temple of God.”

Fried Eggplants with Fish’s Sun Eggplant said with an expressionless face, “In the last season, we regrettably could not qualify for the Internationals. This season, we’re going to fight to become the last winner.”

Long Sky’s Hao Tian sat up straight and said with a very serious tone, “Our only target is the world champion!”

The four biggest clubs all confidently announced that they were going for the championship; this made the Chinese players all very excited.

In the last season, Dynasty had been the first runner up. Although it was not bad, the Chinese players were still quite sad that they did not win.

They were close to the top, so they were more determined to reach it. The words of these four clubs were very morale-boosting.

“Four teams will be able to qualify in the Internationals. If all four of our clubs enter the top four and the Internationals, that would be really

fun.”

“Hehehe, that might not be certain. Although they are all very strong, the other tier-one teams are not bad either. Rainy Kim’s Thunder Storm and Yan Ran’s Berserkers are not easy to deal with. Nine Gates, Sky Palace, and Dragons and Tigers are all very competitive, too.”

“I have high hopes for Rivervale. Frenzied Sword was top sixteen in the International Singles last season. Rivervale have rebuilt their team with him as the core. They might be a dark horse.”

Many viewers discussed their thoughts in the comments.

Frenzied Sword was not as confident as the other captains on the show. He said that this was his first time leading a team and that he would do his best to enter the Internationals. He did not dare announce that they would be champions.

The clubs of other countries were all quite pressured. Planet Aquamarine was the base of the Chinese players, and they had entered space more than a year earlier than the others. This had resulted in the average strength of the Chinese teams being very high. All of them were strong teams that were not easy to deal with. Even the champions of the previous season, the French team, did not underestimate them and said that they would do their best to become back to back champions.

Han Xiao was looking forward to seeing what place China would be able to achieve under his influence.

In the Pro League’s second season in his previous life, Dynasty had gotten third place in the Internationals and Temple of God had finished in the top eight. This time, China’s overall strength was clearly superior. It was not just their equipment, abilities, and experience, but also the fact that the pro players had taken part in galactic-level battles long ago. Their skills were honed as well.

The second season of the Pro League is an important stage. The first season was just a test. A lot more effort has been put into promoting the second season; it’s many times more influential than the first season. It will directly cause a huge number of new players to enter during Version 3.0. The better the results the Chinese teams achieve, the more exposure they will get, which will also be beneficial to my faction.

Currently, the roughly one million players in the Black Star Army had all been players from the earliest releases. There would be more newcomers joining in in the future.

The tons of new players in Version 3.0 were a second opportunity to expand the size of the army. Without the advantage of being the guiding faction, he had to compete with the many factions in Version 3.0. The Pro League would be a way for him to increase his faction’s attractiveness.

Other than these long-term benefits, every Pro League was a business opportunity.

The players earned money to turn it into their strength. During the Pro League, the players’ demand for equipment would explosively increase. The Genetic Medicines in his warehouse would sell very well. He was only worried about not having enough stock.

Pro League stimulated the players’ need to spend. The players were happy to empty their wallets. This was a chance to make a huge fortune.

A few unpopulated planets in the Garton Star System made up the competition venue. Han Xiao planned to gather a fleet to sell equipment at the venue. Whether it was to repair equipment, buy items, or learn abilities, the players would be able to spend on the spot. It would be amazing for them.

Anyway, whether it was amazing for the players or not, it was amazing for Han Xiao.

The Pro League is going to start in ten days. Time to go.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Chapter 646 - Training Soldiers

With the day of the Pro League drawing ever closer, practically all the players began to gather on the host planet. Even if they were not competing, they could still participate in the arena as spectators. This would be a large-scale event involving the entire playerbase, and for players who loved lively events, this was something that they could not miss.

The uninhabited planet that served as the competition grounds started to be filled with life. Spaceships flew in and out, and the entire planet served as the battlefield, a vast area. The players officiating and volunteers had constructed many platforms and viewing stands. Continuing the style of the previous season, they had allowed the players to participate in the construction of the venue, to enhance their sense of being part of the event. Since there were also many players that were idling away, they were happy to help out.

The casual players prepared the venue in full swing on the planet, while the participating players took advantage of the time to do their final preparations, strengthen their equipment, and upgrade their skills.

Han Xiao had brought a fleet, with a flagship serving as the core. They carried various stocks from the warehouse as they came toward the game planet. When the Black Star fleet appeared, the players on the planet were surprised as they did not know why the Army’s fleet had appeared.

After the fleet arrived, it remained floating in outer space. The players were curious; thus, they entered the flagship, only to find Han Xiao inside.

When the players asked, Han Xiao’s reply was concise.

“My intelligence showed that a large portion of our mercenaries had gathered on this uninhabited planet. This puzzled me, and I thought that you guys would be in trouble, so I came over to take a look.”

This reason was both acceptable yet unexpected to the players. Many of them found it interesting.

The players had long gotten used to actual feedback from the NPCs. Their every action would determine the judgment of the NPC as well as the change in Galaxy itself. This sort of strong interactive feedback mechanism often left the players in full immersion.

As a member of the Black Star Army, to have tens of thousands of their people gathered in one place such that the leader of the faction actually got alarmed and came to inspect was a refreshing experience to the visitors.

In terms of character interaction, some players enjoyed role-playing, conversing with the NPCs in accordance with the game to make it as realistic as possible, while others liked to directly admit to Han Xiao that they were having a tournament.

“If that’s the case, I would like to assess my mercenaries’ growth. Just nice, I don’t have anything on at the moment,” Han Xiao replied in a natural tone, pretending to ignore the words such as ‘Pro League’ and other game related terms. He instead implied that they were doing this as a large-scale friendly spar.

The majority of players did not doubt him. They did not expect an NPC to appear to observe their Pro League, but this only made it more interesting.

In addition, upon finding out that the ship was stocked with various services for supply and maintenance as well as equipment and potions, the players were even more pleased. This meant that there was now a convenience store right beside them.

The happiest group was actually the club players. Because they were filthy rich, the services that Black Star provided could allow them to flexibly adjust their tactics without the need to run to other planets to prepare their supplies. This saved them a lot of time.

Having Han Xiao spectate the event would naturally not be suspicious to the players. As long as he did not move toward that topic, nobody would think about the strangeness of this whole affair.

No matter how low the possibility of a player suspecting him as an NPC, even if someone really found out, it was useless. For him to have gone through so much from the start, if there were problems, they would have popped up long ago. As long as he did not interfere in the Pro League, maintaining his distance, there was no need to panic.

Three days later, the highly anticipated Second Pro League officially began!

The first stage was naturally the qualifiers. This could be considered a side dish before the main course. Directed by the league staff, the numerous contestants formed teams to undergo an elimination process and obtain the qualifications to enter the formal round.

Because the venue was much larger compared to the First Pro League, the time taken for the qualifiers had been greatly shortened.

On the forums, the officials released the highlights of the qualifiers for each division. Any Second Pro League content was thoroughly analyzed, and anything not related to the Pro League was lost in the sea of posts.

The players of every country were discussing the giants, seeded players as well as potential dark horses.

On the Chinese board, the main teams of the four giants had direct team entry for the regular season and did not need to participate in the qualifiers. The teams that received the most attention were the front-line teams such as Thunder Storm, Fanatics, and so on.

Frenzied Sword’s Rivervale also caught the eyes of many. Eliminating team after team, they blazed through the qualifiers.

In the Singles, King Admiral, Frenzied Sword, and the others who had fought and entered the International competition also had the right to skip the qualifiers, sparing themselves from the intense competition.

Unlike the team qualifiers, because the Singles was open to all, the majority of players wanted to have a go at it. Thus, the number of players in that event was the highest, practically the entire gaming community.

Compared to Version 1.0, the strength of the players was now much stronger, giving rise to various genres and fighting styles, as well as tricks. The scenes were more intense, full of lights and stars as different abilities were used, making everyone who looked at it dizzy.

Since entering the galaxy, the players had also begun to come into contact with the Mage and Psychic classes. A number of newcomers, as well as old players who were playing on new accounts, had chosen those two classes. All the competition divisions had the same five professions for Supers, but the ratio was different. For the Professions that had only popped out in Version 2.0, the proportion of players were naturally the least.

However, compared to his previous lifetime, the situation had changed. Originally, the proportion of players in the Mechanic class had been the second lowest, ranked even behind the Mage class. However, the number of players with the Mechanic profession was the second highest, only losing out to the Pugilist class.

This was because Han Xiao had swayed a lot of players to the class advancement of a Mechanic back in Version 1.0.

The other point that Han Xiao noted was that the players in China had a stronger average strength, surpassing that of his past life. Because he had allowed Planet Aquamarine to enter the galaxy a couple of years earlier than the rest, be it experience, money, or combat capability, the region of Shattered Star Ring had more advantages compared to his past life. Rich resources had allowed for better support for various combat capability and tactics, and any half-decent battle teams had standards that were well above the norm.

The Second Pro League event was unprecedented, as the entire planet was used as a battlefield. The qualifiers and divisional battles proceeded quickly, and with the schedule being shorter than the first Pro League, the feeling was more intense.

In ten days, the qualifiers finally came to an end, and the season roster of each division was released.

The lists released in the other regions were not much different compared to the previous season, but in the Shattered Star Ring, the season roster had undergone a significant change. While the strong teams were still in the running as with the previous season, there were large changes seen in the lower rungs, with many new teams and players surfacing.

One of them that made Han Xiao feel a little surprised was Maple Moon, who was only supposed to take part from the Third Pro League onward. Not only did she participate in this season, she had even entered the roster of Top 64 places in the Singles tournament, making her one of the dark horses.

Han Xiao had watched the video channel of Maple Moon. She was usually grouped together with Frenzied Sword and Hao Tian, and their standards rose extremely quickly as a result. Whatever Enaus they earned would be spent immediately. She had possessed the potential to go Pro from the beginning, or else she could not have become so famous in his past life.

However, compared to his previous life, Maple Moon’s standard was still a distance from her peak. The main reason she had managed to enter the Singles ranking was because she had bought the blueprint of the Void Dragon Mechanical suit from Han Xiao and created her own poorer version of it. Only in the Third Pro League would the Mechanic profession begin to display its version advantages and rise to power. Right now, the Mechanic class was neither strong nor weak, and equipped with a mechanical suit that was considered god-like in this Version, while she could not crush everyone, Maple Moon could afford to make more mistakes.

As the saying went, every version would have a generation of gods. The Mechanic profession in Version 2.0 was not strong enough, but with the great tutor Han Xiao, the players who chose the Mechanic profession had cut off a lot of dead ends. At least within the Shattered Star Ring, the disadvantages of a Mechanic were not so obvious.

Within the Singles list, there were at least ten more players in the Mechanic class than in his past life. In the area of team battles, the Mechanic class was also an important team member required for every team.

Han Xiao had made quite the killing in the qualifiers. The machinery went without saying, as most of the players were using Black Star’s equipment. The sales for the Genetic Medicine also increased, with the clubs buying them in large quantities since they could provide a sudden edge in battle. If not for the abundance of stock, it was likely that the clubs would have bought all the Genetic Medicine that Han Xiao had in stock.

Taking advantage of the Pro League to earn a quick buck, the sum of Han Xiao’s bank deposit broke through his short-term goal.

With the qualifiers over, the main course was about to arrive.

The impact of Han Xiao’s recent large-scale operation still lingered, with the various organizations observing the every move of the Black Star Army.

The scene of large numbers of ‘Black Star Mercenaries’ gathering on a random planet for a competition gathered the attention of many of the organizations, which made them start to guess the intentions of Han Xiao.

When a few of the Mercenary Groups learned of this news, envy filled their expressions. This incident indirectly demonstrated the control that Black Star had over his Mercenary Group. Most mercenaries had no loyalty or bonds to speak of, but Black Star had thousands of these ‘comrades’. Not only were they cohesive, they were also willing to follow Black Star’s orders to act in unison without him having to spend a single cent. This was more reliable than those freelance mercenaries that most groups hired.

Many of the organizations believed that Black Star had what it took to transform from a mercenary group into a proper armed organization in the future.

Because the incident had added a lot of helpers to Section Zero, the Black Star Army’s name had entered the sight of the upper echelons in the Purple Crystal Civilization, and they looked favorably upon the Black Star Army.

Currently, Han Xiao only required a few hundred more faction favorability points to reach the Respect tier.

This time’s situation also attracted the attention of the Purple Crystal Civilization.

“Black Star has gathered more than eighty percent of his mercenaries on the planet to battle with each other. What is he doing?”

In the office of Section Zero, many of the foreign affairs officers were discussing this matter.

Ralph rapped on the table as he confidently smiled.

“There’s only one explanation. Training. Black Star’s training his soldiers!”

The eyes of everyone present lit up as they began to nod and praise him.

Ralph was full of smiles. In his mind, the Black Star Army was undergoing mock battles to simulate an actual battlefield.

“What a reliable ally.” Ralph could not help but sigh.

Chapter 647 - Advanced Strengthened Life

The Regulars were exciting as expected, and the competition was intense.

Han Xiao’s fleet remained on the host planet. In his free time, he watched the broadcast on the forums. Other than that, he sold all sorts of potions and built some machines.

Among the nine divisions, the Shattered Star Ring Division was the most exciting. The Black Star Army’s diverse range of machines provided the Chinese teams with many creative strategies such as group self-detonation with the nuclear flying backpacks. Those who used this strategy were clearly aware that they would not be able to qualify for the next round, so they decided to have some fun.

Compared to the competitions in the other divisions, the fights between the Chinese teams were more suspenseful. The Genetic Medicine that Han Xiao was selling added more uncertainties to these fights. Comebacks had already happened many times.

Near the end of the Regulars, the qualified teams for the finals in the various divisions were basically decided. To Han Xiao’s surprise, Frenzied Sword’s Rivervale team climbed as high as second on the point-based scoreboard, right below Dynasty, which almost won every single fight.

For Frenzied Sword, who was leading a team for the first time, this was outstanding. In fact, Rivervale was not very strong in direct battles, but it was like God was helping them in the new mode, Survival. They were able to be the last team standing many times. This gave them a lot of points. Hence, they rocketed to second place in the later stages.

The eight teams that qualified for the Shattered Star Ring Division Finals arranged in descending order were Dynasty, Rivervale, Long Sky, Thunder Storm, Thunder Storm, Fried Eggplants With Fish, Fanatics, and Nine Gates.

As for the Singles, King Admiral, Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, Li Ge, and the other strong players all got into the top 16. Maple Moon was 38th place.

Despite not being able to qualify, her performance was quite good and attracted some fans. Although she did not achieve the results that she obtained in the third season in Han Xiao’s previous life, she gained some fame in advance. Quite a number of teams wanted to sign her into their training program.

The Division Regulars ended. The Division Finals would start after some resting time. As the schedule was tighter than the previous season, it would not be a long rest.

During that, the top teams from the nine divisions and the champions in the Singles took part in the International All-Stars and put on a show for the audience.

On the forums, the Chinese players commented that they could not wait to see Dynasty’s battle with strong teams with other countries. The champion of the previous season, Tulips, was the champion in their division. As the first runner up in the previous season, Dynasty had the opportunity to fight with the previous champion. Although it was just a performance, countless Chinese players still hoped that Dynasty could win.

Before the International All-Stars started, Han Xiao received some good news.

During this time of the Pro League for the players, the Star Beast Organization finally gathered all the rare materials Han Xiao had requested and sent them to Han Xiao from far away.

In the flagship’s hall, the Star Beast Organization member delivered an alloy box and said in a respectful tone, “Your Excellency Black Star, the goods you wanted have been delivered. Leader Gobili sends his regards.”

“Okay, thank him for me. We will have many opportunities to work together in the future.”

Han Xiao nodded and sent him away. He then took the box to his training room.

After closing the door, Han Xiao opened the box. Cold air flew out and obstructed his view. After it slightly dissipated, Han Xiao saw ten tubes of liquids inside with various colors. Some had multiple colors, some were transparent, and some were deep blue. These were all potions extracted from the essence of rare galactical creatures related to the Void Race in some way.

Injecting biological medicines had the risks of causing mutation. The most direct effect of it would be a decrease in attributes. The lower the compatibility, the higher the chances for a mutation to occur. To lower the risks, the creatures Han Xiao listed all had the Void bloodline. Han Xiao was one of the Void Race himself, so the high compatibility would hardly lead to any mutation.

Void creatures were difficult to find. It had taken the Star Beast Organization quite a lot of effort to obtain all of that.

Han Xiao took out the Injector and injected them into his body one after another. He always rested a while in between each tube to ensure that everything was fine before injecting the next tube.

The first few tubes gave him a few more points in attributes, but the effect was getting weaker. When he was at the sixth tube, it did not give him any attributes anymore. The last time his talent leveled up also happened when he continued injecting after he stopped getting bonus attributes.

As Han Xiao injected the last tube, a notification finally popped up on the interface.

Your talent (Intermediate Strengthened Life) has upgraded.

Upgrade complete, original talent changed to [Advanced Strengthened Life).

Advanced Strengthened Life: Provides extra health based on Endurance on a scale of 1:60, +25 Resistance, +10% all attributes temporarily for every 40% health lost.

“Finally, this talent is upgraded.”

Han Xiao had a joyful expression on his face.

Before the upgrade, the ratio of Endurance to health was 1:30, but it was now 1:60. There was also the effect of getting a ten percent bonus in all attributes temporarily for every forty percent health lost.

“I have two talents that can exchange between mana and health, which makes my health recovery extremely fast. If every forty percent of my health lost triggers a new effect, this means that the longer the battle is, the stronger I will become.”

Harmon had a similar ability, and he had seen its power with his own eyes.

“The only problem is… I’m too tanky. It will take too long to reduce my health by forty percent.”

Han Xiao opened the interface and looked at his health.

(Health: 117,910)

“Hehe, finally, my health is more than a hundred thousand. Even if the Vanguard Officials of the Bloodshed Land fight me all at once, I will be able to tire them out easily. When the secret war starts, I’ve got to find them to have some fun.”

Han Xiao chuckled.

He was so tanky that instead of being called a Mechanic, he might as well be called a Musclechanic.

At the center of the known universe was the base Star Fields of the three Universal Civilizations, which formed a triangle. These were the most advanced and bustling Star Fields in the entire galaxy. This place was called the Central Galaxy. It was the universe center of the strong, the powerful, and the rich.

The Abyss of Stars was one of the three Star Fields in the Central Galaxy, the core territory of the Federation of Light.

In this Star Field, there were some known forbidden areas.

The Shadow Realm was one of them.

This was a manually modified planet, and beside it was an eerie black satellite. There was no land, no seas-it was as if this was a gaseous planet formed by some sort of black gas.

The Shadow Realm was a forbidden place in the Abyss of Stars because this was the territory of a Beyond Grade A [Thousand Shadows).

Just like the Shattered Star Ring, there were also Beyond Grade As in the Abyss Of Stars. In fact, there were more than four of them. Between the Beyond Grade As in the Abyss of Stars, Thousand Shadows was known to be an outcast.

No one knew his name; no one had seen his real face. Every traveler who stepped into the Shadow Realm had disappeared without a trace. This gave Thousand Shadows an aura of mystery and danger. People could only know about him through parts of legends.

These legends could be traced back to as early as the end of the exploration era, meaning there were records of Thousand Shadows dating back to thousands of years ago.

There was a city in the Shadow Realm, comprising many buildings and a lot of bases. Countless spaceships were docked there. However, strangely, there was almost no one there. It was deadly silent.

A man sprinted down the completely empty street. His footsteps and the sound of wind were among the only sounds in this city.

There was a tall tower-shaped palace in the middle of the city. This man ran into the open door of the palace, through the deadly silent corridor, past the spiral staircase, and arrived at the top of the palace.

This was a room, a very wide and spacious room. At the end of the room was a wall embedded with a circular black mirror. The man came before the mirror, and the pitch black and smooth mirror reflected the man’s face. He had an ordinary look, except his eyes were pure white like two white crystals.

The man stared at the mirror and softly spoke.

“Your Excellency Thousand Shadows, I did not intend to disturb your rest. Some things have happened; Albert has failed. The team in the Shattered Star Ring was wiped out. Their prey was rescued. We need your guidance.”

Then, the man patiently waited for a reply. After a while, the mirror suddenly started rippling. An indescribably eerie voice appeared. It was ethereal and husky, like the murmur of a higher dimensional being.

“The others?”

“The teams capturing prey in other Star Fields have not met any trouble. Everything is normal.”

“The new shadows… Will convey my message…”

The next second, the black satellite in outer space suddenly launched a thin, long beam, heading right to the Shadow Realm and accurately landing at the top of the palace. It was like a bridge that connected them.

Swoosh!

A rippling sound came from the black mirror. The next moment, ten black shadows walked out of the mirror one after another like walking into reality from the world inside the mirror. These shadows were all completely pitch black. Tiny black dust made from an unknown material was dissipating from them and vaporizing in the air. The shapes of these shadows were gradually changing. New limbs kept growing out and disappearing.

Within a few seconds, the ten shadows finally stopped changing shapes. The black color on their bodies rapidly disappeared, and they turned into ten beings of different races. There were some that looked like humans and some that did not. Their faces and body shapes were all different, too. It was like they were all individual beings.

The leader was a beautiful, naked woman. Her eyes were closed. She took a deep breath. As if the air she inhaled had awoken her bodily functions, only then did she slowly open her eyes. Her blank, lifeless eyes started to look lively and intelligent. She did a stretch and moaned.

“How long was I asleep? I seem to have forgotten many things…” The woman raised her eyebrows and seemed to be trying to recall something. “My name is… Stephanie?”

The man at the side was used to this. He bowed and said, “Hello Stephanie, what orders does His Excellency Thousand Shadows have?”

Thousand Shadows? Stephanie felt a sense of belonging to this name, and a lot of memories started appearing in her head. Without hesitation, she said, “He told us to continue Albert’s mission and capture the targets on the list, bringing the escaped prey back.”

The man nodded and said, “Okay, the ten of you will be the new team in the Shattered Star Ring. Follow me to get your equipment. Rest for a while and get going. Remember what happened to Albert. You have to be stealthier when carrying out the mission.”

“I’ll do my best,” Stephanie replied.

Chapter 648 - Divisions

The schedule for the International All-Stars was released. The first match was already very excitingthe fight between the champion and the first runner-up of the previous season-Tulips vs. Dynasty.

The event organizers clearly knew that this would bring more attention to the All-Stars event, so they heavily promoted this match. In all the pro competitions, inviting the champion and the first runner-up of the previous season as the opening match of the All-Stars was a kind of tradition.

This was highly effective. This opening match was extremely popular, especially among the Chinese viewers. Being first runners-up was an achievement, but it was also regretful. They hoped to see Dynasty’s victory over Tulips and start off this season with a blast.

Not just the spectators, but all the teams that intended to enter the Internationals were paying attention to this opening match, wanting to learn more about Dynasty and Tulips. When the time came for them to face one of these strong teams, they could at least be somewhat prepared.

Han Xiao was paying attention to this match as well. After all, Dynasty’s guild had bulk purchased hundreds of Ability Potions from him. He had to observe the effects they would bring and think about after-sales services.

Like the previous season, the store would sell a specific Gathering Crystal to bring the attending players into the same virtual environment for the match. It would be broadcast officially as well as by the Galaxy Times.

A few days before the match, the Galaxy Times interviewed both the Tulips team and the Dynasty team, asking about what they thought of this match.

Tulips’ captain, Lost Angel, was extremely confident and said that they would definitely win this match, protect their honor as the champions of the previous season, and so on. As they were the previous season champions, most of the spectators naturally had higher hopes for Tulips.

As for Dynasty, King Admiral did not know the meaning of the word ‘humble’. He directly said for Tulips to wash themselves up and wait for him to wipe the floor with them. Of course, those were not his original words, but that was what he meant.

In this situation, the Chinese supporters did not want to see Dynasty being humble—this confidence boosted their morale much more. They all showed their support on the forums. After all, Dynasty had looked almost undefeatable throughout the Division Regulars. The Chinese players had very high hopes for Dynasty. The last thing they wanted to see was Dynasty doing what the Temple of Gods had done the previous season.

The various professionals analyzed the match before it started. Most of them felt that Tulips was slightly stronger-even the official host of the event thought so. They placed Dynasty in the challenger’s position.

Galaxy Times did a conclusive report.

“King Admiral and Lost Angel have both made their victory announcement. Indeed, both of them have the potential to win. They will definitely have an exciting and unpredictable battle that will stay suspenseful until the very last moment. Let’s look forward to who will be the final winner.”

The day of the opening match soon came.

Countless players swarmed into the live broadcast channel. Other than the official channel, there was also the Galaxy Times’ channel, which invited guests to watch the match together. Many viewers chuckled upon seeing the guest list of the Chinese version Galaxy Times—Bun-Hit-Dog was in it.

Bun-Hit-Dog’s video career was blooming. He had finally turned himself into someone famous and now had both fans and haters. Him mixing with the other guests who were all pro players looked quite entertaining

The two teams had entered the match venue with their Gathering Crystals long ago. Led by the host, King Admiral and Lost Angel both did a short interview on the scene before going to make preparations.

While waiting, the commentators and guests speculated and started chit-chatting.

The female commentator of the Chinese version Galaxy Times said to the guests, “The match is about to start soon. How about you guys try to predict the result and tell us which team you think is more likely to win. Oh, and please do tell us the reason for your choice.”

The replies of the guests were all similar. They all said Tulips was strong, but they felt that Dynasty had a higher chance of winning. They then went on to give plenty of logical reasons for their choice. Mainly, it was just because they did not dare support the opponent in front of the Chinese viewers.

That was all except for Bun-Hit-Dog, who was not like the others. His position was extremely firm and without hesitation.

“I support Tulips; the French team will win!”

The guests were all surprised.

The commentator could not help but ask, “Are you sure? Why?”

“Well, it’s a little difficult to explain…” With a serious face and tone, Bun-Hit-Dog said, “Have you ever heard of reverse psychology?”

The commentator was speechless. He had thought that Bun-Hit-Dog had lost his mind, but it turned out that he was just joking.

After Bun-Hit-Dog explained, the comments finally turned from all question marks into countless ‘The French will win’ comments.

After the commentators and guests joked around and chatted for a while, the match officially started. The relaxing atmosphere instantly became intense. The viewers all focused on the match.

The first match was a team match. The broadcasting view followed both teams at all times. Han Xiao was mainly looking at Dynasty.

The venue was random, and it was a rather complicated terrain. After Dynasty entered, they did not hastily look for the enemies but took out one mechanical item after another.

The commentator spoke at a suitable time. “Dynasty has chosen the steady strategy. They’ve used mechanical items to create an advantageous situation for them. One thing I should mention is that the items Dynasty is using are all Black Star series machines. The Black Star Army has a full set of machinery products. This has given the teams in the Shattered Star Ring division an advantage in designing their strategies. Comparatively, team Tulips does not have this advantage.”

Bun-Hit-Dog nodded and added, “Definitely. According to my investigations, the players in the other divisions lack methods of obtaining set equipment as easily as the Black Star Army. Although the pro players are still able to gather a full set of top-notch equipment, this will have taken them more time.”

As soon as the Black Star Army was mentioned, the Chinese players were like on steroids. The comments were filled with ‘Black Star is awesome’, ‘Notice me, captain’, ‘Dragon Emperor licker here’, and so on.

When the Black Star Army was mentioned in an international event such as this, the Shattered Star Ring players became extremely exhilarated. The Black Star Army was the bridge that connected the many players in the Shattered Star Ring—it had become their shared language.

Han Xiao was rather surprised. He had not been mentally prepared for the sudden mention. He suddenly had a strange feeling of ‘Wherever I’m not, my legends are’.

The match continued. The two teams moved on the map and finally discovered each other. They quickly approached each other.

The viewers immediately grew nervous. They held their breath and waited for the intense clash between two strong teams they had expected…

However, dreams and reality are often very different. The actual situation was far from what they thought it would be.

There was no intense battle between two similarly strong teams—Dynasty thrashed Tulips from the beginning to the end, beating them up and ending with an overwhelming victory.

The commentators and guests were at a loss of words. The Chinese viewers were beyond exhilarated. On the other hand, the viewers of the other countries were stunned. Most did not support either of the teams, but they did look forward to an intense battle. To their surprise, the champion of the previous season was overwhelmingly and easily defeated.

The Duel that followed ended with Dynasty’s complete victory as well.

The official casters and judges were all stupefied. The host wanted to make the opening match an exciting battle between two extremely strong and skilled teams. This was also why they had invited the champion and the first runner-up of the previous season. To their absolute shock, Tulips had been easily crushed by Dynasty.

It was Dynasty’s complete, one-sided victory. The comments went crazy, and the Chinese spectators were overjoyed.

Han Xiao was not surprised by this result at all. In his previous life, Tulips had also been the champion of the first season, but they had become a normal, stronger than average team in the second season and almost did not even make it to the International top

As for Dynasty, they were much stronger than the previous season. To Han Xiao, this result was very normal.

Although Tulips was the champion of the previous season, the French lacked a special advantage that the Chinese players had—there were too few hateful comments!

Unlike the Chinese players who had been fighting in such a harsh environment, they had no pressure. The Chinese players were always motivated to become better so that they would not get so many hateful comments. However, Tulips became relaxed after winning the championship.

In the same opening match in his previous life, the two teams had been Tulips and the American team Devil, where Tulips was also demolished by Devil. Now that Dynasty had taken over Devil’s place in the first season, the one that demolished Tulips became them.

After the opening match ended, the various professionals all changed their minds and started praising Dynasty as they usually would, praising the winner after the match.

The teams of the other countries all saw Dynasty as the strongest competitor and focused on studying the match recordings, trying to design better strategies.

Dynasty’s victory was sensational and received a lot of attention. Their fame surpassed that of the other three clubs very quickly. The Chinese supporters all cheered for them and almost saw them as their main team. With their excitement and joy also came their very high hopes.

The majority of the players in team Dynasty were somewhat nervous.

As members of one of the biggest clubs, they knew full well that this situation was a double-edged sword. Of course, if they kept winning, they would surpass everyone else and almost become god players.

However, once they lost, the mistakes of every single one of them would be indefinitely enlarged, and they would be drowned by the hateful comments. The more attention they got, the more pressure they would receive. King Admiral was the only one unaffected by this at all.

After the opening match, the International All-Stars officially commenced. The strong teams fought each other in entertaining ways to kick off the International Regulars.

The champions of all nine divisions showcased their skills and displayed their strength.

The schedule for this season was very tight. The end of the All-Stars was followed by only a few days of rest before the Division Finals started.

In the Shattered Star Ring Division, the eight teams were split into four pairs based on their ranking: Dynasty vs. Nine Gates, Rivervale vs. Fanatics, Long Sky vs. Fried Eggplants With Fish, and Temple of Gods vs. Thunder Storm. The format was best of five.

The most interesting pair was Long Sky vs. Fried Eggplants With Fish—the two biggest clubs met in the first round. As only the top four could qualify for the International Regulars, this meant that one of them would not be able to qualify.

In the previous season, Fried Eggplants With Fish had not been able to enter the International Regulars. This time, their morale was extremely high, and they had sworn to defeat Long Sky in order to qualify.

Sadly, Long Sky still won. Fried Eggplants With Fish did not qualify once again and went to the corner to draw voodoo circles.

Very soon, the first round of the Division Finals had ended. As expected, Dynasty defeated Nine Gates and kept their momentum.

Rivervale had a close, intense battle with Fanatics. At the match point of 2:2, Frenzied Sword and Evil Sword surged at a crucial moment and barely defeated team Fanatics, led by Yan Ran. Rivervale entered the top four.

The result of Temple of Gods vs. Thunder Storm, however, was very unexpected. Rainy Kim wiped the floor with Li Ge, eliminating Temple of Gods with a score of 3:1 and entering the top 4. Temple of Gods joined Fried Eggplants With Fish in drawing voodoo circles in the corner.

The top 4 was determined—Dynasty, Long Sky, Rivervale, and Thunder Storm. The result was quite surprising for many viewers. Two of the biggest clubs could not qualify for the International Regulars.

The top 4 teams were already qualified for the International Regulars. Next was the fight to be the Divisions champion. This was an honorable achievement as well.

The second draw made Han Xiao suspect that Frenzied Sword had touched Feidin beforehand as well. The two biggest clubs were due to face off against each other, Dynasty vs. Long Sky, whereas Rivervale had drawn the comparatively weaker Thunder Storm.

Frenzied Sword had only started to lead a team this season. Originally, team Rivervale was just a second-tier or even third-tier team, yet they qualified for the International Regulars. They were definitely a dark horse and attracted a lot of attention.

As a Mechanical Pugilist, Frenzied Sword’s style was diverse, mature, and steady. He was much more famous compared to the previous season. He had started to make a name for himself in the pro scene.

Due to Han Xiao, Frenzied Sword had chosen a different class from his previous life. However, based on his current situation, his pro career was much smoother.

Chapter 649 - Group Taunt

After a few days, the result of the second round of the Division Finals was decided. Dynasty defeated Long Sky steadily, and Rivervale barely beat Thunder Storm. Dynasty met Rivervale in the last round for the championship.

Frenzied Sword could not carry on his luck from before; their raw skill difference was too vast, and he could not lead Rivervale to victory. In the end, they finished first runners-up, and Dynasty were once again the Divisions champions.

King Admiral had made the announcement before the competition started that they would finish both Divisions champions and International champions. They had already achieved one of them. Dynasty continued to attract more attention as time went on; countless players hoped that Dynasty could really live up to their words.

To Frenzied Sword, getting the first runner-up the first time he led a team was satisfying enough. His team still had a lot of room to improve and practice their teamwork. Rivervale was certainly the dark horse of this season, and they obtained a lot of new fans.

Long Sky defeated Thunder Storm and got the Divisions second runner-up. If not because they had met Dynasty in the second round, Hao Tian’s team would have been the first runners-up of the Divisions.

The results of the various divisions were decided, and the Divisions ended. There were more than ten days to rest before the International Regulars.

There were no more matches in the various divisions. The Internationals could not be viewed at the scene and only watched on the broadcast. Hence, the players did not remain on the planets used for the Divisions and went to do their own stuff while paying close attention to the forums.

Due to the Divisions, countless players did not do any mission during this time. Only more than a hundred thousand mercenaries in the Black Star Army and very few players were still taking on missions. However, although the business was neglected, not only did Han Xiao not make a loss, but he made a humongous amount of profit instead.

Most of the Ability Potions were sold. The business of selling machines and repairing equipment was also quite profitable. Han Xiao had made many tens of millions of Enaus, almost doubling his bank account while emptying the wallets of many players.

With this money, he could purchase more fleets and recruit more freelance mercenaries. During the version update when he would not have the help of the close to a million players, he would have to rely on the money that he had earned from them to develop himself. Ten years was not a short period of time—the more money he could make before that, the merrier.

After the players left, Han Xiao returned to Base No.1 and sent out a message to recruit people from all around the Star Cluster. He started to prepare for the secret war that was about to break out between Klent and Purple Crystal. His current focus was to get more Favorability from Purple Crystal and obtain the Cutting-Edge Knowledge. Before he obtained the Cutting-Edge Knowledge from the Purple Crystal Civilization, he was not planning to personally take on any other missions.

However, Han Xiao received a mission that he could not reject-it was a message from the Sky Ring Army.

One mercenary team from Sky Ring encountered dangers that they could not resolve during their mission. The initial mission was an ordinary mission to deal with the rebellion on a planet. According to the employer’s explanation, the strongest person among the enemies was just Grade B. However, a Calamity Grade enemy appeared. The Black Star Army was the nearest ally that Sky Ring had, so this team could only request emergency reinforcements from Black Star.

Black Star had become one of the top mercenary groups long ago, but he still maintained his partnership with large mercenary groups such as Sky Ring. Usually, Han Xiao would definitely help them himself since it would not be too much trouble, but this time, he did not want to go there himself. Hence, he called Lagi over.

Ever since he joined the Black Star Army, the previously unoccupied Magic Research Lab had become Lagi’s territory. He spent every day there doing research and studying. Using his words, he was ‘doing meaningless things to make time pass faster while waiting for himself to rot and grow old.’

However, despite being extremely pessimistic and negative, his raw skills were too high. He improved the magic aspect of the Black Star Army single-handedly. At the very least, a Grade A Mage’s enchantment effect was far superior to a Grade B’s. Han Xiao had already gotten Lagi to re-enchant his mechanical suits and weapons, which considerably increased their stats while adding many special effects.

Han Xiao planned to send Lagi to do this mission. No matter what, he was the only Calamity Grade officer, and he had to at least take on some responsibility.

With Lagi, the Black Star Army could deal with Calamity Grade missions even without Han Xiao. He did not have to do everything himself anymore.

Sylvia brought Lagi to Han Xiao’s room, and Han Xiao cut to the chase. “I have a mission for you.”

“I knew it.” Lagi sighed. “Bad feelings often are proven to be right.”

Han Xiao ignored him and explained, “One of Sky Ring’s team requested reinforcements from us. The enemy is a Calamity Grade. Currently, in the army, you’re the only one that can deal with a Calamity Grade other than myself. As the captain, it’s not suitable for me to settle this kind of low priority matter. Hence, you will be going there to rescue them. This is your first mission. I believe in your strength. You can pick any spaceship from the hangar apart from mine. The information about the target and the coordinates have been sent to you.”

“I have a question.”

“What.”

“Can I not go?”

“Take a guess.”

Lagi tested the waters and asked, “If they are already all dead by the time I arrive, does that mean I don’t have to do the mission anymore?”

Han Xiao squinted and said, “Are you thinking about taking a detour to purposely waste time?”

“I’m exposed…” Lagi had a bitter expression on his face.

Is this person even reliable at all? Veins popped out on Han Xiao’s forehead. He sighed and said, “Quickly get going. I don’t want to see your first mission end with a failure.”

Lagi gave a long sigh. He looked up at the ceiling of the room at forty-five degrees and said, “Sigh, I’m probably going to be killed by the enemy. I never thought sacrificing myself in my first mission would be the end of my life. I want to write down my last words before leaving…”

“Quick-ly-go!”

Lagi left while sighing and shaking his head. Sylvia was trying so hard to hold back her laughter at the side that she was tearing up. Her cheeks were inflated, and she was pressing her mouth with her hands, letting out some suppressed laughter.

“Teacher, where did you dig this treasure out from?”

Han Xiao shot her a glare and said, “He’s just a little pessimistic at most. At least he’s useful and much stronger than you, yet you can still laugh? I told Reynold to supervise you. Have you been learning from him properly? Are you done with your homework?”

“Done long ago!” Sylvia’s expression instantly collapsed. She snorted unhappily, swung her ponytail, and left angrily.

Han Xiao curled his lips.

There were many officers in the Black Star Army. In Han Xiao’s eyes, the ones that had the potential to reach Grade A were only Herlous, Aroshia, Feidin, Sylvia, Harmon, Reynold, and Hila and Aurora, who were training under Ames. Reynold was currently the closest to Grade A, and Sylvia was the furthest.

Sylvia had achieved Grade A in his previous life, so Han Xiao always had high and strict requirements for her.

During the rest time, all the qualified teams from the various countries were announcing the status of their training every day.

Although Temple of Gods did not qualify, Li Ge was very smart—he volunteered for his team to help in the training for the top four teams in the Divisions, helping them in their conditioning before the Internationals. This got him some attention, and his reputation slowly recovered. The other strong teams saw this and did the same thing.

Coincidentally, in the eyes of the fans, this situation became the Chinese teams uniting due to their strong sense of collective honor. They had let go of their disagreements in the past and were helping their opponents, all so that the Chinese would become the world champions. Therefore, the Chinese players became even more passionate and excited.

Before the Internationals started, the reporters interviewed all the qualified teams. The teams from America, Sweden, Japan, and Korea all declared they would be the champions. Due to Dynasty’s outstanding performance during the All-Stars match, the reporters mentioned Dynasty specifically and considered them candidates for the top spot. The reporters asked these teams if they had the confidence in beating Dynasty. All of them announced that they would defeat Dynasty with confidence.

The break quickly passed. The International Regulars that the audiences from all around the world were looking forward to arrived.

The thirty-six teams from nine divisions all entered the venue. The venue was an arena even bigger than the previous season. As usual, the first day was the opening ceremony and the drawing of lots to determine the groups.

There were still three groups-A, B, and C. The teams would fight every other team in the group once, and the top eight teams with the highest points would qualify for the International Finals.

Long Sky entered Group A, Dynasty and Rivervale entered Group B, and Thunder Storm entered Group C. The stronger and comparatively weaker teams were rather evenly spread out through the three groups, unlike the previous season where the skill differences between groups were enormous. This time, there was no ‘weak group’ or ‘group of death’. This meant that there would be almost no luck involved-one could only enter the finals through actual skills.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, China had only reached the top four in the second season. This time, both Dynasty and Long Sky had a chance of becoming the champion. Han Xiao was quite curious about what the Chinese teams could achieve this season under his influence.

The International Regulars officially commenced. The fans from the various countries cheered for their favorite teams passionately. It was boisterous and full of life.

When the competition arrived at the mid-stage, the situation started to get clearer. The spectators had a rough idea of which teams were stronger.

Dynasty maintained their momentum and stayed at the top, second was Sweden’s Tomahawk, and America’s Devil followed.

Long Sky was fifth. Hao Tian seemed to have been holding back during the Divisions and only went full out at the Internationals. They showed the skills of a champion worthy team.

Both Thunder Storm and Rivervale were in the upper half of the list and stayed competitive. The average strength of the Chinese teams was very high, so the Chinese fans were very surprised and excited.

To the Chinese players, the Internationals were going extremely well. Dynasty and Long Sky both had the ability to qualify, while Rivervale and Thunder Storm seemed to have a chance of entering the top eight.

However, in the second half of the competition, something controversial and upsetting happened.

In the Survival matches that involved four teams, Dynasty repeatedly faced the situation where the other teams cooperated to eliminate them first. They were unable to get any points from the Survival matches, which resulted in their top position to get shaky, even starting to show signs of being surpassed by Tomahawk and Devil.

Originally, it was almost certain that Dynasty would have the most points in the end, but now it seemed to be slipping away right through their fingers. The Chinese supporters were furious. Countless Chinese viewers strongly and blatantly expressed their rage and contempt toward the teams that worked together on the various forums.

Posting hateful online comments was a basic ability of the Chinese players. The Mandarin language is deep and has a history of close to 5,000 years. Every player had experienced countless bloody verbal battles. In this environment, not to blow one’s own trumpet, but in terms of cursing and hateful comments, the Chinese were superior compared to all other countries.

The forums became another battlefield. The fans of the other teams wanted to protect their team’s reputation and argued that since the Survival mode was a scrimmage, working together was a sensible, logical strategy.

However, to the Chinese players, logic was as useful as farts, not to mention they were the victims in this situation. Their merciless and relentless cursing and toxic comments defeated the enemies and forced them to retreat.

This nonsense cracked Han Xiao up. He loved to see his countrymen curse; it could always give him a full day of joy.

Actually, it was not unreasonable for the other teams to work together in Survival. They were not doing it because of Dynasty’s results but because Dynasty was too strong. If they did not work together, Dynasty would most likely be the final winner.

Dynasty was not worried about qualifying with their current points, but the other teams had to fight for the top eight positions and needed those points. Hence, eliminating Dynasty first was indeed a sensible and reliable strategy.

This online argument affected the organizers, who told Dynasty to say a few words in order to end all this nonsense. However, not only did King Admiral’s reply not extinguish the players’ passion, it poured another gallon of gasoline onto the flames instead.

“No big deal, one who’s not envied isn’t talented. No matter how they work together to fight me, the only difference it will make is what ranking we will qualify with. When it comes to the finals, I will teach them the meaning of life one by one!”

King Admiral directly taunted everyone. The Chinese players were so exhilarated that they hoped the finals would start now so that they could watch Dynasty thrash every opponent.

Han Xiao got goosebumps.

To provoke all those people at once, Dynasty was really not afraid of dying at all!

However… it did make things much more interesting.

Chapter 650 - Milestone

The top six places were practically solidified, and Dynasty as well as Long Sky had locked in their qualifications in the regulars. In the second half of the International Regulars, although the Dynasty team had encountered a siege in the Survival battle, they maintained unparalleled momentum during the team and ring battles. They secured first place, not allowing any of the following teams to overtake them.

The competition for the seventh and eighth place was the fiercest. Because the gap between seventh to thirteenth was miniscule, with only the last few matches left, there were seven teams with the opportunity to qualify. Rivervale was one of them, and as for Thunder Storm, it was a pity that they could not. While Rainy Kim was beautiful, the value of esports did not lie in one’s appearance. She could not support her team with her skills alone, so they missed out on the chance to qualify.

Frenzied Sword and Evil Sword became the Captain and Vice Captain respectively. With their potential stimulated after so many battles, their cooperation had become more tacit. The fans regarded them as the symbol of the Rivervale team, calling them ‘Two swords combine as one’.

There was only one game left in the regular season. Rivervale was tenth, only a few points away from eighth. This last game was their last hope of qualifying.

The team in eighth place was Hydra from Japan. Surprisingly. Hydra’s opponents for their last game was Long Sky, whereas Rivervale would face off against Team Kimchi from South Korea.

In one of the rooms within the Black Star Base No.1, the Rivervale members were called over by Frenzied Sword for a meeting, analyzing the situation.

Frenzied Sword knocked on the table with a serious tone. “Long Sky is ranked fourth whereas Kimchi is ranked sixth. Both are strong teams, and there is no possibility of getting an easy way out. If we want to fill the gap in points between us and Hydra, we need to cut a lot of points from Kimchi and have Hydra tie with Long Sky. Only then will we have a chance to qualify.”

“It’s too harsh! Hydra can be said to be evenly matched with Long Sky, but Kimchi is also a strong team. I’m not even sure if we can win.” Evil Sword shook his head.

“In addition to scoring a victory in the team battle, there is still a way to score a lot of points.” Frenzied Sword slowly spoke. “The duel battle allocates points based on the number of people who are inside, so if Evil and I go beyond our level and slaughter the other side, we’ll be able to rake in a lot of points.”

“It’s true that if we do well in the duel, we’ll be able to pull apart in terms of points lead,” Evil Sword replied, “but… Kimchi cannot be looked down on. Even Dynasty does not dare claim that they can wreck Kimchi totally.”

on.

“This match is our only chance. We must score more points at all costs! I’ve already taken out all the Ability Potions in the warehouse, and we have about sixty-seven potions left. If we cannot get into the finals, there’s no use in them. Thus, we’ll just finish all these potions in this final match and try to get as many points as we can.”

Everyone present felt their spirits being lifted up.

Evil Sword’s eyes glowed. “Leader, are you going to use Black Star’s Character Summon Card too?”

“That’s right. As long as we can enter the finals, we’ll have achieved our goal. There’s no need to wait any longer.” Frenzied Sword nodded in return.

“Then, we might just be able to pierce through Kimchi.” An expression of joy appeared in Evil Sword’s face.

Because there was enough inventory, Han Xiao did not use the Gene Extractor on himself, so the store did not have his Ability Potion. However, right before the Pro League, Frenzied Sword had completed a mission with a high rating and had drawn out a blank Character Summon Card through his random reward.

He had remembered that, during the First Pro League, he had utilized the Character Summon Card [Black Star’s Advent] to completely crush his opponent. Without hesitation, he immediately used his blank Character Summon Card to generate Han Xiao’s Character. This Character Summon Card became his ace in the hole.

At this sort of crucial match, Frenzied Sword decided that it was time to utilize the card.

In this final match, Rivervale had become the focal point for all China audiences. With Dynasty and Long Sky having qualified, if Rivervale could do the same, it would mean that for this year’s International Finals, there would be three teams from the China region. What a proud matter that would be!

In the team battles between Rivervale and Kimchi, the two sides duked it out. However, Kimchi made every effort they could to create a seamless defense, and only by using an Ability Potion did Rivervale finally clinch a miserable victory, obtaining a meagre score.

Many of the China viewers were quite discouraged. With only this paltry score, they practically lost the chance to overtake Hydra.

Not many of the viewers were optimistic about the duels, as only Frenzied Sword and Evil Sword would be battling, whereas the rest of the team would be on the sidelines. Just based off individual strengths, Kimchi had two people who had gotten into the finals for the Singles battle. While Rivervale could win, they probably did not have much chance of obtaining more points.

However, the moment the duels began, Frenzied Sword gave the audience a pleasant surprise while giving the Kimchi team a huge shock.

The moment Frenzied Sword stepped onto the stage, he activated tens of Ability Potions in one go, immediately adding a long list of Buff Statuses to his property panel. His entire body glowed, looking like a warrior of legends.

The commentators had their spirits refreshed. “Oh, it seemed like Frenzied Sword and company are getting desperate, and now the pressure is on team Kimchi!”

Every professional team had their own ace, and the Ability Potions that Han Xiao sold were the aces of most Chinese teams, which had left a huge impression in the Pro League. It gave the other teams tremendous headaches. Due to the randomness of the Ability Potion’s effects, they could not take any sort of measures against them.

However, the time effect for the Ability Potions was limited, and along with the numerous matches, every Chinese team was saving them; one used would be one less. After all, the finals would consist of five rounds, in which three wins were needed.

That being said, it seemed as though Frenzied Sword had thrown the situation of finals away, fighting as though his back was against a cliff. He unleashed a frightening combat capability, punching through two of the opponent’s players.

Team Kimchi knew that there was a time limit to the Ability Potions and only sent out their normal members, dragging the time out to grind down Frenzied Sword’s buffs.

“Team Kimchi has chosen the optimal delaying tactic. While Frenzied Sword has defeated two players, a majority of his Buffs have almost run out. Let’s take a look at the next player Kimchi is sending out… oh! They’ve sent out their ace! It seems like they wish to take the chance to end Frenzied Sword’s streak!”

The third pick from team Kimchi was their team’s ace, which was also one of the players who had entered the International Singles. At this point, Frenzied Sword only had a little more than half of his HP remaining, as well as a third of his Mechanical suit’s armor.

This situation was extremely unfavorable, and a majority of the Chinese players felt their hands slick with sweat as they began to panic.

At this point, Frenzied Sword took a deep breath before activating his only Black Star Character Summon Card.

A translucent figure of Han Xiao appeared behind Frenzied Sword, clad in black with an expressionless face. He had a hand placed on the head of Frenzied Sword.

“Alright, Frenzied Sword has activated yet another new ability. This is… wait a minute, did I see this scenario in the last Pro League?” As the commentator spoke, his eyes bulged open.

When the commentator finished describing the Buff, the spectators were all dumbfounded.

(Advanced Strengthened Life]: Taken from Character Summon Card-Han Xiao.

Increase Health based off the Endurance attribute at the ratio 1:60.

In addition, +25% Resistance, and for every 40% decrease in Health, +10% All Attributes temporarily.

Time limit: 20 minutes.

“F*ck me, this… this is cheating!” The commentator could not help but curse.

The countless viewers were also shocked silly.

The extra Health added was more than his original total Health!

A few of them realized that Frenzied Sword had also utilized Black Star’s Character Summon Card in the previous Pro League.

Black Star again!

Since this Buff came from the Character Summon Card, it meant that this was an ability belonging to Black Star himself. All this time, the Attributes of Black Star had remained a mystery to the players. The players only knew that Black Star was abnormally strong but did not know his specific capabilities.

But right now, Frenzied Sword’s buff revealed the tip of the iceberg of Black Star. However, just this tip was enough to shock the players into silence.

A Mechanic actually has a meat shield-like talentdoesn’t that mean his Mechanic abilities will be even more perverted!

Or is it that the Mechanic profession can actually awaken such a meat shield like talent?

With such a powerful endurance related ability, Frenzied Sword continued to battle on, steamrolling through another three players before being defeated. Evil Sword then burst out, taking down the final opponent with some difficulty.

The points for the duels were calculated based on the difference between the number of people lost on both sides. On Rivervale’s side, only Frenzied Sword had lost, reducing the total number of losses from Kimchi by one. That was the total number of points awarded to Rivervale, and they clinched an overwhelming victory.

Cutting through five with himself, making a name for himself!

Rivervale obtained a large number of points, and them going to the finals would depend on whether Hydra was able to obtain points from Long Sky.

Long Sky did not disappoint the public. They did not hold back at all, beating Hydra up thoroughly and only allowing them to obtain a scarce number of points. Because Hao Tian was close to Frenzied Sword, along with everyone being part of China, he was willing to help Frenzied Sword with this favor.

After the battle, Long Sky obtained overwhelming praise, with the tag of ‘Good Comrade of China’ plastered on them.

Under the gazes of tens of thousands of players, the results of the eight final teams were released!

Dynasty ranked first, Long Sky ranked fourth, and Rivervale managed to squeeze in and knocked Hydra out of the top eight by two points!

Frenzied Sword’s gamble had paid off!

Out of the four Chinese teams, three had made it into the finals. Only China had this sort of result, and the players from the region felt their blood boil as excitement filled their hearts.

Being able to qualify was a surprise, and squeezing out the Japanese team made it all the more gratifying. In this Pro League, none of the Japanese teams were able to get into the finals, and they made a hubbub of noise on the forums.

Han Xiao was also quite surprised by this result. He knew that the standard of the Chinese teams would be better than in the past, but he did not expect it to be so good!

To have three out of the eight slots for the finals, only America had achieved such a result in his previous life. This achievement was also only ever done once, but to think that China had achieved this in the second Pro League!

The players cheered on the forums, but no one foresaw that this was a milestone enough to be carved into the annals of Galaxy’s history!

Han Xiao knew that even after many years, even in the future Versions, there would still be people who would continue to talk about China’s brilliant achievements in this season.

In the finals, they were to fight based off their rankings. The first placed Dynasty would thus be pitted against the eighth placing Rivervale. The players felt this internal rivalry to be a pity, but this was how the rules of the competition went, and they had no way to change it.

“Frenzied Sword’s luck has come to an end. However, to be able to reach the finals is a result to be proud of. For a new battle team, that’s quite the accomplishment.” Han Xiao was quite satisfied. The Chinese teams had performed well, and this was a form of promotion for the Black Star Army.

As for Long Sky in fourth place, they faced Kimchi, who were fifth. The Chinese players did not wish to see an internal battle and thus turned their sights toward the fight with the Korean team.

However, Han Xiao was not interested in the finals. He merely threw a mark on Lagi, continuing to observe his performance.

Although Lagi had mentioned that he would take a detour, reality proved otherwise. He had rushed straight to the mission site and had already reached the place where the Sky Ring Mercenaries had requested assistance.

Chapter 651 - The End of Season Two

In the Fawn Star System, Planet Capelotti was ruled by the Vinstark Civilization, a planet level government under the Black Raven Civilization. The Vinstark race had feathered wings and looked like humans born with the ability to fly. The buildings on Planet Capelotti were tall and resembled trees. They had platforms outside the buildings like branches.

Vinstark was peaceful and laid back. They were satisfied with being ruled over by the Black Raven Civilization. Thus, they were frequently troubled by those with different views on this matter and extreme nationalists. Rebel organizations constantly appeared. There were many other examples similar to this across the entire universe.

A Sky Ring Army team had accepted a request to eliminate a rebel organization called ‘Bullseye’.

The leader of this team was (Ice Sorcerer] Goa, a Three-Ring Level officer, Grade B Super, who had once fought alongside Black Star on Floating Dragon. She had always worked near the Fawn Star System.

According to Vinstark’s data, the strongest person in Bullseye was a Grade B. This was originally just a usual combat mission. However, Goa did not expect that Bullseye would have hidden a Grade A. Plus, this Grade A was not someone that no one had heard about; he was a Vinstark who had been banished many years ago. His name was Getorald.

Now that he was at Calamity Grade, he wanted to come back and overthrow Vinstark’s rule. Not only was he the real boss of Bullseye, he was also the mastermind behind many other rebel organizations. He was basically behind all of Planet Capelotti rebels.

In a wasteland somewhere, a small aircraft was escaping quickly. Behind it were hundreds of aircrafts.

“Bullseye has found us again. We have been hiding and escaping for so long that we don’t have much fuel left. Captain, what should we do?”

In the cockpit, the survivors of the Sky Ring team were piloting the aircraft in panic.

“Keep running. I have requested reinforcements from the Black Star Army. They will definitely come. We have to hang on until they arrive.” Goa clenched her teeth. Her magic robe was covered in bloodstains and dust. After so many days of running, she was in a very bad state and extremely exhausted.

She had only fought with Getorald once and was absolutely crushed. She could not cross that enormous gap between Grade B and Grade A. If not for sheer lucky, her team would have been wiped out.

Their fuel quickly burned up. They started to decelerate, and the enemies were catching up. All the Sky Ring mercenaries were on edge, and Goa grabbed tightly onto her staff uncontrollably.

This time, a communication request suddenly popped up on the screen. Lagi’s despondent face appeared.

“Hello, the reinforcements you ordered have arrived. Anyone still alive? If not, I’ll be leaving.”

The people were overjoyed, and Goa quickly replied. “We’re still alive. We are currently in danger and require help urgently. The coordinates are…”

After she gave the coordinates, Lagi hung up the communication. They heaved sighs of relief and smiles appeared on their faces.

“Black Star’s reinforcements have finally arrived!”

“Great! We’re saved.”

Suddenly, Goa realized a problem. “Wait a minute, I told them that there’s a Calamity Grade among the enemies. Why was the person earlier not Black Star? Did he not come personally?”

Their expressions changed slightly. They all knew the Black Star Army quite well and were aware that only Black Star was a Calamity Grade. It seemed that they had not heard about the Black Star Army having another Grade A.

Goa could not help but worry-she only hoped that the reinforcements were reliable.

Suddenly, everyone’s hair stood on end. An enormous Shockwave Blast rocketed toward them and landed on their aircraft.

Boom!

The aircraft exploded into pieces. A spherical magic shield was blasted away, bouncing on the ground a few times before stopping. The magic shield disappeared, exposing Goa and the others in it. The staff in Goa’s hands was shining-she had protected all her team members at the last second. She was drained and gasping for air.

This time, hundreds of enemy aircraft caught up and surrounded them.

From the direction where the Shockwave Blast came from, a winged man flew there at high speed and stopped above them. His eagle-like eyes looked down on Goa and the others, sharp as a knife. This bird was indeed the Grade A Super of the rebel organization, Getorald.

“Humph, Sky Ring’s people. I hate mercenaries the most. Blame it on yourselves for sticking your nose in something that has nothing to do with you. You deserve to die.”

Getorald flapped his wings. A ball of dense, pale-gold Pugilist energy gathered on his hand. The strong sense of danger made Goa and the others freeze in fear.

Hu!

Just as Getorald was about to land the killing blow, a spaceship dashed through the clouds and descended from above. He turned around and looked at it.

The spaceship stopped outside the encirclement. The hatch opened, and Lagi slowly floated out. Seeing the danger that Goa and the others were in, his expression turned bitter.

“I’m early…”

Getorald frowned and asked, “Who are you?” Before Lagi could open his mouth, Goa replied, “You’re done for. He’s our backup, the Black Star Army’s … Er, what’s your name?”

Goa only just remembered that she did not even know his name.

Lagi sighed. “If you ask my name again, I’m going to leave.”

“Black Star’s man?” Getorald heard the conversation between the two of them, and his pupils uncontrollably constricted.

He was not afraid of the Sky Ring Army because Sky Ring’s headquarters were very far from there. However, the Gavin Star System was right beside the Fawn Star System. He feared the Black Star Army and realized that he was in a pickle.

Even Getorald had heard of Black Star. Black Star’s position in the Colton Star Cluster was way higher than his.

Alarmed, Getorald started to think of a solution. “The Black Star Army has interfered, so my plan can’t go on. I can only kill this Black Star mercenary before leaving the Colton Star Cluster to wait for things to settle. If I continue to stay here, the Black Star Army will send tons of troops to deal with me sooner or later. Luckily, only one member of the Black Star Army came this time. If I kill him and Sky Ring’s people, I will be able to conceal what happened here for a short time to give me time to escape.”

Getorald had made the decision. He loudly ordered, “Everyone fire! Kill these Sky Ring mercenaries!”

The faces of Goa and the others changed drastically as they hastily defended themselves. They were in an extremely bad state. As long as they were continuously fired upon, they would end up either dead or heavily injured.

The cannons of all the aircrafts lit up and were about to fire.

Getorald rushed toward Lagi, turning into a meteor covered in flames-he immediately used his full strength.

At this instant, Lagi sighed. A very old and simple staff appeared in his hands out of nowhere. Lagi then lightly tapped the air with it.

“Spacetime Secret Spell—the Seventh Dimension.”

Hum!

An invisible shield rapidly expanded and wrapped around everyone present. At this instant, every movement in the shield stopped as if the spacetime was frozen. The expression on everyone’s face was fixed.

However, everyone’s ability to think remained. They could clearly experience the feeling of being completely unable to move, but they could not control their bodies. Even Getorald was stationary in midair.

The Great Mechanic Han, who was spying, almost spat out the snacks in his mouth.

Isn’t this ZA WARUDO[1]?

The spacetime magic was the most difficult magic style to master. Plus, it was very dangerous. When spellcasters studied it, one slight moment of carelessness might cause them to die without even leaving a corpse behind. It required extremely high talent.

Not everyone could become the targets of Albert and those people. Lagi was not a member of any large organization-he was alone. Hence, there was only one reason that Lagi was a target.

His strength!

In this spacetime territory, Lagi was the only one that could move around freely. He cast spells continuously and destroyed all the aircrafts. This time, Getorald finally escaped the spell. Without saying a word, he turned around and fled.

His confidence was completely shattered by Lagi’s one spell. Lagi did not chase him. The mission was to rescue the Sky Ring mercenaries; he did not want to waste his energy chasing someone of the same grade. He floated toward Goa and the others, sighed, and said, “Get on my ship and let’s get out of here.”

Goa quickly nodded with respect. She could not help but ask, “Are you a new officer of the Black Star Army? I’ve never heard your name before.”

“It’s best to never hear it.” Lagi’s expression became more bitter.

The other Sky Ring mercenaries exchanged looks of shock. The Black Star Army finally had the first Calamity Grade officer, and he was so strong. Black Star did not have to carry everything on his shoulders anymore. They had a feeling that their Sky Ring Army was being surpassed by the Black Star Army.

Goa had a very complicated feeling. She still remembered a few years prior, when Black Star was just a small mercenary group. As a team captain of Sky Ring, their strength had been on par while she had the support of Sky Ring, so her position was higher than Black Star’s.

Now, however, she was still a team captain in Sky Ring, but Black Star had become someone very important in the Colton Star Cluster and rather famous even in the entire Shattered Star Ring. The difference in strength and position between the two of them had completely changed.

With Black Star as someone to compare herself to, Goa felt as if she had been standing in the same place throughout the years and felt discouraged.

At this time, on the other side of the Observer’s Mark, Han Xiao’s eyes were sparkling brightly. His fingers rubbed his stubble, and he could not help but smile.

“Looks like I’ve found a treasure…”

A few days later, the second season finally came to an end.

The eight teams in the finals had attracted the most attention from the start of the competition. All the fans were cheering and rooting for their teams.

In the first round, Dynasty defeated Rivervale, entering the semi-final, while Rivervale stopped at the top eight. This result was no surprise for almost everyone.

Long Sky defeated Kimchi 3:1, eliminating Kimchi and entering the semi-finals.

Two Chinese had entered the semi-finals, and the Chinese fans could not help but wish that the final would be between two Chinese teams.

Sadly, the results of the draw of the second round placed Dynasty against Long Sky and Devil against Tomahawk.

The Chinese players felt it was very unfortunate for Dynasty. After entering the finals, Dynasty had gone up against a Chinese team in both the first and the second round.

The second round was very intense. The peak was right ahead-neither Dynasty nor Long Sky would hold back. Many viewers were saddened by their bloody battles.

Before the match, many people thought that Dynasty had a higher chance of winning. However, the result was unexpected. Under Hao Tian’s lead, Long Sky showed extreme toughness and barely defeated Dynasty at 3:2, entering the finals.

Dynasty stopped at the top four and could only compete for second runner-up.

After the match, many reporters interviewed team Dynasty, and King Admiral had nothing to regret.

“We spent too much energy before the match. Hao Tian is my old rival. He really fought amazingly this time. I hope they can bring the championship trophy back for China. Brother, you won our match, so you’ve got to win this. Viewers, scold and swear at them as much as you can so that they don’t dare lose.”

A reporter with ulterior motives mentioned King Admiral’s words during the Regulars, wanting to give him a hard time. However, King Admiral did not mind it at all.

“I originally wanted to educate the teams of the other countries, but in the end, I was educated by my countrymen. Never mind, I lost to one of us anyway. Hao Tian, you’ve got to become the champions. At least using the excuse of us losing to the champions will not get me into so much trouble.”

All the reporters laughed, even the one that asked the question.

Very soon, it was Second Prince’s turn to be interviewed. His comments were the usual. “It’s absolutely the captain’s fault that we lost. This means that we need to have someone else as the captain. There’s no need to consider anyone else for that other than me. It’s time for King Admiral to retire. He’s already a middle-aged man-why the hell is he even still playing games?”

The interview of Dynasty was very joyful and slightly brushed off the remorse of the Chinese players. All the pressure and hope was on Long Sky.

Originally, Dynasty was the team that had the highest chance of becoming the champions. Now that Long Sky had defeated them, if they did not become the champions in the end…

However, not only was Hao Tian not panicking, his morale was very high instead.

Ever since the start of this competition, Dynasty had been the center of attention. He and Long Sky, however, had been quietly saving their energy like sharpening a sword.

In the finals, this sword unsheathed at last!

The passion and energy of everyone in Long Sky erupted all at once. They had the confidence to slash through everything before them!

Their opponents were the American team, Devil, who had defeated Sweden’s Tomahawk and entered the finals.

Devil was the second favorite of the competition right after Dynasty. They were the last obstacle between China and the world champion!

Tens of millions of players across the nine divisions were watching the final. This popularity had never been seen before.

Even Han Xiao put down what he had on his hands and watched the finals from the start to the end.

Watching the intense battle between the two teams, his emotions were fluctuating with the situation of the battle. For an instant, it was like he had returned to the younger times when he was cheering at the top of his lungs for the Chinese teams, only to end up disappointed.

In the end, the score was 3:2.

The last Devil player collapsed in the ring.

Devil had fallen.

Long Sky was still standing.

The final victory belonged to Long Sky, to China!

“World champions!”

The Chinese players were madly exhilarated.

Even in his room in Base No. 1, Han Xiao could hear the cheering outside his windows!

[1] This is a reference to Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. “ZA WARUDO!” (also known as The World) is a phrase that is used by Dio when activating his power, which is time stopping.

Chapter 652 - Version Update, the Start of Ten Years

The forums became a sea full of joy. The Chinese players were filled with excitement.

After Long Sky became the champions, Dynasty defeated Tomahawk and were placed third.

In the top eight teams, three of them were Chinese teams, one was the champion, and one was the second runner up. This astonishing achievement made many proud.

Long Sky received the most praising. Hao Tian had proven his skills and earned himself a ton of fans. The fame of his teammates, Sleepy Winter and Twinkle Fried Rice, grew enormously too. Even the Dynasty fans were happy for them from the bottom of their hearts.

Some thought that what had happened to Dynasty was regretful—if they did not face Rivervale and Long Sky consecutively, both the champion and the first runner-up teams might have been Chinese teams.

Due to the outstanding performances of the teams that they admired, countless players were praising how exciting this season was nonstop. After watching the entire season, they discovered one phenomenon.

During the finals, the Chinese teams did not lose even once to a team from another country!

Hence, some people found new words to praise their teams.

“The only ones that can beat us are ourselves!”

Han Xiao did watch the events after the match such as the award ceremony, the analytics of the season, and so on. Seeing that Long Sky were the winners, he had a rough guess about the future situation.

The Chinese teams had achieved extraordinary results in this season, and this would have a long-term effect. He knew his countrymen well. No matter what competition it was, as long as a fellow countryman was the champion, it would definitely pique their interest. Hence, there would be many new Chinese players in the next version, far more than in his previous life.

The Shattered Star Ring division, where the champions were from, was the headquarters of the various Chinese clubs. Therefore, many new Chinese players would choose to be born in the novice planets in the Shattered Star Ring. These freshies would become the new blood of the Black Star Army in the next version!

The current player count was far from the peak. The amazing results obtained by the Chinese teams would also affect Han Xiao very positively-good results meant more newcomers for the Black Star Army, which also meant that the quantity and quality of his leeks would be increased.

In this season, the Chinese teams had used various Black Star series mechanical devices. These were basically advertisements for the Black Star Army. Similar to how the American teams chose Planet Winterfrost to showcase the advantages of the Demon Race so that many players would feel that Demons were very strong, the Chinese teams’ performance made many feel that the Black Star Army was very strong. The machines used by the Chinese teams brought Han Xiao quite a lot of attention.

Season two of the Galaxy Pro League had ended, but its popularity lasted for a long time afterward. However, after most of the players had their fill of fun, they finally focused on other issues.

The end of the Pro League meant that Version 2.0 was about to end as well.

Speculation concerning the storyline of the next season became a hot topic on the forums once again.

In the Shattered Star Ring, Bun-Hit-Dog’s video was mentioned, the one that consisted of Han Xiao’s conversation with Frenzied Sword and the others. The video hinted that the next version would be related to the Crimson Dynasty and sparked a lot of discussion.

“What could the Crimson Dynasty’s goal in the Shattered Star Ring be?”

“Who knows? Anyway, in the next version, we will definitely be more involved in the fight between the organizations in the galaxy.”

“Maybe it’s the same as the start of Version 2.0, having to face a huge disaster as soon as we log in. I’m guessing that the Crimson Dynasty is the final boss.”

“I’m not really interested in the storyline. All I’m interested in is what will happen to our Black Star Army. After the last version update, Black Star became the faction that guided us into the universe. I wonder how the Black Star Army will change after this update.”

“I hope it won’t disappear. We farmed so many Contribution Points for so long. If the Black Star Army is gone, it will all have been for nothing.”

Due to past experiences, many players were curious about what the Black Star Army would become in Version 3.0.

The Chinese players basically looked at the Black Star Army as their main faction. Furthermore, it was one of the biggest reasons that the Chinese teams were able to achieve such results in the Pro League. Therefore, this issue received a lot of attention.

Han Xiao had been keeping an eye on the forums too, but even he could not give a clear answer to this question.

“The new version is about to arrive. This time, the gap is ten years…”

Han Xiao shook his head. Under the Crimson Tide, this would be a very tough ten years. Klent’s secret war and the third round of (Prey)… there would be all kinds of danger.

In his previous life, when Version 3.0 started, the secret war between Klent and Purple Crystal was at its climax. That was when the players came into play. This meant that the secret war might go on during the entire time before the version updates.

The Black Star Army would spend the next ten years in battles. There would be both risks and opportunities.

When the players returned after ten years, Han Xiao did not know what would have become of the Black Star Army.

There would be many alliances forming in the next version. They would be the hidden competitors in recruiting the players. In Version 3.0, the Black Star Army would no longer be the ‘guiding faction’. Han Xiao had been wondering how to make use of the next ten years to increase the attractiveness of the Black Star Army.

The current players had spent a lot of time and energy on the Black Star Army throughout the version, so they would not change factions easily. Keeping the old players was not an issue as long as Han Xiao operated the Black Star Army properly during the version update.

What he needed to go for was the new players in Version 3.0. Other than the effect brought by the Pro League, the Black Star Army had to have at least the same amount of resources as the other alliance factions.

The players’ achievements during Version 2.0 and the profit made from the players were the only assets that Han Xiao had to get through the following ten years.

The Pro League was the last opportunity to harvest leeks for Version 2.0. Near the end of the version, the players would bank their fortune and wait for the next version.

As soon as Version 3.0 arrived, the Black Star Army would rocket in terms of strength!

After all, the players in Version 3.0 would be able to level up to Grade B.

Millions of Grade C Supers and millions of Grade B Supers were completely different.

Beep beep!

This time, the communicator suddenly vibrated.

“You have a new message, hum…”

Han Xiao took out the communicator. It was a message from Ralph, telling him to go to the mother planet of the Purple Crystal Civilization. Section Zero had confirmed all the organization members and summoned the leader of all those organizations to officially announce the creation of Section Zero.

“This organization is formed at last.”

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

The Blacklight Stealth stopped at the port of the Section Zero headquarters, which was on the Curved Blade garrison satellite orbiting the Purple Crystal Civilization mother planet. Han Xiao followed Dodder, the foreign affairs emissary, into the garrison satellite and came to the hall.

At this time, more than two hundred rather well-known people were gathered there. The moment that Han Xiao walked in, those people all turned and looked over with different expressions on their faces.

Before Section Zero was officially formed, most of the people there did not know who the other members were. Due to what had happened with Black Star a few months ago, many had guessed that Black Star had joined Section Zero, so not many of them were surprised.

“Not bad, Black Star is a reliable comrade.”

Many had the same thought in their mind and nodded at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao saw some familiar faces in the crowd, including chest hair monster Jayne and do-nothing Gadeli, who had once fought alongside him, and some organizations that had followed him to eliminate Albert’s gang.

Among them, the ones that had the biggest organizations were the Arc Light Organization leader from the Severide Star System, the Hero Group leader from the Skywalker Star System, and the New Phylen Rebels leader from the Rain Star System. Other than those, there were also many other organizations that were much bigger than Han Xiao’s. His Black Star Army was above average.

Ralph stood before the crowd. His face was serious, and his tone was formal.

“Everyone is here. As you all know, the purpose of Section Zero is to protect the Colton Star Cluster and guard against the Klent Kingdom’s invasion. The enemy you’re about to face is the Tyrant’s Bloodshed Land. Due to reasons that all of you know, we and Klent can’t use our official armies. The Colton Star Cluster’s safety is in your hands.

“You will all become important allies of one another, cooperate with each other, fight alongside each other, and guard against the Bloodshed Land’s invasion together.

“I hereby announce the official creation of Section Zero!”

This time, a notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

New Faction (Section Zero] activated!

Favorability: 1,500/3,000

Current Relationship: Friendly

In the hall of Black Star Base No.1, many players had gathered.

It was the day of the version upgrade, and the update would start in less than two hours. Many players gathered in different bases before logging off. The players were now experienced with this and knew that the best choice was to wait in a stronghold in groups before the update. Base No.1 had the most players.

This was because Long Sky, Dynasty, and Rivervale had all decided to log off there. Many players had gone to look at those players.

After Hao Tian was done speaking to the passionate fans, he bade farewell to King Admiral and Frenzied Sword.

“I’m logging off.”

King Admiral smiled and said, “Little Hao, let’s have dinner in a few days. Call Fried Eggplants With Fish and the others too.”

“Sure.” Hao Tian nodded.

Li Ge heard and asked, “Hey, what about me?”

“If you’re that shameless, we welcome you to come without an invitation.” Second Prince curled his lips.

“It’s decided then, see you there,” Li Ge said in a serious tone.

Frenzied Sword was stunned. He remembered Li Ge to be very proud, what happened?

Compared to the Temple of Gods, which did not achieve any notable results in two consecutive seasons, Long Sky had finished top four and champions, while Dynasty was second and third. Therefore, Li Ge could not maintain the confidence to be proud anymore. He did not want the Temple of Gods to be forgotten, so he could only put away his pride and hang out with these people. That way, he could at least benefit from all the attention that they were receiving.

“By the way, Sword, bring your team over for the dinner too. It’s on me.” Hao Tian suddenly recalled his buddy Frenzied Sword.

Frenzied Sword was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. He had been dreaming of becoming a god tier player, and now, he finally felt that he was one foot into Hao Tian and the others’ circle.

Twinkle Fried Rice’s eyes sparkled. “Since so many people are coming, we might as well invite Thunder Storm, Fanatics, Nine Gates, and all those teams as well. We should all celebrate for a few days.”

Li Ge immediately supported this idea. All the teams gathering together would definitely be huge news. He would benefit from it, too.

Hao Tian thought about it and said, “Okay. Anyway, we did not celebrate enough after winning the championship. Let’s enjoy ourselves during the holidays.”

They chatted for a while happily and logged off one after another. The players around also turned into white lights and disappeared.

Very soon, the hall became empty.

At the same time, Han Xiao, who was on rushing back, saw a notification on his interface.

Version 2.0 Update Activated!

Saving data… Save complete!

Player forums closed.

Update Duration: Unknown. Please wait patiently.

“And so it begins…”

Inside the Blacklight Stealth cockpit, Han Xiao had a melancholic expression on his face.

Ten years…

A spaceship left the desolate region, and the countless stars ahead were reflected on the porthole.

Stephanie looked at the bright stars ahead and smiled.

“We’re finally here, the Shattered Star Ring.”

Chapter 653 - Ten Year Plan

“With all the players disappearing, the size of the Black Star Army will be reduced considerably, and there is a need to make new plans.”

Han Xiao began to carefully think about how he should resolve this matter.

He was still less than thirty years old, and when Version 3.0 was released, he would be almost forty.

Han Xiao did not worry about his age. He was a Grade A Super, after all, and had injected himself with longevity medicine before. Living two to three hundred years should not be an issue at all. In ten years, his appearance would still be the same, young and suave.

Han Xiao already had a brief outline for the development of the Black Star Army over the next ten years.

“My main focus should be to accumulate strength. Without the players to bring me a long stream of benefits, the main focus of these ten years should be to convert all the benefits that the player’s brought me in Version 2.0.”

His assets from Version 2.0 included the twenty-three bases in the Garton Star System, almost two thousand battleships and over seventeen million Enaus in savings. Furthermore, the numerous employment missions that the players had completed had also greatly increased the fame of the Black Star Army.

NPC mercenaries were different from players. Every death meant that he would have one fewer mercenary. While hiring freelance mercenaries was a solution, grooming fresh blood for his Black Star Army was more important. Han Xiao decided to increase the investment in the training camps so that he could ensure a constant flow of new mercenaries and also reduce his costs.

Apart from the mercenaries at the bottom rung, Han Xiao also needed to groom the officers at the top. With the current level of the Black Star Army, Grade B Supers were no longer rare and could only be considered the middle rung. They truly lacked Grade A Supers at the very top. Currently, the only two Grade A Supers were Han Xiao and Lagi.

“Hmm, I need to try and recruit new Grade A Supers while grooming those with potential such as Herlous, Feidin, and Reynold. I wonder how many Grade A Supers I will be able to groom over the next ten years.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin. In his previous life, Sylvia had already been a Grade A Super in Version 3.0. These ten years should be Sylvia’s growth spurt, and Han Xiao needed to stimulate her growth further so that she could transform from a capable female secretary into a competent helper.

However, accumulating their strength did not mean that they would have to remain low profile. The secret war started by Klent would be the largest conflict on the outside, and there would be opportunities hidden within risks. Han Xiao would naturally participate in the war.

In order to obtain Cutting-Edge Knowledge, Han Xiao had joined Section Zero to farm favorability points with Purple Crystal. This was one of the most secure paths. Cutting-Edge Knowledge was something that he could not lack. Even if it was not a Class Advancement requirement, Han Xiao would still want to obtain it.

At the same time, he was killing two birds with one stone. As long as he could render huge merits in the secret war, he would have the right to become a long-term partner of a Star Cluster civilization like the Bloodshed Land. This would then be the stimulus to restructure the Black Star Army and allow the Black Star Army to take another step forward in the Colton Star Cluster.

With the accumulation of resources from Version 2.0 and the support that Purple Crystal gave to Section Zero, Han Xiao would be able to accumulate his strength. If he wanted to receive more resources from Purple Crystal, he would have to achieve a higher status in Section Zero and render large merits.

All the first-rate organizations such as Arc Light, Hero Group, and New Phylen were both his reliable allies and his competitors. They were extremely large organizations that received greater support and resources. If Han Xiao wanted to receive more resources, he would have to prove his superiority.

“Currently, both parties have not begun to fight, and there is still some time to prepare before the war. Apart from the development of the organization, my own strength will also have to take another step forward. The amount of experience that I have accumulated should be enough to bring me up to level two hundred.”

The strength of his organization was only an external force; his own personal strength was the most important.

Ten years was enough for Han Xiao to convert all of his experience points into combat strength. As for whether or not he would be able to reach beyond Grade A, Han Xiao was not too sure either. He did not know the level requirement for beyond Grade A.

If he used the gap between Grade B and Grade A as a reference as well as the increase in his strength as he leveled up, Han Xiao estimated that he would need to be at least level 240 before reaching beyond Grade A.

The accumulated experience might not be able to take him to beyond Grade A, but Grade A+ was definite.

As long as he could find a few more powerful skills and talent, he should be able to defeat the majority of Grade A Supers.

“I am currently at level 170, and the Class Advancement Mission is delaying me. If I want to obtain Cutting-Edge Knowledge to complete my Class Advancement, I need to farm 6,000 favorability points with Purple Crystal and improve my relationship with Purple Crystal to ‘Reverence’.”

After deciding on the general direction to take, Han Xiao returned to his base and began issuing orders.

First, he shrank back the range of operations. Without the presence of the players, the efficiency of the Black Star Army would be greatly reduced.

At the same time, Han Xiao took out a large amount of funds to purchase raw materials and spare parts. He got the various military factories to construct small sized spaceships. The logistics department under Reynold’s lead was no longer the same as before, and its scale was many times greater. They could already construct their own spaceships. Although they were only capable of building small assault spaceships, the Black Star Army was still able to save a great deal of money. This was one of the preparations before war erupted.

Another sum of money was used to hire even more combatants. Currently, the Black Star Army had more than 100,000 registered mercenaries, and Han Xiao was prepared to increase this number by four to five times. Money was not an issue at all.

The other Black Star mercenaries had also noticed the disappearance of the players and were extremely puzzled by the matter. However, Han Xiao did not bother explaining anything to them. Even if they had a thousand different guesses, it would not be able to change the present situation.

While a portion of the upper echelons who knew about the Inhumans were surprised, they were not too shocked. They were only worried about the Black Star Army after the disappearance of the Inhumans.

For this, Han Xiao had specially summoned all his high ranked officers.

In the room, all the officers of the Black Star Army streamed in.

Han Xiao got straight to the point without beating about the bush. “The Inhumans have disappeared again, and we don’t know when they will appear again. This isn’t the first time that this has happened, and the Klent invasion may happen in the near future. We will be accepting the Purple Crystal’s employment in the future and will participate in the war as a member of Section Zero. We need to make our preparations.”

Everyone nodded with different looks on their faces.

“Lagi, you are the only other Calamity Grade Super apart from me. If the situation on the battlefield gets intense, we may need you to lead a force on your own,” Han Xiao said.

“Sigh, war again. I have a premonition that I will be sacrificed this time,” Lagi said with a bitter expression.

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly.

Right at that moment, Reynold suddenly interrupted.

“Your Excellency Black Star, he isn’t the only Calamity Grade.”

As everyone heard that, they all turned to look at Reynold.

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up and asked, “Could it be that you…”

Reynold nodded, and a rare smile could be seen on his face, “Just a few days ago, I successfully stepped into the Calamity Grade, and I am now a Grade A Super. This is all thanks to your tutelage.”

Han Xiao was overjoyed. With Reynold’s stepping into Grade A, his Black Star Army would have a total of three Grade A Supers. This meant that the Black Star Army exceeded most Section Zero members.

This was truly good news!

Reynold had come under his wing a few years ago, and after learning for such a long time, he had finally advanced into the next grade. While Han Xiao was surprised, he was not too shocked. He had known that with Reynold’s talent, it was only a matter of time before Reynold entered the Calamity Grade.

However, it was truly timely for Reynold to step into the Calamity Grade right before war broke out.

By the side, Herlous could not help but be slightly disappointed.

He was the first to follow Han Xiao, but his status was now being taken over by newcomers. However, it could not be helped since his strength was not sufficient. Becoming a Grade A Super was not something that would happen overnight, and he had not touched the door frame of Grade A yet.

After the Sunil incident, Herlous had sworn to follow Han Xiao for life and was frustrated that he could not provide more help to Han Xiao.

Everyone’s reaction was different. The Volga brothers were as carefree as ever, Feidin smiled without saying a word, Sylvia clenched her fists and swore to work harder, and Aroshia was daydreaming by the side.

Han Xiao’s gaze landed on Aroshia. The (Reboot) mission was currently in the second phase. He had managed to find most of her memory fragments through the players, and only a final location was lacking before the mission could be completed.

It was just that the final location was too deserted, so Han Xiao had not taken her to complete the second phase of the mission. He was not too eager to complete this mission because Risda had already revealed some information, suggesting that the final target of the (Reboot) mission would be to deal with Manison from the Mechanic Empire. Since Han Xiao knew that he would not be able to complete the mission any time soon, he was not in a rush.

He did not want to provoke a beyond Grade A Super for nothing with the other party being a member of the Ancient Ones.

Not just the Black Star Army, all the members of Section Zero were also preparing for war and hiring new members.

Ten days later, a piece of news shook the entire Shattered Star Ring.

Bloodshed Land had invaded the Colton Star Cluster with their army!

This meant that the secret war between Klent and Purple Crystal had finally erupted!

This was like a spark that caused the Crimson Tide to explode!

The conflict between the seen Star Cluster Civilizations escalated to the point they broke out in war. Many large organizations and secret groups within the Star Field also began fighting each other. The Shattered Star Ring was thrown into chaos with many factions being formed.

The most dangerous period had finally arrived!

All members of Section Zero received a notice from Purple Crystal that requested them to arrive at the battlefield.

When Han Xiao received the notice, a notification also popped up on his interface.

You have triggered Grade S faction mission (Secret War: Section Zero]!

Mission Introduction: The Klent Kingdom has invaded the Purple Crystal Civilization, and you have chosen to stand on the side of the Purple Crystal Civilization.

Mission Requirements: As a member of Section Zero, listen to orders and force all invaders out of the Colton Star Cluster.

At the end of the mission, your reward will be based on the rating of the mission.

Note: As a strategic mission, there are three ways to improve your rating.

Complete the strategic objective of the mission.

Kill or capture the troops of the opposing faction.

Complete the mission successfully.

This is one of the Main Storyline missions of Version 3.0. I have triggered this mission during the version upgrade period.

Han Xiao had already predicted that this would happen.

This was a Grade S Main Storyline Mission, and players could choose between Klent and Purple Crystal. He had already joined Section Zero, which was akin to choosing Purple Crystal.

In his previous life, Version 3.0 had been released when the secret war was at its peak. The players had only returned at that moment to choose which faction to join.

This Grade S mission had a pretty simple introduction on both sides. Regardless of the faction that won the war, the players on both sides would still be able to receive rewards from the mission. The only difference would be the rating received for the mission.

After a series of experiments by the players, there were a few ways to cause a fall in mission rating. First, disobey the orders of their faction. Second, betray the faction. Third, lose the war before the Universal Civilization intervened.

I triggered this mission at the start of the war, a full ten years ahead of time… Han Xiao frowned.

This meant that this mission would definitely take a long time to complete, and the secret war would last throughout the ten years of the version upgrading period.

On the other hand, it also meant that he would have more time to farm his mission rating.

I am afraid that the next ten years shall be spent in war. After resting for two to three years, I think that I have rested enough.

This would be completely different from the few short-term employment missions. This was a long-term war.

Han Xiao stood up and walked out of the room.

“Phillip, summon everyone to go with me to war.”

Chapter 654 - The War Begins

The Seoul Star Cluster, which was controlled by Klent, was separated from the Colton Star Cluster by a barren cosmic belt. After the war between the Star Clusters broke out, the stargates to both Star Clusters were temporarily shut, and troops could only cross the border illegally through the barren cosmic belt.

A large fleet of troops passed through the barren cosmic belt and entered the borders of Colton, the West Wind Star System.

This was a vanguard force with the intention of probing the enemy. There were fifteen Expedition Level flagships, thousands of frigates and assault battleships, and a total of over ten thousand spaceships.

There were twenty-six Calamity Grade Supers, including Tyrant’s Eight Vanguard Official.

The commander of the expedition fleet was Jorde, the individual in charge of Bloodshed Land’s Military Strategy Department. He was a Grade A Super and one of Tyrant’s old subordinates.

“According to the intelligence, Purple Crystal has mobilized their forces to intercept our vanguard forces. Your first mission is to occupy a planet without inhabitants and make use of the Crimson Dynasty’s Fortress Expansion Package to construct a base.

“This is a secret war that a civilization cannot openly participate in. The West Wind Star System Civilization will not dare stop you from constructing a base on a planet without inhabitants.”

Right at this moment, the Military Strategy Department was holding a remote meeting, and the commanders of the various fleets, as well as seven Vanguard Officials, were listening to Jorde’s instructions.

Only the chief Vanguard Official was not present, but no one found it strange at all. With the Military Strategy Department taking up the role of command, the Vanguard Officials only needed to listen to orders and fight. The status of the chief Vanguard Official was special, and others revered his strength. Compared to being part of a meeting, he was more willing to spend his time in his cultivation chamber. He had the privilege to do so.

Jorde briefly went through the strategy before saying, “Not all the Star Systems within the Colton Star Cluster have submitted to the Purple Crystal Civilization. A portion of the Star Systems aren’t concerned about who rules over the Star Cluster and will choose to remain neutral. They will not obstruct us in anyway. Unless necessary, do not start a conflict with the local civilizations. Let them understand Klent’s intentions and try to befriend them…”

With the restriction of the peace treaty, all the Star Cluster Civilizations had a protective talisman. Furthermore, Klent’s objective wasn’t to destroy Purple Crystal. Klent only wanted to expand their territory and snatch a few Star Systems from the Colton Star Cluster. They wanted to make use of the Bloodshed Land as their proxy and contain the war between both parties at the level of a secret war.

As long as Bloodshed Land could gain a foothold in a few Star Systems, Klent would be able to spread their influence through Bloodshed Land and weaken Purple Crystal’s control over the region. They would then be able to completely block out Purple Crystal’s control over the region.

Their objective would not be in conflict with the various Star System Civilizations. Bloodshed Land would not take over the control of those Star Systems and would even build diplomatic ties with them. The only party suffering a loss would be Purple Crystal.

Using an analogy, it was like two gangs fighting over collecting protection fees.

Since they wanted to snatch territory, there would only be a future if they could protect it. Bloodshed Land’s invasion was not the same as that of DarkStar, harassing different locations without claiming any territory. This also meant that the following war would be extremely intense and last for a long time.

The target of this vanguard force was to establish a bridgehead in the West Wind Star System and test the strength of the Purple Crystal Civilization’s retaliation.

Everyone nodded in response. They had already been briefed thoroughly on the mission and were hearing it from Jorde again.

The second Vanguard Official, Hunting Blade, growled in a deep voice, “Section Zero has many members with at least a hundred Calamity Grade Supers. This time, our vanguard force has less than thirty Calamity Grade Supers. Even if the Vanguard Officials can fight three, I can fight five, and chief can fight ten, we will still be on the losing end. The main force had better catch up soon.”

Jorde nodded in response. “Purple Crystal won’t be able to mobilize such a large force within a short period of time. Furthermore, the first exchange is only a probing one, so the opponent won’t send too many troops. The other vanguard forces invading the other Star Systems will help tie down Purple Crystal’s forces.”

The West Wind Star System was only one of Bloodshed Land’s targets. Bloodshed Land had the ability and resources to stretch out the battle lines.

As a condition for Bloodshed Land participating in the secret war, Klent had helped Bloodshed Land rope in almost half of the armed organizations within their Star Cluster. Bloodshed Land had already expanded to a whole new level, and they were definitely capable of taking out a hundred Calamity Grade Supers.

Right at that moment, a holographic projection suddenly entered the meeting.

Everyone looked over, and the seven Vanguard Officials bowed.

“Chief. 11

He had dark red skin with a square jaw and sharp gaze. His aura was extremely tyrannical with thin dragon scales around his eyes, lips, and temples. He looked like he had a mixed dragon bloodline, but the species of the dragon could not be seen from his appearance. He was wearing a set of heavy armor, but his burly figure could not be covered, and he was at least a head taller than Malekith.

Fosters-Slott was the chief Vanguard Official under the Tyrant and had the nicknames of ‘War Dragon’ and ‘the Tyrant’s Left-Hand Man’. He was a capable assistant of the Tyrant.

“Do you have anything to add?” Jorde asked with doubt.

Fosters remained expressionless, and he replied with a baleful aura, “I don’t care about the others, but Black Star must be mine.”

His aura was tyrannical, and the shadow of Heber could be seen in him.

Bloodshed Land had long known that Han Xiao was in Purple Crystal’s camp. Black Star was an important officer of Floating Dragon, and both their factions were in conflict. There were many individuals in Bloodshed Land looking forward to fighting Black Star.

Among them, Fosters’ killing intent was the greatest.

During the Tyrant’s gathering, Han Xiao had trashed Carroll and caused the Tyrant to lose face. Heber would not bother about such a matter, but Fosters worshiped the Tyrant to the point he would never allow anyone to ruin his reputation.

Heber would not pursue the matter, but Fosters would not let the matter rest. Black Star had already entered his kill list, and this secret war would be the best chance.

Of course, the big picture was the most important, and Fosters would not defy orders just because of Black Star.

“As long as I meet Black Star, he will definitely die on the spot!” Fosters said with a resolute tone.

To dare fight in the main camp of Bloodshed Land and beat one of our officers, you are seeking death!

[Magus) Austin was floating within the palace of Hidden Red Robe Abbey and teaching a group of Forbidden Sorcerers theories of magic.

Despite the Star Field being thrown into chaos, his life was still extremely carefree. Since he chose to remain neutral, no one would come and bother him.

After lecturing for a while, Austin suddenly paused and felt his heart skip a beat. He then turned around and looked at the sky outside the palace as though his gaze could see through the boundless galaxy.

Right at that instant, Austin was distracted for a moment, and the image of the Colton Star Cluster and Black Star appeared in his mind.

For a Mage like him who had grasped a secret technique, premonitions would appear in his mind from time to time.

“Colton… Hmm, Klent and Purple Crystal have begun to fight. However, since this matter has nothing to do with me, why would I receive a premonition?” Austin muttered under his breath.

He was uninterested in the secret war between the two Star Cluster Civilizations. The way he saw it, both parties were only trying to snatch territories and weaken the private armed organizations within their own territory. Even if both Klent and Purple Crystal were enemies, they should have a tacit understanding regarding this matter.

Thus, Austin was not willing to work with either of the Star Clusters.

“My premonition should have nothing to do with my war. If that’s the case, the reason should be because of Black Star…”

Austin chanted an incantation for a moment and unleashed his mysterious secret technique. After performing a short divination, Austin broke out with a smile of enlightenment.

“I see. It turns out he has my Forbidden Sorcerer under him…”

After thinking for a while, Austin raised his finger and pointed at a few Forbidden Sorcerers present.

“You lot, bring him back. If Black Star stops you, say that it is my intention. He will show me some face.”

The few Forbidden Sorcerers who were called upon nodded and walked out of the palace.

Han Xiao gathered all his forces and responded to Section Zero’s emergency mobilization. He arrived at the West Wind Star System and met up with the main force of Section Zero.

He brought three hundred modified battleships, Lagi, Herlous, Aroshia, and over ten more Grade B officers. Reynold was in charge of guarding the base, and Sylvia, who was too weak, did not follow them.

He was only participating in the war to farm faction Contribution Points to accumulate his strength. He would not sell his life loyally and sacrifice all the forces that he had spent a great amount of effort to accumulate.

He would just do what he could.

The other members of Section Zero also thought the same. None of them would mobilize all their forces. All of them had their own selfish thoughts, and this was the biggest flaw of an allied organization.

On the contrary, Bloodshed Land did not face such a problem as Heber controlled all the troops.

“This is the benefit of having a beyond Grade A Super.” Han Xiao sighed.

A large force was already gathered at the gathering point with almost ten thousand battleships. The Arc Light Organization sent out eight hundred battleships, the most among all the organizations present.

As the leader of the Black Star Army, Han Xiao was also invited to join the conference before the war.

The commander was a member of Purple Crystal. Purple Crystal also knew the cons of having such an allied force and thus sent out a member to command the forces.

In the meeting, Han Xiao understood the situation that they were facing.

Bloodshed Land’s vanguard forces had established a bridgehead on an uninhabited planet and set up various defensive measures. The objective of their expedition was to launch a probing attack and attempt to destroy the base of the vanguard force.

Every organization had their own responsibility, and Han Xiao also received his own mission.

(Local Campaign: Pin Down the Enemy Wing]

Mission Introduction: This is the order given to you by your faction. Complete it.

Mission Requirements: Pin down or destroy the battleships of the enemy’s wing.

Note: After the battle is over, reward will be given based on the level of completion.

This is a small mission that was a part of the Grade S Main Storyline Mission. In the different battles of the secret war, an elementary objective would first be given such as pinning down the enemy wing in this current mission. During the battle, the mission objective would then change according to the situation on the battlefield, and a new mission would be given.

A war could not be fought by an individual, and the most basic requirement was for him to complete his own mission. As long as he stuck closely to the strategic objectives assigned, a high completion rate would be achieved even if the battle was lost. Farming for faction Contribution Points relied mainly on such tactical missions.

Completing such tactical missions would also increase the mission rating of the Grade S Main Storyline Mission (Secret War: Section Zero).

Han Xiao had only brought three hundred battleships and was not suitable to attack the enemy head on. Thus, he had been assigned to cover the wing. He was not the only party assigned to this mission, and there were a couple others who had the same mission.

After the meeting, Han Xiao walked out of the camp, and someone called out from behind.

The one who had called out for him was Sevitt, a Grade A officer of the Arc Light Organization, the commander of their expedition force.

Sevitt sped up his footsteps and said with a respectful tone, “Black Star, I have something to ask of you.”

Han Xiao had the backing of Floating Dragon, and everyone was courteous to him. The majority of them were individuals who had been through many things and would not earn another enemy for themselves for no good reason.

“Go on.” Han Xiao only nodded.

“I know that you are a powerful Virtual Mechanic. When you are pinning down the wing of the enemy, I hope that you can interfere to deal with the main force of Bloodshed Land using Virtual Intrusion to reduce our pressure,” Sevitt said in an earnest tone.

The Arc Light Organization was in charge of the frontal assault. Sevitt had heard of Han Xiao’s abilities and thus went over to request some help.

“This isn’t a problem. I will help you if the pressure isn’t too great on my side.” Han Xiao patted Sevitt on the shoulder.

“Alright. Thanks.” Sevitt’s eyes lit up.

After both of them parted, Han Xiao returned to his own base and gathered his men to give instructions.

A large-scale war like this was extremely dangerous, and no one would be able to ensure that they could survive. Thus, he got all his subordinates to pay attention to their own safety.

One day later, Section Zero set off for Bloodshed Land’s vanguard force.

Chapter 655 - The First Battle

The fleet of the Black Star Army was mixed within the combined armed forces, marching forward vigorously. From outside, one could only see the light streaks as a result of the hyperdrive jump, resembling a meteor shower.

“The frontal force is to attack and open up the defensive formations in outer space. Attack the enemy base from space, providing firepower to cover for the other formations. As for us, we will be responsible for flanking, restraining the enemy from their reinforcements.”

Within the cockpit, Han Xiao was communicating to the other fleet commanders.

The command structure of the Black Star Army had already been fixed. Out of the three hundred battleships they had, they were divided into multiple fleets, with an Officer in charge of each fleet. This would allow for more flexible tactical adjustments.

“Lagi, I’ll pass the mission of charging forward to you. In addition, we have several allies who are sending out Calamity Grade Supers alongside you. Your mission is to kill as many in the opposing fleet as possible. Of course, the priority is to first guarantee your safety.”

Han Xiao’s tone was stern. During an interstellar war, the Calamity Grades would mainly work to behead the commander of the opposing fleet, usually by assassination. However, they could also enter the main battlefield. Their strong individual fighting capability meant that there would be high flexibility. If there were no other Calamity Grades from the enemy side to restrict them, the Calamity Grade would be able to cause great damage to the fleet, even having the opportunity to influence the situation of a battlefield.

For example, Shana’s ability would be a great weapon in such interstellar conditions.

On an interstellar battlefield, Grade A Supers had always been the source of headaches for fleet commanders. This was because their uncertainty was too great, making them hard to handle. A Calamity Grade protected by their fleet was undoubtedly even more dangerous.

However, it was still a dangerous matter for a Calamity Grade to go head on against a fleet. If one was careless, they would be hit by tens of hundreds of warship cannons, and their life would likely be forfeit. However, Han Xiao was reassured by Lagihe knew how to protect himself, so there should not be a problem.

“Sigh.” Lagi only sighed, not speaking out.

Dong dong!

The spaceships trembled slightly and exited hyperdrive. Han Xiao’s brows furrowed, and he immediately activated the radar. A red area was marked out in front of them on the radar.

“We’re here. In front of us should be the stronghold for the vanguard force of Bloodshed Land.”

Han Xiao took a deep breath.

A period of two or three years had passed, but they had still come to war with Bloodshed Land.

In the communication channel, many of the commanders practically held their breath at this sight.

It was not surprising that the members of Section Zero were nervous. The fame of people inevitably cast shadows, and Bloodshed Land had a large reputation, so no one dared look down on this tyrant.

Through the long-range vision, Han Xiao discovered that the Bloodshed Land’s fleets had assembled outside, grouping into several formations, each with a flagship as the core.

“Warning, warning, high-energy response detected. Please take precautions, hum!”

At this moment, Han Xiao received the warning from Phillip. Shouting to the others, his fleet dove to evade.

The next moment, Bloodshed Land’s fleet suddenly lit up with countless light spots. This was followed by countless beams of high energy particle cannons shooting toward the combined forces. They grazed the shields of the various spaceships before disappearing into the distance. A few of the spaceships that did not have time to escape were hit, their shields flickering intermittently.

“How decisive, firing the moment we meet.” Han Xiao’s eyes flashed.

Ding.

At this point, Phillip spoke up. “The tactical instructions have been accepted. Do you wish to execute it immediately?”

Within the virtual screen, the formations of both fleets had turned into 3D shapes. The situation was clear at a glance. The tactical movements of his own fleet were marked, with the division of labor clear. Within Han Xiao’s troops, each one also had their own tactical targets, and the enemy fleet to be contained had been marked in red. This was their mission. At the top left of his screen were various parameters as well as the timings to meet.

The rear commander would adjust the tactics and reissue new instructions any time according to how the situation developed. This method of command allowed each team to perform its duties without confusion.

Glancing at the tactical board, Han Xiao found it to be acceptable and nodded.

“Execute it immediately!”

The Black Star Army fleet followed the rest of the fleet to move with the troops. After circling once, they dove straight into the fray, heading toward their own targets.

At the same time, the entire Section Zero fleet also moved. They spread out and attacked the planetary stronghold in the battlefield from all directions.

Because the alliance fleet was originally in a state of disunity, in order to prevent any infighting, the commander had organized the alliance fleet into more than ten different squadrons. Han Xiao’s fleet belonged to Team Seven, whose main purpose was to restrain and restrict.

The flames of war broke out!

The combined forces of Section Zero approached the planet’s fortress from various routes, while the particle cannons of both sides opposed each other. The spaceships navigated their way through the dense net of particle rays, and fireworks bombarded the area from time to time. As the combined forces attacked from multiple fronts, the formation of Bloodshed Land also changed to protect every position instead.

When both sides warred against each other, they opened fire at full blast. Team Seven charged bravely against the fire, and the pressure they faced increased sharply the closer they got.

Boom boom boom!

The vanguard troops of Bloodshed Land had transformed their fortress planet using the foundations of the Crimson Dynasty. The ground had a large base, and anti-aircraft guns fired physical missiles that could hit even spaceships in outer space. The firepower within them was fierce, and they almost hit Han Xiao’s fleet more than once.

“A large-scale battlefield is really dangerous.”

Han Xiao had long switched over to manual piloting, placing his full concentration on this matter. He performed thrilling aerial moves one after another to avoid any the tens of cannons fired toward them.

With such a large-scale battlefield, he did not dare act too casually. He followed the actions of the main troops, avoiding the various attacks by constantly fluttering up and down like a butterfly.

Looking at the tactical screen, he found out that the assault troops had already begun to clash in close combat with those from Bloodshed Land. Looking out of the window, he saw that the entire outer space area had turned into a fierce battlefield, with the inky black color of the universe as well as the edge of the fortress planet as a backdrop. Both sides were heavily engaged with each other, and all sorts of lights from the weapons dazzled one’s eyes.

The battlefield was too vast. Even casting one’s eyes out into the horizon would not allow them to see the entire situation. They could only understand the whole battle through the feedback from the tactical screen. At present, both sides had just confronted each other and were evenly matched.

The allied forces offensive had restrained the enemy’s firepower, indirectly helping Han Xiao’s Team Seven approach the enemy and find their restraining targets.

Han Xiao’s current position quickly turned into a small-scale battlefield.

The moment they fought, Han Xiao felt tremendous pressure.

This fleet, with an expedition-class battleship as its core, seemed to be about to go support the frontal battlefield. Team Seven restrained and harassed them continuously and were immediately violently counterattacked.

Team Seven had about a thousand battleships, of which three hundred were Han Xiao’s. The death toll was increasing rapidly.

“Not good!” Han Xiao gritted his teeth.

While the Purple Crystal Civilization had mentioned that there would be compensation, Han Xiao could not bear to see the battleships exploding one after another. They were his assets that he had spent much time accumulating.

He activated the Virtual Intrusion skill but immediately encountered resistance. The fleet opposing them had also deployed Virtual Mechanics to protect their fleet. In addition, they also planned to invade the Alliance fleet’s spaceships.

Left without a choice, Han Xiao could only tussle with the Virtual Mechanics from the enemy side, attacking and defending. Both sides started a tug-of-war.

At the same time, within the command room of the fortress planet, two Grade A Virtual Mechanics were intercepted by Han Xiao on the virtual level, and their looks changed.

“The enemy’s Virtual Mechanic has also appeared!”

“Sh*t, this guy’s Virtual Technology is really strong. The infiltration speed is too fast!”

“Luckily, we still can keep the internal firewall. Did you manage to trace the source?”

“Yeah, I’ve locked down on his position.”

“I see it, eh, turns out its Black Star. No wonder, he’s so strong!”

“Cooperate with me. Fight and seize his spaceship!”

The cooperation of the two was tacit. They immediately locked onto Han Xiao, infiltrating his Blacklight Stealth.

Within the Virtual Plane, the torrent of data manipulated by the duo found the artificial intelligence core of the Blacklight Stealth. Just as they were about to launch an attack, a glowing figure materialized. It was Risda.

Looking at the two torrents of data surging toward him, Risda merely raised a hand, scattering the offensive of both men. The data torrents turned into tiny sparkles of light, becoming redundant pieces of data, and were quickly shattered.

The moment the duo saw this, their hearts chilled.

“This Artificial intelligence is too high level. There’s no way to break through it.”

“Dammit, now we can’t shake him off.”

Both sides had undergone a round of confrontation, with Han Xiao gaining a slight advantage. However, his expression remained grave.

He had long expected the Bloodshed Land to employ Virtual Mechanics, as there was no way they would leave out such an obvious shortcoming. However, the enemy had actually sent two Grade A Virtual Mechanics, which gave Han Xiao some pressure. If he was not present, the opponent would have been free to do whatever they wished.

At this point, both sides were restraining each other. Although he could not utilize Virtual Intrusion to hack into the other party, it was the same for them.

The two sides finally met each other in close combat, and a furious battle erupted. Team Seven and the enemy fleet both used their charge cabins, allowing their respective Supers to land on the enemy’s spaceships.

Han Xiao pulled up a surveillance video. Any battleship on his side that got boarded would face a one-sided slaughter, as the elite Thousand Beast Soldier troops from the Bloodshed Land were extremely strong.

“My spaceship has been boarded!”

At this point, the frantic voice of Herlous sounded from his communicator.

Han Xiao hurriedly switched screens, only to see three charge cabins firmly latching onto Herlous’ spaceship. Herlous brought out his troops and was currently engaging with the enemy Thousand Beast Soldiers.

Luckily, Lagi’s spaceship passed by at this juncture and provided assistance. They killed off the bunch of enemies with ease, resolving the danger in Herlous’ spaceship.

Han Xiao suddenly felt his emotions surge. Within the chaos, he had accidentally discovered a breakthrough point.

“Attention to all, cover the Calamity Grade assault team. Try and allow them to land on the enemy’s flagship!”

Within this small-scale battlefield, the core would be the flagship of both parties. Compared to the enemy, Team Seven had the advantage with their Calamity Grade Supers, so their commander beheading operation had a higher chance of success.

Although their tactical goal was to restrain this fleet, the main commander would only give the target, and the specific actions were adjusted according to circumstances. It would definitely be more useful to destroy the opponent’s flagship rather than simply restraining them.

If one could obtain stellar results, the reward would naturally be higher.

Team Seven’s Calamity Grade assault teams, including Lagi, consisted of four teams. Han Xiao was not included.

When the order was issued, Team Seven immediately changed positions and began to cover the Calamity Grade assault team. They shuttled through the artillery bombing, quickly approaching the enemy’s flagship.

The enemy naturally spotted the tactical objective of Han Xiao and worked on intercepting the teams as well as covering their flagship to allow it to retreat.

While the distance between both sides was shrinking, it was too slow. Instead, the battlefield was slowly moving toward the frontlines. God only knew when they would reach the enemy flagship if that continued. So, making up his mind, he issued a new order.

“All Calamity Grade teams, board my Giant Soldier. I’ll take you there!”

The next instant, Han Xiao popped out of his spaceship, summoning his destroyer and sitting within the cockpit. Lagi and the others quickly got into the body of the Giant Soldier.

“Sit tight.”

Han Xiao operated the destroyer, pouring all its power into the thruster as it rushed toward the enemy’s flagship at a high speed.

The Giant Soldiers had more mobility and flexibility. Coupled with Han Xiao’s high operating level, he moved and penetrated deep into the enemy’s lines, attracting a lot of retaliatory fire. However, most of the attacks shot at him harmlessly, and some almost caused friendly fire.

Their distance was reduced at a speed visible to the naked eye!

It was a taboo in battle to operate independently, but Han Xiao was a Calamity Grade himself, and he was accompanied by four other Calamity Grade Supers. This turned them into a sharp sword with frightening power, causing the enemies to focus fire on them. Team Seven, which remained outside, immediately reacted, further restraining this fleet.

The destroyer finally arrived at the flagship and activated the shield neutralizer. They opened the hatch, allowing the four teams to successfully infiltrate the flagship. With only a single Calamity Grade Super within, they were bound to die.

Han Xiao did not sit idle, instead controlling his Giant Soldier to slice up the spaceships around him into pieces.

It was not long before the flagship could not withstand the impact and exploded!

However, the four teams had already evacuated, boarding Han Xiao’s Giant Soldier once again, and they broke out of the enemy lines.

While Han Xiao had succeeded in destroying the flagship, the armor value of his destroyer had almost reached zero. If not for his team that remained outside harassing and restraining, he would probably have lost his destroyer to the sheer firepower.

However, this small setback had reversed the situation on this minor battlefield. Under the continuous attacks of the team, the enemy troops began to retreat.

Han Xiao was just about to give pursuit, but at this time, he suddenly received a new mission notification.

(Partial Campaign: Retreat]

Mission Requirements: Retreat immediately, and conserve as much of team as possible

“Why are we retreating now?”

Han Xiao jumped in shock, casting his eyes out on the tactical screen. His pupils shrank.

On all the minor battlefields, only his one had gained an advantage!

The situation on the frontal battlefield had deteriorated rapidly. The large force of Section Zero was penetrated by Bloodshed Land, and more than two thousand warships had been destroyed. The main force of fifteen Calamity Grade Supers had suffered eight deaths, with seven injured.

All eight Vanguard Officials of the Bloodshed Land had entered the fray!

“No wonder I didn’t even encounter any of them!”

Han Xiao’s heart sank.

With the main force being destroyed, even if he had an advantage on his side, it would not help.

Section Zero had battled Bloodshed Land for the first time and lost!

…

On the main battlefield, a burning arc flew through the flagship of the organization. There were corpses everywhere, and blood flowed like a river.

Puchi.

Hunting Blade pulled out his war blade, and Sevitt’s body fell heavily. There was a huge hole in his side, with his internal organs already gone, and his blood had almost dried out. He was deader than dead at this point.

“This should be the last one. Let’s go. The battleship is about to explode.”

Hunting Blade wiped his blade and spoke through the communicator at the side of his armor toward Fosters, who was near the hole at the hull of the ship.

Fosters was looking through a hole to the distant battlefields. The horrible vacuum suction did not affect his body one bit.

“Black Star is not on the frontal battlefield. He should count his blessings.”

Fosters’ eyes gleamed coldly.

Chapter 656 - Danger Is Equal to Opportunity

After retreating based on the command and moving far away from the fortress planet of Bloodshed Land, Han Xiao then learned of the number of casualties on the frontal battlefield.

“Such heavy casualties?”

After Bloodshed Land defeated the Alliance Fleet in the frontal battle, they had returned to their bridgehead and symbolically pursued the defeated frontal units of Section Zero for a while. However, because Han Xiao had been victorious on his minor battlefield, he had easily led his people to retreat, and the enemy did not pursue them.

Han Xiao had won a small victory, but it was a pity that this would not affect the overall war.

Despite the defeat in their war, Han Xiao’s tactical mission was considered completed, awarding him with millions of experience and more than two hundred Contribution Points from Section Zero as well as the Purple Crystal Civilization.

The defeated Alliance fleet stopped on a barren planet to rest. The atmosphere within was sorrowful and solemn, with many of the allies pulling long faces at the deaths of their comrades.

The dead Grade A Supers had practically exploded together with their flagship. The Arc Light Organization had lost Sevitt, and the surviving members had grieving expressions.

Just two days prior, Sevitt had still been smiling as he requested them to help out, but now, even his bones could not be found. Thinking of this, Han Xiao could not help but sigh. However, he did not disturb the surviving members. Instead, he assembled his Officers to count the losses of his own fleet. Very quickly, the result came.

“We only lost 34 battleships, and there were no casualties from the high-levelled combatants. The situation is still good.”

Han Xiao sighed in relief.

The Purple Crystal Civilization would compensate the various forces for their losses, or else there would be no one willing to cooperate with them. The battleships that Han Xiao had lost would also be replaced. In addition, he would also receive an additional reward from the department.

With some lingering fear, Herlous said, “I just went around to ask, and we actually have some of the lowest casualties within Section Zero. Our allies even lost a few of their Calamity Grades… I didn’t know it would be this dangerous.”

“Indeed, this was out of our expectations.” Han Xiao nodded. He was experiencing the situation before it had taken shape in Version 3.0, and this secret war was where the game versions were moving toward. However, he had currently only seen the background of the plot and was not clear on the specific details.

As for the victory of Bloodshed Land, Han Xiao was not surprised. If the Purple Crystal Civilization could topple them so easily, there would have been no need for Version 3.0.

During Version 3.0, Bloodshed Land had already built many bases across multiple planets, and a game of tug-of-war had been established between them and Section Zero. Han Xiao could guess that during the version update, Section Zero would definitely be at a disadvantage.

What he was surprised about was that, for the first battle, to have a death count of ten Grade As on their side was a little unbelievable.

If so many people would die in every war, it would not take a few months for all the Supers in Section Zero to die off. Bloodshed Land would also have heavy casualties, so both sides would lose out.

Beep beep!

Han Xiao suddenly received a communication request from Ralph.

After connecting, Ralph’s voice came through, sounding hoarse and full of static. “Black Star, how bad is the situation?”

After receiving the news of the failure in the war, Ralph could not help but contact Han Xiao to ask about the details.

“Extremely bad…”

Han Xiao recounted everything he knew and conveniently emphasized that his battlefield had an advantage.

Hearing this, Ralph got worried. “This is the only good news I’ve heard in the last hour. However, you cannot determine the outcome just by yourself.”

Han Xiao shrugged in response. He did not care; in any case, he would still receive his due compensation, so he did not lose out in any way.

“The objective of Bloodshed Land is to kill all our Grade A Supers. They’re trying to showcase their strength,” Ralph said.

Han Xiao’s eyes shone, and he immediately understood the intentions of Heber, secretly exclaiming to himself how ingenious this idea was.

Bloodshed Land had seized the greatest weakness of Section Zero-a lack of unity. This was a common problem among allied forces. Because each Grade A Super was the core of their own respective organizations, the eight vanguard officials had rushed out to kill all those top tier combatants so as to make the people within Section Zero fear the repercussions of their actions.

Every collaborator of Section Zero did not really care whether Purple Crystal held onto their territory. They had no territorial fondness, unlike the Purple Crystal Civilization, and were only there because of the benefits. Winning or losing the war was irrelevant to them, and the only thing they cared about was whether the benefits outweighed the losses.

If they battleships received damage, the Purple Crystal Civilization could compensate them and even reward them, allowing them to receive the resources of the Star Cluster Civilization. However, if their Calamity Grades were killed, there was nothing they could do about it. The Purple Crystal Civilization was unable to replace the loss of their high-level combatants.

This was the difference between Section Zero, which was in a state of disunity, and the cohesive Bloodshed Land, and it was a weakness that they could not change.

No wonder Bloodshed Land fought so fiercely.

Han Xiao groaned secretly. He did not care if the secret war was successful. In his previous life, the Purple Crystal Civilization had been destroyed, and only when the Crimson Dynasty had come to an agreement with the Federation of Light did they finally put a stop to all the wars that they had incited.

Before both Universal Civilizations completed their benefits exchange, no one would bother about the secret war between Klent and Purple Crystal. The Crimson Dynasty was Klent’s backer, so as long as Klent was not driven away, the Crimson Dynasty would split off a part of the land belonging to Purple Crystal and give it to them. This was Klent’s strategy and the result of his past life.

Han Xiao’s motive for joining Section Zero was not to help Purple Crystal win the war but rather to exchange his contributions for Cutting-Edge Knowledge.

If his losses were kept to the minimum, he did not mind keeping strictly to his designated tasks to complete the missions, slowly increasing his favorability to (Reverence).

Even if the broader picture was affected, as long as his ‘stocks’ in Purple Crystal continued to rise, he would still receive more attention and respect.

If people above did not die, how would he have a chance to move up?

A gleam shot through Han Xiao’s eyes. It was a pity the players were not there. That way, he would not have needed to care about deaths and injuries.

Putting aside his thoughts, Han Xiao said, “Bloodshed Land is still gaining a foothold in the West Wind Star System. What do we do next?”

“We’ll take a break for now. Wait for the reinforcements to arrive before we attack once more,” Ralph gravely replied.

The collaborators of Section Zero were located in various sectors of the Colton Star Cluster, with some only needing a short journey to arrive, whereas others took longer. Han Xiao belonged to the first batch of the allied troops and could be considered more of a vanguard force for Section Zero. The main force was still behind, so the failure of the vanguard force did not mean that Section Zero had been completely defeated.

Ralph was more worried about the tactics utilized by Bloodshed Land. For the enemy to target their powerful combatants, this could not be defended. He was worried that Section Zero would not put in any effort to cut their losses, with the worst outcome being the disbandment of the entire Section.

Han Xiao took a few deep breaths before suddenly speaking. “I have a suggestion. The next attack, let me hold the frontal battlefield.”

Ralph froze in shock. Black Star, despite knowing of the dangers, still chose to volunteer for the main battlefield?

“You, what you mean is…”

“Maybe I can hold off the Vanguard Officials of Bloodshed Land…” Han Xiao stroked his chin.

Ralph was overjoyed to the point he wanted to cry. Just now, the forces participating in the main battlefield, such as the Arc Light Organization, had demanded that they no longer assume the task of attacking as the frontal force. They did not dare face the Bloodshed Land Officials. Only Black Star was willing to step up and handle such a risky job.

This… this was the true meaning of a reliable cooperator!

Ralph held back his tears of joy, excitedly asking, “How many can you fend off?”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. “All of them.”

Ralph’s eyes bulged wide, incredulity plastered all over his face.

Are you f*cking kidding me?

This is no laughing matter!

“Don’t be too surprised. I never said I could beat them all. I only said that I can hold them off.”

Han Xiao waved his hand. He had calculated it a while ago. Against the eight Vanguard Officials, his chances of winning against them probably would only exceed Lagi’s by a minute amount. However, with his meat shield like capabilities, he was more than qualified to hold off the eight of them. Furthermore, he could still utilize Aurora’s Character Summon Card, so he only needed to maintain a battle.

With him stalling the Vanguard Officials, it could lower the risk that the allied combatants would face. Furthermore, showing such strength would allow him to gain a wave of reputation, which would result in more attention being paid to him by the Purple Crystal Civilization.

The most important reason was that Han Xiao planned to use this to strike a deal.

“To take such a huge risk, I won’t do it for free.”

“What do you want?” Ralph immediately asked.

Han Xiao’s brows rose. “I want the Cutting-Edge Knowledge for the Mechanic profession.”

“Deal!” Ralph immediately agreed.

At this time, he no longer hesitated. Black Star was already willing to bear the risk of death. As long as he could survive, the Purple Crystal Civilization need not be stingy with their resources.

Han Xiao’s expression did not change, but he was secretly exhilarated. Although he could lie low and slowly increase his favorability, the time taken would be longer. As long as he could reach for the skies in one single leap, he would not let go of this chance to obtain the Cutting-Edge Knowledge.

The sooner he completed his Class Advancement, the faster he would be able to break through to level 170, converting all his accumulated experience into actual combat capability. Furthermore, being able to hold back eight Vanguard Officials was a matter of reputation and prestige. He would kill two birds with one stone!

Han Xiao could not help but give rise to a wicked idea. He would rather the Purple Crystal Civilization lose more and win less. If the situation was not so dire, he would not have had a chance to obtain the resources that he wanted this quickly.

“Indeed, opportunities only exist in chaotic times. The ancient sages did not lie.” Han Xiao laughed to himself.

Standing by the side, Lagi heard the conversation and could not help but interject. “Do you need me to collect your corpse?”

Han Xiao was not angry but rather happy instead. It seemed like this would work. Lagi’s counterproductive comments had never failed before.

“Continue commenting, don’t stop.”

“No wonder you really want to commit suicide. You’re really mad.” Lagi sighed to himself. It seemed like he needed to change employers once more.

Chapter 657 - Gloat When Winning, Hide When Losing

At the same time, the vanguard force of Bloodshed Land had summarized the outcome of the battle.

“We fought back a wave of attacks. All of you did well and got rid of quite a few Calamity Grade Supers. Purple Crystal’s allied force will definitely be wary after this.”

Jorde praised the result of the battle.

Hunting Blade nodded. “The enemy only launched a hasty attack and didn’t send out too many high-level troops. Your prediction was right.”

The vanguard force had prepared many different war strategies. Their original strategy had been to focus on defense, but upon observing that Section Zero did not send out an overwhelming force in their first attack, Jorde had switched strategies and gotten the eight Vanguard Officials to take action together. They had managed to take out a large number of Section Zero’s high-level combatants and achieve the effect of frightening the others.

“We should have about ten days until the enemy’s next attack. All of you should continue to deal with the high-level combatants of the enemy. This is the weakness of an allied army,” Jorde said with confidence.

Hunting Blade frowned in response. “With their first failure, the enemy will not underestimate us anymore and may not even be willing to fight us head on. We may not have such a chance again in the future.”

“Then we will have to create the chance,” Fosters, who was by the side, suddenly said. “If the enemy doesn’t send their high-level combatants to fight us, we will dismantle their entire fleet.”

Jorde nodded in agreement. “In any case, try to find the opportunity to kill as many high-level combatants as possible. The more terrified our enemy is, the lower the difficulty of our expansion.”

“Black Star should be participating in the next attack as well. I have a request,” Fosters suddenly said. “Everyone must send me the coordinates of Black Star’s location. If the frontal assault team doesn’t need me, I will go and get rid of Black Star.”

“Alright,” Jorde replied, “but don’t let your private grudge affect the overall situation.”

“Humph, I don’t need you to remind me about that. Furthermore, this isn’t my private grudge,” Fosters said coldly. “Black Star is Dragon Emperor’s subordinate. Getting rid of him will also force Dragon Emperor out. Only then can His Excellency Heber participate in the war openly.”

The presence of a beyond Grade A Super served as a deterrent, and they would rarely take action. Even if the Tyrant was the leader of Bloodshed Land, he did not personally participate in the war. However, if Ames took action, he would have an excuse to participate.

In their eyes, the Tyrant was obviously stronger than the Dragon Emperor.

Everyone’s eyes lit up.

Jorde nodded and said, “That makes sense. I shall hand him to you.”

“Don’t worry, I will be able to find him no matter where he hides.” Fosters nodded with satisfaction.

As the allied army was waiting for their reinforcements, a couple of riots broke out. With the Arc Light Organization at the helm, the various members of the frontal assault party requested to have a change of mission with the reason being their heavy losses.

Sevitt’s death had shocked the entire Arc Light Organization with their leader being filled with regret. Sevitt had been his capable assistant, and he had trusted Sevitt greatly. However, he had never imagined that Sevitt would perish in the very first battle, and the leader had immediately suggested backing out. All the other organizations who were part of the frontal assault group had experienced varying degrees of loss to their high-level combatants.

Such an intense battle was completely out of their expectations, and the eight Vanguard Officials had truly scared them out of their wits.

Perhaps they might have been able to defeat the Vanguard Officials if they worked together, but none of them were willing to lose their Calamity Grade Supers. As such, they had all tacitly agreed to avoid the battle.

This was a problem without a solution. The commander of Section Zero could only reorganize the battle formation and change the members in charge of frontal assault, hoping that the reinforcements would be willing to take up the responsibility.

However, the reinforcements also heard of the death count on the frontline and were not willing to take up the role. None of them were willing to sacrifice their high-level combatants.

The Purple Crystal Civilization was extremely helpless and only managed to get a few organizations to grudgingly accept the job after some private negotiations.

The strategy of Bloodshed Land was extremely effective, exposing the weakness of Section Zero in a single battle. Even if the members of Section Zero were famous armed organizations from the Colton Star Cluster, they were no more than a mob when gathered together.

However, Han Xiao was not disappointed that he would only have the opportunity to display his abilities when his faction was at a disadvantage.

Just when everyone was trying to avoid taking up the assault role, Han Xiao was the only one who volunteered for the job.

This piece of news quickly spread throughout the entire camp and set off a huge wave of commotion. Everyone looked at Han Xiao with strange looks filled with doubt, shock, and many other emotions.

Despite knowing that he would face a huge risk, Black Star still volunteered for the job. Did he lose his mind?

The few organizations that had already lost their comrades all watched from the side coldly. They all misunderstood Black Star’s intentions and felt that he was trying to step on their heads to display his brilliance so that Purple Crystal would think highly of him.

While this in itself was not a problem, the problem was that Black Star did not have the corresponding strength to perform such a feat. It was no different from seeking his own death. Did he not have any brains at all?

Many organizations in the allied army immediately came to a common understanding. In order to raise his status, Black Star did not want to live anymore.

However, not a single organization bothered to advise Black Star about anything. They needed someone to serve as cannon fodder at the front, and since Black Star was willing to die, they would not stop him.

Since Han Xiao had volunteered for such a dangerous mission, Ralph tried to fulfil almost every request of his. Han Xiao did not allow his subordinates to join the assault and got Lagi to lead Herlous and the others to participate in other less intense battles.

A few days later, the second batch of reinforcements finally arrived, and Section Zero’s allied army attacked the few bases that Bloodshed Land had in the West Wind Star System again.

Han Xiao got Herlous to command their forces temporarily while he formed the spearhead of the assault force with the Blacklight Stealth.

The objective of his mission this time was to pin down the eight Vanguard Official and the reward was Cutting-Edge Knowledge and a large amount of faction contribution points. The reward from this single mission was comparable to more than ten ordinary missions.

Because of their previous failure, Section Zero’s second assault attempt was being watched by the entire Star Field.

The other five Star Cluster Civilization of the Shattered Star Ring as well as some large organizations within the Star Field all focused their attention on the West Wind Star System. The outcome of the second exchange between both parties would be extremely indicative of the outcome of the secret war.

This was the second time that they had fought, and both Bloodshed Land and Section Zero were fully prepared. The battle between both parties had immediately shot to the peak without any foreplay.

Bright balls of flames lit up the pitch-black universe. The burning battleships, exploding cannons, and blinding laser cannons filled the entire battlefield.

The eight Vanguard Official with Fosters in the lead destroyed one battleship after another and swept through the battlefield with unstoppable momentum.

Rather than send out their high-level combatants to stop the Vanguard Officials, the Calamity Grade Supers from Section Zero all chose to avoid the battle and watch as the Vanguard Officials destroyed their battleships.

“Why are all of you in a daze! Stop them!” the commander roared.

“Roger, we will take action soon.”

“This isn’t the time yet. Wait for them to expend some energy first.”

The Grade A Supers all gave perfunctory replies.

Despite the commander being thoroughly enraged, he was also utterly helpless. He was helpless if these high-level combatants chose to go against his orders. Furthermore, knowing that Purple Crystal would compensate them for their lost battleships, they would rather watch their own fleet get destroyed than take action.

Ralph could no longer sit still. Despite knowing that the situation was bad, he did not expect it to be so terrible. Thus, he could not help but contact Han Xiao.

“Black Star, we can’t rely on the others. When will you take action? We will be defeated for sure if this continues.”

In the cockpit, Han Xiao looked at the coordinates of the eight Vanguard Officials and replied, “Give me a battlefield.”

“I understand!” Ralph was overjoyed.

He still doubted the fact that Black Star would be able to hold all eight Vanguard Officials back alone but had no choice but to believe Black Star.

At the center of the battlefield, the Vanguard Officials were having the time of their lives as they destroyed one battleship after another and disrupted the formation of Section Zero.

The eight Vanguard Officials were like leopards and the battleships like sheep. Without the high-level combatants pinning down the Vanguard Officials, the battleships were reduced to sitting ducks.

“Haha, the enemy Calamity Grade Supers still aren’t taking action. Do they truly not care about their fleet at all?”

Malekith burst into laughter in the communication channel.

“What a bunch of cowards. They don’t even have the guts to fight,” Hunting Blade sneered with disdain.

Boom!

In the interior of a battleship, Fosters crushed half the spaceship with his fists and boarded an assault spaceship before the battleship exploded. Upon hearing the conversation, he could not help but ask, “Why hasn’t anyone reported Black Star’s location to me yet? Where exactly is he?”

“I don’t know. No one has reported Black Star’s location yet. We managed to find the Black Star Army fleet, but Black Star isn’t part of the fleet. There is only a Grade A mage controlling the situation.”

Fosters glanced at the battlefield and coldly said, “Since the enemy’s high-level combatants are a bunch of cowards, I am not needed for the time being. I will go to the Black Star Army. He will definitely be hiding in the vicinity.”

“Okay, go ahead and leave matters here to us.” Hunting Blade nodded in response.

Just as Fosters wanted to leave the area, the battleship formation suddenly spread out to reveal a passage, and the Blacklight Stealth flew out from deep within the formation.

“That is… Black Star”

Fosters stopped abruptly with his gaze being fixed on the Blacklight Stealth. The other seven Vanguard Officials could not help but look over as well.

Han Xiao then left his spaceship wearing his Berserk Ape suit and floated in space. He looked at the eight Vanguard Officials and raised his hand to beckon for them in provocation.

A single individual in the vast battlefield was far too tiny, but not a single person in the surroundings could ignore Han Xiao’s presence. He unleashed his energy, and the high energy reading being given off from him was sufficient to set off the radar of any battleship around him.

Despite being far away from Han Xiao, Fosters and the others could clearly see Han Xiao’s actions.

“He is provoking us?” Hunting Blade was dumbfounded. He truly did not know who gave Black Star the courage to provoke them.

Fosters could not help but be surprised. He had thought that Black Star was hiding like the other Calamity Grade Supers and had never expected him to step out on his own.

“Not bad. At least he is more courageous than the others. Saves me some time.”

Fosters’ eyes narrowed, and he instructed the assault spaceship to charge for Han Xiao. He then jumped out from the spaceship and shot toward Han Xiao with his entire body burning with flames like a dark red meteor.

Han Xiao raised his arm, and the parts on his mechanical suit expanded out to form a gigantic mechanical fist that was a hundred meters in size. Bolts of Mechanical Force covered the fist ,and his fist hammered down on the meteor.

Sound would not be produced in the vacuum of space, and everyone could only visualize the sound of the collision in their heads.

Bang!

The gigantic fist was penetrated by the meteor to reveal a human sized hole, and Fosters’ fist arrived at Han Xiao’s chest.

Han Xiao was forced to retreat, and his body flew backward a short distance before he could stabilize himself. He then waved his arm to unequip the destroyed mechanical hand.

“Show me everything you have and let me have a good time.” Fosters sent Han Xiao a voice message to the mechanical suit’s communication system.

Leaving a voice message in a fight… This fellow is truly annoying.

Han Xiao then waved his arm, and the hatch to the Blacklight Stealth opened up. His Mechanical Army then swarmed out of the spaceship like a swarm of locusts.

Very quickly, his army revealed itself, and tens of thousands of machines floated beside him.

Such an army was not to be underestimated!

Because Purple Crystal would compensate him for his losses, Han Xiao did not hold anything back and sent out all his machines.

“The eight of you can come together. You won’t be able to deal with me alone.” Han Xiao returned the favor and sent Fosters a voice message, too. Fosters sneered coldly and could not be bothered to reply. Black Star was already a dead man in his eyes, and he alone was enough to get rid of this pest.

The Calamity Grade Supers of Section Zero were skiving off at the side, and not a single person seems to have any intention of helping Black Star.

Up until now, Han Xiao was the only Calamity Grade Super from Section Zero who had stepped out onto the main battlefield!

Chapter 658 - Fighting Eight People Alone!

Let’s end this fast, thought Fosters, and intense flames immediately spread out from him, akin to the surface of a small star. Pushing forward with both of his palms at the tens of thousands of mechanical soldiers, a dark red beam struck toward Han Xiao and the Mechanical Army that surrounded him.

The outer layer of mechanical soldiers was directly blasted away, shattering into metal pieces. The debris was blown away like sand particles being washed away by the tide.

The cannon fodder machines could not stop the assault of the Grade A+ Fosters. Only the Oathkeepers beside Han Xiao stepped forward, deploying their shields to withstand the shockwave blast from Fosters.

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and his Mechanical Force rolled outward. Under the influence of [Mechanical Force Field], he covered all his mechanical soldiers. The next moment, he waved his hands, and the hundreds of thousands of mechanical soldiers opened fire at the same time, attacking Fosters with different formations and different tactical modes.

A fierce battle unfolded!

The vast Mechanical Army drowned Fosters. Right in the middle of the main battlefield, a smaller scale battlefield was formed. The fleets were still engaged with each other all around them, and Bloodshed Land did not care about a one on one battle, constantly firing toward Black Star’s Mechanical Army. However, Section Zero was not a group to be trifled.

While the rest of the Calamity Grades were watching the show, they still had the courage to command the fleet to provide enough cover for Han Xiao.

Moreover, surrounding the machinery were numerous floating shields, which blocked the attacks from time to time.

This was the all-out attack of a Mechanic at the Calamity Grade. A person could rival an entire fleet!

However, Han Xiao had placed all his attention on Fosters.

Millions of ion cannon rays crisscrossed, like a large airtight net, which continuously struck at Fosters. He dodged continuously and rammed through when he could not, relying on the sheer power of his Pugilist flames to also wreak havoc in the mechanical soldier army.

The armor of conventional mechanical soldiers was akin to paper in front of Fosters’ strength. In a battle between the Grade As, the role of the basic mechanical soldiers was just to provide firepower and tactical containment, as well as to continuously sap at the opponents’ health and strength. Under the bonus given by Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force, Fosters could only try to evade most of the time. Being bombarded by tens of thousands of concentrated firepower was nothing to scoff at.

While he might have been confident to endure it with his current strength, should he not treat himself better if possible?

As for the main combat force, it would be the small number of Grade A Elite Machinery, such as the improved versions of the Oathkeeper, Phantoms, and so on. The strength of a single unit naturally could not exceed that of the Calamity Grade itself, but their mutual cooperation would be able to threaten them. Even with their famed reputation within the Star Field, the Tyrant’s Vanguard Officials would not be able to blast away an Oathkeeper that was equipped with sufficient shields, energy, and thick armor in just two or three punches.

Han Xiao strolled leisurely among his Mechanical Army, but his walking speed was extremely fast. Coupled with his sudden change in direction, it caused Fosters to be unable to lock onto him.

However, Fosters did not dare pause, constantly maintaining his high evasion speed as he avoided the various attacks while analyzing the situation quickly in his heart.

Got to look for a chance to behead him in one fell swoop, or else I’ll be drowned by this human wave tactic.

It was not as if Fosters had not come into contact with any Mechanics specializing in the Army Style. He understood that once he was completely surrounded, he would be tortured to death sooner or later. One could not look down on the damage ten thousand soldiers could deal.

As for the weakness of the Army Style… if the commander was beheaded, the rest of the soldiers would easily be broken through.

Black Star has the moniker of Indestructible Body… however, he cannot be more difficult to deal with than the Mechanical Army itself.

Fosters stared closely before drastically increasing his speed using a skill. Flames blazed around him, and like a dark red bolt, he bashed through layers of mechanical soldiers to arrive beside Han Xiao, swinging a mighty fist filled with endless power toward Han Xiao’s neck.

The split second that the fist was supposed to connect, Han Xiao’s figure suddenly flickered, and the next instant, he was at another location within his Mechanical Army. This was his Advanced Void Travel.

It continued the same way. Every time Fosters launched an attack on Han Xiao, it would end up being easily neutralized by the latter. With Void Travel, (Chaos Entity-Release] as well as the Short Distance Teleporter Module on his Berserk Ape on continuous cycle, Fosters had no way to touch even his clothes. The shockwave blasts were avoided even more easily.

Fosters’ face got uglier as time passed. According to the intelligence received, he had thought that Han Xiao would choose to fight with him given his sturdy body, but he did not expect the latter to be as slippery as an eel.

As for Han Xiao, his thoughts were clear. Since I’m a Mechanic, before my Mechanical Army is depleted, there’s no need for me to rush up and get beaten up like an idiot.

His fleshly body was his trump card, and of course, he had to use it only as the last resort. His mission was to restrain the eight Vanguard Officials. By trapping Fosters within the Mechanical Army, he would make the guy feel unbearable, allowing him to call the rest over for him to restrain.

If not, just based off his fleshy body, while Fosters might not be able to kill him, he would be completely suppressed and beaten down without any chance to retaliate. In that case, he could not appear as carefree as he was now.

Han Xiao’s was considering this in the long term. As long as he completed this mission successfully, he would obtain the Cutting-Edge Knowledge needed for his Class Advancement. Destroying his entire Mechanical Army would give him an excuse to withdraw from the war for the current period of time, allowing him to go back and create a brand-new Mechanical Army with new and improved capabilities.

The Purple Crystal Civilization would naturally overcompensate him for his loss.

Since he knew that the expansion of Bloodshed Land was inevitable, with the current performance of Section Zero, they would be constantly defeated for the time being. There was no need for him to participate in a losing battle. It was better for him to go home and recuperate.

When the situation became bad and Purple Crystal started to panic, they would think of his performance before automatically asking him to participate. Only then would he take the opportunity to extort them.

While Han Xiao liked to utilize the Army Style, he also loved to personally enter the scene. However, this time, he had chosen to utilize conventional tactics, revealing his frightening evasion abilities to foil Fosters’ sudden advancement. The power of his Army Style was revealed to the fullest!

Although the losses of the Mechanical Army were constantly rising, Fosters’ energy consumption was also becoming severe. When facing hundreds of thousands of Mechanical soldiers, it caused a qualitative change as a result of the quantity. Unless one had a special tank-like ability, no one would be able to endure the entire group.

The damaged machinery was revived again and again by Han Xiao using both (Waste Modification] and [Machinery Continuation), and the soldiers appeared endless.

Both sides could see that Fosters appeared like a bug trapped within a spider’s web, completely falling into Black Star’s tempo. The Mechanical Army blessed by Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force as well as the (Superhuman] buff provided a 142% increase in damage at Level 170. This had greatly offset Fosters’ strength advantage.

“He’s managed to restrain the Chief Vanguard Official!”

There were quite a few Grade A Supers in Section Zero, and they all obtained a boost in their spirits.

To have Black Star’s capabilities rival the Chief Vanguard Official, this was good news.

However, no one was too surprised. With Black Star’s fame, many of his deeds had already spread among the people in the galaxy. He was also recognized to be one of the strongest members under the Dragon Emperor Ames. Thus, it was not surprising that he was able to match the Chief Vanguard Official of the Tyrant in power.

However, Ralph was a little worried. Black Star had promised him that he would restrain all eight of them, but currently, only Fosters was being trapped. The other Vanguard Officials were still moving around and destroying the warships. If not for the fact that Black Star was wrapped up in an intense battle, he would have urged a retreat.

After dodging yet another round of cannon fire, Fosters’ gaze wandered toward Han Xiao, feeling extremely stifled.

The difficulty in killing Black Star proved to be far out of his expectations.

Fosters still felt that Black Star was not a match for him. In his opinion, as long as he managed to snatch a chance, he would definitely obtain victory. However, the two of them had been fighting for so long that it had run counter to his original intention of ending the battle quickly. Unable to resist getting angry, his patience had long been worn thin.

“Hunting Blade, Malekith… all of you come over and help me to destroy Black Star’s Mechanical Army. I’ll see where he can still hide!” Fosters shouted out.

The other seven Vanguard Officials who were dealing with the fleet around received the new instructions and were surprised. Fosters had mentioned that Black Star was an opponent whom he would deal with alone, but now he needed help!

However, they naturally gave him some face, not to mention that Black Star had provoked them as well. Thus, all of them turned around and killed their way toward the tiny battlefield that Fosters and Black Star were at. They were akin to seven meteors, crashing into the Mechanical Army.

The moment the eight Vanguard Officials joined forces, the situation deteriorated instantly. The Mechanical Army was destroyed wantonly.

“Black Star cannot hold on much longer.”

The Grade A Supers in Section Zero felt shock in their hearts, but to face off against eight of the Vanguard Officials, none of them had the courage to risk it and support him. Before the Mechanical Army was completely destroyed, Black Star still had hope.

Fosters eyed Han Xiao like a hawk the whole time. The moment Black Star intended to escape, he would immediately rush forward to disrupt him, not allowing him to escape.

Contrary to his expectations, even though the situation was clearly not on his side, Han Xiao continued to shift and dodge, without any intention of escaping. This resulted in Fosters’ vigilance being useless.

“What is Black Star doing? Why is he not retreating?”

“Does he not know that fighting on will only lead to his death?”

The surrounding Calamity Grades were all frightened, carrying expressions of incredulity. Was he really going to fight all eight by himself? The entire area was filled with shards from his Mechanical Army, with none of them in one complete piece. Fosters and the other seven finally stopped, gazing over at Han Xiao like a tiger eyeing its prey. Shooting a glance at the nonexistent Mechanical Army, Han Xiao remained passive. His opponents were the famed Vanguard Officials. This result was still within his expectations. Just based off the Mechanical Army alone, it would be difficult for him to face the assault of eight people.

However, with his insurance covering his losses, Han Xiao did not feel any heartache. Instead, he smiled before addressing the eight of them. “Hehe, seems like it’s still eight against one in the end.”

Fosters’ face sank, and he growled, “Hurry up and deal with him. Let’s see if he still can laugh.”

“Really? All of us?” Malekith was surprised.

“Since we’ve already done so, let’s just finish this.”

The others were reluctant. In the first place, they had given Fosters face, allowing him to single out Han Xiao to fight. However, now that Fosters had gotten tired, he wanted them to help—they could not stop halfway. Bloodshed Land never emphasized fighting single battles—they only focused on getting the job done as fast as possible.

The eight of them rushed forward, and Han Xiao too breathed out once before rushing forth to meet them. In the eyes of the Calamity Grades around, Black Star’s back seemed to have an impression that he had seen past death itself.

Everyone was touched!

They did not understand why Black Star would be so desperate to give up his life!

It was as though eight shooting stars continuously hit Han Xiao’s body. Their explosive fists burst forth with numerous afterimages, bombarding every inch of his body.

Was Black Star hit with thousands of punches or tens of thousands? Nobody could tell for sure.

Everyone around had the cold sense of desolation, akin to foxes grieving when all the rabbits died. They could not bear to watch. Black Star’s ending would definitely be grisly.

However, the next moment, everyone rubbed their eyes, not daring to believe this scenario!

When facing the barrage of blows like a heavy thunderstorm, while Han Xiao was beaten black and blue, to the point even his Mechanical suit shattered, his body was still perfectly sturdy, and he remained so lively even when facing such heavy punches!

Fosters and the rest suddenly stopped, staring at Han Xiao with uncertain gazes.

The strength that they released just now would be enough to destroy half the surface of a medium planet. How was Black Star still alive?

The MP and HP are indeed reliable, and the Steel Body ability does negate a lot of damage. However, these fellows are really frightening. I nearly had to use Aurora’s Character Summon Card.

While he was being beaten up, Han Xiao’s had been calmly analyzing the situation.

Seeing that the eight had stopped, Han Xiao exhaled, rubbing his shoulders and neck whilst revealing a careless smile. This, however, worked better than any form of provocation. Fosters’ face turned steely as he felt that this smile was full of ridicule toward him, as though it was Han Xiao saying, Why did you stop?

At this moment, everybody’s expression seemed to freeze up.

Ralph had a crazed expression of joy on his face. Black Star was indeed able to restrain all eight of them-he was serious about that!

The Grade As from Section Zero revealed various expressions of shock. Those eight were no ordinary Calamity Grade Supers; they were all the reputed eight Vanguard Officials of Bloodshed Land! The fame of each one resounded throughout the Star Field!

Fosters and the rest were furious. The eight of them had only lost to Tyrant whenever they joined hands!

They could not believe that Han Xiao could actually withstand their offensive.

It was as though the raging waves had smashed against the cliff but ended up being scattered into sea foam!

The name Black Star popped into everyone’s head, with the connection that could not be waved away.

Was this the famed… Indestructible Body

Chapter 659 - Beyond Grade A Level Attack!

“This is ‘Indestructible Body’ Black Star…”

“The strength of his body is even more exaggerated than in the rumors. With such a powerful recovery ability, only a beyond Grade A Super would be able to kill him.”

“Tanking the attacks of the eight Vanguard Officials under Tyrant single handedly? He lives up to the name of being the number one general under Ames. Just where did Ames find such a ferocious character?”

Han Xiao’s performance truly shocked many of the Calamity Grade Supers in Section Zero.

They had all thought that Black Star was overestimating himself and would end up sacrificing himself in battle. Who would have thought that the difference between them was so big?

Fosters was extremely shocked in his heart, and he said, “His body is a little strange. A portion of our attacks were absorbed by his cells to allow him to recover quickly.”

Hunting Blade’s expression was solemn. “I realized that, too.”

The chief Vanguard Official had plenty of experience in battle and quickly identified the logic behind Han Xiao’s Indestructible Body. Fosters’ eyes narrowed, and he immediately thought of a method to deal with Han Xiao.

“He isn’t able to recover instantly, and there is an upper limit to his ability. As long as our attack exceeds that limit, we will definitely be able to cause true damage to him. We need to launch an explosive series of attacks and not give him the chance to breathe. That is the only way that we can kill him.”

Fosters’ eyesight was extremely sharp, and he came to a conclusion that was extremely near to the truth.

Hearing that it was possible to kill Black Star, the seven others heaved sighs of relief.

The endurance that Black Star had displayed truly terrified them. The combined attack of the eight of them was sufficient to cause an entire ridgeline to collapse, and they would not even dare endure such an attack with their own bodies, just like how they would not dare tank the attacks of Han Xiao’s Mechanical Army but choose to avoid them.

Looking at Han Xiao, who was currently at the center of the attack, Fosters said in a deep voice, “Don’t overestimate Black Star. While it is extremely difficult to kill him, as long as we can destroy his Mechanical Army, the threat that he poses will be greatly reduced. I will be able to pin him down alone.”

However, Fosters’ target was not just to pin Black Star down but to kill Black Star. If the eight Vanguard Officials were not able to kill a single enemy of their same level when working together, this would be a huge blow to their reputation. They would only be able to establish their dominance by killing Black Star and scaring the other members of Section Zero.

“Attack together. Change tactics and do not spread out the strength of your attacks.”

The moment he finished his sentence, the eight of them charged forward together. Fosters had said that only high damage in a short period would have a chance of killing Black Star, and the joint force of the eight of them could be extremely frightening.

Han Xiao had already guessed that the eight of them would attempt a second attack. The members of Bloodshed Land all had brains made from muscle and would not give up that easily.

He did not just stand still to tank the attacks. He spread his arms, and bolts of Mechanical Force shot out in all directions. Even if the Mechanical Army was destroyed, the spare parts floating around in space were his weapons!

Countless spare parts gathered toward Han Xiao like a whirlpool, and they quickly transformed into a gigantic mechanical cannon and arm.

The metal fist knocked the flames apart, and the laser cannon lit up the dark space. Han Xiao launched his ferocious counterattack.

If the battlefield was not located in the vacuum of space, the commotion of the battle would definitely have been earth shattering.

At the same time, five multicolored light rays intersected each other with a frightening force being hidden within them!

A Grade B Super would not even be able to withstand the shockwaves from the battle between Han Xiao and the eight Vanguard Officials!

For Han Xiao to transform all the spare parts into weapons, it required the use of (Waste Modification), (Basic Machinery Construction), and [Mechanical Force Combat Technique]. It greatly exhausted his energy, but the ferocious attacks of the eight Vanguard Officials made it such that Han Xiao did not lack energy at all.

Boom boom boom!

Every time their fists came into contact with each other, bright energy rings would be emanated.

The battle was becoming more and more intense!

Because Fosters had identified the method to deal with Han Xiao, the eight Vanguard Official’s chose to use attacks with high burst damage. Their coordination was seamless, and their attacks rained down on Han Xiao without end. Han Xiao had to face a thunderstorm of attacks every second.

Punches with enough force to flatten mountains hammered down on his chest, and flames that were comparable to the main canons of battleships burned his bones. In order to achieve high burst damage, the eight Vanguard Officials used all their strength and greeted Han Xiao with all their techniques.

Their fists were like shooting stars, and those shooting stars were like rain!

Boom boom boom!

The tremors in his muscles and bones were all transmitted to his brain, and Han Xiao felt like a rice cake being hammered repeatedly. The eight Vanguard Officials had extremely powerful control over their strength, and Han Xiao suffered attacks ninety percent of the time. His retaliation was only able to cause a small disturbances to the Vanguard Officials and was insufficient to interrupt their attacks.

There was a limit to the conversion of energy into health, and he was only able to regain twenty-eight percent of his health every second.

The damage he took every second reached 450,000, and it exceeded the rate of his recovery.

This damage was extremely frightening, and an ordinary Calamity Grade Super would only be able to survive for two seconds before being turned into a corpse.

Thankfully, my Strengthened Life talent was upgraded to the advanced stage and gave me 200,000 HP. If not, my recovery speed would not have been able to keep up.

Enduring the pain from the never-ending attacks, Han Xiao grit his teeth and remained calm. His eyes were locked on his health meter. If things got too dangerous, he was prepared to use the Aurora Character Summon Card or Void Travel to give him some breathing space.

If the battle continued in such a manner, he would eventually be defeated. However, Han Xiao did not panic. He had only chosen to take on such a risk after serious consideration.

The most dangerous part of this battle was only the start. As long as he could drag this battle on, he would be safe.

His (Advanced Strengthened Life] talent did not only increase his HP but also allowed him to be more valiant as he fought. Every time he lost forty percent of his HP, his attributes would be increased by ten percent, including his Endurance.

This meant that Han Xiao’s HP limit would only increase as the battle went on!

While the twenty-eight percent limit would not change, the amount of HP that he could recover would still increase!

This Molding Ability had made up for the shortcoming of the conversion limit and was the perfect combination to increase his recovery rate!

As long as he could survive past the most dangerous starting phase, the threat that the eight Vanguard Officials posed to him would become smaller!

Apart from the lack of aggro attracting skills, Han Xiao was already a god-level Main Tank!

The battle continued, and the frightening shockwaves from their battle truly scared the other Calamity Grade Supers present.

Through the energy reaction on their radar, they could see Black Star’s life force signal becoming stronger and stronger. This meant that the terrifying attack of the eight Vanguard Officials did not threaten his life but made him stronger instead!

Even if Han Xiao was in an extremely pathetic state right now, no one dared underestimate him!

Only a single word was able to describe how all of them felt.

Unbelievable!

Fosters could already feel that something was wrong as the feeling of his fists coming into contact with Han Xiao’s body became different. He could clearly feel Han Xiao’s body becoming stronger by the second.

He is becoming stronger!

This thought floated up in his head, and his heart was shocked. At the same time, an unknown sense of rage exploded in his head.

Just how many trump cards does Black Star actually have?

This is enough!

Fosters hammered himself on the chest, and the flames on his body glowed brightly. All his energy was then channeled into his arms, and his arms ballooned up.

All the muscles in his body were clenched tight!

Arteries popped out by his temples and a dark red glow could be seen emanating from his fists.

Right at this moment, the radar from the surrounding battleships all let out an alarm.

“Warning, warning, high-energy response detected!”

The next moment, a blinding red beam of light shot out from Fosters’ fists.

A gigantic red ball of energy smashed into Han Xiao with a pillar of fire behind its tail.

This single fist snatched the limelight of the entire battlefield, and the terrifying energy wave of the attack made everyone fill in the sound effects in their heads.

Boom!

“This is the Star Shaking Fist!”

The other seven Vanguard Officials were startled. This was a Pugilist skill that the Tyrant had taught them personally. It expended a large amount of their energy, and they all treated it as their killing blow.

They had seen Heber personally unleash the Star Shaking Fist, and the might of the attack lived up to its name!

Fosters was Heber’s favorite student, and while his strength did not reach the level of a beyond Grade A Super, the shadow of Heber could be seen behind this fist of his.

Despite the thoughts flashing through their minds, their hands did not stay idle, and they copied Fosters.

Eight Star Shaking Fists smashed down on Han Xiao from all different directions!

Sh*t! Why do all of you like energy blasts so much. Do you think that you’re a Saiyan[1]?

The instant the attacks landed on him, Han Xiao only had time for a single thought.

The next instant, a terrifying blast of energy exploded!

Eight blinding energy blasts collided with each other and exploded with Han Xiao as the center!

The ball shaped energy wave expanded rapidly until the size of it exceeded that of a flagship. It was like a small planet made from energy and instantly became the focus of everyone present.

The energy ball expanded to its maximum, and a huge explosion occurred!

The blinding light from the explosion made everyone close their eyes instinctively.

Silence filled the battlefield.

A shockwave spread out in the galaxy.

The explosion ended in silence.

Before the explosion, Fosters and the other Vanguard Officials had already retreated and witnessed the outcome of their attack from afar.

This move of theirs had expended half of their energy and stamina. Even with their powerful Pugilist bodies, they were panting heavily from the attack, with their armor surrounding their arms cracking to reveal their bare skin.

Everyone’s attention was focused on the center of the explosion. However, the place was completely empty, and Han Xiao’s figure could not be seen.

“Was he reduced to smithereens?” Fosters’ eyes lit up with joy.

Even he did not realize that he had lost his confidence.

“Did he really die!” The members of Section Zero could not help but worry.

At this moment, a grayish fog suddenly condensed together and rapidly transformed into Han Xiao.

After regaining his physical form, Han Xiao spat out a mouthful of blood. His appearance was pale, and his limbs were covered with injuries, with burn marks and blood all around.

Before anyone could even react, Han Xiao’s wounds began to close up rapidly, and all his lost blood and flesh grew back. His pale appearance also began to regain color, and in the blink of an eye, he recovered to his peak.

Aurora’s Character Summon Card, [Life Return)!

Dammit, I was almost blown to death. Han Xiao felt a lingering fear in his heart.

The eight Star Shaking Fists, when used together, formed a special reaction, and the DarkStar mothership main cannon that he had tanked before was like a little brother before this.

In order to tank this blow, Han Xiao used all his trump cards. He had first used (Repel—Thorns] to reduce thirty percent of the initial attack. He then transformed into his Chaos Body form to ignore ninety-five percent of the damage with his energy becoming his health.

When his energy was completely exhausted, he had transformed back into his physical form, and his health had begun to fall with his energy being replenished rapidly. However, the interior of the energy ball was like a furnace with damage being dealt every second. Thankfully, he had the [Steel Body) to cancel out most of the damage, allowing him to replenish his energy. He had then transformed a couple of times between his Chaos Body form and physical body to tank the damage.

After his physical body met with the last wave of the explosion, his health had immediately emptied out, and he could only transform back into his Chaos Body form to avoid the calamity. When he reappeared again, his energy had been reduced to zero, and his HP had been left with eight percent.

He was at his wits end!

Han Xiao could only make use of his final trump card, (Life Return), to return to his peak state.

It was too dangerous!

Han Xiao had almost perished.

The scene of his physical body recovering was displayed before everyone present.

Black Star was still alive!

The next moment, the entire battlefield fell silent.

All the Calamity Grade Supers only had a single thought.

That attack was definitely at the beyond Grade A standard!

However, Black Star had managed to tank it.

They were shocked to the point they fell into a daze.

Right at this moment, the commander of Section Zero issued a new order.

“Retreat!”

While Han Xiao and the eight Vanguard Officials fought to a stalemate, Section Zero had slowly been pushed back and were not able to chase Bloodshed Land out of the region.

Despite facing eight high-level combatants alone, Han Xiao still was not able to turn the situation around. His teammates did not become outstanding because of him.

Only a beyond Grade A Super would be able to determine the direction of a war single handedly!

Despite Section Zero losing, Han Xiao’s objective had been met.

It could be said that he was the only winner of this battle!

Even the victor of this battle, Bloodshed Land, could only remain in the background!

Han Xiao boarded the Blacklight Stealth and returned with the main fleet. Fosters and the others did not attempt to stop him. Their stamina was running out, and it would not be appropriate for them to enter enemy lines. Furthermore, he had already lost the confidence to kill Black Star.

The eight Vanguard Officials could only watch as Section Zero retreated.

The Section Zero fleet split up to reveal a path to welcome Han Xiao as though he was victorious. Despite being the losing party, Section Zero’s morale was extremely high. Even though Bloodshed Land had won the battle, the atmosphere seemed as though they had lost.

Right at that moment, those who had witnessed the battle between Han Xiao and the eight Vanguard Officials understood one thing.

After this battle, Black Star would no longer be treated as an ordinary expert and would go up to the next level. He had truly walked onto the stage of the bigshots in the Star Field!

The Calamity Grade Supers from Section Zero could predict that Black Star would be completely different from them!

[1] This is a reference to Dragon Ball.

Chapter 660 - Legendary Point: Indestructible Body.

The Section Zero fleet left the Bloodshed Land startled. Word of the astonishing fight earlier quickly spread throughout the entire fleet. The other allies were all shocked and could not believe it. Their doubts were only cleared when they saw the video footage.

Han Xiao met with Lagi and the others. The battlefield that his troops had been in did not have an intense fight, so the damage suffered in this battle was insignificant.

After leaving the battlefield, a notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

You have received 1 Legendary Point.

Han Xiao was not surprised. Back when he faced the attack of three DarkStar Calamity Grades before he was even a Calamity Grade himself, he had also received the [Battle of Three Calamity Grades] Legendary Point. Now that he had faced the eight Vanguard Officials who were much more famous, receiving a Legendary Point was expected.

Star Cluster Legendary Point (Colton Star Cluster): Indestructible Body. You fought eight Vanguard Officials of the Bloodshed Land at once, and with absolutely unquestionable results, you proved to the world that you deserved this title. Tales of this fight will be passed on by many, becoming an everlasting legend!

Indestructible Body…

Han Xiao was surprised. This had initially been a nickname given by many organizations, but now it had become official. He felt very excited for some reason.

He had finally earned a real title for himself!

Star Cluster Legendary Points increased his rewards by twenty percent, much higher than Star System Legendary Points. This was his first Star Cluster Legendary Point.

If I defeated the eight Vanguard Officials, the reward might totally be a Star Field Legendary Point.

Han Xiao shook his head. That was beyond his capabilities. All the Vanguard Officials were very tanky, too. Plus, they had cooperated with each other very well, controlling the tempo of the battle. Retreating alive was the limit of his current capabilities. Only Beyond Grade As could deal with this kind of situation with ease.”

On the interface, the mission was shown as completed. Han Xiao was about to contact Ralph and tell him to carry out his end of the deal, but as soon as he took out the communicator, Ralph’s communication request came first.

As soon as he picked up, Ralph instantly spoke. “Black Star, your combat capability has completely exceeded my expectations. You really did it! Although we did not win this time, you have put an end to the negative situation…”

Ralph did not hold back in praising him. Due to fear of Bloodshed Land’s strategy, the Calamity Grade Section Zero members had all been unwilling to fight. At this crucial moment, Han Xiao had been the only one that could directly restrain those enemies. Han Xiao was a straw to clutch at in his eyes. He praised him nonstop till the point that even Han Xiao was annoyed.

Han Xiao could not help but stop him.

“Stop it. There’s no need for these compliments. It’s time to complete the deal. Give me the Cutting-Edge Knowledge. I want to retreat from the battlefield temporarily.” Hearing that, the excitement on Ralph’s face froze. “You want to quit the secret war?”.

“Just temporarily. As you have seen, in order to fight the eight Vanguard Officials, my Mechanical Army was wiped out. I’m a Mechanic. Without my machines, my combat capability will decrease tremendously. Plus, I’m actually suffering from rather serious internal injuries. I’m only forcing myself not to vomit any blood,” Han Xiao said with a serious and sincere face.

“Really?” Ralph looked at Han Xiao suspiciously.

He did not look injured at all.

“What, do you want me to vomit some blood for you to see?” Han Xiao opened his mouth and looked like he was about to vomit.

“Alright, alright, I believe you.” Ralph quickly stopped him. He felt that Black Star might really be heavily injured.

Thinking about it, he had fought against the eight Vanguard Officials. Plus, he had been hit by a Beyond Grade A standard attack; it was normal for him to pay a price for it.

Han Xiao paused and explained, “I need to rest for some time. Cutting-Edge Knowledge is extremely complex. I will need half a month… Hmm, a month to learn it.”

Ralph nodded. Cutting-Edge Knowledge was indeed very complex.

“Also, I need time to rebuild my Mechanical Army. This will be a huge project. I won’t be able to utilize my full potential if I don’t rebuild it, so it would be meaningless even if I did continue to take part in the battles.”

“Er… I suppose.” Ralph was in a dilemma. “But if you quit, we really won’t have the ability to fight back in terms of high-level combatants. As you know, the other members are not really contributing at all.”

Han Xiao shrugged, as if saying, I’ve done what I could.

He shook his head and said, “As you’ve seen, I can’t change the war alone, and this battle has proved that. Even though I held back the Vanguard Officials, the fleet wasn’t able to penetrate into the Bloodshed Land’s stronghold. Compared to Bloodshed Land, our alliance fleet looks like an amateurs. The way I see it, the Bloodshed Land will almost definitely succeed in their invasion.”

After two battles, Ralph was rather pessimistic. He asked, “What thoughts do you have?”

“I think that at the start of the secret war, Bloodshed Land will gather their forces to create the first batch of strongholds,” Han Xiao said in a sincere tone. “It will be exceedingly difficult for us to stop that from happening. However, Bloodshed Land will have to split their forces to build more strongholds in order to invade the several Star Systems near the borders. This will cause their forces to split up. At that time, maybe Section Zero will have a chance to counterattack.”

Although he did not know the details from the version update, he still remembered what the situation of the secret war had been at the later stages during Version 3.0. From that, he could deduce Bloodshed Land’s advantages during the earlier stages.

The march of Bloodshed Land was unstoppable. He wanted to retreat now because he did not want to get thrashed by the opponents in the earlier stages.

Ralph contemplated for a while. In the end, he could only admit that what Han Xiao had said made a lot of sense. That might really turn out to be how things developed. He suddenly felt powerless and asked, “You’re right-do you have any suggestions?”

“I feel that the most important matter at the moment is the fact that the high-level combatants of Section Zero are avoiding battles. We shouldn’t have unrealistic fantasies about chasing all the enemies away. It’s best to stop when suitable to avoid larger damage. The time to counter-attack has yet to arrive. What we need to do now is strengthen our forces till that moment arrives.”

Star Cluster Civilizations were not short on resources. In order to stop Bloodshed Land, Purple Crystal could use these resources to increase the strength of the Section Zero members. As for Han Xiao, who had already shown his value, if the Purple Crystal Civilization took his advice, he would receive even more benefits.

Ignoring the Great Mechanic Han’s ulterior motive, this suggestion did make sense. At least, this was a feasible strategy for Ralph.

“I will pass on your suggestion to the commanding department and let them analyze it.” Ralph paused before sighing. “As for your request, I will approve it… I have only one requirement. When you have recovered fully, you have to return to the battlefield immediately.”

“Of course. When will you give me the Cutting-Edge Knowledge?”

“I will give you a knowledge list later. You can pick it for yourself. By the way, the resources to make up for your loss will also be handed to you as soon as possible.”

Han Xiao smiled.

With the Cutting-Edge Knowledge that he was soon going to receive, he would be able to complete his Class Advancement mission. One of the bigger goals of joining the secret war had already been achieved.

Han Xiao had taken a shortcut, so he did not have to spend too much time farming Favorability. This act of holding back the eight Vanguard Officials alone was unduplicatable; the Vanguard Officials had now discovered that he was very difficult to kill, so they would not waste their energy fighting him together. This time, it brought Han Xiao fame, and the Vanguard Officials would definitely not make the same mistake next time.

Han Xiao was extremely tanky, but his actual combat capability was not that extraordinary. One or two Vanguard Officials would be able to restrain him. What had happened that day would never happen again.

In order to become stronger, he needed to continue leveling up as well as build new machines using the Cutting-Edge Knowledge as the core.

After closing the communication, Ralph sent the knowledge list over.

There was a total of sixty Mechanic knowledges, twenty from Armed, Energy, and Control Branch each. These knowledges were grouped into five levels —basic, advanced, and high-level knowledges made up forty-five of the sixty knowledges. There were only fifteen Cutting-Edge Knowledges and Ultimate Knowledges in total. The fact that there were so few of them showed how extremely valuable they were.

There were nine types of Cutting-Edge Knowledges, three from each of the branches. Even Purple Crystal did not have all the Cutting-Edge Knowledges, just some of them.

Han Xiao was a Virtual Mechanic. The Potential Point cost for learning Control Branch Cutting-Edge Knowledges was normal, but it would cost triple the Potential Points to learn Cutting-Edge Knowledges from the other two branches.

Yet, Han Xiao did not choose the Control Branch Cutting-Edge Knowledge but an Energy Branch Cutting-Edge Knowledge.

[Abnormal State Energy]!

This was a must-learn knowledge for any Mechanic after Class Advancement. It could be considered an evolutionary knowledge for Mechanics.

After learning this knowledge, only then would the Mechanics be able to harvest, extract, and use psionic and antimatter energy on a large scale!

Energy was the core of machines. The change in energy technology would bring tremendous changes!

Han Xiao had been waiting for this knowledge for a very long time. He had saved his Potential Points so that he could afford the triple cost.

Since he did not have to take part in the upcoming battle, Han Xiao took his people and left, heading back to the base in the Garton Star System.

The other Section Zero members were envious, seeing that the Black Star Army was leaving, but none of them had a problem with it.

Black Star had taken a huge risk in this battle. He did indeed have the right to go back and rest. The others could only watch as the Black Star Army departed.

…

The second fight between Purple Crystal and Klent had ended. The other five Star Cluster Civilization that had been paying attention to the secret war received the battlefield report very soon. Those superiors could almost not believe their own eyes.

Black Star had fought the eight Vanguard Officials alone and survived almost unharmed?

Really?

This news thunderously appeared on the desk of the various organization leaders and stirred up a storm in their social circle!

The seven Star Cluster Civilizations, Bloodshed Land, and the other huge organizations all reevaluated Han Xiao.

Originally, in their eyes, Black Star was most famously known as Ames’ trustworthy subordinate and secondly known for his network. Black Star’s position in their social circle had basically come from these two titles. However, these organizations did not consider his combat capability to be anything notable. On average, their assessment of him wasBlack Star is a rather strong Calamity Grade, but he’s not overwhelmingly strong among those of the same grade.

However, this news shattered all the opinions of these organizations concerning Han Xiao.

According to his performance in this battle, the seven Star Cluster Civilization and the various organizations reevaluated his strength. “In the universe, fighting alone isn’t popular. Many people have to face more than one opponent of the same grade at the same time. It’s known that Mages and Mechanics are the two types of Supers that are most capable of fighting more than one enemy of the same grade.

“Black Star is a Mechanic, but his way of fighting more than one enemy is different.

“Mechanics have shared weakness—their physical body isn’t strong enough. Other than some Mechanics that use single unit combat suits, most Mechanics are afraid of the enemies closing the distance. However, Black Star has an unbelievable physique. His endurance is extremely high, and he has an almost Esper ability level recovery speed. The strategy of closing the distance on him will be turned into a trap by him instead.

“He’s a special Mechanic. Even if he loses his machines, he will still have a very high combat capability with his physique. Dragging out the battle is his strength-he’s able to make the battles long enough to make more than ninety percent of the Calamity Grades exhausted and powerless.

“From the machines that Black Star has showcased, it’s clear that he has yet to master the use of psionic energy. As soon as he starts to use psionic as the energy core, with his terrifying physique, Black Star’s strength will multiply many times. He will undoubtedly become one of the very few people that stand at the top of Calamity Grades.

“According to the intelligence above, it’s strongly recommended to move him into the (Shattered Star Ring Beyond Grade A Seed Observation List]…

“Black Star has the potential of reaching Beyond Grade A!”

The Beyond Grade A Seed List was on an entirely new level from the usual Calamity Grades. The Star Cluster Civilizations paid attention to everyone on this list. Every name represented someone extremely talented with the potential to become a Beyond Grade A.

This was not only determined by potential but also strength, growth speed, special talent, race, ability type, and many other factors.

This list covered the entire Shattered Star Ring.

However, there were a few dozen people on the list!

Chapter 661 - A New Level

Chapter 661 A New Level

On Planet Heber, Bloodshed Land’s headquarters, the intelligence of the frontline was transmitted back to the command post. Jorde requested to see Heber-he felt that he had to report Black Star’s performance.

Heber sat on the enormous throne inside the palace. After hearing Jorde’s report, not only was he not angry, he showed an interesting expression instead. He slowly spoke with a thunderous voice.

“I was not wrong. Black Star is wasting his talent under Ames. He should’ve come to be my subordinate.”

Heber shook his head. He had always thought Han Xiao was very capable, but Han Xiao had rejected him twice. He definitely would not invite him a third time.

“Klent isn’t very happy. They think that Black Star is an unstable factor and should be eliminated as soon as possible,” Jorde said.

“I don’t need them to teach me how to fight a war,” Heber said. “What do my eight Vanguard Officials think?”

“Er, Fosters said that he has brought shame to Bloodshed Land’s name and is very embarrassed. He will use a hundred victories to wash away today’s shame.”

Jorde chose his words carefully. The truth was, Fosters was not as emotionally stable as Jorde said he was-he was almost depressed.

“The Bloodshed Land’s position won’t decrease because of just one battle,” Heber replied. “He’s a winner, so he shouldn’t act like a loser. In the entire Shattered Star Ring, there are dozens of Calamity Grades that have the potential to become a Beyond Grade A. However, after so many years, there are still only four Beyond Grade As…”

After a pause, a fierce vibe came from Heber. Jorde felt as if his neck had been grabbed by someone, and his breath stopped for a moment.

“Potential is just potential. With me here, there’s no need to fear anyone.”

Jorde was instantly motivated. Heber’s confidence was what made it worth following him till the end.

At the same time on the Purple Crystal Civilization’s mother planet…

The two losses of Section Zero had made the Purple Crystal upper echelons very unsatisfied. Black Star’s performance was the only good news among all the bad news.

The high-level government officials from the relevant departments hosted a private meeting to discuss Black Star.

“Beyond Grade A seeds are extremely rare. Although the Dragon Emperor is neutral, Black Star is on Purple Crystal’s side. He has remarkably high investment value.”

“That’s right. Black Star’s force is in the Colton Star Cluster, so he’s close to us. If he can become a Beyond Grade A, this means that a Beyond Grade A force will appear in Colton. This will make up for our disadvantage compared to Klent.”

The Purple Crystal Civilization was very jealous of Klent Kingdom having Bloodshed Land as an ally.

If they had a Beyond Grade A organization as an ally as well, they would not have to spend so much effort to create Section Zero, and they would not be at such a disadvantage in the secret war.

Black Star had the potential, and he was much more motivated than the Dragon Emperor. Considering his political affiliation, the Purple Crystal Civilization felt that he was worthy of investing in.

This meeting was to discuss their attitude toward Black Star in the future. They saw longer term benefits in Han Xiao beyond this war.

Star Cluster Civilizations were not afraid of Beyond Grade As, but that did not mean that they did not want one. The various Star Cluster Civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring were all very serious in cultivating Supers. They built many schools to educate students with potential, producing talented people every year as fresh blood being supplied to the various departments.

However, they could only cultivate Calamity Grades at most. There was completely no hope in raising a Beyond Grade A. This was not something that could be created through a certain procedure.

Therefore, a Beyond Grade A seed who was close to the Purple Crystal Civilization was more than enough to make those high-level officials put down whatever they were dealing with and go for a meeting to discuss it.

“If Black Star becomes a Beyond Grade A, we can help him to build his Beyond Grade A organization into an organization that can match the Bloodshed Land. This way, Klent will no longer have this advantage. Also, this will make us more influential in the Star Field.”

“Cultivating our own Beyond Grade A ally… it’s a good idea, but Black Star will have to fulfill his potential.”

They discussed for some time and finally came to an agreement.

They would change the way they invested in Black Star, increasing the resources provided to the Black Star Army. After all, the cost of building a relationship with a Calamity Grade was incomparable to the cost of building a relationship with a Beyond Grade A. The earlier they made this investment, the smaller the cost.

Purple Crystal did not lack resources. They were willing to invest early and bet on Black Star’s potential.

At the same time, they decided to promote the Black Star Army’s position in Section Zero. They would heavily focus on Black Star’s growth and provide him with a certain amount of protection to prevent other organizations from secretly targeting him.

A Beyond Grade A seed was a new level that exceeded normal Calamity Grades. Every one of them was the focus of various organizations.

The fame brought by this fight had completely changed the Star Cluster Civilizations’ attitudes toward Han Xiao.

With people spreading the information, the news that Black Star had become a new Beyond Grade A seed quickly spread throughout the Shattered Star Ring. Countless galactic residents knew about this, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that almost everyone in the Shattered Star Ring did.

Even those Star Cluster Civilizations that had no conflict with the Purple Crystal Civilization were not willing to watch Purple Crystal obtain someone that might become a Beyond Grade A in the future. With the motive of bringing him more attention so that he would be targeted by more people, not only did they not hide their attention on Han Xiao, they deliberately leaked it.

In the process of spreading, the news was twisted again and again. In the end, it shockingly became… “Black Star will be the fifth Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring in the future”!

This was much more shocking than him being a Beyond Grade A seed. It was basically pushing Han Xiao onto the throne in advance. Countless people were stunned.

The big organizations knew that this was bullsh*t, but most people did not know the details. Under the various exaggerated reports, many people really believed in this rumor and started to spread the news that the fifth Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring was about to appear.

This news reached Floating Dragon Island as well.

Whoosh!

The alloy gate of the training room opened, and Hila walked out while wiping the sweat on her forehead.

Over the past few years while she was training on Floating Dragon Island, she had changed out of her black battle suit and gotten herself a specially tailored red windbreaker made with a special cloth. It was engraved with a high-level shield and was also enchanted to enhance her Esper ability.

If Han Xiao was there now, he would definitely feel that it looked very familiar—the design of this windbreaker was very similar to what he had worn when he was Black Phantom.

“It’s been almost three years. I’m getting more and more skilled in my ability. According to the universal standard, I’ve stabilized at Grade B. Based on my current growth, I should be able to become Grade B+ within three years. Ames said that I have the potential to become a Calamity Grade…”

Feeling more and more proficient in her Esper ability, Hila was joyous.

Ames was a master of the Esper class, so the experiences she taught her benefitted her hugely. In order to catch up to Han Xiao, Hila never slacked off.

She was satisfied with her progress—this was the result that she had earned with sweat and hard work.

“Sis, I have good news!”

Just as Hila was about to go back to rest, Aurora quickly ran to her with a face filled with joy.

“What good news?” Hila was in quite a good mood. She pinched Aurora’s tender cheeks and smiled.

“It’s about Han Xiao. Everyone is saying that he will very soon become a Beyond Grade A Super. Even the news reported this!”

Aurora raised the communicator that was playing the news right in front of Hila and could not wait to share this with Hila.

Hila was stunned.

“He’s about to become a Beyond Grade A?”

Ames was a Beyond Grade A. Did that not mean that Han Xiao was going to be as strong as Ames?

Hila clenched her teeth. She had initially been very satisfied with her progress, but now she felt like she could not catch up to Han Xiao no matter what. She felt immense pressure.

Compared to him, this progress is not worth mentioning!

I’m still not working hard enough!

Aurora was still speaking with excitement. Suddenly, she saw Hila turn around and walk into the training room, closing the door behind her. The next moment, the light showing that the training room was in use lit up.

“Sis?” Aurora was stunned.

Neither of them noticed that Ames was hovering in midair above, watching them.

“With such a strong personality, Hila will progress faster than expected.” Ames smiled.

Although she was lazy, she liked how hardworking Hila was.

Every Beyond Grade A had gone through a period of time when they worked extremely hard and built their own legend before they became a Beyond Grade A. In Hila, she felt like she saw her younger self.

As for Black Star, Ames could not understand what was going on with him at all.

As Han Xiao achieved astonishing things one time after another, Ames’ impression of him was shattered and reformed many times. At this time, she was not even willing to try to speculate Han Xiao’s potential. She had just one word for Han Xiao -unfathomable!

Ames had never thought that a mercenary whom she casually recruited would achieve the things that he had achieved.

Her requirement for Han Xiao was now as low as it could get.

As long as Black Star stayed by her, she would be satisfied.

Half of the Star Field was talking about him, and the news was exaggerated again and again, such that even Han Xiao was embarrassed by it.

Are they really talking about me?

When did I fight Tyrant to a draw?

When did I chase Ames?

When did I make the announcement to challenge the Crimson Dynasty?

When did I chat casually with Austin as if we’re friends… Oh, this is actually true.

Han Xiao was completely speechless.

Don’t these reporters know that they have to be responsible for these things they say?

After returning to the Garton Star System base, he finally felt the effect of this matter.

The Godoran Civilization’s attitude changed visibly. They were much more respectful and actively suggested to extend their partnership, as well as open up more resource channels to provide him more rare resources.

Han Xiao even heard that Serbia the Fifth was preparing to tour the Star System and would be going to Planet Golden Gate first to visit him publicly.

The resources given by the Purple Crystal Civilization to make up for his losses had arrived at the base. Just the cash was already more than ten million Enaus, much more than what the Purple Crystal Civilization had promised. The quantity of resources had also multiplied. This was a completely pleasant surprise.

Han Xiao tutted. He knew that what he had done was sensational, but he had underestimated how sensational it would be. It was crystal clear how much more serious the Purple Crystal Civilization was about him.

This sped up the plan that he had made before the war started.

He quickly told Phillip, Herlous, and Sylvia to settle the matters on replenishing the lost battleships and people before going to the training room. He took out the communicator and opened the data that the Purple Crystal sent to him on (Abnormal State Energy).

When I finish learning this knowledge, I will be many times stronger. My Mechanical Armies being wiped out is a good opportunity to renew them completely.

Excited, Han Xiao opened his interface.

Mechanic class Cutting-Edge Knowledge (Abnormal State Energy] detected. Spend 12 Potential Points to learn?

“Yes.”

Learning in progress. Do not cancel.

9%… 43%… 78%…

Successfully Learned! You have learned (Abnormal State Energy]!

Complex and difficult knowledge flew into Han Xiao’s head. He digested it for a while and took a deep breath.

Of course, him telling Ralph that he needed a whole month to learn was bullsh*t. The others had no way to know that he could learn things so quickly.

Finally, I have my first Cutting-Edge Knowledge.

Han Xiao was content. He achieved the Class Advancement requirement at the same time.

A notification popped up on the interface immediately.

Class Advancement requirements completed!

You have received a new class (Truth Mechanic Level1).

+210 Energy, +2 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +4 Endurance, +10 Intelligence.

You have received 7 Free Attribute Points.

You have received 1 Potential Point.

I did it!

Han Xiao was overjoyed.

[Truth Mechanic] was a high-level class in the Mechanic class, one level higher than (Galaxy Mechanic). Its level limit was twenty-five.

The name represented the fact that the Mechanic would start to learn the truths about machines in this stage.

However, to the players in his previous life, this name had another meaning.

Within my attack range, I’m the truth!

Chapter 662 - Multiplied Strength

Chapter 662 Multiplied Strength

Han Xiao calmed his mood and looked at the new abilities given by the Class Advancement.

You have received talent (Machinery Truth Knowledge)!

You have acquired ability (Extreme Energy Output)

You have acquired ability (Logic Program Strengthening)!

You have acquired ability (Deep Data Implantation]

Your talent (Virtual Technology Essence] has been enhanced!

Your ability (Strengthened Smart Defense) has been enhanced!

Your ability (Strengthened Hacking) has been enhanced!

Your ability (Quantum Network Matrix) has been enhanced!

Han Xiao nodded.

After choosing Virtual Technology Essence, each subsequent Class Advancement would enhance the Virtual Technology abilities and talents. Several important abilities of the Virtual Mechanic were strengthened, and there were two new virtual technology abilities.

The effect of [Logic Program Strengthening] was to carry out multiple upgrades for artificial intelligence to improve their calculation efficiency.

Artificial intelligence was an important helper in both virtual attack and defense. The higher the level of artificial intelligence, the higher the success rate.

This ability could be used to strengthen Phillip. After all, Risda was an independent life. Phillip was still the most loyal and adorable.

[Deep Data Implantation] strengthened his latent intrusion ability. This ability allowed one to not attack the firewall but spend time finding holes and gaps before quietly sending disguised data packets into the target’s artificial intelligence program, not causing any alarms.

This ability was not useful in direct battles because it would take a long time. However, it was perfectly suited for covert operations. The data packets could be hiding deep inside the enemy’s artificial intelligence like probes that penetrated the bottom of the ocean. They could detect the movements of ‘currents’, filtering out useful intelligence. They could also act as a time bomb.

At the same time, they could even dive into the bottom data layer of the target artificial intelligence, embed new logic, and secretly makes it betray its master.

In addition to the improvement of some abilities, this Class Advancement gave him two new important abilities.

Truth Mechanics were famous for their high damage. Their specialty was turning mechanical soldiers into elites and enhancing the attributes of the machines.

[Machinery Truth Knowledge] was the core talent of the Truth Mechanic. It blended the truth about machines into manufacture. This would comprehensively strengthen the machinery’s armor, defense, energy core, weapon power, range, and other attributes.

The degree of increase in each attribute varied from forty percent to fifteen percent. In summary, the strength increase of a single mechanical object was considerable. His manufacturing ability was greatly increased.

[Extreme Energy Output) increased the output efficiency of the energy core. This was similar to expanding the mouth of the container to make water flow faster.

It increased the power of the weapon based on the level of energy used, and the higher the level of energy used, the higher the damage bonus.

According to Han Xiao’s experience, using a cold nuclear reactor could increase the damage of a weapon by about eleven percent, while using psionic energy could increase its damage by twenty-five to thirty percent.

The power of the psionic energy itself would already increase its damage. With the addition of these two abilities, it could increase his destructive power by several notches.

The strength increase from this Class Advancement is even greater than the last. The basic attributes of mechanical structures are very important. Even if it’s just increased by a little bit, my Mechanical Force bonus will amplify it. The Truth Mechanic is a significant milestone. With the increase of so many attributes as well as my Mechanical Force bonuses, this means that with the same sized Mechanical Army, my combat capability will be many times stronger now compared to before the Class Advancement!

Han Xiao was satisfied. After the Class Advancement, the threat of his Mechanical Army would be tremendously higher to Calamity Grades. Thus, his combat capability was increased as all.

At the higher stages of the main class, the benefits of Class Advancements would be increasing. The current level was twenty-five, five levels above the Promotion limit. This meant that the Class Advancement was even more difficult than Promotion.

With a large pool of experience, Han Xiao did not blink and fully leveled up his new abilities as well as leveled himself up to level 180.

[Truth Mechanic) leveled up to Level11.

+210 Energy, +2 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +4 Endurance, +10 Intelligence.

You have received 6 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

As always, he used the Free Attribute Points on Intelligence.

The leveling up of himself and his abilities brought Han Xiao thirteen Potential Points. He then leveled up a few blueprints to gain a few points. Together with his original savings, Han Xiao directly leveled up the Cutting-Edge Knowledge [Abnormal State Energy) to Level4. Each level cost him twelve Potential Points. His Potential Points were instantly emptied.

The higher the level of the core knowledge, the better. This would affect the attributes of the Mechanical Army that he was about the rebuild. These were Potential Points that would be spent sooner or later, so Han Xiao had no hesitation. Anyway, he had a lot of Experience, so he could get Potential Points from leveling up blueprints. Even though the triple cost hurt, he could still bear it.

His total level reached 180, which was the Promotion stage, and the Promotion mission arrived on schedule.

Level 180 class advancement mission (The Ultimate Trial]: Push through one’s limits during battle, ascend the hierarchy of life.

Mission Requirements: Acquire 50 Trial Points, current progress: 0/50. The Trial Points are obtained by defeating the opponent, the opponent must be Super of the same rank. 2 Trial Points will be earned by winning. A maximum of 4 Trial Points can be obtained from one person. If the opponent is 5 levels lower than you, you will not be able to get Trial Points. If your opponent is 20 or more levels higher than you, you will get 6 Trial Points after winning. The same target cannot be repeated.

Han Xiao’s face turned into delight.

When he was level 60, he had triggered a similar trial-type Promotion mission. This kind of mission was not difficult and would not cause his level to get stuck.

The mission requirement was to fight Supers of the same grade, Calamity Grade. Trial Points would be given after a victory, which meant that sparring would do. Thus, there was no need to kill the opponent.

For players, this task would be a bit tricky. They would have to look for Calamity Grade NPCs everywhere. Even if they did find one and requested to spar, it would still depend on whether that person wanted to fight the player. If the player attacked directly, it would anger the opponent’s faction or organization.

Players would have to spend almost all their time looking for opponents. Sometimes, they would not even be able to win. However, to Han Xiao, this was not an issue at all.

With his network and connections in the Shattered Star Ring, it was way too easy to find someone to spar with.

The Black Star Army alone already had two Grade As. With Lagi’s personality, he would most likely not use his full strength, so those six Trail Points were basically guaranteed. Sadly, Reynold’s level was much lower than his, or he would be able to get four more points.

I’m now level 180, not too high in Grade A. It’s easy to find an opponent…

Level 180 meant his fourth Race Evolution. He had consumed the essence potions of quite a number of void creatures, even the core of a Void Lord. He should be able to get many strong options during the Race Evolution.

Since the Promotion mission was not difficult, Han Xiao was in no hurry. He had to at least rebuild his Mechanical Army before finding people to spar with. The Mechanical Army was his main source of combat capability.

After looking at the new abilities for a while, Han Xiao opened the interface and looked at his attributes.

Level: 180

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Chaos Observer (Human Form)

Attributes: 306 Strength, 674 Dexterity, 670 Endurance, 2126 Intelligence, 263 Mystery, 105 Charisma, 1 Luck

Free Attribute Points: 0

Potential Point: 0

Health: 125,390

Stamina: 101,620

Energy: 19,680 (Level11)

Level11 Energy bonus stats: +111 Strength, +158 Dexterity, +174 Endurance, +204 Intelligence, +129 Mystery, +21,220 Stamina Limit, +142% Machinery Affinity

Energy Rank: 17,810

Grade: A

Grade A Ranked Bonus: Additional Bonus to Endurance +10, All Resistances +8. Highest Stat(s) +10%, Other Stats +5%, Additional 30 Free Attribute Points, Additional 5 Potential Points

Remark: You’re not far from the Grade A+ threshold. Although, your actual strength is already not weaker than some Grade A+ Supers

Due to the Advanced Strengthened Life talent, Han Xiao’s energy level was already around 16,000. With the new abilities and ten more levels, his energy rank increased again.

By the time I complete the Promotion mission, my Experience will be more than enough to level up Truth Mechanic to its highest, which will make me level 195. Plus, with the bonus from Race Evolution, I should be able to reach Grade A+.

He told Herlous and the rest to take care of the Black Star Army businesses while he started to rebuild the Mechanical Army. He was eager to see how strong his Mechanical Army would be after his Class Advancement.

The first step of rebuilding was extracting new energy and building a psionic reactor.

The psionic energy was a highly unstable high-level energy. Usually, only Star Cluster Civilizations would study psionic energy because it was very risky. If a civilization studied it without advanced enough technology, if the psionic energy went out of control, an entire planet surface civilization might be destroyed.

The earliest civilization to discover psionic energy was the Federation of Light. In the field of research and development, the Federation of Light had always been ahead. Long before the appearance of Beyond Grade As, psionic energy had been used in the war between the three civilizations.

The earliest discovery of psionic energy was when the Federation of Light was studying a certain spacetime project. During an experiment that involved collapsing secondary spaces, they happened to find out that a huge amount of matter shattered during the collapse turned into a special type of energy, thus the discovery of psionic energy.

After a long period of study, the three civilizations gradually gained a clearer understanding of psionic energy.

This was very high-level energy. It came from secondary spatial collapse. It could assimilate most of the forms of energy around it, such as heat, electricity, and so on, all of which would be turned into psionic energy. That energy would all be condensed together with a very low loss of energy during the assimilation. This reaction was called ‘Psionic Inflation’.

As the cost of the spatial collapse was too high to be popularized, based on this trait, the three civilizations extracted primordial psionic particles from space collapse experiments and developed a storage technology that put the primordial psionic particles to sleep. This inhibited natural Psionic Inflation, they then began to try mass applications.

There were failures during their experiments. Once the psionic energy went out of control and was exposed to the outside world, it became a black hole like energy, constantly absorbing all forms of energy around it. The converted energy all became psionic energy, which caused the Psionic Inflation to keep occurring and creating a radioactive reaction called Psionic Pollution. When the primordial psionic particles decayed to the critical point, the huge explosion happened. A tiny bit of the primordial pyloric particle could almost flatten a small half of a planet, destroying the surface civilization.

After a long period of research into psionic energy, the three civilizations finally worked out a highly efficient and controllable psionic reaction furnace that was far more efficient than nuclear fusion. However, due to fear of psionic energy’s power when it lost control, it was not widely used in the early period.

After extensive studies, the three civilizations discovered another feature of the psionic energy-it could not only assimilate but also be inverted into various forms of energy. As psionic was created from spatial collapse, some thought that the psionic was the initial or final form of energy, that it was the so-called ‘universal energy’.

The research on the psionic energy was still underway, and there were thousands of hypotheses and studies. The three civilizations had improved the collection methods and refining formulas many times. Psionic energy had become an efficient and controllable higher-level energy source, also a necessary technology for the Mechanic class.

As a Calamity Grade Mechanic, after learning [Abnormal State Energy), Han Xiao was able to extract primordial psionic particles safely.

Chapter 663 - Psionic Core, War Situation

Chapter 663 Psionic Core, War Situation

Four thin mechanical poles formed an ‘X’ shape and secured the mini sphere-shaped reactor in the middle.

The sphere-shaped reactor was the size of a fist. It was completely silver with the surface of the ball being smooth and shiny, reflecting Han Xiao’s suave appearance.

“The small psionic reactor is of light purple grade, and its efficiency is many times that of the cold nuclear fission reactor.”

Han Xiao looked at the psionic reactor and heaved a sigh of relief.

He had used (Abnormal State Energy) to roll blueprints and received the blueprint for a large number of psionic machines. He first constructed a complete set of psionic extraction apparatus and tested it many times before carefully refining a psionic particle. Following which, the particles were melded together, and he used a few days of testing before finally being able to construct a psionic energy furnace.

Because psionic energy had some risk, Han Xiao only dared speed up the production process after ensuring the stability of every step.

After observing the results of the test, Han Xiao plucked off a compressed orb from his necklace and threw it to the side.

A bolt of Mechanical Force shot toward the compressed orb and activated it. In the blink of an eye, the compressed orb transformed into the Berserk Ape mechanical suit. This was the backup suit in the warehouse. His original one had already been destroyed by the eight Vanguard Officials.

“Phillip, maintain standby mode and eject the energy core.”

“Orders confirmed, hum…’

The Berserk Ape mechanical suit raised its head and stood up straight. The chest piece of the mechanical suit then opened to reveal the interior construction of the mechanical suit.

Kacha!

A dense energy reactor was ejected from the chest of the mechanical suit. It was glowing red as though it was the heart of the mechanical suit.

Han Xiao removed the nuclear reactor and placed it to the side. He then took the psionic reactor and stuffed it back into the empty slot.

Hum!

A humming sound could be heard, and the psionic reactor lit up. A bright blue glow could be seen from the reactor, and the glow spread through the entire suit. The mechanical suit then automatically retracted the reactor and began adapting to the new reactor.

The energy furnace got to work and provided an endless stream of psionic energy. With the energy furnace as the core, blue veins spread out in all directions on the surface of the Berserk Ape suit and covered the entire suit. These blue veins lit up for a short while before becoming dull and flashing for more than ten seconds before coming to a stop.

“The update of the energy reactor is complete. The mechanical suit is functioning perfectly, hum…” Phillip said in a merry tone as though he was a little child.

While he was constructing the psionic energy furnace, Han Xiao had also upgraded Phillip’s program with his newly acquired Logic Program Strengthening. Apart from increasing Phillip’s processing efficiency, Phillip had also downloaded an emotion module and now seemed more energetic. Not only that, he had even chosen to replace his voice with the voice of a little boy.

Looking at the equipment introduction on the interface, the Power Output of the Berserk Ape was three times that of the original figure, and more modules could be installed. The mechanical suit’s original energy level of just over 20,000 had increased to 57,000, more than two times the original!

With such a large jump in attributes, it could be seen just how important Cutting-Edge Knowledge was.

Han Xiao released Mechanical Force from his palms and connected to the Berserk Ape suit. The next moment, the Berserk Ape suit rapidly covered his entire body, and the equipping process only took an instant.

With a single thought, the arm of the mechanical suit transformed into an exquisite cannon barrel, and Han Xiao aimed at an alloy wall used to test weapons.

After the energy furnace was replaced with a psionic energy reactor, the weapons of the Berserk Ape suit had also been upgraded to become psionic weapons. After adjusting the canon to burst mode, Han Xiao fired without hesitation.

Bang!

A crisp sound could be heard, and a blue light pulse was shot out from the canon. The light pulse rapidly expanded as it traveled through the air and exploded when it came into contact with the target.

A blinding light flashed by.

Boom!

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, and when he took a look at the wall again, the entire alloy wall had been reduced to rubble with dust floating in the air.

“Not bad.” Han Xiao was overjoyed.

Psionic energy truly lived up to its reputation. Just changing a single energy furnace had resulted in such a huge increase in strength. Of course, there was also the effect of the [Extreme Energy Output).

Because primal psionic energy was not stable, an ordinary psionic weapon would only be able to use the ‘dormant’ psionic energy being produced from a psionic reactor. Before the psionic energy was activated, it would not expand.

Only the strategic class weapons between civilizations would pursue the pure destructive force of primal psionic energy. However, psionic weapons that were extremely destructive were heavily restricted. If a civilization made use of such a weapon, Star Cluster civilizations or the three great civilizations would investigate the matter. After all, no one wanted to see a planet within their territory getting flattened by a weapon.

All civilizations were extremely wary of Mechanics who had grasped psionic energy. It did not matter if they wanted to be a litterbug. However, they could not choose to freely throw psionic energy around.

Han Xiao still was not able to refine something like a Planetary Destroyer. His level, Intelligence, and knowledge were not sufficient at the moment. He would only be able to do so after reaching the level of Manison from the [Mechanic Empire). This was also a specialty of a beyond Grade A Super.

Han Xiao then tested the piercing, fully automatic, and other modes of the psionic canon before testing the shield module of the Berserk Ape suit.

Because of the new energy furnace, the shield had also transformed into a psionic shield. The original appearance of the nuclear shield was a half-transparent mirror-like shield glowing either yellow or blue.

As for the psionic shield, its exterior was like a bubble with two thirds of it being transparent and colorless. Outside the colorless region, the shield was blue in color, gradually turning darker toward the outside. The entire shield was more circular and not as angular as before, with the durability of the shield being greatly enhanced.

At the same time, because of the assimilation property of psionic energy, the psionic shield would absorb a small amount of damage when being struck to replenish the durability of the shield, allowing it to last longer. The psionic shield also came with the ability to perform a short-ranged charge. Han Xiao activated his psionic shield and charged straight at the alloy wall. The alloy wall caved in immediately like soft soil, leaving behind a circular dent.

At the instant of the collision, the durability of the shield fell slightly and transformed into kinetic force to increase the damage.

Even if an ordinary individual covered his fist with the psionic shield and punched normally, they would easily be able to bend a metal pole. This was an important method for a Mechanic to deal with close combat fights.

“Right, I think the psionic reactor has an Additional Ability.”

Han Xiao then raised his palm and controlled the energy supplied by the furnace to his palm. With a shake of his wrist, a psionic energy ball floated on top of his palm. It was currently in a dormant state and was extremely stable.

He then pressed the psionic energy ball onto the alloy wall, and the next moment, the entire alloy wall shook, and cracks could be seen spreading out from the surface of the wall.

“Indeed, a psionic mechanical suit can directly release psionic energy.”

Han Xiao was extremely satisfied with the results of his test. Directly releasing energy was a very handy skill. Not only would it increase his close combat abilities, it would also allow him to use it in various complicated ways.

After testing the various skills, Han Xiao began to upgrade his machines. The first one that he upgraded with his Berserk Ape suit.

The Berserk Ape suit had been constructed when he was around level 140, and now that his skills had been upgraded, it was time to improve the suit. Han Xiao was prepared to perform an all-round upgrade for the Berserk Ape suit so that it could keep up to his current level and become his core weapon.

The reconstruction of his Mechanical Army was also taking place at the same time. Han Xiao refined a large number of psionic energy particles as the core material and invested a large amount of experience to form a mini psionic energy furnace assembly line.

Apart from that, as Han Xiao’s level increased, more high-level blueprints were also unlocked. Han Xiao gambled for some new machines and weapons before constructing their new assembly lines. Very quickly, new batches of high-grade machines came out fresh from the oven.

The Black Star Army’s military factory was clearly demarcated into two different sections. The purpose of the logistics factory that Reynold oversaw was mainly to provide for the entire army, and it produced common equipment. Han Xiao’s military factory was for his personal use, and all the equipment produced was top quality. Regardless of production speed or quality, it far exceeded the logistics factory.

To date, Han Xiao had only lent the factory to Reynold. It could be said that only a Calamity Grade Super would be allowed to use his personal factory.

The assembly line that Han Xiao had personally constructed enjoyed his personal stat boost. His new talent, [Machinery Truth Knowledge), greatly increased the attributes of the products in his factory. Currently, the cannon fodder mechanical soldiers had attributes no lower than the elite soldiers of his army before his Class Advancement.

At his level, he had almost maxed out the production speed of his assembly line. As long as he was willing to spend money, he would be able to construct a new army within a short time!

Han Xiao spent money like water, and in a short month’s time, he completed the reconstruction of his Mechanical Army. Its size was even greater than before his Class Advancement, and the number of soldiers that he had was over a million!

The serial number of his ordinary army reached ‘016’, and he had six elite army units that were numbered from ‘101’ to ‘106’, making a total of twenty-two Army Boxes.

He truly could do as he wished if he was rich!

…

In the past month, Bloodshed Land had steadily advanced, and the other two vanguard forces had also revealed themselves and invaded two other Star Systems on the border.

By this point, Bloodshed Land’s target was extremely clear. They wanted to occupy West Wind, Kaya, and Chaida, the three Star Systems on the border.

Bloodshed Land intentionally fragmented the battlefield up into many different regions, and Section Zero invested all their members into the war to launch a counterattack in the three Star Systems. However, under the ferocious assault of Bloodshed Land, Section Zero was on the losing end.

The situation in Kaya and Chaida was slightly better than the battlefield in West Wind, which was the most dangerous. The eight Vanguard Officials had gathered together, resulting in the high-level combatants of Section Zero choosing to avoid battle. They were not able to stop Bloodshed Land’s advancement, and the enemy had already set up bases on six different planets.

As they captured more planets, Bloodshed Land began to gradually reduce the speed of their advancement. The military forces of the vanguard army were limited. After leaving behind soldiers to guard the captured planets, the number of soldiers that they could mobilize greatly decreased. After the many battles, the vanguard army also suffered considerable losses. However, the vanguard army brought along their own logistics factory and began constructing battleships on the spot to replenish their losses.

The mission of the vanguard army was only to set up a bridgehead for their main army. They took just a month to complete the mission, and after that, they stopped their advancement and waited for the arrival of the main army.

The main army naturally would not cross the barren cosmic belt slowly like the vanguard army did. Klent had already made preparations before the battle to stealthily set up a transit station in the barren cosmic belt. They used their Star Cluster level skills to construct a stable stargate so that the transportation of reinforcements and resources would take considerably less time.

Klent’s transit station was hidden within the barren cosmic belt. While the Purple Crystal Civilization did not know of its exact location, they were aware of its existence.

On the base that they had set up, the vanguard army had also brought the spare parts and Klent’s technological staff to set up a stargate. The moment the construction was complete, their logistical issue would not be a problem, and they would be able to receive a never-ending supply of reinforcements.

Even if the Purple Crystal Civilization understood what Klent’s strategy was, they did not have the strength to stop it. After the vanguard army constructed a few strongholds, they immediately set up a Military Orbit Quantum Leap Station to connect all their strongholds to reinforce each other.

The moment one of their strongholds was under attack, the other strongholds would be able to send reinforcements.

In order to deal with the Mutation Disaster, Godora had once used the Military Orbit Quantum Leap Station. This was Star Cluster level strategic equipment that was commonly used in galactic wars. Godora had also bought it from a Star Cluster level civilization.

Section Zero had tried to destroy the stargate multiple times with all their attempts ending in failure. Only then did they change their strategy so as to not waste their soldiers. They had changed their strategy with the main focus being to harass their enemy.

Purple Crystal invested a large amount of resources to allow the members of Section Zero to expand their fleets and replenish their troops.

Despite Ralph not mentioning it, it was obvious that Section Zero had decided to take his advice.

With the resources and production capabilities of a Star Cluster Civilization, as long as Bloodshed Land completed the construction of the stargate, this war would end up becoming a long war. Both parties would be able to replenish their armies without end and dump a never-ending supply of resources into the war.

While soldiers would die, the battleships would never be used up.

Both parties’ ability to fight the war for ten years was because they had a hefty accumulation of resources. Fighting a war required money, and both parties were competing in production capabilities.

After not participating in the war for a month, the current situation of the secret war did not have much to do with Han Xiao. He reconstructed his Mechanical Army and continued to expand his army. The first batch of resources that the Purple Crystal Civilization had given him had been used up. A full 10,000,000 Enaus had been used up, and he even had to take out some money from his own savings.

After spending such a large sum of money, the Black Star Army had constructed more than a hundred new battleships and hired a new batch of mercenaries.

Fighting a war burnt a lot of money. If he did not participate in the secret war, Han Xiao would not have received the support from a Star Cluster Civilization.

After skiving and preparing for a month, Han Xiao was prepared to complete his Promotion mission before returning to the battlefield.

Farming faction contribution was still useful as Purple Crystal still had a few Cutting-Edge Knowledges that he had not learned.

Han Xiao wanted to fight Lagi to exchange pointers, but a few uninvited guests showed up at his base.

Chapter 664 - Lagi’s Past, Creeping Evil

Chapter 664 Lagi’s Past, Creeping Evil

After the start of the secret war, the Black Star Army had conducted several additional recruitments. The seedlings of the training camp had matured, and many freelance mercenaries had also been recruited. The Black Star Army had supplemented its new blood, with the number of official mercenaries exceeding 200,000. The number of personnel stationed at Base No.1 was ample.

Three masked Mages in dark hooded robes walked into the hall of Base No.1, drawing the eyes of many mercenaries along the way. The Hidden Red Robe Abbey was known by the entire Star Field. ‘Magus’ Austin’s Forbidden Sorcerers were very famous and instantly recognizable.

Why are Austin’s people visiting the captain?

Quite a few people knew that the captain was the Dragon Emperor’s officer. Upon seeing that Han Xiao was in contact with another Beyond Grade A, they could not help but wonder.

The three Forbidden Sorcerers arrived in the reception room, where they saw Han Xiao and nodded politely.

Han Xiao waved his hand and asked Sylvia to get the hell back to studying. He then looked at the three people and asked, “Austin’s Forbidden Sorcerers, what is this about?”

The short Forbidden Sorcerer in the middle, Desoro, was the leader of the three. He gave a simple self-introduction and then cut to the chase.

“The Magus ordered us to find someone, one of your subordinates. We’re here to bring him back.”

Han Xiao was dumbfounded. This surprised him. “Are you talking about Lagi?” Of all the officers, only Lagi had an unknown origin. Plus, he was a Grade A+ Mage, so he had the highest chance of being the target of these three people.

“Yes, his full name is called Lagi Schwer. He worked under the Magus before.” Desoro’s tone was calm. His statement was ambiguous, and it seemed like he did not want to give the details.

Han Xiao was secretly surprised. Lagi had been imprisoned for ten years, and no one had rescued him. Now that he had escaped, Austin’s people had come looking for him right away.

Although he clearly knew that Austin would not be so despicable, it did feel a little annoying.

He thought about it and realized that it was odd. If Lagi was Austin’s subordinate, how could he have been caught so easily? Lagi seemed like a lone ranger before getting caught, and if it was true, it meant that he had been removed from Austin’s forces. So, why would Austin send people to get Lagi back?

“Why are you bringing him back?” Han Xiao asked.

Shaking his head, Desoro refused to answer, saying, “This is the order of the Magus. We just execute it.”

Han narrowed his eyes and asked, “What if I refuse?”

Desoro’s voice was calm and unshaken. “The Magus said that you owe him a favor and will give him face.”

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. He was one to give in to the soft approach instead of the hard approach. During the Tyrant’s party, Austin had given him the core of a Void Lord without any reason, so he did indeed owe him a favor. There were indeed no free lunches in the world.

Now, Han Xiao would be out of his mind to fall out with Austin, who had a good relationship with him. Moreover, he had once received a gift from him, so he really could not refuse. After all, relationships were mutual—A helped B, so B should help A in the future within the range of B’s ability. Otherwise, it would be easy to bury the relationship that took effort to establish.

Only, Han Xiao was still a bit reluctant. Lagi was the second strongest combatant in the Black Star Army, second only to Han Xiao himself. If he left, the high-level combatant standard would fall drastically.

After a moment of consideration, Han Xiao came up with an excuse and said, “Us discussing where he will be going is actually meaningless. I think it is necessary to ask him for his opinion. If he wishes to go back with you, I will, of course, not force him to stay. If he does not want to go, I won’t be able to do anything about it.”

“Okay.” Desoro nodded and had no objection.

In fact, on the way, Desoro had envisaged many situations. If Black Star used all sorts of excuses to obstruct him and not even give face to Austin, he would not exclude the possibility of having to take Lagi away by force.

He did not expect that Black Star would suddenly become a Beyond Grade A seed with a history of fighting eight Calamity Grades at once. This had shocked him.

Clearly knowing that he was miles away from being able to do something like that, Desoro feared Black Star. Black Star had shown that he had the potential to become a Beyond Grade A. Although Austin had Desoro’s back, it would not be a good idea for him to establish a bad relationship with Black Star, hence his rather friendly behavior.

Han Xiao sent Lagi a message. After a while, Lagi pushed open the door and walked in while complaining.

“Is there another dangerous mission? I’m telling you, I will die sooner or later if you keep sending me to these… hmm?”

Lagi walked in and saw the three Forbidden Sorcerers. His complaining stopped, and his expression collapsed. He muttered, “No wonder I kept getting distracted during yesterday’s meditation. Something bad is indeed happening today. Sigh…”

A tint of coldness flashed across Desoro’s eyes as he said in an indifferent tone, “It’s been a long time, Lagi.”

“Can you pretend you didn’t see me?” Lagi’s face was bitter.

“What do you think?” Desoro replied.

With no alternative, Lagi looked at Han Xiao with grief and sorrow.

Han Xiao’s eyes twitched. “Don’t look at me like this. They came to me and said that they’re going to take you back. So, you used to be Austin’s subordinate. Why didn’t you tell me? Him and I are quite close.”

“How would I know that you knew Austin?” Lagi asked with an aggrieved expression.

Being Austin’s subordinate before was an amazing record and would get him a very high position in the majority of organizations. Lagi did not tell Han Xiao because he wanted to remain low key. Moreover, he felt that Black Star and Austin should have nothing to do with each other. He never expected that Han Xiao and Austin had talked and laughed together before.

“You don’t seem to want to see Austin’s people.” Han Xiao frowned slightly. “There’s no need to hide your past now. Tell me.”

Desoro glanced and Han Xiao and did not say anything to stop him.

Lagi sighed and had a sad expression on his face as if he did not want to get into it. Han Xiao almost wanted to give him a cigarette so that it would match his expression and the atmosphere.

“Alright, I’ll tell you. Decades ago, I was the Hidden Red Robe Abbey’s Forbidden Sorcerer commander, the fourth disciple of Magus Austin.”

Han Xiao’s eyes immediately widened.

Holy… you’re quite someone, aren’t you?

The position of the Forbidden Sorcerer commander was roughly equivalent to the chief Vanguard Official under the Tyrant. The fourth disciple meant that he was one of Austin’s protégés. These two titles added together, and Lagi’s position in the past was basically Austin’s right-hand man.

Lagi waved his hands with that same sad, reluctant expression. “However, afterward, I made a mistake, and Austin kicked me out of the Hidden Red Robe Abbey. I left Austin, became a Lone Ranger, and then I was caught. You saved me, and then you know the

rest.”

Han Xiao was shocked. With Lagi’s position, what big mistake could he have made to cause Austin to chase him away?

At this point, Desoro coughed and said, “Your Excellency Black Star, it’s better if you don’t know.”

Han Xiao’s eyes moved but became more curious. He then turned his head and saw that Lagi’s expression had become incredibly forlorn, as if he suddenly had stubble on his face.

“Alas, everyone has been young and wild before. Magus really is a good man. It’s a miracle that I could live till now,” Lagi said with a nostalgic tone.

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. It was very difficult for him to imagine Lagi being young and wild. It felt like a man with this name was born with a languid aura. He could not associate him with the adjectives ‘young’ and ‘wild’ at all.

“Alright, let’s get back to the point. I respect your opinion. If you want to go back with him, I won’t stop you, but if you want to stay, I’ll help you refuse them.”

Desoro’s brows furrowed. He thought for a moment and did not speak.

He rubbed his face and sighed. “I’ll go back with you.”

Desoro heaved a sigh of relief. Luckily, Lagi read the room, so he did not have to fall out with Black Star.

He turned to Han Xiao and said, “Your Excellency Black Star, he’s willing to come with us. Please abide by our agreement.”

“Alright then.”

Han Xiao sighed in his mind. Lagi was a great aid who had been difficult to acquire, and now he was leaving him. It felt like a neighbor reaching out to his vegetable field and pulling a high quality, emerald-like leek.

This time, Lagi suddenly opened his mouth and spoke with a very serious tone.

“Black Star, you saved me. Don’t doubt my belief of doing things for you. I’m going back to make it clear to Austin. Otherwise, they won’t give up, and I don’t want to cause you trouble…”

After hearing this, Han Xiao immediately felt that he was wrong about Lagi. The little discontentment in his heart disappeared instantly. He was even a little touched.

as eve

Wow, you’re actually quite reliable. Saving you definitely wasn’t meaningless.

Then, Lagi returned to his original tone and became indolent, muttering, “You can’t beat Austin anyway. There’s no use even if I do refuse. Me going back with them is good for everyone. Sigh…”

What? That’s not false at all!

Han Xiao could not help but ask Desoro, “What was Austin thinking, appointing him as the commander of the Forbidden Sorcerers? Is he not worried that all the Forbidden Sorcerers will become depression patients under his lead?”

“Er… he wasn’t like this in the past.” Desoro’s tone was awkward.

They exchanged a few more polite lines. Then, Desoro stood up and said, “My mission is complete. I shall bring him back now.”

Han Xiao was just about to nod but suddenly remembered something and hurriedly stopped the bunch of them who were about to walk out.

“Wait a minute. I need your help with something.”

Desoro looked back and wondered, “Please, do tell.”

“Er… I would like to spar with you guys,” Han Xiao said.

Including Lagi, there were four strong people in front of him, who should all be twenty or more levels higher than him. This was a good opportunity to do the Promotion mission. If he beat all of them, it would give him twenty-four Trial Points, directly completing half of the mission progress. An opportunity like this would not come again once it was gone, so even though it was sudden, Han Xiao still asked for it.

As expected, Desoro and others all felt bewildered and confused.

Why is Black Star suddenly making this request?

Desoro was dumbfounded for a few seconds before he remembered to answer.

“Er… why is that?”

“When I see a formidable opponent, I can’t help but want to fight with him. The Forbidden Sorcerers are very famous, so I want to experience your strength and test my new weapon while doing so.” Han Xiao quickly made up a reason.

“Er…” Desoro was still hesitant.

Han Xiao clenched his teeth and took out the most promising trump card.

“Play a little bit. You’re here anyway…”

It was indeed the most promising trump card. Once used, Desoro did not know how to refuse.

Originally, he just wanted to take Lagi back and finish the mission early.

However, now that he had been invited to a fight, he suddenly became interested in a contest!

People had been saying that Black Star was a Beyond Grade A seed. Only a few dozen people in the entire Star Field had that honor.

Although Desoro was just an officer of a Beyond Grade A Super, he too dreamed of becoming a Beyond Grade A.

Desoro wanted to measure what made a Beyond Grade A seed so exceptional and see how big the difference in their strength was.

Thinking about that, Desoro stopped hesitating and became eager. He stared at Han Xiao and said, “Okay, you pick the place.”

Hearing Desoro’s response, Han Xiao had a humble smile of a farmer on his face. The way he looked at Desoro and the others was like looking at a few walking leeks.

“By the way, I want to spar with you too.” Han Xiao pointed to Lagi, who thought he had nothing to do with it.

Lagi’s face turned bitter, and he muttered, “I see, so this is where I get ‘accidentally’ killed during a spar…”

Meanwhile, on Planet Aquamarine…

“So, this is Black Star’s home…”

A spacecraft in stealth mode was suspended in outer space. Through the porthole, Stephanie looked over at the azure star, smiling.

“Albert was such a fool. There’s a glaring weakness, but he didn’t know how to exploit it…”

Chapter 665 - Thrashed

Chapter 665 Thrashed

Three years ago, when the Mutation Disaster ended, all sorts of galactic financial groups followed Black Star and invested in Planet Aquamarine, which was nominally a Floating Dragon territory. The long-standing technological bottleneck had easily been broken as interstellar knowledge poured in, and the stalled progress of the civilization began to grow rapidly.

No one had forgotten the significance of Han Xiao’s actions. In commemoration of the person that changed the fate of this planet, Bennett had led the effort to build a city named after Han Xiao based on Black Phantom Sanctuary.

That was Black Star City.

The survivors in the sanctuary became the residents, and countless people from the Six Nations moved to this city. Now, the budding Black Star City was the most popular city on Planet Aquamarine. The center of the city was the base of the Black Star Army. The tall, square-point tower pointed directly to the sky, with a huge Black Star Army sign carved on the tower’s body. The height of the buildings decreased from the center of the city to the edge. The overhead electric rail bridges crisscrossed, where the magnetically suspended trains shuttled continuously. The lights were bright both in the day and at night.

The galactic financial groups had come for Black Star and Floating Dragon, so Black Star City received the most investments. The technological level of this city was the highest on Planet Aquamarine. The capitals of the Six Nations were like the countryside in comparison. Black Star City was the ‘city of the future’ on Planet Aquamarine.

Although the treaties laid down by the three major civilizations contained rules that forbade interfering with the progress of low-level civilizations, these were primarily aimed at protecting the low-level civilization from being violated. If they were supporting their development, as long as the region’s governing civilization did not mind, no one would make any trouble. Of course, Godora would not prevent Han Xiao from rebuilding his homeland.

Under the protection of Han Xiao, the Six Nations were thriving, developing technology, supporting people’s livelihoods, and restoring the environment. Compared to three years prior, Planet Aquamarine had changed dramatically. With Han Xiao’s approval, Bennett had also changed the purpose of the organization and formed a new political system with Black Star City as the capital, forming the seventh nation in the world. They were gradually developing toward a Galactic Civilization.

The ten people including Stephanie landed in the wilderness outside Black Star City, looking out at the distant city.

“This is the home of Black Star. Based on the intelligence we gathered, his mother planet is of great importance to him, and he’s devoted a lot of energy to it,” one member said.

Stephanie slowly nodded.

After arriving in the Shattered Star Ring, she had not rushed into action but instead collected information for a while, learning about this mess that Albert had left behind.

The people that Albert caught had all been rescued by Black Star and were now connected to each other. If she acted carelessly, once she caught one of the freed men, the others would be alerted and become aware that someone else was hunting them again. Albert’s failure had made Stephanie’s job very difficult.

Stephanie was not planning to build a base like Albert did. She decided to stay in the dark, sending one target away right after she caught them, never staying in the same place for an extended time.

It was less efficient but less risky.

She was also not planning to seek cooperation from Klent. Klent had taken the blame for them, so it was highly likely that they would sell her out to clear their name. Furthermore, she did not build a base, so intelligence channels were less important to her.

In this case, the most difficult-to-deal-with target, Black Star, became the best first target. He had killed six people, including Albert, saved everyone captured, and made Albert’s years of accumulation go to waste. Plus, he had become a Beyond Grade A seed. He had a lot of potential and was the best prey. His Excellency Thousand Shadows would love it very much.

“Black Star is in a war, so we won’t have a very good chance of getting to him. However, as long as an enemy appears on his mother planet who only he can handle, he’ll definitely come back and deal with it. I’m not as reckless as Albert, not taking advantage of things like this.”

Instead of attacking Black Star’s territory or taking the risk of messing with the secret war, Stephanie chose to set a trap to lure Black Star into an ambush. The battlefield was set on Planet Aquamarine, which seemed like the dominant battleground for Black Star, but would actually make him cautious and careful.

Including herself, ten Calamity Grade ‘shadows’ might not be able to kill the nicknamed ‘Indestructible Body’ Black Star, but capturing him would not pose an issue.

“Even if he has the potential to be a Beyond Grade A Super, he isn’t Beyond Grade A now.” Stephanie’s expression was cold and calm.

Looking out into the azure sky, Stephanie took a deep breath and felt the coldness in her lungs. She narrowed her eyes with pleasure, smiled faintly, and said, “Hehe, I never thought that I would miss the whole war era after sleeping. This place is like my hometown, a prosperous planet… I really want to smash it.”

The other nine people glanced at each other and did not speak.

They were not familiar with Stephanie, but they knew that this captain was not a ‘shadow’ of their time.

Whoosh!

The Blacklight Stealth landed on an unpopulated planet, and Han Xiao, Desoro, and the others walked out of the hatch.

“Here will do. The space is big enough, and there’s no need to worry about the damage caused.” Han Xiao smiled.

He did not choose the base as the sparring venue. With just one accidental impact released during a fight between Calamity Grades, the base would vanish. Besides, the walls of the training room were not necessarily strong enough, and he did not want to incur unnecessary losses.

Desoro was silent and expressed his attitude with actions. His hands were reached out sideways, bright golden magic patterns appeared on his black robe, and magic forces surged. The robe was flapping as if it had rolled up a typhoon. His pupils under the hood were flashing with lightning, and anticipation for battle filled the air.

Lagi and the other two Forbidden Sorcerers retreated from the battlefield.

Feeling the immense fighting spirit, Han Xiao pulled on his necklace with his Mechanical Force. A brand-new mechanical suit model instantly covered his whole body. It was more beautiful than the Berserk Ape. It had a streamlined, silver-black shell with glowing blue patterns.

Despite being more aesthetic than Berserk Ape, it was much more violent.

This was an updated version of the Berserk Ape, also a Nano Transforming Mechanical Suit of the Ape series. Its name was (Mountain Ape]!

While the level requirement for Berserk Ape was 135, for Mountain Ape it was 165, a whole 30 levels higher. Han Xiao had used a great deal of rare raw materials and integrated new technology, which greatly increased the attributes of this mechanical suit.

Its armor value was over 110,000, and its Power Level was close to 5,000. Its performance was extremely strong

While the Berserk Ape specialized in having strong power, Mountain Ape specialized in having strong energy. This was due to the superiority of the psionic reaction furnace. While the Berserk Ape was more focused on close-range combat, Mountain Ape used psionic energy to battle and could excel in both close and long-range battles; it was more versatile.

“Come on!” Desoro yelled. A magic jewel on his collar sparkled brightly. The next moment, a dazzling magic array appeared under his feet, turning into a giant black vortex that seemed to connect to another dimension.

A giant twelve-fingers palm emerged from the vortex. Its texture was like obsidian, full of glowing golden cracks. The hand alone was close to a hundred meters long. It slammed violently on the ground.

Bang!

The ground trembled! “Summoner Mage? Superior Magic Colossus?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

The Summoner class was as unreasonable as the Army Style. All the Forbidden Sorcerers were magic masters and knew spells of many styles. It seemed like Desoro was mainly a Summoner.

Using a large summoner spell right in front of me? Do you think I don’t exist?

Han Xiao curled his lips and crossed his hands, forming an oval shape and aiming at Desoro. A blue, azure light particle appeared between his palms. It then expanded rapidly with a blinding light, shooting out a huge blue beam!

As Desoro maintained the Summoning spell, the pattern on his robe lit up. A high-energy magic shield appeared in front of him, and the blue beam crashed into it. At that moment, Desoro felt an immense sense of danger. His pupils constricted, and he immediately withdrew the Summoning spell, teleporting a few hundred meters away.

Boom!

The blue light beam instantly swallowed up the magic shield and then went into the ground. The ground cracked rapidly, and blue light emitted from the cracks and shot up into the sky.

Rumble!

A blue pillar, dozens of times larger than the beam, shot out from the ground, rising up like a fountain.

Psionic Impact-Whale!

One of the Mountain Ape’s abilities!

The energy beam vanished into the sky, and the ground turned into a circular crater hundreds of meters in diameter. As the summoning spell had ended early, only one arm of the Magic Colossus was summoned, which was nearly shattered by the explosion.

“You can use psionic energy

Desoro’s tone became extremely grave.

A Mechanic that could use the psionic and a Mechanic that could not were two completely different concepts!

“Wouldn’t that happen…”

Before Han Xiao finished his sentence, his body suddenly became blurry. Powerful impetus infused with psionic energy turned him into a lightning bolt, leaving a blue shadow behind. Han Xiao flashed in front of Desoro in an instant. His fist wrapped in psionic shield crashed down on Desoro’s magic shield with the second half of the sentence!

“… sooner or later?”

Bang!

The two of them crashed into each other!

An enormous amount of energy came from the psionic shield. The magic shield was shattering piece by piece!

Desoro was heavily hit, and he flew out like a shooting star. Leaving a blue trail, Han Xiao caught up with Desoro midway and caught him by the back of his head. His hands gripped Desoro’s neck and threw him up into the sky.

Mountain Ape Throw!

Compared to Berserk Ape’s (Berserk Throw), the Mountain Ape version gave fifty more Strength but a lower damage count. Also, it had an extra 0.5-second stun time. Generally, it was more of a disabling ability now.

Squeak!

Han Xiao stopped instantly. The mechanical suit on his arms turned into joint energy cannons. The dozens of barrels aimed at Desoro in the sky.

Bang bang bang!

In the blink of an eye, psionic beams rushed out of the barrel one after another, catching up with Desoro. The light illuminated his fearsome eyes.

Boom!

Continuous blue explosions appeared in the sky!

The bright light lit up the Mountain Ape’s helmet, and the scorching hot air was swirling.

Under the mask, Han Xiao smiled.

A Mage’s weakness was also close-range combat!

Whoosh!

With a flash of light, Desoro teleported out of attack range once again. He was injured and rather flustered. Then, he started casting a spell without a word. After all, he was an elite Mage under Austin’s command. Although the situation was not looking good, he would not be so easily defeated.

However, Desoro had to admit that, although he did not look down on Black Star, Black Star’s combat capability was still beyond his expectations.

Zoom!

With the light of summoning spells, strange and weird creatures were summoned one after another. Desoro even cast dozens of instant enhancing spells on himself to guard against Han Xiao from closing the distance again, only to find that Han Xiao had no intention of stopping his summoning.

Han Xiao smirked. As he clapped, the space around him suddenly started to ripple and buzz.

“Channeling spell? I can, too!”

Hum!

A beam of light flashed around him, and twenty-two Army Boxes appeared out of thin air.

In order to improve the efficiency of the army, Han Xiao did not care about the cost and equipped the Army Boxes with energy stoves and hyperdrive engines. This way, the support range and speed of the mechanical army increased greatly. He did not need the Blacklight Stealth to airdrop them anymore.

Most importantly… it looked so much cooler!

The purpose of sparring with these people was not only for the Promotion mission but also to test the combat ability of the new mechanical army. Thus, of course, he was going to use everything he had.

As Han Xiao pulled with his fist, a Mechanical Force lightning chain grabbed onto every Army Box.

Boom boom boom! The Army Boxes vibrated, and they were opened. Countless compressed orbs were sprayed out, turning them into a mechanical army.

In front of the large mechanical army, Desoro’s summoned creatures were like lambs surrounded by wolves, weak and helpless.

“Get him!” Han Xiao pointed at Desoro, who was panicking

Boom!

The Mechanical Army swallowed Desoro’s summoned creature army.

The scene became chaotic instantly.

As soon as the two armies clashed, the strength difference became crystal clear-Desoro’s army could only hold on for a few seconds. The situation turned into a one-sided thrashing!

Chapter 666 - Round Three

Chapter 666 Round Three

Both the Army Style and the Summoning Style relied on numbers. The summoning class used mana, so it did not cost a lot of money. Even if the summoned creatures were destroyed, they could still be summoned the next time. However, it took a lot of time to summon those creatures during battle.

As for the Army Style, it required a lot of money. The army would be built before the battle and could all be used immediately. Once destroyed, money would be needed to rebuild them. The good thing was that the time to get the army ready was very short.

The rebuilt mechanical army used psionic energy as the main energy source. Most machines were modified to be psionic powered. The electromagnetic cannons had all been swapped out for psionic cannons that were many times stronger. Even the mechanical soldiers were equipped with psionic shields and small-caliber psionic lasers among other things.

The psionic energy technology was extremely useful. The cost of building machines did not increase by a lot, but their combat capabilities rocketed.

Under Phillip’s control, the mechanical army quickly defeated Desoro’s summoned creatures. With the [Machinery Truth Knowledge] bonus, Han Xiao was satisfied with the individual combat capabilities of the mechanical soldiers. He estimated that one mechanical soldier could defeat five of the same model mechanical soldier before his Class Advancement.

Bang bang bang!

The explosions continued in the sky. The battle was one-sided. The creatures summoned by Desoro were already wiped out, leaving him to face the mechanical army alone. Even without the summoning spells. Desoro was still a very strong Mage. He cast powerful spells very quickly and smoothly.

The battlefield was an unpopulated planet, so both sides were not restrained at all. They unleashed destructive forces freely. Desoro constantly teleported, and the mechanical army surrounded and intercepted him. The battlefield constantly shifted and extended over thousands of miles. The powerful forbidden spells and psionic cannons bombarded the surface. The earth was completely disorganized and filled with deep craters from explosions. If this was a planet with a civilization on it, the buildings would have been flattened long ago.

Being surrounded, Desoro was having a tough time like he had fallen into a swamp-every movement was difficult to make.

If this was the mechanical army before Han Xiao’s Class Advancement, Calamity Grades would not have felt too threatened even if they were surrounded. For the stronger Calamity Grades such as the eight Vanguard Officials under the Tyrant, they would be able to go in and out through the mechanical army easily. All it could do was slowly reduce the enemy’s health and energy.

However, the mechanical army after his Class Advancement had much more destructive and restraining power. The psionic cannons and shields caused the army’s overall attack and defense ability to go up by many levels.

Even a strong Calamity Grade like Desoro was in a pickle. The Psionic Cannons had much stronger individual power, which meant that the attacks did not have to be too concentrated in one place. Thus, the attacks from the Psionic Cannons seemed to have built a blue spider web, with danger at its every corner.

In terms of defense, the guarding team connected their Psionic Shields into a large shield a few hundred meters in size, like an enormous bubble. Even Grade 6 to Grade 7 spells were unable to penetrate it. Desoro had no choice but to use very powerful and high mana cost forbidden spells to barely cause any damage.

“He’s being overwhelmed completely. His loss is inevitable.” At the edge of the battlefield, the other two Forbidden Sorcerers’ tone changed slightly.

Before the battle, the two of them had also thought of observing how strong Black Star was, but this scene right before their eyes dumbfounded them. They knew very well how strong Desoro was. They had thought that even if Black Star would be able to defeat Desoro, it would happen after a rather tough fight. However, the battle turned out to be one-sided.

“He’s even stronger…” Lagi felt complicated.

The time for which he had known Han Xiao was still very short, so this was the first time that he had witnessed Han Xiao’s growth speed. When they met for the first time, despite Lagi underestimating his strength as usual, he had still felt that he had a fifty percent chance of beating Black Star. One month ago, when Han Xiao was given the title of Indestructible Body, he had felt that he only had a thirty percent chance of winning.

Now, he felt that he was nothing.

“Such unbelievable growth speed, this is truly Beyond Grade A potential.” Lagi’s negativity exploded, and he suddenly felt that there was no point in him studying magic anymore. He might as well go home and start a farm or something…

On the battlefield, Desoro held on for a while longer before being so disgusted by the mechanical army that he almost vomited. Not having the will to fight anymore, he yelled, “I admit defeat!”

Han Xiao lifted his finger and stopped the mechanical army, making them retreat to the side.

With the pressure gone, Desoro instantly felt more alive. He took a deep breath, slowly turned toward Han Xiao, and said with a regretful tone, “You’ve won the spar. I’m no match for you.”

If he continued, he could still have fought for a long time, but he felt it was futile. Black Star’s mechanical army was so strong and did not give him any chance. Furthermore, Black Star was basically just watching from the side, yet he still had such a tough fight. Even if he continued, he would most likely have had no chance of winning.

“You’re very strong, too.” Han Xiao smiled. “You should’ve tried approaching me. Maybe you would’ve beaten me.”

Desoro’s face turned back. He wanted to ask if Han Xiao even felt shame but decided not to say it after thinking for a moment.

Black Star’s Indestructible Body title was known across the Star Field. Everyone knew that Black Star’s strength was his body. Desoro did not live under a rock—it would have been crazy of him to go close to Han Xiao in a battle thinking that he would be able to defeat him that way.

This was also one of the reasons that Desoro had admitted his defeat he could not see any opportunity to turn the tables.

Luckily, I did not start a conflict with him. Desoro was glad of how sensible he was to give up the thought of using force on Han Xiao. From his perspective, even the first three disciples of Austin would not be able to defeat Han Xiao easily, if at all, so Desoro himself would only be completely thrashed by him.

Desoro was convinced that he was indeed still very far from a Beyond Grade A seed.

Han Xiao gave Desoro a few patronizing compliments. As the victor, he had the right to speak this way, and Desoro saw no problem with it at all. Calamity Grades would not be unable to accept a defeat. The loss only upset him for a while before letting it go, at the same time throwing away his sense of superiority as a Beyond Grade A’s subordinate and giving Han Xiao more respect.

Respecting someone stronger was a rule that never changed and never would change, which was even more deeply understood by a Beyond Grade A’s subordinate.

You have received 6 Trial Points.

Current Progress: 6/50

While chatting, a notification popped up on the interface.

He’s at least twenty levels higher than me. I see, so the definition of winning is to have the opponent admit defeat… Hmm, one person can only give points one time. There are three more people.

Han Xiao was delighted. He turned around and asked Lagi and the other two for a spar as well.

Since Han Xiao personally requested to spar with them, even though the other two Forbidden Sorcerer knew that they would not be able to win, they were not so cowardly as to not even take the fight. After all, it was just a spar. Desoro felt strange. The way he saw it, Han Xiao wanting to spar with his two colleagues even after he had defeated him was clearly an act of showcasing his strength.

“Apparently, although Black Star did not express it, he’s actually very unhappy about us taking Lagi away. Therefore, he requested to spar with us, to showcase his power and beat us up.” Desoro felt that this was the truth, but there was nothing he could

do.

Those two Forbidden Sorcerers were not summoners, but they were just as strong as Desoro. One of them specialized in psychic spells, which ignored Han Xiao’s health-mana cycle and caused him a little bit of trouble. This was one of the few weaknesses that he had at the moment, but he did not let it show.

He had the (Advanced Mental Toughness] talent, so he was not completely defenseless against psychic attacks. Despite not being able to absorb the psychic attacks, he was still very tanky, so he did not panic at all.

Furthermore, if he gave it his all, he could even damage himself to recover energy, which was completely unnecessary for a spar. This Forbidden Sorcerer also admitted defeat very soon.

Lagi was basically a walking pile of negativity. He admitted defeat just one minute into the fight.

After sparring with all four of them, Han Xiao had a rough idea of his combat capability.

I now have two trump cards—my tankiness and the Army Style. As long as it’s not against those strongest Grade A+ who are only a tiny bit away from Beyond Grade A, I will be able to maintain a more than 50% win rate. When facing more than one enemy, I can pose a threat to about three Calamity Grades at the same time. If the goal is just to hold the enemies back, ignoring the fact that the enemies will want to escape, I should be able to hold back six to seven Calamity Grades…

As for those who are a threat to me, psychic attacks and Virtual Mechanics are notable. Army Style Mechanics who also have a psionic energy mechanical army are threatening, too, as it will turn into a battle of resources since the style is the same, but I do have the advantage of being very tanky. Also, those Espers with strange abilities are always dangerous.

While summarizing all that in his mind, Han Xiao was chatting with Desoro and the others.

The spar had ended. Desoro expressed his intention to leave, and Han Xiao did not stop him this time.

Before leaving, Lagi made a serious promise. “Austin is a good man. Although I was chased away by him, we still have a connection, and he won’t make things difficult for me. Black Star, I will definitely return.”

“Alright.” Han Xiao smiled. “When you return, you’ll be my vice-captain.”

Lagi had only joined the Black Star Army for a short time, so he was still on probation. He was currently just a high-level combatant and had not taken on a position yet. With his ability, he was undoubtedly qualified to be the vice-captain. No one would have a problem with a Grade A+ being the vice-captain. Furthermore, he had an amazing resume. Despite being a little negative, he was indeed a talent.

Having developed into a veritable behemoth, the Black Star Army did indeed need one more person that matched up to its fame.

Lagi was stunned for a moment before turning hesitant. “Does that mean I will have more things to do?”

“… I’ll just give you the title without the work, how about that?”

Only then did Lagi smile again.

“Your Excellency Black Star, we shall take our leave.”

Desoro and the other two nodded before taking Lagi to the spaceship. Han Xiao thought for a moment before giving Lagi an Observer’s Mark.

His Promotion was close. His Racial Talents would change by then, so he did not have many chances to use Observer’s Marks left. Although Austin would be able to notice the Observer’s Mark, it was not a problem. His intention was not to peek at Austinhow could a child looking old Mage be as nice to look at as Ames?

He did not stop Lagi from going back. Putting an Observer’s Mark on him was to express his attitude toward Austin, that Lagi was important to him. Unlike the Tyrant, he had no conflict with Austin. In fact, they had quite a good relationship, and Austin had quite high hopes for him.

The spaceship took off and left.

After watching Desoro and the rest leave, Han Xiao looked at the interface.

The Promotion mission progress was now 24/50. It was almost half done.

Nice, that was very efficient. I’m only twenty-six points away. If my opponents are all twenty or more levels higher, I just need five more to complete the mission. If they are less than twenty levels higher or the same level as me, it will take at least seven opponents…

At this time, an unexpected notification popped up on the interface.

You have triggered the round three mission of (Prey]!

“Huh?” Han Xiao was shocked, and his expression changed drastically.

Chapter 667 - Sudden Situation

Chapter 667 Sudden Situation

[Round Three: New Hunters]

Mission Introduction: You have defeated the first group of hunters and seen the tip of the iceberg of this enormous force. Now, a new group of hunters has arrived. They’re stronger and more dangerous, staring at you in the shadows, ready to move.

Mission Requirements: Resolve the attack from the new hunter team.

Reward: 78,500,000 Experience. One random ability from one of the members of the hunter team.

The mastermind behind Albert and his gang has sent a new team here, starting the hunt again?

Han Xiao’s expression became serious. The high experience reward indicated the difficulty of the third round of this mission.

The mission introduction was ambiguous. All he knew was that there was a group of enemies of unknown strength creeping in the shadows. He knew nothing about what their plan was.

This was like a time bomb, and he did not know when it would explode. The only good news was that the interface notification at least alerted him of this time bomb.

According to the clues in the past, the master of these hunters should be a member of The Ancient Ones from another Star Field. That person still has not given up and has now sent another team that is definitely stronger than Albert’s team. This will be quite difficult.

Han Xiao was troubled. Another group of strong enemies appearing during the secret war added uncertainties to the secret war, which was definitely not a good thing.

After pondering for a while, he felt that the most important thing at the moment was to find where the enemies were. Once the enemies showed themselves, it would mean that they had enough confidence to deal with him.

Since the mission notification had alerted him, he wanted to make preparations.

Since the third round has appeared, this means that the new hunter team has already targeted me. In order to capture me, there are a few possibilities…

Han Xiao contemplated but came to no conclusion. He had no idea when and where the enemies would suddenly appear.

Looks like I have to borrow the power of superstition…

He boarded the spaceship and set the destination. The Blacklight Stealth lifted off, turned into a stream of light, and disappeared.

A few days later, a spaceship landed on Floating Dragon Island. Han Xiao ignored the cowardly and fearsome looks of the galactic pirates and headed straight to old man Aesop’s house.

In the past, old man Aesop’s life had been full of excitement and the lack of fear for death. However, for some reason, maybe because he was old now, he had retired on Floating Dragon peacefully, so it was very easy to find him.

“You’re saying that a new group of hunters appeared, and they’re planning to come for you?”

In the room, Aesop yawned and rubbed his eyes in a flecked nightgown and a crooked nightcap, expressing his doubts about what Han Xiao had said. He had originally been sleeping like an old man but had been woken up by Han Xiao’s nonstop calls.

“That’s right.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Therefore, you came to me because you want me to help you by foreseeing what the enemies will do, right?” Aesop brushed his beard and squinted.

“Yes, the enemies are hiding in the shadows, I need your help.”

Aesop suddenly sized Han Xiao up and changed the topic. “I heard you became a Beyond Grade A seed recently?”

Han Xiao was stunned and did not know why he had suddenly brought this matter up, so he could only nod.

“Hmm, I did not expect that to happen.” Aesop tutted. “However, don’t trust that title too much. It’s not that easy to reach Beyond Grade A. It’s not just the increase in strength but more of the ascension of life form. Every Beyond Grade A is actually a new race…”

Aesop had come into contact and communicated with many Beyond Grade As before, so he did not mind telling Han Xiao some of what he knew.

Han Xiao listened patiently. Despite having the interface, there were only pros and no cons in listening to experience. As the saying went, having an elderly at home was just like having a treasure. After speaking for a while, Aesop suddenly shook his head.

“If you do hit the one in ten thousand chance and manage to become a Beyond Grade A, the Ancient One behind the hunters will immediately stop chasing you. The secret war that has been attracting a lot of attention recently will also end because of you alone. As a new Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring, you will be able to immediately sit on the highest dinner table, and those Star Cluster Civilizations will actively bring their cake to share with you. As long as you express your intent, you will be able to easily receive an enormous amount of support. Everything that has been troubling you will be solved instantly…”

Aesop paused momentarily and sighed. “If that day really comes, you will definitely leave Floating Dragon. It’s impossible for a Beyond Grade A to be the subordinate of another Beyond Grade A.”

Han Xiao did not reply.

Indeed, if he reached Beyond Grade A, he would definitely leave Floating Dragon.

From the beginning, Floating Dragon has always been a stepping stone for him. He had helped Floating Dragon achieve many things throughout the years, so he did contribute as a member. Even if he left Floating Dragon, he would not become Ames’ enemy.

Ames might not be happy, but Jenny definitely wanted him to get the hell away as soon as possible.

Aesop rubbed his forehead and said, “Don’t mind me. Old people are always talkative. Back to the topic, you gave me too few clues. I won’t be able to guarantee how accurate the prophecy is. It can only be used as a reference.”

Then, Aesop closed his eyes and started his prophecy.

Not long after, he opened his eyes.

Seeing that Han Xiao was still waiting patiently, Aesop said, “I only saw a few blurry images. A large shadow shrouds you. You dash left and right but aren’t able to escape the shadow no matter what. In the end, the shadow consumes you completely.”

Han Xiao frowned and asked, “What does this mean?”

“What I saw might not be the reality; it might just be a symbol. I think this prophecy means that the people behind this will keep chasing you, and you won’t be able to escape him. In conclusion, it means you’re in danger.”

“That’s it?” Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. Are you pulling my leg?

“As I said, there are too few clues. The prophecy is very blurry and might not be right.” Aesop shrugged. “If I was all-knowing, do you think you would’ve caught me back then?”

Han Xiao was speechless.

Is that not the same as saying nothing at all? Why do I feel like even the Destiny’s Child Character Summon Card is more useful than you? If not because there’s only one last usage left, I would have used it long ago. You’re not very reliable, old man Aesop.

Aesop was not of any help, so Han Xiao turned and went to see Ames. Since he was already there, of course, he had to see her.

Ames was alone in the palace, and she was rather happy to see Han Xiao. The two of them chatted for a while. Han Xiao did not see Hila and Aurora, so he asked Ames about it. He then came to know that Hila had been extremely motivated recently for some reason, so she had been dragging Aurora along and training extra hard. Han Xiao did not tell anyone else about this visit, so he did not plan on disturbing Hila and Aurora. He chatted with Ames for a while longer before bringing up his request for Ames’ help.

He instinctively felt that the third round of the mission would be very dangerous. If he could get Ames to help, he would have nothing to worry about.

Unexpectedly, Ames smiled elegantly and exquisitely before rejecting him.

“Black Star, I can’t this time. I have something else to do. Plus, you can’t keep asking for my help. Maybe this is very dangerous, but you have the potential to become Beyond Grade A in the future, so if you really want to do that, you have to rely on yourself to conquer one obstacle after another.”

From the rumors recently, Ames saw the possibility of Han Xiao becoming a Beyond Grade A in the future. Hence, she decided to help Han Xiao less. The way she saw it, danger was a fertilizer. Only through danger would the seed be able to sprout and grow out of the soil.

When Aesop was her mentor, he had used the eagle style of education, too, letting her grow and become independent. Ames had learned from this and used the same thing on Hila and Aurora. The only difference was that these sisters had yet to reach the standard of going out on adventures and battles alone.

As for Han Xiao, Ames had a lot of trust in his strength. She felt that giving too much protection to Black Star was not a good thing-it would reduce Black Star’s opportunities to hone himself. She sincerely wanted to see Black Star become stronger, and she would feel happy for him as a friend.

There was nothing Han Xiao could do. After all, Ames was the faction leader-she would not be willing to help him every single time, not to mention the fact that the enemies had yet to even appear this time.

Requesting Ames’ help was just to make things easier. If the Dragon Emperor was not going to help, he would do it himself. In the past few years, he had met countless dangers, so he was not going to be afraid, not ever.

After bidding farewell to Ames, Han Xiao left Floating Dragon Island in his spaceship, coming quickly and leaving just as quickly.

He did not receive much from this trip to Floating Dragon Island, so he was unavoidably a little upset. In the end, relying on himself was still the best choice.

As he became stronger and his organization developed quicker, the battles he was in became larger. The help that Floating Dragon could give to him now was not as great as it used to be.

In the cockpit, Han Xiao piloted the spaceship while thinking of a plan.

Ames isn’t helping, and Aesop was basically useless, so I have to complete the Promotion as soon as possible. Every little increase in my strength counts…

After thinking for a while, Han Xiao took out the communicator and was about to contact his friends to find people to spar with.

Beep beep!

The communicator suddenly vibrated. It was a sudden message from Bennett.

Han Xiao was shocked. He read through it, and his face instantly turned grave.

It was not good news.

Ever since Bennett built Black Star City, due to all the matters he had to settle every single day, it had been quite some time since he contacted Han Xiao. If there was nothing important, Bennett would not disturb him.

This novice planet had always been rather important to Han Xiao. Although the old players had basically all joined his army, there would still be many more new players in the future.

He was very sensitive at this time. There was no way for him not to connect what was suddenly happening on Planet Aquamarine with the third round of (Prey).

Han Xiao frowned and was on high alert.

“This is certainly a trap!”

One day earlier on Planet Aquamarine…

In the government affairs building, Bennett had just finished reviewing the files. He heaved a sigh of relief, put the pen down, and rubbed his temples, trying to ease his tiredness.

“Sigh, being a leader of a nation is more tiring than fighting a war.”

Bennett sighed. He picked up the hot tea beside him, blew into it, and sipped slowly. The warm tea flew down his throat, bringing warmth to his stomach. The tiredness started to gradually disappear, and he exhaled comfortably.

He turned his chair around to face the floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooking the city outside. Trains were running along the tracks, and pedestrians were laughing. It was harmonious and lively. He smiled with relief.

Seeing that the people had peaceful and stable lives, Bennett felt that everything was worth it.

Ring ring!

Suddenly, the telephone on the desk rang hastily.

“There’s really no time to rest at all.”

Bennett picked up the call.

“You—Your Excellency, the Six Nations!”

A government official was on the other side of the call, stuttering with a sharp voice. Bennett could hear his panic clearly even through the call. He felt that his eardrum was hurting and held the telephone a little further away from his ear.

“What are you yelling about? What happened?”

“Th—the Six Nations have declared war on us at the same time!”

Bennett immediately became stiff. His eyes widened and stood up instantly.

“Have all of them gone insane”

Clank!

The teacup fell to the ground, and the hot tea spilled all over the floor.

Chapter 668 - My Network Is Beyond Your Imagination

Chapter 668 My Network Is Beyond Your Imagination

The Six Nations declared war without warning, seemingly wanting to eliminate the seventh country that Bennett had built. Bennett spent the entire day trying to prove it. He had personally dialed dozens of phone calls on private lines with the leaders of the Six Nations, which were all rejected. He had no idea why the Six Nations had suddenly gone crazy, and he had no way to find out. He could not deal with such a big matter alone, so he eventually notified Han Xiao.

If the third round of the mission did not appear, Han Xiao would most likely have thought that this was due to the technology given to the Six Nations by the galactical financial groups causing their confidence to expand, thus wanting to regain power… which was also highly unlikely. The Six Nations were not idiots. The more they came into contact with the galaxy, the more they would know how tiny they were; the difference was very clear and visible. The Six Nations would not become arrogant so easily.

The galactic financial groups only invested in Planet Aquamarine because of him and Floating Dragon. He alone was the reason that Planet Aquamarine was developing so rapidly. The Six Nations should know very well that they were depending on Han Xiaodeclaring war on him basically meant that they were digging their own graves.

However, the Six Nations had all lost their sanity at the same time. This did not make sense.

“I’m almost certain that there are others behind this, and they’re most likely the new group of hunters. These people are more difficult to deal with. They’re using Planet Aquamarine to lure me back.” Han Xiao frowned.

If he did not receive the alert from the interface, he would definitely have been shocked as soon as he heard about the Six Nations’ betrayal. He would also be suspicious, but he would not be as alert as he was now, so he would go back to find out the cause of it.

Making the Six Nations betray him was bait; the real enemies were hiding in the shadows. They had the ability to destroy Planet Aquamarine directly, but that was meaningless. Their real target was Han Xiao, so if they appeared, it would alarm him.

If Planet Aquamarine was destroyed, it would mean that they had destroyed one of the very few ‘weaknesses’ that Black Star had. They would then have no way to trick him. Hence, they chose to use Planet Aquamarine as a trap and secretly set up an ambush on Planet Aquamarine, waiting for him, the prey, to step right into the trap.

“Luckily, the mission alerted me…”

Han Xiao secretly felt relieved. He had to admit that the enemies this time were much smarter. If he had not been alerted by the mission notification, he might have fallen into this trap. By then, he would have been in a very difficult situation.

“My current advantage is that the enemies think I do not suspect anything, but I already know about their existence.”

Han Xiao pondered. The hunters had made the Six Nations betray him for some reason, which was a scheme that he had no choice but to step into. Planet Aquamarine had strategic significance to him; it was a huge leek plantation, so he could not watch the enemies mess up the situation that he had taken so long to build up to. Therefore, he definitely had to go back there and deal with the problems with the Six Nations.

The enemies definitely knew about this.

“Hiding from the enemies will only cause worse damage; only by facing them directly can I possibly resolve the issue. Fortunately, I have time to think about a solution. The enemies’ strength and numbers are unknown, but there shouldn’t be fewer than six Calamity Grades. It would most likely be difficult for me to fight them alone. I have to get some help.”

Han Xiao rubbed his chin and was a little troubled. The Dragon Emperor had said that she would not help, Section Zero was at war, and further organizations would take too long. After thinking for a while, it seemed like the only ally that could be of help at the moment was Godora.

“The Purple Crystal Civilization might be of help, too…” Han Xiao hesitated. Purple Crystal had quite a few Calamity Grades for sure. They were officially a part of the government, so they did not take part in the secret war.

However, Han Xiao was not sure if Purple Crystal would help him. They might only be interested in the war but not this.

“I shall give it a try. It never hurts to ask anyway.”

Han Xiao took out the communicator.

He was definitely going to look for help. Unless no one would be helping him, he would not return alone.

Networking was part of one’s strength!

…

On the frontline of the secret war, the army of the Bloodshed Land had arrived at three border Star Systems and had started expanding once again. Section Zero was having an extremely tough time. They could only send small fleets to disrupt the enemies, trying to slow them down.

They were in a very passive position in the war, and countless difficulties were popping up every single day. The never-ending difficulties made Ralph extremely stressed, especially the problems with the high-level combatants.

After all kinds of persuasion and profit promises, the high-level combatants of Section Zero finally stopped avoiding fights, but they still were not willing to go all out. They saved seventy percent of their strength to protect themselves and only used thirty percent to deal with the enemies. In terms of high-level combatants, Section Zero was still completely at a disadvantage, getting beaten black and blue by those war maniacs of the Bloodshed Land. Ralph had been thinking of the reliable Black Star every day.

Although Black Star would not be able to change the situation of the war alone, Black Star was the only one that had given all he had.

Ralph was still settling the matters when his communicator suddenly received a communication request from Black Star. His exhausted mind suddenly became energized.

As soon as Ralph picked up the phone, he said, “Black Star, you’ve finally contacted me. Has your holiday ended? Quickly come back to the battlefield, we need you!”

Han Xiao coughed and said, “Sorry, I can’t go back yet. Civil strife has occurred in my home, Planet Aquamarine. Someone wants to overthrow my representative. I have to return to settle it.”

Ralph was disappointed.

“Did you call to notify me of that?”

“No no, I want the Purple Crystal Civilization’s help.”

Ralph was confused. “Is that necessary? It’s merely civil strife of a surface civilization. Aren’t you able to settle that yourself?”

“It’s not that simple…”

Han Xiao did not hide and told Ralph about the new group of hunters while leaving out the source of this information and changing some of the details.

Currently, only Han Xiao, Aesop, and very few people knew that the true master behind the hunters was one of the Ancient Ones. Last time, when eliminating Albert and gang, Han Xiao did not stop Albert from pushing the blame to Klent, so many Shattered Star Ring organizations thought that Klent was the mastermind, including Purple Crystal.

Han Xiao was hinting that Klent had sent a group of hunters to eliminate him.

After Ralph heard Han Xiao’s explanation, he connected the dots and speculated Klent’s ‘motive’.

Black Star fought the eight Vanguard Officials alone, showcasing his Beyond Grade A potential. Klent planned ahead. They can’t let a new Beyond Grade A appear in the Colton Star Cluster even if the possibility of that is just one in a billion. They don’t want Purple Crystal to have the opportunity to invest in Black Star, so they sent a group of people to secretly infiltrate the Garton Star System, wanting to eliminate Black Star, the Beyond Grade A seed!

Ralph was shocked and felt that he had discovered the truth. The Klent Kingdom’s motive made perfect sense. He could not find anything wrong with his speculation. If he was in their shoes, Purple Crystal would have chosen to do the same thing.

Ralph’s expression became serious immediately, and he said in a low voice, “Got it. There’s a deeper reason behind this. Black Star, we have very high hopes for you. We won’t let Klent threaten you easily. I will submit your request immediately, and the people above should send some high ranking government combatants to help you.”

Han Xiao was delighted. It went smoother than he had thought-Ralph was rather easy to bluff.

What he did not know was that the Purple Crystal Civilization upper echelons had held a private meeting long ago and decided to heavily invest in him. Han Xiao still thought that he was just a normal Section Zero member, but in reality, as long as his requests were not too excessive, Purple Crystal would always be willing to help him. In fact, they would want to help him as much as they could.

“By the way, for insurance, I’m planning to ask for help from the Godorans too,” Han Xiao added.

“Godora is the ruler of the Garton Star System, right? I remember they’re your ally. Sure, they’re under us. Do you need me to tell them?”

“… That would be best.”

Han Xiao was secretly surprised by how Purple Crystal’s people were so easy to convince.

Hanging up the communication, Han Xiao contacted Godora.

Godora was his old ally, so when Serbia the Fifth heard his request, he agreed without hesitation.

If only Black Star had requested help from them, they might have hesitated for a moment. However, Purple Crystal had confirmed that they were involved in this as well, so the Godorans had nothing to be afraid of and were even eager to agree.

In the Godorans’ eyes, Black Star was giving them a chance to improve their relationship with the Star Cluster Civilization.

The detailed plan still required discussion. Han Xiao chose an unpopulated planet near Planet Aquamarine as the gathering location and headed over in his spaceship.

Chapter 669 - Ambush and Counter-Ambush

Chapter 669 Ambush and Counter-Ambush

In a dark cell, a man whose hands and feet were shackled by electromagnetic handcuffs was sitting on the floor. Light glimmered through the window of alloy bars and lit up his furious face.

“The world outside is in a mess. I can’t stay here!”

The man’s voice was husky with a very worried tone.

If Han Xiao was there, he would have recognized this man. This imprisoned man was his former boss from more than seven years ago, the ex-director of the Stardragon National Strategic Defense Department, Gu Hui.

He had survived the Mutation Disaster. In the past three years when Planet Aquamarine was rapidly growing, he had retired from Division 13 and been promoted to an upper echelon in the government.

However, a few days prior, his position had been taken away, and he had been imprisoned.

Gu Hui took a deep breath as the images from a few days ago flashed across his eyes.

He was invited to an upper echelon conference. During the meeting, the national leader had suddenly made a decision that petrified everyoneto work together with all the Six Nations and declare war on Black Star City. No matter how strongly the majority of the officials present opposed this, the leader took an extremely strong stand and refused to retract the decision. The several deputy level officials kept silent and shockingly did not oppose it too.

As both sides stood their ground firmly, this meeting ended without them coming to an agreement. However, before Gu Hui could recover from the shock, one hour after the meeting ended, he was secretly captured and thrown into prison.

“I’m definitely not the only one that’s been captured. All the opposing officials are locked up, too. The upper echelons are going to declare war no matter what. This is a dictatorship!”

Gu Hui still could not figure out the reason behind this. He was rather familiar with the national leader; such extreme and arbitrary behavior felt like it was a different person.

Black Star was now the protector of Planet Aquamarine, yet they want to fight their own protector? Was that not insanity?

Gu Hui had been locked up for many days and was very worried about what was happening in the outside world. Since the people that opposed the decision had been captured, no one would stop the leader anymore. He could not imagine what the consequences of declaring a war would be. He could only pray that at least the military would still have a clear mind and not just follow orders blindly.

“This will definitely lead to Black Star’s revenge!” Gu Hui did not want to imagine Black Star’s reaction to this.

That man was no longer that weak Black Phantom of the past!

He could crush the entire Planet Aquamarine alone!

“Those Six Nations have declared war on Black Star’s forces. This planet is his garden, so he has definitely received the news.”

In a certain city of the Six Nations, Stephanie and the rest were walking down the crowded street, coldly observing the riots happening.

Just a few days ago, this city had still been peaceful and harmonious. Now, however, large groups of people were protesting. They were angry and agitated, strongly opposing the government’s declaration of war against Black Star.

The military cooperated with the police to maintain security. Yelling, screaming, and roaring was everywhere. The messy footsteps almost trembled the ground. Some people even threw Molotov cocktails at the buildings, igniting flames and fighting with the police.

Chaos reigned!

This scene was happening in many cities of the Six Nations at the same time.

Stephanie looked at the chaotic scene and smiled in satisfaction.

“Good. Black Star will definitely come back here to investigate, but he won’t know that we are behind this. He won’t know that we are targeting him, so he won’t be very alert. We just have to wait in the dark for an appropriate opportunity to give him a ‘surprise’!”

As she was speaking, the nine of them turned and walked away before disappearing in a flash of light.

This team had ten members, but only nine appeared there.

Ten days later, a stream of light approached an unpopulated planet. This was the gathering location that Han Xiao had set. It was not far from Planet Aquamarine.

The Blacklight Stealth circled around the planet for a while. It then received a signal from the surface and came to the location where the signal was sent. Purple Crystal and Godora’s people had all reached there before him, waiting for his arrival.

The spaceship landed, and Han Xiao walked out the hatch. The helpers approached him. Han Xiao looked around—there were six of them.

“Hello Black Star, we’re here to assist you. You can call me Wilton. I’m a Purple Crystal Calamity Grade combat officer. These are my two team members…”

Wilton seemed to be their leader. Han Xiao nodded and shook hands with the six of them one by one. All six of them were Calamity Grades. Purple Crystal and Godora had each sent three. The leader of the team on Godora’s side was a familiar face— Nagakin.

Even to Star Cluster Civilizations, Calamity Grades were rare high-level combatants, yet Purple Crystal had still sent three to help him, showing their sincerity.

“As per the order from the superiors, you’re the commander and can give us orders. Tell me, what do you want us to do?” Wilton said with an expressionless face.

Han Xiao sharply noticed Wilton’s impatience. He thought about it for a second and figured out why.

Wilton was a high-level combatant of a Star Cluster Civilization, so he had a sense of superiority and was rather arrogant. However, he had no choice but to follow the orders of a same grade Super who was not even a part of his government. Although he would definitely not disobey the superiors’ orders, he would still probably be unwilling.

Han Xiao did not mind it at all. He did not need them to be willing or whatnot-he only needed them to obey his orders and be useful.

“I suspect that the civil strife on Planet Aquamarine is a plot, and there are people behind it. Their goal might be to assassinate me…” Han Xiao repeated what he had said to trick Ralph.

“What do you want us to do?” Wilton asked.

Han Xiao thought about it and said, “Since the enemies are trying to attract my attention by starting a civil strife, they will most likely be hiding till I appear. Let’s not alarm them. I will go back alone first as the bait. You guys wait near Planet Aquamarine. When the hidden enemies show themselves, you guys come to support me.”

“Okay.”

Wilton had no problem with the plan. Although he did not like Black Star, this did not mean that he doubted Han Xiao’s body. After all, it was a strong body that had withstood the attacks of the eight Vanguard Officials, so Black Star would definitely be able to last till they arrived.

After discussing it for a while, Han Xiao settled on the plan. The enemies had set a trap for him to step into, but he could use the same method to lure them out. This was the contest between an ambush and a counter-ambush.

After confirming the plan, Han Xiao looked at the few of them. Suddenly, he had an idea and said, “I have a small request. I hope to spar with each of you to test your combat capabilities. Only then will I be able to know the overall strength of our team.”

There were six Calamity Grades there; it was definitely a good opportunity to earn Trial Points. His Promotion mission progress was currently at 24/50. If these six teammates were strong enough, he might be able to even complete his Promotion right there.

Wilton frowned.

Han Xiao’s request was not nonsensical, but it was too straight forward. It was as if he was doubting their strength. This made him feel like he was being underestimated. Wilton was expressionless but could not help but feel rather annoyed in his heart.

However, he did not even consider fighting Han Xiao seriously during the spar. To him, the mission was the priority. He suppressed his anger and sparred with Han Xiao. This time, the sparring was even shorter than when Han Xiao sparred with the Forbidden Sorcerers. Both of them stopped at a suitable time and did not go all out.

Han Xiao sparred with his six teammates one after another. It went smoothly and did not waste too much time. After all, the six of them were temporarily under his command, so they did not have any objections.

Among the six Calamity Grade helpers, only Wilton was twenty or more levels higher than him and gave him 6 Trial Points. Four of them were less than twenty levels away from him. Han Xiao found an excuse to spar with each of them twice and obtained 4 Trial Points each. In total, he gained 22 Trial Points.

The progress of the Promotion mission was now 46/50, four points away from completion. Sadly, one of the Godoran Calamity Grades was three levels lower than him, so he did not give any Trial Points.

Only four points away. I need one more opponent… Han Xiao hesitated. He kind of wanted to find another person to spar and complete the Promotion before returning to Planet Aquamarine.

However, finding a new opponent would take quite some time. Over the past few days, Bennett had sent him reports every day. The situation was getting worse very quickly. Bennett was hurrying him back all the time, so Han Xiao did not really want to delay it much longer.

Furthermore, as soon as he completed the Promotion, he would go through Race Evolution, and the Observer’s Mark ability might disappear. This was a very useful special ability, especially against these elusive hunters.

After pondering, Han Xiao came to a decision. The enemies are ambushing me, so we will fight sooner or later. I have helpers now, so it won’t be easy for the enemies to succeed. It won’t be too late to complete the Promotion mission during the battle. It’s better to keep the Chaos Observer’s abilities they might be useful.

Han Xiao sorted his thoughts and left Phillip’s sub-programs to deal with the rest. In case the enemies had ways to cut communication, Phillip could call for reinforcements for him.

As the preparations were completed, Han Xiao did not stay on this planet. He boarded his spaceship and headed to Planet Aquamarine.

At the central helipad in Black Star City, the mercenaries stationed there and some of the officials under Bennett received the news and waited for Black Star’s return.

Bennett was walking back and forth at the front and glancing at the sky occasionally, appearing rather anxious.

Hu!

As the sound of spaceship approached, the crowd hastily looked up and saw Black Star’s signature spaceship slowly landing. Everyone felt relieved as if they had finally found someone to rely on.

The Blacklight Stealth stopped, and Han Xiao stepped onto Planet Aquamarine once again. He saw Bennett and the others immediately and walked over.

“You’re finally back!”

Bennett felt as if his shoulders were lighter, like the weight above them had been removed. Recently, he had been very stressed, but as soon as Black Star returned, he suddenly felt no stress at all. Black Star was the protector of the entire Planet Aquamarine; he would be able to solve any problem they had.

Han Xiao nodded and walked toward the base. Bennett and the others followed beside him.

“What’s the situation now?”

“The Six Nations have publicly declared war. Both their people and our people are flustered. The intelligence personnel I planted in the Six Nations told me that the Six Nations have already started preparing missiles to attack Black Star City. I don’t even dare turn off the protective shields these few days for fear of a sudden attack by the Six Nations. They’ve gone insane. I cannot judge their actions with logic at all!” Bennett spoke hastily.

Han Xiao curled his lips. “Do all the government officials of the Six Nations agree with the war declaration? I don’t believe that everyone has lost their mind. Do you have any information regarding this?”

With a grave tone, Bennett said, “You’re right. The Six Nations’ decision to declare war was very sudden. Many government officials did not even know about this before it happened. Many opposed it, but a few hours later, all the opposing government officials were captured. The Six Nations are basically under a dictatorship now.”

“Collective dictatorship? Ha, that’s new.” Han Xiao acted as if he was curious and asked, “Have you talked to the Six Nations’ leaders?”

“No, they refuse to communicate with me. I have no idea why they’re doing this.”

Han Xiao squinted. “Then I will have to go to them personally to talk.”

He wanted to see what these hunters had done to the Six Nations to make them go insane together.

With a worried expression, Bennett said, “Six Nations won’t allow you to get close to them. You have to be careful. They might launch missiles at you.”

“Let them try.” Han Xiao’s tone turned cold. “I’ve had enough of internal fights. The civilization has been split by too long. It’s time to unite it.” Since he was acting as a bait, he had to look real. Han Xiao secretly looked at the government officials following behind him.

The enemies might even be looking at him right now.

Chapter 670 - Child’s Play

Chapter 670 Child’s Play

Since the enemies’ goal was him, Han Xiao felt that they should have measures to confirm his return. The most likely one would be to have someone watching him in Black Star City, as the Planet Aquamarine people would have no way to discover the enemies. As a Calamity Grade, toying with a surface civilization was as easy as eating and drinking

With the investment from galactic financial groups, Planet Aquamarine was developing rapidly toward the interstellar era. In just a few years’ time, they might be able to build stable interstellar carriers, colonize other unpopulated planets, and other things. However, Planet Aquamarine was still considered a surface civilization at the moment; they had no chance against a Calamity Grade Super.

All the officials that came to welcome him had green names and no red names, but Han Xiao did not completely rely on the interface. In his previous life, there had been some special abilities that could trick the identification of the interface. In fact, his Observer’s Mark was one of them.

Han Xiao looked normal but stayed alert. Starting from the moment he landed, the enemy might attack any time.

After chatting for a while, Han Xiao roughly understood the situation from Bennett. He smiled and said, “I understand the situation. There’s no need to give the Six Nations time to prepare. I’ll go and chat with them right now.”

Then, without waiting for the others to reply, mechanical parts covered his body in the blink of an eye and formed into the Mountain Ape mechanical suit. With a blue flame shooting out from his back, Han Xiao took off from the helipad, breaking through the sound barrier, turning into a little black dot, and quickly disappearing.

Bennett’s relaxed. With Black Star there, he felt so much more assured.

With the efficiency of its galactic engine, Han Xiao flew within the planetary atmosphere. The wastelands, mountain range, and the rest of the landscape receded under him rapidly. Han Xiao left a blue trail behind him and traveled using the planet as the axis. His tracks were very visible even in the daylight. Everywhere he went, many residents on the surface of the planet looked up and discovered this long-standing blue route he took.

Not long after, Han Xiao arrived above the Stardragon capital.

Looking at the familiar city, Han Xiao saw images flashing past in his mind that felt like only yesterday. Without noticing it, almost ten years had passed. This city was where he started.

Thinking for a while, Han Xiao did not hide and landed on the streets. Not far away, a group of people were protesting. The moment they saw Black Star, their faces turned into excitement, and they started to cheer at Han Xiao.

“Look, it’s Black Star!”

“Please stop our government!”

“Black Star, those government officials do not represent us. We all support you. No one wants to be your enemy!”

The crowd squeezed over and yelled in a mess, but Han Xiao still managed to understand what those civilians meant.

As he had solved the Mutation Disaster, Han Xiao’s reputation in Planet Aquamarine was much higher than that of the Six Nations’ governments. He was admired by every Planet Aquamarine resident.

I’m sort of popular.

Han Xiao felt strange. He did not feel troubled, but he did not enjoy this feeling of being loved by so many people either. After all, his target was not just resolving the trap that the hunters had set up but also using this opportunity to overthrow the Six Nations and uniting Planet Aquamarine.

Since my reputation is so high, things should be much easier.

Han Xiao nodded internally. Without greeting the civilians, he quickly left and flew across half of the city, landing in an alley.

Since he had returned, Han Xiao wanted to see the maintenance workshop that he had once worked at.

During the Mutation Disaster, the city had been in a mess. For safety, many people had decided to leave the city. Lu Qian had disappeared and become uncontactable as well. This store had been closed for a very long time, and there had been evidence of it falling apart everywhere.

Now that three more years had passed, this maintenance store had become even more run-down. Still, no one had come back.

Han Xiao shook his head. With Old Man Lu’s protection, Lu Qian would not have died in the Mutation Disaster. They might have already settled down in another city and would not be coming back. Since she had not gone to look for him, he did not want to disturb them.

After taking a look at a place of the past, Han Xiao flew toward Dragonhorn Tower where the Stardragon government was, heading right toward the Stardragon leader.

Dragonhorn Tower was very conspicuous. Han Xiao quickly arrived at the destination. Suspended in midair, Han Xiao looked down and smirked.

The ground around the tower cracked open, showing many deep tunnels leading underground. Armored armies appeared from within, and all kinds of firearms and artilleries aimed at Han Xiao.

The basement of Dragonhorn Tower was a military base. When Han Xiao first appeared within the crowd, the Stardragon military received the news. As Han Xiao had come so suddenly, Stardragon did not have enough time to get the missiles ready and could only make some hasty preparations.

With Han Xiao’s strength, those armored armies could not even tickle him. Their rather refined gunpowder weapons seemed primitive to him.

Han Xiao shook his head and extended his arm. Several bolts of Mechanical Force lightning launched from his hand.

Clank!

The tanks and artilleries on the ground were sucked up immediately and quickly dismantled into pieces, all turning into waste. This army was eliminated in an instant, leaving the lost and helpless soldiers on the ground.

“The welcome ceremony isn’t enthusiastic enough.”

Han Xiao felt like he was bullying children… but it did feel good.

With his strength, eliminating the entire Six Nations was a piece of cake.

Under Dragonhorn Tower, the Stardragon leader entered the safehouse while being accompanied by the troops. After closing the thick alloy gate, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This specially-made safehouse was like a safe. It was extremely thick and would never be penetrated by missiles.

“How’re the armored troops?” the Stardragon leader quickly asked the military personnel beside.

“They were wiped out. Black Star only raised his hand a little.”

“How could he be so strong!” The Stardragon leader inhaled deeply.

Suddenly, a loud sound came from the gate of the safehouse.

Boom!

With a flash of psionic energy, the safehouse that could stop missiles now had a hole in it. Han Xiao walked right in. Through the hole, the people inside the room saw countless soldiers behind Han Xiao who were lying on the ground, whining in agony.

Han Xiao really did not want to start a slaughter, so he controlled his strength as much as he could and was barely able to injure them without killing them.

“We meet again.” Han Xiao looked at the Stardragon leader.

“Ho-How are you able to come in?” The Stardragon leader was horrified.

“Hmm?” Han Xiao frowned and noticed the strangeness.

The leaders of the Six Nations should know very clearly how strong he was. It was impossible for them to doubt that he would not be able to even break into this fragile safehouse. However, the shocked expression on the Stardragon leader’s face did not seem like an act.

Han Xiao squinted before punching the safehouse wall beside him.

Boom!

The entire safehouse shook. Everyone else could not maintain balance anymore and fell onto the ground, taking slight damage.

The interface immediately received a lot of combat information. Han Xiao instantly opened and read through it.

The level of everyone there was significantly lower than his, so their attributes were all crystal clear.

Including the Stardragon leader, the status bar of everyone in the room had a special status on it.

[Memory Modification): The memories of this person are modified.

Remaining time: 2 days 13 hours.

“No wonder…”

All his doubts were cleared—this was the reason that the Six Nations had turned on him.

This was undoubtedly an act of those hunters. He did not know what kind of memories the enemies had given the Six Nations’ leaders, but they seemed to have forgotten how strong he was. No wonder they were resisting so meaninglessly, even dreaming of taking back power from his hands and overthrowing Bennett’s forces.

A person’s personality was decided by their experiences. Once their memories changed, their personality would shift, too. Some Psychics who knew special techniques or Espers with those kinds of abilities were able to do things like this, so there was definitely someone like that among the enemies.

Such things were useless to stronger people. Stronger Supers had higher mental resistance. However, Planet Aquamarine only had a few decades’ history of Supers. The strongest among them was just Grade C. In front of a Calamity Grade, they were still weaklings that could be toyed with as they liked.

Changing one’s memory was a rather subtle and hidden measure, other than Supers with psychic abilities, the other class Supers would not be able to discover what happened to these people instantly.

But Han Xiao was an exception.

The enemies most likely think I won’t be able to discover what they did because I’m a Mechanic.

Han Xiao sneered in his mind.

Since the enemies could modify memories, it was meaningless for him to do anything to these government officials as the enemies would be able to modify those people’s memories again.

Suddenly, Han Xiao had an idea.

This kind of ability has to be cast at a close range. The status duration on these people is only two and a half days. By then, the hidden enemy will definitely secretly appear and modify their memories again… Hehe, I will then be able to discover their location.

Han Xiao planted an Observer’s Mark on the Stardragon leader before pretending he knew nothing about the memory modification and acting like he should have acted-threatening the Stardragon leader to stop the declaration of war.

The government officials present had forgotten about Han Xiao’s strength, so they were now terrified and gave in under Han Xiao’s threats. They gave orders on the spot and released the captured officials at the same time.

Han Xiao saw his old friend Gu Hui, but he only glanced at him and did not intend to say hello. Since the enemies were still hidden, it was not the time.

After witnessing the Stardragon leader complete his orders, Han Xiao turned around and immediately left the Stardragon capital.

The Stardragon leader and the other officials could not believe it. Was that all? They had thought that they were going to die for sure.

The captured officials, including Gu Hui, were all very glad that Han Xiao did not kill those people. Such gentle measures clearly meant that he was giving them a chance.

Due to this mistake, Gu Hui and many officials decided that they had to impeach the current leader. They could not let this maniac continue leading the nation.

Afterward, Han Xiao visited the remaining five nations and convinced every one of them.

He could only plant five Observer’s Marks, the mark he had planted on Lagi had already been wiped away by Austin after completing its job.

As Promotion was around the corner, Han Xiao swapped out all the Observer’s Mark targets and gave them to five national leaders. He then returned to Black Star City and waited for the Observer’s Marks to provide useful information. This was like fishing -it required patience.

To his surprise, the hidden enemies did not attack him during this time. What could they be waiting for? Were they observing him?

Knowing what had happened to Albert, the enemies seemed to be very cautious and were confirming if he had really fallen for the trap.

A few hours later, the Six Nations withdrew the war declarations at the same time. Countless people were cheering and overjoyed.

However, before they could even enjoy the contentment, just one day after, everyone was dumbfounded by the Six Nations’ actions.

Having just withdrawn the war declaration, the Six Nations launched missiles at Black Star City the following day!

As if their compromise one day ago was just to earn the time to prepare.

Most missiles were intercepted midair, and the galactic level protective shield of Black Star City stopped the rest of the missiles. There were no casualties. However, everyone in Black Star City was furious at the completely perfidious Six Nations.

Even the people of the Six Nations could not believe

it.

Has our government really gone insane?

Are they asking to be killed? Will they only stop when Black Star kills all of them?

Han Xiao, however, was not angry at all. It was clear that this had happened because the enemies had modified the Six Nations’ leaders’ memories again. The political conflicts of a surface civilization were no different from children playing house to Calamity Grades.

The good news was, he did not have to wait two days to obtain useful information.

Through the Observer’s Marks, an enemy finally appeared.

“These people finally showed themselves.”

Han Xiao squinted his eyes.

Just one day later, Gu Hui was imprisoned once again before he could execute his plan.

Being imprisoned the second time, he was not even angry anymore.

What is this?

Does the leader think that matters of national importance are just like children playing house, doing whatever they want?

Of course, Gu Hui did not know that the memories of all those officials had been modified. He was completely speechless toward those people who had once been his colleagues.

Chapter 671 - I Recognize You!

Chapter 671 I Recognize You!

In Raylen’s capital, Zeglin walked slowly in the government building. Everyone he passed-be it government officials, secretaries, or guardsignored him as if he did not exist. However, if someone was about to bump into him, that person would subconsciously dodge aside.

Arriving at the door of the leader’s office, Zeglin did not stop. He pushed the door open and walked in. The guard beside the door did not react at all.

In the room, the Raylen leader was in a call with the military, who also ignored Zeglin. Zeglin tapped his own forehead with his finger, and invisible psychic energy expanded and turned into more than ten tentacles, which then penetrated into the Raylen leader’s brain, modifying his memories.

The Raylen leader’s words suddenly paused. Confusion flashed on his face for a second before his expression returned to normal, and he continued speaking on the call. In this short pause, his memories had been modified.

Expressionless, Zeglin nodded and left the way he had entered. While walking, he used the psychic mark in his brain and communicated with Stephanie and the others across thousands of miles.

“I checked their memories. Black Star’s attitude toward them is very normal. He threatened them and does not know that the memories of these national leaders have been modified. It’s basically confirmed that he did not notice anything. We should act soon. He’s not alert now, but he might be if we delay this for too long.” Stephanie’s chuckling sounded in his mind. “Don’t forget what happened to Albert. Black Star is even more cautious than Antarrians. Letting our guard down against him would be foolish. However, you’re right-delaying isn’t a good idea. The next time he leaves Black Star City, we will set up an ambush over there. In his own territory, he would be more hesitant to attack.”

“When I’m done with my job, I will rendezvous with you guys.”

Zeglin nodded and then levitated with his psychic energy, flying toward Theseus, which was also on the Northern Continent. This was his next target.

He was a member of Stephanie’s team, a Grade A Psychic master who could modify memories. He deviated from the others and acted alone, giving fake memories to the Six Nations’ leaders and twisting their knowledge toward Black Star, making them think that they were fighters resisting a dictator.

The political conflicts of a planet surface civilization were just tricks between weaklings, meaningless and childish. He could toy with those people any way he wanted to. If not for the sake of setting up a trap for Black Star, he would not even have been willing to waste his energy on using such delicate memory modifying methods on a group of surface civilization natives.

It was winter on the mountainous Northern Continent.

Zeglin quickly left Raylen’s border, flying over the icy landscape.

When flying over a mountain, Zeglin’s heart suddenly skipped a beat as if it was grabbed by a hand. A sense of danger appeared, and he looked up at the sky.

A mysterious blue light was burning in the sky.

“Wha-“

In the blink of an eye, many blue light beams fell from the sky!

Boom!

The ground cracked open!

The area of hundreds of miles was all within the attack range. Apart from the bright blue light, no other colors could be seen. Half of the mountain was flattening in an instant. Terrifying craters appeared on the planet’s surface, like a dozen meteors hitting the planet at the same time!

At the edge of the explosion radius, Zeglin barely kept himself floating. He was covered in burn marks and was horrified. He had never expected to be attacked so suddenly by such a strong attack.

Unable to hold back, blood spilled out of Zeglin’s mouth. He felt as if his organs were going to shatter. As he backed away, he looked around anxiously, wanting to find the enemy.

“Who is it? Come out!”

Just as he said that, a blue meteor flew toward him from the edge of the sky rapidly, leaving a long trail, and stopped not far away.

“Black Star!”

Zeglin’s eyes opened wide with shock.

He did not expect Black Star to suddenly find him.

Han Xiao opened his helmet, stared at Zeglin, and snorted.

“There’s indeed someone controlling the Six Nations, or they wouldn’t have acted so strangely. Speak, why did you target Planet Aquamarine?”

Since he was already putting on an act, he might as well do the whole show. Han Xiao acted as if he did not know that he was the target of Stephanie and the others, and he acted as if he was certain that Zeglin was the last mastermind behind all this.

Since there were definitely more enemies other than Zeglin, him striking suddenly would mess up with their plan and get him the high ground. Without the Observer’s Mark, he would only be able to wait for the enemies to attack him. It would be too passive that way, and there would very likely be unrelated casualties.

Now, however, he could choose the battlefield and attack the enemies first.

After confirming Zeglin’s appearance, Han Xiao had locked onto Zeglin’s rough coordinates with the spaceship radar before using more than ten Psionic Sky Cannons to bombard the area. There was no need to be careful when fighting in this desolate region.

The power of one Psionic Sky Cannon was higher than an Eye of God.

He did not know that Stephanie and the gang’s choice of the battlefield was Black Star City. The Observer’s Mark had helped Black Star City escape its fate of being destroyed, not turning it into the battlefield of more than a dozen Calamity Grades.

Psychics were even more vulnerable than Mechanics, and seeing that Zeglin was heavily injured, Han Xiao knew that his attack was very effective.

Zeglin hastily turned his mind into a server through the psychic mark in his brain and shared his vision with Stephanie and the rest.

“Sh*t, I’ve been discovered. Quick, come save me!”

Stephanie was surprised. “Black Star is indeed as cautious as I thought. He’s very observant too… However, he’s only discovered you.”

Black Star had discovered Zeglin and attacked him directly. This had messed up Stephanie’s plan, but she felt reassured upon seeing Han Xiao’s attitude.

She connected Han Xiao’s actions and realized that Black Star definitely did something to the Six Nations that led him to discover Zeglin, thinking that he was the last and only enemy. However, Black Star did not know Zeglin’s motive and did not know that there were still nine more people waiting to ambush him. He only thought that his enemy’s target was Planet Aquamarine. In this case, the situation was still in her control-Black Star did not discover that this was a trap for him.

“We only have one choice now. Change the plan and attack Black Star straight away. He has not discovered us yet. Zeglin, do your best to stall him. We’re heading over now.”

Having made the decision, Stephanie felt confident.

Black Star thought that Zeglin was the only enemy, so when the nine of them all appeared, Black Star would definitely be surprised!

Stephanie and the rest were rather far from Zeglin. It would take some time for them to arrive even with Calamity Grade speeds.

Half of Zeglin’s heart froze.

He was heavily injured, and the opponent was a Mechanic that could use psionic energy, who also happened to have the Indestructible Body title. He knew clearly that he was no match for Han Xiao. Without saying a word, Zeglin turned around and started escaping

“Want to escape? Do you think that’s possible?”

Han Xiao clapped his hands. The Army Boxes arrived instantly and turned into an enormous mechanical army that shrouded Zeglin in an instant.

The Psychic class countered the Mechanic, but the Mechanic class also countered the Psychic class. After all, psychic attacks were useless against machines-only telekinesis would have an effect.

Boom!

The long-range units and the artillery units shot psionic beams one after another, penetrating Zeglin’s Psychic barrier again and again. Mechanical soldiers waved their multifunctional weapons with electromagnetic, shock, high temperature, laser, and other attacks, slashing through Zeglin time and time again, leaving him with scars of all sorts.

Zeglin ran with all his might, but he was surrounded. The new generation mechanical army enhanced by the Truth Mechanic bonuses was many levels stronger than before.

Without needing Han Xiao to do anything, Zeglin was already in a dire situation. His health was steadily reducing.

Han Xiao was giving his machines Mechanical Force bonuses at the side while paying attention to the surroundings at all times. He attacked to lure the enemies out, but he still did not know how many hunters there were. Thus, he kept his guard up.

After fighting for a while, Zeglin was covered in wounds and blood.

“Argh!” Zeglin roared with rage. His psychic energy turned into an enormous spiral drill, covering him as he tried to escape the encirclement of the mechanical army.

He was at his limit, and this was his last attack-he was betting his life on escaping.

The psychic drill penetrated one layer of encirclement after another, almost penetrating the army.

However, at this moment, the shield team suddenly gathered before Zeglin. They activated their Psionic Shields at the same time, which then fused with each other and turned into colossal Psionic Barrier.

The invisible psionic drill and the thick Psionic Barrier clashed!

Energy debris shot out from the location of the impact, like the sparks from cutting through metal.

The drill’s impact lasted quite a while before weakening. Zeglin’s eyes opened wide with regrethe could not penetrate this Psionic Barrier.

Out of exhaustion, he felt sleepy. This was the side effect of overusing psychic energy. Usually, he would be able to recover after a short while, but he was now under siege!

The moment that Zeglin’s body stiffened, countless psionic beams landed on him.

Boom!

Blue explosions appeared continuously!

Blood and flash separated, incinerated the moment they left his body.

Mechanical soldiers slashed Zeglin’s body with high temperature weapons, making him spin around in midair.

Slash!

An arm flew out.

Slash!

A leg this time!

Boom!

The next second, the dozens of mechanical soldiers attacked together. Zeglin was sliced into minced meat in an instant. His body exploded like a firework. Blood fell like rain.

Dead on the spot!

The mechanical armies all stopped moving. A cold wind blew past, bringing the only sound to the dead silent battlefield.

Han Xiao was stunned. The battle had ended quicker than he expected. If he remembered correctly, this was the first Calamity Grade to have been killed by his mechanical army.

My god, my virtuous mechanical army has killed someone.

Though, this guy was a little too vulnerable…

Han Xiao scratched the stubble on his chin.

If he did not have so many tanky talents, with his Endurance, he would only have a little more than 70,000 health. Psychics were strong in attack but weak in defense-this was a known fact. If Zeglin did not only think about escaping the encirclement but attacked him with psychic attacks, Han Xiao might have been injured a little.

Sadly, it seemed like Zeglin feared his Indestructible Body title and did not have the guts to attack him.

Killing Zeglin in a duel was a welcomed surprise. Not only did this weaken the enemies’ overall strength, but the Promotion mission on his interface was also displayed as ‘Completed’.

This meant that, if Han Xiao wanted to, he could go through his Promotion at any time to complete his Race Evolution!

Han Xiao felt relaxed.

Knowing that he could go through Promotion anytime, he was more confident.

The Experience that he had was more than enough for him to level up to 195 right after his Promotion, reaching the maximum level limit of Truth Mechanic.

At his current stage, being able to maintain such fast leveling speed was thanks to his savings in Version

2.0.

At this time, the sound of the sound barrier breaking appeared.

Hu!

A few people flew over from the edge of the sky and stopped in midair. It was Stephanie and the others. They all looked at what was left of Zeglin, and their expressions changed.

In the short time it had taken them to travel there, Black Star had already killed Zeglin?

Stephanie squinted. She had no emotion toward her teammates, so she was not angry, just staring at Han Xiao.

“He really is very strong. His Excellency Thousand Shadows will definitely like him.”

Not planning to explain anything to Han Xiao, Stephanie made a sign, signaling for the others to spread out and surround Han Xiao. They blocked all of Han Xiao’s escape routes and looked at Han Xiao.

Stephanie stared at Han Xiao’s face, looking forward to seeing his terrified and shocked expression of realizing that he had fallen into a trap.

Seeing this, Han Xiao put on his helmet and covered his face. He had already successfully lured the enemies out, so he was too lazy to continue his Oscar spirit.

Stephanie was disappointed and lost her excitement. Although she knew that Black Star was definitely shocked and was only controlling his expression to not show his enemies, she still wanted to see the panicking expression of her prey. Sadly, it did not go as she hoped it would.

Nine Calamity Grades… Hmm, this is probably all.

Han Xiao was secretly relieved. If he was alone, he would definitely have had a very tough fight. Luckily, he had planned ahead and found helpers.

Phillip had already called Wilton, Nagakin, and the others to reinforce him. He just had to hold on for a while—he was not as vulnerable as Zeglin.

Furthermore, he had discovered something huge that he did not expect.

Under the mechanical suit helmet, Han Xiao stared at the enemies’ leader, Stephanie, sizing her up. He then smiled.

He recognized this woman.

Chapter 672 - Suddenly Clear

Chapter 672 Suddenly Clear

The moment Han Xiao saw Stephanie, he felt that she looked familiar. As he looked at her carefully, his heart skipped a beat.

He did not recognize the other hunters, but he was familiar with this woman!

Many players in his previous life had known Stephanie. She was very active during the Calamity of the Supers version. She was a subordinate of the Beyond Grade A from the Abyss of Stars, (Thousand Shadows]. She fought for Thousand Shadows with countless Supers as pawns, including many players that teamed up to kill her. In the end, she died in a battle while being surrounded by many forces… or she was finally freed.

After that, a related Dungeon Crystal appeared. Stephanie was inside the dungeon as a hidden boss. There was a chance of obtaining an extremely rare reward by defeating her. In the later stages of Han Xiao’s previous life, with an extremely high 87.6% player repeat rate, she entered the list of top hundred hard workers and received the honorable title ‘Lady Stephanie’!

At that stage, the player count of Galaxy was dozens of times greater than the player count of Version 2.0. The number of players online at the same time was more than ten million. The fact that more than eighty percent of players had repeated Stephanie’s dungeon before represented its popularity!

It was a little embarrassing to mention, but Han Xiao had fought Stephanie with at least three hundred different accounts. He could not have been more familiar with her.

Han Xiao did not expect to recognize one of the enemies, so he was surprised.

Initially, he did not know who the mastermind was. Now that he had seen Stephanie, everything became clear, and he found the truth.

It was Thousand Shadows!

No wonder, no wonder, everything connects now… Han Xiao was excited. If the mastermind was indeed Thousand Shadows, he knew why the hunters were capturing Supers.

It was to provide ‘shadows’ for Thousand Shadows!

Thousand Shadows’ ability was very strange. He could absorb other individuals and turn them into his underlings, who were called ‘shadows’. The shadows still retained most of their personality, but they had a sense of belonging and loyalty toward Thousand Shadows that could not be erased. In this condition, their memories were slightly altered.

The shadows slept inside Thousand Shadows, but at the same time, they could act for him.

The abilities of the shadows were preserved, or even enhanced, after fusing with Thousand Shadows. Thousand Shadows had lived for too long. No one knew how many shadows were in his body. He was an extremely mysterious member of The Ancient Ones.

Han Xiao recalled a secret that a player had found in his previous life. In order to live longer, Thousand Shadows sought help from specialized people and gave his Esper ability vitality. He then gave up his body and turned into a strange ‘Esper Being’. Usual methods could not kill him. He had lived for close to a thousand years and was a member of The Ancient Ones.

Discovering the truth, Han Xiao was feeling gloomy. Thousand Shadows liked high-quality shadows, so he probably would not give up easily on Han Xiao. Han Xiao absolutely did not want to become a part of Thousand Shadows; he would lose himself and become a puppet!

Stephanie was Thousand Shadows’ shadow. Her life story was rather tragic, too. Before she died, her true self returned for a moment and explained her origins.

Back at the start of the exploration era, before the Primordial Ones had been born, when the war between the three Universal Civilizations extended throughout the entire universe…

She was born in an era of war, an Antarrian. Her civilization’s mother planet was dragged into the war. She displayed extraordinary talent from a young age, so she was chosen as a warrior, fighting for her home and quickly growing.

In a short period of a little more than ten years, she had already become the protector of her home, at the age normal Galaxy Human Race women were at their peak. At such a young age, she became the top protector of Antarr. She was so strong that even the three civilizations had heard of her.

However, a gigantic war broke out between the Crimson Dynasty and Federation of Light that used an entire Star Cluster as the battlefield. The Antarrians were affected. Their mother planet fell, and their colonial planets turned into ruins under the Crimson Dynasty’s iron hoofs. Only a handful of people escaped with spaceships used for migrationStephanie was one of the survivors.

People in wars were realistic. The survivors had no time to miss their mother planet and left the battlefield quickly, looking for a new home to rise again. However, an unwelcome guest had his eyes on Stephanie… Thousand Shadows.

Thousand Shadows was originally from a long-lived race and had already lived for many years. At that time, he had yet to give up his body and was not Beyond Grade A. He wanted Stephanie’s power, so he intercepted the spaceship that the Antarr survivors were in.

In the ending, the Antarr Civilization was another extinguished civilization, and Stephanie became one of Thousand Shadows’ shadows.

The history only recorded what happened—the cold words could not record emotions. The motives, feelings, and the reactions of everyone back then became mysteries. In Han Xiao’s previous life, after Stephanie became a part of the dungeon, some players looked for her history out of curiosity. From a few descriptions in some history books, they came to know that some historians believed that if Stephanie did not ‘mysteriously disappear’, she might have become one of the [Primordial Ones).

However, during the exploration era, there had been way too many Calamity Grades that had a lot of potential, and most of them had died in battle. The Primordial Ones were the first group of Beyond Grade As that walked out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood alive. Thousand Shadows was not one of the Primordial Ones. He was always very mysterious, only appearing as a Beyond Grade A near the end of the exploration era.

In just one look, these thoughts flashed through Han Xiao’s mind. He took a deep breath. The true identity of the enemy had been discovered-it was definitely very stressful to be Thousand Shadows’ enemy, but that was something for later.

The most imminent problem was dealing with nine Calamity Grades.

Especially Stephanie.

With a push, a beam of (Psionic Impact-Whale) headed right toward Stephanie. The enormous mechanical army around Han Xiao started to move toward all the enemies.

Bang bang bang!

Countless Psionic Cannons crisscrossed, and mechanical soldiers approached the enemies with weapons and shields in their hands. Stephanie and the rest moved, too.

The battle erupted; the scene instantly became chaotic!

Han Xiao never overestimated himself. Although his mechanical army was much stronger than before, facing nine experienced Calamity Grades was still beyond his capabilities. Among the nine enemies, there were two Mechanics. One of them was a Cannon Master, shooting out large beams from extremely high caliber cannons, shattering mechanical soldiers one after another.

The other one used the Galactic Stronghold Style. A several-hundred-meter-tall fortress expanded from his hands. It had extremely strong firepower and its own guards.

Clank!

Metal clashed against metal nonstop, electrical sparkles replaced blood, and scrap metal and wires fell like rain.

Among the rest of the enemies, there were two Pugilists, one Mage, and four Espers. Stephanie was one of the Espers!

Stephanie’s ability was the most mysterious. Like a diving eagle, she headed right for Han Xiao in the middle of the army. Everywhere she passed, the nearly mechanical soldiers all shattered. The air around her looked like it was bent by high temperature. From very far away, she raised her hand and aimed at Han Xiao.

With just this one move, several notifications popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

You have entered the (Slightly Slowed] state. -12% Dexterity. Duration: 8 seconds!

You have entered the (Slightly Weakened) state. -6% all attributes. Duration: 8 seconds!

You have entered the (Slightly Confused) state. +10% chance of being interrupted while using abilities. Duration: 8 seconds!

You have entered the [Abnormally Excited] state. Your attack is fluctuating at 80%-110%. Duration: 8 seconds!

You have entered the (Light Illusion] state. -10% accuracy, -10% perception. Duration: 8 seconds!

You have entered the (Slightly Tired) state. +8% expense in energy and stamina. Duration: 10 seconds!

Your Ability (Steel Body) is activated. All True Damage is nullified!

Chapter 673 - Are You Surprised? Are You Shocked?

Chapter 673 Are You Surprised? Are You Shocked?

Han Xiao felt his body become heavier and slower. A ton of debuffs were applied to him in the blink of an eye.

It’s really still the same. Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, and he was not surprised at all.

Having completed Stephanie’s dungeon a few hundred times, he was extremely familiar with Stephanie. Even though the Stephanie inside the dungeon was a weaker version, her abilities did not change. Han Xiao knew her combat style like the back of his hand. Giving the enemies a bunch of debuffs at the start was exactly the same as what she would do in the dungeon.

Without hesitation, Han Xiao backed away with Void Travel. Stephanie was stronger in close range battles and had bonus damage against metal. He did not want his mechanical suit to be destroyed so quickly.

Luckily, I got rid of that Psychic called Zeglin, or things would be even tougher now.

Not stopping at all, Han Xiao controlled the mechanical army to execute the stalling strategy in Phillip’s database, preventing Stephanie and the others’ momentum of rushing toward him. Meanwhile, he used the army as a barrier and moved within, approaching the Mage and two Mechanic enemies occasionally, trying to deal some damage.

In front of nine experienced Calamity Grade, the mechanical army was under a great deal of pressure. It became a tough fight very quickly. Machines fell broken one after another and flew back up after Han Xiao used (Waste Modification) on them, returning to the battlefield.

The battlefield was chaotic. The tactical screen in Han Xiao’s helmet displayed the various data as Han Xiao calmly analyzed the situation.

Stephanie disrupted the electromagnetic waves over a large area, so Han Xiao could not contact Wilton and the others. Out of caution, the Phillip sub-program that he had left for Wilton came in handy. Although he could not receive the location information of the reinforcements, he was certain that they were heading over. His current mission was not to fight them head-on but stall them and wait for the reinforcements to arrive.

Boom!

The impact from ten Calamity Grades fighting shook the mountains and the ground.

Even the weather changed. It was initially bright and clear, but the sky was filled with dark clouds and lightning bolts. Han Xiao kept shifting the battlefield away from the populated areas on the Northern Continent and toward unpopulated glaciers. Everywhere they passed, ice that had formed over millions of years cracked open, mountains shook, avalanches occurred, and the landscape was in a mess.

The impacts of the fight between Calamity Grades were bringing disasters to this planet. With the battlefield as the center, earthquakes spread out to the entire Northern Continent. Near sea areas far from the battlefield, the sky darkened, and the sea was filled with violent waves. Tsunamis and tornados collided with cities near the sea.

“It’s a tsunami, run!”

“Wh—What’s going on?”

The residents of the cities near the sea on the Northern Continent were horrified by the natural disasters and ran for their lives.

Of course, Han Xiao could not see the reactions of those people. However, he did not need to see to know that the aftershock of their battle was already creating disasters on Planet Aquamarine.

“This is why they purposely chose here to be the battlefield.” Han Xiao’s expression was hostile. He dodged an invisible tornado-shaped impact wave from Stephanie once again, and the mechanical soldiers behind him were broken into pieces.

They had shifted the battlefields many times, and the battle was reaching the climax.

The blue light in the sky started burning again. It was another Psionic Sky Cannon attack controlled by Phillip!

Boom!

The mechanical army quickly avoided the bombardment area. Stephanie and the others did, too, but the fortress of that enemy Mechanic moved very slowly and could not get out of the attack range. Its shield shattered, and the fortress turned into broken pieces.

This was the enemy’s second fortress that had been destroyed.

Using this opportunity, Han Xiao retreated slowly while fighting. They were already at the edge of the north side, and he started to shift toward the sea.

“Problematic Sky Cannons.” Stephanie frowned. She looked up, pointed at one of the Pugilists, and said, “You, go up there and destroy Black Star’s Sky Cannons.”

The Pugilist nodded. Flames shot out from under his feet as he rose up like a rocket, turning into a black dot in an instant and heading toward outer space.

“Don’t waste time. Long duration battles are Black Star’s strength. Quickly restrain him.”

Stephanie’s tone was impatient. She led the other teammates and dashed toward Han Xiao once again.

She knew that Black Star was difficult to kill, but her plan was not to kill him but capture him. However, Han Xiao was too swift. She did not have a chance to close the distance on Han Xiao. Only close-range combat would maximize the power of her Esper ability.

After chasing for a while, they clashed once again above the sea. The impact created waves thousands of feet high. Energy waves shot into the sea and formed enormous vortexes.

As the mechanical army’s numbers kept decreasing. Han Xiao started to show signs of fatigue. Suddenly, Han Xiao showed a flaw in his defenses. Stephanie’s eyes sparkled. She caught the opportunity and turned into a black shadow, appearing behind Han Xiao instantly as if she had teleported, then pressed her palm toward Han Xiao’s back.

This was the first time that she had used this ability in this battle. It was so she could surprise Black Star. As long as she managed to hit Black Star, his strength would decrease by at least ten percent temporarily!

However, the next moment, as if Han Xiao had expected this, he avoided her palm with a weird movement. Then, psionic energy appeared between his hands as he patted her chest.

Bang!

The light blue Psionic Impact ring exploded. Stephanie was blown close to one thousand meters away. She rubbed her hurting chest and frowned, surprised by Han Xiao’s reaction speed.

This sudden attack had no signs at all, so Black Star only had microseconds to react.

On the other side, Han Xiao was secretly relieved. Stephanie was a boss-type character. Just like him, she had many abilities other than her Esper abilities. If one was unfamiliar with her, it would be very easy to be tricked. However, he knew Stephanie’s abilities all too well, so there was no chance that he would be tricked. He did not farm that dungeon hundreds of times for nothing.

He’s stronger than I thought. Stephanie squinted. Just as she was about to attack again, she suddenly noticed that there were a few high energy individuals approaching very quickly. Her expression changed as she stopped in place and did not act recklessly.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He looked up and saw six shooting stars landing from the sky, hovering above.

The flames extinguished, revealing Wilton and the others. Looking at the shocked and confused expressions on Stephanie and the others’ faces, Wilton snorted. He raised his hand, and the others finally realized that he was holding a person.

Stephanie looked closer, and her face suddenly changed.

The person that Wilton was holding was the Pugilist whom she had sent to destroy the Sky Cannons. He now had no signs of life at all. It was clear that he had been beaten to death.

These six people are enemies… The expressions of Stephanie and the other six Calamity Grades all turned bitter.

Wilton let go of the corpse, letting it fall into the sea and get swept away by the waves, disappearing.

“Black Star, we’re late.” Wilton nodded.

Han Xiao smirked.

The reinforcements had arrived!

He looked at Stephanie, shrugged, and chuckled.

“Are you surprised? Are you shocked?”

Seeing that Black Star looked like this was completely expected, Stephanie could not remain calm. She was completely dumbfounded.

He sought help long ago?

And he called six Calamity Grades?

Why would he ask so many Calamity Grades to settle a surface civilization internal matter?

Unless…

Stephanie’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Black Star knew that we were planning to ambush him?

How is that possible?

Chapter 674 - Intense Battle and Disasters

Chapter 674 Intense Battle and Disasters

Boom!

As the reinforcements had arrived, Stephanie and her colleagues had no time to react as Wilton and the rest instantly joined the battle.

It was a battle of seven against eight. The average level of the enemies was higher than Wilton and the rest, but the numbers now matched.

For a short time, Wilton and the other five were able to deal with one enemy each, making things so much easier for Han Xiao. He could concentrate on dealing with Stephanie and the enemy Mechanic.

Swoosh!

Like bolts of lightning, fifteen Calamity Grade Supers fought above the sea, stirring up the tide.

While Stephanie fought the mechanical army, she suppressed the shock in her heart. As a Calamity Grade who had experienced hundreds of battles, she was able to quickly adjust to sudden situations.

She could not figure out how Black Star had discovered their ambush, but it was the reality, and the only thing she could do was deal with it.

Stephanie’s brain worked quickly as she analyzed the situation.

They have six Grade A Supers. Even with me being here, we won’t be able to defeat Black Star’s helpers within a short time. It will take a lot of time to capture Black Star…

Stephanie frowned.

Meanwhile, two mechanical armies collided midair. The colorful lights from the energy lit up the dark sky.

Using the army as cover, Han Xiao used Void Travel and appeared right in front of the opponent Mechanic. With a short combo of Mountain Ape Throw and Psionic Impact, Han Xiao broke a few of the enemy Mechanic’s bones. The enemy Mechanic endured the pain and backed up. Han Xiao activated his Psionic Shield to block an invisible wave coming far away from Stephanie, making the sound of suppressed thunder.

Boom boom boom!

The two sides fought intensely. As Han Xiao fought, he was also observing Stephanie.

His reinforcements had arrived, so the enemies would definitely react to it.

Stephanie only had two choices-retreat and look for an opportunity in the future or continue fighting and defeat Wilton and the others, betting that Han Xiao did not have any more reinforcements.

Just as Han Xiao was speculating, Stephanie put her hands together. Her body suddenly started vibrating at a high frequency unobservable to the naked eye. Chain reactions started to occur in the space around her.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In the midst of battle, Wilton and the others suddenly felt like their hearts skipped a beat. As all kinds of debuffs were applied to their bodies, they felt their bodies become slower and more difficult to control.

Xiu!

Again, Stephanie used her teleportation ability, turning into a shadow and suddenly appearing behind Wilton.

This did not work on Han Xiao, but Wilton clearly could not react in time before Stephanie’s palm pressed on his back.

Hum!

This press felt soft and hardly had any strength to it, but Wilton’s entire body trembled. He felt a strange vibration entering his body. All his muscles and bones started to vibrate at the same frequency.

Just as this thought appeared, an intense pain erupted in his body!

Inside Wilton’s body, the high-frequency vibration caused his muscle fibers to break, his bones to crack, his organs to tear, and his blood vessels to explode!

After just being softly touched by Stephanie, Wilton was instantly covered in blood.

“Captain!”

The other two Purple Crystal Grade A Supers noticed the incident. Their expressions drastically changed as they hastily left their opponents behind, wanting to rush over to help.

Expressionless, Stephanie’s palm on Wilton’s back suddenly grabbed tighter. Her fingers sunk into his body then twisted violently.

“Argh!” Wilton’s eyes were completely red.

In the almost unbearable pain, he punched backward with all his might. Having already achieved her goal, Stephanie did not fight head-on with a Pugilist and backed away.

Wilton’s back armor was shattered, showing his skin. A large area of muscles and bones were bent and shattered, mushed together in a spiral, and bones protruded from under the skin. It looked terrifying

In just an instant, Stephanie had heavily injured a Calamity Grade Pugilist. The faces of Wilton and the rest all drastically changed—Stephanie’s destructive power was beyond their expectations.

Han Xiao’s eyes turned firm as he realized what Stephanie’s plan was. This woman was not going to retreat. She had chosen the second plan-continue fighting

With what he knew about Stephanie, this was not surprising

Stephanie had been active during the times of war in the exploration era, so she was able to carefully plan before acting and dared fight enemies head-on. She was not one to easily give up on a mission.

This means that this will be a tough fight. Unless we crush them, they will not retreat no matter what.

Han Xiao clenched his teeth. Such enemies were clearly more difficult to deal with.

Stephanie was very strong. The name of her Esper ability was Resonance Coordination. It sounded ordinary, but it was an extremely powerful Esper ability. There were tons of ways to use it, and its destructive power was terrifying.

As the frequency of the resonance could penetrate many defensive measures and cause structural damage, Stephanie’s every attack had high True Damage and armor-penetrating damage. Her ability to penetrate defenses was exceptionally strong, and she could largely reduce the opponent’s defense.

Han Xiao was not afraid of True Damage; the Germinal Organization leader was still blessing him from heaven.

However, his reinforcements did not have the [Steel Body) talent. Stephanie’s ability was more than enough to make them fearful.

Wilton and the others were elites at most. The quality and quantity of their talents and abilities were inferior compared to the hidden boss-level Stephanie.

Stephanie’s Resonance Coordination not only had terrifying single target lethality, it was also just as powerful when used as an AOE. Through the vibration frequency, she could give a ton of debuffs to the enemies within an area. When facing weaker Supers, she could even create ultrasound and infrasound to shatter their organs.

This meant that be it against one or multiple opponents, weaker or the same grade, they were all Stephanie’s strength.

She was even more difficult to deal with than Ember!

Han Xiao had once fought alongside Jayne, whose nickname was Seaquake. Just like Jayne, Stephanie’s Esper ability was also related to vibration. However, Stephanie’s Esper ability strength, range, and applicability were all far superior to Jayne’s. This was a high-grade vibration-type Esper ability!

She’s a murder machine. I can’t let her get to the others. I’m the only one that can face her…

That thought flashed through Han Xiao’s mind. He turned the mechanical army’s cannons around and aimed at Stephanie, firing countless rounds and forming a dense net of attacks. At the same time, Han Xiao headed toward Stephanie and fought her at close range.

Stephanie’s expression did not look delightful. She wanted to get rid of Black Star’s helpers first, but Han Xiao had come to her and held her back.

Under the onslaught of attacks, Stephanie could not afford to get distracted.

The punches of both sides landed continuously on each other, making loud bangs. She was completely stalled by Han Xiao and could not get away. Seeing this, Wilton breathed a sigh of relief. He did not dare fight Stephanie; Black Star actively dealing with the most dangerous enemy made him feel relieved. He glanced at Han Xiao, clenched his teeth, and found his own opponent to fight.

Within the mechanical army, both sides clashed with each other time after time. The aftershock formed countless storms, spreading and expanding in all directions.

Boom!

The beams from the Sky Cannons landed on the sea nonstop, creating tsunamis hundreds of meters high.

Thunderstorms finally started to pour from the dark

sky.

As their title suggested, the battle between more than ten Calamity Grades was indeed a calamity to the planet.

After fighting for a few hours, there were now only twelve of them left. The many attacks from the Psionic Sky Cannons had finally killed the opponent Mechanic.

A Godoran Calamity Grade had been killed by the enemy, while that enemy was also heavily injured by a round of focus fire from Han Xiao’s mechanical army then finished by Wilton.

Three Calamity Grades had died. The battle was devastating. It was now a battle of six against six!

“Huu… huu…”

The Mountain Ape mechanical suit was heavily damaged. Han Xiao had already repaired it three times using (Waste Modification). He gasped heavily for air, dragged his exhausted body, and collided with Stephanie time after time.

Stephanie was not in a good state either. She was bleeding from her forehead, and her body was covered in wounds. Her clothes were almost all torn, but her eyes were still vicious.

The mechanical army around became much sparser. The two of them did not hold back and fought fiercely like beasts.

Neither of them had much stamina left, and they were quickly recovering. They were in a stalemate.

She has boss-type Molding Talents. She has a lot of energy, health, and very fast recovery speed. It will take days to determine the winner if I keep fighting this way

Han Xiao clenched his teeth. He had only been able to gain the upper hand with his health-mana cycle, mechanical army, and immunity to True Damage. Stephanie was Thousand Shadows’ shadow; her ability was enhanced, and her level was most likely around 240. She was undoubtedly a top-notch Grade A+.

The longer the battle lasted, the greater his chance of winning. Han Xiao was still stronger in terms of long duration battles. However, he could not delay the battle any longer.

Just one Calamity Grade would be able to destroy a planet’s surface. The disasters brought by a battle between so many Calamity Grades were already starting to affect the entire Planet Aquamarine.

The natural disasters caused by the aftershocks of battle were irreversible!

Even if they stopped immediately, the disasters they caused before would still continue to spread by themselves.

If they fought for a few more days, living beings on Planet Aquamarine would probably all be dead.

The stalemate has to be broken. The two sides are now on par. As long as I become a little stronger, I will be able to break the fragile balance!

Having made up his mind, Han Xiao dived right into the violent sea without saying a word.

He could go through his Promotion at any time, only that it would take some time. Under Phillip’s control, a part of the mechanical army in the sky stayed to restrain the enemies, while the rest followed Han Xiao into the sea to protect him when needed.

Stephanie frowned and glanced through Wilton and the rest. After hesitating for a moment, she had made up her mind-she did not use this opportunity to eliminate the other enemies but followed Han Xiao and dived into the sea.

Her rich experiences told her that no matter what goal Black Star had, it was best to stop him.

As the strongest Supers of both sides went into the sea, everyone’s expression changed, not knowing why Black Star had suddenly split up the battlefield.

Could it be that he did not want to be disturbed by the others and wanted to fight Stephanie in the sea?

“Captain, should we go down to back him up?”

Wilton clenched his teeth and said, “No need. Just do what we’re supposed to-do not let our opponents follow them down. Let Black Star deal with that woman.”

He felt that Black Star did not need reinforcements, and subconsciously, he did not want to face Stephanie.

That woman was too dangerous. He would not have to endure the pressure if he left her to Black Star.

Although he had been ordered to back Han Xiao up, Wilton was not willing to sacrifice his life for it.

At the same time in Black Star City, reports of natural disasters kept being sent to Bennett’s table. The satellites had discovered that the source of these disasters was the battlefield of Han Xiao and the others.

Many officials and professionals were crowded in the office, anxiously reporting the situation to Bennett.

“A few hours ago, earthquakes occurred in many areas on the Northern Continent. Many fissures and rifts appeared. Earthquakes caused tsunamis. Thirteen coastline cities have already been destroyed, causing incalculable casualties!”

“According to the satellite report, His Excellency Black Star is now fighting with enemies on the sea. The storms and tsunamis caused are approaching the other continents while growing in power. In about three hours’ time, they will reach land. The various nations have already started the emergency evacuation.”

“An hour ago, eleven new earthquake sources appeared in various locations around the world. The degree and range of earthquakes are still expanding. According to our calculations, within ten days, 24.7% of all land areas will be affected by earthquakes.”

“Also…”

Bennett listened to one report after another while anxiously walking back and forth. This was completely different from the Mutation Disaster; these natural disasters were things that could not be resolved.

“Send out rescue teams and support the affected areas as much as possible. For the time being, forget about the Six Nations’ doings.” Bennett issued his orders before pausing momentarily. “When will the disasters reach Black Star City?”

Black Star City was inland. The disasters would not reach there so soon.

An official gulped to wet his throat, shivered, and said, “According to the calculations of the research and development department, if His Excellency Black Star continues to battle, the seriousness of the disasters will multiply rapidly. In about 4 hours 35 minutes, the chain disasters they cause will exceed the critical point…”

“What will happen when it exceeds the critical point?” Bennett’s heart skipped a beat.

“Unless we leave this planet, we can only wait for our deaths.”

Bennett’s fists tightened.

Chapter 675 - Promotion!

Boom!

The fallout of a battle between more than ten Calamity Grades created enormous whirlpools all over the sea in the area.

The violent winds sucked the seawater up, forming water tornados that extended all the way into the sky, connecting the sea and the clouds.

It was a doomsday scene above the sea.

The moment that Han Xiao dived into the sea, those noises suddenly became faint. The seawater weakened the sound coming from above, but the sound of the powerful tides and streams under the sea was amplified. It was as if he was in the middle of hundreds of enormous drums being played together, surrounded by stereo sound effects.

The radar showed that Stephanie was following behind, and Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

I can't let her get close during the Promotion.

Han Xiao ordered the mechanical army around him to turn back and hold back Stephanie while he quickly dived deeper.

The ocean before his eyes was dark, turning from deep blue to black in the distance. The visibility was low, there was no source of light anywhere and no end in sight. It was even darker than the universe.

Fortunately, I don't have Thalassophobia1.

The ocean was the hotbed of life. Many ancient creatures lived in the sea of Planet Aquamarine. However, at this point, all the marine lives of the area had escaped. The ocean was completely devoid of any sign of life.

Stephanie was stalled by the mechanical army. Han Xiao quickly dived deeper and found a trench that had formed a few hours ago.

Here will do.

Han Xiao immediately opened the interface, selected the Completed Promotion mission, and activated it.

A shiver in his marrow and soul quickly passed through his entire body. He was familiar with this Promotion feeling.

This time, a chain of notifications popped up on the interface.

_____________________

[The Ultimate Trial] Current Progress: 50/50

Level 180 Promotion Mission completed! Endurance bonus increased! 1 Endurance = 120 HP = 130 Stamina

You have taken another step on the path of evolution. You have ascended in the hierarchy of life.

Detected Race: [Chaos Observer (Human Form)]…

Randomly drawing 8 compatible evolution paths…

Drawing complete!

Please choose one of the following 8 options for your Race Evolution.

Warning! The evolution process is irreversible. Please choose carefully! [Appendix—Evolution Path Feature Descriptions]

[X-type Galaxy Human Race]—67% Compatibility

[Void Stroller (Human Form)]—78% Compatibility

[Dark Shadow (Human Form]—72% Compatibility

[Void Disciple (Human Form)]—71% Compatibility

[Void Distorter (Human Form)]—69% Compatibility

[Void Whisperer (Spirit Form)]—84% Compatibility

[Void Slime]—55% Compatibility

[Octa-claw Race]—31% Compatibility

_____________________

First, Han Xiao eliminated the non-Void race choices. The octopus-looking Octa-claw Race was not even within his consideration, and Void Slime was way too weird.

Void Whisperer was a spirit form choice, suitable for Mages and Psychics. Han Xiao had such a strong body, so he was not willing to give it up.

The only possible choices were the four human form evolution paths.

Han Xiao quickly scanned through and immediately made a decision.

Void Lord's core enhanced his Void Genes. As Han Xiao had jumped into the Void Race evolution system from the human race, it was kind of like a midlife career change for him. Hence, he naturally could not compete with those that started as Void Beings. However, the genetic substances that had Void Genes in them such as the Void Lord core had enhanced his evolution progress in the Void Race system, allowing him to catch up.

With the benefit from the Void Lord core, an option that was supposed to appear in the next Race Evolution had appeared this time. This was a higher level being on the Void Race evolution system. According to his data, this being was one entire level higher than the other options on the evolution chain!

Be it the current attribute bonuses or the evolution potential in the future, this species was the best choice!

Han Xiao quickly selected his choice.

_____________________

Selection complete. Undergoing Race Evolution… Evolution complete.

Your race has been changed to: [Void Distorter (Human Form)].

Molecular structure improved, organ structure strengthened, metabolism changed, and adaptability enhanced…

Your potential aptitude has been improved!

You have received bonus attributes: +44 Strength, +83 Dexterity, +65 Endurance, +120 Intelligence, +92 Mystery, +34 Charisma, +1460 Energy. Energy Level bonus attributes have changed!

_____________________

Han Xiao's eyes widened rapidly, and a dim light appeared in his pupils.

All the cells and genes over his body started to change, and pain erupted in both his body and his mind. His vision kept going back and forth between Void Vision and reality. His brain was trembling.

His body greedily absorbed the energy of the Void Dimension. His entire body was emitting a mysterious gray and dark blue light.

If the level of Void Prowler and Chaos Observer were to be evaluated on the military scale, these two would be privates, and Void Distorter would be at the sergeant level!

This Race Evolution hugely enhanced his connection with the Void Dimension. His body seemed to have become a container, and Void Energy poured right into him, absorbed by every cell in his body.

His energy changed under the Void Energy erosion.

_____________________

You have received Void Energy bonuses!

+30% Energy recovery speed

+1000 Energy

You have received a new Energy Attribute: [Void]!

Your energy will now have Void characteristics.

_____________________

A new Energy Attribute!

Han Xiao was overjoyed. Enduring the immense pain, he quickly looked at the interface. The interface showed that he now had two Energy Attributes. One was the Mechanic class' magnetic attribute Mechanical Force, and the other was the new void attribute.

Han Xiao's joy was almost overflowing.

The change in Energy Attribute was not as obvious as character attributes, but it was very important. It could even change one's combat style.

Although the interface introduction was ambiguous, Han Xiao had already felt the change in the energy in his body during the Race Evolution. Furthermore, he remembered stuff from his previous life, so he knew very well what the [Void] attribute's effect was.

Energy Erosion!

The ability to transmit energy using the Void Dimension as the medium!

Both these characteristics were very powerful in battle, and they were suitable for any class!

The evolution was still going on. The Void Energy in his body started to saturate. The evolution process created an enormous vortex under the sea.

This attracted Stephanie's attention.

I can't let him do as he wishes!

Stephanie did not know what Han Xiao was doing, but that did not stop her from wanting to stop Han Xiao. She vibrated the seawater, shattering mechanical soldiers one after another, and cleared a path.

She directly headed to the middle of the undersea vortex and launched a powerful wave right at it.

Boom!

The vortex was shattered into streams in the blink of an eye. At the last moment, Han Xiao dodged being hit directly and was just pushed away by the fallout.

Stephanie was a powerful enemy. Han Xiao did not have time to slowly feel the changes in his body. He glanced at the various new talents and abilities on the interface before throwing tons of Experience into the interface, leveling up rapidly!

He leveled up fifteen times directly!

The level up notification popped up.

_____________________

[Truth Mechanic] leveled up to Level25 (max).

+450 Energy, +2 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +4 Endurance, +10 Intelligence.

You have received 7 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

_____________________

As his class reached its maximum level, Han Xiao stopped leveling up.

As usual, he put all his Free Attribute Points into Intelligence.

His total level now was 195!

Before Han Xiao could look at the changes in his attributes, the tremendous increase in his strength made him feel like the rich and powerful energy was about to overflow from all the cells in his body and that he had to use it urgently.

Without hesitating, Han Xiao took back his Mountain Ape mechanical suit and dashed toward Stephanie.

This time, Stephanie finally saw what Han Xiao looked like now. Her expression changed.

Han Xiao's skin had become silver-gray with a crystal-like texture, sparkling with the light of energy. He had symmetrical deep blue patterns on his body. His entire body was covered with silver flames fueled by Void Energy. His silver hair was swaying in the water like a dancing flame.

His eyes looked like obsidians, and his pupils had become rice-sized white dots.

This appearance was similar to a Void Prowler, but the energy emitted was much stronger.

New Racial Talent—[Void Molt]!

What is th—

Stephanie was dumbfounded.

At this moment, Han Xiao opened his arms. Half of his palm reached into the Void Dimension. He bent his fingers like a claw and pulled down like tearing open a cloth.

"Try this!"

The next moment, the world before Stephanie's eyes was suddenly deformed.

She felt as if all her muscles, bones, nerves, and blood vessels were squeezed together then separated again. She felt as if she had become a piece of cloth and was twisted and bent by someone who was trying to squeeze the water out of her body.

In just a short moment, it felt like countless years to her. This indescribably strange feeling had exceeded most people's knowledge. It was like Stephanie had a dream. She forgot what the dream was about after she woke, but the sense of inferiority still lingered as if she had dreamed of something extremely horrifying.

While she was still confused, continuous pain suddenly exploded in every corner of her body!

Stephanie regained focus. Her expression dramatically changed, and she was about to retreat. To her shock, the seawater around her was all spinning at a high speed, generating a terrifying force that prevented her from escaping.

Sh*t! Stephanie was stunned.

The movements there transmitted to the sea surface as well. All the small vortexes in this area were shattered and fused into a gigantic vortex that seemingly could consume the sky!

Boom!

The ten Calamity Grades all stopped fighting and looked at the horrifying endless vortex under them

In their eyes, the ocean was no longer the ocean. It had become a galaxy, and this vortex was like a black hole.

Deep, mysterious, and terrifying!

Like the entrance of an endless abyss!

The people who had made this could only be Han Xiao and Stephanie.

"What have they done?" Wilton's eyes widened.

At the same time under the sea, it was as if Stephanie had been thrown into a washing machine, unable to control herself among the whirlpools, enduring the terrible forces tearing and damaging her.

At the center of the most peaceful whirlpool, Han Xiao grabbed tightly onto the Void Dimension. A huge force of resistance came from his hand. He could only maintain the current situation no matter how hard he tried. His energy was reducing at an astounding speed, releasing from his hands.

"This is marvelous!"

Even Han Xiao was startled by the effect of this attack.

This ability was indeed one of the new abilities from Void Distorter.

[Void Distortion]!

  1. Thalassophobia is phobia of the deep sea.

Chapter 676 - Broken Balance

Chapter 676 Broken Balance

After completing his Race Evolution, Han Xiao’s Racial Talents changed as well.

(Advanced Void Travel] was a shared talent for Void species, so it did not change. (Void Vision-Observer], (Chaos Entity – Release), and [Observer’s Mark] were gone, however, replaced by Void Distorter’s abilities.

The three new talents were (Void Molt), (Void Distortion), and (Void Ripple]

(Void Molt] was an enhancement ability. As his genes were enhanced by Void Energy, and he could enter a special state by burning energy with the Void attribute. In that state, all his attributes would increase, and the Void attribute of his energy would be enhanced as well.

Han Xiao’s current appearance was what he would look like when activating this ability.

Void Distorter’s signature talent was, of course, (Void Distortion), the ability to affect reality by pulling the Void Dimension. It was an ability with a large area of effect and a very high continuous consumption of mana. It would also send out psychic impacts to the enemies within the range.

With Han Xiao’s current strength, the range and power of (Void Distortion] were both remarkable, so this ability could be used regularly against enemies of the same grade.

The enormous whirlpool at the moment had been caused by Void Distortion. It had caught Stephanie by surprise, and she was being spun around nonstop.

(Void Ripple) was a single target damage ability. Its effect was concentrating Void Energy to unleash explosive damage on the enemy. Even Han Xiao was startled when he saw the theoretical damage numbers. Most of the damage dealt by this ability was True Damage.

Chaos Observer’s abilities are mainly supportive, while Void Distorter’s abilities are pure combat and destruction oriented.

Most of Void Distorter’s abilities were related to space. This Race Evolution gave him a total of four abilities. Furthermore, this evolution skipped an entire tier on the evolution chain, so his potential had grown a huge amount.

While still grabbing onto the Void Dimension and maintaining the gigantic whirlpool caused by Void Distortion, Han Xiao used the time to look at his attributes after the Promotion.

After calculating, the Race Evolution and fifteen-level increase had brought him a total of 132 Strength, 224 Dexterity, 220 Endurance, 507 Intelligence, 169 Mystery, 34 Charm, 5,850 Energy, and 11,300 Stamina.

It was amazing!

Han Xiao was very satisfied. He looked at his attributes on the interface.

Level: 195

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Void Distorter (Human Form)

Attributes: 468 Strength, 898 Dexterity, 940 Endurance, 2633 Intelligence, 432 Mystery, 139 Charisma, 1 Luck

Free Attribute Points: 0

Potential Points: 15

Health: 196,560

Stamina: 154,720

Energy: 25,530 (Level12]

(Level12 Energy bonus attributes: +169 Strength, +239 Dexterity, +269 Endurance, +336 Intelligence, +206 Mystery, +32,520 Maximum Stamina, +352% Machinery Affinity (Super Electromagnetic Sense)]

Energy Rank: 20,170

Grade: A+

[Grade A Ranked Bonus: +10 Endurance, +8 All Resistances. +10% Highest Attribute, +5% Other Attributes, +30 Free Attribute Points, +5 Potential Points]

(You’re a Grade A+ Mechanic. Sadly, your brain is filled with muscles.]

Bullsh*t! My brain is filled with intelligence!

Han Xiao curled his lips and decided not to argue with the remarks.

Level 195, I’m finally Grade A+.

Han Xiao looked at the amount of Experience he had left. At this stage, the Experience cost of every level was extremely high, so leveling up fifteen times consecutively had cost him a lot of Experience.

He estimated that the remaining Experience should be able to level up ten or so times.

Upon arriving at Grade A+, he was now much stronger. Before his Promotion, he could defeat about ninety percent of all Calamity Grades, but now, Han Xiao felt that not many people in the same grade as him would be able to pose a threat.

He was now a top Calamity Grade!

However, knowing his limits, Han Xiao did not intend to mess with any Beyond Grade As.

At level 195, he was already a top Calamity Grade. However, he would only be able to reach Beyond Grade A at around level 240. Just this level difference was already enough to warn Han Xiao against doing anything.

After all, that was tens of levels of difference at the late stage. The strength difference between levels was much more significant than the earlier stages.

With my current strength, the most I can do is not be afraid of anyone in the same grade. Han Xiao was not going to get arrogant.

Having already spent more than half of his energy, Han Xiao stopped the Void Distortion. The enormous whirlpool was still there, but it gradually spun slowly. Without Han Xiao’s Void Distortion, Stephanie regained control of her body, immediately escaping the whirlpool and instantly shooting up to the ocean’s surface.

Han Xiao followed her and slowly flew up to the sky.

Wilton and the others saw that the two of them had finally come out of the ocean. They all looked over and were all shocked. Being covered in burning silver flames, Han Xiao looked just like a Pugilist. While Stephanie was wet, wounded everywhere, and had a fearful expression on her face.

The others realized what had happened. Clearly, the two of them had gotten into a huge fight under the sea, and Black Star had used some kind of ability and created this enormous whirlpool, which had wounded Stephanie badly.

“Advance!” Han Xiao led the mechanical army and charged forward, not giving Stephanie any time to rest.

His strength rocketed. Plus, he had recovered to his peak with the Promotion. This had instantly shattered the fragile balance between the two sides!

With his increased Intelligence, his mechanical army had become stronger.

Boom!

The battle started again. The moment Han Xiao entered the battle, the stalemate situation was broken.

After his Promotion, he completely suppressed Stephanie while still being able to assist his teammates. He controlled the tempo of the battle alone.

Stephanie felt a huge increase in pressure and was completely stuck on the passive side of the battle. She could not understand how Black Star had been on par with her moments ago, yet now he had suddenly become so much stronger. Could this be a trump card of his?

Could it be that he could grow quickly during battle?

She remembered that there were this kind of battle race in the universe. Not killing them would make them stronger.

Could Black Star be one of them?

If he was, it would make sense. No wonder Black Star had risen so quickly in such a short time. He might really be one of those talented battle races!

Many guesses flashed through Stephanie’s mind. She looked around at her wounded teammates and was shaken.

Including her, everyone was already at their limit. However, Black Star was still very much at his peak, and his helpers were very tough as well. After fighting for so long, Stephanie could not see any hope of capturing Black Star.

“Retreat!”

Realizing that the situation was getting worse, Stephanie decided to retreat and leave the battlefield.

After fighting for so many hours, Stephanie and the others were all exhausted, but if they continued to fight head-on, they would still be able to last much longer. However, once they decided to retreat, their spirit broke, and they lost all their advantages. They were all held back by Han Xiao, who was at his peak after the Promotion.

Stephanie and the others fought while retreating, causing them to enter a vicious cycle—the more they wanted to retreat, the worse the situation became.

However, if they fought head on, it would just be delaying their inevitable death. Stephanie had no choice but to retreat. Only now did she realize that she was in a tough spot. Within the few hours that they were in a stalemate, they spent way too much energy and now could not escape.

If the enemies had retreated from the beginning, Han Xiao and the others would really not have been able to stop them. However, they only thought about retreating now. It was too late!

He did not want those dangerous people to escape. Who knew what trouble they would cause next time?

When Stephanie realized the situation, they had nowhere to run.

The battlefield gradually shifted to land. Stephanie and the others were finally at their limits.

Han Xiao started his slaughter!

Bang!

A punch landed on the heavily injured enemy Mage, and Void Ripple flew into the target’s body. This person’s entire body trembled, and his body started to scrunch up like a cloth. However, instead of water being squeezed out, it was blood. His health became zero, and he fell from the sky.

Xiu!

A Psionic Impact entered right into the body of an enemy Esper. Dark blue light exploded from within. With a loud band, this person exploded from within!

Boom!

A heavy knee kick landed on the lower body of a Pugilist. A large amount of nanotechnology particles suddenly appeared on Han Xiao’s knee, which turned into a sharp blade, stabbing right into the body of this Pugilist. The moment it stabbed in, the nanotechnology blade shapeshifted. The next moment, countless alloy spikes extended from within the muscles, as if spikes had suddenly grown out from this person’s body.

As Han Xiao backed away, the nanotechnology particles returned as well. The spikes on this person’s body all ‘retracted’. Blood shot out from the countless holes on his body as he fell from the sky.

Han Xiao killed one Calamity Grade after another, leaving only Stephanie still resisting. She was indeed very strong. Just Stephanie alone was able to cause quite a lot of trouble.

However, she was too outnumbered.

Stephanie heavily injured three of Han Xiao’s helpers. This was the last trouble she caused. Then, she was defeated by Han Xiao as well.

Ignoring their injuries, Han Xiao’s helpers immobilized her and prevented her from escaping.

Han Xiao pressed Stephanie on the ground, and Psionic Impact shot right in her face time after time without stopping, creating a several-hundred-meter-deep crater on the ground. Stephanie was restrained by Wilton and the rest, so she could not resist.

In the end, Stephanie was so heavily injured that she was unable to move. She only had the energy to breath.

Han Xiao did not kill her. He felt that it would be useful to not kill all of them. Plus, Stephanie was a boss-level character, so she would definitely produce great potions.

All Stephanie could feel was how heavy her eyelids were. Before falling unconscious, she squeezed out his last bit of energy to glare at Han Xiao.

When setting the ambush, she had never even considered the possibility that she would be defeated there.

“Black Star…”

Stephanie glared at Han Xiao, engraving his appearance deep into her heart before falling unconscious.

The place became quiet.

Cam

“We finally won.” Han Xiao took a deep breath. Only then did he feel the tiredness in his body. All he wanted to do was have a good sleep.

Honestly, Stephanie’s trap had indeed been very threatening. If he did not call for help beforehand, he might really have fallen into the trap. If he had undergone his Promotion earlier, without the Observer’s Marks aiding him in picking the battlefield, Black Star City would have been destroyed.

However, the battle had now ended, and the result was determined.

Stephanie’s team had been completely eliminated!

“Thanks for your help.” Han Xiao turned around and nodded at Wilton and the others.

“You’re welcome.” Wilton swallowed his saliva and spoke respectfully. He did have some thoughts earlier but now all he had for Han Xiao was respect and fear.

This fight might not have been as astonishing as his fight with the eight Vanguard Officials, but how many Calamity Grades did Black Star kill today?

Last time, Black Star had proved his defense; today, Wilton had witnessed Han Xiao’s attack for the first time.

Just thinking about it sent shivers down Wilton’s spine.

Luckily, Black Star is our ally… Wilton was internally relieved.

Meanwhile, Nagakin was sorrowful. A comrade of his had been killed. Han Xiao had no way to comfort him; all he could do was give him a pat on the back.

Godora had sent those people to help him. Losing a Calamity Grade was no small loss to Godora. Han Xiao felt rather sorry and remembered this favor, considering how he could make it up to Godora.

He was not someone that took the help from others for granted.

To maintain a relationship, it took effort from both sides.

At this time, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something, and his expression changed.

“Wait, we can’t rest yet. Phillip, gather the disaster reports and tell me the locations.”

Forcing energy out of himself, Han Xiao turned into a stream of light and quickly left.

He could not rest yet. He had to deal with the disasters brought by the battle. If they were not stopped in time, Planet Aquamarine would suffer a lot of damage.

Wilton and the others were willing to help. They split up and headed to different disaster locations.

Chapter 677 - Class Advancement Requirement

Chapter 677 Class Advancement Requirement

In the Black Star City government building, Bennett was walking back and forth anxiously. Most of his people had been sent out to deal with the disasters, so only a few officials were in the room, looking at Bennett. Every one of them looked nervous and hesitant.

Other than the sound of footsteps and heavy breathing, there were no other sounds in the room.

Bennett clenched his fists. He felt a deep sense of powerlessness. Ever since Planet Aquamarine started to connect with the universe, he had been feeling this way. In battles of this level, he realized that all he could do was wait for the results.

Although Bennett trusted Han Xiao, he still planned for the worst. He had already ordered some people to start preparing to evacuate. He could not bet all his people on it.

This time, the official responsible for observing the battle hastily ran in and said with an overjoyed tone, “Your Excellency, the battle ended! Black Star won!”

Bennett’s tightened body finally relaxed, and his fists curled open.

The people in the room were surprised and could not help but cheer softly.

“I got it… Step up the disaster relief measures and reduce the damage caused as much as possible.

Bennett suppressed his excitement and issued several orders. This world shaking battle had brought disaster to the planet. They had to minimize the damage caused.

“By the way, have you been able to contact Black Star yet?”

“His Excellency Black Star sent a message earlier, saying he is taking his people to deal with the disasters and needs our cooperation.”

“That’s great. Cooperate with him fully and follow any order he gives.”

Bennett was thrilled.

The fallout of the battle caused earthquakes, tsunamis, tornados, and other disasters to occur in many areas of the planet. Fortunately, Han Xiao ended the battle quickly, so the disasters did not exceed the critical level.

The tornados were easiest to deal with. Calamity Grades could extinguish the storm eye and make them disappear. Contrary to that, the earthquakes were irreversible, so they could only save the affected cities to reduce the damage.

In twenty-four hours, Han Xiao, Wilton, and the rest dealt with around a hundred disasters, big and small. In the next few months, there would still be more chain disasters, but they would all be detectable.

There were still some matters on Planet Aquamarine that needed Han Xiao to sort out, such as what to do with the Six Nations.

However, Han Xiao was exhausted and planned to rest for one day first, at the same time familiarizing himself with the changes brought by the Promotion.

Han Xiao brought the captive back to Bennett. Bennett was busy doing disaster relief, but he still squeezed out the time to thank Han Xiao.

Although the enemies came because of Han Xiao and Planet Aquamarine was sort of dragged into it, Bennett was not an idiot. He knew that Planet Aquamarine was only thriving because of Black Star, so it was only natural that they were on the same boat. Of course, he would not blame this protector. If there was anyone that he was angry at, it would be the enemies who used such a despicable strategy.

Wilton and the others left and rushed back to report what they had seen on this mission.

Han Xiao thanked them again for their help and contacted Godora’s Serbia the Fifth to discuss the compensation for the Calamity Grade that they had lost. Technically, he did not have to compensate them, but Han Xiao would not be that stupid.

Godora only had around twenty Calamity Grades, and every one they lost was a very big deal. Serbia the Fifth felt heartache too. When he heard that Han Xiao was going to compensate for it, he did feel a little better.

The Purple Crystal Civilization knew about this from Wilton. They contacted the Godoran Civilization and expressed their intent of paying some of the compensation for Han Xiao. Han Xiao’s record of killing many Calamity Grades increased his position once again. Purple Crystal was now even more interested in him. This act was to clearly express their intent of trying to build a relationship with Han Xiao.

When Han Xiao returned to his room, Stephanie was still unconscious. Han Xiao extracted potions from her till she was extremely weak.

Stephanie was strong, so Han Xiao would only not be worried about imprisoning her when she did not have the strength to resist.

Round three of (Prey) was completed. Han Xiao did not claim the reward immediately. One of the rewards was to draw a random ability from the ten enemies, including Stephanie.

As Feidin was not there, the Great Mechanic Han was unconfident about these luck related things. He planned to return to the headquarters and touch Feidin before claiming it.

During the battle, he rocketed to level 195, reaching the limit of (Truth Mechanic) and triggering the requirement for the next Class Advancement.

This time, it was a common Mechanic Class Advancement mission-to build one machine that matched the requirement. Han Xiao had triggered this kind of mission before, but this Class Advancement mission matched up to his level, so it was extremely difficult.

The grade of most equipment and items could be classified as one of the following: Poor Gray, Fair White, Good Green, Great Blue, Exceptional Purple, Rare Pink, and Epic Orange. Orange equipment was the top grade.

However, other than these usual grades, there were two special grades-silver and gold.

Gold was the most special grade. It was extremely rare, and it represented that the item was at the ‘Universal Treasure’ level. There were only a few in the entire

universe.

Silver represented the ‘Legacy’ attribute. If an item had a famous history or signified some kind of honor to be passed on, it would become a silver grade item and receive bonuses.

Legacy could stack with the usual grades. For example, an item could both be at orange grade and silver grade.

This Class Advancement mission was to build legacy-level orange equipment or ‘Legendary’ equipment!

What determined if a machinery had the legacy attribute depended on the blueprint. This meant that he had to find a special character to learn a silver legacy blueprint from, build it, and reach the orange grade. At the same time, the Class Advancement also had a requirement for the level of the equipment—it had to have a minimum level of level 180.

Therefore, I have to find a legacy level 180 mechanical equipment blueprint, then build it to reach the orange grade…

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. Even the requirement for the Mountain Ape mechanical suit did not reach level 180.

Damn it, you’re making this difficult for

me!

Han Xiao could remember quite a few methods to obtain a silver legacy blueprint, but only a very few legacy equipment reached level 180. Those were also extremely complex and difficult to obtain.

Furthermore, the higher the blueprint’s level, the more difficult it was to build a high-grade product out of it. Han Xiao performed some mental calculations, and with his current Intelligence and Machinery Affinity, the absolute highest he could reach was just a level 180 pink equipment.

Han Xiao shook his head.

Although this mission was difficult, it was not completely impossible. Furthermore, there was no risk in it since he just had to build one piece of equipment. Thus, there was no need to depend on luck and find a Mission Completion Card for it.

The legacy blueprint isn’t a problem, but my attributes aren’t enough to build a level 180 orange equipment. Hmm… do I have to learn new subclasses to increase my attributes?

Without much consideration, Han Xiao denied this solution.

In the later stages, leveling up would become harder and harder. The benefits of the main class were much higher than any subclass. Furthermore, there was still a Promotion mission waiting for him at level 200. It was not worth obtaining a subclass.

He did not want to waste his Experience on subclasses; it was best to spend it on his main class. After all, there was still a very long time until the players logged in again, so he had to reduce his expenditure.

Besides, there were not many subclasses that he needed at the moment, and Han Xiao had a better choice.

If I’m not going to increase my attributes, I will need to find some Mechanic talents…

Han Xiao pondered. Every time he thought about Reynold’s talent, he would be tempted.

If he could obtain (Perfect Mechanical Sense), he would be able to complete the requirement right away. Unfortunately, he had yet to trigger a mission from Reynold.

I need to get some Mechanic talents. I’m still a Mechanic after all.

Glancing at the unconscious Stephanie, Han Xiao felt pressured.

The surprising outcome of this incident was that he now knew that the master behind those hunters was Thousand Shadows. The threat of a Beyond Grade A made Han Xiao feel like there was a stone on his heart. Compared to the Tyrant, Thousand Shadows was more fearsome.

Eliminating Stephanie’s team did not mean it was the end-he had barely earned the time to rest. Who knew who Thousand Shadows would send next time? The next round of the mission would definitely be more dangerous.

I need to get stronger.

Han Xiao felt a burning desire for strength.

Over the following few days, Han Xiao stayed on Planet Aquamarine and helped control the disasters.

Stephanie stayed silent after waking up. Han Xiao had yet to decide on what to do with her, so he just locked her up.

As Stephanie’s team had been eliminated, no one was there to maintain the fake memories of the Six Nations’ leaders. They all recovered as if they had woken up from a dream.

From the records, they discovered what they had done after ‘losing their memories’. Everyone’s face turned pale in horror.

Oh my god, what did we do?

They were terrified. Luckily, Black Star had eliminated the mastermind, or they still would have been controlled.

The Six Nations were worried that Black Star had misunderstood quickly explained that the declaration of war was a misunderstanding, as were the missiles.

At the same time, the leaders of the Six Nations quickly contacted Bennett to explain what had happened and ask for forgiveness.

Bennett did not reply but only invited them to a meeting, saying that this planet had just survived a disaster and they had to discuss the future development plans.

It seemed like Bennett was not planning to hold them accountable for what they had done when their memories were modified. In the Six Nations’ eyes, this represented what Han Xiao meant as well.

The upper echelons of the Six Nations were relieved. They quickly rushed to Black Star City for the meeting, memorized their apology scripts, and planned to explain what had happened.

However, what happened was completely different from what they had imagined!

To Black Star, the Planet Aquamarine armies were meaningless, so the upper echelons of the Six Nations did not take any defensive measures. However, to their shock, as soon as they alighted the plane, Bennett captured all of them.

All the upper echelons of the Six Nations were escorted to the conference room where they met Han Xiao, who was waiting here.

They saw that Han Xiao had an expressionless face and hastily explained themselves.

“Your Excellency Black Star, what is the meaning of this?”

“You must have misunderstood us. Please let me explain.”

Han Xiao waved his hands, signaling for them to shut up. “If not for me, you all would have died during the Mutation Disaster. Yet, you declared war against me, betraying our agreement. I’m very disappointed.”

“B—but we were controlled by someone,” one of them said anxiously. “You know that!”

“Yes, you were controlled…” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. “Does that mean I should act as if nothing happened? What if the Black Star City’s protective shield could not stop your missiles?”

They had nothing to say to this.

Many people noticed what Han Xiao meant, and their expression changed.

Han Xiao tapped the table and said, “You guys are victims, too, so I won’t kill you, but I can’t just let it be.”

“You mean…” someone said apprehensively.

“Disband your governments and give control to Bennett. This civilization does not need this many governments-one is enough.”

From the aspect of a civilization developing as a whole, uniting everyone was very important. Too many governments would only cause resources to be wasted. The governments of the Six Nations had become unnecessarythey were a waste of talents and resources. They were almost a burden to Planet Aquamarine.

As there was no government that ruled over everyone, the Planet Aquamarine civilization had been divided for a very long time. This incident had made Han Xiao feel that it was time. Plus, with the negative effect of the Six Nations’ declaration of war against him, this would minimize the objection of the civilians.

Even though this meant that they would have to go through some short term of pain, in the long term, the civilization would become much healthier. Furthermore, there were many benefits to taking over a civilization. As long as Planet Aquamarine’s technology could catch up to the galactic level, it could become a great logistics base for the Black Star Army.

Like a bolt of lightning, Han Xiao’s words petrified the upper echelons of the Six Nations.

“Yo-you’re eliminating the Six Nations?” a leader said with a shivering tone. He was angry and afraid. If Black Star was planning to eliminate their nations, they would not have the slightest chance of surviving.

“Eliminate your nations?”

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. He stood up, walked to the window, and opened the curtains. Many areas could be seen from there people were crossing by, and magnetic suspended trains shuttled continuously.

“That’s a nation.”

Han Xiao pointed outside the window before pointing at the officials of the Six Nations in the room.

“You guys are not.”

Chapter 678 - Hail Feidin!

Chapter 678 Hail Feidin!

The disbanding of the Six Nations’ governments was quick.

Han Xiao’s strength, power, and prestige were all higher than the Six Nations’. Despite being unwilling, the government officials of the Six Nations had no chance to fight back. In the face of overwhelming strength, they realized that if Black Star wanted to take over the entire Planet Aquamarine, it would be a piece of cake, yet he had waited till then to do so.

In the past, Bennett would not have agreed to the plan. However, after this incident, he was willing to take on greater responsibility. In his eyes, the future of the entire civilization was more important; the Six Nations were way too unreliable.

Peaceful means were used to disband the Six Nations. Neither Han Xiao nor Bennett wanted another war to break out on Planet Aquamarine. The bloody example of the Old Era was right in front of them, so Han Xiao’s target was only the governments of the Six Nations.

To replace them from top to bottom.

The upper echelons of the Six Nations were arrested, and Bennett’s people were placed into the governments. The other government officials at all levels were greatly alarmed, but there was little resistance. The declaration of war from the Six Nations had not only caused them to lose the support of the people, but they had also lost the loyalty of many lower-level officials. The government was not completely united, and every official had their own independent ideas. Throughout Planet Aquamarine, Han Xiao’s reputation was more useful than the Six Nations’; he was widely respected.

Bennett got rid of some of the high-ranking officials while retaining the vast majority of the middle and lower ranked officials. The Six Nations were vast—these people were required to manage them. Furthermore, a pyramid-shaped power structure would falter when the bottom level was taken away. It was not suitable to immediately replace the original political structure, or it would cause chaos.

After all, most middle- and low-level officials were simply trying to earn a living. As long as they were not invaded by foreign enemies, they did not mind their wages being paid by another group of people.

Even the upper echelons were not united. Some of them were willing to work for Bennett’s new government, including Gu Hui. He was utterly disappointed in his original government. Seeing Han Xiao taking over the Six Nations, he briefly struggled between patriotism and racial justice, and in the end, the latter prevailed.

Things could not be changed anymore; staying there and contributing to the entire civilization was his best choice. Gu Hui knew that letting Han Xiao lead Planet Aquamarine might be a much better choice.

After all the dust settled, only then did Han Xiao announce this to all the civilians. Unsurprisingly, this message sent the Six Nations’ people into an uproar.

Although many people were dissatisfied with the declaration of war by the Six Nations, they did not think that their government would disappear in such a short period of time.

Countless people were worried sick that this might be the start of another era filled with chaos. However, after some time, they realized that their lives did not change much at all. The original territories of the Six Nations became six special zones where most of the original laws were retained. Bennett knew that this had to be done slowly so that the civilians could gradually adjust to the new government.

Reality was not a fairy tale; even though Han Xiao’s image was like a savior on Planet Aquamarine, there were still passionate patriotic protests as every government knew how to cultivate strong supporters. There were also those with ulterior motives who acted on the opportunity. Such backlash was inevitable during the unification of a civilization. Most people remained silent.

After all, the Six Nations had launched missiles at Black Star City first, so they were not in a position to complain.

For most people, as long as their lives remained unchanged, they would not do anything about the change of government. The people of Planet Aquamarine had experienced countless wars and disasters, so they cherished the stability of their lives. Furthermore, many were the survivors of dead nations from the Old Era and wanderers, not fully loyal to the Six Nations and having more understanding of the situation. This was also one of the reasons that Han Xiao had been confident in doing

this.

Since the interstellar era, most stereotypes had shattered. The lines of the nationality were blurred for most people, replaced by the mindset based on the entire race. The importance of the nations depended on what it was compared with, and it was clearly not comparable to the continuation of the entire race. Hence, most people did not oppose Bennett’s new government. Furthermore, Black Star was behind Bennett, who was way more reliable than the Six Nations.

The entire civilization was united, and Bennett finally decided on the name of the new government-Aquamarine Federation.

Naming the government after the planet was easier for the people to accept. Han Xiao, though aware of the meaning of the name, still felt that it was weird.

Aquamarine Federation? Why does that sound like a retail store?

However, no matter what the name of the Planet Aquamarine government was, it was still his logistics base.

The situation was basically finalized.

The takeover of the Six Nations brought a lot of follow-up problems, so Bennett and others were terribly busy. Han Xiao estimated that it would take a few years for things to be fully organized. Planet Aquamarine also needed some time to get through the painful period. The benefits of a unified civilization would gradually become apparent over time.

After the incident was resolved, Han Xiao did not stay any longer. He took Stephanie and returned to Base No.1 on Planet Golden Gate.

The battle with the Vanguard Officials a month ago had brought a lot of fame to Han Xiao-nearly everyone knew about it. This time, the news of Black Star killing several Calamity Grades one after another once again shocked the entire Star Field.

The Purple Crystal Civilization did not conceal this incident. They believed Han Xiao’s statement that Stephanie and the others were assassins sent by Klent. They vigorously promoted the fact that Klent’s assassination had failed, which boosted their people’s morale and weakened the negative impact of the losses in the secret war.

The Klent Civilization was utterly confused.

We do want to kill Black Star, but we haven’t done anything yet. When did we send assassins?

It must be another Star Cluster that sent people to kill Black Star, since they can blame it all on us!

Klent was furious.

Do these people think we are the scapegoat king?

Although the two sides were at war, Klent was not willing to take responsibility for a failure that they did not commit. They publicly announced that it was entirely fabricated.

Purple Crystal’s reply was very simple. I’m not listening! I’m not listening! I’m certain it’s you!

The partners of the two sides were at war, and their governments were accusing each other. The various organizations of the Shattered Star Ring were all watching the drama between Purple Crystal and Klent.

Han Xiao, who had caused this incident, also received a lot of attention.

The fact that Black Star had finally mastered psionic energy had made many organizations take him even more seriously. This meant that Black Star was much more threatening!

Killing many Calamity Grades matched up to his Beyond Grade A seed title, and this kind of lethality was more threatening than just being tanky. In a short period, Han Xiao’s reputation and position in the entire Star Field rocketed once again.

The other Star Cluster civilizations, while shocked, secretly lifted Han Xiao’s position on the Beyond Grade A seed list up a few places.

Han Xiao had already felt the influence of this incident on his way to Base No.1

-everyone recognized his face. When he returned to the base, he also noticed that many mercenaries looked at him with even more admiration.

This trip back to Planet Aquamarine had taken about twenty days, so he had ten more days of holiday.

After returning to the base, Han Xiao first inspected the operations of the Black Star Army during this period. Tens of thousands of trainees from various training camps had become official mercenaries, and about a hundred battleships had been added.

My mechanical army is quite damaged. I can use these ten days to replenish it.

He had to return to the battlefield after the holiday, so he decided to build his army with the remaining time he had. Before that, he wanted to first claim the reward for the third round of (Prey).

Feidin had not gone out recently. Han Xiao found him, chatted with him awhile, and touched him a few times before letting go of Feidin, who had a strange expression on his face.

Chen Xing, who happened to be out, was blushing a bit. She quickly returned control of the body to Feidin.

As Feidin became stronger, he was able to suppress Chen Xing alone. Plus, his relationship with Chen Xing was getting more affectionate, so he occasionally let her out for a break, which Han Xiao happened to bump into.

Although the soul was different, the body was the same.

As the luck on his hand was lingering, Han Xiao rushed to the side and opened the interface to claim the reward for the third round.

Round Three complete.

Please select the target to draw abilities from…

There were ten enemies, but Han Xiao was only interested in the abilities of two of them-Stephanie and that Mechanic.

If he selected that Mechanic, there was a very high chance of him getting a Mechanic talent, so that would be a safe choice.

If he selected Stephanie, unlike from Shana, her Esper ability was not compatible with him at all, so the effect of the abilities would definitely be weakened. The best result would be getting a Template Talent, but that depended purely on his luck.

After considering for a few seconds, Han Xiao’s eyes became firm; he had made his decision.

A Mechanic talent is great, but Molding Talents are hard to come by!

A man must dare to dream!

You have received the reward: Draw one ability/talent from Stephanie.

Alert: Stephanie is an Esper. Part of the possible abilities have been automatically adjusted to your class.

Randomizing… complete.

Please select one from the five options below as the reward:

(Cell Resonance) – Ability: You can condition your body state through the vibration of your cells, increasing the energy production efficiency of your cells. Recovers 11% energy, purges one debuff. Cost: 1,500 Stamina. Cooldown: 90 seconds.

(Electromagnetic Resonance) – Ability: By affecting the frequency of electromagnetic waves, you are able to obstruct certain communication methods and radar detection or the brainwaves of individuals. There is a chance that (Confused), (Hallucinating), and (Abnormally Excited) might be applied to the target. The closer the distance, the stronger the effects of the debuffs. Success rate is related to Intelligence. Cost: 150 Energy. Cooldown: 6 seconds.

[Object Weakness Attack] – Ability: You can easily discover the weakness of objects. Your next attack will deal extra damage and three chain damages ranging from 5% to 15% damage of this attack. There is a chance to cause the [Heavily Injured) effect. Cost: 240 Energy. Cooldown: 28 seconds.

(Will to Battle] – Talent: +180 Endurance, -75 Intelligence, -25 Luck.

(Legendary Battle Technique] – Talent: Every third attack will deal 35% extra True Damage.

Han Xiao was stunned before becoming overjoyed.

I really got a Molding Talent!

Hail Feidin!

Chapter 679 - Saving the World with Normal Attacks

Chapter 679 Saving the World with Normal Attacks

All five choices were decent, and they all had different focuses.

(Cell Resonance) could instantly recover energy and purge a debuff. It could be used by any class and was a powerful support ability.

[Electromagnetic Resonance) was a rather good assistive ability as well. It could reduce the target’s strength. When facing an opponent of the same grade, this could give the user a quick advantage. [Object Weakness Attack] was an explosive damage type ability. Though its applicable situations were limited, it was still not too bad.

[Will to Battle) was a tank talent. +180 Endurance was actually quite high, but it had a side effect. Han Xiao felt that he was tanky enough, so he was not interested in this talent at all.

Luckily, the lowest limit for Luck is zero, otherwise mine would go negative if I chose this talent…

What was most surprising to him was the fifth choice—[Legendary Battle Technique].

This was a proper Molding Talent!

Plus, it was one of the best ‘Battle Technique’ talents!

Every third attack would deal an extra 35% True Damage, which meant that his attack increased by a huge amount out of nowhere, as talents were passive abilities and had no cost at all.

Every third attack? With the attack speed of Calamity Grades, how many third attacks would there be in just one second?

This was spectacular!

The other four choices paled in comparison. Han Xiao did not even have to think and directly picked the fifth choice.

You have received (Legendary Battle Technique]

That was hella lucky!

Han Xiao was very excited. He quickly went to the combat training room to test the new talent.

The floor split open, and the alloy wall used to test damage rose up. Han Xiao started punching the wall continuously.

True Damage ignored defense. For example, if the theoretical damage of an attack was 10,000 and the target’s resistance reduced it to 5,000, adding the True Damage, that attack would deal 5,000 plus 3,500 damage.

Almost double!

If the attack was completely absorbed by a shield, a magic barrier, or heavy mechanical armor, the effect of the True Damage would only go to the shield durability and armor value. When the enemy was actually damaged, only then would this deal True Damage to the enemy.

Therefore, tank enemies that took on attacks with their body would be completely countered by this!

If not for the Germinal leader’s talent, I would have had a very tough time against this. Han Xiao was glad.

No wonder Stephanie was a boss-type character-her abilities were too overpowered!

Han Xiao was excited. He was already very tanky. Comparatively, although the attack of his Army Style was not weak, it did not appear as important as how tanky he was since he had always been fighting enemies that were stronger than him or many enemies at once. Most of the time, he relied on how tanky he was to defeat the enemies.

If he used the authentic way of utilizing the Army Style, he would completely destroy any enemy that was about the same level as him, even more so now that he had mastered psionic energy. He would be able to fight many enemies at once even without making use of how tanky he was.

However, his health-mana cycle made him way too tanky, causing the Army Style to pale in comparison. His Indestructible Body title had covered up the fact that he was a Mechanic for too

long.

But not anymore!

The (Legendary Battle Technique] was already strong enough when used by others. When used by a Mechanic using the Army Style, it would be absolutely terrifying!

From the NPCs in his previous life that had similar talents, the Great Mechanic Han knew that this type of talent could be applied to summoned creatures and mechanical armies. The summoned creatures could enjoy the talents of the Mage through their magic link, while the mechanical army could share the effect of this talent through Mechanical Force. After all, the mechanical army was considered a type of equipment, so the talent would apply to them just like it would apply to a weapon in one’s hand.

Han Xiao expanded a few elite mechanical soldiers that he had brought along and carried out tests to find out how this talent worked.

After testing, he found out that every machinery had its individual (Legendary Battle Technique] effect count. This meant that every third attack of that machine would trigger the True Damage, instead of the total times the entire army attacked.

The attack count of every machine was calculated separately and not together. So, if Han Xiao fired one machine twice then changed to another machine for the third attack, it would not trigger.

Han Xiao started fantasizing. If the attack count was calculated together, it would mean that if a hundred machines fired together, thirty-three of them would have extra True Damage.

Gently giving himself a slap, Han Xiao shattered his own fantasy.

Hmm, it’s already strong enough.

Han Xiao was very satisfied. This meant that if a hundred machines all fired three times, the last hundred attacks out of the total three hundred attacks would all have True Damage. The ratio was the same as if the attack count was calculated as a whole. The difference was just the frequency that the talent was triggered.

However, this talent did not require the attack to land to count it could still be triggered by attacking at nothing!

This meant that the triggering timing of this talent could be controlled. If he used it well, he could even make every attack that landed on the enemy have extra True Damage.

Han Xiao immediately had a lot of ideas in his mind.

A strong talent could completely change one’s combat capability.

To the Great Mechanic Han, [Legendary Battle Technique] was as strong as his health-mana cycle. It increased the strength and lethality of his mechanical army once again!

If I can make this idea a reality, my actual combat capability will multiply many times over! I might really be able to crush anyone under Beyond Grade A!

The excitement in Han Xiao’s eyes was almost overflowing.

The effect of touching Feidin was dreamlike!

The phrase ‘becoming stronger through the battles’ inside the [Prey) mission introduction was indeed true. Although he had been targeted by Thousand Shadows, Han Xiao felt that it was worth it now that he had received this talent.

Han Xiao browsed through his attributes on the interface. He was so strong that even he was afraid of himself.

Just moments earlier, he had worried that once he returned to the battlefield, knowing how tanky he was, the enemies would only send a few people to fight him so that he would not be much of a threat.

Now, however, if they sent too few people, he would be able to kill them all!

Han Xiao locked himself inside the modification room. Using the last ten days, he planned to adjust Phillip’s combat control mode so that the mechanical army’s fighting method would be able to fully utilize the power of [Legendary Battle Technique]. For example, he could let one team of artilleries standby with their third attack, use the other units of the army to create an opportunity, and let this standby team focus fire when suitable, making sure that when his attack landed, it would deal a ton of damage. However, in order to have the army do such a delicate job, he needed a large calculation module.

Herlous and the others could handle any Black Star Army matters, so he did not have to worry. The best way to increase the Black Star Army’s position was for him, the leader, to become stronger.

The flames of war filled the West Wind, Chaida, and the Kaya Star Systems.

Ralph had been counting down to reminding Black Star to return to the battlefield. He needed him to stabilize the battle between the high-level combatants. The Bloodshed Land’s Jorde was also wary of Black Star, who had disappeared for two months.

At the same time, in the middle of Hidden Red Robe Abbey’s palace, Austin was hovering about four meters above the ground. The oversized robe dragged on the floor. Desoro and the others were standing at the side.

Austin slowly opened his eyes and said with a sentimental tone, “I never expected him to change this much.”

The Forbidden Sorcerers around all had strange expressions on their faces. Some time ago, Austin had summoned Lagi, and they had watched their full conversation from the side.

Lagi was Austin’s fourth disciple. The Forbidden Sorcerers present had all followed Austin for a long time and knew Lagi. However, upon seeing him again after so many years, that once vigorous and fearless former Forbidden Sorcerer commander felt like a completely different person.

They could not imagine what Lagi had gone through in these years.

Austin shook his head and said, “However, although his personality has changed, he’s still as determined and resolute as he used to be, rejecting me like that without hesitating.”

After banishing Lagi for so many years, Austin had long forgiven his mistake. Thus, he asked if Lagi wanted to return under his command. To his surprise, Lagi was determined to return to Black Star without even the slightest hesitation.

Although Lagi made it look like it was not a big deal, Austin could see that Lagi was really thankful to Black Star for saving him. He no longer longed to return to Hidden Red Robe Abbey; Black Star had replaced his position and received Lagi’s loyalty. Lagi was not only doing this because he was thankful but also because he saw a lot of potential in Black Star.

When Austin saw the Observer’s Mark on Lagi’s head, he understood what Han Xiao meant as well. He had planted an Observer’s Mark on Lagi despite knowing that it would be discoveredthis was to express how important Lagi was to him.

Seeing that, Austin was willing to let

him go.

“Following a Beyond Grade A seed is a dangerous path. Don’t die…” Austin sighed.

At the dock outside the palace, Lagi was walking to the spaceship. When he arrived, many Forbidden Sorcerers had gone to welcome him, but when he left, he was alone.

He turned around and looked at the Mage palace that he had once known every corner of for the last time, and a mixture of sentimental emotions appeared in his eyes. Then, he shook his head and stepped onto the spaceship.

Whoosh!

The hatch closed, covering his lonely yet unbending back.

The spaceship slowly lifted off, turned into a stream of light, and disappeared.

Chapter 680 - End of Slacking Off

Inside the house of happiness, an interrogation was going on.

“Who sent you?” Han Xiao yelled as if he did not know.

Stephanie was constrained by Electromagnetic straps all over her body, through which high voltage currents coursed. It seemed like she did not feel pain at all, and she looked at Han Xiao with an expressionless face. Her face was pale, her lips slowly opened, and she said with a soft voice, “Like I said, you won’t get any intelligence from me.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and did not speak.

The (Prey) mission did not end yet, and the fourth round was still in an inactive state. Thousand Shadows could share the senses of his shadows to a certain extent, so Han Xiao did not want to expose the fact that he knew the truth. Doing so would make the next round more dangerous. Therefore, for the past few days, he had conducted fake interrogations on Stephanie whenever he was free, acting like he did not know about Thousand Shadows.

Whether he was just doing meaningless work or not, being cautious would do no harm.

Han Xiao had already made hundreds of Genetic Medicines from her, but Han Xiao was rather stumped by what to do with her.

If he did not know that the enemy behind her was Thousand Shadows, he might have kept her to produce more medicines. However, Thousand Shadows could sense his shadows, so keeping Stephanie was a huge hidden risk.

The look in Han Xiao’s eyes kept changing. In the end, he sighed. With a flash of Mechanical Force, nanotechnology particles shot out from compressed orbs and covered his arm like black sand, turning into a psionic cannon, pressing onto Stephanie’s head.

Bang bang bang!

After some time, the sound of cannon fire stopped.

The door opened, and Han Xiao walked out, shaking his head.

Although Stephanie’s history was rather tragic, he did not become soft hearted. Thousand Shadows’ shadows had lost themselves and were unable to escape his control. Death was a relief for them instead.

The reward for killing Stephanie was 280% for killing someone many levels higher, giving Han Xiao more than 350 million Experience, replenishing his Experience a little. It also gave him a Stephanie Character Summon Card.

Character Summon Card—Stephanie: [Resonance Penetration)— Reduce the physical defense of the target by 50% – 80% using close range resonance. For every 100 Endurance the target has, the duration will decrease by 1 second.

Basic Duration: 24 seconds.

Minimum Duration: 3 seconds

Usage: 0/4

Han Xiao closed his eyes and recalled the images from earlier. When struggling for her life, Stephanie seemed to have recovered to her true self. He clearly saw the relief and gratitude in Stephanie’s eyes as her life faded.

This time, a notification suddenly popped up on the interface.

You have triggered the mission (Stephanie’s Last Wish]

Mission Introduction: In the last moment before death, she begged for your help to make up for the one thing she regretted the most in her life.

Mission Requirements: Find the last Antarrian bloodline.

Reward: 15,000,000 Experience

Remarks: This is a Ruins Mission. Some people might be interested in this.

Triggered a mission…

Han Xiao was a little surprised.

Antarr was Stephanie’s civilization, which was long gone.

It seemed like not being able to protect her civilization was her biggest regret. However, after becoming Thousand Shadows’ shadow, her belief had become twisted, and she only could recall it moments before her death.

Ruin Missions were a special type of mission. The reward from the interface were usually very low, but they were mostly related to places that were buried in history. Exploring ruins would often lead to more rewards.

If I have the time, I might do it.

His holiday was coming to an end. Han Xiao thought for a while, took out his communicator, and flipped dozens of pages through his contact list to find Ralph.

In the Kaya Star System, a fleet was moving in stealth mode. This was a guerrilla fleet, mainly from a partnered organization, the New Phylen Rebels. Most of the battleships were assault models.

Inside the main control room of the Shining Crow grade flagship, the commander Morred and the others were having a strategic meeting around a silver table. The people in charge of the other partnered organizations of this fleet were listening from the side. Above the table was a three-dimensional star map, marked with the dense Bloodshed Land strongholds and fleets that were colored deep red.

“In our area, there are twelve Bloodshed Land strongholds. This operation is the highest level order given directly by the combat command. Including us, a total of twenty-seven fleets are involved in this mission. What do you guys think?”

Morred was a Phylen Human. His body was thin and boney, and he looked very weak, but the strength of his muscle fiber was close to that of an alloy. His weight was close to one ton. He was one of the high-ranking combatants of the New Phylen Rebels, a Calamity Grade Mechanical Pugilist. His body was fused with semi-organic metals.

When Han Xiao took his leave from the war, the situation of the secret war changed drastically. Bloodshed Land’s army gathered with the forefront armies. With unstoppable momentum, they kept expanding the strongholds in the West Wind, Kaya, and Chaida Star Systems. In two months, they built hundreds of stronghold planets that guarded each other. The positions of these strongholds were carefully selected, allowing them to affect many Star Zones. They had completed the first part of their strategic blueprint.

The rulers of the three border Star Systems did not interfere in the unofficial secret war. According to some gossip, the Bloodshed Land had already sent out emissaries to contact and negotiate with those three Star System Civilizations. Although only two short months had passed, according to neutral intelligence organizations’ data and investigation, the influence of Purple Crystal had dropped by about 13.7% in those three Star Systems.

Reducing Purple Crystal’s influence of border Star Systems was one of the main strategic goals of the Klent Kingdom. It was true that Star Systems were a part of Star Clusters, but the Star Clusters were determined and planned later. Hence, Star System Civilizations were not technically under the Star Cluster Civilization’s command.

If Purple Crystal’s influence dropped severely, the Star Systems that had received an invitation from Klent and pressure from the Crimson Dynasty in the future would announce independence and join Klent. Even though the Colton Star Cluster’s border Star Systems and Klent’s Seoul Star Cluster were separated by a desolate region, those border Star Systems would still be able to become parts of the Seoul Star Cluster. With the Star Cluster level stargate technology, distance was not a limitation.

In order to redetermine the area of a Star Cluster, the most important factor was support from a Universal Civilization. This was where Klent got their confidence to snatch these Star Systems. Purple Crystal was semi-neutral; unless they were willing to become a vassal of their Universal Civilization, the Federation of Light would not help them.

The Tyrant Heber’s armies were all elites that had fought hundreds of battles. They were known in the Shattered Star Ring to be the top tier military forces. In a direct battle, Section Zero would be no match for them.

Section Zero’s largest advantage was their strategy. The Combat Command took Han Xiao’s advice and adjusted their strategy during the two months when the Bloodshed Land was at their peak strength. They stopped looking at temporary losses and gains, split up the Bloodshed Land’s forces, and focused on harassing and surprise attacks. They were waiting for an opportunity.

Morred and the others were indeed discussing the large scale counterattack operation that had been in the works for a long time!

“The Bloodshed Land’s biggest army is in the West Wind Star System, where all eight Vanguard Officials are. Other than Black Star, no one will be able to deal with them. Comparatively, the Kaya Star System has the fewest Bloodshed Land troops, so it’s the most suitable target,” a staff sergeant said.

Morred nodded and said, “The goal of this operation is to get rid of the twelve Bloodshed Land strongholds in this area. The twelve strongholds are connected by a hyperdrive base station. Despite them having a very quick reinforcement speed, their total size will not change. Our twenty-seven fleets will attack every stronghold planet and split their troops up. Then, the Knife Team will raid and destroy this hyperdrive base station, making the enemies lose the ability to quickly shift the battlefield. Following that, we’ll rapidly destroy the twelve strongholds.”

The crowd nodded. This was the right method to deal with hyperdrive base stations. The attacking side would gain the upper hand. Section Zero’s strategy was simple and efficient.

“The twenty-seven fleets can be classified into four types of fleets—Restraint Teams, Feint Teams, Standby Teams waiting to attack the strongholds, and the Knife Teams that are going to raid the hyperdrive base station.” Morred knocked the table. “We are one of the three Knife Teams. The enemies have set up a very strong defense around the hyperdrive base station, so our mission is very important.”

“When everyone arrives at their positions, we will start the operation…” The deputy’s words had yet to finish. Suddenly, the 3D star map was replaced by a communication request that interrupted his sentence.

Ralph appeared with his hands behind his back. He looked around and loudly said, “This operation is temporarily postponed. New reinforcements will be joining the operation. Morred, standby nearby and wait to rendezvous with them. They will be raiding the hyperdrive base station with you.”

Postponing the operation just for reinforcements?

Everyone was stunned. Morred reacted the quickest. He frowned and said, “Who are these reinforcements?”

Ralph smiled satisfyingly and said with a joyful tone, “Black Star.”

Morred’s eyes sparkled.

It’s him!

After the shocking battle two months prior, Black Star had left the battlefield. Now, he had finally returned!

“With such a strong helper, our chances of winning are even higher. At least in terms of high-level combatants, we’re at an advantage!”

Morred nodded heavily. No wonder the operation was postponed. It was acceptable since it was because they were waiting for Black Star.

A few days later, the Black Star Army’s fleet arrived in the Kaya Star System and rendezvoused with Morred.

The main ship connected, and Morred waited with the several ship captains at the bridge. The hatch far away opened, and a man in black clothes walked out first, followed by a group of people in mercenary clothing. This time, Han Xiao had brought six hundred battleships. The people following him were Herlous, Harmon, and a few Grade B officers. Reynold was in charge of logistics, and Lagi had yet to return.

Quickly sizing Han Xiao up, Morred approached him and extended his hand passionately.

“I’m the commander of this guerrilla team, Morred. I’m from the New Phylen Rebels. We welcome your assistance, Black Star.”

“Hi.” Han Xiao shook his hand.

“Let’s not waste any more time. The operation’s plan is like this…”

The two of them walked side by side as Morred explained the steps of this mission to Han Xiao. The others followed behind as they walked toward the main control room.

Han Xiao was distracted as Morred explained. When accepting the mission, Ralph had already told him the details, so what Morred said was all repeated.

Ralph had been looking forward to his return. As soon as his holiday ended, Ralph sent Han Xiao to the Kaya Star System to join this counterattack that they had planned for a very long time.

Within the past two months, the goals that Han Xiao had set had basically all been completed. He had learned a Cutting-Edge Knowledge, completely rebuilt his mechanical army, completed his Promotion and leveled up to 195, turned a huge amount of Experience into actual combat capability, and learned the very surprising attack type Molding Talent. His strength had skyrocketed.

As Purple Crystal was at a disadvantage in the war, they had more and more hope for Han Xiao. As soon as he returned, he was given a very big responsibility.

I’ve made a good start. As long as I keep accomplishing difficult tasks, my position in Section Zero will definitely increase very quickly!

His goal was to make the Black Star Army a force that had help from Purple Crystal, so of course, he would not reject the important missions.

He put aside the Class Advancement mission for the moment. The Experience that he had saved in his interface was limited, and he was afraid to finish it too early since the update time was ten years long. His current strength was enough to deal with most situations. There were not many Level180 legacy blueprints, and they were extremely complicated to obtain. Before the next time he could slack off, Han Xiao would have no time to finish the Class Advancement mission. The secret war was an important part of his plan; he had to take it seriously.

As they arrived, Morred turned on the 3D star map and explained in even further details. Only then did Han Xiao start to listen carefully. A mission popped up on the interface that required him to follow with Morred to complete the raid of the hyperdrive station.

After some analysis, Morred scanned through the data of those people, and his expression became solemn.

“According to the intelligence, the hyperdrive base station is guarded by tightly grouped guards. There are fifteen Calamity Grades standing by. Among the fifteen calamity grades, twelve of them were found by the Bloodshed Land in the Seoul Star Cluster, and the other three are officers of the Bloodshed Land.

Morred pointed at a drawing, on it was a ferocious looking female creature with a light green skin. She had short and gold hair, and a few ferocious scars stretched across her face. She was blind and used mechanical eyes.

“Tamaria, Bloodshed Land Adjudicator, high grade Calamity Grade, nickname ‘Poisonous Bones’. It’s said that she’s killed more than a billion people, including 10,000 Supers and 100 Calamity Grades. This rumor is exaggerated, but the truth is most likely not far from it. In conclusion, she’s very murderous and is a famous mad woman under the Tyrant…”

Han Xiao rubbed his chin and thought, Green skin? She probably has Beastman blood.

Even the Tyrant’s female subordinates were muscular.

There were many talented people under Heber’s command. Other than the eight Vanguard Officials, there were also many famous Calamity Grade officers. It was just that the eight Vanguard Officials were the most famous.

Morred stared at Han Xiao and said, “This woman and the other fourteen Calamity Grades are all yours.”

Han Xiao turned around and patted Herlous’ shoulders. “You heard the man. They’re all yours.”

Herlous’ face was filled with question marks.

“I’m kidding. Why would I let you die like that?” Han Xiao laughed. “Don’t worry, it’s just fifteen Calamity Grades. Even if I can’t win, can’t I run?”

Chapter 681 - Black Star’s Weakness

Chapter 681 Black Star’s Weakness

An enormous black and metal space station hovered in space. Its exterior was equipped with rows of satellite-level guard cannons. Nine armed satellite fortresses circled the space station.

This was the T-04 Hyperdrive Base Station, which was the target of Section Zero’s attack.

At this time, Tamaria and the other upper echelons were all in the conference room inside the base, attending a remote meeting.

The war commander, Jorde, appeared on the projection screen.

“According to reliable sources, eleven days ago, Black Star left his headquarters after two months. We speculate that he will be returning to the battlefield soon. Everyone present, pay attention to Black Star’s whereabouts,” he said in a serious tone.

All of Bloodshed Land’s commanders in the three Star Systems were attending the meeting. Black Star had returned to the battlefield—this was the reason that this meeting was being held. After Black Star’s battle with the eight Vanguard Officials, Jorde had paid a lot of attention to Han Xiao.

Although one person would not be able to determine the entire war, Black Star was one of the most dangerous high-level combatants of Section Zero. Sending out a notification just for him was very necessary in Jorde’s eyes so that everyone would at least be prepared.

“According to the recent rumors and his fight with the eight Vanguard Officials, I have arranged some intelligence on Black Star. I will send it to all of you later,” Jorde said.

He firmly believed that knowing his enemies would get him an advantage in battle. Purple Crystal would definitely place Black Star in a very important position. This set of intelligence on Black Star could make sure that every commander knew about the enemy. If they were attacked, they would know how to deal with Black Star.

The conference ended very quickly, and the commander of the T-04 Hyperdrive Base Station received the information. He only looked at it for a few seconds before Tamaria walked to him and grabbed the communicator away to look at it herself.

The base station commander was speechless. Tamaria’s position in the base was higher than his. This green-skinned woman was not only the captain of more than ten high level combatants but also the supervisor. Other than obeying his orders during battle, she usually did not even pay attention to him at all. The base station commander was already used to it.

Tamaria only glanced through before she sneered and threw the communicator aside.

“I was wondering how strong Black Star could actually be, but it turns out he’s so easy to deal with…”

The base communicator picked up the communicator and browsed through it. He then immediately understood what Tamaria meant.

Jorde had added the method to deal with Black Star in the intelligence as well.

Indeed, the result of Black Star’s fight with the eight Vanguard Officials was astonishing. However, after analyzing the fight, Black Star’s weakness had become obvious as well—his attack ability was very limited. Through the entire fight, he was completely suppressed by the eight Vanguard Officials, only surviving due to his Indestructible Body. Due to that, the trouble that he could cause was minimal.

Although Black Star was rumored to have mastered psionic energy recently, there were tons of other Mechanics around the universe that had. It was far from being impossible to deal with.

Furthermore, strategic psionic weapons were equivalent to galactic nuclear weapons. Even Star Cluster civilizations would not use them unless they had no other choice, and they definitely would not in this unofficial secret war. Unless Black Star wanted to visit the Hegaboye Court Martial of the three Universal Civilizations and enjoy more than a hundred years in prison, he would not use Primordial Psionic Energy

Due to those many reasons, Jorde had detailed the method to deal with Black Star in this intelligence—all they had to do was send one or two experienced Calamity Grades and three to five normal Calamity Grades to destroy Black Star’s mechanical army. Black Star would then pose no threat and become useless in the war.

According to how the Section Zero’s organizations had been avoiding losing any high-level combatants, as long as Black Star was dealt with, the threat of the other Calamity Grades of Section Zero would also decrease tremendously.

No wonder Tamaria was disdainful. Black Star was not as difficult to deal with as they had imagined

“Nonetheless, Black Star’s body is great.” The fangs in Tamaria’s mouth showed, and her tone was full of desire and cruelty. “I wonder if I can get his abilities after I eat him.”

Tamaria’s race’s culture was very savage and bloody. They believed in gaining the enemy’s power by eating their flesh and that consuming strong enemies would make them stronger. Tamaria was extremely interested in Han Xiao’s body and thirsted to gulp him down. She licked her lips.

Ohm!

At this time, the alarm of the base suddenly sounded. Everyone’s expression changed as they hastily returned to their stations.

Seeing that the commander had returned, someone quickly reported, “Commander, Stronghold Planet 4 has been attacked. Requesting reinforcements from other strongholds. This is the enemy ship’s data collected by the radar.”

T-04 Hyperdrive Base was the core that maintained the wormhole in the twelve strongholds. Any kind of reinforcements had to be reported to the base station. After approval, the quick reinforcement route would then be opened. The base station’s job was to overlook everything.

The base station commander quickly scanned through the report and said, “Which strongholds have responded?”

“1, 6, 9, and 12.”

“Open Reinforcement Channel 12.” The base station commander did not hesitate.

The operational team nodded and got to work.

Visible through the wide-angle projection porthole of the space station, thousands of blue beams launched from two special devices of the base station, creating a deep blue circular shaped wormhole on both sides. The energy at the edges of the wormholes rippled, expanded, and gradually stabilized. The two wormholes aligned with each other in both location and size.

The next moment, streams of hyperdrive light shot out from the left wormhole and directly into the right wormhole in an instant. These were the reinforcement fleets, having taken less than thirty seconds to arrive.

“It’s done.” The base station commander nodded.

However, before he could catch his breath, three planets out of the twelve stronghold planets turned red on the monitoring interface again, signaling that they were under attack!

“Hmm? This isn’t a simple attack!”

The expression on the base station commander’s face drastically changed. He quickly gave out the reinforcement orders and loudly said, “T-04 Hyperdrive Base Station, get ready for battle. Activate all armed satellite fortresses, and send out all fleets. The enemies may appear any time!”

These signs were common when attacking Hyperdrive Base Stations. The base station commander reacted very quickly and instantly discovered that Section Zero’s target was the base station. However, this was a plot that they had to take part in as the attackers had the upper hand. The only way to resolve it was to defeat the attackers.

Section Zero had been strategically splitting up their troops for two months. Now, the effect of that finally surfaced. They chose T-04 Hyperdrive Base Station as the target of their counterattack because this area had limited troops and had yet to build a long-range stargate.

Everyone in the base station started to act. Tamaria narrowed her eyes and stood up. Not only was she not nervous, she even looked excited and eager.

“Great, someone’s finally here to fight. I haven’t exercised my bones for too long. They’re getting rusty.”

Very soon, more strongholds were attacked and requested reinforcements. Despite knowing that this was a plot, the base station commander had no choice but to deploy more and more troops.

As they were getting nervous, the radar of the base station rang with a piercing sound of alarm.

“Warning! Warning! A large number of unknown targets are approaching!”

They looked at the porthole, which was now adjusted to see extremely far distances. Streams of hyperdrive lights stopped and showed the Section Zero fleet.

“They’re here!” The base station commander clenched his teeth.

“Finally!” Tamaria tightened her fists and walked out in big steps.

The T-04 Hyperdrive Base Station was in sight, and the armed satellite fortresses were activated.

“The enemy fleet has completed their preparation. It seems that they guessed our strategy.”

Morred looked at the projection and did not mind. He did not think that such a simple strategy would fool the enemies. It just had to be effective.

“Time is limited. All units, attack!”

As the order was given, this fleet quickly accelerated and marched forward. Through radar identification, both sides started firing at each other from an extreme distance. The crisscrossed particle cannon beams filled this dark area of space with vibrant colors.

The nine armed satellite fortresses formed an enormous irregular shaped shield, protecting the base station from attacks.

There was a total of three Knife Teams attacking the base station. Reinforcements appeared from two other directions and dispersed the attacks. The pressure on Morred’s fleet was greatly reduced.

Han Xiao’s team followed Morred in the charge as well, mixed within the fleet.

The distance between the two sides was still huge. They were firing at each other from far away and had yet to enter the close-range combat stage. Han Xiao suddenly received Morred’s communication.

“Black Star, did you see the nine armed satellite fortresses? They are the generators of the base station’s protective shield. This kind of protective shield is very strong, and we don’t have enough time to slowly destroy it. The commanders of the other two teams and I have discussed this. We plan to all send out one team to board the armed satellite fortresses and destroy at least one of them!”

Morred spoke very quickly. What he meant was that as long as one armed satellite fortress was destroyed, the protective shield would have a hole in it. Before the other armed satellite fortresses got into position to close the gap, they would be able to use this opportunity to rush in to attack the base station. The mission would only be successful when the base station was destroyed.

They did not have much time. In this operation, the Restraint Teams and the Feint Teams had the most numbers. As the enemies’ reinforcements would only be divided when these strongholds were facing enough pressure. This way, not many enemy teams would be able to back up the hyperdrive base station. They had to use the opportunity when the enemies were split up and destroy the base station.

“No problem. My teammates don’t have to follow me. I will act alone.”

The mission on the interface changed to ‘destroy an armed satellite fortress’.

Han Xiao nodded and agreed. He let Risda control the spaceship then jumped out of the ship, activating the Mountain Ape mechanical suit and switching into Interstellar Travel mode. With a deep blue arc, he avoided the direct crossfire area and headed to an armed satellite fortress from the side.

The other teammates headed to another fortress, and the other two teams sent out ships as well. Han Xiao moved alone. As long as he could get to the armed satellite fortress, he would be able to destroy it very quickly.

I’m swifter and a smaller target when I move alone. Plus, with my name, it’s easier for me to restrain the high-level enemy combatants if I move alone.

In his vision, the tiny armed satellite fortress started to look bigger. He could clearly see the mechanical structure on the surface of the armed satellite fortress. Very soon, the fleet stationed to guard the base station discovered him, and some of the cannons turned and fired at him.

With the tactical screen reminding him of the direction of high energy particle cannons, Han Xiao focused fully on dodging the attacks, sometimes using the Hovering Shield Shuttle to form a psionic shield and block the stray attacks.

Not long after, Han Xiao headed right into the base station defense fleet, bolting swiftly between the enemy spaceships.

With his brain in a highly active state, he processed tremendous data every second. Han Xiao had no time to pay attention to the outside world-he was completely focused on dealing with the attacks coming from all directions. After an unknown amount of time had passed, he suddenly felt that the pressure became much lighter!

Han Xiao turned around and saw that, without realizing it, he had penetrated the entire line of defense. Further away, Morred and the other two Knife Teams were also in close combat with the base station fleets, dividing the enemies’ attention and decreasing the density of attacks on Han Xiao’s side.

Finally, some good teammates.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. Without further delay, he headed right toward an armed satellite fortress.

The armed satellite fortress was spherical. It looked like a small planet from the outside. It was less than one percent the size of Planet Aquamarine. It sounded small, but when looking at it from a close distance, Han Xiao felt it did not look much different from a normal planet.

The blue protective shield stopped him outside. Han Xiao pressed onto the protective shield and activated the shield neutralizer to its maximum output. The shield within a hundred meters started to ripple at a high frequency. Its light started to dim, and its energy level started to decrease. Estimating that the shield had reached its critical point, Han Xiao’s other arm turned into a psionic cannon and fired right at the shield!

With a blue explosion, a more than thirty-meter-wide hole appeared in the protective shield. Compared to the entire protective shield, this hole was as tiny as a droplet of water in the ocean, but it was more than big enough for Han Xiao to enter.

Han Xiao looked around, the hole was shrinking from its edge, repairing itself. He summoned more than twenty Army Boxes and rushed in before the hole closed.

This armed satellite fortress had a simple artificial atmosphere for the maintenance personnel. Han Xiao quickly landed on the surface.

Landing on the ground, he looked around. Around him was an undulating mechanical landscape, cold and lifeless, full of mechanical beauty.

“Warning, hum! Five high energy reaction sources detected!”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and looked over.

At the edge of the sky, five enemies with a strong ‘I’m a Calamity Grade’ vibe approached and landed nearby. The person at the front was wearing a ferocious and bulky heavy mechanical suit and carried a huge dark-gold mechanical axe on one shoulder.

Clank!

The facial armor of this person opened, showing a ferocious face and short and gold hair. It was the person that Morred had warned Han Xiao to be careful about, the Bloodshed Land Adjudicator stationed at T-04 Hyperdrive Base Station, Tamaria.

“I’ve been waiting here for you for a long time.”

Tamaria stared at Han Xiao and smiled ferociously.

When she first spotted Black Star, she had been overjoyed. Following Han Xiao’s route, she had brought a few people to this satellite in advance to wait for Han Xiao’s arrival.

In terms of duty, she was meant to deal with Black Star. Personally, Tamaria was also eager to fight with Han Xiao.

“Just five?” Han Xiao looked around and sneered. “All of your Vanguard Officials could not even kill me. You’re underestimating me. It will probably take all fifteen Calamity Grades in your base station to even give me any pressure.”

“Ha, Jorde has found your weakness. We’re not trying to kill you, so there’s no need for all fifteen of us to be here. Five of us is more than enough.”

Han Xiao was not surprised. After his last battle, Bloodshed Land would no longer deploy many people trying to kill him but had instead decided to send fewer people just to restrain him.

Tamaria licked her lips, her bloodthirsty desire overflowing. “Your body is amazing. Wait for me. I will bite off your flesh piece by piece, chew your bones till they shatter, drink your blood till they dry, suck on your bone marrow, and eat every single cell from your body. I heard your recovery ability is very strong. I hope you can make me feel full.”

Han Xiao felt disgusted. If these words had come from someone else, they might just be trying to threaten him, but he could hear that Tamaria truly meant it.

This woman wants to eat me?

How twisted… I don’t like it!

Boom!

At this time, the ground started trembling. The surface of the armed satellite fortress cracked open. Artilleries rose from within like metal forests, and all the barrels turned around and aimed at Han Xiao.

Thousands of thousand Beast Soldiers sprinted out from under the ground and surrounded him.

This was the armed satellite fortress’s defensive measure against enemies on its surface.

In the blink of an eye, enemies were everywhere!

Tamaria closed her facial armor and roared, “Before this war ends, you’re not going anywhere!”

Chapter 682 - Hope of the Village

Boom!

From afar, the Thousand Beast Soldier army charged straight for Han Xiao like a tsunami. The earth shook as they got nearer, and their specially-made armor glowed with a deadly light.

Tamaria raised her arm and threw out her dark-gold axe. The axe sliced through the wind and formed a spinning ball of red flames as it smashed down toward Han Xiao’s head.

Hu!

Han Xiao stomped down on the ground, and his body shot toward the sky to avoid the trajectory of the flying axe.

The axe that was flying in midair suddenly changed its trajectory and chased after Han Xiao.

Han Xiao looked down from above and saw an alloy chain attached to the end of the axe. The alloy chain seemed to be able to extend indefinitely with the other end of it attached to Tamaria’s mechanical suit. She could obviously control it from afar.

A floating guard behind Han Xiao then released a psionic shield and collided with the incoming axe!

Clank!

Sparks flew in all directions!

The burning axe was not able to make a dent in the psionic shield and returned to Tamaria’s hands as the chain shortened.

This attack signaled the beginning of the battle.

Phillip raised the alarm, and as Han Xiao lowered his head to take a look, all the artillery towers on this armed satellite fortress began to open fire at him!

Tuk tuk tuk!

The large barrel of the cannon spat out billowing smoke with missiles and laser beams being showered down on him from all directions and in all different colors!

Han Xiao was not only facing five Calamity Grade Supers but also the defensive measures of this armed satellite fortress.

His psionic thrusters were activated at full capacity, and Han Xiao transformed into a blue bolt of lightning as he dodged the never-ending wave of attacks nimbly.

Boom!

All the explosions were narrowly avoided by him, but the high temperature of the aftershock heated up the exterior of his mechanical suit.

Mushroom clouds covered the entire sky and the bolts of lightning from the artillery fire made it seem as though a large thunderstorm cloud was expanding above the armed satellite fortress.

The particle cannons shot through the dark clouds to reveal the light of the world.

Ignoring the danger of the battlefield, this scene was like Buddha’s light breaking through a thousand clouds and was extremely spectacular.

Dark clouds covered Han Xiao’s vision, and the Armor value of his mechanical suit continued to decrease under the barrage of cannon fire. Han Xiao’s expression remained calm, and he activated the Army Box. Together with his (Mechanical Force Field] skill, his Mechanical Force was boosted.

His energy had a new (Void) attribute, and he could borrow the void to transmit energy.

This meant that the efficiency of his Mechanical Force being transmitted was greatly increased.

Clank!

The sound of his Mechanical Army being activated could be heard from the clouds, and his Mechanical Army went to war!

“Orders for the army have been received. Attack region has been confirmed, hum…” Phillip’s voice sounded from Han Xiao’s helmet.

The next instant, over a million psionic cannons opened fire and rained down like a thunderstorm!

Boom!

The entire region was instantly flattened, and the metallic ground cracked up from the psionic canons. Mechanical parts flew in all directions, and craters could be seen all over the surface of the satellite.

Almost forty percent of the defensive canons were destroyed in just a single blow!

The armed satellite fortress was completely suppressed by Han Xiao’s army. Han Xiao’s Mechanical Army descended and dismantled the artillery towers of the armed satellite fortress.

Fighting could be seen all around with the smoke of war covering the entire battlefield.

All of a sudden, a high energy alert sounded from Han Xiao’s mechanical suit, and he immediately dodged to the side.

Hu!

Tamaria’s axe then shot narrowly past his body.

The mobility of a Pugilist was extremely high, and the moment her first attack missed, Tamaria turned around in midair and swung her axe down in rapid succession.

Her powerful attacks resulted in a deafening sonic boom with every attack.

Han Xiao released two psionic shields with his hands and received the attack without any hesitation. Sparks shot out in all directions, and a loud clanging sound resounded like thunder.

Swoosh!

Dark silver nanoparticles then rushed out from the tube at the back of the Mountain Ape suit and transformed into four half bodied phantoms. The phantoms floated behind Han Xiao and aimed their canons at Tamaria and Han Xiao, who were fighting.

Bang!

The four phantoms launched their first round of attacks but did not manage to stop Tamaria from engaging in close combat battle. She circulated her energy to form a flaming shield and blocked their attack!

Bang!

The second round of attacks was fired, and Tamaria remained indifferent. Such a level of attack was not sufficient to make her dodge.

When the third round of attacks was fired, Tamaria wanted to block it as before, but suddenly, she felt a powerful force ignoring her arm and going straight for her organs.

The (Legendary Battle Technique] was activated!

The sound of the explosion was louder than before!

Bang!

Tamaria’s expression dropped, and she could not help but retreat.

What a powerful penetrating force!

Tamaria suppressed her surging blood and had a face of shock.

Han Xiao made use of the opportunity to widen the gap between them as he looked at the battle information from his interface.

Thirty-five percent of True Damage from the previous attack had exceeded 12,000 points of damage. Apart from the basic boost from his Mechanical Force, he did not use any other skills. Just the additional True Damage from the (Legendary Battle Technique] skill had exceeded the reduced damage from the three rounds of attacks!

A Molding Talent is truly terrifying! Han Xiao thought to himself.

This talent was truly the bane of all Pugilists.

Tamaria should be a level 230 Pugilist who was toward the tanky side. Her Endurance should be about 1,600 points, so she should have a few talents to increase the strength of her body. Her health should also be above 300,000.

Currently, Tamaria’s health should be more than fifty percent higher than Han Xiao’s, but both of them were tanky in different ways. Han Xiao relied on the conversion between energy and health, and his recovery rate could make a Pugilist who walked the path of being a tank doubt their own life.

This talent truly exceeded my expectations. As long as my Mechanical Army can ensure that their attacks hit the target…

All those thoughts flashed through Han Xiao’s head in less than a second, and the other four Calamity Grade Supers caught up and launched their various attacks!

Han Xiao hurriedly avoided all the long-ranged attacks and suddenly felt an attack coming from behind him.

One of his opponents was a Pugilist who walked the path of agility. He nimbly made his way around Han Xiao like a shooting star, and his alloy dagger shot toward Han Xiao’s spine. He wanted to immobilize Han Xiao.

Han Xiao did not even turn back, and the four phantoms collapsed back into their nanoparticle form. The nanoparticles then formed a mechanical hand that was about seven to eight meters tall. The fingers and palm formed a psionic shield and blocked the sneak attack of this Pugilist.

Bang!

The mechanical hand then threw the Pugilist away as though it was throwing away rubbish!

After experiencing the strength of his new talent, Han Xiao no longer fought Tamaria and the others personally. Instead, he issued a new command, and half of his Mechanical Army surrounded the five Calamity Grade Supers.

He would attack them from the side to disrupt the enemy’s attacks and harass them.

“Do you think this junk will be able to stop

us”

Tamaria’s roar resounded, and the flames on her body exploded.

At the same time, outside the protective shield of the hyperdrive base, Morred and the other two Section Zero fleets were fighting with the defensive fleet of the enemy.

They had boasted the upper hand at the start of the battle and forced the enemy to retreat. However, the other strongholds had received news from the base, and a portion of their troops had immediately been sent to reinforce this hyperdrive base.

The battle was extremely intense at the moment, and neither party had the upper hand.

“Only Black Star has boarded one of the armed satellite fortresses. How is the situation over there?”

Morred could see Han Xiao’s location from the main control room.

Section Zero had sent a few teams of powerhouses to attempt to board nine different armed satellite fortresses. However, all the others had been forced back, and only Black Star had managed to board one of the armed satellite fortresses.

Morred’s palm was covered with cold sweat. His fleet was currently outside the protective shield. Whether or not he could destroy the base was dependent on if Black Star could destroy the armed satellite fortress.

He was the hope of the entire village!

“Sir, we have observed the battle between Black Star and the armed satellite fortress. The enemy has sent five Calamity Grade Supers to stop him, and they seem to have tied Black Star down.”

“This is bad.” Morred felt his heart tighten.

If Black Star was tied down, the entire battle would end up in a stalemate. The longer the battle dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for them.

Gritting his teeth, Morred issued an order.

“Inform the other two fleets. Ask all their Calamity Grade Supers to form a small team and reinforce Black Star. He has been pinned down by the enemy and needs support!”

Chapter 683 - One Combo!

Chapter 683 One Combo!

At the center of the base station, the base station commander was also observing Black Star’s movements.

“Black Star is the only one to have penetrated the protective shield. Tamaria has taken people to deal with him,” an observing officer said.

The base station commander nodded and looked at the radar. Suddenly, his eyes constricted.

“Hmm? The enemy has sent a Calamity Grade team toward the armed satellite fortress that Black Star is in? They’re trying to back Black Star up,” the base station commander said with a deep voice. “Just in case, send five more Calamity Grades to Black Star. We can’t let the enemies destroy our armed satellite fortresses. If the base station loses its protection, our loss will be inevitable!”

As the order was sent, five more Calamity Grades were deployed.

Both sides sent reinforcements to the battlefield that Black Star was in.

On the armed satellite fortress, Han Xiao had been fighting with Tamaria and the other four with his mechanical army for quite a while.

The battlefield extended over hundreds of miles. Everywhere they passed, the surface of the fortress was torn apart and messed up.

The battle in the sky had reached its climax.

Boom boom boom!

The five Calamity Grades dashed left and right. Broken mechanical soldiers fell from the sky one after another.

Boom!

The dark-gold mechanical axe was being spun around like a tornado, crushing every machinery in its path. Tamaria punched and kicked all the mechanical soldiers around her into pieces.

The other four were also continuously damaging the mechanical army.

It seemed like the enemies were unstoppable. However, they were actually wounded and exhausted.

The attacks of close to a million machines were very intensive. They were going to get hit sooner or later. Following the triggering requirement of the [Legendary Battle Technique], Han Xiao had changed Phillip’s control method. The first two attacks were focused on limiting the enemy’s dodge routes to increase the accuracy of the third attack.

Furthermore, he split up the attack frequency of the various units. This meant that the army’s every round of attack included a lot of True Damage. It was very lethal and gave the enemies a lot of pressure.

Tamaria did not dare ignore the attacks. She had to focus fully every time the army attacks. Otherwise, if she got hit by the True Damage attacks, suffering light injuries would be lucky.

She was furious.

This is called limited lethality?

Jorde, you’re full of sh*t!

Most of the low-grade mechanical soldiers were still fragile when facing Calamity Grades, but their attack was now on a different level.

Previously, most of the time, Han Xiao had used the mechanical army to reduce the enemy’s energy before he went to beat up the enemy personally. Now, however, the enemies were completely trapped in the mechanical army and were barely able to hold on. They did not even have a chance to approach Han Xiao.

Phillip firmly controlled the entire battle. Han Xiao was free enough to carry out Virtual Intrusion on this armed satellite fortress.

The armed satellite fortress seemed to have countless defensive measures and had held back half of his mechanical army. In order to quickly destroy this satellite, Virtual Intrusion was the most efficient method.

Boom!

At this time, Tamaria suddenly used some sort of ability and penetrated the army’s encirclement, dragging a blood red flame behind her. Like a rocket, she bolted up to Han Xiao!

“Ha!”

With a loud roar, the mechanical axe slashed down!

“Tsk.”

Han Xiao had no choice but to stop the Virtual Intrusion. Two psionic shields appeared from each of his hands and blocked this attack.

Clunk!

The axe was stuck between the shield. This time, as if the axe suddenly had an absorption force, the flames all over Tamaria’s body flowed right into it as it became more and more red.

The next moment, a thick, powerful blood-red wave launched from the axe!

It landed at zero distance!

Boom!

Being attacked by a powerful hit, Han Xiao coughed and was about to back off. To his surprise, Tamaria moved quicker and tied Han Xiao’s arms with the chain at the end of the axe, pulling him back.

“Like I said, you’re not going anywhere!” Tamaria roared and heavily headbutted Han Xiao’s forehead.

Boom!

Han Xiao felt dizzy. Tamaria had at least two thousand Strength, so it was normal for her to overwhelm him in terms of raw strength.

The vibration penetrated the helmet’s shock absorption module and caused a buzzing in his ears.

Tamaria was just about to continue attacking, but Han Xiao suddenly exited the Mountain Ape and exposed his body. Not only did he not look panicked, he even looked a little speechless.

“You really are… eager to die.”

The next moment, Han Xiao’s actions made Tamaria confused.

Not only did he not escape, he wrapped his arms around Tamaria’s waist and hugged her.

“You…”

Before Tamaria could react, she instinctively felt an extreme sense of danger. Suddenly, she figured something out, and her entire body was frozen.

All the mechanical army in the sky suddenly turned their barrels around and aimed at Han Xiao… as well as Tamaria!

“Let me go!”

Tamaria was extremely shocked and hastily tried to push Han Xiao away.

However, the Mountain Ape mechanical suit, now controlled by Phillip, shot out dozens of compressed orbs that turned into all sorts of traps and were planted around the two of them. With all those traps, neither of them were able to move for about two to three seconds.

They both became stationary targets.

Han Xiao chuckled beside Tamaria’s ear and said, “Didn’t expect that, did you? I’m just the bait.”

“Do you want to kill yourself ?” Only after Tamaria said this did she realize that Han Xiao had the Indestructible Body title. Rage and despair appeared on her face. She clenched her teeth and said, “Do you really think you’re unkillable?”

“No.” Han Xiao blinked then said something that Tamaria did not understand. “But I’m immune to True Damage.”

The next moment, countless psionic cannons from all directions fired at once!

Boom!

The expanding ball of light consumed the two of them. The other four Calamity Grades ran away with all their might.

The ball of light expanded to its maximum before exploding. The shockwave blew away everything around it, like using an eraser on a drawing

The exploded ball of light turned into sparkling light debris and fell like rain.

At the center of the explosion, Han Xiao was healthy and vigorous. He summoned the mechanical suit and wore it again. Then, he let go of the charred corpse that was still emitting black smoke, allowing it to fall from the sky.

With (Steel Body], he was immune to True Damage. Through the health-mana cycle, the health lost from the explosion swiftly recovered. Not only was he not injured, he even felt revitalized.

Oh, it’s because the attribute increase from the Advanced Strengthened Life has already stacked so many layers. No wonder…

Han Xiao slightly raised his brows.

Using himself as the bait to control the enemy before using the mechanical army to focus fire

— this was his trump card after obtaining the ability of health-mana cycle. As long as the enemy approached him without knowing, they would fall into the trap.

After obtaining (Legendary Battle Technique), the lethality of this method had become an ace card that could now kill the enemy.

Tamaria had instantly been killed under the focus fire!

No matter who she was, in Han Xiao’s eyes, she was just a Grade A+ Pugilist that had about seventy percent health, enough to be killed with one combo.

Han Xiao turned around and looked at the other four terrified Calamity Grades with a smile.

“Come on, let’s get to know each other.”

The four Calamity Grades shivered. With horrified expressions on their faces, they only had one thought in their minds.

Don’t come any closer!

Chapter 684 - Deciding Victory

Chapter 684 Deciding Victory

Boom!

The armed satellite fortress was plowed by the mechanical army again and again. The four Calamity Grades were no longer surrounding Han Xiao but running for their lives.

While attacking the enemies, Han Xiao was also hacking into the armed satellite fortress. After all, destroying the armed satellite fortress was his main goal. After killing Tamaria, the other four did not dare get close to him at all, so no one interrupted him.

Many of his Virtual Technology abilities were upgraded compared to before, so Han Xiao successfully obtained control of the armed satellite fortress without too much effort. A Grade A+ Virtual Mechanic could penetrate most artificial intelligences.

Han Xiao searched through the modules of the armed satellite fortress and sighed.

“No self-destruction module? Shame.”

After giving it some thought, Han Xiao controlled the armed satellite fortress to open its surface tunnels. He then sent some of the mechanical soldiers into the armed satellite fortress and planted secondary psionic bombs.

In terms of efficiency, destroying the energy furnace inside the armed satellite fortress was much more convenient than destroying the armed satellite fortress from outside.

At the same time on the main battlefield, a few small, agile spaceships dashed between the chaotic battlefield. In them were the Calamity Grades sent by Morred. They were trying to break through the enemies’ defenses and back Han Xiao up.

However, the high energy particle cannon attacks were too concentrated on the battlefield, so the reinforcement teams were forced to retreat again and again, unable to penetrate the enemies.

As the Bloodshed Land fleets arrived at the battlefield through quick reinforcement channels one after another, the main fleet could no longer provide cover for these reinforcement teams.

“The situation isn’t good. We took too long. Many enemies in the strongholds have gotten rid of the teams that were restraining them earlier and are arriving at the base station extremely quickly. The number of enemies we’re facing has multiplied many times!”

Inside the flagship, Morred’s expression changed as he heard the report.

He clenched his teeth and pushed the words through the gap of his teeth.

“If this goes on, we will only achieve a pathetic victory! Black Star is the key to breaking the situation, but he’s alone without backup. Are the helpers we sent still unable to break through their defenses?”

“They can’t. The enemies seem to know our intention and completely blocked all routes to the armed satellite fortress that Black Star is

on.”

Morred’s expression became firm. He waved his hand and said, “Send my orders. All units, retract the formation and push forward in his direction. Open a path for the reinforcement teams and penetrate the enemies’ defenses!”

en

As soon as his sentence ended, everyone was shocked.

The current situation was very clear; it could be divided into five layers.

The most exterior layer was where Morred and the three Section Zero fleets were. One more layer inside was the base station’s defense fleet. Those two were fighting each other.

After the defense fleet was the base station’s gigantic protective shield, separating the exterior battlefield and the base station core. One more layer inside were the nine armed satellite fortresses around the base station. In the center of all this was the target that Section Zero planned to destroy-T-04 Hyperdrive Base Station.

Morred’s order was to have the entire fleet march forward without backup and open a path for the reinforcement teams for Black Star. This was no different from giving up any possibility of retreating and deliberately entering the enemies’ encirclement.

If they penetrated the enemies’ line of defense but were unable to break through the base station protective shield immediately, it would be the end of them.

“This is a gamble. It’s too risky!”

“I don’t agree with such a reckless method. It’s better to fight steadily.”

Many fleet captains objected. They belonged to the partnered organizations and were not Morred’s direct subordinates.

The downside of an alliance force was showing again—when facing a danger that required them to take risks, they would not be united and would prioritize their own safety before the overall outcome of the battle.

Objections came from the communication channel nonstop. Morred’s expression became more and more angered. Only the New Phylen Rebels were directly under his command, but they were far from enough. He needed help from the other organizations.

Bang!

Morred could not take it anymore. He bashed the table and interrupted the objections from the various captains.

“I know, each and every one of you wants to be favored by Purple Crystal and become a long-term partner of a Star Cluster civilization. But you don’t want to fight for it with your lives. Do you think that the Purple Crystal civilization is easy to fool!

“I’ve had enough of being defeated by the Bloodshed Land again and again. There’s an opportunity right in front of us. His Excellency Black Star is fighting the enemies with his life. As long as we back him up, we will be able to break the stalemate and win this battle!

“You’re all big organizations from your Star Systems, famous and renowned, why have you all become a bunch of cowards? If you don’t even have the guts to take a little risk, pardon me for saying this, but why did you even join this war?”

The communication channels became quiet; no one spoke.

Seeing this, Morred said in a deep voice, “Execute the order!”

The entire fleet was no longer moving forward slowly. They retracted their formation and bashed right into the base station defense fleet’s formation like a hammer!

Enduring attacks from all directions, the fleet entered deep into the enemies’ fleet and headed toward the armed satellite fortress that Han Xiao was on.

At first, the enemy fleet was messed up by the sudden change, but they adjusted their formation very quickly and obstructed Morred’s fleet.

Not long after, Morred’s fleet was no longer charging forward quickly. Like they had stepped into a swamp, every step forward became difficult. At this point, they had already reached deep into the line of defense and were only a short distance away from the armed satellite fortress’s protective shield.

Yet, it seemed like the Morred fleet had to take ten times the time they took to get here to overcome such a short distance.

“Hang on. The armed satellite fortress is right in front of us!”

The command room was shaking from the attacks as Morred loudly ordered, “Reinforcement teams, it’s your turn!”

At this time, the atmosphere was tense among the reinforcement teams.

With a serious face, the captain of the Calamity Grades loudly said, “Everyone, get ready for battle. His Excellence Black Star needs our help. Go!”

The next moment, those Calamity Grades jumped out of the spaceship, moved swiftly using the other spaceships as cover and finally penetrating the line of defense under Morred’s nervous gaze. They headed toward the armed satellite fortress.

Morred looked at those Calamity Grades full of hope as they quickly approached the armed satellite fortress.

Whether they would win or lose all depended on this!

However, as he was being extremely nervous, something suddenly happened!

The members of the reinforcement team were just about to reach the protective shield of the armed satellite fortress when the armed satellite fortress suddenly emitted a blinding light and exploded!

The entire armed satellite fortress exploded from within. This fortress that looked like a small planet turned into a blinding explosion in the blink of an eye!

Countless scraps of armor, parts, and machines were blown away, turning into floating space debris. The impact was as large as a planet exploding!

As the fortress was destroyed, the base station protective shield lost one of its generators. The shield in this area suddenly disappeared, showing an enormous hole more than big enough for a fleet to enter.

Behind the hole was the hyperdrive base station now without any defense.

The path toward the enemies’ core opened!

A person flew out from the wreckage of the armed satellite fortress.

Han Xiao!

The sudden explosion attracted the attention of everyone on the battlefield. Friend or foe, they all looked over with shock on their faces.

Black Star had destroyed the armed satellite fortress all by himself!

The mechanical army had already been retrieved. Han Xiao took his Army Boxes and left the wreckage. There were quite many burn marks on his mechanical suit.

He saw the reinforcement team members right away. He waved and sent a voice message.

“You guys are late.”

The reinforcement team members were all mentally prepared for a bloody fight ahead, but now they felt as if they had just punched a ball of cotton. Dumfounded, they all looked at Han Xiao.

Wh—Where are the enemies?

Did you kill all of them?

They were completely shocked.

How many Calamity Grades did Black Star just kill!

“What an amazing job!”

Morred was stunned for an instant before he was overjoyed, yelling with excitement.

He had thought that Black Star was held back by the enemies and had no back up, but it seemed like the situation was the opposite of what he had speculated!

He had never expected that Black Star could destroy the fortress even while being surrounded by many Calamity Grades!

How damn reliable!

The protective shield broke very timely; it was a perfect opportunity.

Not having the time to think about other things, Morred grabbed the opportunity and quickly issued the orders. The entire fleet headed right through the hole in the gigantic protective shield, firing intensely at the base station.

At the same time, the base station was trembling from the attacks. The scene inside was full of chaos. Piercing alarms echoed in every corner.

“Warning! Warning! High energy attack detected!”

Like the countdown of the grim reaper, the bright and firework-like beams of attacks outside the windows rapidly approached.

Inside the main control room, the base station commander looked out the porthole, shivering and twitching from fear. Like everyone alongside him, he was in despair.

He could not understand it. Why is Black Star so much stronger than the intelligence said?

He had sent out five Calamity Grades to back Tamaria up just in case. They were supposed to guard against the reinforcements of Black Star. However, he had never expected that Black Star would kill Tamaria when those five Calamity Grades were still on the way!

She was the strongest person there, yet she had been killed just like that!

When the five reinforcements arrived, the four Calamity Grades following Tamaria were either dead or heavily injured. They were crushed. Black Star did not stop there and went ahead to demolish the five Calamity Grades that had just arrived!

Black Star eliminated more than half of the high-level combatants stationed at the base station all by himself!

The ‘how to deal with Black Star’ information in the intelligence file was absolutely useless!

This completely messed up all their plans. The base station commander was petrified and unable to think.

In the face of such overwhelming strength, he felt powerless and had no solution for it. All he could do was watch as Black Star turned the armed satellite fortress into fireworks.

Time seemed to slow down, and the attacks got closer. The bright light lit up the base station commander’s face and filled his vision.

At this moment, he only had one thought in his mind.

I lost… to Black Star.

Chapter 685 - Postwar Conference

Thousands of attacks landed on the hyperdrive base station, tearing it to pieces silently in an instant.

At this point, Han Xiao had already returned to the Blacklight Stealth. He took off the mechanical suit, massaged his shoulders, and smiled when he saw the hyperdrive base station getting destroyed.

Victory at last. My efforts didn’t go to waste.

The notification of the strategic mission being completed popped up on the interface. Destroying the armed satellite fortress alone made the Mission Rating very high. His Favorability with the Purple Crystal increased by 1,350, and he was also awarded with tens of millions of Experience.

However, this was just a small part of the reward that he received this time. Killing Tamaria who was many levels higher than him alone gave him more than half a billion Experience.

Earning Experience through killing Calamity Grades is actually quite efficient. Without the players here, that’s a rather good option.

War was indeed an opportunity. Where else would he be able to find so many Calamity Grade enemies?

Through this battle, he had a clearer idea of his own strength. Compared to two months prior, his combat capability now was on a completely different level.

With (Legendary Battle Technique], he could crush most opponents with just his mechanical army. Despite having just entered the Grade A+ territory, his actual combat capability had already exceeded top Grade A+ Supers.

With so many powerful Molding Talents that synergized with each other, the actual effect in combat was better than he imagined.

Not even sending ten normal Calamity Grades to fight him would basically be gifting him kills!

As long as a Beyond Grade A Super doesn’t interfere, the others in the Bloodshed Land should all be no match for me…

Han Xiao only had this thought for a second before he immediately slapped himself and got rid of it.

That was close. I almost flagged my own death!

Han Xiao turned to look at the battlefield.

With the base station destroyed, the enemies lost their reinforcement channel. The stalemate was broken instantly. The morale of Section Zero was boosted, and they started to clean out the remaining enemies. The enemies’ complete defeat was just a matter of time.

Han Xiao had completed his mission, so he did not take part in the following battles. He slacked off with the Black Star Army fleet at the side.

Morred and the three fleets intercepted and surrounded the remaining enemies. The ending of this battle was already decided. As it quickly ended, Section Zero finally achieved their first big victory.

The three fleets cleaned up the battlefield and picked up the loot before leaving the scene in groups.

After more than an hour in hyperdrive, the fleet slowly stopped in a safe area.

Han Xiao received Morred’s invitation to attend the postwar conference on the flagship.

After calling up Herlous, Harmon, and the other officers, Han Xiao linked his spaceship with the flagship.

Whoosh!

The hatch opened. In front of them was the link corridor. Han Xiao led the others into the flagship. A few receptionists were waiting there. They quickly approached and welcomed him with a respectful tone.

“Your Excellency Black Star, everyone has arrived. They’re all waiting for you.”

“Lead the way.”

Han Xiao nodded and followed the receptionist to the door of the conference hall inside the flagship.

The door opened, and joyous and delightful voices came from inside. The atmosphere seemed very positive.

There were quite a few people in the room. All the people in charge of the partnered organizations within the fleet had been invited. After finally achieving a victory, everyone was elated.

Han Xiao stepped in, and chatter inside the hall suddenly stopped. Everyone looked over. Seeing that it was Han Xiao, their eyes were filled with admiration and respect. They opened up a path for Han Xiao.

“Black Star, you’re here. Quick, take a seat.”

The center of the hall was a circular conference table, and everyone was sitting there. Morred sat at the host seat. As he saw Han Xiao, he quickly stood up and passionately invited Han Xiao to take a seat.

“Hi, how are you? Have you eaten?” Han Xiao sat on his seat and casually greeted the others.

“Haha, now that everyone is here, let’s start the conference. His Excellency Ralph has something that he wants to say to us.”

Morred smiled and pressed the desk. Ralph’s remote projection image appeared above the center of the conference table.

Ralph cleared his throat and spoke.

“Everyone, you’ve done a very good job. You’ve eliminated the base station, causing the Bloodshed Land’s twelve strongholds to be isolated and their forces to be separated. Our troops successfully destroyed those twelve strongholds with very low casualties. This is our first overwhelming victory!”

Clap clap clap!

Everyone applauded.

“Morred, you were very decisive. Your contribution in destroying the base station is huge. Carrie, you restrained the enemies and completed your mission. Pierer, you…”

Ralph praised everyone present one after the other. The applause continued nonstop. Han Xiao’s expression was strange—this reminded him of exam result announcements.

They had just won a battle, and now they were already being evaluated for their contribution.

“Also, the biggest merit of this victory…”

Ralph turned to look at Han Xiao with a big smile on his face. “Black Star, you destroyed the enemy’s armed satellite fortress and defensive measures alone, which can be said to be the key point in turning the battle around!”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Who said that one person could not change the battle? Black Star alone could complete this kind of key tactical mission-his actions determined their victory and decided the result of the skirmish.

“Ahem, I just did what I should.” Han Xiao maintained his expression and waved his hand like it was not a big deal.

Morred could not help but add, “If not for you, at most, we would have ended up with a tragic victory. Of course, you deserve the biggest

merit!”

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, and he had no choice but to smile politely.

Ralph smiled and said, “You don’t have to be humble. I have already reported to the superiors. They are very satisfied with your achievements. The people above have decided to increase their investment in the Black Star Army as a reward. Also, they will consider making you a long-term partner.”

When Ralph said this, everyone’s expression slightly changed. They were jealous.

The biggest goal they had in joining the secret war was to become a long-term partner of a Star Cluster Civilization. Black Star was already one step ahead of them.

In the Purple Crystal Civilization upper echelons’ eyes, the Black Star Army’s importance had probably already exceeded any of the other Section Zero members.

Now this is what I wanted to hear, actual benefits… Han Xiao smiled.

“By the way, you also killed the Bloodshed Land’s Adjudicator, Tamaria. This is the first high-level Bloodshed Land officer that has died. The Bloodshed Land has lost an important member. You’ve done a good job.”

Han Xiao was stunned. So, that testy woman I killed is the first important Bloodshed Land officer to die in the secret war?

This means that… I took Ty-Ty’s first blood?

So… Heber won’t get angry… right?

Due to the disadvantage they had been at for the past two months, Ralph had been incredibly stressed. He kept wanting to get revenge. As soon as Black Star returned, he had finally made the Bloodshed Land lose. Ralph felt relieved.

The more he looked at Han Xiao, the more satisfied he was.

In his eyes, the combat capability displayed by Black Star exceeded the standard of normal Calamity Grades. Usually, only Beyond Grade As would be able to crush a group of Calamity Grades. However, Black Star was not Beyond Grade A. Hence, he felt that there was only one explanation for this—Black Star’s potential was extraordinary. Furthermore, his potential was becoming real strength way too quickly. He was obviously much stronger than he had been two months ago!

Purple Crystal had looked into Han Xiao’s past before. About ten years ago, Black Star had just entered the galaxy and built his mercenary group. Back then, he was not even Grade B, yet in less than ten years, he had risen extremely quickly.

This meant that Black Star had the highest amount of Beyond Grade A potential!

In all the years since the end of the exploration era till now, none of the Beyond Grade As had risen as quickly as Black Star!

Ralph was exhilarated. As long as the Tyrant did not do anything, Black Star might be able to crush all the Bloodshed Land Calamity Grades. He was basically a murder weapon among the high-level combatants, the biggest advantage that Section Zero had!

This evaluation right after the battle was done on purpose. One reason was to use rewarding Black Star as an example to encourage more Section Zero members to win battles, eliminating the downside of an alliance force.

The second reason was to express their attitude toward Black Star on how important he was to them.

Killing two birds with one stone.

At this moment, no one realized that the effects of this skirmish would be much greater than they thought…

Chapter 686 - Tyrant’s Plan

Chapter 686 Tyrant’s Plan

After this victory, Section Zero temporarily did not carry out any more counterattack operations. Han Xiao left the main fleet after getting the contacts of Morred and the others.

The reward for this mission came very quickly. Purple Crystal was very generous, giving him a total of twenty-seven million Enaus and other rare resources, clearly expressing Han Xiao’s importance to them.

After this battle, Ralph saw Han Xiao as a treasure.

He told Han Xiao to stand by temporarily. Only on important missions would he consider using the Black Star trump card. There was no need to deploy him for normal guerrilla missions.

Of course, Han Xiao was more than willing to slack off. He could make use of this opportunity to digest the resources that he had just received from the Purple Gold Civilization and replenish his mechanical army. Furthermore, Lagi was on the way there as well.

At the same time, the influence of this war was slowly spreading

“Section Zero achieved a huge victory in the Kaya Star System, destroying twelve Bloodshed Land stronghold planets.”

To the various civilizations and organizations of the Shattered Star Ring who had been paying attention to the secret war, this news quickly made them feel energized. Ever since the start of the war, this was Section Zero’s first successful counterattack. They have finally put a stop to their string of failures.

These organizations knew what Purple Crystal’s strategy was-give up some areas strategically and split up the Bloodshed Land’s forces. They knew that the secret war would enter a stalemate sooner or later and that the war would probably only end after many years.

The talented individuals appearing in the secret war became the focus of the various organizations.

War had always been a stage for the strong, a shortcut to honor. There were always people who became famous through war. To all those who have been paying attention, Han Xiao was clearly the brightest star born on this stage. Everyone else paled in comparison before him.

Black Star’s turning point since the start of the war was when he was able to survive the attacks of all eight Vanguard Officials. With that, he earned the nickname of ‘Indestructible Body’, which spread across the entire Star Field.

Just two months later, he once again gained astonishing achievements, killing ten Calamity Grade Supers, including the Bloodshed Land Adjudicator, Tamaria. He once again made sensational news.

The Beyond Grade A seeds in the past had been quiet for a long time. After so many years, none of them became a new Beyond Grade A. Similarly, when those Beyond Grade A seeds first entered the list, that was when they were the most famous. Like a cycle, it was now Black Star’s turn.

It had not been long since Black Star became a Beyond Grade A seed. These two achievements were his signature deeds, sparking discussion between countless people. These two unbelievable achievements produced a chemical reaction, making Han Xiao the latest Star Field level hot topic. His fame in the Shattered Star Ring skyrocketed, and his position grew just as quickly.

Before this, Black Star had not been considered someone huge in the Shattered Star Ring—the majority of his position was because of Floating Dragon. However, he had gradually stepped out of the Floating Dragon title, and his own position had started to grow. He could be said to be an overnight sensation.

ans

Through this battle, it was not just potential that Han Xiao had shown but his true combat capability, which almost no one in his grade could match up to. To many organizations, Black Star was almost half a Beyond Grade A. It seemed like he really had a chance to sit on the Beyond Grade A throne one day.

The rise of every Beyond Grade A was always sensational. If a fifth Beyond Grade A really appeared in the Shattered Star Ring, the issues between Klent and Purple Crystal would become unimportant.

When Han Xiao stood his ground against the eight Vanguard Officials, those large organizations had still been spectating. However, after the news of him killing several Calamity Grades spread out, many people could not just watch anymore.

Some wanted him dead, while some wanted him to live.

More people wanted to contact him.

Many that were previously just watching decided to join in.

Han Xiao had yet to know that the storms he had stirred up had made the influence of the secret war exceed beyond what it was supposed to have.

A cyclone hidden under the secret war was brewing

At this time, Klent and Purple Crystal knew nothing about this, nor did they think that this war would go out of their control.

In the Bloodshed Land headquarters, specifically in the Tyrant’s palace, the small mountain-sized Heber sat on the hovering throne, looking down at the frightened Jorde.

“Tamaria… died?”

Jorde shivered. Not daring to look up, he looked down at the ground and said, “She died at Black Star’s hands. I’m responsible, too. My intel was inaccurate…”

It would not matter if those below Calamity Grade died, but Tamaria was different. She was one of the key members who had followed the Bloodshed Land through battles from the earliest time. She had even received personal guidance from Tyrant before. The death of an experienced adjudicator was a huge loss.

“Hmm, okay,” Heber said with an indifferent tone.

Jorde stood still for a while but did not hear the next half of the sentence he had expected, so he cautiously asked, “What… are you planning to do?”

“Dying in war is a righteous end for warriors,” Heber said slowly. “In war, you can kill people, and people can kill you.”

Jorde was stunned. Did this mean that Tyrant was not planning on getting revenge?

“Er… I thought you…”

“You thought I would be furious and immediately avenge Tamaria?” Heber frowned slightly. “Then, what would I need you people for?”

Heber was domineering, but that did not mean that he was reckless and impulsive. He was calm and would not change his plan just because one or two of his subordinates died.

As long as there was no Beyond Grade A on the enemy’s side fighting, he would not easily make a move. This had been decided with Klent long ago.

Usually, Heber would be biased toward his subordinates, but in wars, he was cold-blooded.

Wars were trials of blood and fire; Heber was not going to protect his subordinates. He needed his officers to grow in the flames of war. Even if all of them died, he would not feel heartache. His organization was his tool, not his weakness.

Jorde did not know what to say.

“However, this isn’t over,” Heber said.

“What does that mean?” Jorde asked honestly.

“He will be held accountable for this; our fight will be inevitable,” Heber said coldly. “He has Beyond Grade A potential, but as of now, he still is a Calamity Grade. If I kill him now, it will be too boring, so I will give him time to grow.

“If he stays at Calamity Grade, I won’t do anything to him, but as soon as he becomes Beyond Grade A, I will personally strike and beat him to death!”

After a pause, Heber said, “If he can’t become Beyond Grade A even by the end of the war, I will still kill him by then.”

“But… Black Star is very strong. He will cause a lot of casualties to our high level combatants.” Jorde could not help but speak up. He hoped that Heber could change his mind and kill Black Star immediately.

“I know the casualties will be high…” Heber looked down at Jorde, speaking slowly. “Therefore, Black Star is the enemy I’m leaving to you guys. Survive against him, become stronger or die. Those that don’t even have this little amount of faith in themselves can request to come back to the headquarters. They won’t ever have to go into the battlefield again.”

Heber knew that Han Xiao was strong, so he wanted to use him to train the officers under his command.

Now that all the forces were paying attention to Black Star, if he, a Beyond Grade A, personally attacked a Calamity Grade, it would seem petty of him. Even though Black Star was a Beyond Grade A seed, he would still be able to easily kill him.

Heber disdained killing Black Star. In his eyes, not only would that be a despicable act, it would also be short-sighted.

Killing Black Star immediately would at most clear the obstacles of this war and decrease the casualties of his organization. In Heber’s eyes, that was not even worth mentioning compared to what he could get from killing a Beyond Grade A.

He was willing to give Han Xiao time to grow.

The Bloodshed Land was so enormous and powerful because he, the Beyond Grade A, was the core that united all of it.

As long as he was there, no casualties were unrecoverable.

As long as he was there, the Bloodshed Land would be able to rapidly develop.

He needed an opponent worth fighting. If Black Star could really become a Beyond Grade A, the entire Star Field would be sensationalized. By then, if he fought Black Star, no one would have a problem with that.

I won’t bully you when you’re weak. I will wait till you reach my level, then kill you!

Domineering as usual!

This way, the influence that he would gain would be much bigger. Black Star’s death would once again bring glory to the title Tyrant’.

“Understood, I will let everyone know your intention.” Jorde’s voice became louder as he was conquered by Heber’s personality.

Although, from the way Jorde saw it, letting Black Star grow was not a wise choice.

But…

It’s so domineering!

He had absolute confidence in Heber. Even if Black Star became a Beyond Grade A, he would still be no match for Tyrant.

His Excellency Heber’s perspective on the issue is on a different level. He saw a greater opportunity while my vision was limited by this war. I’m too petty.

“Black Star became stronger again.”

In the Floating Dragon palace, Aesop was looking at the news. He sighed and looked at Ames, who was sitting on the hovering throne.

“I still underestimated him. Back then, I wanted Black Star to be your right-hand man. I never thought that he would grow this fast. Sooner or later, he will request to leave Floating Dragon.”

Ames was silent. She wanted Han Xiao to become stronger, but she did not want Han Xiao to leave her side.

Aesop sighed and said, “He has done a lot for Floating Dragon, but I have seen many Beyond Grade As before. Other than those raised by the three Universal Civilizations, no one is willing to be under someone else. I know that he’s important to you, but the Shattered Star Ring is very big. He won’t be your subordinate forever.”

“He won’t be able to leave,” Ames said coldly.

Aesop frowned. “Don’t be willful. No matter what, Black Star is your friend. With this relationship, the two of you will definitely be allies. There’s no need to create a conflict…”

“I said, he won’t be able to leave!”

Ames raised her voice and interrupted Aesop before lowering her gaze.

“Unless I can’t stop him.”

Chapter 687 - DarkStar Leader and the Fallen Ark

Black Star Base No.1’s military factory was so large that the end of it was out of sight. Countless assembly lines operated every hour of the day. Mechanical parts were assembled into all kinds of equipment by countless mechanical arms. Several Mechanics walked in between the assembly lines, debugging them from time to time.

The top of the factory was the main control room that could look over the entire factory. Decks of blueprints were spread on the alloy table near the window of the main control room, flipped by a person’s hand.

Reynold sat upright beside the table, reading through the blueprints with a serious expression.

This time, the door of the main control room was shoved open, and Sylvia ran in with joy all over her face.

“Hey, I have good news!”

Reynold slowly moved his eyes from the blueprints and looked at Sylvia.

“Big sis, please do tell,” he said with a serious face.

Sylvia was already used to Reynold’s personality and had learned to selectively ignore parts of it. She raised her hand, and a ball of flickering Mechanical Force appeared in her palm.

“Hehe, I’m Grade B now. Aren’t I amazing?” Sylvia said with an excited expression.

“Amazing,” Reynold said with an upward tone and a poker face. He even raised his hands and clapped.

Seeing this, Sylvia felt awkward. She felt like something that she was proud of might not be worth mentioning in the eyes of a Calamity Grade.

But she could not resist sharing her joy. Han Xiao had taken the old officers out to war, so the one that was closest to her among the remaining people was only Reynold, who oversaw the logistics. Usually, she would ask Reynold any questions she had. Although Reynold was nominally her junior, he was actually considered Han Xiao’s teaching assistant.

Sylvia could not suppress her excitement of entering Grade B and became happy again after feeling awkward for a while. With aspiration on her face, she said, “Teacher will definitely be very happy when he hears about this. He’s always had high hopes for me…”

Most importantly, Han Xiao had promised her that if she could become a Grade B Super, she would be able to focus on combat in the future and not do homework every day.

I’m free!

I, Sylvia, am happy!

After enjoying being happy for a while, Sylvia realized that Reynold did not say anything. She looked up and realized that although Reynold was facing her, his eyes were secretly looking sideways at the blueprints on the table.

Is talking to me this boring? Sylvia snapped her fingers, put on an angry expression, and said, “Stop looking away. I’m talking to you!”

Reynold looked back and said with a serious expression as if nothing had happened, “Hmm, you’re right.”

Wow, what a perfunctory response… Sylvia clenched her teeth, took a deep breath, and calmed her emotions. She then took out the communicator and said, “By the way, Teacher did something great recently again. Look, people all over the Star Field are discussing him on all platforms. They all say he has the highest chance to become the next Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring. Tsk tsk, I never thought that Teacher is this amazing. If he really becomes a Beyond Grade A, as his disciple, maybe we…”

With a pause, Sylvia suddenly realized that Reynold did not react again. She looked up and saw that Reynold was looking at the blueprints on the table once again.

“Still looking?”

Sylvia was embarrassed and irritated. She snapped her finger again louder.

Am I, such a beautiful lady, not even as attractive as those boring blueprints?

“No, I’m listening.” Reynold coughed. He took the communicator from Sylvia’s hand and looked at the news on it. His face turned serious again, and he muttered, “Black Star… Beyond Grade A seed…”

Seeing that Reynold was finally not looking at the blueprints, a smug expression appeared on Sylvia’s delicate and exquisite face.

As Han Xiao’s secretary, she knew that Reynold’s contract duration was about to end. For the Black Star Army, she felt that she had to make Reynold stay.

According to her knowledge of Reynold, this person’s desire to learn exceeded even his physiological desires. Sylvia felt that the best way to make him stay was to keep reminding him that her teacher had become stronger and stronger, showing him how outstanding her teacher was. That way, Reynold might choose to stay and continue following Black Star to learn and work for the army.

Although Sylvia did not really want to share her teacher with Reynold, for the sake of the army… she decided to sacrifice that.

“Beyond Grade A… Beyond Grade A…” Reynold muttered. Usually, he always looked serious and formal, but now, he looked like he had something heavy on his mind. “Black Star… Black Star can solve this once and for all…”

“What?” Sylvia did not understand what he

meant.

“Nothing.”

Reynold returned to being serious.

At the same time in the training camp of Black Star Base No.1, Brock put down the communicator that was playing the news. He wanted to pick up the wine cup and drink it to suppress his fear but realized that his hand was shaking

He was a DarkStar remnant. After the DarkStar leader went missing, he had kept his mission in mind and believed that the leader would definitely return. Hence, he had joined and infiltrated the Black Star Army, hoping to one day become an important chess piece for the leader. He was now acting as the drill sergeant in the base.

For the past couple of years, Brock had been working in fear, not daring to do anything out of the line, and carefully disguised his identity, afraid of being suspected by anyone. His trust for the DarkStar leader was what kept him going

However, when he saw the news of Han Xiao becoming a Beyond Grade A seed, Brock realized that his belief was shaken.

He could not help but doubt… if the leader would really be a match for Black Star. Would he really be able to complete his revenge?

Would it not most likely be suicide?

If so, him staying in the Black Star Army as a spy might be pushing the leader into the pit of fire.

Brock was perturbed. Black Star’s overwhelming strength made him despair. He almost could not even think about resisting.

He secretly made up his mind. If the leader one day returned and he was able to get in contact with him, he had to convince the leader not to mess with Black Star. It would be more difficult than messing with Godora!

On a devastated civilization planet in a certain Star Field…

The planet’s surface was burning with endless flames and smoke, the ground shattered, the cities were destroyed, and countless were slaughtered.

The fleet that completed its invasion retracted their artillery barrels, slowly rising above the atmosphere, leaving the almost completely destroyed planet surface civilization.

This invading fleet was made up of three thousand battleships.

However, not far from the planet, an enormous fleet a thousand times bigger was docked. The battleships seemed endless, as if they filled up the entire galaxy. The three thousand battleships were just a small division of this enormous fleet.

A fleet of such a size could even fight a Star Cluster Civilization directly.

The three thousand battleships returned to the large army with their loot, like a droplet of water entering the ocean.

The leading disk-shaped battleship of this team deviated from the others and gradually entered deeper into the army, arriving at the center of this enormous fleet.

At the center of the fleet was a gigantic planet-level main ship. Comparatively, the disk-shaped spaceship was like a pebble, and this gigantic main ship was like a mountain.

A conspicuous sign was painted on the exterior armor of the main ship-a gray, hooded man.

The disk spaceship entered the dock of the main ship, flew down the long lane, and stopped at the hangar.

Whoosh!

The hatch opened, and the DarkStar leader walked out. With emotionless eyes, he turned around and waved, signaling for the subordinates behind him to bring the dozens of weak captives and follow him.

After walking for a while, they arrived before an enormous alloy gate. The giant cyclops guard beside the gate saw the dozens of the captives behind the DarkStar leader and grinned.

“You’re quite fast. Go in, he’s waiting for you.”

As he spoke, the alloy gate slowly opened. The DarkStar leader focused his mind, led the others, and walked in. The view before his eyes turned bright. Noises and heat waves landed right on his face.

This was an enormous palace that was now having a party. There were countless tables filled with the delicious food and alcohol of many races, and there were people everywhere. Countless creatures from different races were gulping down the meat and drinks, roaring and laughing loudly. There were also female dancers walking through the crowd, roughly groped by people from time to time.

The DarkStar leader even saw that there was someone in the corner hugging a dancer and bumping her against the wall, his laughing and roaring mixed into the noises.

Chaos filled the entire room. Despite having lived there for a few years, the DarkStar leader still could not help but frown, not used to this stimulating scene.

A drunk Beastman stumbled over. The DarkStar pressed him on the shoulder and pushed him away. He then walked to the center of the palace with large steps. At the center was a scarlet throne carved into the shape of some strange creature, like an ancient god he did not know the name of, which some Arcane Church branches prayed to.

On the throne was a skinny, boney human-shaped creature wearing a ragged hood. Other than his face, his body was covered tightly. He was facing down, not making a single sound. The hood covered his face.

The DarkStar leader came before the throne. Ignoring the chaotic scene around and the noises, he pointed at the dozens of captives behind him that were stunned by what they were seeing. “Your Excellency, I’ve brought the Espers.”

Suddenly, the creature on the throne shivered, as if he had awoken from his sleep. He slowly looked up, showing his face under the hood.

Under the hood was a vortex-like black fog, with a red flickering dot of light in the middle.

With an unknown method, this faceless creature somehow spoke. His voice was rough and husky. “Well… done…”

As he was speaking, he suddenly twisted his neck. The black fog under the hood suddenly disappeared, turning into the face of a hybrid human without any special features.

The hooded man stood up and walked down from the throne and toward the dozens of captives. The DarkStar leader stepped aside.

He stood in front of the first captive, looked right into the horrified eyes of this captive, grinned, and grabbed the neck of this captive.

The next moment, this captive’s entire body shrunk and became dry, yet he did not die. He collapsed to the ground with his eyes opened wide, not even having the energy to speak a single word.

“Not bad.”

The hooded man licked his lips as if he was enjoying the taste. Then, he did the same and turned all the captives into dried shells before returning to the throne. He looked at the DarkStar leader with a satisfied expression

“You’re good. I like you.”

“It’s my honor to serve you.” The DarkStar lowered his head with respect. “According to our agreement, for every satisfying Esper I bring, you…”

The hooded man waved his hand and interrupted the DarkStar leader. “I know, I will give you a new fleet. Hmm, I have some information here. Maybe you’ll be interested.”

The hooded man shook his hand. A communicator flowed out from his palm and landed in the DarkStar leader’s hands.

The DarkStar leader opened and looked at it. His expression instantly changed. The rumors surrounding Han Xiao were playing on it.

“He seems to be what made you escape from the Shattered Star Ring.” The hooded man smiled faintly. “Looks like he can become a Beyond Grade A.”

The DarkStar’s face was grave. He took a deep breath and slowly said, “Thank you for this information.”

“You’re welcome.” The hooded man smiled and spoke in a rather friendly tone. He then waved and said, “You can leave now. Such a good environment is rare. Don’t disturb my sleep.”

“Yes.” The DarkStar nodded and led his subordinates. He did not care about the dozens of dried captives. The chefs would come to cook them later anyway.

Walking out of the palace, the alloy gate slowly closed. The DarkStar looked back. Through the gap in the gate, he saw the hooded man lower his head and enter into sweet dreams in the chaotic, loud, and insane environment.

“What a maniac.”

The DarkStar leader clenched his fists, and a deep sense of fear flashed through his eyes.

The people behind him had arranged for him to leave the Shattered Star Ring and join under this hooded man. This man was the master of this enormous fleet and also a horrifying Beyond Grade A Super who wanted to fuse the abilities on the Super High Risk Esper Ability Restriction Treaty together.

Following the agreement, the DarkStar had given the hooded man Ember. He could still remember the look of disbelief and shock on Ember’s face when he realized that he had been betrayed.

However, his resistance was futile. The hooded man had been very satisfied with the sacrifice, so he had made an agreement with the DarkStar leader-he could provide fleets for the DarkStar leader, but the DarkStar leader had to exchange them for Espers that could satisfy him.

Therefore, the DarkStar leader stayed there temporarily. He invaded and destroyed one surface civilization after another, searching for Supers with interesting Esper abilities. After a few years, he had obtained a large number of battleships and men.

Originally, the DarkStar leader wanted to continue building his forces. However, Han Xiao’s rocketing combat capability gave him pressure.

Following the current pace, Black Star might really become a Beyond Grade A Super. Then, it would be useless for him to return. If there was a Beyond Grade A in the Garton Star System, no one would be able to cause any trouble. DarkStar would never have a chance to rise again.

“I have to go back as soon as possible, otherwise everything will be too late.”

The DarkStar leader made his decision. Black Star happened to be at war, so he could take advantage of that.

Furthermore, the DarkStar leader did not dare stay there any longer. In just a few years, he had been deeply affected by the chaos there. He could not imagine what would happen if he continued to stay, whether he would become just as insane.

This enormous fleet was a Beyond Grade A organization that was always relocating and moving. The hooded man was the leader of this organization. Among all the Beyond Grade As in the entire universe, he was the most notorious maniac!

This place welcomed wanted criminals from every Star Field who had no way out. It was the holy land for all criminals.

This was the… (Fallen Ark]!

Aroshia had followed Han Xiao to the war as well. She was staying in the fleet and slacking off like Han Xiao.

Inside a room with turned off lights, Aroshia hugged her knees, sat in a corner, and stared into the darkness in front of her blankly.

This time, dots of light debris suddenly appeared out of thin air and formed into the bright shape of a man, lighting up the room. It was Risda.

“It’s you.” Aroshia had no expression on her face.

Risda’s body vibrated. He then spoke.

“Great, if Black Star becomes a Beyond Grade A, he will be able to fight the Mechanic Empire. Our people might be saved.”

“Oh.” Aroshia did not respond too passionately

“But Black Star might not be willing to fight the Mechanic Empire. You and I must convince him. He’s our biggest hope,” Risda said.

Aroshia kept silent for a while before suddenly asking, “He might die, right?”

“Everything is possible; nothing is absolute.” Risda shook his head and avoided the topic. “Remember what I said.”

Then, Risda disappeared, and the room returned to darkness.

Aroshia buried her chin between her knees and stared blankly.

Meanwhile, Lagi was still on the way there.

Chapter 688 - Leeks Coming from Everywhere! (1)

Half a month had passed since the battle that destroyed the hyperdrive base station. The Bloodshed Land seemed to be cautious as well, so there were no major conflicts between the two sides for the time being, just skirmishes. Purple Crystal had no new missions for Han Xiao, so he took his fleet around in standby.

During this time, he had been studying his loot —the armed satellite fortress.

There was a total of nine armed satellite fortresses. After the base station was destroyed, the other armed satellite fortresses had all been seized. Han Xiao had received one from Morred too, and he had taken it back for research purposes.

The blueprints for this kind of large mechanical satellite were very valuable. This one’s model was [‘Stout Shield’ Military Satellite Fortress].

Han Xiao had been slowly deriving its blueprint over the past half a month. While he lacked the necessary Cutting-Edge Knowledge, which made it impossible for him to get the complete blueprint, he did obtain some useful technology such as the shield generator used by the hyperdrive base station, which could also be applied to psionic shields.

Although he could not build the full version of the armed satellite fortress, the Great Mechanic Han was able to fuse a blueprint of the shrunk version of it. While it was smaller in size, it had the same functions as the original, just not as powerful.

The armed satellite fortress was basically strategic equipment, not a combat weapon between Supers. Han Xiao planned to turn some of the Black Star bases built on administrative planets into satellite fortresses, at least giving them a certain amount of maneuverability.

Han also seized the special armor of Bloodshed Land’s elite soldier, Thousand Beast Soldier, which he turned into his own blueprint and made preliminary improvements.

In the machinery modification room. Han Xiao stood in front of a row of cabinets, looking at the different types of mechanical suits inside.

“Thousand Beast Soldier Armor, Sunil NCO Class armor and Commander Class armor, my Snake Series armors, and some standard mechanical suit blueprints… If I combine them together, I should get some high-quality, mid-level mechanical suit blueprints.”

Han Xiao caressed his chin and pondered.

He intended to build a special armor series for the Black Star Army to be used as the new standard equipment for the army.

This was not an out of the blue idea but something that he had thought about for a long time.

Due to his two astonishing feats, his fame across the entire Star Field was rocketing beyond his expectations. Initially, Han Xiao had thought that the Black Star Army would only be able to develop slowly and steadily since the players were not there, but wars were proven to have the biggest opportunities once again. The recent heated discussion about him becoming a Beyond Grade A seed made him notice that this was a great opportunity. Some development targets could now be moved forward.

He had always wanted to improve the army from a mercenary group to an armed force like the Bloodshed Land. A set of armor belonging to his own faction was equivalent to uniform seduc… culture, which would help to increase the cohesion of the faction more effectively than a mere army symbol.

However, most of the people who came to be mercenaries were free and loose. If he forced a business transformation, he would lose some of those who were unwilling to pledge their loyalty. After all, mercenaries were never worried about where to go next, so they would not easily pledge their loyalty to a mercenary group.

Nonetheless, his recent achievements had made people believe that he had an extremely high chance of reaching Beyond Grade A. The upper limits of an armed force depended on the strength of the leader. The cohesion of a normal Calamity Grade organization could not even be compared with a Beyond Grade A seed organization.

For example, the Bloodshed Land, assuming that it had grown to its present size without Tyrant, would definitely have a ton of problems. Internally, the authority would be held by several Calamity Grades, none satisfied by being on the same level as the others, thus causing internal disputes and factional conflicts. Externally, without a Beyond Grade A leader, despite being such an enormous organization, no one would be able to unite them. In the end, they would definitely go their separate ways.

Therefore, a leader who could suppress everything within determined the upper limits of an armed force.

Han Xiao had been in the center of attention recently, and his reputation had exceeded the normal Calamity Grade range. Through his contacts, he learned that many intelligence organizations even called him half a Beyond Grade A. Numerous organizations believed that he would become a Beyond Grade A. Those organizations were not blind; his combat record was hard proof, so no one would inexplicably underestimate him.

As the faction leader’s position increased, the Black Star Army’s appeal transformed as well. Even mercenaries knew that following a possible Beyond Grade A would be a more promising future, so the number of people lost in the business transformation would be significantly reduced.

Not only that, with his current position, he could even attract more new talents.

“Because of my reputation, the Black Star Army’s influence is growing every day. This is a great opportunity to scale up.”

Han Xiao was in a great mood. He had initially intended to develop his forces through the support from the Purple Crystal civilization, but to his surprise, his own fame seemed to have allowed him to exceed what he had planned to achieve for the organization during the update period.

Strength was the most important!

“This expansion is an opportunity to improve the Black Star Army. There are many goals to be accomplished. First, the business transformation. Second, the expansion of manpower. Third, the increase of the armed troops. Fourth, becoming a long-term partner of Purple Crystal… Hmm, as long as the first three are completed, the fourth goal should not be a problem.

“Of course, the most important thing is my own strength. When I’m done with these trivial problems, I have to take a period of time to get a silver legacy blueprint to complete the Class Advancement mission. After that, complete the level 200 Promotion as soon as possible. The stronger I am, the faster the army will develop.”

Han Xiao pondered and quickly set out a list of goals.

He did not expect to perform this well before the war, nor did he expect to spark such discussions. The way he saw it, the development plan that he had originally set was too conservative.

This wave of discussions surrounding him was an extremely rare opportunity that he had to take.

Dong! Dong!

At that time, someone suddenly banged loudly on the door of the modification room.

“Who is it?” Han Xiao regained focus and opened the door.

Hairy, muscular abs entered his vision. Han Xiao looked up at the three-meter-tall Harmon standing outside the door.

“Lagi’s back. He wants to see you,” Harmon said with a low and muffled voice.

“Oh, I thought he’d throw me an excuse that the hyperdrive engine broke and drag his feet till the end of the war to return.” Han Xiao was surprised.

Harmon scratched his hairy head and gave a long grunt, as if the muscles in his brain could not process the meaning of the sentence.

“By the way…” Han Xiao suddenly remembered something. “How come you are the one reporting? Where’s Herlous?”

Usually, if Sylvia was away, Herlous would be his male secretary, a more decisive, reliable adult male.

“He asked me to lie to you that he was training,” Harmon said with a straight tone, giving off a strong vibe of the word ‘reckless’.

“Hmm…” Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, and he did not know what to say. “Then, what is he actually doing?”

“He’s playing cards.”

Han Xiao was speechless.

“Okay, got it. I’ll go to see Lagi now.”

Han Xiao closed his door and walked for a while before recalling something. He turned to Harmon and asked, “By the way, how many years till the selection battle for your tribal chief?

Harmon was one of the heirs of the Luhan Beastman Civilization’s Rockfall Tribe. The side mission from him was to join his War League and help him become the chief.

If he remembered correctly, this should be a Version 3.0 side mission, but in case the storyline had changed, Han Xiao decided to ask again.

Harmon counted with his fingers for a while and said with a hesitant tone, “I think eleven years less three days.”

The average life expectancy of the Luhan Beastmen was about 250 years, which was quite long. The selection of chief was a major event, it usually gave more than ten years to the candidates for them to form their War Leagues. This was because one selection often determined the chief for the next two hundred years.

“It’s a good thing you have comrades,” Han Xiao said with resignation, “otherwise I suspect you’d miss the selection battle and lose your position as an heir…”

Harmon opened his eyes wide and blew his lower lip unhappily, his thick lips shaking.

Han Xiao went straight to the bridge and immediately saw Lagi, who had been waiting for a long time. He smiled and walked forward, patting Lagi on the shoulder.

“You’re back.”

“Yes, I didn’t die on the way,” Lagi murmured. “I think it took all the luck I have in my life.”

Han Xiao’s smile stiffened. You’re too pessimistic!

“Ahem, do you remember what I said before you left?” Han Xiao said with resignation.

“Yes.” Lagi nodded and said, “You said you were going to cancel my workload and give me a raise.”

“No, I didn’t. Don’t bullsh*t!” Han Xiao clenched his teeth. “I said when you get back, you’ll be my vice captain!”

“Oh, then I remembered wrongly.” Lagi’s kept a straight face.

“Are you sure?” Han Xiao was suspicious. Why do I feel like you did that on purpose?

Hearing Han Xiao’s doubt, Lagi’s face became upset as he muttered, “You don’t trust me… Sigh, I should have known. People like me have no credibility.”

“Enough, you,” Han Xiao said with resignation. “Since you don’t have any objection, I’ll announce to the whole army that you’re the first vice-captain. By the way, I’m also planning to announce your past. You were once the Hidden Red Robe Abbey’s Forbidden Sorcerers’ commander. This past will increase your reputation, and no one will be unhappy about you becoming the vice-captain. Do you have any questions?”

Lagi nodded. He had no objections, but he did emphasize one point. “Don’t forget, you promised that my vice-captain position is just a title, and my workload won’t increase.”

Don’t you f*cking remember that crystal clear?

The appointment of the vice-captain was quickly transmitted to the communicators of the hundreds of thousands of official members of the Black Star Army.

When opening the Black Star Army’s mercenary group resume, under the ‘leader’ column, the vice-captain position that had always been empty finally had a first name written in it—Lagi Schwer.

Lagi had only joined for a very short time, so there was still a huge number of mid- to low-level mercenary members within the army that did not know him. With curiosity, confusion, surprise, and so on, they opened Lagi’s resume and were immediately shocked.

Not only was this newly appointed vice captain a Grade A+ Super, he was also the Hidden Red Robe Abbey’s Forbidden Sorcerers former commander, as well as the fourth disciple of ‘Magus’ Austin!

Lagi’s past was very impressive. Few outsiders knew about what had happened between Lagi and Austin; to many, this was a core member of a Beyond Grade A organization leaving and joining the Black Star Army!

Han Xiao was at the height of his popularity, so his every action attracted attention from countless people. Not only the army members, the various organizations that were paying attention to him were also shocked.

One of the Magus’ core members is now the vice-captain of the Black Star Army. Are they now working together?

The perception of the Black Star Army had subtly changed for countless people, including its members. Black Star’s recent achievements and the Black Star Army’s expansion seemed to show an inexorable rise.

As many people could see, Black Star wanted to use his soaring influence to benefit the Black Star Army, intending to become a Star Field level VIP!

The question that followed suddenly sparked interest from all sides.

What would Floating Dragon do if Black Star rose?

After all, the Black Star Army was nominally Floating Dragon’s field team. Now that Black Star showed Beyond Grade A potential, if he did deliver on that potential, would he continue to stay under Ames given the amount of ambition that he had shown?

While it was still unclear whether Black Star would become a Beyond Grade A, ambitions were not easy to erase. Black Star’s soaring position would change the way he thought sooner or later, inflating his ambitions.

Countless people were excited when thinking about the possibilities of the future.

If the announcement of the vice-captain drew attention, Han Xiao’s subsequent announcement triggered an earthquake.

The Black Star Army publicly issued a large-scale recruitment order to the entire Shattered Star Ring!

Han Xiao planned to tap into the ‘Beyond Grade A seed’ title to attract a large number of talents.

He believed that there were plenty of people willing to bet that he would become a Beyond Grade A.

Joining at this time would be more valued than joining a Beyond Grade A organization, it was equivalent to becoming a partner at the start of a business. Even if they lost the bet, it would only cost them time, so the loss would be within an acceptable range.

It was a huge gamble!

As the Black Star Army made the announcement, countless people and organizations across the ten or so Star Clusters in the Shattered Star Ring were tempted.

Chapter 689 - Leeks Coming from Everywhere! (2)

Chapter 689 Leeks Coming from Everywhere! (2)

The moment the recruitment order from the Black Star Army was sent out, practically half the star field exploded from excitement, and all the responders began to gather!

In just ten days, Phillip had already received countless resumes from various sectors of the Shattered Star Ring.

Riding on this wave of heated public opinion, the number of applicants was far greater than any of their previous recruitments. The target was not just toward original mercenaries. As long as one did not have a ‘Wanted’ tag on them, everyone would be treated equally.

Philip first eliminated the weaker candidates and did a screening of the first batch of top-rated talents. Just these people already totaled 1.4 million, more than the total count of the Black Star Army. This would effectively double the official staff of the Black Star Army a few times over!

More than a million people had already been selected, and this was not even the final result. Han Xiao was prepared to open the floodgates fully instead of restricting entry this time. With his fame and reputation, he already possessed the qualifications to form a large organization. This time, he was making full use of the opportunity.

Now was not the time to consider if over-recruiting would cause them to be able to absorb the members properly. This recruitment was not just targeted toward talents but also a way to show his influence. The more sensational this response was, the higher the position of the Black Star Army in the entire Star Field. If one combined the results of the recruitment with his current fame, he would be able to engrave his existence into the hearts of countless influences around, ascending to the top in one step and becoming a famous force in the Shattered Star Ring!

Compared to the other large organizations, the Black Star Army, while huge in scale, lacked reputation and influence. However, this did not prevent the popularity of their faction from rising. This was of great benefit to their future development, so from Han Xiao’s perspective, the storm of public opinion was perfectly utilized.

Most of the recruited talents in the first batch had some sort of fame in their respective sectors. At least sixty percent were also battle-hardened elite interstellar warriors as well, with the lowest being at Grade C. While the number of Supers was small, if one cast their eyes across the entire Star Field, the total sum was still exaggeratedly huge.

Recently, the secret war had begun turning into a full-fledged tug of war. There were no signs of activity on both sides, and there was free time to deal with his own internal affairs. Purple Crystal attached great importance to Han Xiao’s potential and was glad to see the Black Star Army develop itself. Furthermore, this indirectly meant a supplement to Section Zero.

More than a million of the newcomers then travelled thousands of miles from various star clusters to the Garton Star System, going through the procedures at the Black Star Army Base. Han Xiao also returned to his own base to deal with the various issues caused by the huge swelling in his faction.

In the reception room of the Black Star Army Headquarters, Sylvia brought in three new recruits of different races and appearances, and Han Xiao stood up from the sofa to greet them.

“Your Excellency, Black Star.” The three of them had respectful attitudes and stepped forward quickly to exchange handshakes with Han Xiao.

“Come, sit.”

Han Xiao waved his hand, and they all took their seats, beginning to chat.

With millions of newcomers, Han Xiao had no time to meet up with them individually. The reason he was meeting with these three was because the new recruits were actually all at the Calamity Grade!

A Calamity Grade Super would never submit to another easily. Before he became known as a potential Beyond Grade A seedling, Han Xiao had tried many times to recruit a Calamity Grade, but other than Lagi, everyone else had rejected him.

However, his status today was greatly different when compared to that of the past. Being a highly anticipated Beyond Grade A seed was enough to make some of the Calamity Grades stop hesitating and run under his banner. If their bet paid off, they would then become the backbone of a Beyond Grade A organization!

If one likened the Beyond Grade A to an Emperor ascending to the throne, they would be the dragons that became his officialsbright futures awaited them!

It was a pity that Ames was too much of a slacker. Even if she was a bona fide Beyond Grade A, her attraction toward Supers might not exceed that of Han Xiao’s. Not many Supers would deign to follow a leader without any ambition. Furthermore, Ames could not even be bothered to actively recruit Officers.

Those three Calamity Grades were the cream of the crop among the leeks, probably considered leeks that had grown legs, running a thousand miles to deliver themselves to be harvested by him.

Status and strength went hand in hand, and the Calamity Grades in an organization were destined to be the upper echelons. That was the only reason they had come. After all, they could not be expected to climb slowly from the bottom like a Grade C Super, right? Thus, Han Xiao had to personally take a look at the three of them and use this opportunity to observe them.

Before meeting with them, Han Xiao had already flipped through their resumes.

Karmbe, Grade A Pugilist, male. Tall with extremely pale skin, he seemed to have the bloodline of the Blood Race. He used to be an external instructor in one of the Super institutions with a civilization in some Star System. He resigned later, walking through multiple galaxies and taking a lot of private employment.

Marian, Grade A Mechanical Pugilist, male. He was wrapped from head to toe in heavy, dark-gray armor and always wore a helmet, seldom revealing his face to others. He looked like some knight from a fantasy civilization, and the reason he had come over was the same as Reynold, because he looked up to Han Xiao as a Mechanic.

Misecech, Grade A Esper, male. His resume was clean. Other than him being a Calamity Grade, there was nothing worth noting. He had hung around with multiple mercenary groups but had not worked long. He was a typical spectator.

These people who took the initiative to sign up would not be very strong, but they were at least at the Calamity Grade. The Black Star Army had originally only had three Calamity Grades. With the addition of three more, this doubled the total number, raising the advanced combatants inside the army.

Thus, the Supers that took the opportunity to rush over were basically ‘career men’. They were accustomed to changing jobs and moved to wherever had some benefit. Naturally, they would not be loyal of this, Han Xiao was clear. He also did not hope for them to sell their lives to him. As long as they could complete the work based on their scope as Calamity Grades, that would be good.

After chatting with them for a while, both sides had observed enough by now. Han Xiao stood up and extended his hand, smiling. “Then, I’ll represent Black Star Army to welcome you three on board.”

“That is our honor.” Misecech immediately took the opportunity to speak first. Karmbe replied shortly after, and Marian nodded in silence.

“I’ll need some time to consider what roles to assign you. Don’t worry, I will not treat you badly.”

“Haha, our requirements are not high.” Misecech had a flattering smile.

After replying with some pleasantries, Han Xiao sent the trio off before asking Sylvia to take them through the formalities.

Han Xiao did not rest after but immediately entered another reception room.

There were tens of people within there waiting. The moment they saw Han Xiao, they immediately stood up, greeting him warmly.

“Everyone, please sit.”

Han Xiao waved his hand, glancing at everyone present.

Within this reception room, everyone present were the emissaries of various civilizations from the Colton Star Cluster. They had come to seek cooperation of their own initiative.

Originally, the influence of the Black Star Army had been limited to the Garton Star System, but now, the other Star Systems around the Colton Star Cluster had started to notice the potential of Han Xiao, as well as the momentum of the Black Star Army’s development, thus coming to seek opportunities for development and mutual benefit.

“Your Excellency Black Star, I’m the emissary from the Black Raven Civilization. I hope that the Black Star Army will be able to establish a sub-base within the territory of our civilization. To this end, the Black Raven Civilization is willing to pay a cooperation fee each year, at the same time opening the internal resource trading channels. Furthermore, we’ll give the Black Star Army the mining rights for a sector.”

“I’m the emissary from the Holy Stone Civilization. Our terms are the same as the Black Raven Civilization’s, but our cooperation fees can be raised further if needed.”

“I am…”

Everyone introduced themselves one by one, giving their own prices just for Black Star to build a sub-base in their territories. This was akin to offering themselves up to aid Han Xiao in expanding his influence.

The Star System Civilizations could clearly see that Black Star had already been tied to the big boss of this Star Cluster. With him also having the hope of becoming a Beyond Grade A Super, the Black Star Army could very well turn out to be the Colton Star Cluster’s Beyond Grade A influence. Attracting him to their side early was naturally the most cost-effective scenario.

Right now, the base of the Black Star Army was situated within the Garton Star System. It was unknown just how many times Serbia the Fifth had woken up from his sleep due to laughing out in joy, as this implied that there would be a Beyond Grade A Super holding the fort in Godora in the future. The other star systems also wished to have the Black Star Army expand his organization into their territory, simply because of this same consideration.

As for those star systems that did not originally have this idea, after seeing all their competitors doing so, they decided that they could not sit still. Thus, over eighty percent of the civilizations in the entire Colton Star Cluster had sent their emissaries to this reception room.

After listening to everyone, Han Xiao nodded, his face remaining impassive, but his heart was secretly moved.

The conditions given by the various civilizations in the star systems were extremely rich. Leaving aside the cooperation funds and resource channels, the most profitable thing would be the large-scale mining rights of a resource planet.

A resource planet was different from a barren one. The former was chock full of resources, and all of such planets were recorded clearly, with only the region’s ruling civilization having the power to mine them on a large scale. If any external organizations tried to mine without receiving a permit, they would have to account to the civilization of that region or even be hunted down by their guards.

Every civilization would definitely pay close attention toward a resource planet. Even though the Star Cluster Civilizations had mining ships that were able to dissect an entire planet, they rarely used them as even these big shots paid much attention to sustainable development.

A barren star, however, allowed for private mining because the profit obtained from there could not be compared to that of a resource planet. The quality-price ratio was too low, so the civilizations found it a waste of their manpower and material resources, deigning to sell the mining rights to others instead. For those private mining companies, while the profits to be obtained were not high, the barren planets were rich in oil and water.

There would, however, be times when the private mining team struck gold. During their mining process, if they found out that the ‘barren planet’ was actually a hidden resource planet, the civilization would evaluate the total value of this resource planet before offering a bid to buy it back. In this area, the majority of the civilizations were honorable enough to not force the mining team to hand over the planet for free.

Han Xiao was still quite clear about these basic concepts. From his previous life, during the later versions, players could even purchase mining rights to the resource planets from civilizations.

With such a clear comparison, Han Xiao was acutely aware of the value of giving him the mining rights of a resource planet. This was equivalent to taking out a cake from the civilizations and cutting him a small slice. It could easily net him a profit in the region of billions of Enaus!

This was fertile ground!

Tsk, I risked my life to earn that small amount of money. Any random mining operation on a resource planet would bring me back thousands of times more profit. Why am I still a mercenary? Han Xiao could not help but silently curse.

Indeed, the most profitable way of earning was to establish a civilization!

After settling his mind, Han Xiao put on a solemn expression as he said in a stately tone, “Everyone, you have shown me too much sincerity. To be honest, the terms and conditions you have given me are quite tempting. I’m very willing to cooperate with you, but my Black Star Army is currently in its recruitment phase. After this recruitment has ended, I’ll schedule time to visit your areas to build a base.”

Hearing this, everyone agreed and began to chatter.

“No problem, we can wait.”

“Of course, we understand. We can sign the contract first.”

Han Xiao smiled. “Since no one has any objections, let’s fix it this way.”

Everyone present handed in their contracts, and Han Xiao signed them with some emotions in his heart.

In the past, there had not been so many good opportunities available for him. However, opportunities were knocking constantly on his door. This led to Han Xiao recall the words that Aesop had once said to him.

As long as you surpass Grade A, many powers will immediately offer up benefits to you. You will rise to the heavens with a single step and be at the highest level of the dining table!

Right now, he had only revealed a chance of breaking through Grade A, but this sort of situation had already happened. It seemed as though the old man Aesop had not lied to him.

Having finalized this business, the emissaries all heaved sighs of relief. This time, they would be able to answer to their superiors.

After sending off this batch of satisfied emissaries, Han Xiao did not stop but instead approached yet another reception room. He still had matters to settle.

The impact of his expansion this time was too great, so he had to meet all kinds of leeks every day, to the point that he was so busy his feet did not have time to be fixed on the ground.

The large influx of people that he had caused had to be solved by him, even if he was crying internally from fatigue.

However, everything would lead to extremely rich rewards, making Han Xiao satisfied.

Opening the door of yet another reception room, the people within the room looked over and greeted him as they smiled.

The occupants there were people who were more familiar to him, the great figures around Shattered Star Ring. This included the leader of the Dark Underworld Army, Underworld Feather, the captain of the Sky Ring Army, Gureja, and a few other Army Commanders.

“Brothers, it’s been a long time.” Han Xiao greeted them and curiously said, “You guys were being very secretive on the communicator. What happened for all of you to come look for me to speak face-to-face?”

The few army commanders exchanged glances before suddenly smiling.

The Sky Ring Army Commander Gureja stroked his steel- like bristly beard, winking as he spoke. “This time, we’re here to invite

you.”

“Invite me for what?”

“As you already know, the situation in the Shattered Star Ring is currently quite turbulent. With opportunities everywhere, it’s hard for an organization to completely swallow all the opportunities alone. I’ve already discussed this with these few army commanders, and we’ve decided to integrate the entire Shattered Star Ring and establish a Mercenary League so that it is convenient for us to participate in various missions between the Star System Civilizations. In such troubled times, we need to combine forces and seize this opportunity!”

Without waiting for Han Xiao to speak, Underworld Feather, who was by the side, lazily interrupted, “Black Star, with you being so popular recently, how about you just come and lead our Shattered Star Ring Mercenary League as the leader? Anyway, you don’t seem to mind having a lot of things to do.”

Gureja coughed and hurriedly added, “Her meaning is, since your current appeal is far greater than any of our Grade A Mercenary groups’, we came to you this time to recommend you to take the spot of leader and founder of the Mercenary League.”

Han Xiao’s eyebrows jumped up, feeling a little surprised.

This was one of the branch storylines of Version 3.0—[Shattered Star Ring Mercenary League]. The major mercenary groups had joined forces to integrate the scattered mercenaries of the Shattered Star Ring, establishing a large-scale mercenary league. The league developed and became a huge faction later that was extremely popular with players.

He did not expect the captains of each mercenary group to plan to make him the head, so he ended up getting involved in the storyline this way.

“You guys are really…” Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, and he raised his thumb. “… SO smart and insightful!”

Chapter 690 - Three Years

Chapter 690 Three Years

Gureja and the others got the answer that they wanted and were overjoyed. After finalizing the details, they left satisfied.

Walking out of the Black Star Army base, they turned around to look at the majestic base, and Gureja lamented, “Black Star stepped into the mercenary world less than ten years ago, but he already has such accomplishments under his belt. He is truly an amazing fellow.”

Another person shook his head and sighed. “Every individual capable of becoming a beyond Grade A Super has their own legend behind them. They are not characters that we can understand.”

“That’s right. He is no longer on the same level as us. Thankfully, we got to know him early,” Gureja said with a complicated mood.

In one of the corridors of the Black Star Army headquarters, Herlous and the three Volga brothers were walking and chatting.

“Have you heard? Three Calamity Grade Supers have joined us. His Excellency Black Star personally met them. They will definitely take on important roles in the army in the future,” the eldest Volga brother suddenly said.

“I know.” Herlous nodded with both joy and depression.

He was happy about the high-speed development of the Black Star Army but depressed that his own status would be affected because of this.

With three Calamity Grade Supers joining the upper echelons of the army, the competition would definitely get more intense, and Herlous felt a great deal of pressure.

Strength represented authority, and he still had not touched the Grade A door yet. His importance to the army would only decrease as time went by. There were already many mid-level combatants in the Black Star Army. If not for the fact that he was the one who had followed Black Star the longest, he would not have the right to be part of the upper echelons with his Grade B strength.

Herlous already felt that he was growing rapidly, but he was not able to keep up with Han Xiao’s footsteps and the high-speed development of the Black Star Army. He did not wish to fall behind just like that and thus became extremely nervous.

In order to train his body, he halved the time that he spent playing cards… It would be impossible for him to stop playing cards. It would be impossible in this lifetime of his.

“The Calamity Grade truly seems so far away…”

Herlous let out a sigh.

The development of the Black Star Army made many of the old officers lament at the speed of their growth. However, the wheels of history would always continue to spin, and Han Xiao would not stop because of this.

Han Xiao spent a full seven days meeting all the emissaries from the various organizations and reorganized the structure of the expanded Black Star Army. Only then did he have some free time to himself.

Han Xiao locked himself up in his office and took out a piece of paper to summarize the benefits that he had received recently and made a new blueprint for development.

The rapid growth of the Black Star Army had exceeded his expectations, and the original development plan was no longer suitable. With many organizations and Star System Civilizations giving him the opportunity to expand, it would be a waste for Han Xiao not to make use of them. As long as he made good use of this opportunity, the development speed of the Black Star Army would be increased by ten if not a hundred times!

This was an enormous harvest!

Han Xiao began to organize which opportunity would be able to bring him the largest benefit and how much he needed to invest. He made a simple list for himself and began to analyze it.

At the same time, he also began to grade his faction based on the different grades of equipment. He had two different grading schemes. First, current size. Second, potential for development.

The evaluation of the current size of a faction was determined by the amount of resources, size, military strength, number of members, influence, and so on.

The evaluation of potential was determined by networks, allies, scope of operations, long term benefits, development opportunities, and the like.

Han Xiao chose an organization to be the benchmark for comparison. He rated the Bloodshed Land to be at the orange grade in terms of size and potential. With that as a reference, he began to analyze the Black Star Army.

“Not including the players, before this large expansion, the scale of the Black Star Army was limited to a few Star Systems. Our size was around the dark green or light blue grade. Currently, it should be at the light purple grade. When Phillip recruits the second and third wave, we should be at the purple grade.”

Han Xiao mumbled to himself while spinning his pen.

“As for potential, the reputation of me being a beyond Grade A seed was an orange grade development opportunity. The secret war and setting up a bridge with the Purple Crystal Civilization are also orange grade. The contracts with the various Star System Civilizations are orange grade. Setting up the Mercenary Alliance is pink grade. Together with my own network and potential, the potential of the Black Star Army should be at the orange grade on average.”

Han Xiao made a list on the piece of paper and nodded.

As long as he was able to realize the orange grade development potential, the Black Star Army would be able to quickly enter the level of a pink grade organization.

All the organizations of the pink grade were famous organizations on the Star Field level. While they were still a distance away from the Bloodshed Land, they were truly super-sized organizations.

Han Xiao began to make plans for the various opportunities of development.

“With so many Star System Civilizations inviting me to set up a branch, this is akin to expanding my territory. All the newly hired manpower can be put to use and sent to these new Star Systems to expand our scope of operations.

“I can let a portion of them pioneer the discovery of resource rich planets to resolve the problem of our organization’s transformation. Apart from employment missions and war duties, we can also obtain more revenue streams by mining for resources.

“Hmm, if the manpower isn’t sufficient, I can send the people from Planet Aquamarine to make up the numbers and allow a portion of them to become galactic residents. Furthermore, digging seems to be the specialty of those worms. With my reputation in the Black Spirit Race, I should be able to find a large number of elite laborers.”

Han Xiao then put a tick behind the words ‘Star System Civilization’.

“Setting up a mercenary alliance within the Shattered Star Ring is also pretty simple. It will expand the scope of my operations and increase my influence. With the support of the other large armies, as long as I call for support, building the foundation of an alliance won’t be an issue. Everything else will just be a matter of time.”

Han Xiao very quickly came up with the new blueprint for development.

Putting down his pen, a smile could be seen on Han Xiao’s face.

After memorizing what was written on the paper, Han Xiao reduced the paper to dust with a single snap of his finger.

“When Version 3.0 is released, the changes in the Black Star Army will probably shock the players.”

…

The Black Star Army became bustling with activity, and after hiring a few waves of new members, the Black Star Army had almost ten million members. The majority of them were sent out to set up branches around the various Star Systems of the Colton Star Cluster, and the operations of the army expanded from the Garton Star System to half of the Star Cluster.

Han Xiao did not forget about the secret war, and after handling the expansion of the army, he went back to the battlefield and continued to fight.

After the commotion from his expansion subsided, the large wave of discussion about him being a beyond Grade A seed petered out. Han Xiao had already become the biggest winner, and the Black Star Army left a deep impression on the entire Star Field during this period. The fame of the Black Star Army had entered the ranks of the famous organizations within the Shattered Star Ring.

Under such circumstances, the Black Star Army was still the Floating Dragon Field Team in name. Floating Dragon remained silent throughout the entire matter, and with some people fanning the flames from behind the scenes, more and more people started to treat the Black Star Army and Floating Dragon as two separate organizations. At the same time, people began to discuss both parties splitting up.

The storm that Han Xiao had created had a long-lasting impact. More organizations began to participate in the secret war both openly and secretly, and the scope of the battle became larger and larger.

The secret war was a Main Storyline Mission in Version 3.0 (Crimson Tide). However, news of the secret war was overshadowed by the commotion that Han Xiao and the Black Star Army had created.

The war was still ongoing, and the Black Star Army continued to develop.

Three years passed in the blink of an eye.

Chapter 691 - Successor

In Ames’ palace, two people were standing outside the gate. One of them was Aesop, and behind him was a tall, purple-haired human lady. Her skin was a little blue, her face looked gentle and pretty, and she had alluring eyeshadow on. She was looking up at the palace apprehensively.

Aesop looked at the beautiful, purple-haired woman and said with resignation, “Vilna, don’t be so nervous. It’s just meeting Ames.”

“I–It’s my first time meeting a Beyond Grade A. What kind of person is Her Excellency Dragon Emperor? It’s rumored that she’s very controlling. Is that true?”

Vilna bit her lips and crossed her fingers nervously.

“Fake, of course! That’s a rumor that only appeared in the last few years. It’s to deliberately vilify Ames because Black Star… Sign, let’s not talk about this.”

Aesop seemed to have thought of something troubling. He shook his head and sighed.

“Anyway, Ames is very friendly. This is your first time meeting her since joining Floating Dragon, so leave a good impression, will you?”

“I—I’ll try my best.”

Vilna still did not have much confidence. She inhaled deeply and tried to calm her emotions.

After walking into the palace, Aesop got to know where Ames was by asking the guard. He took Vilna to an outdoor area. From afar, they could already hear the sound of energy clashing

When they got closer, Vilna noticed two people fighting in this open area, and three people were watching from the side.

She looked at the fight, and her eyes were immediately caught by the two sides of the battle.

Ames was personally training Hila, flipping the light green force field barrier with her fingertips, spinning in midair. Her black dress was blossoming like a lotus, showing her long, snow-like legs from time to time.

Hila’s face was cold. Her body was surrounded by thick dark red streams, and she kept attacking Ames’ force field, making loud bangs.

Ames maintained the strength of her force field at the Grade B level. Still, she controlled it extremely accurately and completely overpowered Hila.

“Stop for a moment. Someone’s here.”

Ames suddenly stopped her Esper ability and slowly landed on the ground.

Hila glanced at Aesop and Vilna, slightly frowning, unhappy with how her spar had been interrupted. She deactivated her Esper ability as well, and the dark red energy surrounding her entered her body. Then, she followed behind Ames like Aurora, who had been watching from the side, sizing up Vilna.

“Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, I’m…” Vilna hastily wanted to introduce herself.

Ames raised her hand and said, “I know your name. Since you’re Aesop’s friend, stay around and see if there’s anything you can do. I don’t have any requirements here.”

“0—Okay.”

“You seem to be a little nervous.” Ames slightly raised her eyebrow.

“Er… you’re the first Beyond Grade A I’ve ever seen. I’m your idol… um, I mean, you’re my admirer…” Vilna blushed and could not even speak properly.

“Don’t be nervous. Beyond Grade A isn’t a big deal. I don’t bite.” Ames smiled faintly and spoke with a gentle tone. She raised her hand and touched Vilna’s cheek.

Feeling the touch of Ames’ palm on her face, Vilna’s body stiffened, and she did not know where to put her hands.

Aurora, who was at the side, pulled the hem of Hila’s shirt and softly asked, “Sis, is this woman Floating Dragon’s new officer?

“Yeah.”

As usual, Hila spoke with very few words.

Aesop coughed and said, “We shall take our leave and not disturb you guys. I’ll take her to get familiar with the job.”

As he was speaking, he took Vilna away, who was still stunned, disappearing before the other three.

Ames’ smile slowly faded. She looked in the direction that Vilna had left from and kept silent with complicated emotions in her eyes.

“I heard this new officer is someone Aesop called over from another Star Field. I wonder what she’s doing here.” Aurora was curious.

Hila pushed her red hair aside and said emotionlessly, “Aesop is training a new officer so that she can replace Han Xiao’s position in the future.”

“Han Xiao won’t leave, right? Big Sis Ames is so good to him,” Aurora said.

“Humph, there have been a lot of rumors in the past few years. Many people created rumors so that Han Xiao and Floating Dragon would be separated.

“Plus, don’t I know him? If he really becomes a Beyond Grade A, he will definitely further strengthen the organization under his command. Because of that, he won’t be able to continue using Floating Dragon’s name, so he will definitely create one for himself.”

Ames turned around and glanced at the two of them. “It’s nothing worth chatting about. At least for now, he’s still mine. Hila, continue to attack.”

Three years had passed, and Ames was no longer troubled anymore. She was waiting for Han Xiao’s choice.

The three of them stopped chatting and continued the combat training.

On the other side, Aesop took Vilna out of the palace.

This time, Vilna finally said with surprise, “The Dragon Emperor is so friendly. The rumors are not true at all.”

Aesop shook his head with resignation.

Over the past three years, many people had been manipulating public opinion to vilify the Dragon Emperor, wanting to make Ames seem like someone who was very controlling and intimidating. Their goal was to split Black Star and the Dragon Emperor apart.

Throughout the last three years, Black Star’s reputation had become more and more firm. The Black Star Army had also digested its rapidly expanding size and slowly stabilized. Its business range had already extended to most Star Systems in the Colton Star Cluster, becoming an enormous Star Cluster level organization.

Furthermore, the Black Star Army had officially become the Purple Crystal Civilization’s long-term partner a year ago, receiving tons of support.

Nominally, the Black Star Army was expanding for Floating Dragon. However, Ames was completely uninvolved, clearly intending to just let things flow on their own. If a conflict could be created between the two of them, Black Star would definitely leave with the Black Star Army. If Black Star and Dragon Emperor became enemies because of that, it would be the best case.

The other Star Cluster civilizations and the various large organizations did not want to see two Beyond Grade As forming a union or alliance. It would only be balanced and aligned with the benefits of these organizations if the two of them were enemies and limited each other in various respects. Therefore, they did everything they could to spread rumors, believing that they would one day influence the mindset of the two of them.

Aesop trusted Han Xiao’s potential fully, so he felt that Han Xiao would certainly leave Floating Dragon in the future. Hence, he decided to plan ahead.

As such, Aesop had found Vilna, a friend whom he had met in another Star Field. Despite having a rather soft and gentle personality, she was very reliable. He asked Vilna to come to the Shattered Star Ring and join under Dragon Emperor so that he could nurture Vilna to become Black Star’s successor.

“You don’t have to work on Floating Dragon Island. You’re responsible for building a new Field Team. Quickly pack your things and let’s get going,” Aesop said.

Vilna nodded and curiously asked, “How do I start exactly?”

“You have to look for someone and express your intentions to him. He will provide help. Just follow his arrangements.”

“Who do I have to look for?”

“Black Star.”

Vilna’s eyes opened wide. After coming to the Shattered Star Ring, she had immediately heard about the famous Black Star. Plus, he was her senior and currently the top officer of Floating Dragon.

“But I heard that our connection with Black Star only exists in name now. Are you sure he will help me?” Vilna was worried that Aesop was sending her into a wolf den.

“Stop talking about that, just a false rumor. Black Star is a core member of Floating Dragon. He will only help you, not hurt you,” Aesop said with a heavy tone.

He deliberately sent Vilna to Black Star to let Han Xiao personally groom his successor. This was a signal of friendliness, expressing that they hoped things would end on peaceful terms.

He wanted Vilna to build a new Field Team to show that they had no desire for the Black Star Army. This way, he believed that Black Star would be willing to guide Vilna, use his Black Star Army to help Vilna develop, and give Floating Dragon a new Field Team.

Of course, if Black Star did not actually plan to leave, it would be even better. This would then just be expanding the size of Floating Dragon’s Field Team.

“Understood.”

Vilna nodded and could not help but be curious about Han Xiao. She wondered what kind of person this extremely famous senior of hers was.

At the same time, in the desolate region between the Seoul Star Cluster and the Colton Star Cluster, an intense war was underway.

The Klent Kingdom had built many logistics channels in the desolate region. Those were key facilities that Purple Crystal was always eager to destroy.

In the past three years, the situation of the secret war had been changing constantly. Finally, the battles in the West Wind, Kaya, and Chaida Star Systems had entered a stalemate. The Bloodshed Land had expanded to a certain extent and was finally stopped.

Han Xiao could demolish the majority of Calamity Grades. After suffering the huge loss of many more high-level combatants, the Bloodshed Land had learned their lesson and occasionally avoided direct contact.

The core members of the Bloodshed Land knew about the Tyrant’s stance, so they took Black Star as a dangerous challenge to train themselves, treating him with extreme caution and not recklessly fighting him head-on. This led to fewer and fewer situations where Han Xiao was needed.

Letting him stay in Colton was a waste of talent. Thus, Purple Crystal had him lead a surprise attack team and move within the desolate region, searching for the Bloodshed Land’s logistics transit stations and destroying them.

This operation had been going on for half a year. Han Xiao had been doing a great job, causing the Bloodshed Land’s advantages to keep getting reduced, almost destroying all the transit stations.

At this time, he was leading his fleet to attack the last logistics transit station…

Chapter 692 - Any Day That No One Attempts to Assassinate Me, I Feel Uncomfortable

Sylvia was wearing a light mechanical combat jacket and kept her shield constantly active. The suit’s protection measure for her head was a semi-circular metal ring wrapped around the back of her head, fixed on her ears. Her face was protected by a semi-transparent arc-shaped shield, and in her hand was a silver alloy sword.

She was gasping for air like a wind box and felt that her lungs were about to start burning. The sweat all over her body made the mechanical combat jacket feel sticky and wet.

Roar!

A Thousand Beast Soldier suddenly dashed out from the side. Its huge mechanical metal claw slashed right down, vibrating at a high frequency.

Sylvia forced some energy out of her body, clenched her teeth, and raised her soft arm. The thin and tough silver alloy sword in her hands clashed with the claws, creating blinding sparkles.

Clank!

The swift yet strong mechanical combat jacket suddenly increased its power, and Sylvia suddenly became faster. She quickly changed her stance, spun her sword, and stabbed at the Thousand Beast Soldier from a tricky angle. Mechanical Force lightning appeared on the alloy sword for an instant, and a tint of yellow light circulated on the blade as it stabbed into the body of this Thousand Beast Soldier in an instant.

Bang!

A huge, yellow beam of light penetrated the Thousand Beast Soldier’s body and shot out from its back, leaving a large bloody hole. The Thousand Beast Soldier was blasted away, fell onto the ground, and died. Around it were tons of Thousand Beast Soldier corpses and shattered artilleries.

This was the surface battlefield on one of the armed satellite fortresses of the Bloodshed Land’s logistics transit station. A boarding team was difficultly moving toward the core energy furnace of this armed satellite fortress. Thousand Beast Soldiers came from all directions like waves, and the two sides fought intensely, leaving a path of corpses behind everywhere they went.

Sylvia had countless comrades around her. She was in the boarding team as well, responsible for one side of the team.

With the sword in her hands, she had been fighting for a long time. She could not even recall if she had killed a hundred or two hundred Thousand Beast Soldiers. Her combat jacket was damaged, and she was slightly injured. She was covered in sweat and exhausted.

Being on the battlefield, Sylvia could not hear any sound other than the explosions and roars. All she knew was that she had to follow the big team and keep marching forward, forward, and forward.

She looked up at the sky. Outside the armed satellite fortress was a magnificent galactic battle scene. Countless bright ‘shooting stars’ flew across the sky, braiding a net made of light. Those were the lights from countless ion cannons, illuminating the darkness and burning in silence.

Sylvia’s vision was suddenly filled with a strong light. An ion cannon shot landed on the surface not far away, hitting the dense Thousand Beast Soldier army, blasting away a large number of people.

Boom!

The fleet could occasionally penetrate the protective shield of the satellite and provide supporting attacks, clearing the obstacles in the boarding team’s path toward the energy furnace.

“That almost hit us.” Fear lingered in Sylvia’s heart. Before she could even catch her breath, several more light beams headed in her direction. She had no choice but to expand the shield on her arms and quickly block them.

Bang bang bang!

The beams shattered upon hitting the shield. Her arms withstood the impact. She felt a piercing pain in her arms and shoulders and could barely even move them. Sylvia clenched her teeth and endured the pain. There was only one thought on her mind.

I want to go back to studying!

At least my life wouldn’t be in danger!

Three years ago, Sylvia had been able to reach Grade B. She had delightfully gone to tell Han Xiao the good news, and Han Xiao had been very glad. He had immediately thrown her into the advance team for real combat training.

At first, Sylvia had been rather happy, but now, she was full of regret.

That was especially so when the direct boss of the team was Lagi. Before every battle, Lagi would follow procedure and boost his subordinates’ morale… and every time, it made her feel like she was definitely going to die.

At this time, a dark outline of a person suddenly flew in her direction from afar, landing heavily on the ground not far away. The huge impact created a dent on the metal ground like it was made of paper.

This person seemed to be rather hurt from the fall, only standing up and levitating after quite some time. He then turned to look at the boarding team which Sylvia was in.

Clearing seeing the look of this person, Sylvia felt her heart was half frozen. This person was the enemy Calamity Grade stationed at the logistics transit station. He was supposed to be fighting in outer space, but he had landed on the satellite surface, seemingly having been blown there.

The battlefield was constantly changing. The expressions on the people of the boarding team all suddenly changed as they immediately turned toward this new Calamity Grade enemy, preparing to guard against his attack. There were no Calamity Grades among them.

As everyone was getting extremely anxious, another meteor landed from the sky and heavily clashed into this Calamity Grade, pushing him dozens of miles away, creating a ring of sonic impact. The impact blew away the Thousand Beast Soldiers around, and the violent wind tipped Sylvia and the others off their balance.

“It’s His Excellency Marian!”

“How timely! I almost thought we were going to die.”

Sylvia heard the exclamations from behind. She regained balance and looked over. The ‘meteor’ that had blown the Calamity Grade enemy away was levitating. It was the Grade A Mechanical Pugilist that had joined the Black Star Army three years ago, Marian.

Marian was covered in a black Super heavy mechanical suit like a heavy armored knight. He turned and looked at the boarding team. He nodded to signal for the boarding team to continue going forward and not worry about anything else.

Then, he accelerated and disappeared, chasing the enemy Calamity Grade Super and focusing on his own opponent.

“I wonder how’s the battle above going…”

Sylvia looked up at the sky again. Her vision seemed to be able to penetrate the darkness. She knew that her teacher was in the fleet overlooking the entire battle.

Meanwhile, Section Zero’s fleet was attacking the logistics transit station aggressively, destroying the enemy battleships one after another.

Han Xiao was in the command room of the flagship, observing the real time battlefield projection, moving the troops, and overlooking the overall battle. A circle of staff sergeants stood around him.

Compared to three years ago, Han Xiao gave off a sturdier vibe. He had short hair, an angular face, and stubble on his chin. He wore a compressed orb necklace and a black windbreaker that could not cover his built body. The charm of a mature man was emanating from him, head to toe.

His current position was the top commander of this fleet.

This was a standard mixed team. Forty-five percent of the fleet belonged to Han Xiao, the largest force present. The rest were from a few other Section Zero members, all under Han Xiao’s command.

Over the last three years, the Black Star Army had become the top member among Section Zero. A year ago, Purple Crystal had finally made the Black Star Army their long-term partner. The Black Star Army had then been the officially acknowledged leading organization of Section Zero. Therefore, Han Xiao had become the commander.

With Purple Crystal’s arrangement, Han Xiao led this team that was responsible for destroying the Bloodshed Land’s logistics transit station. He had been doing so for half a year.

As a commander, it meant that he could not easily join the attacks personally. Han Xiao no longer led the battle and let all his subordinates do their jobs. The new Grade A Supers that he had recruited three years ago were all very useful and reliable talents. This made up for the lack of high-level combatants under his command.

As long as they did not meet anyone whom they could not deal with, Han Xiao would not have to battle anyone personally.

He had to nurture his officers and give them opportunities to contribute. After all, if he attacked, his subordinates would have nothing to do.

At this time, a few staff sergeants were observing the battlefield projections and loudly discussing the battle.

“The enemies are still resisting and covering the logistics teams, trying to reduce their losses by transferring the resources in the transit station through stargates. If we don’t stop them, the enemies will be able to retrieve most of their resources in about twenty-seven minutes and retreat through the stargate.”

“Twenty-seven minutes? They can barely last ten more minutes. Their line of defense is already completely shattered.”

“All we have to do now is destroy the stargate. That way, those enemies that have yet to retreat will be done for.”

Listening to their discussion, Han Xiao caressed his stubble and did not say anything.

The logistics transit station’s core facility was a stargate built by the Star Cluster civilization that led to the Seoul Star Cluster on the other side. The enemies had deployed protective shields and fleets to protect the stargate. When attacked, they retreated while guarding themselves.

As soon as the enemies retreat, Han Xiao would not be able to chase further. The other side of the stargate was the enemy’s territory. If the stargate closed after they passed through, they would be heavily surrounded. Therefore, the victory condition was to destroy the stargate before the enemies successfully retreated.

The stargate was bidirectional, so the enemies’ reinforcements could arrive through the stargate. The enemies would need time to gather reinforcements, so the attacking side had the upper hand. As long as they destroyed the stargate first, the battle would be decided.

The Black Star Army had received tons of resources over the past few years. Hence, Han Xiao had expanded his fleet, which was why the size of this expedition fleet was so huge. They demolished the defense team of the transit station. The battlefield projection showed that the enemies’ line of defense had shattered, exposing the stargate.

A staff sergeant smiled and said, “The enemies have no chance. We’ve won.”

As soon as he finished his sentence, the blue vortex at the center of the stargate rippled, spitting out one battleship after another. The Bloodshed Land’s reinforcements had arrived and quickly joined the battleship, stopping the attack of Han Xiao’s fleet.

Speechless, Han Xiao glanced at the staff sergeant that had spoken. That person coughed awkwardly, avoided Han Xiao’s gaze, and stared at the battlefield projection, putting on a focused expression, as if saying, I’m analyzing the battlefield situation, don’t disturb me.

“This is exactly why I don’t like to talk when we have the upper hand.” Han Xiao sighed.

The appearance of the enemy reinforcements caused chain reactions. On the other side, streams of light bolted over from the desolate region. An enormous armed fleet stopped at the edge of the battlefield, surrounding Han Xiao’s fleet in the middle together with the reinforcements.

“An ambush?” The expression on the officers’ faces changed.

“Oh, it seems like this logistics transit station is a trap.” Han Xiao raised his brows. He was calm and not at all surprised.

The battle had been going too smoothly, so he had noticed something wrong long ago. After so many logistics transit stations being destroyed by him, how could the Bloodshed Land not respond?

The battleship model of this ambush fleet was different from the Bloodshed Land-it belonged to another organization. Over the past three years, organizations that wanted him to die before he grew even stronger had joined forces with the Bloodshed Land secretly one after another, entering the secret war. Han Xiao had already met this kind of ambush set up more than ten times, so he was used to it. Any day that no one was attempting to assassinate him, he would feel that something was missing

Beep beep!

This time, the flagship received a video message from the attacking fleet. A man with metallic skin appeared on the screen. He looked like his entire body was made of metal.

“Black Star, come and fight me!” he said with a strong desire to battle in his eyes.

“Tsk, this guy is here again.” Han Xiao sighed.

This man was also a Beyond Grade A seed, Hadavy, a battle fanatic. One year prior, he had entered the secret war during a certain battle, specifically looking to fight with Han Xiao, then was defeated and escaped.

However, Hadavy did not give up. After escaping, he joined forces with the Bloodshed Land and used the chances during the war to keep fighting Han Xiao, treating Han Xiao as an opponent to better himself. He fought Han Xiao again and again, losing again and again. Furthermore, he escaped extremely fast when things were looking bad. In Han Xiao’s eyes, he was basically a sh*t stirrer.

In the past three years, Han Xiao’s network list had become longer, and his list of enemies had increased proportionally.

“I’ll leave the commanding to you guys. I’ve got work to do.”

Han Xiao casually stretched his neck with a calm face and walked toward the hatch with wide strides.

“Hopefully, they can give me some fun this time.”

Chapter 693 - Are You Eloping with Me!

Chapter 693 Are You Eloping with Me!

As the hatch opened, a strong vacuum suction force immediately stirred up a storm, wanting to drag him out of the spaceship.

Han Xiao activated the compressed orbs. Nanoparticles flowed out and covered his body like black sand, quickly transforming into the enhanced Mountain Ape mechanical suit.

He stretched his arms and legs before jumping out of the spaceship. The thruster sprayed out a blue flame as he turned into a meteoroid heading right to the back.

The expedition team was facing enemies from both the front and the back, fighting the Bloodshed Land reinforcements and the enemy ambush at the same time.

The assistant took over the job of the commander and ordered the ships at the back to fight against the ambush team while the ships at the front continued to attack the stargate. Destroying the stargate was still the key point of winning this battle.

Han Xiao’s goal was to deal with the high-level combatants of the enemy ambush. Through the repeated failures of attempted assassinations, he had proved how difficult that would be. Without a reliable strategy, the enemy would not have come to assassinate him. He wanted to see what new assassination scheme the enemies had prepared for him this time. He was even looking forward to it a little.

The galactic battlefield was filled with intersecting cannon shots everywhere. Han Xiao moved swiftly and dodged the attacks, arriving at the edge of the enemy ambush not long after. A stream of light flew over from within the enemies-it was Hadavy.

Hadavy was an old opponent who did not like talking. Not wanting to give Han Xiao any time to release his mechanical army, without saying a word, he dashed right toward Han Xiao like a mini meteoroid as soon as he saw him.

Han Xiao was not afraid of close-range combat. His arms turned into barrels and launched blue psionic rounds directly at Hadavy.

Hadavy did not even dodge and let the psionic cannon shots explode on his body. He was completely unharmed.

After fighting many times, Han Xiao knew Hadavy’s strength very well. He was not intending to damage him, just slow down Hadavy’s charge. Using this short amount of time, he activated the Army Boxes remotely. The space around him started to ripple, and Army Boxes arrived through hyperdrive one after another. The cases of those Army Boxes opened, and countless compressed orbs rapidly expanded into a machinery tide, almost filling up this small area in an instant.

The tightly packed mechanical army’s size had now reached three million!

In the past three years, the Black Star Army made a lot of money. Han Xiao had plenty of assets. He had enhanced and expanded his mechanical army multiple times. Currently, even the lowest level mechanical soldiers were made with high-level alloys, with much higher armor value and defenses compared to three years prior. As their basic attributes increased, the effects of the bonuses became more apparent.

Through many war missions, Han Xiao had obtained a lot of Purple Crystal Contribution Points and had received more Cutting-Edge Knowledges, one of them being the [Controllable Annihilation Weapons].

Annihilation weapons were a higher grade of regular weapons compared to energy weapons. As they used different technology, their destructive power was much greater than normal energy weapons. Furthermore, building them required knowing the [Abnormal State Energy] Cutting-Edge Knowledge, as psionic and antimatter energy were basically the only ones that could be used to build annihilation weapons.

With those two Cutting-Edge Knowledges, Han Xiao had switched most of the mechanical soldiers’ weapons into annihilation weapons. Together with (Legendary Battle Technique), their damage was significantly increased.

Even after three years, Han Xiao had yet to complete the Class Advancement mission. If this had happened to any other classes, their strength would be stuck. However, one of the Mechanic class’ advantages was that as long as he had money, even if his own strength was stuck, he would still be able to steadily increase his combat capability!

Han Xiao had never stopped building his mechanical army over the past three years. He realized that other than being rich, he also had another huge advantage-he had a lot more time than the players.

And the Mechanic class happened to be a class that required time to build all kinds of equipment.

With enough money and effort, increasing strength was as easy as drinking water for him. Of the five Super classes, only the Mage class could match up to the Mechanic in this respect.

With Han Xiao’s current strength, it was basically suicide for any normal Calamity Grade to fight him. After numerous failed assassination attempts with heavy repercussions, the various organizations of the Shattered Star Ring had finally learned their lessons. Those organizations that were secretly planning to assassinate him also stopped easily sending their high-level combatants to their deaths.

Therefore, Han Xiao was facing just Hadavy. This guy was a Beyond Grade A seed, which was not in the ‘normal Calamity Grade’ range. Furthermore, his abilities were the kind that gave Han Xiao a headache.

Hadavy was an Esper, and his Esper ability was Body Hardening. This was an Esper ability that could not have been more common. Yet, he was extremely talented and was able to develop this Esper ability to an extraordinary level. His defense was astonishing, and he had many Molding Talents. He was a boss-level character.

First, Hadavy had the (Low Strength Attack Immunity] Molding Talent. As long as the damage of the attacks did not exceed a certain value, the damage dealt by those attacks would be considered null. This value depended on his defense, and his Esper ability was the ‘Hardening’ type that remarkably increased his defense. Therefore, the focus fire strategy was close to completely useless on him.

Another thing that gave Han Xiao a hard time was Hadavy’s ‘True Damage Immunity’-type Molding Talent. Beyond Grade A seeds were all exceptionally talented. For a tank like Hadavy, it was not weird for him to have such a talent. This meant that (Legendary Battle Technique] was useless against him.

Focus fire hardly had any effect, and True Damage was useless-Han Xiao’s two trump cards were no threat to Hadavy. The only method left was to slowly reduce his health.

Every time they fought, it was basically two tanks bashing each other.

Han Xiao had defeated Hadavy every time but never killed him. It was not that he did not want to, but he just could not kill Hadavy before he escaped. Meanwhile, Hadavy seemed like he was comfortable getting beaten, so he kept coming to challenge him.

One year earlier, Hadavy had suddenly gone to fight with him. Han Xiao had no history or beef with him, so he had thought that this was definitely a result of the enemy organizations’ solution to him. So, you’re very tanky? We will just find someone even more tanky to annoy

you!

How the tables had turned. In the past, the Bloodshed Land felt like vomiting every time they saw Han Xiao. Now, Han Xiao felt like vomiting every time he saw Hadavy.

With no other enemy Calamity Grades joining the battle, Han Xiao had only one target. A part of the mechanical army followed the specially designed combat mode to fight with Hadavy. Those cuties were more than enough to hold him back; Han Xiao was only in charge of providing the Mechanical Force bonus. He had no intention of fighting with Hadavy at close range at all. It would be an absolute waste of energy

At the same time, Han Xiao controlled the other parts of the mechanical army to attack the nearby enemy fleets. Concentrated dark blue annihilation beams penetrated the shields of spaceships, leaving strange colors of energy erosion at the edge of the hole created. Battleships lost their defenses one after another, and their exterior armor was quickly dismantled and torn to pieces.

A vigorous fire snake splashed out from the broken hole on the spaceship, turning into a fire dragon for an instant before extinguishing

With their energy furnaces losing balance, the battleships exploded from within, turning into fireworks in the universe, lasting for just an instant before disappearing, too.

With the current combat capability of the mechanical army, taking part in a galactic battle was not a problem. He gradually helped his fleet to stabilize the situation.

After quite a long time, the enemies’ troops started to show signs of defeat. It was just a matter of time till the stargate was destroyed.

Hadavy seemed to intend to retreat as well. He started to try to get rid of the Mechanical Army and attempted to back away. However, he did not escape toward where the ambush was but headed right into the formation of Han Xiao’s fleet, intending to pass through it and retreat through the stargate while Han Xiao’s fleet had yet to completely obliterate the Bloodshed Land’s line of defense.

“Running away so soon?” Under the mechanical suit helmet, Han Xiao raised his brows in surprise.

He had thought that the assassination attempt this time would have something new, but it seemed even worse than the previous assassination attempts.

“It’s definitely not simple.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, and turned around to chase Hadavy.

His fleet was in Hadavy’s route; Han Xiao was not going to watch him rush into his fleet. If Hadavy wanted to do something, no one else would be able to stop him.

Han Xiao gradually closed the distance between him and Hadavy, and millions of mechanical soldiers followed behind him.

They went all the way to the frontline of the battle, the edge of the battlefield that his fleet and the Bloodshed Land reinforcements were fighting in. Han Xiao had only just caught up with Hadavy, but seeing that Hadavy had already passed through his fleet, he stopped and did not intend to continue chasing.

This time, Hadavy suddenly stopped running and turned around, rushing right toward Han Xiao, trying to get close to him under the violent rain of attacks.

That’s strange. Han Xiao was alarmed. He was just about to dodge when a warning suddenly came from his mechanical suit’s radar, showing thirty high energy reaction sources around!

Suddenly, in the Bloodshed Land reinforcement fleet around, thirty Grade As appeared and all rushed toward Han Xiao. Han Xiao even saw the eight Vanguard Officials including Fosters. They had followed the reinforcement fleet through the stargate but never engaged with the Black Star Army’s several Calamity Grade, all for this moment!

Attacks from thirty Calamity Grades came from all directions, applying immense pressure. Han Xiao hastily controlled the mechanical army to block them, but Hadavy found an opportunity and bolted right into Han Xiao, crushing the mechanical soldiers in his path.

Han Xiao realized that Hadavy was tightly wrapping his arms around his body, and he could not escape from him. Hadavy hugged him and dashed toward the stargate.

The thirty Calamity Grades ignored the attacks from the mechanical army and attacked Hadavy time after time, giving him more speed.

The Bloodshed Land fleet around gave up all attacks and defended the stargate with everything they had from the attacks of Han Xiao’s fleet.

Han Xiao’s brain quickly processed everything, and he immediately understood the opponents’ entire plan.

Make Hadavy act like he was ambushing me to force me to fight, then fake a retreat and lead me to near the stargate. The other Calamity Grades secretly returned to the Seoul Star Cluster and waited in the reinforcements. The Bloodshed Land knew that I’d attack the last logistics transit station. This is a trap they deliberately exposed, to allow these Calamity Grades to follow the reinforcements through the stargate to arrive at this battlefield. Their target isn’t to kill me but strike at this moment and help Hadavy restrain me, sending me into the stargate!

The other side of the stargate was the Seoul Star Cluster, the headquarters of the Klent Kingdom and the Bloodshed Land!

Ha, I get it. You want to drag me to your territory so that I have no back up. Then you guys can slowly exhaust me. Even if you can’t kill me, you guys will be able to capture me alive easily.

Han Xiao was speechless.

These little b*stards are quite imaginative. Are they trying to elope with me?

Hadavy’s body could easily withstand the attacks. Their flying speed rapidly increased. The Bloodshed Land battleships all opened up a path. The blue vortex at the center of the stargate enlarged in Han Xiao’s eyes very quickly as it got closer.

Seeing that the strategy was about to succeed, Hadavy could not help but send a voice message to Han Xiao.

“When we reach the Seoul Star Cluster, we will fight again. By the way, should I tell them to bring your mechanical army over? Then we will have a great fight.” Hadavy’s tone was sincere.

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. “You’re quite f*cking honest. Since you love fighting with me so much, let me go if you have the guts. As long as you don’t run, I will fight with you all you like.”

“No, fighting is one thing, but I don’t want to die.”

Hadavy shook his head. He tightened his arms around Han Xiao’s waist and stubbornly flew toward the stargate.

“You think highly of me…”

Han Xiao was speechless.

Honestly, he had no hatred toward Hadavy. Hadavy had absolutely no interest in the secret war-he just wanted to fight with him. After fighting so many times, as fellow Beyond Grade A seeds, they even respected each other. Sometimes, they could even chat while fighting

However, that did not affect Han Xiao’s resolve to get rid of this sh*t stirrer.

Chapter 694 - Steady as Always

In the remote command room on Planet Heber, the staff sergeant chief Jorde and a few assistants were nervously looking at the situation of the battle through the remote video.

“It looks like we might succeed this time.” An assistant gulped nervously.

“Don’t relax yet. Black Star has too many tricks up his sleeves. Before he enters the star gate, no one is to let their guard down,” Jorde said with a heavy tone.

This kidnapping mission was his idea. Over the three years prior, Black Star had fought with the frontline troops of the Bloodshed Land dozens of times. He had come up with many ideas, but all had been foiled by Han Xiao. This enemy was both strong and difficult to kill, almost invincible in the Calamity Grade level, giving him a huge headache. However, Jorde was not discouraged, instead treating Black Star as a test for himself as the Tyrant intended.

In the past half a year, Black Star had been leading his team in destroying their logistics transit stations in the desolate region. With a burst of inspiration, Jorde had decided to set this trap and try to drag Black Star into the Seoul Star Cluster.

As long as they succeeded, even if they were not able to kill Black Star, they would be able to restrain him. The Seoul Star Cluster was their headquarters while Black Star had no help and nowhere to run.

As soon as Black Star fell into their hands, Klent would be willing to use all kinds of methods to control him. Purple Crystal would lose a Beyond Grade A seed, and the potential stock that they had invested in would become Klent’s.

This way, he would have dealt with a rising star of the Shattered Star Ring without His Excellency Tyrant’s help and would be filled with a sense of achievement. He would also become more important to His Excellency Tyrant.

SUCC

Of course, all of that was predicated on the successful kidnapping of Black Star. Jorde stared at the screen and was ready to send orders to the Calamity Grades anytime.

In his eyes, Han Xiao was already kind of a boss-type enemy. His current attitude was coincidentally similar to the players when they fought a boss in a group, waiting for Han Xiao to activate his ‘next stage’.

On the battlefield near the stargate, from when the thirty Calamity Grade attacked to when Han Xiao was hugged by Hadavy while flying toward the Stargate, it only took tens of seconds.

The attacks from Fosters and all thirty Calamity Grades landed on Hadavy’s back time after time, giving him a boost. His speed kept increasing, and they were getting closer to the stargate.

Suddenly, every cell in Han Xiao’s body started to behave like a reaction furnace that was operating at its maximum power output. They generated thick energy that turned into ice cold Void Energy, which quickly filled every corner of his body. His body felt like he was submerged in freezing water, but Void Energy was burning on the surface of his body, turning into gray energy flames.

Under the mechanical suit helmet, Han Xiao’s eyes turned into an obsidian color, and his pupils became the size of a grain of rice. In an instant, he entered the (Void Molt] state. His attributes increased, and the (Void) attribute of his energy was enhanced.

Suddenly, Han Xiao disappeared from within Hadavy’s arms.

“Everyone, focus. Black Star might appear in a nearby location anytime. Mages that have mastered Space-type spells, sense the dimension he’s in and the route he’s taking. The moment he appears, lock down his movements!”

Jorde immediately issued orders through the remote command channel. He was prepared for this.

After fighting each other for more than three years, Jorde knew Black Star very well. When he was designing the plan, he had already considered the various abilities Black Star had. Although he did not know that Han Xiao’s ability to sort of teleport was (Advanced Void Travel), after seeing it so many times and inquiring from many Supers, he more or less knew how it worked and understood how to limit some of Han Xiao’s abilities.

Among the thirty Calamity Grade in the ambush, Jorde specifically deployed a few Mages that were proficient in Space spells. These people had prepared for a long time. The magical items on their hands emitted a magic light, and within microseconds, they sensed the tiny ripples in reality from when Han Xiao stepped into the Void Dimension.

Their magic followed this energy ripple. The route Han Xiao took in the Void Dimension instantly appeared in the minds of these Mages like a conspicuous marking. The few of them turned to an empty location simultaneously. Without hesitation, the high-level space locking spells that they had already prepared before the battle were all launched toward this empty location.

The next moment, Han Xiao left the Void Dimension and appeared at this location. All kinds of high-level space locking spells were flying toward him, almost not giving him any time to react.

However, Han Xiao did not need to react anyway. Before using Advanced Void Travel, he already knew that he would be attacked the moment he came out. This was not the first time that had happened.

With his rocketing fame, every battle he fought would make the other organizations know more about him.

The instant that Han Xiao appeared, he bent his fingers into a claw shape and dragged the space like it was a cloth. Without hesitation, he used (Void Distortion).

Visible twists and folds appeared in the space around him. The universe coordinates of a small area around Han Xiao deviated slightly, yet the spells were deflected away following the folds and completely missed.

Disarming the Mages’ ambush easily, he was temporarily not in danger. Through his (Void] attribute energy, he applied Mechanical Force on his mechanical army directly.

With electrical sparks, the mechanical army became lively again.

Two thirds of the Calamity Grades had no choice but to give up trying to restrain and hastily dodged Han Xiao’s attacks. Other than Hadavy, no one present dared to take on the focus fire of Han Xiao’s mechanical army.

“Star Shaking Fist!” Still not giving up, Fosters’ arms swelled up and launched a scarlet beam right at Han Xiao before he was restrained by the mechanical army.

“This again? Don’t you Vanguard Officials have any other trump cards?”

Han Xiao curled his lips and deactivated Void Distortion. He drew a circle in front of him with his hands. The machine parts followed the track his hands moved in and formed a ring-shaped device, clashing directly with the Star Shaking Fist’s scarlet beam.

The mechanical ring was hollow in its center. The Star Shaking Fist should have easily passed through it. However, when it entered the hollow part of the ring device, it seemed to have lost its momentum and impetus, instead sucked in by the mechanical ring. It turned into a red stream of light and spun rapidly along the inside of the ring, as if it could not escape from the mechanical ring’s strange force field.

This was a new device that Han Xiao had built with the new Control Branch Cutting-Edge Knowledge (Advanced Space Application] Force Field Distorter!

The hollow part of the mechanical ring was actually covered with a special force field that changed the space within. It was set to make a closed loop. Most of the energy would be trapped in this force field space after being sucked in.

In fact, Star Shaking Fist was still ‘moving forward’, but because of the force field, it was now spinning in a closed loop.

On the other side, Hadavy once again rushed toward Han Xiao with open arms like he wanted a hug.

Disgusted, Han Xiao used his Mechanical Force to face the Force Field Distorter at Hadavy and released the captured Star Shaking Fist, blowing Hadavy far away.

Han Xiao turned around and looked at the Mages. In his eyes, these Mages would cause him much more trouble than those muscular men. Seeing that these Mages were about to cast spells again, Han Xiao launched a compressed orb that expanded into a rectangular mechanical device.

The appearance of this device looked like a trapezoidal pyramid. It was completely black. Then, from top to bottom, dots of light started to appear, forming a complex magic engraving.

Ohm!

There was no sound in the vacuum space, yet those Mages felt they were in an ocean, surrounded by roaring, deafening, and violent waves.

This was the vibration of magic energy!

In the senses of these Mages, the magic energy around them suddenly became violent and difficult to control. Even their own magic energy felt slow and unresponsive. The expression on their faces all changed.

“Humph, this thing is enough to cause you people some trouble.” Han Xiao chuckled.

The name of this mechanical device was Magic Tide Generator. It could disrupt the magic elements within a certain area, making it chaotic and violent. It was specially designed against Mages.

The Mages within the Magic Tide range would all be given the debuffs of ‘Slowed Casting Speed’ and ‘Weakened Spell Power’. Lagi had also accepted Han Xiao’s request and added magic engravings to it, making this device much more effective than the original.

Machines were extremely versatile. In the past three years, Han Xiao had fused Cutting-Edge Knowledges, High-End Knowledges, and Basic Knowledges many times, creating quite a few powerful new equipment.

Han Xiao had a ton of new machines in his hands, he easily broke out of the enemies’ encirclement. Now, Hadavy and the others were on the passive side.

Seeing that Han Xiao had escaped their control, Jorde punched the screen, knowing that this mission had basically failed. He inhaled deeply and immediately changed the orders.

“The mission has failed. Everyone, abort and immediately retreat through the stargate!”

Fosters roared with resignation.

Hadavy was regretful as well, but he quickly stopped and immediately rushed toward the stargate.

Han Xiao had already distanced himself from Hadavy earlier, so he had no intention of stopping Hadavy as he watched him disappear in the stargate. He had no way to kill Hadavy within such a short distance; that guy was way too tanky.

Han Xiao did not bother to waste energy on Hadavy. His target was the other thirty Calamity Grades.

He controlled the mechanical army to surround them and looked at the thirty Calamity Grades within the army trying to break out. He narrowed his eyes.

“Since you are already here, leave me some souvenirs.”

This time, a teleportation gate opened beside Han Xiao. Lagi walked out of it and observed the situation.

Compared to three years ago, Lagi had not changed much. After all, languid people all looked much older, so he still looked about the same.

“Hey, you came at the right time. Help me stall as many of these Calamity Grades as possible.”

Han Xiao patted his shoulder then pointed at the thirty Calamity Grades trying to get rid of the mechanical army and head toward the stargate.

Lagi sighed, took out his magic stuff, and floated toward the chaotic battlefield.

“Remember to collect my corpse.”

As the high-level combatants retreated, the Bloodshed Land no longer sent reinforcements through the stargate. They completely gave up resisting, as well as the resources in the logistics transit station. The fleet covered the high-level combatants to retreat through the stargate one after the other.

Jorde had been commanding remotely the whole time. When the stargate was seized by Han Xiao’s fleet, his body finally relaxed, and he collapsed in his chair. With a very weak voice, he said, “Count the losses. How many people were unable to retreat, and how many high level combatants did we lose?”

“Re-Report, thirty-seven percent of the reinforcement fleet did not retreat in time. Out of the high-level combatants deployed, Hadavy and the eight Vanguard Officials successfully retreated. Out of the remaining twenty-two Grade A Supers, only seventeen managed to retreat. We have also lost contact with the two Calamity Grades stationed at the logistics transit station.”

“This means that we lost seven high level combatants ” Jorde could not help covering his face. Although the dead Grade A Supers were basically all new members that Klent had helped them gather from private organizations around the Star Cluster, they were still high-level combatants.

Jorde was hurting from losing seven high level combatants right away. At least forty to fifty Calamity Grades had died at Black Star’s hands. He was basically a Calamity Grade reaper.

Just thinking about Black Star’s battle record sent shivers down Jorde’s spine.

If not because many large organizations had formed alliance with the Bloodshed Land secretly in the last three years, which had brought them quite a number of high-level combatants, he felt that the Bloodshed Land troops would have had to avoid Black Star at all costs.

When Jorde was questioning life, the battle in the desolate area far away had basically ended.

The enemies that were unable to retreat in time lost all means to escape. Han Xiao ordered the fleet under his command to chase, and they easily eliminated the rest of the Bloodshed Land forces there. At the same time, they dismantled the stargate into parts and transported it away as spoils of war. A Star Cluster grade stargate could sell for quite a lot of money; bringing it back to study it was a rather good choice too.

Lagi’s spacetime secret spells helped the mechanical army retrain many Grade A Supers.

He had to admit, Lagi was very strong. Han Xiao was quite satisfied with this vice captain, though the morale of the division led by Lagi was consistently zero.

The Calamity Grades that were unable to escape were heavily surrounded. Their resistance was futile, and they were all captured by Han Xiao. He planned to throw them into his Happy Little House to squeeze some juice.

As the warfare ended, the fleet cleaned the battlefield and searched for spoils of war. Han Xiao did not need to do any of these things.

He retrieved his mechanical army and returned to the machinery modification room in the flagship. He then let the automatic mechanical arms repair the damage to the mechanical soldiers. He took off the Mountain Ape mechanical suit and started repairing it himself. He treated this as a postwar leisure activity.

Beep beep!

This time, his communicator rang. Han Xiao picked it up, and Ralph’s projection appeared.

“Your assistant has submitted the report. You guys have done a very good job this time. It’s another celebration-worthy victory.” Ralph smiled, in a good mood.

Han Xiao glanced at him, then turned to repair his mechanical suit while saying with a casual tone, “The Bloodshed Land ambushed me again. This time, in order to kidnap me, they deployed many experienced Calamity Grades previously stationed in Westwind, Kaya, and Chaida. Their stronghold should be fragile at the moment. You guys can make use of the opportunity.”

“We will seriously consider this suggestion.” “Anything else? If not, I’m hanging up. Don’t distract me from repairing things,” Han Xiao said without even turning around.

Through three years of contact, the two of them were now very close. When communicating privately, they were much more informal and casual.

Furthermore, Ralph was not considered his boss anymore. He had become the Purple Crystal Civilization’s long-term partner a year ago. Despite still being a Section Zero member, he was actually already an individual partner.

“Ahem, did you forget? This is the last logistics transit station. You have been battling outside for half a year. Now that the mission is complete, come back. There are no important missions that need you for now. I’m planning to give you a long holiday,” Ralph said.

Han Xiao’s movements paused, and his eyes sparkled.

For this mission, he had led the fleet to battle in the desolate region for more than half a year and never returned to Colton. Quite a number of private matters had been stacking up. Now that he had some holiday, he would finally have the time to settle them.

Chapter 695 - Army State and Holiday Target

After hanging up, Han Xiao did not continue to repair his mechanical suit. He left the workshop, went to the command room, and summoned all the officers of the fleet for a meeting

Cleaning the battlefield did not require constant monitoring from the officers. After the order was issued, the officers of the fleets came to the flagship one after another, gathering in the command room. As they entered, they all nodded at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao nodded to greet his own officers as well. The listless Lagi; the reliable Herlous; the grown-up Sylvia; the reckless Harmon; and Karmbe, Marian, and Misecech.

Other than the officers of the army, there were also a few other Section Zero members in the expedition fleet. Having fought alongside each other for half a year, they were all very familiar with each other.

When everyone had arrived, Han Xiao knocked the table. The sound of chatting suddenly disappeared completely as everyone looked

over.

“This time, I summoned everyone to tell you guys the next step of the plan. I’ve just received word from Purple Crystal. They are very satisfied with our results over the last six months, so they have decided to call us back and give us a long holiday. Our mission is complete; we can rest for a while now.”

Everyone was overjoyed when they heard this.

“That’s great. I haven’t been back home in half a year. My wife has been asking me when I will return every day. Haha, this time, I can give her a surprise.” A core member of another organization spoke first with joy.

“Maybe she will give you a surprise…” Lagi patted his shoulder to comfort him.

“Thanks.” This person’s face was filled with gratitude. Now that you’ve said that, it will definitely not happen.

“Finally…”

Sylvia bit her bottom lip lightly and held her hands above her chest, almost yelling out loud.

Han Xiao glanced at her and nodded with approval in his mind. Over the past three years, Sylvia had been taking part in actual combat, walking at the edge of life and death. Her growth speed was much faster than before; she had entered her rapid growth period.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, Sylvia had reached Calamity Grade in Version 3.0 and earned the ‘Mechanical Lady Knight’ title. In the past three years, this potential of hers had gradually started showing. Back then, Sylvia had been jealous of Feidin’s extraordinary talent, but now she was showing a similar talent.

Han Xiao estimated that Sylvia might really be able to grow from Grade B to Grade A during the update. After all, there were still seven more years for her to grow.

Still, the biggest change in Sylvia was her appearance. In the past three years, she had gradually matured. She had brown and long curly hair, she was tall, and her skin was snow white. Her facial features were solid and pretty. Altogether, she had an innocent and pure yet alluring look.

Plus, she did not wear any bulky alloy mechanical suits. Instead, she mainly used thin, light battle suits that were focused on shields, which displayed her smoking body covered in the tight battle suit. The battle suit increased her Charm by at least thirty percent. Beauties were always a feast for the eyes.

Herlous turned around and said to Herlous, “Old Herlous, after returning, take over Reynold’s job and check on the business developments of the various Star Systems.”

“Okay.” Herlous nodded.

Herlous was always an important managing officer. In order to train himself, he had followed the fleet for the last half a year, while the daily matters had temporarily been given to Reynold and the other officers stationed in the headquarters to take care of. They would report the situation to Han Xiao every so often.

Han Xiao had more trust in Herlous’ ability to handle matters. Other than liking card games, old Herlous was reliable in most things. He had improved quite a lot in the past six months as well, becoming Grade B+ and finally starting to see the gate to the Calamity Grade.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, Herlous had passed away early under the beast tide of Planet Sunil, so Han Xiao did not know if he had the potential to become a Calamity Grade.

However, since he was a protagonist-type character with Luck Glow, although his talent could not compete with cheaters like Feidin, it was still much higher than normal people.

After giving a few orders, Han Xiao ended the meeting

The cleaning of the battlefield was also completed, so the fleet headed back to Colton.

Han Xiao locked himself inside the office to look at the current operation status of the Black Star Army.

In the past three years, the Black Star Army had been developing smoothly. The importance of the mercenary business had already dropped to being third. The Black Star Army’s business transformation gradually completed. It was no longer a mercenary group; it was now finally a large armed organization.

The mercenary business was separated and formed the Black Star Army’s mercenary division, which continued to accept hires as a mercenary group. Because of this, many freelance mercenaries were satisfied. Therefore, not only did the Black Star Army not lose many talents, but its appeal for mercenaries increased instead.

The Mercenary League of the Shattered Star Ring was in the process of forming but had yet to become official. It was decided that the Black Star Army would hold one of the high positions.

Sky Ring, Blades, and the other large armies had been borrowing Han Xiao’s name to recruit people all over the Star Field. At the same time, they also had to speak with the Mercenary Alliance, which was an enormous universe-level guild. The Shattered Star Ring was just a division of the Mercenary Alliance. In order for them to form a league, they had to get past the Mercenary Alliance.

The Black Star Army’s current main business was the long-term partnership agreement with Purple Crystal, to fight in the secret war for them.

The second most important business was mining. Dozens of Star System civilizations invited and supported him to build bases in their territories and allowed him to mine on resource planets. This was the most profitable and currently the biggest income of the Black Star Army.

Having built bases in dozens of Star Systems, the Black Star Army’s range increased to just under half of the Colton Star Cluster.

With so many Star Systems distanced so far away from each other, if he had used his own resources to build up these bases, the expenses would have been very high. This would make the cash flow of the army unhealthy or even broken.

Even though the contract fees these Star System civilizations gave were not little, it was better than those huge costs. Also, harvesting resource planets required a huge amount of manpower, as well as the building and purchasing of various harvesting devices, which would cost a lot of money.

Although the Star System would provide a certain amount of support, they would not go all out to help the Black Star Army harvest their own resource planet. At most, they would only provide some manpower and devices so that the Black Star Army could harvest the resource planet.

Harvesting resource planets required a huge amount of investment in the early stage; most organizations would not be able to afford it. If Han Xiao only used the army’s resources, the utilization of the right to harvest resource planets would be extremely low, even with the help of the Black Spirit Race. Although the Black Spirit Race was very good at mining, they were still very much behind in terms of development. After so many of them had been killed on Planet Sunil, their population size had yet to recover.

However, Han Xiao announced the Black Star Army’s harvesting contracts with the various Star System civilizations and made a public bidding, open to all financial groups of the Star Field. These financial groups understood the huge profit involved in resource planets, so they all looked to partner with Han Xiao.

Of course, Han Xiao was not allowed to sell the harvesting right given by these civilizations, but finding people to partner with would not be a problem. He let the financial groups provide the money needed to help the Black Star Army harvest many planets at the same time while the resources harvested were sold through the channels of these financial groups for them to make commission.

Han Xiao set the bids separately for the various Star Systems, clearly dividing the area each financial group was responsible for.

This way, although the profit margin would not be as high, the overall quantity was much higher.

With the huge income, the Black Star Army was able to expand its business to many Star Systems within three years. The sub-bases in every Star System were harvesting several resource planets, so the actual profit made was much higher than if Han Xiao harvested them without the help of the financial groups.

The number of financial group partners jumped from single digits to 127, all well-known large financial groups within the Star Field.

Therefore, in just three years, the size of the Black Star Army had already grown tremendously!

War, mining, and missions—these were currently the top three businesses of the Black Star Army. Due to its versatile business operations, it showed some signs of being a financial group. Its official member count had exceeded ten million long ago, and managers dealing with miscellaneous tasks also became important parts of the army.

Due to the rapid increase in size, the number of problems multiplied as well. There was a huge pile of problems that needed to be solved every day, which gave Han Xiao quite a headache. He had no choice but to let his subordinates deal with the details of these matters while all he had to do was monitor and control the overall development of the entire organization, also going out to fight people from time to time.

The three major businesses of the army are right on track, making a lot of money, and maintaining a virtuous cycle. I just need to ensure the stability of the army.

After receiving the first wave of profit from harvesting resource planets two years ago, he rarely looked at his savings… All he knew was that as long as he did not suddenly decide to give everything to charity, he would basically not even be able to spend it all.

This holiday was very rare; he did not want to worry about the trivial matters of the organization but decided to settle the Class Advancement mission.

Within the past three years, Han Xiao had found a mission in his memories that rewarded a level 180 silver legacy blueprint. The mission involved passing rounds of tests to finally gain the acceptance of the inheritor.

As this was a mission that rewarded a level 180 blueprint, it was extremely troublesome. Also, its mission location was in another Star Cluster.

Han Xiao had not had many holidays in the last three years, so he had only finished seven rounds of this mission and had yet to complete it. He estimated that he should be able to complete it during this long holiday.

Getting the blueprint was just the first step. He still had to build an orange-grade product out of it. Han Xiao did not intend to use a Mission Completion Card. In order to level up the Cutting-Edge Knowledges, he had spent quite a lot of Experience. Although killing Calamity Grades gave him some Experience, the Experience that he had at the moment was only enough for him to level up around ten levels at most.

There were still seven more years till the start of Version 3.0. Without enough Experience, reaching Beyond Grade A was basically impossible. Anyway, he was strong enough for the moment, so Han Xiao did not think it was necessary to look for a Mission Completion Card everywhere and complete the Class Advancement quickly. After all, the Promotion mission at level 200 was another obstacle he would need to break through.

While thinking, Han Xiao opened the interface and browsed through his mission list. There were quite a lot of missions stocked up.

The fourth round of (Prey) was still inactive. Due to reasons he did not know, Thousand Shadows had decided not to do anything for three years, which made Han Xiao very alarmed. He felt like this was the calm before the storm.

Han Xiao did not have the time to settle Godora’s Rank S (Bloodline) mission as well, as he felt that it would be quite troublesome and would rather use that time to strengthen the Black Star Army, which would give him much more benefits than the mission reward.

Aroshia’s mission was still on hold as well. However, Feidin’s hidden mission (Choice] was completed upon achieving the fourth ending. Feidin and Chen Xing fell in love-it really was self-lovemaking.

The mission reward was quite good-a lot of Experience, a random reward chance, and a huge increase in the Favorability of both Feidin and Chen Xing. It made Han Xiao feel like he was the matchmaker for the two of them.

By the way, doesn’t this count as self-loving?

Han Xiao could not imagine what the ceremony would look like if those two decided to get married, but he knew that it would definitely be difficult to look at!

Beep beep!

As he was looking through the interface, Han Xiao’s communicator suddenly rang.

He picked it up. It was a message from Aesop.

“Vilna… hmm? Is this a hint for me to hand over my job and groom my successor in advance?” Han Xiao muttered and narrowed his eyes.

Chapter 696 - Handover

At the exterior tracks of the Planet Golden Gate, a metal fortress looking satellite was orbiting.

This was the Black Star Army’s current headquarters, which had moved away from the Planet Golden Gate surface and become a mobile satellite fortress. Its area was many times bigger and had far richer functions and facilities.

Inside the satellite was the body of this base, a space station similar to the Juberly Hub. The surface was filled with defense facilities and port passages.

In the past three years, Han Xiao had turned most of the base into a satellite fortress. Although its cost was high, he was a mine owner now, so he did not feel any heartache.

This time, at the large port inside the base, a tall purple-haired beauty was walking back and forth, glancing in the direction of the port frequently like she was waiting for someone. Her fingers were crossed tightly, and her pretty face was filled with apprehension.

It was Vilna.

About ten days ago, she had followed Aesop’s orders and gone to the Black Star Army headquarters to wait to meet with Han Xiao.

Today was the day that Han Xiao would return. Vilna had arrived early at the dock to wait. When she thought about how she was going to meet the man known as the ‘closest to Beyond Grade A in the Shattered Star Ring’, she could not but feel nervous.

Before this, Vilna had never seen Han Xiao with her own eyes, nor did she talk to him through communication. To this mysterious senior of hers, she could not help but imagine all sorts of things.

The Black Star Army has risen so quickly, so maybe Black Star is full of ambition? People say that many organizations he’s defeated all fell into his trap, so maybe he is a master of plot? He also has extraordinary battle records that shocked the entire Star Field, so maybe he’s an intimidating warrior?

All kinds of thoughts flashed through Vilna’s mind. Apprehensive, Vilna kept rehearsing what kind of attitude she should use to meet Black Star in her mind.

At this time, streams of light approached from afar and appeared outside the dock. An enormous Black Star fleet appeared and slowly entered the dock entrance.

The bottom of the battleships locked onto the tracks, entering the base to be parked at the various docks.

The flagship stopped at the large dock where Vilna was. The hatch opened with a hiss, and the gangway opened automatically and connected to the edge of the dock.

Wearing a black windbreaker, Han Xiao walked out with wide strides, casually looked around, and stepped onto the dock’s alloy floor. The people behind him swarmed out after him.

Vilna calmed herself and trotted over, standing in front of Han Xiao.

“Yo-Your Excellency Black Star, my name is Vilna. I’m Floating Dragon’s new officer. Aesop told me to find you…”

Han Xiao stopped walking and looked down at Vilna with his dark eyes, blatantly sizing her

up.

Vilna felt like her heart was at her throat. Han Xiao did not speak. She gulped, and her mind went black, not knowing what to say. The two of them looked at each other in silence.

After looking at her for quite a while, only then did Han Xiao smile faintly. “Aesop told me about it. He asked me to help you build the second Field Team. Don’t worry, I’ll help you.”

Then, Han Xiao patted Vilna’s shoulder and said meaningfully, “Since you have joined Floating Dragon, do a good job. I believe in

you.”

Vilna’s face was slightly red, and her tightened body relaxed a little. Han Xiao’s friendliness made her a little less nervous.

Black Star seems to be a very nice person. I don’t understand why Jenny keeps emphasizing that Black Star is a rude, antisocial, and evil *sshole.

“Follow me.”

Han Xiao snapped his fingers and walked off. Vilna regained her focus and quickly caught up with Han Xiao.

The others had all left; Han Xiao and Vilna were the only ones left. Turning down one corridor after another, they walked in silence.

Without turning around, Han Xiao suddenly asked, “Have you met Ames? What do you think of her?”

Vilna was stunned for a moment. She thought for a while, stared at Han Xiao’s back, and answered softly, “She’s very gentle, and I have always admired her. It’s an honor to work for her.”

“Hmm… does she know that your job is to build the second Field Team?”

“Probably…” Vilna tried to recall. She then realized that Ames had never asked what her job was, so she added, “Aesop definitely told

her.”

“What does she think then?”

“Er…” Vilna thought hard about it then said carefully, “She didn’t seem to react out of the ordinary.”

Han Xiao touched his chin and stopped speaking.

He knew that finding his successor was most likely Aesop’s idea, since Ames would not be bothered about things like this. Nonetheless, he was completely okay with it. After all, Floating Dragon had helped him a lot in the past, so he wanted to return the favor and leave something for them.

He chose to end things on peaceful terms so that he could develop better. Thus, he did indeed plan to groom Vilna and smoothen her future path, using these seven years to complete the handover of his job.

Furthermore, Vilna was someone he knew. Without his presence, Vilna had been the authentic Field Team officer of Floating Dragon in his previous life.

… who also met her demise together with Floating Dragon.

As memories flashed through his mind, they arrived right outside the office. Han Xiao ended his thoughts and took Vilna into the room. Then, he called Reynold, Herlous, and Sylvia over.

“Let me introduce Vilna, a new officer of Floating Dragon. She’s planning to build the second Field Team, so she came to seek my help. You guys, forget about expenses and help her recruit people. Also, choose ten financial groups from the ones that are working with us and convince them to invest in the new Floating Dragon Field Team using my name. You have to take this job seriously. Help her to build a Field Team based on her plan and support her as much as possible.”

Han Xiao spoke quickly. He planned to use the Black Star Army’s current resources and influence to build a new team for Floating Dragon without considering the returns.

“Understood.” Reynold nodded solemnly. He shook Vilna’s hand and said, “Tell me what you need later. I will do my best to assist you.”

“0–Okay.” Vilna had yet to recover from the shock.

Han Xiao’s degree of help was way beyond her imagination. All she had to do was talk and not worry about anything else; the Black Star Army would settle all of it.

How generous!

Vilna was petrified. She started to blush. This completely abolished the negative image that Jenny had set for Han Xiao in her mind and built a new, tall image.

Friendly, steady, reliable, rich, strong, and handsome… It’s great to have such an amazing senior!

Why is Jenny always lying!

Vilna was secretly upset.

No wonder Black Star could build such an enormous organization in ten short years. Although Vilna did not want to admit it, after such short contact with Han Xiao, he already felt much more reliable than Ames.

“Go do your stuff then…” Han Xiao waved his hands.

Reynold nodded. He turned to look at the others and said, “Okay, you guys go out and wait for me. I have something I want to discuss with His Excellency Black Star alone.”

Han Xiao was a little surprised. He looked at Reynold and saw that he clearly had something on his mind. Han Xiao thought about it and nodded at the others, signaling them to go out first.

The others took Vilna away, leaving only Han Xiao and Reynold in the room.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and looked at Reynold.

“Actually… I didn’t want to bring this up initially because no one was able to help, but now you’re able to. I have something that I need your help with,” Reynold said with a sincere tone and a solemn face.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He smelled a mission.

In the past few years, he had kept trying to trigger a mission from Reynold, which he sadly never did. He thought that Reynold did not have any missions on him. However, now that Reynold had brought it up himself, he was certainly surprised.

He did not expect to receive such good news as soon as his holiday started.

Chapter 697 - Another Familiar Face

Reynold had very low requirements. Other than finding Han Xiao to learn blueprints, he was pretty transparent the rest of the time. Ever since joining the army, he had always kept a low profile. His business capabilities were as rigorous and reliable as his personality, never causing any trouble at all. He managed the logistics of the army extremely well. This was the first time that he had asked Han Xiao for help.

Seeing that Reynold had a lot on his mind, Han Xiao figured out what was going on. This matter was probably very difficult to deal with, which was why Reynold had waited until now to ask for his help. Since the start, Reynold had only come to learn, not for help. However, now that he had achieved so much fame in the entire Star Field, Reynold saw hope and felt that he had the ability to help, so he now was asking him.

Han Xiao felt that he had guessed most of it correctly and secretly focused more.

“Tell me about it first.”

He did not immediately agree to help and decided to listen to the mission content first.

Reynold contemplated for a while on what to say.

“As you know, I come from the Hyde Star System. I’m sure you know about the situation in the Star System.”

Han Xiao nodded.

The Hyde Star System was a Star System without a ruling civilization, connected with six Star System civilizations including Godora. All these civilizations stationed many troops in Hyde and divided this ownerless Star System. They expanded and confronted each other for many years, causing Hyde to become a chaotic land.

“I was born on a small place called Ceciris, located in an area occupied by the Hutt Civilization. Ceciris is ruled by a low-level galactic civilization that has six planets in total under its ruling. It’s classified as somewhere between a planet civilization and Star System civilization. This civilization has many governments that compete with each other. As Hyde is always at war, the political situation of Ceciris is volatile.

“My father operated a machine research company, which later went bankrupt. When I was six, they died in a riot caused by a political parade…”

Han Xiao was slightly moved. This was the first time that Reynold had talked about his own story. Usually, he never even mentioned anything about it.

“I have a sister who’s nine years older than me. Her name is Rossellin. After my parents died, I lived together with her for three years. When I was nine, she sent me on a long-distance galactic flight off Ceciris and abandoned me.

“When I left home, I was still a child that knew nothing. No one took care of me. I drifted in the galaxy and got through my tough childhood. I then finally had the strength to protect myself. After that, I once went back trying to find Rossellin. Then I discovered what she did.”

Reynold shook his head and said, “After I left, her Esper ability awakened. The official saying is that she can manipulate people’s minds, subtly rewriting people’s perspective on the world. At the start, people did not know about her ability. She used this ability to gather countless believers and built a new religion. New ideology and culture were born in her hands.

“With her ability, in just a few years, she completed the missionary process that would take normal religions decades. More and more people became her followers. She became the pope of the new religion in the Ceciris civilization, loved and worshiped by countless people. Even many high-level officials across the various governments were her believers. She controlled half of the Ceciris civilization with religious methods. Her position was above countless people.

“However, those governments felt that she would threaten their reign, so they kept searching for clues. In the end, her ability was discovered. She became the most dangerous careerist to those governments. She was captured, and the religion that she had created was destroyed.

“Although her Esper ability can modify people’s subconscious mindset over a large area, she can’t brainwash anyone, can’t make anyone a fanatical, and can’t control the minds of the others. Therefore, although the society was shocked, no one spoke up for her. Nobody would like having their mind twisted. Her reputation went right down the drain, and she became a sinner spurned by countless people.

“Those governments tried Rossellin. She was convicted of high treason and given life in prison. However, they showed their true intentions very soon. In their eyes, Rossellin’s ability was an outstanding tool to assist their ruling. Hence, whoever was going to imprison Rossellin became a problem. Every government wanted to have her, to use her ability to consolidate their rule and damage their opponents. They did not want anyone else to have this tool.”

Reynold closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed. “On paper, she was locked in prison, but actually, she disappeared from the eye of the public after the public trial. These governments sent spies and special agents to get to her secretly. Even some rebel forces with ulterior motives joined the battle. She became a tool that kept changing owners.”

Han Xiao could not help but ask, “So, you want me to save her from the Ceciris civilization? You’re already a Calamity Grade-won’t you be able to do that yourself?”

“No, she’s not on Ceciris anymore.” Reynold shook his head. “The Hutt Civilization took an interest in her ability and took her away. She’s now a prisoner of a Star System civilization.”

Han Xiao understood. No wonder Reynold asked for his help. It turned out that Rossellin had become an important prisoner of a Star System civilization, so getting her would be rather difficult.

To a Star System civilization, they had no obligation to give face to a Calamity Grade. Given how important Rossellin was, the Hutt Civilization would not give her away so easily. Even if Reynold was to attack the prison, he would not be able to fight against the entire Star System civilization alone. He could not save his sister by himself.

I see, so he’s asking for my help because of my influence… Han Xiao thought.

“I know that this is very sudden, but there’s nothing I can do to the situation Rossellin is in. I hope you can save her.” Reynold bowed deeply.

“Hmm…” Han Xiao caressed his chin. “Your sister really seems to be a careerist. I feel that she did this to herself.”

Psychics could change others’ minds to a certain extent, but the range and efficiency was clearly far inferior compared to Rossellin’s Esper ability. It was perfect for spreading religion, exactly what the Arcane Church loved the most.

“Maybe she really is an ambitious careerist; I’m not defending her actions. Although she abandoned me and I don’t have much emotions for her anymore, she’s still my family. She has already paid the price for what she did; I don’t want to see her keep suffering.”

Han Xiao was quite surprised. He had always thought that Reynold’s heart was mechanical; this was a very rare occasion where Reynold showed any emotion.

After pondering for a while, Han Xiao slowly said, “I can help, but it won’t be easy. Even I might not be able to make the Hutt Civilization give her to me just by asking. Rossellin broke the law after all. This isn’t a really reasonable request, so they can totally not give me face at all…”

Reynold nodded then said with a solemn expression, “I understand. You don’t owe me anything. I will continue to work for you and pay my debts for this.”

That’s what I’m talking about, brother… Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He smiled and said, “I’ll try my best.”

This time, a notification popped up on the interface.

You have triggered the mission (Reformer)!

Mission Introduction: You accepted Reynold’s request and decided to save Rossellin from the Hutt Civilization.

Mission Requirements: Save Rossellin.

Reward: 18,000,000 Experience, +30 Reynold Favorability, +80 Rossellin Favorability, (Blank Character Summon Card-Reynold) x 1

Han Xiao glanced at it and was surprised.

The mission itself did not seem too difficult, but the prerequisite to trigger it was. It seemed its requirement was to have quite a close relationship with Reynold while having very high influence, only then would Reynold ask for his help.

The Experience reward was ordinary. The Favorability was common as well. What was most surprising was Reynold’s Character Summon Card.

The Blank Character Summon Card of a certain character meant that he could choose any one of Reynold’s abilities.

Among all the abilities Reynold had, the most valuable was undoubtedly the Mechanic class Molding Talent (Perfect Mechanical Sense).

Although Character Summon Cards had limited uses, it was better than nothing.

Most of the time, only random draw reward in combat missions had a possibility of giving someone else’s Molding Talent. Other than Character Summon Cards, the players had absolutely no way of acquiring any Molding Talents. He had the NPC status, so his drawing range included the Molding Talents, but that was not the case for players.

Han Xiao was not disappointed. In order to get the true (Perfect Mechanical Sense) talent, he had to think of other ways.

A Character Summon Card is fine. I happen to have a use for it too.

The Class Advancement mission required him to build a piece of orange level 180 legacy equipment. It would probably not be possible to build orange equipment with his current Machinery Affinity, so he would have to look for ways to improve his building abilities. However, with the [Perfect Mechanical Sense) effects, he would be able to do it right away, saving him tons of trouble.

Pausing the flow of thoughts, Han Xiao returned to the topic.

“I’ll leave in two days and visit the Hutt Civilization. Tell me everything you know. By the way, what does your sister look like?”

“I haven’t seen her in many years, but when she was still the pope, I saved quite a few pictures of her. Here, look.” Reynold took out his communicator and projected a few pictures.

This was a woman in a gorgeous red and white robe. Her hair was tied into a knot at the back of her head, decorated with a beautiful ornament. Her eyes were bright, and her teeth were pure white. Her face was gentle and beautiful, a little bit similar to Reynold’s. Her skin was snow white, and she gave off a very noble vibe. In the picture, she seemed to be making a religious speech. There were many faithful believers below her listening with their heads lowered.

Han Xiao glanced at it, frowned, and glanced at it again. Then, he stared at the face of the woman in the picture and could not take his eyes off her.

Noticing that Han Xiao was staring, Reynold was a little confused. “What is it?”

Han Xiao regained focus and moved his eyes away. He covered his mouth with his fist and coughed twice. “Nothing, your sister is quite pretty.”

Reynold gave Han Xiao a strange look.

Actually, when Han Xiao saw Rossellin’s face, he was dumbfounded.

Vilna, whom he had met earlier, was someone he knew from his previous life, but he did not expect to see another familiar face on the same day!

Plus, this woman was on a completely different level from Vilna!

Chapter 698 - Rejected

Chapter 698 Rejected

The Hutt Civilization was located in the Skywalker Star System, and the Black Star Army had one subdivision set up there. The Hutt Civilization had formed a diplomat team dedicated for the Black Star Army three years ago. The head of this team was an elite from their Foreign Affairs Department, Wolman.

The Black Star Army had set up an office for the Hutt Civilization’s diplomatic team in the satellite subdivision near the resource planet. Wolman and his team were usually there to monitor the harvesting of the resource planet as well as communicate with the Black Star Army’s subdivision.

This day was quiet as usual. Wolman arrived at the office early, gracefully greeted his team members, and sat at his desk. He appreciated the countless stars outside his window before taking out a book from his bag and opening it on the table. This was a book written in the Hutt language. He decided to finish chapter eight to chapter eleven that day, which would take him the entire morning.

Very quickly, he decided on his reading plan. If he was in a good mood later, he would consider reading one more chapter.

In the interstellar era, most of the entertainment and art books were electronic to save on unnecessary production and transportation costs. Physical books had become collectors’ items that only a very small number of people who sought elegance and refinement in life would purchase.

As an elite of the Hutt Foreign Affairs Department, a member of upper society, Wolman strictly required himself to live delicately. He took out a crafted can with green powder, scooped out precisely two spoons, and poured them into a crystal cup. As he poured cold water into the cup, the green powder inside dissolved and turned into a luminous turquoise dense liquid like stars were swimming within. It was beautiful.

This was a type of refreshing drink, a special drink loved by the Huttians. Of course, Wolman’s powder was not factory-made cheap stuff but the premium hand-ground type.

Wolman held the crystal cup in his hand and returned to his seat, sipped it, and picked up the book from the table. He adjusted his seat to lean on the window at forty-five degrees. As if he had completed some kind of ceremony, he finally started reading the book with satisfaction.

He did not hate being deployed to this quiet position, but he was not satisfied with his job either.

Wolman hoped he could be active on the diplomatic political stage between civilizations and display his abilities elegantly; that was how an elite like him should live. To him, dealing with the Black Star Army was a waste of his talent. After all, in his eyes, although the Black Star Army was a very strong armed force, it was just made up of rude, uneducated mercenaries.

This time, a team member hastily walked into the room and said loudly, “Sir, the Black Star Army just sent us a notice. Their leader Black Star will be arriving in the Skywalker Star System in seven days to visit our Hutt Civilization. The details are in this file.”

Black Star visiting personally, what could his goal be? Wolman was shocked. Ever since he took on this position, the things that he had been dealing with were all trivial and unimportant. This was the first time that something rather important had happened.

Wolman took the file and read through it carefully. Then he said with surprise, “He wants to see Rossellin? Who’s Rossellin?”

Han Xiao had written his goal to notify the Hutt Civilization in advance. If it was just meeting her, given his position, the Hutt Civilization should not reject him.

Wolman immediately contacted the superiors. After a long call that lasted more than ten minutes, he exhaled deeply. The people above were not planning to settle this personally. They made him responsible for the welcoming and hosting of Black Star.

Seven days later, Han Xiao arrived in the Skywalker Star System in his spaceship, landing at the military port of one of their governance planets. The Hutt Civilization had received the notice long ago and basically cleared out the entire port. Wolman and others were waiting

The hatch opened, and Han Xiao and Reynold walked out. Wolman adjusted his clothes, approached with an elegant smile and reached out for a handshake.

“Your Excellency Black Star, I’m Wolman of the diplomatic team. On behalf of the Hutt Civilization, welcome.”

“Yo, hello.” Han Xiao shook his hand.

“Upon gaining knowledge of your arrival, my superiors were eager to welcome you personally. Unfortunately, your arrival is too sudden, and they just could not squeeze out the time during their hectic schedule. Therefore, I’m responsible for hosting you. Please understand,” Wolman said with a very graceful tone.

Actually, this was just an excuse. The upper echelons of the Hutt Civilization did not want to meet Black Star. This was because when DarkStar was stirring chaos, the Hutt Civilization had secretly worked together with the DarkStar once. Once they heard that Black Star was visiting them personally, they felt somewhat guilty. Thus, they decided to let a unimportant official take care of Black Star in their place, while at the same time observing Black Star’s attitude, as well as why he wanted to see Rossellin.

However, of course, Wolman knew nothing about that. The way he saw it, this represented the Hutt Civilization’s attitude toward Black Star. Although they had followed the others and invited Black Star to build a sub-base there three years ago, they did not really take this nouveau riche too seriously. They kept their pride as a Star System civilization. Wolman was very satisfied with this attitude of theirs.

To Wolman, Black Star was just a nouveau riche.

Black Star was strong for sure, but he was not Beyond Grade A yet. He had just made use of the heated discussion three years ago and made the Black Star Army’s development grow rapidly. To him, this was exactly what a nouveau riche was. Technically, Black Star was just a native from a planet that lagged behind in all respects. Wolman, however, was an elite from a Star System civilization. With his sense of superiority, he did not think highly of the Black Star Army.

However, as a well-trained diplomat, this tiny belittling he had was perfectly hidden, and he maintained the basic respects.

“Don’t have to be so polite.” Han Xiao waved his hand.

Wolman nodded. “We have received your notice. Rossellin is now locked up in the secret prison on this planet and can meet you anytime. Would you like to rest or see her first?”

“See her first.”

“Okay, please follow me.”

A hovering car with a government license was parked outside the dock. Han Xiao and Reynold followed Wolman in and headed to the prison Rossellin was in.

The inside of the car was stable and completely free of turbulence. Han Xiao chatted with Wolman on and off, while Reynold sat straight at the side.

Ralph had given him a super long holiday, so Han Xiao had more than enough time to settle his personal matters. Seven days ago, when he got Reynold’s mission and realized that Rossellin was someone he knew, he had immediately dropped all other arrangements and placed saving Rossellin at the top of his priority list.

Considering Rossellin’s identity, Han Xiao brought Reynold along as well. On the surface, it was so that the two of them could reunite, but it was actually to make Rossellin lower her guard.

Initially, although Reynold was rather important, Han Xiao did not see him as someone with any kind of extraordinary background. However, after seeing Reynold’s older sister, he knew immediately that he was going to treat Reynold like his brother!

“You’re about to see your long separated sister, nervous?” Han Xiao did not hide anything and spoke to Reynold with a voice that everyone in the car could hear.

“No.” Reynold shook his head. “The impression I have of her is already very faint Even if we meet, there isn’t much to say between the two of us. Even after we save her, we will still just walk different paths.”

“You want me to help you save Rossellin, but you’re not going to ask her to pay you back? It seems that your emotions for Rossellin are not as little as you say.” Han Xiao smirked.

“Families should take care of each other. Even though she once abandoned me, when she’s in trouble, I should still help her,” Reynold said with a serious face.

Ralph listened from aside and secretly memorized the information. Rossellin seems to be a family member of an important person under Black Star’s command. Maybe this is why Black Star’s here. I’ve got to report this to the superiors later.

After more than two hours, the hovering car entered a military base leading into an underground tunnel and stopped at the gate of an underground prison. The thick, bulky alloy gate was now open. The warden and the guards had been waiting there since long ago.

“Your Excellency Black Star, we’re here. Please let me lead the way for you.”

Wolman got out of the car and opened the car door for Han Xiao. Then, he shared a few words with the warden before leading the way.

This prison was very technologically advanced. It used many galactic imprisonment measures. It was very quiet; the only sound was the buzzing made by the mechanical guards passing by. The ceiling was equipped with all kinds of automatic weapons that would lock on to any target with a heat signature. The security was tight.

Han Xiao appreciated the surroundings as he walked and learned quite a few things. He decided to go back and modify his Happy Little House after settling this issue.

After walking through many prison zones, they arrived at the deepest single person cell. They then stopped before the alloy cell door.

“The person you want to see is inside.” Wolman nodded.

The warden opened the cell door and let Han Xiao and the others in. The space inside was not narrow. It was split into two areas with high strength transparent glass.

Compared to Reynold’s photos, Rossellin’s hair was now cut to centimeters short, and she wore a ragged prisoner uniform. However, her appearance was still as young; time did not leave any marks on her. With just one look, Han Xiao knew that this woman’s highest attribute was most likely Charm, maybe comparable with Feidin’s.

The cell was dark. As the strong light from outside the door shined in, Rossellin narrowed her eyes uncomfortably and looked at the few people on the other side of the glass. Although she was a prisoner, her face was extremely calm.

“Hmm, it has been 147 days since you guys last came to me. What do you want me to do this time?”

“Still recognize me?” Reynold asked.

Rossellin looked at Reynold. After looking for a while with narrowed eyes, shock appeared on her face.

“Are you possibly… my long dead dad?”

“I’m Reynold!”

“Oh, brother, so you’re still alive.” Rossellin sighed with disappointment as if she was not surprised about Reynold appearing there at all. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to save you,” Reynold said with a deep voice.

“After not seeing you for decades, you’re still just as stupid.” Rossellin pointed at the warden on the side with her mouth and said, “Do you think he’s deaf?”

“His Excellency Black Star will try to get you out.”

“Black Star?” Her brows raised slightly. “Never heard of him.”

Han Xiao kept quiet at the side with a strange look on his face. The reunion of these two siblings was different from what he imagined. Shouldn’t they be hugging each other and crying?

Looking at Rossellin, he was still surprised.

He had not expected the future pillar member of the Silver Revolutionary Army to be a family member of one of his officers.

The Silver Revolutionary Army was the main storyline of a big version. The target of their revolution was not something small but the three Universal Civilizations. Since they were revolutionaries, they had to gain support from the people. Rossellin was an irreplaceable member known as the Preacher.

Even if he did not come, sooner or later, someone else would develop an interest in her ability and save her.

Rossellin was a key character of a major storyline, so she was of great importance to Han Xiao. Maybe he could interfere with the Silver Revolutionary Army storyline. According to the time, the Silver Revolutionary Army had not formed yet.

Even without Rossellin’s future identity, she still had huge potential. Although her Esper ability did not have much combat capability, she was an irreplaceable special talent in the fields of poisoning people’s minds and inciting the masses.

Her ability looked ordinary on surface, but the final form of this Esper ability was more than qualified to be listed in the Super High Risk Esper Ability Restriction Treaty. It could turn an ideology terrifyingly contagious and conquer not with force but culture!

Although it had no lethality, it was a horrifying weapon that could overthrow any government!

Rossellin was born to be someone talented in revolution and religion!

Of course, it would also be useful in reinforcing the position of rulers or governments.

The people walked out of the cell, and the warden closed the cell door behind them.

“Your Excellency Black Star, do you have any other requests?” Wolman asked.

Han Xiao glanced at Reynold before touching his chin. “Indeed, I do have a favor to ask. I hope to bail Rossellin out. As you can see, she’s the sister of this officer of mine. According to my knowledge, she did not break the Hutt Civilization’s laws. You guys are just imprisoning her in place of the Ceciris civilization. As long as you’re willing to give bail, I can have a talk with the Ceciris people myself.”

“Hehe, this is beyond my jurisdiction. I will have to report to the upper echelons. Please give me a moment.”

Wolman was not surprised at all; he had already guessed Black Star’s intention earlier. He went to the side, took out the communicator, and called his superiors. After talking for a while, he hung up and went to Han Xiao with an apologetic expression.

“I’m sorry. This is an internal matter of our civilization. Rossellin is an important prisoner, and we cannot accept any form of bail.”

Although Star System Civilizations treated Han Xiao with respect and wanted to establish a good relationship with him, they would not accept all of his requests. If it was just a normal prisoner, it would not be a big issue. However, Rossellin was an important chess piece even to the Hutt Civilization. Of course, they were not going to give her to Han Xiao just because he requested it.

“I see, never mind then.” Han Xiao shook his head with disappointment.

“Thank you for your understanding.”

Wolman had a bright smile on his face, but he was sneering in his mind.

You’re still not a Beyond Grade A, yet you want us to release someone with one sentence?

Do you really think you’re someone?

Chapter 699 - This Leek Is Bleeding Internally

Since the Hutt superiors rejected him, he had no need to stay at the prison. Han Xiao expressed his intent to leave. Wolman asked him to stay longer for a few times but stopped at a suitable point. They took the hovering car back and headed to the dock.

The atmosphere in the car was silent; no one talked. Han Xiao closed his eyes and rested. Reynold sat at the side, wanting to speak but did not.

Wolman secretly looked at Han Xiao’s expression. He felt that Black Star was definitely unhappy since he had been rejected. However, he did not care about Black Star’s feelings. After all, all he did was convey the message from the upper echelons. If Black Star was unhappy about that, it would have nothing to do with him.

Furthermore, Wolman did not think that making Black Star unhappy was a big deal at all. Civilizations controlled the universe; no matter how strong Black Star was, he was not part of a government.

As a diplomat, he felt that he figured out what the superiors meant—the Hutt Civilization had no intention of wooing Black Star. Purple Crystal was already way ahead of them, and they had no chance to compete with a Star Cluster civilization.

So many Star System civilizations wanted to befriend Black Star, and they were just one of them. Godora had the closest relationship with Black Star among the Star System civilizations, while the Hutt Civilization was Godora’s competitor. No matter how they looked at it, Black Star would definitely not establish a close relationship with the Hutt Civilization.

Therefore, Wolman felt that the upper echelons knew that they did not have a chance, so they did not want to waste efforts wooing Black Star. They would not be able to get anything in return for Rossellin anyway, so why should they lower their heads and fulfil Black Star’s request? Like other Star System civilizations, they just had to give enough face to Black Star and treat the Black Star Army’s subdivision as a tie for a shallow relationship. That was all.

In Wolman’s eyes, Black Star wanting to take someone from him with just one sentence was a clear act of overconfidence.

Us Star System civilizations will indeed give you face, but we will not obey your every demand.

As Wolman was deducing the intention of his superiors, the hovering car finally arrived at the dock.

Han Xiao and Reynold got out of the car and boarded their spaceship with Wolman escorting them up.

Han Xiao stepped onto the gangway and was about to walk into the hatch. He suddenly turned around and looked at Wolman, who was standing on the dock.

“We will meet again very soon.”

“We look forward to your next visit.” Wolman had a sincere-looking but fake smile on his face.

The spaceship shook and quickly started. It followed the dock tunnel, turned into a high-speed stream of light, and disappeared.

As the spaceship left far away, Wolman wiped the smile from his face, pressed his stiff facial muscles, and turned around to wave at his team members.

“Let’s go.”

Five days passed peacefully.

On this day, the delicate Wolman was spending his days in the Skywalker Star System Black Star Army subdivision as always when an urgent notification was sent to his email. A team from the Foreign Affairs Department was about to come to the Black Star Army’s subdivision. The email was to notify him to prepare the welcome.

“Strange, I wasn’t noticed beforehand about this. Why are they suddenly sending people to the Black Star Army subdivision?”

This notice did not follow the regular procedures, nor did it convey the purpose of these Foreign Affairs Department colleagues’ visit. Wolman was confused, but since it was a mission from above, he could only complete it.

Wolman brought along his team members, arranged the welcome, and arrived at the dock of the subdivision, waiting for the arrival of these colleagues.

This Black Star Army sub-base was built to be orbiting on the outer space track of the resource planet in order to monitor the harvesting team on the planet. The dock was a hovering galactic harbor built beside the sub-base. It was an independent space station.

After Wolman waited for more than half an hour, a government spaceship with the Hutt Civilization mark approached and stopped at the dock.

The spaceship stabilized, and the hatch slowly opened. A group of people in diplomat clothing accompanied a few Purple Crystal people down the gangway while chatting and laughing.

Wolman quickly went forward and introduced himself.

“This is the person in charge of the diplomatic matters with the Black Star Army subdivision, Wolman. These are Purple Crystal Civilization’s emissaries. We have just completed a handover task and are planning to rest here for a day,” a diplomat said elegantly.

Purple Crystal Civilization emissaries! Wolman was shocked. Purple Crystal was the ruling civilization of Colton, and Hutt was just a Star System civilization under them. Purple Crystal specifically dispatching emissaries there meant that this was an important diplomatic task.

Wolman could not help but feel jealous of these Foreign Affairs Department colleagues of his who were chatting and laughing with the Purple Crystal emissaries. They had the opportunity to get in contact with the emissaries of Star Cluster civilizations, and they were active in the political stage between civilizations. Their job was more elegant and graceful, while he was made to take care of an armed force.

I will be transferred back sooner or later… Wolman comforted himself. Back when his superiors sent him to be in charge of the Black Star Army subdivision, it was definitely because they believed in his capabilities. A diplomatic elite like him would definitely return to the Foreign Affairs Headquarters in the future.

Just as he was about to invite the Purple Crystal emissaries to stay, a few armed officers escorted someone off the spaceship. Wolman turned to look and was instantly stunned.

The woman escorted there was the person whom he had just met together with Black Star a few days prior, Rossellin!

Wolman was shocked. He nudged one of his colleagues that accompanied the Purple Crystal emissaries and softly asked, “Why is she on your ship? Why did you bring her here?”

“You know her? This is a prisoner the Purple Crystal emissary specifically sent people to take charge of. She’s called Rossellin.”

Wolman immediately thought of Black Star.

Could it be…

At this time, another spaceship landed. Wolman recognized this battleship; it was Black Star’s ride.

The hatch opened, and Han Xiao and Reynold walked down. The Purple Crystal emissaries instantly smiled and approached the two of them.

After chatting for a while with smiles on their faces, the Purple Crystal emissary waved his hand. A few armed personnel escorted Rossellin over to Han Xiao, opened the various constraints, and released her on the spot.

Rossellin rubbed her wrists, glanced at Reynold, and gave Han Xiao a deep look, not saying anything. Reynold then took her up onto the Blacklight Stealth.

Han Xiao turned around and noticed the stunned Wolman who was standing at the edge of the crowd, so he smiled and walked over.

“As I said, we meet again.”

“You…” Wolman suddenly did not know what he should say to deal with this situation.

“It’s actually not that big a deal. Since your Hutt Civilization doesn’t allow bail, I had no choice but to let a civilization that does allow bail take over.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

Wolman’s lips shivered, and he forced out a rigid smile. There were thousands of curses in his heart, but he did not dare say any of them.

From the side of his vision, he saw that his colleagues were smiling brightly as if they had known all along and he was the only one that did not.

At this moment, he felt that his most precious sense of superiority was shattered into pieces, by the Hutt Civilization government who had gifted it to him in the first place.

Han Xiao did not look at him anymore. He turned around and shook hands with the Purple Crystal emissaries, chatted for a while, boarded his spaceship, and left with Rossellin.

Wolman clenched his fists and forced out a smile to face the Purple Crystal emissariesdoing his job was more important.

After finally settling these emissaries down, Wolman returned to the office. He was the only one there.

Sitting in his chair, Wolman exhaled deeply. He wanted to suppress his thoughts and continue to read his book, but he realized that he could not concentrate on it at all.

Every time Wolman thought of Black Star, he felt unpleasant. He comforted himself that this was a matter for the superiors and had nothing to do with him.

There were no conflicts between him and Black Star. Fortunately for him, he had maintained his diplomatic etiquette. No one knew how he had ridiculed him in his mind, and no one would know that he felt embarrassed.

Beep beep!

This time, Wolman’s communicator rang. He opened it, and to his surprise, it was a message from his direct boss.

“His Excellency Black Star specifically told us that he’s very satisfied with your services and that it made him very comfortable. He also hopes to see you again next time. Therefore, your transfer request is temporarily postponed. You will continue to be in charge of the diplomatic tasks with the Black Star Army’s subdivision…”

Clank!

A few team members outside were just about to push open the door when they suddenly heard sounds of someone smashing things coming from the office.

The few of them hastily pushed the door open and saw Wolman’s usually calm face filled with rage. The floor beside his table was in a mess. The crystal cup that he always used was shattered into pieces, scattered around the floor, and the green drink had spilled over the physical books that he had always taken very good care of.

In the Blacklight Stealth’s main hall, three people sat on a circular sofa in a triangle. Rossellin’s eyes kept moving between Han Xiao and Reynold. Reynold was sitting straight and looking directly ahead. Han Xiao leaned back with one hand on the back of the sofa and the other carrying a wine glass, sizing Rossellin up with an interested look on his face.

“What do you want me to do for you for saving me? Come on, don’t be shy, tell me.”

Rossellin broke the silence first.

Reynold frowned. “I just wanted to save you…”

“Enough. Keep those lies for yourself.” Rossellin interrupted Rossellin, crossed her legs, and said with a mocking expression, “I don’t know who this ‘Excellency Black Star’ is. In order to get me out, you guys even contacted Purple Crystal, so the cost is probably quite high. I don’t believe that such a big price paid would just be to fulfil an idiot subordinate’s wish. Hehe, you probably told this Black whatever about my ability… Sorry, your nickname is too stupid. I’m too lazy to say it.”

Is this woman’s zodiac animal hedgehog? Stabbing whoever she wants…

Han Xiao remembered that Rossellin’s personality was not like this during the Silver Revolutionary Army era in his previous life.

Reynold said with a deep voice, “I asked His Excellency Black Star to save you in exchange for myself. Know your place!”

“Oh.” Rossellin curled her lips and raised her tone. “So, you thought I’d be grateful to you?”

“You!” Reynold was exasperated.

“I’m quite curious, what made this Black whatever guy accept this kind of request? Which part of you is so important to him?” Rossellin sized Reynold up.

“I’m a Calamity Grade now!”

“Oh, you’ve grown up, I see.” Rossellin opened her mouth wide with exaggeration before clapping a few times without any signs of being sincere. She shrugged and said, “So, you’re saying that you’re very important to him?”

Reynold could not reply. Han Xiao was right beside him. He could not praise himself and say that he was important to him.

“Ahem.” Han Xiao stopped the conversation between the two of them and said, “Contacting the Purple Crystal Civilization isn’t difficult for me. You’ve been imprisoned for too long, so you’ve never heard of me.”

Without a doubt, he was not going to use force. Even with his current position, if he actually attacked a civilization, he would still receive punishments.

In terms of retrieving the sub-base to express his attitude, it would give him a bad name. The other partner galactic civilizations would feel that he was forcing a government. He was not a Beyond Grade A yet, so he should not be too domineering. That would not be beneficial to maintaining stable partnerships.

Resolving this matter was actually very easy. Since the Hutt Civilization could take Rossellin from Ceciris, the Purple Crystal Civilization could also take her from them. It was just a handover.

Purple Crystal took him much more seriously than Hutt as he was a partner of Purple Crystal. Hutt, however, knowing that they had no chance to compete, were unwilling to woo him, so they did not want to give him face.

However, proving their loyalty to Purple Crystal was so much more beneficial. Therefore, when Purple Crystal took over the matter, the Hutt Civilization immediately agreed.

Efficient and effective, this was Han Xiao’s solution. If a player had to do this mission, they would basically have to break into the prison by force.

“I see, you seem to be someone very important.” Rossellin raised her brows. “It looks like I need to study the history of the past decade or so.”

Rossellin stood up and came before Han Xiao. She snatched his wine class and gulped it down. Then, she casually threw the empty cup away. She sat back down, burped, waved her hands, and said, “I’m thirsty, so I drank some. For such an important person like you, I’m sure you won’t mind.”

Han Xiao turned to look at Reynold. “Your sister has quite an interesting personality, like a rascal.”

“Ever since she was little, she has been willful, caustic, and mean, never considering the feeling of the others!” Reynold could not hold back anymore and started to complain. “Therefore, when she became a careerist that toyed with an entire civilization, I wasn’t even surprised!”

“That’s right, I’m a careerist, a caustic rascal. Countless people are going to suffer now that you’ve let me out. Are you regretting saving me, my dear little brother?” Rossellin made a funny face.

“No.” Reynold disdained quarreling with her.

“Tsk, I’m a little touched. It’s really true that no matter how you hurt your family, your family will still be willing to be taken advantage of.” Rossellin stretched lazily. “Since you guys aren’t going to make use of me, does that mean I can leave anytime I want? If you reject, it means you are planning to use me. Of course, you don’t have to be shameful about your hypocrisy; I’ve seen this kind of thing way too many times.”

Reynold turned to Han Xiao. He only wanted to save Rossellin. As for where Rossellin would go in the future, he did not want to care about it at all. Han Xiao was the one that could make the decision to let her go.

Han Xiao caressed his chin and suddenly said, “You built a new religion in your hometown and brainwashed countless people, making them worship you. Anyone would think you’re a careerist.”

“Hmm, you have such sharp eyes, just like every normal person in the world, and you like to repeat obvious things.” Rossellin’s face was filled with mockery. “What, are you planning to judge my actions? Tell me then, I will try my absolute very best to repent for one minute.”

“I don’t think you’re a careerist; you’re a reformer.” Han Xiao leaned forward and stared into Rossellin’s eyes, speaking with a calm and normal tone.

The moment he spoke, Rossellin’s expression stiffened, and a tint of anxiety flashed through her eyes. She was stunned.

Chapter 700 - Rossellin Compound Fertilizer

“Interesting, this is the first time someone has used an outright lie to praise me.” Rossellin barely squeezed out a sneer to cover for the panic inside.

“You can disguise yourself with ambition, but you can’t fool everyone. You didn’t create a new religion and modify people’s faith because of ambition. You have other motives.” Han Xiao smiled.

Han Xiao had limited knowledge of the Rossellin before his eyes, but the players had gathered quite a lot of her information during the Silver Revolution version in his previous life. When Han Xiao recognized Rossellin, he recalled that information. Some of it was Rossellin’s past experiences. It seemed like she had told others about her past before. Although she did not tell the players where her home was, she did talk about what she did in her home and what her motive was.

According to that information, Han Xiao knew that Rossellin’s real motive had nothing to do with ambition. She did not control the faith of others for power. Han Xiao knew Rossellin better than herself.

Anyone who could become the backbone of the Silver Revolutionary Army, apart from having special skills, had a heart not satisfied with the status quo and a unique aspiration.

Rossellin was shocked. This was the first person to see through her disguise. She quickly held down her surprise then stabilized her mind with alertness and vigilance—this had been her habit for many years.

Black Star has only seen me twice. He definitely has a reason for saying these things… He must be exaggerating. How could he know what I’m thinking?

The real motive for creating a religion and gathering believers had always been Rossellin’s deepest secret. She had never told anyone, and she did not believe that Black Star could guess correctly.

Reynold turned his head and looked at Han Xiao with suspicious eyes—did his sister really have some other motives?

“Your ability is to subtly rewrite people’s mental outlook. Its impact isn’t very strong, and you can’t completely manipulate others to your likings. However, you can put all kinds of ideas in their minds,” Han Xiao, with a confident look on his face, said slowly. “The mind is intangible, but it’s like the strings that manipulate puppets, affecting every aspect of an individual. Whether one is loyal or rebellious, sincere or hypocritical, optimistic or pessimistic, depends greatly on one’s mind. The reason that the same environment creates different people is because of the mind, too.”

As he was speaking, he pointed at Rossellin, who was forcing herself to stay calm, and smiled. “Using your Esper ability, you are able to give them new ideas that are very contagious. In the eyes of your home government, your idea is a virus. But in my view, your idea is a seed, a seed that can turn around the thousands of ways in which the entire race can develop toward.”

“You…” Rossellin’s expression changed drastically.

Without waiting for her to respond, Han Xiao continued.

“The racial personality of a civilization depends partly on its nature and partly on the traditional ideas that have been passed down from ancient times, which cannot be controlled by future generations and will change independently at the various stages of the history as it develops.

“These ideas left over from history will dissolve into the blood of this race and become their spiritual identity. History only happens once, and a race doesn’t have a second chance. It can even be said that there is no opportunity for them to choose. From a macro perspective, the culture and character of this civilization is almost random; they’re not necessarily optimal results out of the infinite variables. Or maybe there’s no such thing as an optimal result.

“I call you a reformer because I know that you didn’t set up a religion in your hometown for power but to reform your own race. To be honest, I am a little impressed by your aspiration. Your goal isn’t to reform a government or system but the cultural ideology and spiritual goal of the race, thus changing the spiritual identity of the entire race!”

This information was like a hurricane that struck Reynold. He opened his mouth wide and stared at Rossellin, dumbfounded. If what Han Xiao said was true, his sister’s goal was indeed unbelievably huge.

As if Rossellin had been struck by lightning, she was petrified, and her face was covered in disbelief.

Han Xiao smiled in his mind. Those were the motives as Rossellin explained them in his previous life. Using them to trick her was extremely effective.

After a pause, he went on and said, “Whether it’s reforming the system or reforming the government, its effects won’t last as long as reforming the spiritual identity of an entire race. Many of the problems are because of the people. Character determines destiny. Without external influence, this law applies to a civilization.

“History has been established. In the course of a civilization’s development, there is basically no opportunity to change its character. What you have been doing is implanting new ideas and giving them the opportunity to change through the form of your Esper ability and religion. This is your ‘Race Transformation Plan.’

Han Xiao touched his chin. “Hmm, however, you’re just an individual in this race. In the eyes of others, you have absolutely no right to change the minds of everyone. Through growing up, everyone has created their own history. You can’t impact the deep-rooted traditions that have been around for thousands of years. Therefore, you became a heretic, a sinner.”

In his view, Rossellin’s actions were basically leading her to become a saint!

Han Xiao could not help but think, You denied history and the racial spirit that has been passed down. No wonder they locked you upyour ideas are way too dangerous.

Nonetheless, this woman’s thinking was not wrong. Assuming that there were no Confucius or Mencius in the history of his previous life, the ideas passed down by the people of the world would be different after thousands of years, and the logic of people would change to a certain extent as well.

“The easiest way to change the spiritual outlook of a group is religion and education, so you chose to establish a religion, gathering faith and subtly changing people’s character. This is your real motivation,” Han Xiao said, looking at Rossellin. “Am I right?”

Rossellin’s hands were shaking. She took a deep breath and looked at Han Xiao with great complexity.

“You’re… right.” Rossellin’s voice became low. Her cynical tone from earlier had completely vanished. Now, Han Xiao finally felt a faint aura of a religious pope in her.

She looked straight into Han Xiao’s eyes and said, “I am not noble. The parents of Reynold and I died during a political parade. The Ceciris Civilization disappointed me again and again, so I wanted to change something. You’re right, I don’t have the right to change the spiritual identity of the whole race, and they don’t necessarily need me. But if no one did anything extraordinary under all that pressure, nothing would change. I created a religion that lasted many years, and I only changed the character of a small group of people. Through the religion and my Esper ability, I made them positive, I made them grasp the present, and I made them better. As long as the religion continued, even without my Esper ability in the future, these ideas would have become more and more popular. Unfortunately, it provoked a backlash…”

After so many years of suffering, Rossellin had become deeply wary of everyone. Her harsh words and cynical attitude were her protective disguise—too many people lied, too many wanted to use her. She promised herself to never open up to anyone ever again. Even if she was misunderstood, she would not defend herself.

But now, for the first time, Rossellin had spoken out.

She gazed at Han Xiao, her heart filled with complex emotions. There was shock, relief, and a hint of happiness of meeting someone who understood her. Those were the deepest secrets of her heart that she had never told anyone else, but Black Star had seen through her so easily. This was the first time that Rossellin had met someone that knew her so well; she almost lost her cool.

Speechless, Reynold looked at Rossellin with disbelief. He looked at her from head to toe again and again, seemingly wondering if his sister had been swapped. He could not imagine Rossellin having such huge aspirations and dreams.

Seeing that Rossellin had admitted he was right, Han Xiao was secretly excited.

This fertilization method is just as good as it used to be. This is probably how the Silver Revolutionary Army fooled her in my previous life!

“Ah-choo!”

On Planet Aquamarine, Bennett sneezed all of a sudden.

When Rossellin finished, the room became quiet. The few of them did not speak for a moment. Han Xiao knocked the table and spoke first.

“So, what do you plan to do in the future? You can’t go back to Ceciris, and you’re still considered Purple Crystal’s prisoner. I bailed you out, so I can’t just let you run around wherever you like.”

Rossellin turned and glanced at Reynold. She then smiled lightly. “I see. After saying so much, you still want me to stay.”

“You’re a talent. I like talent.”

Han Xiao, of course, did not have to deny it.

“Since my brother works for you, even if you want to use me, you won’t do anything excessive. Okay, you used your connections to save me, so I owe you one. My brother is my brother; I won’t use him to repay you. Also, I don’t have much combat capability, so I certainly won’t be a match for such an important person like you…”

Rossellin stretched and went back to her cynical attitude. She deliberately gave Han Xiao a vaguely seductive wink and said, “Since I won’t be able to run anyway, I don’t have a choice. I will lend my body to you as a tool. Use it as you will, don’t be shy.”

“Okay.” Han Xiao nodded normally, but inside, he was screaming, Still putting on a show? You think I can’t see that huge +80 Favorability? Would it kill you to be honest about how grateful you are? Would it?

The biggest problem was settled. Han Xiao let Reynold take Rossellin to rest, eat something, and replenish her energy. After spending so many years in captivity, her body was rather weak, and she was in need of recovery.

After the two of them left, Han Xiao stayed in the hall alone. He tapped the sofa with his fingers, pondering how to utilize Rossellin’s special talent.

Rossellin’s Esper ability was a perfect fit for ideological construction. He felt that it could be used to strengthen the Black Star Army’s corporate culture, to create a few slogans like ‘Let the light of Black Star shine on every corner of the universe’ and ‘May Black Star rise as usual’. The Bloodshed Land also had special talents for ideological construction.

That means, Rossellin can take on the job of political commissar?

Han Xiao touched his lips with excitement.

To make the leeks grow healthily with spiritual construction…

That would be a strong compound fertilizer!

Also, her ability is very special. The Silver Revolutionary Army will still target her in the future, and I can’t keep someone with such enormous aspirations forever. Since that’s the case, if she will still become a core member of the Silver Revolutionary Army like in my previous life, maybe I can build and maintain good relations with them and not be their enemy.

As the Silver Revolutionary Army was the main storyline of a major version, they were, of course, very powerful. Although Han Xiao did not have any intention of joining them and trying to overthrow the three Universal Civilizations, he did not want to be their enemies.

Maybe through Rossellin, he would be able to discover the Silver Revolutionary Army’s tracks before they completely formed, thus being able to respond in advance.

Mr. Han pondered over the idea and did not see an issue with it. He then opened the interface.

In the mission list, the mission (Reformer) was completed, and he had already received the reward. He now had a complete Reynold Character Summon Card.

Character Summon Card – Reynold—[Perfect Mechanical Sense]

Total Machinery Affinity multiplied by 1.4. (Includes basic value, bonuses from passive abilities, and talents. This effect applies to the total value.)

When enhancing machines using Mechanical Force, the Grade of the machine will be temporarily increased by one or two Grades, up to Pink Rare Grade.

+4 levels to all Mechanic class active abilities. This effect can exceed the level limit.

Duration: 16 hours

Usages: 0/3

Remark: In your senses, every machine is a world of ecological balance.

Three usages, sixteen hours duration each. Quite long lasting. It seems that this type of Character Summon Card also takes into account the time to build machines. It can be used both for combat and for building.

Han Xiao was quite satisfied. With this Character Summon Card, there would basically be no problem in making a piece of orange equipment. All he had to do was complete the blueprint mission and obtain the silver legacy blueprint.

Looking at its effects again, Han Xiao was increasingly envious of Reynold.

I want the real [Perfect Mechanical Sense] talent…

After rescuing Rossellin, Han Xiao split up with those two and let Reynold take Rossellin back to their headquarters and settle her down. While piloting the spaceship and leaving the Colton Star Cluster, he headed to the location of the blueprint mission.

Be it the Black Star Army matters, Vilna, or Rossellin, none of them were as important as his Class Advancement mission. He had to become stronger to develop his organization and position even further. Since he was close to completing the Class Advancement mission, he dropped everything else and focused on completing the Class Advancement.

As Han Xiao left the Colton Star Cluster, a pair of eyes were staring at his whereabouts from a dark place that he could not see.

Chapter 701 - Fangs

Taralam Star Cluster, 0358 Wormhole Sector.

Big and small blue-black wormholes with fluctuating space coordinates existed in this area, tearing the space around them. A small spacetime carefully travelled in this unstable space area. It was Han Xiao’s ride.

In the central area of the Shattered Star Ring was a huge wormhole group that was under the Taralam Star Cluster area. This dangerous area was called the Wormhole Zone. There were very few people around. The various Star Cluster civilizations had stationed people there and built wormhole observation stations, classifying the Wormhole Zone into hundreds of sectors.

The Wormhole Zone in the Shattered Star Ring connected to many places around the universe. The job of the wormhole observation stations was to measure where some of those wormholes led. However, due to the wormholes being extremely unstable, old wormholes disappeared regularly, and new wormholes appeared just as frequently. Therefore, the progress of the measurements was very slow.

According to the official data, till this day, they had only completed the measurement for 1 in 2,400,000 of all the wormholes.

Han Xiao current target was the observation station of 0358 Wormhole Sector. The distributor of the level 180 silver legacy blueprint mission was the Mechanic that maintained this wormhole observation station.

As he passed by a bunch of wormholes, a small space station appeared in his vision under the wormholes’ orbits. Han Xiao sent a landing request to the space station, which was very quickly approved. He piloted the spaceship to dock at the space station and entered the port passage. After sliding on the magnetic tracks of the space station for a while in a narrow passage, he finally entered the port.

Han Xiao disembarked from the spaceship and greeted the maintenance personnel of the port.

“Your Excellency Black Star, have you come to look for Professor Harrofal again?” a maintenance officer asked.

“Hmm, where is he now?” Han Xiao nodded.

“You came at the right time. Professor Harrofal followed the measurement team out to collect wormhole data some time ago and only returned two days ago. He’s now inside the research lab, conducting experiments.”

“Thanks.” Han Xiao smiled and left the dock, heading toward the research lab of the wormhole observation station.

This wormhole observation station did not belong to Klent or Purple Crystal but another Star Cluster civilization of the Shattered Star Ring that did not take part in the secret war and was semi-neutral.

Harrofal was a research-type Mechanic that was not good at combat, a professor of a government-owned mechanic education institution of this Star Cluster civilization. He had always been on the frontlines of technology, studying all kinds of subjects. In order to study the wormhole group, he had deliberately requested to do maintenance at an observation station. He was the distributor of the blueprint mission.

Han Xiao had already completed the blueprint mission up to the seventh round. He had come to this observation station many times, so the people there were already familiar with him.

Arriving at the research lab smoothly, Han Xiao announced his identity outside the locked door. After waiting for a while, the door opened, and Harrofal walked out. He gave Han Xiao a stare and said unhappily, “You again, you’re disturbing my experiment.”

“Experiments can be done anytime, but you don’t get to see me every day.” Han Xiao laughed.

Harrofal was an old man with claret skin. His hair and beard were all white. He was very old, but his back was straight, and he looked more fit than some younger men. This was a tough old man.

To the Mechanic class, knowledge was power. Harrofal had studied the various mechanic theories very deeply and was quite talented. Furthermore, he had studied them for so many years, so it was very normal that he was a Grade A Mechanic. However, Harrofal had always been researching and studying technology; he rarely fought anyone.

Although his level was not low, he had many subclasses similar to (Scholar]. His combat capability was among the lowest in Grade A.

A Star System civilization would have dozens of government Grade A Supers. Thus, the Star Cluster civilizations naturally had dozens of times more Grade A Supers. After Han Xiao entered Calamity Grade, he had basically only come into contact with people of the same level, so it looked like there were many Calamity Grades. Actually, compared to the huge number of Grade B and Grade C Supers, the number of Calamity Grades was still very low.

The Star Cluster civilizations had relatively more Grade A Supers, so they could afford to have some talents that were not required to fight, such as Harrofal, who had low combat capability and focused on research and developments.

Although Harrofal always focused on research, he knew that Black Star was also a master Mechanic, so he had respect for him. He temporarily paused his studies and invited Han Xiao to the guest room to chat.

After chatting for a while, Han Xiao moved the topic to the blueprint mission. This silver legacy blueprint was Harrofal’s personal belonging. Han Xiao had made an agreement with him long ago that as long as he helped him do some stuff, Harrofal would be willing to teach the blueprint to Han Xiao. The mission was at round seven.

Harrofal thought for a while before giving his request. A notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

He looked at the new round for the missionit was not difficult, just cumbersome.

Han Xiao delayed no longer. He ended the chat and bade farewell to Harrofal. He left the observation station and immediately headed to complete the mission.

The level 180 silver blueprint mission had ten rounds in total. To Han Xiao, it was not dangerous at all; he could complete them as long as he spent the time.

In the next month, Han Xiao travelled around, returning and leaving the observation station, and focused on completing one mission requirement after another. Ralph had given him a very long holiday this time, so he had plenty of time.

While he was doing the missions, he did not meet any accidents; it went very smoothly. In just over ten days, the blueprint mission in the mission list was finally shown to be ‘Completed’. Han Xiao immediately returned to the observation station and found Harrofal.

Harrofal took Han Xiao to his private room, dug through a bunch of stuff, and took out a square-shaped mechanical safe. He inserted his own Mechanical Force as the password, and the mechanical parts of the safe started to move like a Rubik’s Cube. After a while, the safe opened.

Harrofal took out a thick deck of blueprints from inside, shook it a bit, and placed it on the table.

“Alright, according to our agreement, this blueprint is now yours. It’s weird; you’ve been busy fighting the war these few years, yet you squeezed out the time to do things for me. Does this blueprint have some sort of important use to you?”

“You can say that.” Han Xiao nodded.

Harrofal saw that Han Xiao was not planning to explain further, so he did not continue asking. He flipped the blueprints on the table and said, “This is what you asked for. I got this from someone else, so it’s not really a secret. Although it’s interesting technology, it’s not very advanced. It seems to be a blueprint passed down by a Mechanic from many years

ago.”

“Let me take a quick look.”

Han Xiao scanned through the blueprint. A progress bar for reading instantly popped up on the interface. His Intelligence was extremely high, so his reading fast was speedy.

In less than a minute, he had read through this complex blueprint. With the interface, as long as he had a high enough Intelligence, the efficiency of learning a blueprint would be hundreds of times faster than regular Mechanics.

Standing at the side, Harrofal thought that Han Xiao was just looking at it briefly. Never would he know that Han Xiao had already mastered the knowledge of this blueprint in just less than a minute.

You have received [Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon Blueprint] x 1.

You have learned a new blueprint, [Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon)!

Finally… Han Xiao took a deep breath and looked at the blueprint introduction on the interface.

Legacy blueprints all had rather lame names. The Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon was a level 180 machine. It was a planet-level strategic weapon for Cannon Masters. As a Mechanic, he could use it as well.

Most energy cannons fired burning high-energy particle streams while the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon’s attacks were extremely cold. According to the blueprint introduction, at the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon’s highest power output, one attack could send an entire planet into the Ice Age. Although its destructive power was not as high as actual Planetary Destroyers, it was still a very strong weapon.

Maybe because the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon was very old, it did not have a very high knowledge requirement. Among the Cutting-Edge Knowledges, it only required [Abnormal State Energy) and (Controllable Annihilation Weapons). Fortunately, Han Xiao knew both, so he did not have to find new Cutting-Edge Knowledge.

“Hmm, this thing needs quite a lot of rare materials. I’ll have to go back to build it.

Glancing at the cost of it, Han Xiao tutted. The cost of this cannon was probably even higher than proper Planetary Destroyers.

The development of technology was meant to build high power weapons with low costs. The older blueprints basically had high power and even higher costs. After all, the technology back then had not been as advanced.

However, is a problem that can be solved with money even considered a problem?

I’m rich!

Putting away the blueprint, Han Xiao nodded and said, “I shall get going.”

“Don’t you want to stay a while to chat before leaving? I still want to discuss some technology with you.”

“Probably not, I have some things to do.”

“Sigh, alright then. I’ll send you off to the dock. If you have the time in the future, feel free to chat with me anytime. You have my communication number.

Harrofal felt a little sad. He quite liked chatting with Han Xiao. Both of them were master Mechanics, and they had infinite topics to talk about.

However, the moment they left the room, the lights in the corridor became red warning alarm lights. A piercing alarm echoed in the entire observation station.

Ohm!

“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”

Harrofal’s face drastically changed. Before he could speak, the entire observation station trembled violently, and Harrofal almost staggered.

Right after, a deafening sound of explosion came from far away.

Boom!

The vigorous flames quickly expanded in their direction, filling the corridor.

Han Xiao frowned. Nanoparticles climbed on his palm and turned into armor. He flipped his hand around, and a blue oval shaped psionic shield appeared, easily blocking the flames. He then turned and looked at Harrofal.

“The enemy is definitely bombarding this place from outside. Let’s leave the observation station first.”

Harrofal had very little experience against enemies, but he was not so inexperienced that he would panic in such situations. He equipped his own mechanical suit and crashed through the corridor, penetrating the exterior armor of the observation station and flying out. Han Xiao activated the Mountain Ape mechanical suit and followed him.

The two of them finally saw what was happening after leaving the observation station. Their expressions changed.

A fleet had surrounded the observation station from all directions. It had at least five hundred battleships, and they were all firing at the observation station. The protective shield was almost torn apart instantly as high energy beams penetrated the observation station.

The next moment, the fire expanded, and the observation station exploded, shattering into pieces.

“No, my research lab!” Harrofal’s expression changed drastically as he yelled with heartache.

“Sh*t, my spaceship!” Han Xiao’s eyes twitched.

Reynold had flown the Blacklight Stealth back, so he was just using a normal small spaceship. Nonetheless, Han Xiao had still stored some Army Boxes in it. It would be a huge loss if they were destroyed too. Although he was not short of money at all, wasting was still shameful!

Han Xiao raised his hand. The space around him rippled, and Army Boxes arrived one after another through hyperdrive. Han Xiao counted them and was relieved.

The outside of the Army Boxes had suffered some damage, but the compressed orbs inside were undamaged. The Army Boxes not only had hyperdrive devices equipped but also protective shields. This was originally to prevent the enemy from attacking the Army Boxes, but it had come in handy this time.

The entire observation station turned into scrap; only a few Supers survived. The attack was too sudden. The people inside the observation station could not react at all.

As this was a space station for research, it had limited defensive measures. After all, not many people would deliberately attack a wormhole observation station set up by a Star Cluster civilization. Furthermore, this was the Wormhole Zone. The unstable wormhole group was a natural line of defense. Almost no one would battle there.

“Who are these people? Why did they attack us?” Harrofal was shocked and furious.

Han Xiao was very curious too. He instinctively felt that these enemies were there for him-he had almost developed a habit of being assaulted throughout the years.

He frowned and looked at the fleet. As he was about to speak, he received a message on his mechanical suit.

“We finally meet again, Black Star!”

This voice, it’s a little bit familiar!

Han Xiao looked over.

His vision passed through the universe and locked onto a person from the fleet. After clearly seeing this person’s appearance, Han Xiao was shocked and surprised.

This person was his old enemy that had been missing for many years—the DarkStar leader!

How did he appear there?

Chapter 702 - Lord of Fallen Ark

Ever since Godora’s pursuit for the DarkStar leader ended with no results, Han Xiao had not seen the DarkStar leader. No one knew where he was hiding. But now he had suddenly appeared, even bringing a fleet. It seemed he had risen from the ashes.

Han Xiao frowned. The DarkStar leader definitely knew his whereabouts and had an exceptional intelligence channel. He should be working with a very strong organization.

DarkStar will only have a chance to target Godora if I’m eliminated. As for the organization working with DarkStar, it’s probably an organization that has attempted to assassinate me before. Their goal is the same, so they easily came to an agreement…

Han Xiao thought quickly. From this, he deduced that the DarkStar leader only appeared to attack him because he was absolutely confident of succeeding. With so many failed assassination attempts, they would definitely be very cautious.

This small fleet around him was basically no threat to him. After all, his mechanical army was not for decoration. However, Han Xiao did not let his guard down even a bit; rather, he was very wary. He felt that the DarkStar leader definitely had an unknown trump card.

Han Xiao had no intention of chatting. The Army Boxes opened one after another, and an enormous mechanical army expanded like the tide, overwhelming the DarkStar leader’s fleet with its size.

Without hesitation, Han Xiao struck. Countless cannon fire lights seemed to have illuminated the universe. His storm of counter attacks tore dozens of battleships into pieces in an instant!

With his mechanical army that had millions of machines, as well as his various talents and Mechanical Force bonuses, Han Xiao was a one-man galactic army. He could destroy an entire fleet alone.

Countless mechanical guards surrounded Han Xiao, forming layers and layers of shields. The fleet’s attack could not penetrate the shield at all.

Harrofal was protected inside too. He looked around at the mechanical army that filled his vision and could not help but think, How rich!

Within a short while, these hundreds of battleships were almost wiped out, but Han Xiao was frowning.

The battle being this easy made him even more alert. He did not believe that the DarkStar leader would attack him without any preparation.

How could such a small fleet eliminate him, someone that even gave a Star Cluster civilization headaches?

At this time, the DarkStar leader suddenly gestured at Han Xiao from far away in the midst of dodging attacks from the mechanical army. A few strange magic waves landed on Han Xiao in an instant.

You have been attacked by the DarkStar Leader’s (Chain of Pain-Secret). Judging Mystery… failed. Your Mystery is lower than the opponent. This spell is effective!

(Chain of Pain-Secret): When the opponent takes damage, your health will decrease as well. For every 1% health the opponent loses, you will lose 0.55% – 0.7% health.

You have been attacked by the DarkStar Leader’s (Life Absorption-Transfer). Judging Mystery… failed. Your Mystery is lower than the opponent. This spell is effective!

(Life Absorption-Transfer): When you recover health, the recovery effect decreases by 30%. The opponent will gain the 30% recovery you have lost. When you should recover 1,000 health points, you will only recover 700 health points, and the opponent will recover 300 health points.

You have been attacked by the DarkStar Leader’s (Heart Malediction—Collapse). Judging Mystery… failed. Your Mystery is lower than the opponent. This spell is effective. You have entered the (Mental Collapse] state!

[Mental Collapse]: -40% Psychological Resistance. You have lost control of your body and are unable to move. Duration: 6.2 seconds.

The Mechanical Force all over Han Xiao’s body suddenly became still. He could not move his entire body. Han Xiao suddenly recalled that he still had the DarkStar leader’s Character Summon Card, and its effect was also this [Heart Malediction-Collapse).

As he could not move at all, the mechanical army lost the Mechanical Force bonuses temporarily. The pressure on the DarkStar leader was immediately reduced. He quickly escaped the encirclement. In the process, his magic shield was focus fired and shattered time after time. He lost some health, so through (Chain of Pain-Secret], Han Xiao’s health decreased as well.

Han Xiao looked at the combat information and quickly calculated in his mind.

Chain of Pain reduces health by percentage. The amount of health I lose is about 60% of the DarkStar leader’s on average. However, my total health is more than double his, and the health recovery of Life Absorption relies on health points. For every 700 health points I lose, he recovers 300 health points, but our recovery speed is about the same in terms of percentage…

Thus, as long as he recovered health, the health of both sides would reduce at about the same speed with his health reducing at a slightly slower speed at most.

It did not seem difficult to break this cycle—he just had to not recover any health.

This time, the DarkStar leader raised his hand. A warm light shone on his body. His wounds healed, and his health went up slowly.

Han Xiao frowned. If the enemy healed himself, he would not share that healing. This way, in order to kill the DarkStar leader, he would have to take some risks…

Of course, it would be much easier to just capture him.

The DarkStar leader’s style was clearly a Mage focused on Curse-type spells. No matter what, he was one of the boss characters in Version 2.0. This ability of his was more difficult to deal with than Ember’s. It was more suitable for duels, too.

Capture him first, think later.

Han Xiao decided not to act recklessly.

No matter how strong this cycle was, the DarkStar leader did not have infinite energy. Both Chain of Pain and Life Absorption required energy to sustain. The millions of mechanical soldiers would be able to make him run out of energy easily.

The effect of Heart Malediction quickly disappeared, and Han Xiao regained control of his body. He controlled the mechanical army to surround and intercept the DarkStar leader. The DarkStar leader began struggling once again.

Due to Chain of Pain, Han Xiao did not plan on killing him but was reducing the DarkStar leader’s mana, which was the reason that the DarkStar leader could barely hang on. Otherwise, he would have been obliterated by the rounds of True Damage.

Han Xiao did not plan on using the DarkStar leader’s Character Summon Card. The DarkStar leader’s main attribute was Mystery, so his Mystery was way much higher than Han Xiao’s. The judgment would definitely fail.

Did he feel that he’s become stronger and felt confident in killing me alone? Is he that reckless?

Although the DarkStar leader’s abilities shocked him, it was not very threatening. Looking at the DarkStar leader, who was being heavily surrounded, Han Xiao could not stop guessing what his trump card was.

Suddenly, a sense of alarm appeared in his heart. The DarkStar leader took out a black bead from his wrist. Its texture was like a crystal. The bead was filled with dense black fog, and in the center was a red dot of light.

The next moment, the DarkStar leader crushed the bead. A lump of black fog splashed out together with the red dot of light, quickly turning into a completely black, human-shaped creature. Black smoke was oozing from all over its body. It had no face, and the middle of where its face was supposed to be was a blinking red dot.

A creepy and strong aura swept out. Han Xiao felt all his hair stand on end as if he was targeted by some evil being.

This was a pressure generated from the difference in the hierarchy of life!

“What is that!” Harrofal had been watching and doing nothing, but he was so shocked that he could not help but exclaim in the communication channel. Subconsciously, he entered his rusty battle posture.

Han Xiao did not answer him, but his face became extremely grave.

With his strength right now, only one type of being could give him this kind of pressure…

Beyond Grade A!

The mechanical army fired another round of attacks at the DarkStar leader and the human shaped black fog beside him. The black fog silhouette moved. It grabbed onto the DarkStar leader’s shoulder, and with a flash of red light, the two of them suddenly teleported and appeared at another location, dodging the attacks.

“This bead is indeed useful!” The DarkStar leader immediately felt relieved.

This black fog silhouette was an Esper doppelganger of the Lord of Fallen Ark. In order to fuse the Esper abilities on the Super High Risk Esper Ability Restriction Treaty, he absorbed countless Esper abilities that all became his.

The DarkStar leader had witnessed the Lord of Fallen Ark in combat before. He was basically almighty. He only had one word to describe everything he saw…

God!

The Lord of Fallen Ark’s doppelganger was his biggest trump card!

The organization that planned this assassination was the organization that had always been behind DarkStar—the Klent Kingdom!

Helping the DarkStar leader fight the Godoran Civilization was one of the projects in Klent’s plan to mess up the security of the Colton Star Cluster. DarkStar was just one of the chess pieces used to weaken the various Star System civilizations of Colton. For a very long time, the Klent Kingdom had been secretly causing trouble to their friendly neighbor’, the Purple Crystal Civilization.

After DarkStar was destroyed by Han Xiao, it was Klent that found the way to send the DarkStar leader away and to the Fallen Ark.

Klent secretly had a close relationship with the Fallen Ark. They did not bet everything on the Tyrant. Due to the Fallen Ark’s reputation, there was no way that they would expose this secret partner of theirs.

After the DarkStar leader returned with his fleet, he had always been hiding in Klent’s territory and tracking Han Xiao’s whereabouts through Klent’s intelligence channels. The Bloodshed Land did not know about this.

Han Xiao was the common enemy of the DarkStar leader and Klent. The two of them observed Han Xiao’s actions like patient hunters and had noticed that Han Xiao had periodically been going to the Taralam Star Cluster’s Wormhole Zone to visit Harrofal in recent years.

Therefore, Klent thought of a plan-Black Star had already proved that it was extremely difficult to kill him, so why not banish him?

Some time earlier, the Bloodshed Land’s strategy to drag Han Xiao to the Seoul Star Cluster happened to agree with Klent’s idea.

In order to complete this plan, Klent had secretly made a deal with the Lord of Fallen Ark and obtained one of his Esper doppelgangers. Since they could not command the Tyrant, they found another Beyond Grade A that they secretly worked with to help.

Although the Lord of Fallen Ark’s doppelganger had the strength of a Beyond Grade A, it had limited energy. Unless he personally came, Black Star would not be killed by just one of his doppelgangers.

Klent’s plan was to use this doppelganger to suppress Black Star and send him into a wormhole, banishing him from the Shattered Star Ring. The Wormhole Zone not only connected to the explored universe but also the desolate unexplored universe!

Under these circumstances, the DarkStar leader had accepted Klent’s assignment. He had taken the Lord of Fallen Ark’s doppelganger, followed Han Xiao to the Wormhole Zone, and attacked!

He was willing to do things for Klent because it would only be possible to build a new home for the hybrids if he had help from a Star Cluster civilization.

Initially, he thought that Klent would let him build a home for the hybrid Godorans in Klent, but the reward that Klent promised to give this time made him unable to reject it.

If Black Star was successfully banished, Klent would build the hybrid Godorans a civilization of their own in the future Flickering World!

The DarkStar looked at Han Xiao, who was on full alert, and then looked at the black fog silhouette beside him that was giving off a terrifying vibe. He smiled faintly.

The end was decided!

Chapter 703 - Surprise, I’m Back

The mechanical army surrounded the entire region and countless cannons were pointed toward the black fog silhouette and the DarkStar leader. The cannons were charged up without being fired, and Han Xiao sized up the silhouette of the Beyond Grade A individual, which gave him immense pressure. Frowning, Han Xiao rapidly looked through his memory of Beyond Grade A experts.

A Beyond Grade A Super was far rarer than Calamity Grade Supers, and every one of them was a top expert in the galaxy. Han Xiao could clearly remember the details of every expert.

Black fog silhouette, red light spots…

A figure then flashed in Han Xiao’s mind.

Could it be that this fellow is (EsGod]? The ‘God of Espers’ and infamous Beyond Grade A Super?

This black fog silhouette was extremely similar to the EsGod doppelganger in his memories. After searching through his memories once, Han Xiao realized that it was extremely likely that his guess was correct.

If that was the case, it could barely be considered good news. Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed.

EsGod was one of the final bosses in the neutral-evil faction. His name was a secret, and people only knew him by his title of ‘EsGod’ or ‘Lord of Fallen Ark’. He had a few other nicknames, such as the Guide of the Crazy Believer, Tide of Extinction, and Butcher of Life.

Among the Beyond Grade A Supers, the combat capability of EsGod was ranked at the very top. His battle record was stunning, and he had not suffered a single loss before. His worst battle record was a draw, and he even had the record of killing another Beyond Grade A Super!

Even the three Universal Civilizations were extremely wary of him.

If the main body of EsGod descended, Han Xiao was certain that no one in the entire Shattered Star Ring would be his opponent. Even the Tyrant, Magus, and Dragon Emperor would not be a match for him.

But if it was only a doppelganger, even if he could give off the pressure of a Beyond Grade A Super, his actual combat ability was definitely weaker than his main body.

Furthermore, the battlefield was advantageous to Han Xiao! Han Xiao looked at the wormholes all around and came to a conclusion.

I can give it a shot!

All these thoughts flashed past in an instant, and Han Xiao already had a grasp of the situation. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and increase his concentration.

This was his first time fighting a Beyond Grade A Super head on, and Han Xiao would give it his all. Suddenly, he seemed to have thought about something and began talking to Harrofal in their communication channel.

“Professor, both of us are in danger right now, and this isn’t the time for you to hide anything. Tell me what kind of machines you have. I need to gather all of our strength.”

Harrofal only hesitated for a second before whispering to Han Xiao through the communication channel. After listening to what Harrofal said, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he immediately came up with a plan. He then gave Harrofal a series of instructions, and Harrofal handed something over to him.

Right at this moment, the doppelganger of EsGod made a move. His figure disappeared in an instant and arrived within the formation of the mechanical army.

Before the mechanical army around him could open fire, he disappeared again, and his figure flashed around the mechanical army rapidly before appearing in front of Han Xiao. He had managed to break through the defensive line of Han Xiao’s mechanical army in an instant.

The moment the doppelganger of EsGod made his move, Han Xiao reacted. He first got Harrofal to leave the battlefield before he retreated swiftly. At the same time, he released a large number of compressed orbs and nanoparticles, which transformed into a hundred six-sided alloy plates. The exterior of the alloy plates looked like solar panels with an intricate mechanical design on the plates that was much more complicated. These metal plates were used to stabilize spatial coordinates.

These alloy plates were dispersed and formed a loose sphere structure. The space within the interior of the sphere was stabilized, and the undulations of space were flattened.

This was a product of the Cutting-Edge Knowledge (Advanced Space Application), a product to stabilize space.

When the doppelganger of EsGod appeared in front of Han Xiao, he also fell into the region within the sphere, and his instant movement skill was restricted. However, EsGod did not pause and charged forward at an unbelievable speed instead

Just when the thought of retreating surfaced in Han Xiao’s mind, his vision suddenly darkened, and EsGod’s figure was already right before him. The speed displayed was almost no different from instant movement, and his Dexterity was at least three thousand points!

Esper ability, Divine Speed!

“Dammit, isn’t he too damn fast?” Han Xiao was startled and gritted his teeth to activate his Mechanical Force.

The psionic furnace of his Mountain Ape suit immediately revved up, and bluish lightning bolts flashed over the surface. Psionic energy exploded from his mechanical suit and formed a bluish energy blast at EsGod’s doppelganger.

However, the psionic energy blast passed through EsGod’s doppelganger as though he were a holographic projection. The energy blast only had a miniscule effect.

Esper ability, Dimension Crack!

The next moment, EsGod’s doppelganger regained its physical form, and a palm drifted toward Han Xiao’s chest.

Han Xiao immediately felt his hair stand on end, and he deactivated the space stabilizing device without hesitation. He used his Advanced Void Travel and escaped into the Void Dimension to avoid this fist.

He had a feeling that he would definitely be in huge trouble if he suffered such an attack!

The world before him then quieted and slowed. Everything around him seemed to be covered with a screen of water. After entering the Void Dimension, Han Xiao immediately attempted to retreat.

Right at this moment, the black fog that represented EsGod’s doppelganger suddenly trembled and escaped from the state of being silenced. He had also entered the Void Dimension!

EsGod then spread out his fingers before clenching his fists tightly. Han Xiao could clearly see a gigantic crack appearing in the space around him, and before he could even react, the Void Dimension world around him shattered like a broken mirror. Han Xiao was kicked out of the Void Dimension and brought back into the physical world.

His Void Travel was interrupted!

At the same time, EsGod’s figure appeared before Han Xiao again with his palm descending.

Han Xiao took a deep breath, and the danger alarm in his head went off loudly with his heart almost stopping. This was an instinctive reaction that he could not control at all. He could only watch helplessly as EsGod’s palm approached him.

Since he could not avoid the attack, he could only tank it!

Han Xiao gritted his teeth and immediately adjusted the power output of his mechanical suit to the maximum. All his buff skills were activated without hesitation, and he even activated a few Character Summon Cards to increase his Strength, including Nagakin’s [Muscle Is Truth] card.

Mechanical components sprung up on the surface of the Mountain Ape suit, and a surging force was generated.

Han Xiao’s arm folded to form a blocking posture, and he activated his shield to welcome the incoming blow.

Despite the palm pressing down on the psionic shield as though there was not the slightest bit of force being exerted, Han Xiao could feel as though a tsunami crashed down onto him.

Esper ability, Star Toss!

Thankfully, there was no sound in space. If there was, the soundwave from this attack alone could have killed all life forms below Grade C instantly!

Han Xiao blacked out, and he lost consciousness for an instant. When he regained consciousness, he realized that his body had been sent flying uncontrollably, destroying any mechanical soldiers in his path.

EsGod’s doppelganger became a small dot in Han Xiao’s vision, and Han Xiao did not know how far away this blow sent him.

The scales beneath his mechanical suit tried to dissipate the force of this attack, but they overloaded and were instantly reduced into scrap.

Han Xiao hurriedly summoned his interface to take a look and saw that this palm strike alone had taken out twenty-four percent of his suit’s armor and ten percent of his health. If he did not have his armor and shield, this palm strike would probably have taken forty percent of his health.

“This is the strength of a Beyond Grade A Super…” Han Xiao was dumbfounded.

The most frightening part of EsGod was the fact that even if he absorbed a simple Esper ability, he would be able to evolve the ability and allow it to unleash the force at the Beyond Grade A level!

The basic forms of Divine Speed and Star Toss were actually extremely common low grade Esper abilities, giving a speed boost and strength boost respectively!

Even if it was only a doppelganger, it still had the strength of Beyond Grade A!

Han Xiao tried to stabilize his body while releasing the space stabilizing equipment to prevent EsGod from using his instant movement ability. During that short exchange, he had already gotten his mechanical army to aim at EsGod and open fire.

Rainbow colors lit up the universe!

Thousands of light balls swallowed EsGod’s doppelganger, but the next moment, a black hole seemed to have formed, and the energy of those balls of light were sucked into EsGod’s body. As though he had eaten a great supplement, EsGod’s face, which was originally dim, began to light up again.

Esper ability, Black Hole!

The energy capacity of his doppelganger was limited, and the Lord of Fallen Ark would not inject too much energy into it. Thus, EsGod’s doppelganger was like a three-minute man. However, this wave of attacks had resupplied it with energy again.

“What kind of a hack is this?” Han Xiao finally managed to stabilize his body and cursed as he witnessed such a scene.

He could not tank the enemy’s attack or initiate an attack.

You are a bigger rascal than me!

“Hahaha!”

The DarkStar leader who was hiding at the side burst into laughter upon witnessing such a scene.

He had originally worried that EsGod’s doppelganger would not be able to suppress Black Star. However, it seemed like his worry was unnecessary. In his eyes, EsGod’s doppelganger fighting Black Star was like an adult bullying a child!

This time, Black Star definitely would not be able to escape!

The next moment, Han Xiao turned around to escape and charged toward the wormhole zone.

Upon witnessing that, the DarkStar heaved a sigh of relief, and a satisfied smile could be seen on his face.

It seems like EsGod’s doppelganger can threaten Black Star’s life, so Black Star wants to escape through the wormhole. Hahaha, you are going to be exiled in order to save your life.

EsGod’s doppelganger easily weaved through the mechanical army and gave chase to Han Xiao. Both figures transformed into rays of light and charged straight into the unstable wormhole zone.

Despite the wormholes being unstable, the wormholes with the most intense energy fluctuations tended to connect to further places. This had not been verified, but it was from the experience of the galactic residents.

The speed of EsGod’s doppelganger was extremely fast, and he chased closely behind Han Xiao. His objective was to send Han Xiao into the largest wormhole of this wormhole zone and exile Han Xiao away as far as possible.

Han Xiao could feel the terrifying suction force from the largest wormhole next to him. Turning back to look at EsGod, who seemed to be teasing him, he gritted his teeth and operated his thrusters to avoid the wormhole.

Right at that moment, a chuckle sounded by Han Xiao’s ears as though it was telepathically transmitted.

“Stop struggling. Come and take the risk together with me. Entering wormholes is one of my hobbies.”

EsGod said those words through voice transmission, and the next instant, he appeared behind Han Xiao and grabbed onto Han Xiao’s arm. At the same time, the red dots on his face shook slightly as though they were forming a smiling face.

It turns out you know how to talk!

Han Xiao felt his balls ache.

The next moment, EsGod’s doppelganger dragged Han Xiao into the wormhole, and both of them disappeared.

The mechanical army lost their source of Mechanical Force and all froze in midair.

“Success!”

The DarkStar leader was overjoyed and could no longer suppress his excitement.

They had finally exiled Black Star, and Klent’s mission for him had been completed. There was hope for a new country for the mixed blood Godorans!

“It’s over. It’s finally over,” the DarkStar leader muttered to himself with tears welling up in his eyes. Amid the tears, he seemed to be able to see a future full of hope.

As long as the mixed blood Godorans had their own home, they would be able to lead a happy life together without any discrimination from the purebloods. While every mixed blood Godoran looked different and came from a different tribe, the DarkStar leader believed that they were all the same. They were the new Godorans.

The DarkStar leader wiped away his tears and put aside such thoughts. Just when he was about to turn around and leave, he suddenly thought about something and turned around to search for Harrofal.

He still remembered this Calamity Grade Super who did not participate in the battle. He had seen Harrofal’s information before, and Harrofal seemed to be a researcher for a Star Cluster Civilization. The DarkStar leader felt that he could catch Harrofal for an additional reward.

After looking around for a while, he finally saw Harrofal’s figure in a region far away from the battlefield. Just when he was about to go forward to capture Harrofal, Harrofal suddenly stopped moving

Harrofal took out a compressed orb, and the compressed orb transformed into a strange looking machine. It looked a little like a music box, yet it did not have that many layers of complicated construction. Compared to a weapon for battle, it looked more like a delicate research tool. Eight arms then appeared from the machine, and the arms got to work as though it was painting, leaving behind a bluish mark of light.

The light marks became darker and darker and suddenly ballooned up to become a blue teleportation door. Following which, the blue light door spat out a figure before closing up.

“This thing is truly useful. Here, you can have it back.” Han Xiao stabilized himself and threw a beacon back to Harrofal.

“Humph, I am a researcher. The things I develop are naturally useful. However, if you fly into other wormholes that haven’t been measured before, this machine won’t be able to find you.”

Harrofal looked at the beacon with heartache and stored it back in his mechanical suit. This was something that he had given to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao then cracked his neck and looked toward the shocked DarkStar leader. Crossing his arms, his lips curled up with mockery as he sent a message.

“I bet you didn’t expect to see me again!”

Chapter 704 - Scapegoat

Less than a minute earlier…

Han Xiao was dragged into a dark, creepy wormhole. The moment that he entered, countless indescribable images appeared in his vision.

The side of the wormhole looked blue but was actually black. When the two of them entered, they were separated and could not see each other anymore.

The EsGod doppelganger did not even have to control him. The vortex in the wormhole dragged the two of them along and confused Han Xiao’s senses. Sometimes, he felt he was going forward, sometimes backward, sometimes falling, and sometimes rising. It strangely felt like he was being flushed down the toilet.

The screen inside the mechanical suit displayed that the space coordinates became undetectable, and his thrusters had stopped working. He could not move, and the images around him quickly changed as if many things flashed past him. When he looked closer, it all became black. At the end of the wormhole that was an unknown distance ahead, a tiny light shone as if that was the exit.

At this time, the square-shaped mechanical beacon that Han Xiao placed in the mechanical suit started to operate. This was a Wormhole Probe Beacon that Han Xiao had gotten from Harrofal before the fight with EsGod started.

Harrofal studied wormholes deeply. As they had to collect the various parameters of wormholes, the teams of the observation station had to get close to the wormholes from time to time. Occasionally, someone would get sucked in accidently. Through many experiments, Harrofal had invented a device that could retrieve a person from a wormhole. It had two requirements-first, the person had to carry a Wormhole Probe Beacon on them; second, the wormhole entered had to be one that had been measured before and had data recorded.

Han Xiao knew how strong EsGod was too clearly, even if it was just a doppelganger. As soon as he recognized the enemy, he knew that he would not be a match in a direct battle. He was never arrogant.

Therefore, when Han Xiao heard of this device that Harrofal had, Han Xiao had a flash of insight. He decided to use himself as bait and lure the EsGod doppelganger into the wormhole. Then, Harrofal would pull him out.

Although Harrofal might not be trustworthy, he had no choice but to take the bet. The worst ending would at most be spending a honeymoon with the EsGod doppelganger.

As a Mechanic, Han Xiao knew very well that compared to Mechanics that were good in combat, those in research and development usually had more tricks up their sleeves.

Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and figured out the enemies’ plan.

The DarkStar leader wanted to use the wormhole to banish him. However, using this Wormhole Zone as the battlefield ended up being to his advantage.

He had banished the EsGod doppelganger instead!

Han Xiao glanced at Harrofal and murmured, “Luckily, Harrofal was here, or I would have been in great danger.”

This time, the distant DarkStar leader who was petrified finally regained his focus. Without saying a single word, he turned around and started to escape. His expression was twisted and ferocious, filled with shock and rage.

He had just been thinking about the bright future ahead of him now that the mission was completed, yet in less than a minute, his fantasy was shattered mercilessly by the reality. Black Star had escaped from the wormhole, but the EsGod doppelganger did not return. He was completely dumbfounded.

The sudden change in situation almost made him lose his sanity, but the next moment, endless horror drowned that emotion and made his mind shiver.

Without the help of the EsGod doppelganger, Black Star is going to kill me!

The DarkStar leader did not dare to stay for another second. He escaped, only having one thought in his mind… I can’t die now; the hybrid Godorans need me!

However, the mechanical army was activated by Han Xiao once again and chased after him like a nightmare. Millions of mechanical soldiers rushed to him like a wave of metal. In the eyes of the DarkStar leader, these mechanical objects with no life seemed to have become ferocious and evil pureblood Godorans.

A battle between Han Xiao’s mechanical army enhanced by his Mechanical Force and a Calamity Grade that did not excel in fighting masses had absolutely no uncertainty. Han Xiao easily took care of him with just his mechanical army.

Without the EsGod doppelganger, the DarkStar leader had no more trump cards left. In order to not alarm the enemy, he had only brought a tiny fleet. The other troops and battleships that he had received from the Fallen Ark were all stored with Klent.

Two Oathkeepers brought the DarkStar leader, who was on his last breath, before Han Xiao. The effects of Chain of Pain and the other spells had stopped long ago. Healthy and vigorous, Han Xiao sized the DarkStar leader up.

“I thought you had already left the Shattered Star Ring. I didn’t think you would dare come back. You escaped years ago. This time, I finally caught you.”

Han Xiao tilted his head. The armor plate on his left shoulder slid open and exposed a ring-shaped device emitting a blue light. It vibrated and released a field of air like a bubble and shrouded the three of them, allowing them to speak directly.

The DarkStar leader stayed silent. All life in his eyes was lost, only leaving despair.

The helmet of Mountain Ape folded and retracted back to the ring-shaped armor on Han Xiao’s neck, showing his face. He sized the DarkStar leader up with an interested look.

“Since you can summon EsGod’s doppelganger, it means that you established a relationship with the Fallen Ark, which should’ve happened in these years you’ve been away. Let me think… the fact that you were able to attack me today means you have a very powerful intelligence channel that can lock onto my whereabouts. I did not tell anyone about coming here, nor did I stop at any other planet along the way. This means that the intelligence channel you have started monitoring me before I even left Colton, and they also knew that I would come to this particular wormhole observation station. It seems like they know me quite well…”

Han Xiao scratched his head.

“Hmm, Klent’s people are probably the only ones that like to stalk me this much. They’re the ones that initiated this mission, right?”

The DarkStar leader kept silent with no emotions in his eyes, as if he was submerged in his own world and did not hear what Han Xiao said at all.

Han Xiao pushed the DarkStar leader’s head, but still, he did not react, not even looking at him. His eyes looked like they had no focus, and his eyeballs did not move at all.

“Why aren’t you talking? Do you think imitating an ostrich will work?”

Harrofal could not help but cough softly. “Should I excuse myself?”

“No need, you can be my witness,” Han Xiao replied before turning around to look at the DarkStar leader. He frowned.

Strange, all he did was beat him up. Why did he seem broken?

Han Xiao, however, did not know that the DarkStar leader had lost all hope. He felt that everything had ended now that he was in Black Star’s hands. He did not want to say anything at all.

“Come on, has your mind collapsed just like that?” Han Xiao stared at the DarkStar leader’s eyes and curled his lips. “Your mental resilience is too low, yet you call yourself the leader of a galactic terrorist organization? Even the native leader of a rebel organization in my home has more backbone than you. You’re so weak.”

Han Xiao contemplated for a while. He then called two Phantoms. They shapeshifted and turned into layers of restraints, locking the DarkStar leader in his place. He then took out his juice extractor and extracted a dozen or so Genetic Medicines.

When the DarkStar leader saw the Super-Gene Extractor, emotions finally appeared in his eyes. “So, the Secret Message Bead did end up in your hands.”

“That’s right.” Han Xiao recalled that his first contact with DarkStar was because of the Secret Message Bead mission. “By the way, where is Ember?”

“He’s dead.” The DarkStar leader lowered his head.

“Oh, that’s great.” Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. The Destiny’s Child’s Character Summon Card was right.

About how Ember died, he was not interested at all. In fact, when he saw the EsGod doppelganger, he already roughly knew what had happened.

Capturing the DarkStar leader was a pleasant surprise. Klent was most likely supporting DarkStar, and they were connected to EsGod. This made him feel that he needed to be more cautious and alert.

The DarkStar leader’s use was not only to generate juices; he could give this war criminal to Godora. That should trigger a Legendary Point and Dungeon Creation Rights, representing that the DarkStar organization was completely eliminated.

Godora would heavily promote it, which might be also helpful to the (Bloodline) mission.

However, Han Xiao was not satisfied with just the reward from a Star System civilization. With his current position, Star Cluster Civilizations were the most suitable partners. Since he had discovered DarkStar and Klent’s connection, he felt that he could make something out of it. Purple Crystal would definitely be willing to share this inside information.

The effect that would bring was very obvious —with Klent having a history of funding a terrorist group to disrupt a Star System civilization, it would be more than enough to make the civilizations of the Westwind, Kaya, and Chaida Star Systems more alert toward Klent. This could indirectly cause Purple Crystal’s control in the areas of these three border Star Systems to recover, decreasing the efficiency of the Bloodshed Land.

Furthermore, the Lord of Fallen Ark was notorious throughout the entire universe, known as a brute extremely hated by the three Universal Civilizations. As soon as Klent and EsGod’s relationship was exposed, the pressure they faced would increase drastically. At the very least, the Crimson Dynasty would be unhappy with Klent.

Not mentioning the pressure that Klent would receive externally, there was also a chance for things to happen internally—their ally Heber the Tyrant might not like sharing his spouse with EsGod.

Of course, he might be wrong, and Klent might not be the mastermind behind DarkStar.

But it did not matter.

The DarkStar leader is in my hands. If I say you’re the mastermind, you are!

Han Xiao was firm on sending this gift to Klent.

Putting away all the medicines, Han Xiao flipped his palm, and a compressed orb shot out from the tubes inside the mechanical suit. Activated with a little bit of Mechanical Force, this compressed orb quickly expanded into a single person aircraft about ten meters long. It was very small.

The small standard spaceship that he had originally taken was destroyed. Although he could use the Mountain Ape’s Traveling Mode to leave, it was not convenient when he had a captive with him. He could only take out a single person aircraft and leave the Wormhole Zone first.

“Profession Harrofal, let me take you to the nearest planet.”

“Sure.”

Han Xiao retrieved his mechanical army, and the two of them entered the spaceship. He told Harrofal to help monitor the DarkStar leader while he sat in the pilot seat.

At this time, Han Xiao seemed to have recalled something

“By the way, where does the wormhole I just entered lead to? The EsGod doppelganger did not escape, where would he get teleported to?”

Harrofal shook his head. “The other side of that wormhole isn’t stable. We’ve measured the data, and the other side of that wormhole changes constantly, so I don’t know where that guy went. However, based on probability, there’s a bigger chance that he will have arrived in an unexplored region. After all, that wormhole is huge, and its energy turbulence is very violent.”

“I see…”

The EsGod doppelganger had limited energy, so it would disappear on its own after some time. As long as he did not come out in any densely populated area, it would be safe.

A dark blue flame shot out from the end of the aircraft. It slowly accelerated and gradually turned into a stream of light, disappearing from the Wormhole Zone.

In some unexplored region of the universe, a wormhole was slowly spinning. Suddenly, a silhouette flew out from the wormhole covered in black fog. It was EsGod’s doppelganger.

Stabilizing his body, the EsGod doppelganger waited outside the wormhole. After waiting for quite a while, he still did not see his little friend Black Star come over and meet him.

The red dot of light on the face of the EsGod doppelganger shone brightly, giving off a sense of hatred.

The main body had a mental connection with the doppelgangers. The main body could see the doppelganger’s actions and could either control the doppelgangers or just watch. EsGod always liked to be the observer and let his doppelgangers do the work. Seeing doppelgangers make their own choices was like watching a first-person movie.

Because he had this ability, he liked to enter wormholes for the fun of it and let fate decide what happened to the doppelganger.

This time, attacking Black Star, the original body of EsGod was still just watching as the doppelganger acted out of his own will. He did not really take Klent’s request seriously. As he saw that Black Star seemed to have escaped, he was a little curious and remembered this person. He then forgot about the mission and looked at where his doppelganger had landed.

The EsGod doppelganger looked left and right before choosing a random direction and starting continuous long-distance teleports.

The energy consumption of teleporting was low, but the energy inside his body still decreased quite a lot after it went on for a very long time. The red dot of light became dim. This time, the EsGod doppelganger finally saw a planet.

A strange planet.

Looking at it from afar, the planet surface was covered in green and was very lively, as if there were no tracks of any manual modification. Yet, the EsGod doppelganger’s detection ability sensed countless highly intelligent lives living on the planet surface.

The most special part of this was that there were thick, long roots growing on the surface of this planet that extended all the way to outside the atmosphere and into outer space. The ends of these roots then reached into a stable wormhole.

The EsGod doppelganger focused on it and suddenly realized that he was looking at it upside down.

These enormous roots did not grow out from the planet but extended out from the wormhole and connected to the planet surface This meant that these roots did not grow from the ground but inside the wormhole. The planet was the end of these roots.

Lights of all sorts of colors appeared at the end of these roots and entered the wormhole as if these roots were nutrient pipes sucking the energy of this planet.

Having seen this through the doppelganger, inside the Fallen Ark’s hall, the hooded man on the throne, EsGod, opened his eyes.

“Interesting.”

Chapter 705 - Transfer

In the Seoul Star Cluster was a Klent military fortress planet that supposedly repaired and manufactured battleships, but in reality, this was the headquarters of the Klent Confidential Strategy Department. The Confidential Strategy Department was Klent’s secret department that executed missions that were not exactly suitable to be made known to the public.

Those sensitive operations such as funding DarkStar, contacting the Fallen Ark, and the like were the Confidential Strategy Department’s job.

The authority level of the Confidential Strategy Department was extremely high. Even its internal members were just allowed to access information about their own mission and not the data of the other operations from the database. The garrison on this planet was not just for disguise but also to prevent the Confidential Strategy Department members from betraying and leaking the secrets.

The secret war was run by the Bloodshed Land, which did not take commands from Klent. Although Klent did not interfere with the war on the surface, without the Bloodshed Land knowing, they carried out secret missions to influence the secret war privately.

Sending the DarkStar leader to take the EsGod doppelganger and banish Black Star was their plan. They thought that it would almost definitely be successful, but they received information that they had lost contact with the DarkStar leader and were shocked. Regretful, they quickly hosted a meeting to discuss how to deal with it.

“The banishment mission failed. The worst outcome is that the DarkStar guy fell into Black Star’s hands and exposed his relationship with us. We must immediately erase any traces of us ever having contact with DarkStar.”

“Black Star might not be able to find out the truth. We have already instructed the DarkStar guy that no matter what situation he gets caught in, he has to take full responsibility, saying that everything was his plan, his alone, and that no one was behind him. He won’t rat Klent out; he knows the consequences.”

“We can’t rely on luck. We have to prepare for the worst. Black Star is very alert and skeptical. He will connect the DarkStar guy and the EsGod doppelganger to us. Furthermore, it’s not the first time he’s used us as the scapegoat. Even if the DarkStar guy doesn’t say anything, he can still fabricate a verbal confession to make us take the blame. I know him too well!”

“Yes, there’s a very high chance that Black Star will do this. He doesn’t have any morals and is a dangerous man who will do anything to achieve his goal. We must let the Foreign Affairs Department people insist on this being a slanderous act.”

“One more thing, temporarily stop all assassination attempts on Black Star. The success rate is way too low. Even the EsGod doppelganger wasn’t able to get rid of him. Without a Beyond Grade A, Black Star will probably be impossible to deal with. Also, after this, Black Star will definitely be more careful. It will be very difficult to find a chance like this again.

The people quickly decided on the report and handed it to the superior. This attack failed, but there was no point in them feeling regretful. All they could do was their best at recovering the situation.

Who would have thought that even EsGod could not get rid of Black Star!

On Godora’s mother planet, Serbia the Fifth was finalizing some files. This time, his private communicator received a communication request.

Serbia the Fifth took a look, and his eyes sparkled it was from Black Star.

Only very important people could contact him through his private communicator, and Han Xiao was one of them.

“Your Excellency Black Star, what is it?” Serbia the Fifth cut to the chase. He had to deal with tons of issues every day, so he did not think that Black Star would call him just to chat.

“I caught the DarkStar leader. I plan to hand him over to you guys, but I need to see you personally,” Han Xiao said.

Stunned, Serbia the Fifth suddenly stood up and exclaimed, “You caught him?”

The DarkStar leader, who had escaped, had always been an issue in his mind. Every day, he worried about DarkStar rising again. He did not expect Han Xiao to suddenly bring him such a huge surprise.

About ten days later, Han Xiao returned to the Black Star Army’s headquarters in the Garton Star System. Harrofal left halfway and went back to report what had happened back at the observation station.

At this time, the large dock of the Black Star Army’s headquarters was filled with throngs of people. Serbia the Fifth had been waiting with his guards, and beside him was a Purple Crystal emissary. Countless reporters surrounded them from outside the guards and kept taking photos, and further away were the rubbernecking mercenaries who heard about the news.

The reporters chatted among themselves.

“Purple Crystal and Godora are welcoming Black Star together. What does this mean? Why did the people above tell us to come here? Is there some big news?”

“Who knows? I heard that this is a press conference invitation announced by Purple Crystal. Although they did not state the reason, who’d dare reject it? There is definitely something important to be announced that will make our trip worth it.”

All the reporters there were invited, and they did not know what they had to report, but no one would reject Purple Crystal.

Furthermore, the location was at the Black Star Army’s headquarters. They had a feeling that as long as Black Star was involved, it would definitely be newsworthy. Therefore, although they knew nothing, they were passionate and curious about what was going to happen.

Inviting the reporters was Han Xiao’s request. He planned to make the handover of the DarkStar leader sensational news in order to increase his influence. Also, this would make the scapegoating more effective. After contacting Godora, he had contacted Purple Crystal.

Purple Crystal had been shocked by the information about EsGod doppelganger, only to feel relieved when they saw that Han Xiao was okay.

After hearing Han Xiao’s plan, Purple Crystal had immediately agreed. They fully supported any plan to cause problems for Klent. Hence, they had invited various galactical media outlets to attend the handover ceremony of the DarkStar leader. Only, they wanted to create some suspense, so they did not tell them what was this about.

Han Xiao’s spaceship stopped at the dock, attracting everyone’s attention. They subconsciously held their breath, and the place became silent.

Under the attention of everyone present, the hatch opened, and Han Xiao walked out. Only then did the blaring noise come back.

Serbia the Fifth and the Purple Crystal emissary quickly approached to welcome and talk to Han Xiao. The reporters started to video everything.

Brock was mixed in the crowd. His eyes kept looking over to Serbia the Fifth. As a DarkStar spy, he suppressed his hatred for the current highest leader of Godora so that others would not notice.

Han Xiao and Serbia the Fifth spoke a few words. Then, they looked around at the reporters and smiled.

“Let’s get down to business.”

Han Xiao turned around and looked at the hatch. Two Oathkeepers escorted the unkempt DarkStar leader out.

Everyone looked at the DarkStar leader. Confusion, perplexity, and similar emotions appeared in their eyes—most of them did not recognize the DarkStar leader.

This time, Serbia the Fifth spoke at just the right time and loudly announced, “This man is the DarkStar leader who has been on the run for years. Godora has spent a huge amount of effort but never managed to catch this evil man. This time, thanks to His Excellency Black Star’s help, this criminal has been captured. On behalf of Godora, we sincerely thank you!”

Then, he bowed slightly toward Han Xiao.

As the highest leader of a civilization, he represented the entire civilization in showing gratitude to Han Xiao. This instantly sparked shock among the crowd!

“That’s the DarkStar leader?”

“So, today is about the handover of this fugitive. No wonder we were invited to report it.”

Serbia the Fifth continued. “The DarkStar organization has been a menace to Godora for a very long time, causing the deaths of many civilians. We will have a public trial for this evil monster, giving justice to all the people of Godora. I hereby announce, the DarkStar organization is no more!”

There were some Godorans among the crowd, and they started cheering loudly.

Brock, however, was stunned. He looked at the unkempt DarkStar leader blankly. His legs turned wobbly, and he almost fell. His entire body shivered, unable to believe what was happening right before his eyes.

He had been waiting for the DarkStar leader to contact him, waiting to advise the leader not to mess with Black Star. But never would he have thought, when the leader finally appeared for the first time after so many years, he had already become Black Star’s captive.

Then what was the point of me hiding in the Black Star Army?

Everything is wasted!

As if struck by lightning, Brock was petrified and bewildered.

The galactic reporters were elated. Godora’s highest leader personally announcing the end of the DarkStar meant that Godora had completely eliminated their archenemy. It was indeed big news.

However, they did not know that this was just an appetizer. There was more shocking news afterward.

“Me meeting the DarkStar leader wasn’t an accident. Everyone, please watch,” Han Xiao said as nanoparticles turned into a tiny hovering sphere above his palm and generated a projection in the air.

Everyone looked over. It was the video of the battle between Han Xiao and the DarkStar leader.

The tactical analyzer of the mechanical suit had recorded the entire battle. Han Xiao felt that the video would be more effective than words, so he played it.

Everyone was shocked as they saw the DarkStar leader summon the EsGod doppelganger in the video. This time, Han Xiao spoke. “According to the data, the creature that the DarkStar leader summoned was the Lord of Fallen Ark’s doppelganger.”

Fallen Ark!

Every Star Field knew about this organization. DarkStar was connected to this extremely notorious organization?

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Suddenly, many reporters realized something. Stunned, they looked at Han Xiao.

Black Star was assaulted, yet he was standing right there unharmed. Did that not mean that Black Star had survived the attack of a Beyond Grade A?

Having noticed this, the entire place became silent. Countless eyes filled with shock focused on Han Xiao.

Although Han Xiao being a Beyond Grade A seed had become known by everyone in the Shattered Star Ring over the past few years, everyone knew that he was not really a Beyond Grade A yet. He was still extremely far from Beyond Grade As such as the Tyrant and Dragon Emperor.

Every organization only acknowledged how dominant Black Star was among the Calamity Grades and his future potential, but no one felt that Black Star could be viewed on the same level as those actual Beyond Grade As.

Now, however, Han Xiao had played a video of him fighting with a Beyond Grade A and surviving!

The reporters present were shaking with excitement as they quickly videoed the video that Han Xiao was playing. The Black Star Army members that had gone to rubberneck were also thrilled—the stronger their leader was, the brighter they felt their future would be.

Han Xiao did not play the complete video. He cut out the trip to the wormhole at the end and some parts showing his key abilities, but this was more than enough to boost his reputation.

Seeing the reporters’ faces were filled with excitement, and Han Xiao gave a look to the Purple Crystal emissary.

Understanding what Han Xiao meant, the Purple Crystal emissary took a step forward and said, “According to our investigation, we have discovered that the DarkStar leader was not acting on his own, and there were people behind him. Through our thorough investigation, we have discovered that Klent has been in contact with DarkStar secretly since long ago. We suspect that Klent might have been supporting DarkStar secretly to disrupt the safety of the Colton Star Cluster. Hence, on behalf of Purple Crystal, I announce that Purple Crystal will get involved in this matter. We will be holding the trial on the DarkStar leader together with Godora!”

The entire place was in an uproar!

The galactic reporters were not even excited anymore but completely stunned. This last piece of news was much more sensational than the previous two!

If what Purple Crystal said was true, this meant that Klent had been funding DarkStar to destroy civilizations all along. Furthermore, Klent would also be suspected of having contact with the Fallen Ark!

That was a taboo within the three Universal Civilizations!

Who would have thought that the DarkStar being caught would expose so much information!

At this moment, those reporters knew that this story would definitely cause a sensation in the entire Star Field!

Klent was going to suffer heavily!

Chapter 706 - I’ve Become Black Star’s Shape

The three pieces of news were each more sensational than the last. Many galactic reporters were dizzy. Han Xiao smiled. He had achieved his goal.

He had used the DarkStar leader to gain some Faction Contribution Points, used his new combat record to gain reputation, and then made Klent a scapegoat again… no, this time, they were really responsible for it.

Looking around at the shocked reporters, Han Xiao nodded with approval.

“With these public opinion channels, in less than an hour, the Shock Department should already be coming online.”

Han Xiao, Godora, and Purple Crystal finished announcing the news and proceeded with the handover. Han Xiao officially passed the DarkStar leader to the people that Serbia the Fifth had brought along. A chain of notifications popped up on his interface. His Godora Favorability had already reached its maximum and had no space to even grow any more. His relationship with them had been fixed at [Reverence) since a few years back when he received the Golden Gal Badge.

The Favorability with Serbia the Fifth, however, was very close to the upper limit. Han Xiao felt that Serbia the Fifth looked at him with praise, trust, appreciation, and many other positive emotions.

As Han Xiao expected, he received something in terms of Legendary Points as well; however, it was not a new Legendary Point but the upgrade of an old one. The original Star System level (DarkStar Destroyer) had now become Star Cluster level, giving much higher bonuses to all kinds of Mission Reward Quotas.

Mission Reward Quotas had always been very important. This was a function of the NPC Interface that would not use his own Experience. Han Xiao had always been using the quota to give out rewards to the players and later earning those rewards back through various methods.

In Version 2.0, however, Han Xiao’s Faction Reward Quota had been too low. At that time, the size of the Black Star Army had yet to reach seven digits, and its territory was also limited to Godora’s land.

It was different now. In only three years, the Black Star Army had expanded dozens of times, Han Xiao’s Faction Reward Quota had also increased tremendously. If this growth speed continued to the start of Version 3.0, not to mention one million players, he would even be able to afford three million players.

Version 3.0 also happened to be the exploding stage of player count in his previous life.

Han Xiao had always felt that the Reward Quota was an overall evaluation of himself. The stronger he and his faction were, the higher his Reward Quota. It was somewhat like an evaluation to his overall influence.

The handover ceremony was brief. Han Xiao invited Serbia the Fifth into a private room. The two of them left the dock, and the press conference thus came to an end. The galactic reporters were very satisfied with what they got and felt that this trip was more than worth it. The crowd gradually dissipated.

Spiritless, Brock followed the crowd without a destination like a walking corpse.

The DarkStar leader was the last hope of the organization. Seeing that the leader had been captured, Brock knew that it was the end of the organization. He became lost.

The calling to hide for the sake of DarkStar’s rise was his direction in life, his motivation to work hard. Now, the organization that he had been fighting for had been destroyed, so Brock did not know what he would do in the future. He had lost his purpose.

Maybe the leader’s goal should be inherited by me. The hybrid Godorans’ future… shall be my responsibility!

Brock’s heart suddenly started burning. He felt like he seemed to have found a new purpose in life.

His numb eyes started to become vibrant, and a firm expression appeared on Brock’s face.

That’s right. I’m the last DarkStar member. As long as I’m still alive, it…

Before he fully regained his faith, Herlous happened to be walking toward him and spotted him. He recognized this motivated employee who was praised by the entire army, so he said, “Brock, the army is going to promote a batch of trainees. Quickly set up a large test for the training camp. All those who pass will become official members.”

“Understood!” Brock’s brain had yet to react, but his body moved out of instinct. He subconsciously stood straight and listened to the order.

After Herlous left, Brock returned from his beautiful dream to the cold reality. His back that only stayed straight for a few seconds bent again, giving off a lifeless vibe from all over his body.

Inheriting DarkStar’s mission isn’t bad, but Godora isn’t the same as it was. They’re under the Black Star Army’s protection.

Having thought of that, Brock’s ambition and aspirations suddenly disappeared.

Sigh, why revolutionize anymore? I’m not tired of living yet… I’m already Black Star’s shape anyway. Might as well just continue my work…

Maybe this is all fate.

Brock sighed. He was determined… to resign to his fate.

Inside the private guest room, Han Xiao and Serbia the Fifth sat opposite each other.

“Your Excellency Black Star, you have really given me a huge surprise. Without its leader, DarkStar is gone forever. The pureblood and hybrid conflict within the nation will be reduced as well.”

Serbia the Fifth spoke in a respectful and sincere tone. Han Xiao’s position in the Shattered Star Ring was now completely different from before; even he did not want to be too casual.

Han Xiao nodded. “I have eliminated a serious problem for you guys, so I have a small request. I hope that during the trial, you guys can support the Purple Crystal’s people as much as possible. This is a good opportunity to damage Klent politically. Although the secret war has nothing to do with you, I still hope that you can cooperate.”

“Of course. That’s what we should do!” Even if Han Xiao did not request this, Serbia the Fifth would also give Purple Crystal support. After all, Purple Crystal was their boss.

“Hmm, I actually have one more important matter.” Han Xiao touched his chin. “The news of DarkStar being eliminated can somewhat reduce the internal conflict between Godorans, but it won’t solve the root of the problem. The conflict between pureblood and hybrid won’t be resolved because of this. There will be extremists who inherit DarkStar’s will in the future.”

Serbia the Fifth sighed. “I know that, but the sense of superiority born from blood is an illness much more difficult to eradicate than the system. This is a tradition that has been passed on through countless years. So many leaders in history were unable to solve this problem. All they could do was alleviate the symptoms, not cure it.”

“That might not be the case.” Han Xiao smiled faintly. “I have a solution that might reduce your bloodline conflict even further. Are you interested?”

“You have a solution?” Serbia the Fifth was skeptical. “Of course, I’m interested, but this isn’t a problem that can be solved easily.”

“Hehe. So, I made a friend recently. Her name is Rossellin…”

Han Xiao explained Rossellin’s experience and abilities. Although he was subtle, Serbia the Fifth understood what Han Xiao meant between the lines—he was suggesting using Rossellin’s ability to slightly brainwash the Godoran populace and twist their views. Rossellin was an extremely good tool to be used against deep rooted traditions.

Serbia the Fifth opened his mouth wide and looked at Han Xiao with shock, unable to believe how daring his suggestion was—he was basically telling the leader of a civilization, “I want to brainwash your entire civilization.”

As the highest leader, such an outrageous request almost did not require any consideration. Serbia the Fifth was just about to reject it when he suddenly thought of something. He then shut his mouth and started pondering.

Although brainwashing the entire civilization was outrageous and sensitive, it did indeed seem to be able to quickly solve the deeply rooted bloodline conflict. Serbia the Fifth was both tempted and in denial. By regular means, the bloodline conflict might never be eliminated. But with this extreme method, if something went wrong, it would be a huge shock to all Godorans.

If anyone else had made this request, Serbia the Fifth would have rejected them without hesitation. But the person that made this request was Black Star, who he deeply trusted, which was why Serbia the Fifth did not reject immediately and was conflicted.

“That’s too risky…”

“Do you not trust me?” Han Xiao raised his brows. “How about this? We can request the Purple Crystal Civilization to be the private notary, to prevent the possibility of me having any ulterior motives.”

“But can you ensure that Rossellin won’t mess things up on purpose?”

“From what I know about her, she won’t.” Han Xiao shook his head.

(Bloodline) was the only Grade S mission in his interface. Initially, he did not have any clue on how to complete it, but now that he had Rossellin, he had a way to complete it that was worth a try despite being controversial.

Discussing the issue with Serbia The Fifth directly was a must. If he brainwashed a Star System Civilization protected by the Peace Treaty, the consequences would be very clear for him. It was not a must for Han Xiao to complete this mission, so he would only carry out this plan if he received official approval. Furthermore, brainwashing openly would be much more efficient than secretly.

Seeing that Serbia the Fifth was still hesitating, Han Xiao added, “I know what you’re worried about. Despite being the leader of a civilization, you’re helping an outsider brainwash your own people. Even though your goal is virtuous, this act is very sensitive, and it’s against your duty. However, you don’t have to make the brainwash compulsory or anything; you can give the Godorans the right to make a choice.”

Serbia the Fifth pondered. He was indeed worried about this.

“You can directly announce this to all your people. Of course, don’t use the word ‘brainwash’; make it sound better, such as maybe ‘enhancing the people’s belief of equality’ and the like. Emphasize on the fact that it’s to solve the bloodline conflict and reduce the chance of bad things happening.

“Then, introduce all kinds of related benefits, such as those who accepted the brainwash will have new privileges, and those who don’t will have to pay more taxes. You can also make the bloodline conflict into a new problem, using the public opinion to your advantage and promoting how those who don’t dare accept the brainwashing are stubborn and conservative. You can even re-plan the layout of your planets, forcing those who don’t accept the brainwash to live together, building a spiritual slum, and so on. Anyway, there are tons of methods. You’re a professional leader, so you should know much more than me.”

Han Xiao kept tempting Serbia the Fifth. In his eyes, he just could not reject him. This man’s suggestion was too damn good.

Like his many predecessors, if Serbia the Fifth could not solve the bloodline conflict, no one would blame him.

However, he also saw an opportunity. If he accomplished something that his countless predecessors failed to do, his name would go down in history as one of the wisest leaders. It would be an achievement that no one had ever made!

Serbia the Fifth clenched his teeth. “Le-Let me go back and consider this. This is too big a matter. I can’t make a decision now.”

“Of course.” Han Xiao smiled.

He did not expect to convince Serbia the Fifth this quickly. Even if he lured Serbia the Fifth’s personal desire out, he would not dare bet the entire civilization on it. He definitely had to gather the other relevant officials to brainstorm. He would not agree to it without thorough consideration.

Sending off the troubled Serbia the Fifth, without resting, Han Xiao headed right to the machinery modification room and started to build.

“After slaving for the silver legacy blueprint for so long, I can finally reap the reward!”

Having obtained the ability to complete the Class Advancement mission, Han Xiao did not want to delay it any further. It was time for his Class Advancement.

Chapter 707 - Planetary Obliteration Grade Weapon and Apostilization

The framework of the semi-finished Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon was two stories tall. Accompanied by the buzzing of electric currents and the clanking of the mechanical parts, it was slowly getting finished.

Dozens of mechanical arms moved and assembled the parts. Two Watcher Instruments took care of the welding, while waves formed by nanorobots flowed around the framework, finishing up the details. Blue Mechanical Force lightning chains connected those machines, building the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon under Han Xiao’s control.

Han Xiao stood below the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon, continuously adjusting the details and carefully building this enormous cannon. In order to build orange-grade equipment, he was fully focused. He had activated Reynold’s Character Summon Card long ago and received the Perfect Mechanical Sense bonuses.

The effects of [Perfect Mechanical Sense) were apparent. The strength, control, and range of his Mechanical Force all increased tremendously. He became more sensitive to his Mechanical Force and controlled them as smoothly and accurately like an extra limb. Through this, he also gained a deeper understanding of the Perfect Mechanical Sense talent.

Other than these numerical bonuses, Perfect Mechanical Sense had another hidden effect, as written in the remarks, “In your senses, every machine is a world of ecological balance.”

The term ‘Mechanical Sense’ did not just mean understanding of machines but close to a new sense, refreshing his knowledge of machines. As if the machines were no longer just objects, when his Mechanical Force flowed through the mechanical structures, he could almost feel a lively sense of touch like he was running his fingers down the body of a beautiful woman. Han Xiao’s senses to the machines were enlarged countless times, allowing him to easily notice tiny details that he had not been able to notice before.

This hidden effect was the cause of the bonuses this talent gave, and the players who just waited for progress bars to fill up were unable to feel this.

No wonder anyone who had this talent was a Mechanic genius; the Perfect Mechanical Sense was so pleasurable…

Han Xiao wanted it so badly.

Be it building machines or combat, [Perfect Mechanical Sense) had a huge effect; it was a god tier talent for the Mechanic class.

Sadly, he could only temporarily enjoy the effects of the (Perfect Mechanical Sense) through the Character Summon Card.

“I have to find a way to get Reynold’s talent in the future.”

Han Xiao took a deep breath and focused his mind back on building.

Under the bonuses of Perfect Mechanical Sense, the process was very smooth. He successfully built it in less than a day.

Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon, legacy orange equipment, as powerful as Planetary Obliteration Cannon-this was currently the highest grade machine that Han Xiao had and the most powerful.

The two-story-tall enormous cannon retracted part by part and folded into a compressed orb with a blue and white appearance. Under the Mechanical Force, it floated above Han Xiao’s

palm.

Han Xiao held onto the compressed orb, and the item details popped up on his interface.

Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon (Legacy)

Grade: Orange/Silver

Type: Planetary Obliteration Grade Annihilation Weapon

Requirements: Lv180, Mechanic Class, >25,000 Energy, >2,500 Intelligence.

Basic Attributes:

– Attack: 14,500 – 48,300

– Armor Value: 26,000/26,000

– Energy: 15,000/15,000

– Power Output: 12,170

Energy Furnace Forced Cooldown: 360 seconds

Power Output: Minimum power output consumption: 3,000 energy per attack. Maximum power output consumption: 12,000 energy per attack.

Energy Source: Psionic Reaction Furnace, recovers energy at 25/s.

Additional Ability: Extreme Frost-Deals 50% extra Frost Damage.

Additional Ability: Psionic Frost-Turns psionic energy into ice energy. High chance of freezing the target. Core Impact Area Frozen Effect Trigger Rate: 80%. Other Impact Area Frozen Effect Trigger Rate: 60%.

Additional Ability: Expansion Explosion-A second round of explosions will occur after hitting the target, creating an impact wave and mushroom cloud. Damage: 75% of the first round. +350% Damage Range.

Additional Ability: Reaction Furnace Ray-The attack mode can be changed to ray form. Depending on the power output, energy cost 60 – 240/s. Two damage ticks per second. Damage: 8% of the initial attack. The attack direction can be adjusted.

Special Ability: Freezing Wind—When the power output of an attack exceeds 6,000 energy consumption, changes the environment within 50 miles around the target area. The temperature of the area will be reduced to -50 degrees.

Special Ability: Ice Age-When firing at the maximum power output, changes the environment of the area within 200 miles around the target area, freezing this area and turning it into a glacial area. The temperature of the area will be reduced to -100 degrees.

Special Ability: Frozen Star-When the power output of an attack exceeds 6,000 energy consumption and (Reaction Furnace Ray) is used for more than 90 seconds, this effect will be triggered. This will cause chain reactions and bring the surface of a planet into an Ice Age within one month, destroying the lives on the surface.

Remark: The Ice Elementals are overjoyed and are trying to mate with you.

Legacy: “According to my investigation, freezing a Fixed Star can indirectly destroy all the civilizations on the planets in its orbit.” – Peter ‘Flame Extinguisher’ Drate.

“A total of seven Additional Abilities and Special Abilities, certainly fits being orange equipment.”

Han Xiao was very satisfied. The destructive power of the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon was extremely strong. Its theoretical damage could even reach the hundred thousands with his Mechanical Force bonuses applied.

Usually, this kind of enormous cannon would be deployed in outer space to attack from above, and it would be difficult to apply Mechanical Force bonuses to it. However, due to his Mechanical Force having the (Void) attribute, he could overcome the distance through the Void Dimension and apply Mechanical Force bonuses to it.

This was Han Xiao’s first Planetary Obliteration Grade weapon; it was now his trump card.

He looked at the interface. The Class Advancement mission was now completed.

Finally!

Han Xiao took a deep breath and initiated the Class Advancement with a solemn expression.

Class Advancement requirements completed!

You have received a new class, (Apostle Mechanic Level1).

+240 Energy, +3 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +5 Endurance, +10 Intelligence.

You have received 8 Free Attribute Points.

You have received 1 Potential Point.

The moment the Class Advancement was completed, a huge amount of information appeared in his brain out of nowhere. Han Xiao gained new understandings of machines, and his body started to undergo marvelous changes.

A ton of notifications popped up on the interface.

You have received the talent (Mechanical Force Ascension-Apostle Body]!

You have acquired the ability (Apostle Machinery Affinity)!

You have acquired the ability (Machinery Apostilization)!

The effect of all your Virtual Technology related abilities and talents has increased by 20%

It took Han Xiao quite some time to digest the various abilities that he had gained through the Class Advancement. Feeling the new power flowing in his body, he was delighted.

Finally, I’ve reached this milestone.

Apostle Mechanic was a major milestone for high-level Mechanics. As the saying went, ‘the end of technology is the study of God’. The reason for such a ‘God’-related term, ‘Apostle’, was because the path of the Mechanic class was gradually stepping into the ‘study of God’ territory in the eyes of common people.

The knowledge that he had learned did not change, but the way of using that knowledge had ascended to a completely next level. He would have new understandings and new technology that would seem like acts of God to normal people.

The level limit of (Apostle Mechanic] was thirty, five levels higher than (Truth Mechanic). Usually, the increase in the level limit of the main class also meant the start of a new stage.

Unlike all the Mechanic classes before this, the Apostle Mechanic class allowed one to gather great powers within oneself, making one strong in every respect.

[Apostle Machinery Affinity) was, of course, the core talent passed down through the Mechanic class. Han Xiao immediately leveled it up to the max level. Its effect was +105% Machinery Affinity, a total of 30% more than (Master Machinery Affinity)

The talent (Mechanical Force AscensionApostle Body) and the ability (Machinery Apostilization) were set abilities.

[Machinery Apostilization] allowed him to absorb the energy of machines through the Mechanical Force link instead of the other way round, increasing his own attributes and giving him bonuses.

From the beginning, machines had just been external objects, but Apostilization turned the power of these external objects into his own power. Like Mages receiving bonuses by praying to their Gods, machines were Mechanics’ God. Through becoming an apostle of the machines, he would receive the gifts of these machines.

The actual effect was easy to understand. For example, if he used ‘Apostilization’ on one mechanical suit, the energy of this mechanical suit would be turned into his own energy through the Mechanical Force link, increasing his Energy Rank; giving him dozens points of Endurance, Strength, and Dexterity bonuses as well as a part of the mechanical suit’s bonus effects.

At the same time, by using the mechanical suit’s energy furnace, he would be able to use the abilities of the mechanical suit without wearing it.

Any machinery could be ‘Apostilized’, and different machines would provide different bonuses. ‘Apostilization’ would also put a burden on the machines, depending on each machine’s level.

(Mechanical Force Ascension-Apostle Body] was an ability that worked together with this. It would turn his body into an Apostle Body through Mechanical Force so that he could use the energy of the machines. This was the prerequisite for [Machinery Apostilization) to take effect.

At the same time, this talent determined the number of ‘Apostilized’ machines that his body could endure. The Judgment depended on the total of Intelligence and Endurance. The burden that a machine could bear depended on its Power Level. The stronger the machine, the higher the burden it would be able to bear.

For every ‘Apostilized’ machine, the health point limit would decrease temporarily by 2,500, which would be lifted once the Apostilization ended.

These two abilities were the signature abilities of an Apostle Mechanic. Allowing one to control stronger powers through sharing the energy of the machines. The players in Han Xiao’s previous life did some research, and they believed that the ability to gather external powers into oneself was one of the prerequisites of stepping toward Beyond Grade A.

The other four classes would also gain similar abilities at this stage, as if they were starting to evolve into a higher level being. The players believed that this was proof that Beyond Grade As were new, high-level beings.

To the players, the appearance of Apostilization was very simple; it was basically similar to putting machines into their inventory to receive the bonuses. Han Xiao, however, had real senses, so he had no idea how it would feel.

True knowledge was gained from experimenting. Han Xiao decided to directly test the effects of Apostilization. He held the compressed orb of the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon in his hands, and Mechanical Force lightning shrouded and entered the compressed orb, activating Apostilization.

The next moment, Han Xiao’s expression slightly changed. The Mechanical Force seemed to have become straws that absorbed the energy of the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon. An enormous wave of violent psionic energy entered his body through the Mechanical Force link!

Originally, he could only control the energy generated by his cells. Now, the psionic energy had mixed with the Mechanical Force inside his body and become controllable as well.

The compressed orb was buzzing and vibrating. The surface of the orb was filled with blue energy circuits.

You have Apostilized [Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon). Your load has increased by 379 points.

Your health point limit has decreased by 2,500 temporarily.

+78 Strength, +43 Dexterity, +35 Endurance.

You can now release energy attacks from your body or consume the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon’s energy to recover your own energy.

You have received an Additional Ability. Your attacks will enjoy the bonuses of (Extreme Frost), dealing 50% extra Frost Damage.

You have received an Additional Ability. Your attacks will enjoy the bonuses of (Psionic Frost). You have a chance to freeze the target.

Han Xiao raised and shook his other hand. A blue lump of psionic energy appeared on his palm.

With just a thought, the attribute of this lump of psionic energy started to change and turned into a blue and white frost energy lump. He raised his hand and launched it. A white beam of light landed on the weapon testing alloy wall not far away.

Boom!

The moment it hit, the white light expanded and turned the alloy wall into frozen pieces scattered on the ground in an instant.

Han Xiao looked at the interface. His own energy had close to no loss, and the energy of the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon decreased by a bar.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he got quite a few new ideas.

By using Apostilization together with his various abilities, it might have surprising effects.

For example, he could absorb the machinery’s energy to recover his own energy, which meant that he did not have to get damaged to recover health.

Or he could use his Mechanical Force to connect with the machines from far away, so he could use Apostilization remotely without having to summon his machines.

“It’s a very powerful ability. It helps with the Mechanic’s flaw of having a very weak body.”

Han Xiao was delighted. His body was already extremely strong, but this ability was still a huge enhancement!

Chapter 708 - Spending Money Brings Me Joy

Chapter 708 Spending Money Brings Me Joy

After testing all his new skills, Han Xiao was extremely satisfied.

The load of his machinery was 100 + X. 100 was the basic load that it could take, and X was 3% of a machine’s Power Level. Han Xiao was able to obtain more than 1,000 Attribute Points from the Machinery Apostilization skill, which would be spread out evenly among his Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance.

As long as he could think of a way to increase his Intelligence and Endurance, the upper limit of the load that he could take would also increase.

Han Xiao had just received the (Machinery Apostilization) skill, and when his level increased, the effect of this skill would also become more obvious. Han Xiao wanted to take the path of the Army Style, and the boost from the Machinery Apostilization skill would provide him with a new Support Style, allowing his body to become stronger. He would no longer have to walk the path of getting beaten up in the future.

Opening his interface, Han Xiao first raised the levels of his two new skills to the max and received two Potential Points. He then used his experience points to level up.

At this moment, Han Xiao was level 195, and after leveling up five times, he reached level 200.

The amount of experience required to level up became greater and greater toward the end, and his large stash of experience points was rapidly being used up. He did not have much experience left from Version 2.0.

[Apostle Mechanic] was raised to level five, and the level limit was thirty. This would last him to level 225.

Han Xiao pondered to himself about his future plans. Because he had spent a large amount of experience gambling for blueprints and raising the level of his skills, the remaining experience was only enough to bring him to level 206. At that point, the experience that he had saved up would be completely spent.

If he wanted to increase his level quickly after this, he could only wait until Version 3.0.

Now that he was at level 200, he would have to face a new Promotion Mission. After glancing at the Promotion Mission, Han Xiao had a helpless look on his face. This time, he would have no choice but to use a Mission Completion Card.

Han Xiao’s Promotion Mission was an ordinary mission this time, but it was one that Han Xiao could not complete. It required him to clear a high-grade dungeon within ten levels from him with a rating of Grade A.

To the players, they would be able to obtain such a level only at the later versions. At that time, they would have gone through many different Main Storyline Missions and resolved many troublesome storylines. Thus, high-grade dungeons would basically be in surplus. However, it had not even reached Version 3.0, and unless he could create a dungeon of his own, it would be extremely difficult for him to find a high-grade dungeon.

Most importantly, Han Xiao had never used Dungeon Crystals, and it would thus be impossible for him to challenge a dungeon. His only other option was to use a Mission Completion Card. One of the usages of the Mission Completion Card was to help players skip these difficult but compulsory missions.

“Talking about a Mission Completion Card…” In the past three years, Han Xiao had received a few Random Rewards from the various missions that he had completed. However, he had never used them in order to save them for a rainy day such as this. As such, there were two chances for him to roll a Random Reward on the interface.

Thankfully, it seemed like the Grade S mission (Bloodline) had a chance of being completed, and there would definitely be the chance to roll a Random Reward. Furthermore, the Random Reward of a Grade Smission would definitely give him more choices.

“Compared to Version 2.0, my strength and the scale of the Black Star Army have completely transformed. When the players return, I will be able to harvest a new round of experience. Before that, I must use the remaining seven years to accumulate a few Mission Completion Cards. When I get enough experience, I will be able to increase my level rapidly.”

Han Xiao decided on his plan.

After packing up his new equipment, Han Xiao left the Machine Modification Room and went to his office. He then summoned Rossellin and Reynold.

When both of them entered, Han Xiao went straight to the main point.

“Rossellin, what do you think about the Black Star Army?”

“How so?” Rossellin asked.

“You just need to tell me your overall feeling.”

“You want me to praise you, right?” Rossellin rolled her eyes before adding on with a tone of helplessness, “Alright then. Even though I am an extremely picky person, I have to admit that I do admire you. I underestimated you when I first saw you and never thought that you would be a legendary character.”

After being locked up for so many years, Rossellin did not know about the changes in the outside world. She had only started looking through what happened over the past few years in the Shattered Star Ring after returning to the Black Star Army base with Reynold. Only then did she understand the position of the Black Star Army in the Shattered Star Ring and everything that they had accomplished.

After looking through the accomplishments of the Black Star Army, her first reaction was to suspect that the documents in her hands had been falsified.

What shocked her the most was not the size of the Black Star Army but the speed at which they grew. After all, the Black Star Army had only been around for about a decade.

Black Star had only taken ten years to grow from a Grade C Super to become a Beyond Grade A Super seed. Furthermore, he had survived a battle with an actual Beyond Grade A Super!

In the past ten years, the Black Star Army that he led had become the largest armed force in the Colton Star Cluster with the Purple Crystal Civilization as their backing and their bases all around dozens of Star Systems!

This was an unbelievable miracle.

Rossellin had never imagined that Han Xiao was actually such a bigshot.

After seeing those files, she was truly filled with admiration toward Han Xiao but was too embarrassed to show it on the surface.

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao said, “Hmm, I would like to ask you for help and be a temporary officer of the Black Star Army.”

A teasing look could be seen on Rossellin’s face. “You also want to make use of my ability?”

“More accurately, it should be a mutually beneficial agreement. You are a special talent, and I am willing to give you appropriate compensation.”

“What if I don’t agree?”

“Don’t worry, I said that you will have a certain degree of freedom, and I will not force you like the Hutt Civilization. You can choose to reject me.”

The corner of Han Xiao’s lips curled up slightly, and he continued. “However, even if you have the ambition and want to accomplish something, you won’t be able to do that without money. Furthermore, I will give you attractive compensation that will allow you to build up your capital.”

“With my ability,” Rossellin replied, “it would be an easy task for me to accumulate capital. Why do I have to help you?”

Han Xiao chuckled in response. “Don’t forget that you have a criminal record. Since I bailed you out, I will not allow you to run around freely and do as you wish. If you do, you will become a wanted criminal. Thus, working for me temporarily is the best opportunity for you to earn money.”

“Humph, you are bundling both threats and benefits. Do you think that I will definitely agree to your request?” Rossellin snorted. “I like to deal with those who overestimate themselves the most!”

“Actually, it is possible to remove your criminal record entirely…”

“What do you want me to do?” Rossellin took a step forward without any hesitation and hugged Han Xiao’s arm with a fawning look on her face.

As Reynold looked at the fawning Rossellin, he was completely speechless.

He had talked to Rossellin privately and knew that Rossellin was willing to stay behind and help. However, she just could not put aside her face to do so. Now that Black Star had taken the initiative to mention this, it gave her the opportunity to accept it.

Han Xiao was also certain that Rossellin would not reject him. The eighty Favorability points that he had with Rossellin were not just for show. When facing Rossellin’s venomous tongue, he also knew how to deal with her. As long as he gave Rossellin an excuse, she would definitely agree to his request.

“You will take up the role of a Culture Instructor and lecture the members of the Black Star Army. You will lecture the members of the Black Star Army about our history so that they will understand our Black Star Army better and have a greater sense of belonging. You should research the history of the Black Star Army and come up with lecture material for it. Find a suitable incision point to set up their faith in the Black Star Army. I will check the material after you have prepared it.”

Han Xiao wiggled his arm out from Rossellin’s embrace as he spoke.

For his faction to develop healthily, the loyalty and identity of the members had to be developed. This would require a culture to be established. Organizations such as Bloodshed Land and Hidden Red Robe Abbey each had their own unique culture.

Han Xiao felt that he did not only have to cultivate a sense of belonging and acknowledgement with the players but also the other members of the army.

Rossellin accepted her job and left the room. Reynold then thanked Han Xiao.

“Thank you for giving my sister a job…”

“You are someone of great importance to me. There isn’t a need to say such pleasantries.”

Han Xiao waved his hand indifferently.

Even with Reynold’s silent and serious nature, he could not help but feel touched at this moment.

Having such a boss is truly great.

After a casual chat, Han Xiao said, “I asked you to help Vilna set up an army about a month ago. How are things going?”

“I mobilized a portion of our resources and funds, amounting to about 70,000,000 Enaus, to purchase battleships and hire manpower in the name of Floating Dragon,” Reynold replied. “However, a portion of them didn’t wish to join Floating Dragon’s Field Team and wanted to join the Black Star Army instead.”

Han Xiao fell into deep thought.

A wise individual would be able to tell that Black Star Army’s growth was due to Floating Dragon’s influence.

Currently, the Black Star Army was Floating Dragon’s most powerful force. Joining the Black Star Army meant that they would enjoy Floating Dragon’s influence as well, and it was akin to killing two birds with one stone. Thus, the majority only wanted to join the Black Star Army.

Furthermore, the rumors of Floating Dragon and the Black Star Army splitting up had been spreading. Compared to Floating Dragon, most people felt that the more ambitious Black Star Army had a brighter future.

Even if Han Xiao was not a Beyond Grade A Super yet, the scale of the Black Star Army was larger than Floating Dragon. After all, Ames did not work together with any Star Cluster Civilizations and did not have as many connections as Black Star.

“How large a force do you think 70,000,000 Enaus should be able to create?” Han Xiao asked.

“Hmm… it’s difficult to say. According to the current speed at which I am burning through the funds, I will be able to finish the funds within half a year, and the army will end up being slightly smaller than the large mercenary groups.”

“It’s too small,” Han Xiao immediately replied. “I will give you three months to finish all the funds and invest another 150,000,000 Enaus.”

Reynold was startled. “Would the cost be too high?”

“It’s alright. I’m not short of money.”

Han Xiao smiled. Floating Dragon had given him plenty of assistance when he started out, and he did not plan to save any money when helping Floating Dragon create another Field Team. Furthermore, he gave Jenny a sky-high amount of money every month; he was not bothered about this small amount of money.

The Black Star Army was working together with more than a hundred financial groups and had mines on dozens of planets.

After deducting their monthly expenses, the profits from the mining would be at least 200,000,000 Enaus every month.

As long as he had connections in the various governments, earning money was an extremely easy task.

Of course, his wealth still could not be compared to a Star System Civilization, but it was enough to maintain an armed force.

The word ‘poor’ had been struck from his dictionary.

Chapter 709 - The Crimson Dynasty: What the Hell, Klent?

“By the way, the report on the DarkStar leader is out today. Take a look,” Reynold suddenly said.

Han Xiao took out his communicator.

After just one day, the news about the handover of the DarkStar leader was already spreading all over. The focus of the reports was on Klent being suspected of having connections with DarkStar and the Fallen Ark.

Klent had prepared for this long ago; they wanted to suppress it when the public discussion had just started. Hence, they immediately denied it publicly with a very strong attitude, absolutely refusing to admit to anything, and claimed that this was slander completely made up by Purple Crystal.

“Not admitting it is useless. Purple Crystal definitely have a way to make the DarkStar leader talk.” Han Xiao smiled.

Klent’s frequent assassination attempts really annoyed him. Now that he had gotten the opportunity, he was more than happy to cause trouble for Klent.

The secret war was at an impasse. Plus, it could not hurt Klent itself. This DarkStar leader matter, however, would be able to hurt Klent politically.

…

For the next month, Han Xiao waited for Serbia the Fifth’s reply while paying attention to the DarkStar leader incident as it developed. Purple Crystal was determined to blow up this incident, to attract the attention of organizations from everywhere and cause a sensation in the Star Field.

There was no absolute definition on how serious the crime of funding DarkStar and working with Fallen Ark was. If it was not exposed, no one would even care. The development of things like this really depended on the environment at the time. However, it was now a sensitive period during the Crimson Tide, and Klent had shown a weakness. The other Star Cluster civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring were like sharks that had smelled blood, all wanting to make use of this opportunity to bite a piece of meat off Klent and damage their political power.

Klent’s ambition to expand had always made many uninvolved Star Cluster civilizations feel alarmed. Not only did this b*stard join the Crimson Dynasty to target the Flickering World, Klent also did not want to give up their position in the Shattered Star Ring. They wanted to rule two entire Star Fields. Their appetite was outrageous.

Hence, these Star Cluster civilizations hoped to weaken Klent’s political position in the Shattered Star Ring so that their plan would not go so smoothly.

They could not stop Klent from going to the Flickering World in the future, but they could weaken their reputation in the Shattered Star Ring.

You want to develop in two Star Fields at the same time? You don’t look pretty, but you sure dream big!

As soon as the force of one of them was growing too large, the other civilizations would not mind targeting that civilization together. It was both to damage the competitors as well as to protect their own benefits.

Han Xiao’s acts happened to hit Klent where it hurt, giving a great opportunity to the other Star Cluster civilizations. Suddenly, Klent was facing a situation where they were being targeted by everyone. This caused them a tremendous amount of trouble.

Klent absolutely hated Han Xiao’s guts; this incident had affected their entire strategy.

Yet, after so many failed assassination attempts, Klent had no way to deal with Han Xiao. They had no choice but to solve this issue from a political perspective.

For the last half a month, Purple Crystal and Klent had constantly been fighting verbally. One side was strongly accusing, and the other side insisted on admitting nothing.

To put it simply, this was the situation.

“You’re ruthless, you’re cold-blooded, and you’re unreasonable!” Klent exclaimed.

“No, you!” Purple Crystal retorted.

This kind of conversation kept repeating.

This incident even affected the Crimson Dynasty. The Crimson Dynasty sent an emissary to head to Klent and investigate this thoroughly.

The Crimson Dynasty was negotiating with the Federation of Light on the rights to the Flickering World. At such a crucial moment, Klent happened to get involved in a scandal of them being connected to the Fallen Ark.

That guy was a criminal wanted by all three Universal Civilizations; his identity was extremely sensitive. Klent was the Crimson Dynasty’s new henchman, so the scandal affected the Crimson Dynasty and sent a free political negotiation chip to the Federation of Light.

This made the Crimson Dynasty very irritated. Their stance on this was very clear.

What’s wrong with you, kid!

Some of that intelligence reached Ralph. He shared the inside information about this incident with Han Xiao. On this day, he called Han Xiao once again to speak about this, telling him what had happened.

“The Crimson Dynasty has interfered. They’ve made an agreement with us on Klent’s behalf. Klent will give up a part of their rights in the Shattered Star Ring. In exchange, we have to quickly suppress this incident.”

“Did you agree to that?” Han Xiao was curious.

“After all, now that a Universal Civilization has interfered to negotiate, we can’t keep pushing. There are some civilizations that contacted the Federation of Light in private though, hoping that the Federation of Light would speak for us. They probably thought that as the Federation of Light are now fighting for the Flickering World, they won’t give up this chance to hurt the Crimson Dynasty. However, for some reason, the Federation of Light has not done anything. Thus, we can only stop here.”

Han Xiao nodded. This was the drawback of being a henchman-the Crimson Dynasty gave up profit on Klent’s behalf in order to reduce their own loss. Of course, the Crimson Dynasty was not yet willing to lose this chess piece, so they definitely promised Klent something in return.

Since Klent wanted to be involved in the Flickering World, they could only take the hit and not say anything.

“So, this incident has ended?”

“Yes, we can’t continue anymore.”

“What price did Klent pay?”

“That’s confidential, and I don’t know. The other Star Cluster civilizations will all split the profits that Klent has given up.”

“Then, the secret war…” Han Xiao raised his brows.

Ralph sighed and said, “Alas, it has to continue. The Crimson Dynasty refuse to speak about anything regarding the secret war, and the other Star Cluster civilizations stopped caring after they got the profit that Klent gave up. Clearly, they hope that we will continue to fight and harm each other. It is more beneficial for them that way.”

“No friends last forever; only profit does. How realistic.” Han Xiao shook his head with resignation.

In the original storyline, the Crimson Dynasty would only represent Klent to negotiate at the end of the secret war. Now, however, they had no choice but to clean up the mess that Klent had made. This was because of him.

This was something that had not happened before. It would definitely change the direction of the entire storyline.

Han Xiao pondered. He felt that because Klent had bled quite badly, in order to heal up, they might put more focus in the secret war and fight more passionately.

He shared this thought with Ralph, who smiled strangely.

“Did you know that because of this, Heber has become unhappy with Klent?”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he started to speculate.

Originally, the Tyrant was Klent’s only Beyond Grade A ally. Since Klent was flirting around with EsGod and was caught by Heber in the act, it was like a wife who discovered the mistress.

Looks like the secret war will be in even more of a stalemate. It should last till the start of Version 3.0.

Han Xiao was quite satisfied with this result. Creating both internal and external problems for Klent was his return gift for Klent’s constant assassination attempts.

“One more thing, Serbia the Fifth told us that you want to borrow Rossellin’s ability to help Godora clear their bloodline conflict.”

“That’s right.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

“This matter is a little bit sensitive, so he wanted to invite us to be the notary and carry out this plan under Purple Crystal’s name. What do you think?”

Han Xiao was stunned. Then he figured it out. Serbia the Fifth had made a choice and decided to take his suggestion.

Serbia the Fifth had even found a better excuse of using Purple Crystal’s name to carry out the plan, so it would look like it was a higher-level civilization helping Godora.

As a Star Cluster civilization was involved, the Godoran government would receive much less disapproval, and its people would accept it more easily. Many would feel that the higher-level civilization was more reliable than their own government.

Han Xiao thought about it, ended the call, and called Serbia the Fifth. It was picked up right after one ring. Clearly, Serbia the Fifth had been waiting

“Your Excellency Black Star, I plan to use your method, but I hope that this can be done under the Purple Crystal Civilization’s name. Maybe we won’t be able to announce that this is your plan.” Serbia the Fifth went straight to the point. “But I’m willing to pay a bigger price in private. What do you think?”

Han Xiao scratched his eyelid and said, “Alright then.”

His main goal was to settle the (Bloodline) mission, so he did not really care about whether this relatively small achievement would be announced or not.

Serbia the Fifth was relieved. He explained, “That’s great. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but this matter is too important. I have to find a gentler method so that the people of Godora will be more willing to accept it…”

Actually, this was just one of the factors. Serbia the Fifth was still not very assured as Han Xiao was not an official force after all, so he had pulled the Purple Crystal Civilization in as insurance. Of course, he would not voice this reason.

“Since you agreed, I shall bring Rossellin over to discuss the details.”

“Okay, I’ll have Nagakin fetch you. Come to our mother planet directly.”

“… Nagakin again?” Han Xiao suddenly realized that every time he interacted with the Godoran Civilization, they seemed to send Nagakin to host him.

“Er… aren’t you guys friends?” Serbia the Fifth wondered. He threw this unimportant issue aside and said, “Anyway, I’ll be waiting for you on our mother planet.”

Han Xiao nodded and hung up the communication before calling Rossellin.

“Pack up and get ready, I have a job for you.”

A few days later, on the mother planet of Godora, a spaceship landed on the military dock. Han Xiao and Rossellin walked out of the hatch with Nagakin leading the way.

They took the hovering car and arrived at the government affairs building. Han Xiao and Rossellin went straight to Serbia the Fifth’s office.

“You’re finally here.” Serbia the Fifth had been waiting for quite some time. He quickly stood up and welcomed Han Xiao.

After a few greetings, they sat down. Serbia the Fifth sized Rossellin up from time to time.

At this point, Rossellin showed the look of the pope that she had once been-noble and elegant with calm eyes. Serbia the Fifth could not figure her out. He only felt that this woman had a vibe of being someone very important and not simple.

The two sides had worked together for many years and were very familiar with each other, so Han Xiao directly asked, “Cut to the chase, what plan do you have?”

With his position now, a Star System civilization was not as important as before. He planned to quickly settle the (Bloodline) mission and get the Grade S mission reward.

He still had some time before his holiday ended. Plus, Klent was troubled by internal conflicts, so he was not needed in the war for the time being. He did not want to spend too much time on (Bloodline]. He planned to use the rest of the holiday to do missions and get more Random Rewards.

It was best to have more Mission Completion Cards in stock before Version 3.0 arrived.

“Hmm, according to Rossellin’s ability, we have prepared a few plans to choose from…”

Serbia the Fifth took out a few files and gave them to Han Xiao.

Chapter 710 - Confused DarkStar Leader

In two minutes, Han Xiao read through Serbia the Fifth’s plan. He passed the files to Rossellin then nodded. “Looks like you don’t plan to seek the opinion of the Godorans.”

“Although this plan is beneficial to the future of the civilization, the free will of most people will only be a burden. This plan can only be carried out without seeking approval from everybody.” This meeting was off the records, so Serbia the Fifth was more direct.

Rossellin read through the file very quickly. With a calm and reserved look, she slightly nodded and said, “I understand your request. Are you sure there’s no need to plant something else in the minds of your people?”

Serbia the Fifth wiped the cold sweat from his brow and said, “No, no, eliminating discrimination is enough.”

“Okay, if it’s just eliminating discrimination, it’s easy for me.”

Rossellin gave Serbia the Fifth a mysterious smile that made his heart shake a little.

To outsiders, Rossellin was not as casual as when facing Han Xiao. On the way, Han Xiao had told her to maintain her standard and not scare Serbia the Fifth with her real colors. Rossellin looked at Serbia the Fifth with an elegant smile and explained her plan.

“Black Star has already told me the situation. To my understanding, there are three fundamental causes to the bloodline conflict of Godora.

“One, the pureblood traditional concept passed down through the years. In the galactic environment, only a small fraction of the purebloods still firmly believe in this concept. I call these people the Diehards, and their minds are the hardest to change.

“Two, discrimination caused by biological differences. This comes from the instinctive disgust of an intelligent life when seeing a deviant form. Many of the purebloods don’t want to discriminate against the hybrids, but when they see them, they still uncontrollably feel a sense of disgust. This is the cause of discrimination for most people. In order to change this, I think the key point is the aesthetic sense.

“Three, the hatred accumulated from the large number of conflicts caused by many years of discrimination. This is considered a historical problem. Plus, due to discrimination, the average societal position of purebloods is higher than the hybrids, so the purebloods have more power in various industries. This can be seen as a class conflict. I can temporarily suppress this type of hatred, but if you people don’t change the current situation, after a long time, these conflicts will happen

again.”

Serbia the Fifth had a headache just from hearing these problems.

In his eyes, every single one of these issues was close to unsolvable. He could see how extremely difficult these problems were just from listening to Rossellin talking about them. He once again started to doubt the feasibility of this plan.

As if Rossellin saw through his worries, she calmly said, “On a more positive note, it would take at least decades to make these problems less severe with normal methods. However, now that I’m here, I can make this process thousands of times faster. The first two points are the main causes, and as long as the problems with the Diehards and the aesthetic sense are resolved, the class conflicts will gradually be reduced.”

Serbia the Fifth took a deep breath, stood up, and bowed deeply toward Han Xiao and Rossellin.

“I’m counting on you!”

It was a normal morning. The warm yellow sunlight woke up the asleep city.

In a commercial square filled with tall buildings on the Godoran mother planet, hovering vehicles shuttled between buildings. People that equipped flying runes rose and landed on the open-air platforms that extended from the tall buildings. It was a boisterous and hectic scene.

This time, at a hovering public bus station on an open-air platform, there was a long queue. It was rush hour for the working class in the morning. These Godorans heading to their jobs were waiting for the public transport.

The production of a Star System civilization was more than enough to feed lazy shut-ins, but as the capital of a civilization, the mother planet had maintained vigorous vitality. Those that resided on the mother planet were all willing to work hard, unlike those at the edge of colonial planets that all stayed at home and had no concept of ‘working’.

Rudy was in the middle of the queue. His outfit looked decent, like an elite of society. However, unlike the Godorans around, he did not have protruding ears, and his ears were spiral shaped holes. He also did not wear a ponytail or any ornaments on his hair because he did not have hair. His facial organs were also further apart from each other.

He was the only hybrid in the long queue.

Rudy could feel the strange looks with suppressed disgust coming from around him. He had a normal expression on his face and looked straight ahead, as if he was unaffected. But in his heart, he wished that the hovering public bus would reach the station soon so that he would no longer have to endure this treatment of being watched by so many people like an animal in the zoo.

Rudy was sixty-three years old this year. By Godoran standards, he was middle-aged. He was a very senior employee of a huge business, and his income was rather high. Supposedly, he should be middle class in the society, but his appearance had given him obstructions everywhere. He knew that his current position was the highest that he could achieve, and he would never be promoted again.

His most hated thing each day was going to work, not because his job was tiring but because going to work meant he had to socialize and endure all kinds of strange looks. He had been enduring a huge amount of mental stress every single day, but he could not express any of that emotion on his face. In the countless times he woke up in the middle of the night because of that stress, he would just sit there and stare into the darkness, thinking that he might as well quit the job; why should he put himself through all that?

But every time he saw his sleeping wife beside him, he would put those thoughts away.

His wife was a beautiful pureblood. Back then, his wife had ignored her family’s opposition and married him, a hybrid. She had blessed him with two children. Even after being married for so many years, her family had never accepted him, but his wife almost never complained. For the sake of his family, Rudy did not dare quit his job; he could only let his anxiety and irritation be vented out silently during the times he puffed.

To him, life was a pool of still water, a gray silent film that played on repeat every day, only starting to have colors when he got home and saw the smiles of his wife and children. Rudy had no expectations for the future anymore. Maybe not being able to see his path ahead was good for him; a life that he could see the end of would be terrifying.

Rudy smiled self-deprecatingly. He overheard the conversation of the two people behind him who had suddenly started chatting.

“Have you heard? The DarkStar leader was captured some time ago, and the DarkStar organization has been deemed to be completely eliminated.”

“It’s been half a month. Of course I’ve heard.”

“Hehe, there are reports that say the DarkStar leader’s trial has ended, and he’s locked up in Rainbow Prison.”

“I did not know that. Tell me more…”

Listening to the clearly deliberate conversation behind him, Rudy could only act as if he could not hear it.

Due to DarkStar’s existence, the hybrids received even more hatred. After the DarkStar organization was destroyed, purebloods had mentioned DarkStar around him more than once, on purpose or otherwise, as if it was some kind of mockery.

Rudy did not agree with DarkStar’s philosophy at all; a hybrid that yearned for peace like him even hated DarkStar’s actions. However, to the purebloods, it seemed that every hybrid admired DarkStar. DarkStar’s ending meant the failure of the hybrids, so they could put on the looks of victors and feel superior.

At this time, a projected screen appeared between the tall buildings, attracting everyone’s attention.

Serbia the Fifth appeared on the screen. He sat straight and faced the camera with a serious face, as if he had something important to announce.

The same scene appeared on every colonial planet of Godora. It was an announcement for the entire civilization.

Serbia the Fifth slowly spoke.

“Today, on behalf of the Godoran government, I’m going to announce a very important decision. In order to avoid tragedies similar to the DarkStar incident in the future, we have decided to accept help from the Purple Crystal Civilization to use an unorthodox method to solve the bloodlike discrimination problem that has affected us for a very long time…”

Serbia the Fifth read the long script that he had prepared beforehand, describing the situation as the Purple Crystal Civilization suggesting to help and him deciding to accept their help after careful consideration. He sugarcoated the terms and words used to reduce the objection of the people as much as possible.

However, all the Godorans were still petrified by this news and were all unable to speak.

Only after the news had ended for a few seconds did a deafening uproar start.

“This is too sudden. There were no signs at

all!”

“This is brainwashing!”

“Why does our perception have to be changed? Free will is inviolable! Has Serbia the Fifth lost his mind?”

“Will there be any side effects?”

“This is the Purple Crystal Civilization’s idea? Then maybe it’s reliable.”

The Godorans around discussed the issue loudly and reacted in various ways, mostly with shock and disgruntlement.

Rudy did not take part in the discussion. His eyes were wide open, and his face was filled with disbelief.

At this moment, he felt that as if his heart that had been numb for a long time had finally started beating vigorously again.

He seemed to see a tint of light in his dark future.

On this day, people from every industry started to use their relationship network to inquire more about what the government meant. The people were flustered.

No one was willing to let someone else change their thoughts, even if it was a huge good deed beneficial to the collective. As expected, this caused backlash due to individual willingness. Serbia the Fifth promised subsidies, reduced taxes, and all kinds of benefits for those who accepts the ‘Discrimination Transformation’ plan; however, he did not give them the option to reject.

There was outrage, and protests appeared one after another. Serbia the Fifth’s plan had shaken the entire society, but he was determined not to change his mind.

With Purple Crystal’s interference, the internal resistance was suppressed forcefully. The government started to operate to his will.

The upper class of society was basically controlled entirely by purebloods. These people had a lot of power, and most of them were Diehards. They did not receive any information beforehand either. Although they hated Serbia the Fifth’s plan, they did not immediately stand out to oppose it but stayed calm and observed the situation.

Purple Crystal’s name helped Serbia the Fifth not receive more objections; the reputation of a Star Cluster civilization had the Godorans slightly under control. Even though Serbia the Fifth’s actions were almost like those of a dictator, many Godorans believed that this was the Purple Crystal Civilization’s decision.

Due to many factors, Serbia the Fifth was able to forcefully execute this almost insane plan.

Seeing that they could not change the government’s mind at all, the attention of all the Godorans was focused on the first test area of the ‘Discrimination Transformation’ plan announced by Serbia the Fifth. It was the Colonial Planet Gautin.

A planet with extremely low importance, filled with jobless shut-ins, was a perfect place for the test. Even if the results were not good, it would have a very limited impact on the entire civilization.

In Rainbow Prison, the DarkStar leader sat at the corner of his cell. It was pitch black, and he could only hear his own breathing in the dark.

His trial had ended. Godora and Purple Crystal had both gotten what they wanted, so he was locked up and would be spending the rest of his life in prison.

The hope that supported his belief was destroyed. It was as if the DarkStar leader had lost his spine, and his heart was numb and emotionless.

The Rainbow Prison could shatter the belief of DarkStar members. He did not know if he could hold on to his own belief in the future, but he did not care anymore.

Clank!

The narrow feeding window at the bottom of the cell door opened. A plate of food and a beam of light entered the cell.

“Recently, Serbia the Fifth announced a plan to brainwash all Godorans to eliminate discrimination for hybrids. Did your DarkStar convince him and make him betray us?”

The prison guard outside the door suddenly spoke with a sarcastic tone. He then closed the feeding window and left.

In the dark, the DarkStar leader suddenly opened his eyes. His numb eyes were filled with shock. He was absolutely confused.

Brainwashing the entire civilization?

What the hell? Could it be that we have the same belief but you’re much smarter than me?

You should be the one leading DarkStar!

Chapter 711 - Discrimination Transformation Movement

Planet Gautin was the first testing area of the Discrimination Transformation plan. Be it pureblood or hybrid, all Godorans paid attention to Gautin, wanting to know how exactly Serbia the Fifth would do it.

A Purple Crystal flagship arrived at Planet Gautin and used some kind of device to send an invisible Psychic Current across the entire planet. Serbia the Fifth said that this was a secret device built with Star Cluster Grade technology that could change the thinking of Godorans over a large area. He once again promised the civilians that this device was very reliable. Actually, this was just a bluff that he had discussed with Purple Crystal to prove that this plan had Purple Crystal’s approval so that the civilians would not be as flustered.

The key person to carry out the transformation, however, was Rossellin. She displayed her ability to the fullest for the first time in front of Han Xiao. The large area Psychic Current that the Purple Crystal flagship was sending to Gautin was actually Rossellin’s Esper ability, enhanced by a device specifically designed to strengthen Psychic abilities. This made the range of her Esper ability increase many times over.

Psychics also had the ability to hypnotize and brainwash, but the accuracy and range were not as high as Rossellin’s Esper ability, (Contagious Ideology). Her Esper ability was a very gentle brainwash, completed subtly; it would not affect the personality of the target and would only give the target new ways of looking at things. This could even be explained as Rossellin showing the target a new angle of looking at the world. This Esper ability was very suitable for spreading religion and building beliefs.

The transformation lasted two days. The stay-at-homes of Gautin were initially trepidatious, but as time passed, they realized that their thinking did not change at all. They got confused and wondered if it was ineffective.

Two days later, the Purple Crystal flagship left. All the Godorans were focusing on the effect of the test, and Planet Gautin was all over the internet. Everyone was discussing it.

“Are there any Gautin residents? Come out and tell us how you feel.”

“I don’t feel any changes. Am I the only one?”

“No, I’m on Gautin too, didn’t feel any changes.”

“Did it fail?”

“Er, not sure if you guys feel the same way, but at first I thought it had no effects, but just now, I went to chat with a hybrid friend. Originally, I was a tiny bit repulsed by him, but when I saw him just now, I felt totally peaceful and calm. I even felt he looked somewhat handsome… ahem, this is anonymous. I don’t want him to know.”

“For me, it’s not exactly the same. I have a hybrid friend too. Originally, I thought he looked quite ugly, but when I had a with him earlier, although I still felt he looked ugly, that occasional disgust had disappeared.”

The people of Godora started to figure out what change the Godora residents underwent. Those that were transformed retained their own personality and even knew what changes they had gone through.

This result made the Godorans much less worried-at least their minds were not forcefully twisted.

Serbia the Fifth had been paying attention to the public reaction. He saw the effects of the test and decided to host another press conference, emphasizing on the fact that the ‘Discrimination Transformation’ plan was harmless.

At the same time, the government also secretly guided the public opinion and tried to make the people feel that accepting the hybrids was a policy that would never change. This would lead them to think that since the overall trend could not be changed, maybe changing themselves might be a good idea, it would make society a better place too.

The success of the test and the manipulation of public opinion did indeed make some civilians feel less alarmed. Some people even acknowledged the idea that accepting the transformation to not feel disgusted by these hybrids would make their daily life more peaceful and harmonious.

With the first success, Serbia the Fifth grew more confident. After observing for quite a long time and making sure that the Gautin residents certainly did not suffer any side effects, he finally stopped worrying and fully carried out the plan. The colonial planets of Godora would be accepting the transformation one after another.

Godorans called this incident the Discrimination Transformation Movement.

The pureblood Diehards had power and force. Even though the Discrimination Transformation had no side effects, they were still unwilling to accept. Hence, using their power, they started to create obstructions to Serbia the Fifth.

When the relationship network of these upper-class people started to operate, even the government operations were affected. The Diehards stirred up public opinion to smear Serbia the Fifth, saying that he was even more insane than DarkStar and that he was leading Godora to its grave, becoming a slave of a higher civilization.

Many people were convinced by these claims and became furious, claiming that the government not even asking for their opinion to change their minds was an act of not treating them as proper citizens. Serbia the Fifth’s reputation on the internet plummeted. Some even called him ‘the second generation DarkStar leader’.

However, not only was Serbia the Fifth not enraged, he was happy about it instead. This was an opportunity for him to step up and explain to the people more clearly; whether the people would believe him or not did not matter.

Of course, some conspiracists completely ignored the explanations and created even more trouble. Serbia the Fifth did not hold back against them; he sent his men to kindly invite these people to a friendly tea session so that they would stay quiet.

He did not care about those smearing accusations. In his eyes, that was just short-term damage. As soon as the plan was completed, the entire society would naturally think very highly of him, and he would become the wisest leader of Godora since the start of history.

The upper class saw that swaying public opinion was useless, so they started to secretly fund the government officials with a lot of power, hoping to impeach Serbia the Fifth and change the leader.

Sadly, ever since Godora entered the Interstellar Era, they had taken back the tons of privileges for the royalties. Furthermore, Godora was hereditary, not democratic, and Serbia the Fifth had Purple Crystal’s support. His position was extremely firm. Therefore, Serbia the Fifth sneered at the actions of the upper-class people.

Come on, you guys are so weak.

Serbia the Fifth did not want to waste time dealing with these people, so he directly invited many Diehards in the upper class and made a very firm stand. “If you people continue to cause trouble, you will have to pay the government back for all the benefits it has given you, doubled.”

The upper-class people folded. Seeing that all their plans came to nothing, they realized that they could not stop this from happening. Hence, they changed the focus of their objection into claiming that since the purebloods had to accept transformation, the hybrids had to too.

The hybrids had been oppressed for a long time; their hatred had been building up. Through research and studies, some rebellious hybrids were unhappy with the Discrimination Transformation Movement. They felt that after the purebloods discriminated against them for so many years and caused so many tragedies, wanting the hybrids to immediately forget about all that as soon as the discrimination was gone was too easy for the purebloods.

Serbia the Fifth did not ignore this. The hybrids had to accept the transformation equally.

The Godora Discrimination Transformation Movement caused a sensation in the galaxy. A tiny Star System civilization successfully occupied the head news for this period. Even the other Star Cluster civilizations of the Shattered Star Ring were paying attention out of curiosity.

A government brainwashing all their people was such a rare occurrence.

Countless galactic reporters swarmed over, so Serbia the Fifth decided to host a press conference and answered the questions of those reporters.

One day later, those renowned news outlets published their own reports. Among them, one report became extremely famous and received approval from the highest number of people.

In that report, Serbia the Fifth received a very positive description. He was praised over the top. The reporter felt that the Discrimination Transformation Movement was an extremely strong and effective medicine that was perfect for the bloodline conflict illness. Only a bold and confident leader like Serbia the Fifth would dare to execute this plan that looked completely insane. Although it had met a lot of obstructions, it was actually beneficial for the civilization’s future.

In the report, Serbia the Fifth was described as a wise, visionary, and bold leader.

The report also included interviews with many Godoran hybrids who were roaming outside the Godoran Civilization. Quite a number expressed their intention to go back to Godora. The reporter called this ‘a sign of Godora’s complete unification’. The goal that DarkStar had failed to achieve was now achieved by Serbia the Fifth of all people and achieved in a much better way.

Purple Crystal was seen as being passionate and responsible for willingly solving the internal conflict of a civilization under their ruling. Their credibility thus increased. This was an unexpected but pleasant surprise. It indirectly increased Purple Crystal’s area support from the three border Star Systems.

The report also mentioned Han Xiao, saying that Han Xiao capturing the DarkStar leader some time ago was the root of everything that came after. It made Godora and Purple Crystal closer and indirectly caused the Discrimination Transformation Movement.

Although those outsiders did not know that it was Han Xiao who planned the Discrimination Transformation Movement behind the curtains, this report did not forget about him and believed that Black Star’s contribution to this incident was just as important. Because of that, his reputation in the galaxy became more positive as well.

Han Xiao saw this report too and was quite happy about it as well.

In his previous life, no player had ever completed the [Bloodline) mission, and Godora’s bloodline conflicts had carried on. Although another Star System level terrorist organization like DarkStar never appeared again, the ever-growing internal conflict caused the hybrids to have fewer and fewer opportunities to rise higher in society. They were all lower-class citizens. This caused many talented hybrids to never be discovered and fueled the birth of many rebel organizations. Godora suffered continuously.

If not for the mission, Han Xiao would not have cared about Godora’s internal conflicts. His initial motive was just to do the mission and get the reward, but it seemed that the results generated by that were unexpectedly positive.

The Godoran government now completed what their arch-enemy had wanted to achieve. Han Xiao suddenly felt interested to see how the DarkStar leader would react to this.

Rainbow Prison was an independent galactic fortress floating in the universe. Its security was very tight.

Han Xiao had access to almost everywhere in Godora now; he could even enter Serbia the Fifth’s bedroom if he wanted, not to mention a mere prison. He requested to visit Rainbow Prison, and Godora agreed without hesitation.

The Blacklight Stealth arrived at Rainbow Prison and stopped at the dock. The warden came to welcome Han Xiao.

“It’s my honor to meet you, hero of the Golden Gal Badge, ally of Godora, Your Excellency Black Star.”

The warden was very respectful.

“I want to visit the DarkStar members inside Rainbow Prison and talk to the DarkStar leader. Thanks, warden.” Han Xiao smiled.

“Please follow me.”

The warden led the way ahead, and Han Xiao followed him into Rainbow Prison.

He passed by one cell after another, in them were all DarkStar members. Han Xiao even saw the former DarkStar officer Degulish. This guy had electromagnetic cuffs all over his body, and his face was numb and lifeless. Han Xiao knew from one look that his life here was blissful.

Finally, Han Xiao arrived at the cell with the tightest security. The DarkStar leader was right inside.

The warden opened the cell door personally and invited Han Xiao to go in, while he wisely waited outside to give the two of them space for a private conversation.

Han Xiao walked into the cell, and the door closed behind him. The room was completely dark. He summoned a Floating Guard, which acted as a light source and lit up the room.

The DarkStar leader sat in the corner. Surprisingly, he was not listless and hopeless anymore. He stared at Han Xiao with a complicated emotion in his eyes.

“It’s you.”

“Yes, it’s me; yes, I’ve come; yes, I’m here to talk to you… I’ve answered your next three questions. Now, can we talk about something else?” Han Xiao rolled his eyes.

The DarkStar leader’s words were stuck in his throat. Why do you like to stop others from talking so much?

This time, the DarkStar leader suddenly realized that he and Black Star had been enemies for so long, but this was their first proper conversation. He could not help but feel that things had changed so much.

Although it was said that the person who knows you best is your enemy, DarkStar realized that he knew almost nothing about DarkStar. He had no idea what kind of person the man that destroyed DarkStar almost all by himself was.

Chapter 712 - DarkStar’s End, the Leader’s Sacrifice

Han Xiao was surprised as he sized up the DarkStar leader. “You look quite well.”

“I’ve heard that the Godora government is using controversial methods to solve the bloodline conflict… and they’re doing much better than I did.” The DarkStar leader’s tone was complicated.

“From a war prisoner’s perspective, you know rather a lot of what’s happening out there,” Han Xiao joked.

The DarkStar leader shook his head. “Did you know, I’m going to be executed soon?”.

“Hmm? Isn’t your punishment indefinite imprisonment?”

“It changed, probably because of the Crimson Dynasty’s request.” The DarkStar leader sighed.

Han Xiao slightly nodded.

The Crimson Dynasty wanted to suppress Klent’s crimes as soon as possible. Thus, they wanted to kill this important witness. Since the political deal was completed, the DarkStar leader no longer had any value. Purple Crystal and Godora did not reject the Crimson Dynasty’s request. Although the DarkStar leader was a Calamity Grade Super that had some research value, on the political gambling table between civilizations, he was just a slightly bigger chip.

What made Han Xiao curious was, despite knowing that he would be executed soon, the DarkStar leader looked very calm.

“You don’t hate me?” Han Xiao was curious.

“A few days ago, I did, but not now.” The DarkStar leader had a complicated look in his eyes. “I was once lost. I made a deal with Klent. If I did some dirty work for them, they promised to build a home for the Godoran hybrids in the Flickering World in the future.

“When I was captured by you, I thought everything was over, but I never expected that… when I was in the deepest despair, I would see real change.

“I’ve been thinking these few days. DarkStar’s existence made Godora realize the dangers of the bloodline conflict. Now that I’ve been captured, their last obstacle has gone. In order to avoid another me appearing, Godora finally decided to completely solve the bloodline conflicts. Although the method is different from mine, the Godoran government is doing it much better than I did…

“Maybe you don’t believe it, but everything I’ve done was to change the situation that the hybrids were in. However, my identity only allowed me to use extreme methods. The future I have been dreaming of is like a blurry shadow, far and unreachable no matter what I do. You’re the one that made me see that it turns out my belief wasn’t unachievable. Only, I had to pay the price… that is my life.

“I don’t hate you. If I wasn’t captured by you, the Discrimination Transformation Movement wouldn’t have happened. To use my life to build a foundation for my dream, I have no regrets. You’ve given meaning to my death.”

The DarkStar leader’s tone had a sense of relief, and he even smiled faintly.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and was unaffected. He slowly said, “Don’t make yourself sound so noble. You’re still a terrorist who’s killed countless people.”

Han Xiao would not pity a villain just because he confessed before his death. If the DarkStar leader had not been captured, he might not have been willing to give up his life even if he knew that it would change the hybrids’ situation.

“I know.” The DarkStar looked down.

Han Xiao touched his chin and smiled. He had a wicked idea. “However, your guess is wrong. You’re not the reason that Godora made up its mind to solve the bloodline conflict. You’re not as important as you think you are.”

“Then why…” The DarkStar leader was confused.

“To be honest, I’m the one that convinced Serbia the Fifth to carry out the Discrimination Transformation Movement.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

The DarkStar leader’s eyes opened wide. He could no longer stay calm and stood right up with shock.

He did not think that Han Xiao would come all the way to bluff before someone that was about to die.

“Why are you helping me?” The DarkStar leader’s lips were shaking.

Han Xiao tutted and said, “Help you? Are we close? Don’t be sentimental. I have my reasons, but they have nothing to do with you.”

The DarkStar leader stayed silent. The person who had captured him was Han Xiao, and the person that had completed his dream and belief was Han Xiao. His emotions were complicated and tangled up.

In the end, all the confusion and emotions became two sincere words of gratitude.

“Thank you.”

Han Xiao was a little surprised. He nodded and did not say anything.

He felt that there was nothing more to talk about, so he turned around and was about to leave the cell.

This time, the DarkStar leader suddenly spoke again.

“Please wait! I have one last request, my only request.”

Han Xiao turned around and asked, “What else do you want to say?”

“You’ve risen in just ten years,” the DarkStar leader said slowly. “I’ve studied all your battles in the past, and I believe you have the blood of the fighter race that can absorb a part of the enemy’s abilities by killing them. This is why your strength has been growing so fast.”

“So?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

This was no secret, nor did he plan to hide it, so it would definitely be discovered, except no one would know that it was because of the player interface and would only think he was talented.

The DarkStar leader took a deep breath.

“Rather than being executed by Godora, I’d prefer to die in your hands. You have more rights to judge me than them. Plus… this is the only way I can pay you back,” the DarkStar leader said with a relieved tone.

Han Xiao was shocked, and a notification suddenly popped up on the interface.

You have triggered a unique hidden mission [The DarkStar Leader’s Last Wish)!

Mission Introduction: You have destroyed DarkStar, but you also completed DarkStar’s belief. The DarkStar leader hopes to die by your hand and give you his abilities.

Mission Requirement: Kill the DarkStar leader.

Reward: 150,000,000 Experience, 1 Random Reward, 2 abilities/talents of the DarkStar leader.

A hidden mission…

Han Xiao’s eyes flickered. The mission to defeat the Germinal Organization leader also rewarded him with two abilities or talents, which he received a Molding Talent from and started his path of being a boss.

The DarkStar leader was also the boss of a major main storyline. This unique mission was a surprise of this visit and made him rather delighted.

Han Xiao took a long look at the DarkStar leader before raising his right hand. More than ten Mechanical Force lightning chains launched from his palm into the void and connected to the storage of the Blacklight Stealth at the dock, apostilizing the dozen powerful mechanical soldiers.

Energy flowed into Han Xiao’s body continuously through the Mechanical Force, and his own Energy Rank grew rapidly. Psionic energy appeared in his hand like a bubble, highly compressed and giving off horrifying energy.

“I accept,” Han Xiao said with a deep voice.

The DarkStar leader exhaled and dissipated the tiny bit of energy in his body. Then, he slowly closed his eyes.

Outside the cell, the warden was walking back and forth, waiting for Han Xiao to come out.

At this time, a loud and violent explosion suddenly came from within the cell, the entire prison seemed to tremble!

Boom!

The warden was the closest to it, and he was almost deafened. His expression drastically changed, and he hastily yelled, “Your Excellency Black Star, what happened…”

While he called for Han Xiao, he opened the cell door. The moment the door opened, he saw what had happened inside, and his yell immediately stopped.

Broken limbs and pieces of flesh splattered all over the floor and the walls, like someone had exploded from within. Han Xiao had a psionic energy shield in front of him, so the splashed flesh and blood did not land on his body. A head was rolling on the floor. The warden looked at it, and it belonged to the DarkStar leader.

“Yo-You…” The warden was dumbfounded.

“He begged me to kill him. You guys were going to execute him anyway, so I might as well help you with it.”

Han Xiao deactivated the shield, glanced at the warden, and left the cell, leaving the warden to stand there stunned.

The DarkStar leader was an important prisoner, so the warden did not know what to do as he looked at the gory cell. He let his deputy host Han Xiao in his place while he endured the discomfort and hastily reported this to his superiors.

The warden thought that he was going to get into big trouble, but when the superiors heard that Han Xiao was the one that did it, they had no intention of holding anyone responsible.

With Han Xiao’s position in Godora now, killing a death row prisoner was not a problem at all. Furthermore, the DarkStar leader had been captured by Han Xiao in the first place, so Godora was not so pedantic as to hurt their relationship with Han Xiao for such a small matter.

It could be said that Han Xiao could almost do anything he wanted in Godora.

While being shocked by Han Xiao’s influence, the warden hastily hurried back to the dock, worried that he might have made Han Xiao unhappy earlier. He barely made it and waved Han Xiao off.

Han Xiao activated autopilot before going to the training room. He opened the interface to look at the mission and receive the reward.

You have completed [The DarkStar Leader’s Last Wish)!

You have received 150,000,000 Experience!

You have received 1 Random Reward.

Han Xiao nodded. His level was too high. Although 150 million was not little, it was not a lot.

As usual, he did not use the Random Reward, which he now had three of. He was extremely confident with his own luck, so he decided to stock up and do a consecutive draw after completing (Bloodline). The Mission Completion Card was not a rare reward, so he probably would not need to touch Feidin to obtain it.

The final reward was the highlight.

You have received reward: Two abilities/talents of the DarkStar leader.

Reminder: The DarkStar leader is a Mage, so some of the abilities have been adjusted to your class.

Randomizing… complete.

Please select two from the five options below as the reward:

(Advanced Elemental Affinity) – Talent: +80% Energy recovery speed.

(Trained Mind) – Talent: Your mind has been to a hundred secret places in secondary dimensions. +20 Psychological Resistance, +10% Mystery, +5% Intelligence.

[Mysterious Vision) – Ability: +25% Mystery. Duration: 10 minutes. Cooldown: 25 minutes. Cost: 450 Energy.

[Painful Revenge] – Ability: You can stimulate your cell potential through pain and gain strength exceeding your limits. For every 3% of health you lose, you can deal melee attack damage equal to 1.5% of your health. Cost: 300 Energy.

(Luck Curse] – Ability: Using your luck as a sacrifice, you pray for the blessing of the God of Misfortune. -90% Luck, -90% Luck of the target. Duration: 3 hours. No cost. Before the curse ends, this ability cannot be used again.

These abilities are not too bad… Han Xiao nodded.

The spells of Mages were powered by magic energy, which was not compatible with Mechanics, so most of the spells were not in the range of the randomization. Only a small portion of the abilities could be adjusted to become compatible. This way, the low-level spells of the DarkStar leader were all eliminated, and the chance of getting good abilities was higher.

The DarkStar leader was a boss-type character who had Molding Talents as well, but they would not appear as one of the options every single time. Han Xiao was not disappointed. He only glanced at the options shortly before he made his choice.

Chapter 713 - Grade S Mission Reward!

Chapter 713 Grade S Mission Reward!

[Mysterious Vision) was useless, and [Advanced Elemental Affinity) was not very useful either. Recovering mana through the health-mana cycle was much more efficient. Plus, Han Xiao would not be short of mana because of Apostilization.

(Trained Mind) was not too bad, but its percentage increase was too little. In terms of Psychological Resistance, he had (Advanced Mental Toughness). In terms of Intelligence, he also had (Research Theory) and (Battlefield Wisdom).

Other than that, he had [One Against the World) and others. Although (Trained Mind] was not too bad, its bonus was nothing notable. In comparison, Han Xiao felt that the last two abilities were more interesting.

[Painful Revenge) was suitable given how tanky he was. It would give him the ability to basically reflect half of the damage to the enemy. It did not look a lot, but it would be quite considerable because of his recovery speed.

He had about 200,000 health points. For example, if the damage dealt to him had accumulated up to 300%, [Painful Revenge] would be triggered a hundred times, dealing about 300,000 damage, which would be quite a lot. Furthermore, his health points would increase as he leveled up, which meant that this ability had room to grow.

Han Xiao felt that this ability should be the result of adjusting Chain of Pain. Although it had its limitations due to the fact that it could only be triggered at close range, it would be very useful against those who tried to get close to him. After all, ‘focus fire on myself’ was rather risky.

Among Calamity Grade Supers, Han Xiao was now at the very top, so he had to prepare for the eventuality of facing a Beyond Grade A Super. By then, he would definitely get beaten up quite badly, so reflecting the damage would be very useful.

Furthermore, his close-range combat capability increased as he obtained the ability to Apostilize his machinery. Close range combat once again became one of his regular combat modes, so [Painful Revenge) would definitely be triggered.

Han Xiao had always wanted to let go of the ‘Getting Beaten Style’, but to his resignation, he realized that he could not escape the fate of being a tank and getting beaten up was still one of the most effective styles.

Another thing that surprised him was (Luck Curse), which he felt was the most valuable of all the rewards given in this mission.

This ability was double-edged, since both his Luck and the target’s Luck would reduce by ninety percent. However, with how ‘many’ Luck points he had, whether it was reduced or not would not make a difference since it would not go below zero.

Han Xiao did not believe that anyone would have lower Luck than him!

He was extremely confident in this.

Han Xiao had made up his mind the minute he saw (Luck Curse). It was basically an ability to greatly reduce the target’s Luck without any side effects.

It was a perfect fit for him!

With a faint smile on his face, Han Xiao confirmed the options.

You have received (Painful Revenge]!

You have received (Luck Curse)!

Han Xiao closed his eyes to feel the new abilities for a while. Then he opened his eyes and took a deep breath with content.

The DarkStar leader gave me two decent abilities. It’s indeed true that honest, loyal, and pure men like me get rewarded.

Han Xiao rubbed his hands and chuckled without any shame.

After accumulating over a very long time, he had created a very strong combat ability that could defeat just about any Calamity Grade Super. However, he did not become overconfident at all; he knew more than anyone how powerful and strong Beyond Grade As were. Normal people would never be able to reach Beyond Grade A. Every single one of them was a boss among bosses. They all had plenty of Molding Talents and bug-like abilities.

His style was far from being the most powerful among Beyond Grade As. For example, EsGod was almost almighty; Thousand Shadows’ abilities were extremely mysterious; Ames’ Force Field was great for both attack and defense; the Tyrant’s body could penetrate Fixed Stars; plus, there was the famous Mechanic Empire. The biggest specialty of his current combat style was just being tanky and difficult to kill. It needed further development.

Now, I just have to wait till (Bloodline) is complete. Then, I will try to stock up on Mission Completion Cards. Seven years is plenty… As long as I complete the level 200 Promotion, I will be able to spend all the Experience I’ve accumulated through Version 2.0 and turn it all into actual strength and combat capability…

“Yesterday, under the monitoring of the Purple Crystal Civilization, Godora’s Discrimination Transformation Movement was successfully completed. Serbia the Fifth has made a speech. He thinks that be it pureblood or hybrid, everyone should support Godora as a whole and should not be divided due to their blood. From now on, they shall put aside their differences, fight and work for the Godoran Civilization as one.

“Serbia The Fifth once met many obstacles during the process, and he became hated by many. Fortunately, after this process was completed, his achievement was finally recognized, and his support rate jumped up to 91.67%. The Purple Crystal Civilization thinks that in the long history of Godora, Serbia the Fifth is undoubtedly one of the wisest and bold leaders… Okay, that will be all for the Garton Star System News today. See you on the…”

Beep.

Serbia the Fifth turned off the virtual screen and looked at Han Xiao and Rossellin on the opposite of the guest table with a delighted expression.

“The plan is finally over. From the bottom of my heart, I thank the two of you for your help.”

Rossellin gave a reserved smile before picking up the cup on the table and taking a sip of the specialty Godoran drink, displaying a nonchalant posture. Han Xiao watched from beside and almost wanted to give her a thumbs up-what a professional in being pretentious.

It seemed that every wrinkle on Serbia the Fifth’s face was laughing. He was overjoyed. Having solved the illness that had plagued Godora for countless years, he could predict that he would definitely be written in the history and textbooks as Godora’s hero—this could be said to be the biggest achievement.

After all, as the saying went, ‘a great man who isn’t written in textbooks isn’t really a great man!’

This opportunity was gifted to him by Black Star, who was sitting in front of him, so Serbia the Fifth was full of gratitude.

“In terms of reward,” Serbia the Fifth said, “we shall follow the promise we made in the first place. First, a large amount of money and resources; second, opening more resource purchasing channels; third, more resource planet harvesting rights, and we will be providing the devices and manpower; fourth, the borrowing right to the military factory to mass produce spaceships for the Black Star Army; fifth, the right to deploy our technical personals to cultivate professional talents for you; last but not least, political support.”

Han Xiao listened carefully with a straight face. Those were all pre-discussed terms.

As for supplies and money, he did not care that much since he had so many resource planets now. The rights to borrow Godora’s military factory and deploy their technical personnel were not bad.

The production rate of a Star System civilization was not to be underestimated; borrowing their hundreds of huge military factories across the Star System would increase the efficiency of building spaceships tremendously. Deploying technical personnel to cultivate specialized research and development talents for the Black Star Army was also beneficial in the long run.

However, compared to these rewards, the most important thing to Han Xiao was still the (Bloodline) mission that had never been completed in the previous life. This was also the first Grade S mission that he had completed!

The (Bloodline) mission on the interface was already shown as ‘Completed’, but Han Xiao stayed patient and did not immediately look at it. Instead, he chatted with Serbia the Fifth for a while before taking his leave with Rossellin.

After the two of them left, Serbia the Fifth stood up and looked at the bright sky outside from the window, thinking of the bright future ahead.

At the same time, Rudy felt the same as Serbia The Fifth, full of anticipation of the future.

The changes in his life were very noticeable and obvious. After the Discrimination Transformation Movement, he realized that when he walked on the streets, the looks of discrimination and alienation all disappeared. His colleagues became friendly; his wife’s family became passionate and not cold anymore; his boss gave him important matters to take care of and seemed to have plans to give him bigger responsibilities.

His children were no longer quiet and alone in school and made many new friends.

Everything was becoming better.

His passion for life was reignited.

“Thank you, Serbia the Fifth. Thank you, Purple Crystal. Thank you, Black Star for capturing the DarkStar leader…”

Rudy was filled with gratitude.

…

Han Xiao took Rossellin to the spaceship and headed back.

After entering hyperdrive mode, just as Han Xiao was about to look at the reward, Rossellin stopped him and asked with a curious expression, “Black Star, do you really think that my brainwashing can completely change Godora’s bloodline discrimination and that it will not bounce back in the future?”

“How would I know? It won’t have anything to do with me even if it does.”

“Yet you still trust me so much?” Rossellin tutted. “Even I don’t know if this plan will work, but I feel like you’re more confident than me despite not knowing the details of my Esper ability.”

“I can see the future. If I say you can do it, you can do it.” Han Xiao was in a hurry to complete the mission and receive the reward, so he was in no mood to chat with Rossellin. He gave her this ever-applicable excuse and hastily walked into the training room, leaving Rossellin standing there pondering.

After closing the training room door, Han Xiao quickly opened the interface and looked at the notification of the mission.

[Bloodline] Completed!

Mission Rating: B (Good)

You have received 1,250,000,000 Experience, 3 Random Rewards, +30,000 Godora Contribution Points, 10 Eternal Dungeon Crystals for (Godora’s History).

You have received 1 Political Asset.

Wow, 1.25 billion Experience! That’s more than seven times what I got from the DarkStar leader’s last mission and almost at the reward standard of Version 5.0.

Han Xiao was surprised. This amount of Experience was not little even to him, and it even gave him three Random Rewards, which was equivalent to completing three Grade A missions with a high Mission Rating and exactly what he needed at the moment to get a Mission Completion Card.

Grade S missions all had very few clues, and their rewards were unknown before completion. Even Han Xiao had just found out about the reward of this mission. Maybe because he completed the mission using a controversial method, the Mission Rating was only Good. After all, brainwashing was not the most stable way to solve the problem. However, Han Xiao had no idea how to complete this mission the usual way, so being able to complete it was already a great surprise.

30,000 Godora Contribution Points would allow players to exchange many good equipment, but to him, it was not all that useful. Nonetheless, it was better than nothing

Ten Eternal Dungeon Crystals were great. ‘Eternal’ meant that they could be used repeatedly for a limited number of times every day. The dungeon (Godora’s History]’s level requirement was level sixty to one hundred and eighty, which was a very broad range. This meant that this was an enormous dungeon, and its rewards would definitely be very rich.

Han Xiao would have no use for it, but those player guilds would definitely spend huge sums to buy these Eternal Dungeon Crystals. This would basically give a guild a huge dungeon that they could enter every single day, providing their pro players continuous tests, allowing them to level up quicker and gain more resources.

Although the Dungeon Creation Right on the NPC interface could continuously create dungeons, it was not able to make any Eternal Dungeon Crystals. Furthermore, guilds would definitely want to obtain a stable way of entering dungeons for themselves. Rich people loved to buy assurance with money.

Han Xiao was more interested in the players’ Experience, not money, so selling them or not did not really matter. However, using these Eternal Dungeon Crystals as high level items in the faction store would be useful in attracting players.

Han Xiao looked at the last reward-one Political Asset.

(Political Asset (1): Godoran Civilization]

You are loved by the Godorans. When trading with Godorans, you can buy at lower prices and sell at higher prices.

Godora is willing to listen to your requests. You can make suggestions to the Godoran government directly. According to the rationality of the request, there’s a slight chance the Godoran Civilization will fulfill your request.

This is a symbol of political influence. Your achievements are praised in the galaxy. When interacting with certain organizations or characters, +30% Favorability gain rate.

You have valuable experience. +30% Experience gained from all sources.

Remarks: Relationship with Godora has to be at (Reverence) for the above effects to be active.

It really is this thing. I thought I was mistaken. Han Xiao was overjoyed.

Political Assets and Legendary Points had the same characteristics, but Political Assets were rarer than Legendary Points. In his previous life, he had only seen it in other people’s screenshots.

He looked at the NPC interface. All of his Reward Quotas increased by sixty percent!

The effect of a Political Asset was much better than a Legendary Point!

In his previous life, Han Xiao had completed Grade S missions too, but they were either large scale missions that many were involved in or challenge missions that consisted of fighting and killing. This was his first time completing such a complicated Grade S mission like (Bloodline].

Political Assets had a lot of benefits. To Han Xiao, he felt that the most important effects were the thirty percent increase in Favorability gain rate and Experience gain. As long as he met the requirements, he would enjoy those bonuses forever.

These two effects were applicable to the players as well. Obtaining Political Assets was extremely important. It required a lot of work and time, so these two effects were somewhat making up for that. Furthermore, the long-term rewards were higher than the expenses.

If a player had one Political Asset, it meant that for the same time they spent on missions, they would gain more Experience than everyone else. Their level would always be ahead, and they would have more excess Experience to learn and level up abilities. As this continued, the difference between them and the other players would keep growing larger.

In his previous life, Han Xiao had witnessed many guilds trying everything they could to obtain Political Assets for their players.

Experience isn’t Enaus and has no physical form, so it can’t be traded between players. This says that the bonus applies to Experience gained from all sources. Does this mean that the Experience I reap from the players will also increase by thirty percent?

Han Xiao was looking forward to finding out. Experience only existed in the interface. Since there were cash items such as Double Experience Cards and so on, him getting thirty percent bonus Experience was not impossible.

If that was indeed the case, the efficiency in him reaping leeks would see an explosive increase!

Chapter 714 - Dried Experience

Chapter 714 Dried Experience

Closing the mission reward notification, Han Xiao looked at his stocked up Random Rewards. Including the [Bloodline) reward, he had six of them.

“Six should be plenty. I’ll give it a try.” Han Xiao pondered for a moment and decided to use the Random Rewards.

Luck affected the chances of getting all kinds of good rewards, but a Mission Completion Card was a rather low-value reward, so Han Xiao did not want to use the Random Reward after touching Feidin. He would have a higher chance of getting a Mission Completion Card with his own Luck.

Randomizing… complete.

Your Random Reward Type is: [Item]

Please select one from the three options below:

  1. Double Experience Card (2)
  2. Blank Character Summon Card (1)
  3. Large Experience Crystal (3)

Being used to not getting what he wanted on the first draw, with a calm expression, Han Xiao looked at them and chose the Blank Character Summon Card to be used the next time he saw Ames.

Randomizing… complete.

Your Random Reward Type is: [Item]

Please select one from the three options below:

  1. Energy Enhancement Aura (Cosmetic)
  2. Random Dungeon Crystal (1)
  3. Gene Awakening Elixir (Normal)

Han Xiao tutted. Two consecutive item type rewards but no Mission Completion Card; this was not looking too good.

These rewards are not good at all… Han Xiao touched his chin in resignation. As expected, touching Feidin or not really made a huge difference.

Luck Glow is so strong. I want it so badly.

Seeing that nothing was good, Han Xiao chose the ‘Energy Enhancement Aura’, a cheap aura type cosmetic. Its effect was to increase the appearance of energy attacks, making the beams look thicker and larger. It had no actual effects other than making the attacks look more intimidating and cooler.

Randomizing… complete.

Your Random Reward Type is: (Talent]

Please select one from the three options below:

  1. (Golden Ratio Body]: +3% Strength, +3% Dexterity, +3% Endurance, +75 Charisma
  2. (Electrical Eyes): +25 Charisma, +5 Luck

3: (Sado-Masochism]: +120 Mystery, -50 Charisma

“What the hell are these?” Han Xiao’s eyes twitched.

One of the good things about being unlucky was that he would always see weird stuff.

The second and the third choices were useless, so Han Xiao chose the (Golden Ratio Body), which was better than nothing. Han Xiao took a deep breath and started to draw the fourth Random Reward.

Randomizing… complete.

Your Random Reward Type is: (Item]

Please select one from the three options below:

  1. Mission Completion Card (1)
  2. Small Experience Crystal (13)
  3. Race Evolution Options Reshuffle Card Fragment (2)

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. After drawing four Random Rewards, he finally got a Mission Completion Card!

After selecting the Mission Completion Han Xiao stayed patient and used the remaining two Random Rewards, which gave him 2,000,000 Experience and a common ability, [Breaking Skull], which gave +40% critical chance when attacking the enemy’s head with an eight-second cooldown.

One Mission Completion Card out of six draws, not too bad. At least it solved the imminent issue.

Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. One was enough to complete the Promotion mission. After he completed the Promotion, his Experience would be spent up, so he would be in no hurry. He would have seven years to slowly collect more Mission Completion Cards.

Han Xiao immediately used this new Mission Completion Card.

You have used (Mission Completion Card)!

(Self Challenge) completed!

Level 200 Promotion Mission completed! Promotion successful! Endurance Bonus increased! 1 Endurance = 145 Health = 155 Stamina.

Han Xiao’s heart trembled as if burning lava poured out from within and flowed through his entire body. He inhaled deeply and felt as if his body was melting; his cells were evolving.

The pain lasted for quite a while before disappearing. Han Xiao was gasping for air and covered in sweat, but he was very energetic as if he had just finished a physical training.

The level limit was removed. Han Xiao took a deep breath and spent all the Experience on leveling up. His level increased from level 200 to level 207.

[Apostle Mechanic) leveled up to level 12.

+240 Energy, +3 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +5 Endurance, +10 Intelligence.

You have received 8 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

He finally spent all his Experience!

Experience in his interface was just a number; it would only become valuable when he turned it into his own combat capability. The Experience that he had obtained through Version 2.0 was almost all gone. Han Xiao felt the energy in his body-he was now at his

peak.

I’ve finally spent all the Experience… Han Xiao looked at the notification and realized that his Grade Bonus had changed as well.

When achieving the Grade A standard of 10,000 Energy Rank, one would receive the Grade A bonuses. For every 10,000 Ona after that, the bonus would increase.

The original effect was: +10 Endurance, +8 All Resistances. +10% Highest Attribute, +5% Other Attributes, +30 Free Attribute Points, and +5 Potential Points.

After the Grade Bonus upgraded, it became: +15 Endurance, +12 All Resistances. +15% Highest Attribute, +8% Other Attributes, +80 Free Attribute Points, and +10 Potential Points.

Han Xiao spent more than half of the Free Attribute Points in Intelligence and then put forty into Endurance. Endurance was now very beneficial to him. He had spent all the Free Attribute Points in the early stages on Intelligence, so he could slow down for a while.

Furthermore, after his battle with EsGod, he was quite cautious about the attack of a Beyond Grade A, so more Endurance would definitely only do him good.

He then looked at his current attributes.

Level: 207

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Void Distorter (Human Form)

Attributes: 504 Strength, 946 Dexterity, 1040 Endurance, 2859 Intelligence, 432 Mystery, 214 Charisma, 1 Luck

Free Attribute Points: 0

Potential Points: 24

Health: 251,780

Stamina: 209,320

Energy: 28,410 [Level12]

[Level12 Energy bonus attributes: +169 Strength, +239 Dexterity, +269 Endurance, +336 Intelligence, +206 Mystery, +32,520 Maximum Stamina, +352% Machinery Affinity (Super Electromagnetic Sense)]

Energy Rank: 24,668

Grade: A+

Grade A Bonuses: +15 Endurance, +12 All Resistances. +15% Highest Attribute, +8% Other Attributes, +80 Free Attribute Points, +10 Potential Points

Remark: As a Mechanic, you’re among the top. As a tank, you’re world-class. Are you really not considering becoming a tank?

Tsk, Machinery is the best, Han Xiao snorted internally.

In order to complete his Class Advancement, he had spent three whole years, but between his Class Advancement and Promotion, he did not take very long. This was all thanks to his accumulation earlier on.

This Promotion was not Race Evolution, so he did not undergo a tremendous change. Nonetheless, his health points grew very quickly. Compared to before the Promotion, they was had increased by twenty-five percent

Han Xiao could not imagine how tanky the Tyrant would be. Other than having extremely high defense, he would probably have millions of health points.

Level 207, one more step closer to Beyond Grade A. I’ve spent all the accumulated Experience. With the Experience standard of Version 2.0, I may be able to level up four to five more times. I can only wait until the players return in order to quickly level up. Now I just have to stock up on more Mission Completion Cards.

As the (Bloodline) mission ended, Han Xiao went back to the headquarters and rested for a few days. Since his holiday had yet to end, he flipped through the mission list of the Mercenary Department of the army and looked for suitable missions for him to accept.

The news that Black Star was out to do missions personally once again quickly spread across the Colton Star Cluster and brought shock to many organizations. With Han Xiao’s current position, why would he ever need to personally carry out missions?

Plus, aren’t you at war? How do you have time to personally do missions?

Is the secret war this easy for you?

The employers across the entire Colton Star Cluster were overjoyed. With Black Star’s strength, what kind of mission would he be unable to complete? For an amount of time, the Mercenary Department of the Black Star Army’s business multiplied by three times—all because of Han Xiao.

Those who successfully hired Han Xiao were flattered. Despite being the employer, their attitude toward Han Xiao was like Han Xiao was their employer.

Han Xiao’s method of carrying out these hiring missions could be simply described with one word-reckless!

Be it eliminating rebels, clearing beasts, or chasing galactic pirates, all he did was crush them instantly. The enemies could not even resist. Han Xiao spent more time traveling than doing the missions. It was terrifying.

Since Han Xiao was moving alone, he thought that Klent would once again send people to try assassinating him. However, after completing seven missions, he still had not even seen a trace of any assassins.

What had happened to DarkStar horrified Klent, so they were extremely cautious. Seeing that Han Xiao was alone outside, they immediately had specialized groups of people making deductions.

With Black Star’s position, there’s absolutely no need for him to do those hires personally.

Therefore, it’s obvious that…

He’s luring us to attack him!

He definitely wants to replicate what happened to the DarkStar leader and make us the scapegoat once again! This guy is evil!

Therefore, the Klentans looked at Han Xiao wandering alone with a sneer on their faces.

Humph, your intentions are too obvious; we see right through them! We will definitely not fall for it!

Furthermore, Klent had just been hit politically, so they wanted to keep a low profile for some time. Klent also could not think of anything that could threaten Han Xiao at all, so they had no intention of attacking Han Xiao for the time being.

When Han Xiao was doing missions and stocking up on Random Rewards, the various departments of the Black Star Army were developing steadily as well.

The first batch of investments for Vilna were spent in the first three months. Following Han Xiao’s orders, Reynold invested another 150 million Enaus.

On the Floating Dragon Island dock, one thousand battleships were parked neatly in their various models. Among them were two enormous flagships as the core of the fleet.

The spaceships of the galactic pirates were pushed to the corners of the dock. They shivered and did not dare to have any objections. This was because the exterior armor of these thousand battleships was painted with the same image-a light green Void Dragon head with a throne below it inside a ring

This was the mark of the second Field Team of Floating Dragon!

Vilna took a few assistants to accompany Aesop and Jenny in inspecting this fleet.

“We now have a thousand Star System produced battleships and three hundred thousand galactic warriors, including 450 Grade B Supers and 240,000 Grade C Supers. The remaining are Grade D and below, mainly responsible for the management, logistics, transport, and others.”

Vilna introduced the current scale of the second Floating Dragon Field Team to the two of them.

“It has only been half a year. This is great,” Aesop complimented.

“It’s mainly because of Black Star’s help,” Vilna said. “It’s difficult to even make money on my own.”

“How much did he spend?” Jenny asked with a frown.

“70,000,000 Enaus initially and another 150,000,000 Enaus a few days ago…” Vilna swallowed her saliva. Even as a Calamity Grade Super, she was still shocked by Han Xiao’s generosity.

“How generous…” Jenny’s brows stopped frowning, and she slightly snorted. She touched her slowly deteriorating hairline with resignation.

“The maintenance cost of these troops is about 8.5 million Enaus every month,” Vilna cautiously added. “Black Star is the one maintaining that right now, but in the future…”

“It’s a little expensive,” Jenny subconsciously replied before suddenly pausing.

She suddenly realized that she had almost never given Han Xiao any funding or maintenance fees at all. Although the Black Star Army was Floating Dragon’s Field Team, they had been responsible for their own expenses and still handed over a part of their profits to her every month.

As the Black Star Army almost never requested any funding from Floating Dragon, she had not really thought about it. Only now did she realize that the Black Star Army was really independent, and they were probably passionately expanding their business to earn the maintenance fees too. Jenny shook her head and felt that she really was not a very great butler.

“Black Star built a fleet for you without caring about the cost,” Aesop said. “It seems that he’s made up his mind on leaving. Vilna, you must think of ways to make profits for this fleet. We will provide the maintenance fee of this team of yours in the future. We don’t need the Field Team to be too large, or the cost will be too high. You can’t keep accepting Black Star’s help. You don’t have his ability to make money, so you must learn to control your fleet’s size.”

“O–Okay…” Vilna hastily nodded.

Jenny, who stayed silent on the side for a while, could not help but admit, “Black Star really is a rare talent.”

Aesop nodded in agreement before adding with resignation, “Sadly, he’s growing too fast. Someone this talented will not serve others forever…”

Chapter 715 - Seven Years

Chapter 715 Seven Years

As Aesop, Vilna, and Jenny were chatting, a most familiar spaceship to all three of them came from afar. It was Han Xiao’s Blacklight Stealth.

“Why is he here?”

The three of them were surprised. They were just talking about Han Xiao, and speak of the devil…

The Blacklight Stealth squeezed into the Floating Dragon Island’s dock. The hatch opened, and Han Xiao stepped out. He looked around at the shivering galactic pirates around, curled his lips, and then looked at Aesop, Jenny, and Vilna.

“Yo, you’re all here.”

“Why have you come back?” Jenny snorted.

“It’s been a long time since I last saw you, and I’ve missed you, especially that pretty hairline of yours. I missed it so much I could barely sleep at night… By the way, have you had time to sleep recently?”

Han Xiao raised his brows. After knowing Jenny for so long, he knew very clearly of how to piss her off.

“You’re such an asshole!” Being hit where it hurt, Jenny clenched her teeth, turned around, and stomped away as if the ground was Han Xiao’s face and she wanted to stomp a hole in it.

Han Xiao then looked at Vilna and said, “What were you guys doing?”

“W—We were inspecting the second Field Team…” Vilna stuttered with a slightly blushed face. Han Xiao was the one that had spent the money to build this team, and Aesop had just told her that this was a symbol of Han Xiao showing his decision of leaving. With Han Xiao suddenly appearing, she felt very uncomfortable as if she had been caught in the act.

Being extremely experienced, Aesop was not awkward at all, he changed the topic and said, “Are you looking for Ames? She doesn’t know you’re back, so she should be in the palace training. Go find her.”

Han Xiao nodded. He casually patted Vilna’s head till her face was completely blushed, and then he finally walked away satisfied.

Although Vilna was a Calamity Grade, her personality was too soft, and Han Xiao could not help but tease her every time he saw her. After all, she would be his successor in the future, so he was casual when treating her.

He had just completed a mission that happened to be near the Floating Dragon Island, so he decided to make a trip there. While he was there, he was also going to use the Blank Character Summon Card on Ames.

Near the palace, Han Xiao saw Hila and Aurora, and his eyes sparkled.

Hila was wearing a tight red battle suit made of high strength nanofiber. Compared to three years ago, her body was even sexier. Her appearance and vibe had become more aligned with the Goddess of Death that she had been in his previous life, cold and indifferent.

Aurora had grown quite a bit taller, too. She was still smaller than Hila overall but not smaller at all at some places. It was clear that she had developed her vital energy Esper ability very well.

The foreheads of both of them were covered in sweat marks as they walked out of the palace. It seemed like they had just finished training Upon seeing Han Xiao, the two of them stopped simultaneously.

“Whoa, are you here to see us?” With surprise all over her face, Aurora pounced into Han Xiao’s arms and hugged him.

Hila’s eyes twitched as she slowly walked over.

“Alright, alright, they’re big enough.” Han Xiao quickly pushed Aurora away by her head then sized the two of them up. “It looks like you guys have trained well under Ames.”

Both sisters had Grade S Esper ability potential, so they had grown at an astonishing speed. The energy they gave off had reached Grade B, with Hila giving off stronger energy. Han Xiao speculated that Hila’s Energy Rank should be about around 6,000.

In the original storyline, she reached Calamity Grade in Version 3.0. Although she’s not increasing her strength by slaughtering countless lives, with her potential and how hard she’s working, the possibility of her reaching the Calamity Grade within the next seven years should be quite high.

Han Xiao patted Aurora’s head, paused, and said to Hila, “When you’re at Calamity Grade, come back to help me.”

Given how strong Hila had been in her previous life, she would definitely be a great help when she reached Grade A. As a very powerful healer, Aurora would also be able to effectively reduce the casualties of his officers. Both of them would be fantastic additions to his army.

“Okay.” Hila nodded and replied very decisively.

“I thought you would hesitate. After all, it’s safe here with Ames. Haven’t you always prioritized safety?”.

With an expressionless face, Hila said, “This is something we agreed on. Plus, when I’m at Calamity Grade, I will be able to protect Aurora. Since we’re here in the universe, we can’t possibly stay in one place all the time instead of exploring the world. Furthermore, she is now capable of protecting herself to some extent.”

Han Xiao looked at Hila and said, “Why do I feel like you didn’t really mean that?”

“Humph.” Hila looked away.

She did not train so hard just to protect Aurora in the galaxy but also to be able to help Han Xiao as soon as possible to repay him. With her strong personality, she had to repay others for their help.

Furthermore, she would be able to see Han Xiao often if she worked for him. She could only see Han Xiao once in a very long time while training on Floating Dragon Island, so she rather missed him.

“Are you here to see Her Excellency Dragon Emperor?” Hila asked.

“Yeah.”

“…She should be in the garden, go see her then.” Hila looked down.

Han Xiao was just about to walk into the palace when Hila suddenly stopped him and asked, “How strong have you really become?”

She was not at Han Xiao’s level yet, and the news was mostly exaggerated, so she had been very curious about how strong Han Xiao really was.

“Hmmm, I should be able to beat a hundred thousand of you without using both of my hands.” Han Xiao smiled.

Hila clenched her teeth in her mind.

She had known Han Xiao for the longest, but now she could not even see Han Xiao’s footsteps.

In the garden, Ames was floating in the air, looking up at a dim star at the edge of the sky.

Hearing the footsteps, she glanced down and slowly landed before Han Xiao. Her smooth, silky hair and her thin black dress waved with the wind.

“You’re back, Black Star.” Ames smiled and complimented, “I’ve heard about you funding the second Field Team. You’ve done well.”

“Everything is easy with enough money.” Han Xiao chuckled as he secretly used the Blank Character Summon Card on Ames.

“Why did you come back to see me?” Ames blinked.

“Do I need a reason to come to see you?” Of course, Han Xiao was not going to say that it was because of the Blank Character Summon Card.

“You’ve become less and less cautious in front of me.”

“That’s because we’re very close now, aren’t we?” Han Xiao joked.

“Is that the only reason?” Ames stared at Han Xiao’s eyes with a faint smile.

Black Star had become stronger and stronger, and his position was also growing continuously. The differences between the two of them in every regard were shrinking at a very high speed. Black Star became more casual when facing her, not as a subordinate of her anymore but more like an equal.

Ames suddenly said, “How long has it been since the last time I went to tour your territory?”

Han Xiao thought about it and said, “Quite a few years, why?”

The last time that Ames toured the Black Star Army was when Version 2.0 just started. It was then that she had taken Hila and Aurora as her students.

“It’s only been a few years, and your organization has already grown to what it is today. Black Star, how about you take me to tour your territory once again?” Ames slanted her head and gave Han Xiao a smile that he did not understand.

Han Xiao was a little surprised, but he was used to how random Ames was. He thought about it, and it seemed that there was no reason for him to reject her. He felt that it was most likely because Ames was extremely bored, so he nodded and said, “Sure. Since the boss wants to do a tour, I will accompany you. I’m on holiday anyway. Let’s go to the Black Star Army headquarters, what do you say?”

“Hmm, you decide.” Ames smiled.

The two of them left immediately.

Aesop was still inspecting the troops when he saw with resignation that in the short time Han Xiao left, he had already kidnapped Ames and taken her away.

The Blacklight Stealth returned to the headquarters. The two of them alighted the spaceship, and Han Xiao took Ames to tour the various areas of the headquarters. In the process, the many Black Star Army members that passed by them all gave them strange looks.

The rumors of the two of them going separate ways never stopped. Now that they saw their captain appearing together with Ames, many felt strange. Currently, Ames was still the boss of the Black Star Army, so it looked like she was there to do an inspection.

As the two of them walked, Han Xiao explained and introduced the various areas while Ames kept quiet. Very soon, they finished touring all the areas in the headquarters and arrived at Han Xiao’s office. All the officers in the headquarters had been summoned there by Han Xiao, waiting to meet Ames in the office and be inspected.

As soon as Ames walked in the door, the Black Star Army officers all stood up and nodded, giving the Beyond Grade A their respect.

Ames looked around and saw Herlous and the others. She smiled and said, “I remember some of you. You’ve all been working with Black Star for a very long time.”

“You’re Herlous, right?” Ames came before Herlous, smiled, and nodded. “I can see your potential. You should be able to reach Calamity Grade.”

Herlous’ face became joyous. He had always been troubled by this, and now he felt much more relieved-he trusted the judgment of a Beyond Grade A.

Ames then came before Aroshia. Seeing that she was still cold as always, she smiled and did not say anything. She then walked up to Sylvia and patted Sylvia’s head.

“What a smart kid. I feel you have the potential to become a Calamity Grade too.”

Sylvia’s eyes opened wide, and she felt a little bit weird.

She felt that Ames seemed to like guessing others’ potential, and she wondered if it was Ames’ strange habit.

Ames stopped for a while in front of every officer and spoke a few words. Every officer reacted differently. Feidin smiled gently; Harmon was lost; Reynold was solemn; Rossellin was indifferent; Karmbe, Marian, and Misecech were overjoyed.

Lastly, Ames came to Lagi and gave him a few more glances. “Didn’t expect you to be the former Forbidden Sorcerer Commander under Austin.”

“Sigh, what good does that do? I’m still fired.” Lagi sighed. He was used to seeing Beyond Grade As, so he was the most casual among all the officers.

Ames smiled and walked back to Han Xiao. The officers did not speak, all intimidated by Ames.

“Okay Black Star, I’ll be going back now.”

“So soon?” Han Xiao was stunned. Was she not going to stay and play for a few days after going all the way there?

“I’ve seen what I wanted to see.” Ames shook her head.

The rise of the Black Star Army was too quick, and observing the Black Star Army was equivalent to observing Han Xiao’s ambition. She had found the answer to what she wanted to know.

Maybe… I’m really not suitable to be his leader.

Having understood what Ames meant, Han Xiao sighed in his mind and told the officers to scatter as he took Ames back to the dock. The two of them stayed silent on the way.

“Give me a spaceship, I’ll go back myself. You don’t have to make another trip,” Ames said.

“Okay.” Han Xiao called the person in charge of the dock over and told him to bring a spaceship over.

As the two of them waited for the spaceship on the dock, Ames suddenly spoked without even turning her head.

“A few years ago, you told me you were going to join the secret war, but you did not seek my help-why?”

Han Xiao coughed and said, “Your position is too sensitive to take part in the secret war. I notified you, and you didn’t stop me, so I took it as you allowed it. Back then, you didn’t show any signs of wanting to take part in it, so I didn’t seek help from you.”

“Why didn’t you try?”

What is that supposed to mean? Han Xiao frowned, but he could only see the back of Ames’ head.

He changed the topic and said, “A few years ago when I was ambushed by Thous… ahem, Klent, I asked for your help, but you didn’t agree to help me.”

Han Xiao was talking about when he asked for Ames’ help during the third round of [Prey] and was rejected.

“If you insisted back then, I would’ve still agreed. If you insisted on asking me to join the secret war, I might not have rejected… though I don’t like to be involved in these things,” Ames said with a calm tone.

Han Xiao could not see her face, so he could only speculate what she meant from her tone. “You mean that you want to take part in the secret war?”

“I’m no longer needed.” Ames paused and changed the topic. “Ever since the first day I met you, I’ve never seen you stop your footsteps, why?”

Are we doing quizzes now? When did you start to speak in such a mysterious way? Han Xiao’s lips twitched. He thought for a moment and said with resignation, “It’s not time to stop. You have the choice to stop, but I don’t.”

“What are you afraid of?”.

Han Xiao’s eyes were slightly moved, and he did not answer.

At this time, a spaceship finally stopped in front of Ames. The hatch opened, and the gangway was lowered.

Ames stretched her body. Her clothes tightened and highlighted her cursive, beautiful waist. She sighed and softly said, “I hope you’re willing to stop one day and look at the scenery along the way. This universe has an end no matter how enormous it is, but ambition has no limits.”

Then, she boarded the ship and closed the hatch, blocking herself from Han Xiao’s view, never letting him see her expression.

Han Xiao watched as the spaceship turned into a stream of light and disappeared. Then he sighed and massaged his temples.

He had a feeling that Ames had changed, and her mood had become more unpredictable.

When did she start to change? Han Xiao pondered.

The conflict between the Crimson Dynasty and the Federation of Light affected the entire Galaxy. All the Star Fields were affected by the Crimson Tide. It was a time of chaos. Big and small wars were also happening in the various Star Clusters in the Shattered Star Ring.

The Crimson Tide swept the entire Galaxy. Comparatively, the chaos in the Shattered Star Ring was just the tip of the iceberg.

The situation of the secret war was many times more complicated compared to his previous life. More people were involved, and more ‘accidents’ happened that had never happened originally. Nonetheless, overall, the situation was still a stalemate between the Bloodshed Land and Section Zero.

War meant opportunities; no one fought wars for the sake of fighting wars. The Black Star Army was slowly expanding and benefiting.

Han Xiao was very active in the secret war and became the brightest star onstage.

Like a violent river that never stopped or flowed backward, the secret war became more and more intense in the midst of this chaos that affected the entire universe.

In the flames of war, seven years passed in this universe.

Chapter 716 - New Version-Crimson Tide!

Galaxy Calendar: Year 704, 17th day of the 7th month.

In the Black Star Army headquarters…

Clank…

On the alloy walkway, a tall, curvaceous figure strode with her alloy boots making a clanking sound when coming into contact with the alloy ground. Her white-gold female armor only covered her important locations, and she wore a black nano form fitting suit on the inside.

A few warriors from the lower rungs of the Black Star Army turned into the walkway and were wearing a similar uniform to that lady. The moment they saw her approaching from afar, their expressions turned solemn, and they stood up straight to give a salute.

“Your Excellency Chief Administrative Official.”

Her footsteps paused for a while, and she revealed a smile in response. Her smile was like the blooming roses and radiant sunlight. The few warriors were stunned into silence and only came back to their senses after she walked far away.

“How beautiful. She is the number one beauty of the Black Star Army indeed…”

“If only I can catch her eye.”

“You must be dreaming. Her Excellency Sylvia is a Calamity Grade Super and the chief disciple of His Excellency Black Star. How could you possibly catch her eye?”

The lady who walked afar revealed a helpless expression as she heard the conversation between the two.

She was Sylvia.

In the past seven years, she had put in all her effort into training herself (struggling for survival). After a series of tempering (suffering), her latent potential was finally realized, and she had stepped into the Calamity Grade before Version 3.0!

With her strength growing, her fame grew as well. She became the Chief Administrative Official of the Black Star Army, and people finally began to acknowledge her title as Black Star’s chief disciple.

A Calamity Grade Super had a long lifespan, and Sylvia had transformed into a beauty over the past seven years. She had a tall, curvaceous figure with her long hair drifting in the wind. She was a beauty who deserved 9.5 points at the very least. Being a beauty who was both powerful and had a high status, Sylvia became the target for many males within the Black Star Army. Among all the officers, her popularity had only lost to Feidin.

Sylvia walked all the way to the rooftop of the base. This was the highest point in the Black Star headquarters, and it was surrounded by bright, twinkling stars all around. Looking up, one could see Planet Golden Gate like it was hanging down from the sky.

At this moment, there were many officers standing on the rooftop, and they all turned around to look at Sylvia. After glancing at those present, Sylvia could tell that pretty much all the important officers in the Black Star Army were present today. Vice Commander Lagi, Logistics Manager Reynold, Fleet Commander Herlous, Culture Instructor Rossellin, and so on. There were more than twenty people present with fifteen Calamity Grade Supers among them!

“Everyone is here. Have you completed what I asked you to do?”

A deep voice sounded, and when Sylvia looked toward the source of this voice, a tall figure was standing at the edge of the rooftop. He was dressed in black with his back facing the crowd. It was Han Xiao.

“Everything has been prepared according to your instructions.” Sylvia nodded.

“Very good.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao turned around with a calm expression and a tinge of excitement in his eyes.

Compared to seven years ago, his appearance had not changed much, and he still looked as young as before. However, he had indeed been through plenty in the past seven years, and the wrinkles were not shown on his face but his heart. His aura had become more stable and unfathomable.

All the officers present had personally experienced Han Xiao’s change. If Han Xiao was like a ferocious lion with a tyrannical aura seven years ago, Han Xiao gave them the impression of a majestic lion at the moment. Apart from Lagi, all other officers present would be pressured by just looking him in the eye.

Today was the day for Version 3.0 to be launched. Han Xiao had waited for this day for a very long time.

It has been a full ten years… Han Xiao lamented in his heart. To the players, these ten years were nothing more than background story, but Han Xiao had personally experienced the full ten years. In order to prepare for the launch date of Version 3.0, Han Xiao had made many preparations beforehand. All his officers had arrived personally to report the progress of their preparations to him. They had only done as they were instructed but did not know the reason for it.

Compared to his previous life, Version 3.0 had quite a bit of changes.

In the past seven years, the secret war had become more and more intense. However, due to his interference, Klent was not as powerful as in his previous life, and both Section Zero and Bloodshed Land had some wins and losses. Section Zero was not on the passive side like before, and both parties were locked in an intense battle. The battlefield was no longer limited to Westwind, Kaya, and Chaida; two more Star Systems had been dragged into the war.

The secret war was one of the Main Storyline Missions in Version 3.0 within the Shattered Star Ring. Because of Han Xiao’s presence, the secret war was far more complicated than in his previous life, with many more organizations participating in it in secret. When the players returned, their first Main Storyline Mission would be the secret war that had been modified by Han Xiao!

In the past seven years, the various operations of the Black Star Army had mainly been focused on the war, mining, and employment missions. The Black Star Army had developed steadily and successfully gained firm footing in many different Star Systems. The Black Star Army was spread across the Colton Star Cluster with more than five hundred satellite bases, three hundred thousand battleships, a hundred million members, and a net worth of over a trillion!

With such a large organization, it would be a piece of cake for them to take care of a million players. Furthermore, Version 3.0 would be the time for new players to enter. With the performance that the Chinese players showed in the second Pro League, there would definitely be many new Chinese players joining the game. The Black Star Army had the capability to groom these new players.

The seven years of war had given Han Xiao a never-ending stream of experience. He was currently at level 211, and it would have been tough for the players to provide for his requirements during Version 2.0.

Thus, Version 3.0 would be a good opportunity for him to increase his strength rapidly again. Han Xiao also took the time to complete more than a hundred employment missions and had a stash of Mission Completion Cards.

Han Xiao’s preparations over the past seven years were akin to sharpening his own blade.

It could be said that he was fully prepared for the upcoming harvest!

Han Xiao took a deep breath and looked up at Planet Golden Gate. Opening the interface, he looked at the counter counting down.

Version 3.0 Activated

Fetching data… Fetching data done!

Player Forum Open.

Welcome to Galaxy Version 3.0—[Crimson Tide)!

It’s finally begun!

The players’ strength would only have a qualitative change in Version 3.0. The difference between a million Grade C Supers and a million Grade B Supers was like the difference between Heaven and Earth!

This version shall be the generation for the Black Star Army to rise!

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and his lips curled up slightly. He then turned around to face the officers and waved his hands.

“Send out all our spaceships.”

At the same time on Planet Golden Gate…

Because the Black Star Army headquarters had been shifted away, Base No.1, which was situated on Planet Golden Gate, had been changed to a local agency for the Black Star Army. There were not many present, and the entire place was extremely silent.

All of a sudden, the entire base was covered in white light, and the players appeared one after another. The empty base was instantly filled with people, and the silent base became bustling with activity.

“Haha! We can finally come online!”

“It’s a new version!”

“It’s already Version 3.0, and we still can’t take off our pants? Bad update!” A male player roared in rage.

“My goodness, it is already Version 3.0, and the pants stripping party still hasn’t given up?”

“We will always be around and never leave…”

“Long Sky is so cool! Hao Tian is so cool!” There were still some who were trapped in the second Pro League.

In the base, the players all chatted with each other excitedly, and the entire base was bustling like a market.

Before the update, many players had logged off in the various bases with the number of players in Base No.1 being the most. More than 100,000 players had appeared in Base No.1.

Frenzied Sword was also among the first wave of players to log on. After the Pro League ended, he took a good break. However, he was a professional player and could not afford to fall behind during the release of the new update. Thus, all the professional players all logged in at the very first moment.

Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, King Admiral, Li Ge, and the others had all logged off in Base No.1. They all gathered together and instinctively opened the interface to check any changes.

“Our attributes and skills didn’t change, but the level limit has been increased. The level limit in Version 3.0 seems to be 120,” Hao Tian said.

“The faction interface is still present. Thankfully, the Black Star Army didn’t close shop.” Frenzied Sword and many others heaved a sigh of relief.

As long as the Black Star Army was still around, the Faction Contribution Points that they had spent a great deal of effort to accumulate would not be wasted.

After checking their attributes on the interface, the professional players all heaved a sigh of relief. At this moment, the other players also snapped out of their initial excitement and got to work.

Having experienced the previous version refresh, the players knew what they should do. The most important thing to do after the update was to understand what had changed in the world.

Including the professional players, all the players in the base took out their communicators to see how long had gone by since the last time they logged in.

Looking at the date, everyone was immediately shocked.

“My goodness, it has been a full ten years?”

“Isn’t this a little too long? Will the NPCs from the previous version have forgotten about us?”

“Version 1.0 and 2.0 were only separated by about a year, but this was multiplied by ten times…”

“How terrifying, truly terrifying…”

“Could this be because of the Main Storyline in this version? Could it be that ten years was required to develop the Main Storyline? I remember Black Star personally revealing the existence of the Crimson Dynasty in one of Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos. Bun-Hit-Dog analyzed that Version 3.0 will very likely be related to the Crimson Dynasty. Could this be why this version is called Crimson Tide?”

It had been a full ten years since the previous version. This discovery truly shocked all the players. This was the longest time skip between versions!

Everyone discussed the changes as they looked around the base to see the changes over the past ten years.

Everyone quickly realized something strange. In the past version, this base was the headquarters of the Black Star Army and had many NPC mercenaries around all the time. However, the base was extremely silent now without a single NPC in sight. It was as though the entire base had been deserted.

“Could it be that something happened to the Black Star Army?” Someone opened up the Mercenary Alliance page and realized that the resume of the Black Star Army had disappeared.

Following which, everyone then attempted to open up the child AI program of the Black Star Army but received an ‘Insufficient authority, please sign up again’ message.

In the past ten years, Phillip had updated its child program many times, and the program in the players hands was completely useless. They had to obtain approval from the Black Star Army and submit a new application before they could use the program.

This discovery was instantly spread among the players, and everyone immediately grew nervous.

Almost all the Chinese players were in the Black Star Army, and the Black Star Army was already their own faction. The players were desperate to find out what had happened to the Black Star Army in their absence.

“Let’s go take a look first.” Frenzied Sword was the most anxious, and he left the base with the other professional players behind him.

With someone in the lead, the players all swarmed out of the base and realized that there was not a single guard present.

Walking out of the base, the players realized that Base No.1 was much smaller than before as though it had been renovated. Many regions had been dismantled, and it seemed extremely desolate. Upon realizing this, Frenzied Sword and the others could not help but feel nervous.

The busy streets of Planet Golden Gate were located right outside the base, and the buildings were all covered in a warm evening sun. The street was completely filled with players, and some players had no choice but to activate their mechanical suits to fly up into the sky. They immediately got into action and searched for NPCs to find some clues.

Not too far away, there were a few Godoran pedestrians, and Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, and the others immediately rushed forward.

“What do you guys want?” This pedestrian looked a little frightened.

“Don’t be afraid. We only want to ask you some questions,” Frenzied Sword hurriedly replied.

The pedestrian nodded with a tinge of fear and caught a glimpse of the Black Star logo on Frenzied Sword’s mechanical suit. His expression immediately changed, and he asked, “You guys are from the Black Star Army?”

Everyone’s face lit up. This person still knew about Black Star even after ten years! This meant that there was some hope!

Frenzied Sword hurriedly pointed to Base No.1 and asked, “Can I ask if that is still the headquarters of the Black Star Army?”

“You guys are from the Black Star Army. Why do you have to ask me that question?” The pedestrian had a queer look on his face but still replied honestly, “That is no longer the Black Star Army headquarters.”

“Then where is the Black Star Army headquarters located?” Frenzied Sword asked.

The pedestrian pointed up toward the sky and said, “It’s up there.”

In the sky?

Frenzied Sword and the others looked up doubtfully, and their faces immediately froze in place with their jaws dropping in shock.

All the players then looked up with their mouths wide open as though someone had cast a spell on them.

A gigantic metal planet floating outside the atmosphere of Planet Golden Gate appeared in their eyes!

There was no need for them to even search. They would not be able to pretend that they could not see such a gigantic planet.

Could it be that the gigantic stronghold about the size of a planet was the current headquarters of the Black Star Army?

The hundred thousand or so players were completely dumbfounded!

In Version 2.0, the Black Star Army’s headquarters had only been a single base. But after ten years, the army had a planet that was not smaller than Planet Golden Gate as their headquarters?

Just what did the Black Star Army experience over the past ten years?

Just what did they miss!

Chapter 717 - Changing in a Blink

“Oh my goodness, the headquarters is actually this huge toy. How much money is it worth

“The Black Star Army could not have taken over the entire Garton Star System already, right?”

Just as the hundreds of thousands of players looked up toward the sky with dumbstruck expressions, their interfaces all vibrated as they received a notification.

Frenzied Sword recovered from his stupor, immediately opening the interface, and a look of joy appeared on his expression.

All the players who belonged to the Black Star Army had received the same faction mission.

[Ten Years): The First Link

Mission Introduction: The winds of change have blown, and the years passed quickly. Ten years have been and gone, and the situation in the universe is turbulent, with many undercurrents moving. You will participate in the tidal waves of this era. It is time for you to return to your team.

Mission Requirements: Proceed to the nearest Black Star Army satellite fortress.

Reward: 15,000 Experience, +300 Black Star Army Favorability

This is a chain mission.

Han Xiao had been watching the time for the players to come online. It was precisely he who had issued the mission for everyone to return through the faction interface. This was to allow the players to be guided to understand the new version and not allow them to run off with a head full of fog.

Because Han Xiao’s wording was formal, it was akin to a new mission for the players. In any case, any mission issued through the player interface would be a legitimate mission.

With the players having just touched on the new Version, it was the period where they were most eager to understand the changes that had happened in the galaxy. This mission was akin to a beacon in the dark, like a carrot hanging in front of a donkey, attracting their attention through creating an itch in their hearts.

“This is the guiding mission released by the new version. As long as we follow this, we will understand where the storyline has advanced. Believe me, there will not be any problems in doing so!” Bun-Hit-Dog had a firm look of confirmation.

“To actually be a storyline mission released by the Black Star Army Faction…” Frenzied Sword’s eyes lit up. “This should be a hint that the Black Star Army will play an important role in Version 3.0!”

No one would reject the guided mission for this storyline version, and the majority of the players had their own thoughts on their next course of action. They would go over to the dock to take a spaceship, which would ferry them into the sky to squeeze into that sky fortress.

Just as everyone had the thought in their heads, in the direction of the Black Star Army’s Satellite Headquarters appeared many tiny black dots the size of sesame seeds. They expanded at a rate visible to the naked eye and turned out to be a fleet with the insignia of Black Star on them. They hovered above the heads of the tens of thousands of players, the stable anti-gravity device installed in them not even raising a wind.

Those present could not help but pause in shock. At this moment, the bottom of the battleships opened, releasing traction beams toward the ground. At the same time, the cabin crew spoke through the loudspeakers, broadcasting their voices throughout the sky of the entire city.

“All members of the Black Star Army, please board the fleet. I repeat, all the members of the Black Star Army board the fleet.”

All of them were spaceships that Han Xiao had specially deployed to escort the players. The players present did not imagine that the Black Star Army would actually send someone to pick them up, causing them to feel incredibly surprised.

This was Godora’s planet. To be so unbridled in the city, was the Black Star Army so powerful now?

All signs indicated that the Black Star Army was no longer the same. The players could not wait to know what had happened in the past decade.

Everyone lined up to board the spaceship, and the fleet returned right after taking in the passengers.

After boarding the ship, the players started to take action, asking the NPCs around the ship to uncover more intelligence. However, the distance from Planet Golden Gate to their headquarters was too short, not even needing half a minute to arrive there. The players who wished to gather intelligence could only dispel their thoughts.

The Black Star Army headquarters grew larger as they got closer, allowing the players to see more details of this armed satellite fortress. The ground was full of defensive measures, all kinds of weird devices, and there was even a huge thruster. Rather than calling it an armed satellite fortress, it might as well as be called a satellite battleship!

The pro players gathered together and observed through the porthole. Frenzied Sword could not help but click his tongue. “This thing looks freakishly strong. Rather than a satellite, it is more apt to call it a weapon.”

“I recall that in the previous version, having tens of thousands of flagships was already extremely scary. To think that the moment this version opens, there’s something even scarier appearing. There was no such thing in the previous version, if I remember,” Hao Tian mused.

“We don’t even know if this was designed by Black Star…” Maple Moon was curious.

Very quickly, the fleet reached the airport, and the tens of thousands of players streamed out, quickly occupying a large area of the dock and looking around, curiously taking in their surroundings.

201

they arrived, the players felt the lively atmosphere. There were NPCs milling about, every one of them carrying the insignia of the Black Star Army. This was far more crowded than looking at the base from the planet surface.

“Is this our new headquarters? Why are there no NPCs to welcome us?”

“What do we do next?”

Just as the players started to hesitate, their interface changed, showing the completion of the first chain mission (Ten Years). Han Xiao immediately released the second chain mission.

(Ten Years]: The Second Link

Mission Introduction: In the past decade, Galaxy has undergone huge changes. You need to review the deeds of the Black Star Army in the past decade.

Mission Requirements: Update and activate the internal procedures of Black Star Army, and watch the video lesson (History of the Black Star Army (Required)].

Reward: 25,000 Experience, +500 Black Star Army Favorability

Han Xiao had been observing the players movements from inside the base. He did not need to show himself but used the mission function to dictate the players’ movements. This would be more natural and secretive.

“This must be the backstory for the new version!”

“I told you, there’ll definitely be some notification for this version, just like in Version 2.0!”

“How convenient. I thought we’d have to look for leads ourselves.”

Frenzied Sword’s eyes gleamed. He was actually thinking about what had happened between the two versions. He did not expect this guiding mission to directly publish the information they most wanted to know. How good this was!

Their mission requirement was to update their internal procedures, which was the Phillip subprogram. This was the toy installed by all members of the Black Star Army and contained the ability to check their resumes, accumulated achievements, browse the faction store, call airdrop supplies, and more.

The tens of thousands of players took out their communicators and opened their subprograms. This time, there was some response for them at last. Phillip’s virtual image turned into a 3D projection, which was suspended above the communicator.

“Coordinate detection… Coordinates confirmed. Your current position is the base of the Black Star Army. Permissions have been unfrozen. You have obtained permission to update your database. Please scan to verify, hum…”

Before the version update, Phillip’s subprogram could not support the function of stereo projection. Players could only use words to tease Phillip. However, he now had an avatar. Phillip appeared as a finger-sized boy that appeared as cute as a girl would.

Many of the female players’ eyes lit up when they saw him, and they could not help but touch Phillip with their fingers. Although there was no tactile feeling being transmitted, Phillip acted as though he had been hit and covered his little face, which was full of tears. His innocent expression seemed to convey that he was in pain because his projection had the function of virtual sensing.

Instantly, the majority of female players, including Maple Moon, were captivated by Phillip, their motherly love disastrously overflowing:

“Waa, how can something be so cute!”

“Oh no, this is the feeling of having a child!”

“He’s so cute. My heart is gonna melt…”

“So cute, how apt.”

Hao Tian squeezed on Phillip’s head, causing it to explode and turn into a pile of light debris. The next moment, it reformed, and Phillip shivered in a corner of the screen. Hao Tian mused, “There’s no notification on combat information. It seems like he cannot be reared as a pet to fight.”

Standing by the side, Frenzied Sword’s mouth was twitching incessantly. “Are you the Devil himself?”

The crowd teased Phillip for a while before he announced that the update was completed. The players present all then opened the subprogram. Phillip retracted back into the screen before issuing a notification.

“Permissions have been reactivated. Welcome back to the Black Star Army. Please access your academic program.”

A beam of light shot out from the communicators of everyone present, forming a 3D screen as the video played. The title of the video was ‘History of the Black Star Army’, and this was exactly the academic program that they were required to watch.

Han Xiao had set up the activation program to automatically play the academic program. Not just the players, every single member of the Black Star Army had to undergo this course. This was basically a textbook used to establish the culture of Black Star Army, and the producer was Rossellin.

In his previous life, the players basically had to dig out the background of each version update by themselves, which was very inefficient. Han Xiao simply used his advantage to directly tell the players the history of the version update in this way, such that they would be able to figure out the situation earlier. This would save them a lot of trouble while improving the sense of identity the players felt, increasing their belonging to the Black Star Army.

The spirit of the players was stoked. They were trying to know what the Black Star Army had become at this point, so they quietened down, their gazes staring fixedly at their virtual screens.

“The Black Star Army was established in the Year 688 of the Galaxy Calendar and has been established for 17 years. Its original name was called the Black Star Mercenary Group, and its founder was (Black Star] Han Xiao…” Rossellin’s voice sounded, and the screen showed a silhouette of Black Star at the forefront, with the figures of his Officers behind him.

Just by looking at the opening, Bun-Hit-Dog’s eyes lit up. “This feels like a blockbuster here…”

After explaining the creation as well as the leader of the army, Rossellin’s tone changed as she immediately began to describe the process of the Black Star Army’s transformation in scale.

The picture showed a star map of the Garton Star System. On the upper left corner, there was a time indication of Year 688. This was exactly when the Black Star Mercenary Group was first established. Within the vast star map, a humble and small green dot represented the forces of the Black Star Mercenary Group at that time.

As the time on the upper left corner started to move, the tiny green dot slowly moved around, finally finding a base and beginning to expand into a small, irregularly shaped green area. This gradually expanded over time, showing the development trend of the Black Star Army.

Not only were the hundred thousand players at the headquarters watching this, but players from the other bases were also watching the video at the same time. This portion was the events that had taken place from Version 1.0 to 2.0, and to have it displayed in this manner attracted the attention of all the players.

As the green area slowly expanded in the Garton Star System, the time shown on the upper left-hand corner finally reached the mark of ten years ago, just before the version update.

The players started to pay attention. From now on, it would be the decade that they had not experienced, which was the unknown changes.

At this moment, the view on the virtual screen suddenly zoomed out tremendously, directly expanding to show the entire Colton Star Cluster. The star map was enlarged dozens or hundreds of times!

At the same time, the green area that was originally confined to the Garton Star System suddenly ballooned out to spread to more than half of the Colton Star Cluster, occupying half of it!

Everyone present was stunned silly.

Following the time skip, the sphere of influence rose sharply. If the expansion of the Black Star Army in Version 2.0 was considered that of running, then the period of ten years between the two versions was as though it was riding on a fighter jet!

The time finally arrived at Year 705. Out of the entire Colton Star Cluster, close to ninety percent was green in color.

At this moment, Rossellin’s voice sounded in the background.

“Today, the Black Star Army has completed its transformation, having branches throughout the whole Colton Star Cluster. Its business scope includes warfare, planet mining, and more. It is also the long-term ally of the Purple Crystal Civilization, the ruler of the Colton Star Cluster, with over ten other civilizations as collaborators. The Calamity Grade Supers under His Excellency have also grown to almost twenty people, with tens of thousands of battleships and hundreds of planet mining rights. The Black Star Army stands at the forefront of the organizations in the Shattered Star Ring.”

Frenzied Sword and Bun-Hit-Dog stared at this commentary. They were not alone, as the players around them had the same expressions as them, full of shock and surprise!

When they originally arrived there, Frenzied Sword had already grossly inflated the power the Black Star Army had after a decade, but even he did not expect that he had still underestimated the Black Star Army! His imagination had truly limited him.

This sort of feeling was like, after falling asleep for a night, waking up and finding out that the factory in town that you worked for had turned into the world’s top five hundred companies! Overnight!

I only looked away for moment, and you had already ascended to the sky?

The curiosity of the crowd was so great that they were anxious about the deeds of the Black Star Army in the past decade. They could not help but wish to scrub the video straight to the end.

Just what exactly happened when we were not here? How did the Black Star Army leap up to become such a great influence?

Chapter 718 - Defensive Measures Against Thieves

The size of the Black Star Army truly shocked the players. The video then continued to play, and the video finally began to explain what the Black Star Army had been through over the past ten years.

“Galaxy Year 695, the Crimson Dynasty expanded their territory, code name Crimson Tide. The Shattered Star Ring was thrown into chaos, and the Klent Kingdom ordered Bloodshed Land to invade the Purple Crystal Civilization. The secret war exploded, and the Black Star Army joined Purple Crystal and fought on their behalf. The war has been going on for ten years and isn’t over yet. During this time, the Black Star Army has fought hundreds of battles and clashed with Bloodshed Land time and time again and forged their prestige…”

Rossellin introduced the background of the secret war and everyone was startled.

Crimson Tide? Isn’t this the name of the version? It turns out that this refers to the expansion of the Crimson Dynasty. During the end of Version 2.0, Black Star revealed information about this. So, it turns out he was truly revealing information about the next version.

To think that Black Star Army would be dragged into a war between Star Cluster Civilizations. This means that the Main Storyline Mission for Version 3.0 should be related to the secret war…

Many of the players began to speculate.

If they continued along this line of thought, the expansion of the Black Star Army would definitely be related to their participation in the war. The Black Star Army should have gained wealth from the war.

However, they had only managed to guess half the truth. The next part of the video immediately triggered a huge wave of commotion.

“In this war, leader Black Star revealed the potential of becoming a Beyond Grade A Super. He suppressed all the high-level combatants of the enemy and is invincible on the battlefield. He is the most likely individual to become a Beyond Grade A Super in the entire Shattered Star Ring. The Black Star Army also became a Beyond Grade A seeded organization under his lead, with Purple Crystal and dozens of other Star System Civilizations expressing their goodwill toward him.”

As the leader of the faction, Rossellin gave a detailed introduction on Black Star and described his frightening combat prowess and the influence he had in the development of the Black Star Army.

Most of the players understood that the video was trying to hint to them that the Black Star Army was only able to develop to such a level because of Black Star. If not for Han Xiao displaying the potential to become a Beyond Grade A Super, the Black Star Army would not have been able to stand out in the war.

Black Star was the one who had developed the Black Star Army to such a size in ten years!

The players all came to a realization and immediately extracted the main point.

Beyond Grade A!

After two versions, they already knew that Black Star was extremely powerful, but never had they expected him to overturn their understanding of him yet again!

A Beyond Grade A Super was already at the peak of the Galaxy to the players. Black Star was a character who came out in Version 1.0, and his storyline had run through three different versions. Currently, he had the right to become a peerless expert and would probably become an important character in Version 3.0.

Han Xiao was already one of their own to the China players, and the players could not help but erupt with excitement when they found out that their boss was such a ferocious character.

Before the update, many players were looking forward to seeing how the Black Star Army grew during Version 3.0. The outcome at this moment truly filled them with satisfaction and was out of their expectations. When they were not around, Black Star was as reliable as always and had led the Black Star Army into such a fantastic shape. He was truly awesome!

Their captain was still the best!

With such a powerful leader, their faction had a greater potential for growth, and the players grew even more passionate for the Black Star Army.

The video continued playing, and Rossellin went into detail about the various events and accomplishments of the Black Star Army over the past ten years. She weaved in the various personal accomplishments of Han Xiao. How he fought of multiple enemies alone, fought bravely to scare off the enemies, resolved numerous assassination attempts, battled EsGod, wiped out DarkStar, and so on.

The lesson introduced the entire history of the Black Star Army, and after the end of the video, many players were still hungry for more. With Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos as a foundation, this video made them feel as though they were chasing after a drama series.

“This can be considered a background introduction to this new version, right?”

“Why do I feel as though this is more like an action film?”

“Black Star is awesome!”

“This is truly a growth-type faction! Our future is bright! Hahaha.”

All the players discussed the video excitedly.

The changes in the Black Star Army had truly shocked them. After calming down from their initial shock, they were immediately overjoyed.

As long as the change was a positive one, the players could be at ease. The more impressive the achievements of the Black Star Army, the more at ease they would be. This was a faction which they had witnessed for a full three versions.

“Who would have thought that so much would happen when we weren’t around?” Frenzied Sword could not help but lament.

Bun-Hit-Dog felt his heart ache. “What a pity. I could have made so many videos with all these resources.”

The video showed them the history of the Black Star Army and allowed the players to have a better understanding of their own faction. Han Xiao had always aimed to use the accomplishments of the faction to increase the sense of belonging that the players felt to the Black Star Army, and the outcome was extremely good. A faction that had a history behind it would bring about a greater sense of belonging apart from the benefits that it could bring to the players.

Through the events over the past ten years, all the players had a basic understanding of Version 3.0. It could be said that the players adapted at the fastest possible speed to the new version through Han Xiao’s guidance. This was also the outcome that Han Xiao wanted to see the most.

The second phase of the (Ten Years) mission was completed and Han Xiao released the third phase of the mission.

All the players in the Black Star Army received a new notification.

[Ten Years]: The Third Link

Mission Introduction: You now understand the situation in the Shattered Star Ring. The Black Star Army is currently participating in the secret war. As a member of the army, you should make your choice.

Mission Requirements: Go through the necessary procedure and accept the secret war mission.

Reward: Start of the secret war storyline, +800 Black Star Army Favorability.

“Triggering the Main Storyline Mission at the very beginning? It seems like this is the same as in Version 2.0.”

They had triggered the Mutation Disaster storyline the moment they logged into the game as well. The players did not hesitate in the slightest and chose to participate in the secret war.

In his previous life, the players had to go through an exploration phase before being guided to join the secret war by the various factions. This time, Han Xiao had immediately placed the Main Storyline mission right in front of the players and saved them a great deal of trouble. The earlier the players joined the mission, the more benefits he would receive.

Originally, the method to trigger the secret war mission was to join either Bloodshed Land or Section Zero. However, Han Xiao knew about this and had thus spent the past ten years growing the Black Star Army into an important member of Section Zero. This enabled him to tie his faction together with Section Zero and allowed the players to participate in the secret war mission without joining another faction.

The rewards of Han Xiao’s effort were slowly showing themselves.

The next moment, a notification popped up on the player’s interface. They had triggered the Main Storyline Mission that Han Xiao had triggered ten years ago.

You have triggered Grade S faction mission (Secret War: Section Zero]!

Mission Introduction: The Klent Kingdom has invaded the Purple Crystal Civilization, and you chose to stand on the side of the Purple Crystal Civilization.

Mission Requirements: Listen to orders and force all invaders out of the Colton Star Cluster.

At the end of the mission, your reward will be based on the rating of the mission.

Grade S Mission!

The eyes of the players lit up. The Main Storyline Missions of the first two versions were Grade A missions, and this was the first time that they had accepted a Grade S mission.

Han Xiao had received this mission ten years earlier than the players. While the Mission Rating would only be displayed at the end of the mission, Han Xiao was certain that he had long reached the highest rating.

“This Main Storyline mission has a suffix. Does this mean that we will also be able to do this mission in the Klent faction?” Bun-Hit-Dog immediately managed to guess the truth.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, the players could choose between Klent or Purple Crystal, and both factions had their own strengths. Purple Crystal was located in the Colton Star Cluster, which was also where the players were located. On top of that, they also had the geographical advantage as the defending party. On the other side, the Tyrant from Bloodshed Land was a Beyond Grade A Super, and he was also extremely attractive to the players.

The original storyline of Version 2.0 did not include the Black Star Army. Godora and DarkStar were the organizations that brought the players into the galaxy. They each hired some players and brought the players onto two different paths.

The players that were in the DarkStar faction had automatically joined Klent due to the connection between Klent and DarkStar. Because of the Tyrant’s prestige, many players had chosen to join Bloodshed Land, resulting in the Section Zero faction being on the passive side.

However, Han Xiao had already changed the storyline and set a good foundation in Version 2.0. He had singlehandedly snatched almost all the Planet Aquamarine players from both Godora and DarkStar.

Currently, the Black Star Army was the most important member in Section Zero. This meant that all the players would naturally be on Purple Crystal’s side!

Those who wanted to join Klent would have to give up all their investments in the Black Star Army from the past two versions. This meant that the players’ cost of changing factions was extremely high. While the players did not like being forced, with the sense of belonging being cultivated in the first two versions together with his first mover advantage, the players would not feel too troubled by the lack of options.

While the Beyond Grade A Heber did indeed have some attraction to the players, the players had just watched a video that showed them that Black Star also had the potential to become a Beyond Grade A Super. The Bloodshed Land immediately lost their greatest selling point, and even if the majority of the players knew that they could switch factions, they would not do so as it was not worth it.

Thus, it would be impossible for Klent and Bloodshed Land to gain a large number of players like in Han Xiao’s previous life!

The butterfly effect that Han Xiao had created in Version 2.0 was still affecting events.

However, the players were a strange breed, and there would be some who wanted to join the whistleblower club. Han Xiao had already thought of a plan to deal with them.

He had considered many different scenarios over the past ten years.

As the players discussed the Main Storyline Mission excitedly, Han Xiao no longer pretended to view the scenery and returned to the inside of the armed satellite fortress.

The first step is complete. It is now time to fertilize the crops…

Chapter 719 - Fertilization

On the dock, the more than one hundred thousand players scattered. The guiding mission given by Han Xiao had ended, they decided to explore the Black Star Army headquarters and get to know the facilities here.

The players knew that this planet fortress would most likely be their base in Version 3.0.

The Black Star Army headquarters was extremely large, not cramped at all even for more than a hundred thousand people. They quickly scattered and fused into the usual Black Star Army members.

Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, and a few other close professional players moved together, accompanied by Bun-Hit-Dog and Maple Moon. They walked around and observed the NPCs passing by while discussing the main storyline mission they had just received.

“The storyline of the new version is so exciting,” Frenzied Sword said. “I can’t believe we are going to experience an enormous war between two Star Cluster civilizations. Those in the other Star Fields did not receive the main storyline mission as soon as they entered the game like we did; they’re still exploring.”

“Well, this isn’t the first time. In every past version, the main storyline always appeared the earliest in Shattered Star Ring. This should be our specialty.” Twinkle Fried Rice shrugged.

“Indeed, it was the same in Version 2.0. We knew about the main storyline as soon as we came online. The other Star Fields only got it months or even a year later.” Hao Tian nodded.

“From how things are looking, it seems Black Star is going to be the main NPC in Version 3.0 once again. All the main storylines in the past three versions were related to him,” Bun-Hit-Dog said while rubbing his chin.

“It’s more than three versions…” Frenzied Sword said with an excited expression. “I saw him even during the closed beta, but back then, I never guessed he would become this strong.”

Bun-Hit-Dog’s eyes sparkled. “Black Star is making so many appearances. I don’t think the other Star Fields have an NPC similar to him at all. Black Star is the only NPC that has appeared in every version for the past three versions. I feel like Black Star might be the protagonist of the entire Shattered Star Ring… That’s right, this sounds like an amazing topic to talk about. The next episode of my video will definitely explode!”

Han Xiao was now extremely popular among the Chinese players. Plus, the video earlier showed his achievements in the past ten years, so this was the time when the players were most interested in him. Therefore, Bun-Hit-Dog felt like he could make use of that and use the topic of ‘Shattered Star Ring’s protagonist’ to make the next episode of his video series. He believed that it would definitely become very popular.

In the past two versions, the players had experienced many interesting storylines in Galaxy and witnessed all kinds of NPCs. Quite a number of those NPCs were also widely liked by the players, but Black Star was the only one that the players had the deepest impression of. Even the players in the other Star Fields knew his name. Currently, Han Xiao was the most famous NPC and also the NPC that the players wanted to see the most.

In the eyes of many players, creating articles, videos, or anything related to Black Star was a business opportunity.

‘Black Star Series’ was the video series that had made Bun-Hit-Dog famous. It was one of the must-watch videos for the new players, and it was still ongoing.

Due to the fame brought by this series, Bun-Hit-Dog was most passionate about building Han Xiao’s image. However, due to how famous Black Star was, there were also other video creators that did the same and made videos about the Black Star Army.

Nonetheless, Bun-Hit-Dog had captured the market as early as back in Version 1.0, so he was the most ‘authentic’ in the eyes of the players.

It could be said that Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos contributed greatly to how much the players liked the Black Star Army. As members of the Black Star Army, seeing that the faction was growing under their influence and hard work, and that it was made into a kind of drama series, it gave them a very strong immersive experience.

Video creators such as Bun-Hit-Dog used NPCs’ fame to benefit themselves, but they did not know that Han Xiao was also using them.

The group chatted for a while and returned to the main topic of the main storyline of the new version—this was what the professional players were interested in.

“By the way, with our strength, we shouldn’t be able to influence the result of this galactic war, right?” Frenzied Sword said.

Maple Moon nodded and said seriously, “Hmm. I just checked. The representatives of the secret war are the Bloodshed Land and Section Zero, which the Black Star Army is a part of. The leader of the Bloodshed Land is called Heber, one of the Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring. As for Section Zero, their organization is also extremely large. With both sides being so strong, the people involved in the war are most likely in the billions. Even if all the players take part, I don’t think the result of the war will be affected much, if at

all…”

Hao Tian pondered and analyzed, “If that’s the case, the secret war is just the major background of the new version. The main areas we will be acting in should be the smaller battlefields within the war.”

“I hope they aren’t just more cut scenes…” Twinkle Fried Rice smiled bitterly.

“That might not be the case…” Seeing that the others turned to look at him, Frenzied Sword continued to explain. “Think about it, for the past three versions, our level limit has been increasing. The scale of the storyline has been increasing too, from a planet, to a Star System, to a Star Cluster. However, the combat capability standard in the Galaxy has a stable system. For example, Grade Cs are basic galactic warriors, so Grade Bs are the mid-tier combatants. This system will not change because of the version updates, while our Grades will keep increasing. This means that our position in the Galaxy and our influence on the storyline will keep growing as the version keeps updating!

“Now that the level limit is 120, the first batch of players should all be able to reach Grade B. According to this theory, our importance in the new version will definitely exceed the previous two versions. Hence, I think that we will be able to take part in the storyline of Galaxy more actively in Version 3.0, and there will definitely be new ways of playing this game.”

The others contemplated for a while. Damn, this guy does kind of make sense.

Bun-Hit-Dog’s eyes sparkled. “Can I cop… quote what you just said?”

“Please, act like a human being.” Twinkle Fried Rice was speechless.

“By the way, although we triggered the main storyline, how are we going to take part in the war? Do we listen to the army’s arrangements or take on missions on our own?”

At this point, Frenzied Sword and the others suddenly realized that the Black Star Army members around all suddenly gathered in the same direction. Their communicators also vibrated. It was a notification from Phillip to tell all the members in the headquarters to head to the square—there was going to be an announcement.

Frenzied Sword and the others went to the square with the crowd. The place was now filled with people. The other players had arrived as well and were waiting with the other Black Star Army members.

The floor in front of the crowd curved up and turned into a stage. Projections appeared above the square and displayed the image of the stage so that the people far away could see.

More than twenty high-level army officers appeared on the stage. Many were familiar faces to the players.

“It’s been ten years, but the officers from Version 2.0 are all still here. That’s nice.”

“There seem to be quite a few new officers as well.”

“Oh, is that beauty Sylvia?”

“Oh no, is this excitement I feel?”

“Humph, so what if that’s a beauty? I’m an educated person. Us Dragon Emperor Lickers will never betray our faith!”

Seeing the familiar NPCs from the last version, many players felt nostalgic. Out of habit, they threw detections at the officers. Other than getting to know the names of these officers, the rest of the information was all question marks, and every one of the officers was shown as ‘Fatally Dangerous’.

Now, the players finally had a clearer image of how strong the Black Star Army was.

Hum!

The space in the middle of the stage rippled. A person appeared out of thin air and walked out of the void. It was Han Xiao.

More than a hundred thousand players finally saw what Han Xiao looked like after ten years. He was still wearing the familiar clothing but taller and more level-headed.

Frenzied Sword and the others realized that admiration appeared on the faces of many of the Black Star Army members around.

From this detail, they were clearer on Han Xiao’s position in the hearts of his subordinates. Bun-Hit-Dog quickly started recording to collect materials.

Including the players, countless people in the square were staring at Han Xiao. He cleared his throat, and his voice spread across the entire square through machines.

“In half a month, we will work with the large group of Section Zero to launch a large-scale counterattack against the Bloodshed Land. Many people will be recruited to take part. Other than the warriors that have already been enlisted, the army will be accepting the enlistment requests of the rest of the members as well. Other than the returns paid by the Purple Crystal Civilization, the army will provide additional subsidies for those who take part in the war according to their position. The details are on the announcement board of the internal army system…”

As a mercenary group, the members would just split the reward given by the employer. Now that the Black Star Army had completed its transition into a private armed force, it had to pay salaries to the official members like the military. Taking part in a war was extremely risky, so additional subsidies were required as well.

Luckily, Black Star Army was more than able to afford those expenses even with its current size.

“So that’s how we’re going to take part in the war. We’ll have to request it in the army,” Frenzied Sword said.

“The Rating of the main storyline mission can only be increased by taking part in the war, but we can choose not to. So, this isn’t a compulsory storyline mission.”

The players started to discuss the topic, and the square became noisy.

This time, Han Xiao looked around, chuckled in his mind, and continued.

“All those who are taking part in the war will enjoy fifty percent off when purchasing the various products of the army. In half a month’s time, all those taking part shall gather in the headquarters and board the fleet to head to the battlefield. If you have any questions, you can ask the artificial intelligence program of the army.”

The crowd was stunned.

Fifty percent off?

Fifty percent for all the faction products

What?

That’s amazing!

Chapter 720 - Players, I’m Gonna Earn Till I Explode!

The players were ecstatic and could not wait to open the faction store interface.

Compared to Version 2.0, the faction store’s product categories had increased by hundreds of times, and various equipment, materials, and items were all available. Because the Black Star Army had collaborated with many different financial groups, Han Xiao had managed to negotiate with the leaders of the various financial groups to open their purchase channels to his faction members.

In this manner, as long as an object was not too rare, the faction store would definitely be selling it. This led to a significant increase in the logistics capabilities of the Black Star Army.

Han Xiao had also collected a huge number of blueprint drawings in the past few years and vigorously developed the backend logistics division. With the support of his strong economic strength, he had established countless factories and assembly lines for the logistics department and even trained up a group of professionals. Currently, the capability of the Black Star Army to produce independently was very strong, already having stored tens of thousands of machines and equipment, including rare high-end equipment such as orange and pink equipment.

All the materials and equipment would be supplied to the members of the faction. As long as they had money, they would be able to arm themselves to the teeth.

The standard issued armor of the Black Star Army had also undergone many changes through the past seven years. It had integrated a variety of intermediate-level armor technology, further strengthening it to be better armor. It had been mass produced for the middle to lower ranked members, named ‘Black Star Army’s Mark 7 Individual Soldier Armor’. It could transform into specialized modes for attack, defense, reconnaissance, and more.

The armor of the majority of players had fallen behind in times. Compared to the current Mark 7 armor, it looked more like a trinket than actual armor.

Looking at the list of items the faction store offered, the desires of the players started to burn. This was especially true for Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, and the other professional players who did not lack money.

If they participated in the battle, all the good items, including orange equipment, would be on fifty percent off!

This opportunity, once gone, would never come back!

The players had amassed a large sum during Version 2.0, and having come across this sale with great difficulty, where they would finally upgrade their equipment, the idea of diligently saving up was simply thrown out the window.

What was the purpose of saving? To be able to spend it all when the opportune time came!

When one could bear it no longer, there was no need to endure!

Without hesitation, the players on scene immediately applied for the military operation through Phillip.

With the fast processing speed of Phillip, it quickly completed the request of all the players present, sending out the mission that Han Xiao had long prepared to them.

(Faction War Mission: Black Star’s Counterattack]

Mission Introduction: Section Zero has prepared a large-scale counterattack military operation. As a glorious Black Star Warrior, you have chosen to participate in this campaign.

Mission Requirements: Follow the Black Star Army’s fleet, and obey orders to participate in the battle.

Reward: +500 Black Star Army Favorability, activate the follow-up mission of the secret war.

The players present only took a glance at the interface notification before turning their attention back to the Faction store. Indeed, everything present was reduced by half.

The players were all overjoyed and could not wait to dance around merrily.

Han Xiao had released this mission in order to guide the players as he had no control over the activation of main storylines. Thus, he used the reward section to let players understand that they would start the following mission of the secret war main storyline. This was to give players peace of mind, allowing them to improve their participation during the battle and reducing the number of slackers.

In the past, Section Zero had also assigned players to participate in the battle. This time, he had taken in so many players, so the labor had to be done by himself.

This large-scale military operation had not been proposed suddenly as Han Xiao knew that the players would return during this time. Two months prior, he had already begun preparations for this large-scale counterattack operation. He had waited until now to bring players with him to join in this secret war together.

While the players had accumulated a lot of experience and money in Version 2.0, Han Xiao’s upgrades now required a sky-high price. The experience they had saved up was just not enough, and he had to fatten them up once more, or else the Mission Completion Cards he had saved up would be useless.

As soon as this version opened, Han Xiao could not wait to guide the players over to the war missions. This was to allow them to accumulate as much experience as possible; only by increasing the players’ spending power and letting them become rich could he then earn even more. He had always been an advocate for mutual benefits and being well-off comprehensively.

Putting it in another way, the leeks that he had planted were not ripe yet. He still had to give it his all to fertilize them.

Han Xiao also knew well that with every new version, raising their levels to the upper limit would be the players’ first choice. As such, their desire to spend would be lowered. Han Xiao needed to stimulate demand and make players willing to take out their wallets for consumption.

The fifty percent discount for the war participants was just one of his measures to stimulate the demand in the players.

The large number of players formed a turbulent human wave as they left the square, going straight toward the logistics department. Meanwhile, every one of them was browsing the store, looking for their favorite equipment or items.

“One set of the standard issued armor, and I’ll take the skin for it as well!”

“Jackpot, jackpot! This time, we hit the motherload!”

“Never expected this sort of benefit from the beginning of the version. This is to improve our combat capability, allowing us to protect ourselves in the war mission. The head really loves us!”

The hundred thousand or so players nearly burst the logistics department at the seams when they all rushed in to order equipment.

In addition to the single players wantonly buying, a few of the guilds began to organize their manpower, calling friends to crowdfund their items.

“Such opportunities are rare. Hurry and get more money. We can buy better things with these!”

The Guild of Gods Head Jupiter showed an expression of glee, prepared to utilize the funds of his guild to buy a few sets of mining spaceships and equipment. In the future, Guild of Gods would be able to mine their own resources, receiving a steady stream of profits.

Professional players like Frenzied Sword, however, preferred the high quality equipment and went to find their respective club’s guild to raise money, buying orange equipment crazily.

The players present looked as though they had all consumed aphrodisiacs, their desire for consumption skyrocketing to extreme levels. Wave after wave of purchases were made, and on their hands were big and small bags, all containing new equipment. Although their wallets were emptied, everybody had a smile on their face.

Having saved fifty percent of what they were supposed to pay, they were so happy!

At the same time, Han Xiao returned to his office, checking the revenue data of the army.

“In just half an hour, I’ve earned 2.7 billion Enaus,” Han Xiao murmured to himself. Even with the current huge assets of the Black Star Army, this sum was no small amount. If averaged out, an individual player had spent close to 20,000 Enaus. While all the goods were on a fifty percent sale, his total profit after deducting the costs was still hundreds of millions of Enaus.

With the current productivity and warehouse capacity of the Black Star Army, meeting the demands of all the players was simply a piece of cake.

Han Xiao did not play his strategy of raising the price first before slashing it; he indeed placed all his goods at a fifty percent discount this time. However, because he had already mastered the Technology specialization, the profits after discount was still immensely high!

The players were also not stupid and would definitely remember the prices of goods in the previous version. Furthermore, what Han Xiao was lacking now was not money, so he had no need to destroy the goodwill between him and the players for just this paltry sum. It would be better to allow the players to feel some substantial benefits.

His goal was not to obtain this pot of money but rather to stimulate the consumers’ desire for consumption, emptying the players’ wallets before using this long-term discount activity to make players generate money quickly. Thus, they would work harder to participate in the war. Through this, their experience would fill up and empty out for him, then rinse and repeat… Continuously draining the players wallets would keep their fighting spirit up!

A mature leek would know how to engage in self-fertilization!

“Now that the players have spent all their money, I guess we can start soon…” Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed as the corners of his mouth curled up.

In fact, emptying the players’ wallet was just the prelude prepared by Han Xiao. The real harvest had just begun!

In the Logistics Department, the amount of equipment left in the deposit did not even hit triple digits. As the players put on their new equipment, they felt content at how rewarding the buying spree was. Their desire to spend money was not yet over, however, and they opened the faction store to browse if there was anything else that they could take advantage of.

Looking at the sky-high prices even after discounting for the top-tier equipment, the players were moved, but they could not afford it even with the discount. Thus, they could only look away in resignation. It was at this time that someone found out the faction store stocked a lot more Profession Knowledge compared to the previous Version.

As they closely scrutinized it, the players received a huge shock.

The faction store actually contained the Basic and Advanced Knowledge of the various Psychic, Mechanic, Esper, Psychic, and Magic Professions!

There were even a few Professions that had High-End Knowledge!

Everyone present clearly remembered that in Version 2.0, the Black Star Army did not have a complete copy of all knowledge for the five major professions.

In fact, the Basic and Advanced Knowledge for each Profession could easily be gathered as long as one had money. With the current financial power of the Black Star Army, Han Xiao had gathered all the various lower-tier Profession Knowledge in the past seven years and even bought over a few high-end knowledges.

Having reached this level, the Black Star Army members under Han Xiao were numerous, with people of all different Professions. Buying this many different types of Knowledges was so that he could conveniently groom more warriors.

However, in the eyes of the players, this had extraordinary significance. In order to obtain profession knowledge, players in the various Star Fields had to increase favorability of the various profession mentors as well as the favorability of the faction they were in, and this was troublesome.

However, in the Black Star Army, they were able to master the profession knowledge of the classes, which signified that they did not need to find a mentor, and this would save them a lot of time and energy. This was an advantage that players from the other Star Fields did not have!

The most surprising thing was that, not only did the amount of Profession Knowledge increase, they actually did not require money!

Learning knowledge in the previous versions required money. However, this time, in the faction store, knowledge only required one’s Faction Contribution Points as well as experience!

Although the experience cost of learning a Knowledge remained, the required Faction Contribution Points had halved!

“They actually made Knowledge free of charge?”

“This doesn’t make sense. Why is it that Profession Knowledge does not require money now? Won’t it be a loss for us since we bought it last version using money?”

“Wait, I’ve discovered the reason!”

If a problem could not be solved, they could ask Phillip. Some of the players took the initiative to open the subprogram and ask, and they quickly got the answer.

Due to the scale of expansion for the Black Star Army, training camps had been established in various places. In order to train up members of the army on a large scale, the exchange pattern for Knowledge had thus been altered. Members of the army could apply for the Knowledge so long as they had enough contributions instead.

This system not only applied to the players but also to NPCs. This was equivalent to the induction training for the Black Star Army.

The crowd was astonished and realized even more about the great cause of the Black Star Army. This Star Cluster level Organization was indeed miles apart from its past, with high generosity and a proper system in place.

“So, we also receive the same welfare?” Other than a portion of people feeling depressed that they had spent the money in vain, the rest were all overjoyed.

“So, does that mean that we all need not pay whenever we wish to learn Knowledge next time, just use our Contribution Points!”

“Damn, this is too good!”

“It’s indeed a Faction for growth. The treatment is awesome!”

The majority of players were relieved, and they could feel the practical benefits of the development that the Black Star Army had undergone in the past decade.

When comparing faction benefits, the Black Star Army had left the rest in the dust!

How blissful!

“Just now, the three consecutive chain missions awarded us quite a bit of contribution points, enough to buy a few of the Knowledges. My Basic Knowledge is not complete yet.”

“Hehe, I’m out of money, but learning Knowledge does not require money!”

“The faction contribution points are even at a fifty percent discount. This benefit is really too good, too profitable!”

With the mentality of ‘since I can take advantage, I might as well do it’, the group of players immediately used up all the experience points that they had saved to obtain all the various Knowledges.

Following the buying of the Knowledge, the dry experience bank of Han Xiao started to fill up once more.

“Finally…”

Han Xiao let out a deep breath, feeling relieved.

This was what he needed the most!

He had abolished the monetary price for Knowledge to gain a large amount of the players’ experience. However, because the system also took into account NPCs, Han Xiao had thus made it into a system of contribution points for Knowledge.

For his normal members, experience was an intangible object, so if there was no requirement in terms of contribution points, it would be equivalent to giving it away, which would result in serious problems. This was his bottom line for maintaining the system of the faction.

In order to allow players to fork out the experience to purchase the Knowledges, Han Xiao had utilized the three guiding missions earlier to send the players a wave of contribution points. Following which, he had then used the ploy of halving prices to incite the players’ desires, emptying their purses.

After they had finished spending, the players would definitely want to take advantage of the system with the fifty percent off. At this time, they would then discover that Knowledge did not require money, and with their contribution point prices halved, a portion of the players would use their experience to learn various Knowledges. The reason it was only a portion was because knowledge could be learned at any point in time, but Han Xiao wanted to harvest some player experience in this short amount of time.

After being deprived for a decade, he could bear it no longer!

After considering that it was necessary to maintain the value of the contribution of the camp as a secondary currency and that it could not trigger ‘inflation’ in the process, Han Xiao did not give out too many contribution points to the players… or else he would have just thrown the players a motherload of contribution points, to the extent that they would reach the [Reverence) relationship, allowing them to learn all the knowledge they wanted. Not only would he empty their purses, he would also empty their experience bars, robbing them of both resources!

It’s better to harvest slowly. I’ll save some experience for them, allowing them to rise to Grade B. I cannot just pull my leeks out from the roots…

Han Xiao was acutely aware that he could not pull out the seedlings to make it look like they were growing

Watching his experience counter skyrocket, he licked his lips, a moved expression on his face.

It had been ten years. Finally, he could fill up his experience slot, this bottomless pit!

Chapter 721 - The World Doesn’t Lack ‘Smart People’

Through the forums and internal message system within the army, the players who were in the other bases also received news about the discount they could get if they participated in the war.

Around ten days later, more than a million players gathered at the headquarters of the army and chose to participate in the war.

A portion of the players fell for Han Xiao’s marketing strategy and surrendered their entire wallet to him. In just half a month, they provided the Black Star Army with a few hundred million in pure profit.

However, most of the players still placed their focus on leveling up. For example, all the professional players focused fully on leveling up during the start of the version, and the number of players who chose to learn new knowledge were the minority.

Han Xiao did not feel discouraged. When the players became fat with experience and had some extra experience points, they would definitely purchase the various knowledge from the army; it was only a matter of time before their experience became his. Just the profit from this half a month was more than the total that he had earned over the past seven years.

The players happily enjoyed their new equipment while Han Xiao happily counted his money.

In just half a month, Han Xiao increased his level to 217, and he was only three levels away from level 220.

After this round of harvesting, he had pretty much emptied all the savings of the players, and they needed some time to recover.

The players’ savings are still too little. At the end of the previous version, many of the players went to participate in the preliminary round of the Pro League for fun and used all their experience points leveling up their skills. It is best I feed them until they are fat first.

In the lounge of the conference room, a group of officers were playing cards and creating a loud commotion. Han Xiao sat on the sofa alone and began thinking of his future plans.

After this battle, I should be able to gather enough experience to reach the next promotion mission. The gap to becoming a Beyond Grade A Super is becoming narrower.

While it would not be that easy for him to become a Beyond Grade A Super, Han Xiao was satisfied with his current progress. The other Beyond Grade A seeds still could not find a way to break into the Beyond Grade A realm and were stuck at a bottleneck. On the contrary, his growth was only reliant on his leveling speed, and he did not have any real bottlenecks.

Furthermore, he still had a stash of Mission Completion Cards. As long as he had sufficient experience, his growth would be smooth.

Just as Han Xiao was thinking, a loud cheer could be heard from the side.

Lagi had a look of resignation on his face as he made his classic pessimistic remark. He then stood up to leave his seat. On the other side of the table, Reynold sat down with his back straight and a calm expression on his face. He nodded slightly as though to say, Thank you for letting me win.

“Not bad, our Logistics Manager won five games in a row.”

“Tsk, I lost 50,000 Enaus. I should’ve bet on Reynold instead.”

“Our vice commander was completely thrashed. His skills are just too lousy.”

“The logical thinking process of a Mechanic is truly amazing… but why is His Excellency Black Star so terrible at playing cards?”

Sylvia turned around and said to Han Xiao, “Teacher! Someone is talking bad about you!”

Han Xiao snapped back to reality and walked toward Sylvia with his hands behind his back. Standing behind Sylvia, he bent down slightly and placed his chin on Sylvia’s head. His gaze then swept past all the officers with an expression that said, Let me see who is talking bad about me.

Because the majority of the officers had participated in the battle a few days ago, almost all the core members of the army were present in headquarters. Han Xiao had held a short meeting before this, and after the meeting, everyone had gone to the lounge to play cards and opened a betting station.

Han Xiao was not interested in participating in any activity that relied on luck.

Reynold was originally studying a blueprint by the side, but after Sylvia lost a few games in a row, she insisted on dragging Reynold into the game to vent some anger for her.

While Reynold did not like wasting time on entertainment activities such as Wayne Cards, he would occasionally be invited to join a game or two and thus had his own deck.

Playing Wayne Cards seemed to be a part of all the officers’ resumes.

While all the officers had powerful combat capabilities, they usually did not manage administrative matters. When they were not deployed, they also had hobbies like an ordinary individual.

Since he had decided to play, Reynold naturally treated every game seriously. He had a powerful logical reasoning skill, and he had always been good at playing cards. He won five games in a row and did not even show his sister Rossellin any mercy.

Reynold collected his cards and looked around expressionlessly. “Who else?”

“Teacher, why not you play a round too,” Sylvia then said with a cheeky smile.

“I bet that Black Star will lose,” Harmon said honestly. “It is a sure win bet.”

“Not bad.” Han Xiao snorted. “I will beat whoever dares to win against me to death. Who wants to play?”

“No no no.”

Everyone waved their hands immediately. You’re the boss. You’re the strongest. Of course, we won’t dare to play.

Reynold knocked on the table lightly and said, “If no one is playing with me, I shall take my leave.”

Right at this moment, Herlous stepped forward and sat opposite Reynold. Let me take you on.

“I shall let you understand the true meaning of skill.”

“It should be the true meaning of luck, right?” Reynold replied expressionlessly.

Herlous snorted. “Humph, luck is a type of skill too.”

“It’s over. Reynold’s victory streak shall end here.”

“Reynold, take care of this b*stard.”

Everyone cheered on excitedly.

After seven years of hard work, Herlous had finally stepped into the doors of a Calamity Grade Super. His talent was truly higher than his peers, and he lived up to the name of being a protagonist character. It was as though he had become a Grade A Super just by playing cards.

Among all the officers, Herlous enjoyed playing Wayne Cards the most. Because all his victories usually come from a lucky draw, together with the fact that Feidin did not like to play cards, Herlous had some prestige in the Wayne Card world of the Black Star Army.

Even the players knew that he would never reject an opponent, and even they could find Herlous to play cards against. There were even corresponding missions, and they could obtain experience points if they beat Herlous, even getting the chance to obtain a rare card from him.

After a few lines of trash talk, Herlous started his game with Reynold. Both of them were using a Black Star Army deck.

Five years ago, the Wayne Cards had been refreshed, and despite being a subsidiary of Floating Dragon, the Black Star Army had more Wayne Cards than Floating Dragon. Han Xiao’s card was strengthened greatly with plenty of special effects and high HP. His card had already become a rare card.

Not too long later, Herlous got a few lucky draws in a row. Despite Reynold’s skills being superior, he was still on the losing end.

A thought suddenly sprung up in Han Xiao’s head, and he gave Herlous a (Luck Curse).

“Humph, you are dead.” Herlous drew with confidence, but after glancing at his card, his face froze up.

Wayne Cards were pretty much determined by luck, and Herlous’ Luck attribute was still higher than his after being reduced by ninety percent. But in front of Reynold, he could only lose miserably after a few terrible draws, and Reynold easily turned the tables.

“Eh? Your luck finally isn’t working?”

“Haha, you can also have such a day.”

Herlous’ face darkened, and he quibbled, “What do you lot know? This is a strategic retreat. I will turn the tables in a while.”

Everyone around burst into laughter, and the entire room was filled with energy.

Han Xiao did not join in the fun and returned to the sofa to check the forums.

It had been less than half a month since the release of Version 3.0, and the players from the other Star Fields were still in the exploratory phase. The news that had been released by Han Xiao had become a clue for the other players who were searching for the Main Storyline Missions in the various Star Fields.

This time, the Main Storyline Mission in the Shattered Star Ring was the first to appear again, and the players from the other Star Fields were all extremely jealous. As such, the forum of the Shattered Star Ring was the liveliest, with players from many other Star Fields coming to leave their comments.

Coincidentally, Bun-Hit-Dog’s new video was also released, and it discussed how the Black Star Army was a hidden Main Storyline Mission that spanned across three different versions. A huge wave of discussion was created, and both Han Xiao and the Black Star Army became the hottest topic in the past half a month.

Han Xiao briefly looked through the post, and it was mainly describing his importance and past events. Bun-Hit-Dog helped to boost his fame, which was never a bad thing.

The event that made Han Xiao the happiest was that Galaxy Times introduced the benefits of the Black Star Army according to the players’ information.

Version 3.0 would bring about a new wave of players joining the game, and the introduction from Galaxy Times would sway many into choosing the Shattered Star Ring as their starting point. This would directly result in a large increase in the number of players.

Knowledge can only be learned once, and these new players represent a new market. Apart from Planet Aquamarine, there are a few other novice planets in the Shattered Star Ring. I need to find some time to construct a Black Star Army base on those planets and bring those players into the army.

Apart from the players who started off with him from Version 1.0, it was time for Han Xiao to increase the size of his crops.

The players from the other Star Fields also represent a huge market. It is a pity that the distance between Star Fields is too large. The Black Star Army still isn’t able to leave the Shattered Star Ring, and there isn’t any hope of capturing those markets for now.

Han Xiao shook his head silently. He had always been eyeing the players from the other Star Fields, but because of the distance, he had not been able to include them in his plans.

While casually glancing at the posts, one of the posts caught his eye.

The title of the post was ‘The True Strategy of the Secret War’.

What is this true strategy? Why don’t I know about it?

Han Xiao clicked on the post, and the owner of the post was someone called Summer Night Flower. The content of the post made Han Xiao raise his brows in response.

“… there are actually two factions that we can choose from in the secret war, and everyone should already know about this. However, we all belong to the Black Star Army and automatically belong to the Purple Crystal faction. Since that’s the case, why can we still choose the Klent faction? I think that a hint is hidden behind this.

“This hint is: Joining Klent will bring us more benefits than staying in the Black Star Army!

“This is the true strategy of the Main Storyline Mission!

“I am not spouting nonsense. Firstly, I’ve investigated the events that have happened over the past ten years. Bloodshed Land have had the upper hand from the beginning of the war, and they still have the advantage. They are invading more and more territories, and it seems like Klent has a much larger chance of victory.

“By looking back at the example of the Germinal Organization and Mutation Disaster, I have concluded that the Main Storyline Missions are out of our league, and players aren’t able to affect the direction of the storyline.

“The secret war is fought between two Star Cluster Civilizations, and I don’t think that we will be able to affect the outcome of the war.

“In other words, Klent will be the final victor of the war!

“While we will be able to receive benefits from staying in the Black Star Army, we will fail the Main Storyline Mission, which will result in a lower Mission Rating. If we join Klent, even if we skip the missions, our Mission Rating will be increased.

“Second, there aren’t many players joining Klent at the moment, and the competition is low. This means that we will have a greater chance of obtaining more resources. The Black Star Army has over a million players, and with so many people fighting for resources and missions, we will have to expend more energy to receive reward.

“Third, the connection to future versions. Klent’s backer is the Crimson Dynasty, which is one of the three great Universal Civilizations. The future versions will probably revolve around the Universal Civilizations, and joining Klent will open a door for us that leads to the Universal Civilizations.

“Regardless of how powerful the Black Star Army becomes, it will be impossible for them to exceed a Universal Civilization.

“Thus, we will only be able to enjoy short-term benefits if we join the Black Star Army and will end up losing more opportunities. Perhaps the benefits of the Black Star Army are no more than a trap. Only an intelligent individual will be able to see through it and join Klent!”

After reading the post, Han Xiao had a strange feeling

He recognized this player called Summer Night Flower. In his previous life, Summer Night Flower was a famous player who triggered a hidden storyline. He enjoyed analyzing storylines, and he had some fame.

If Han Xiao was being honest with himself, Summer Night Flower’s analysis truly seemed extremely logical.

However, Summer Night Flower was wrong from the very beginning. This was something that Han Xiao had purposely created, and there was no hidden hint or anything.

If someone really believed this post and chose to join Klent, the outcome would truly be terrible for them.

Han Xiao had a look of resignation on his face.

Even if you wanted to come up with a hypothesis, you should at least get your facts straight.

Hopefully no one ends up being fooled…

Chapter 722 - Going to War

Han Xiao committed Summer Night Flower's name to memory before throwing this matter to the back of his mind.

This was something that would definitely happen. Players were explorers after all; there would be some who wanted to seek something fresh. Since this could not be avoided, Han Xiao could only let nature take its course.

Only the crops that went through wind and rain would be truly precious.

After browsing through the forums for a while, Han Xiao suddenly felt the sofa tremble slightly, and someone sat down beside him. Turning around to look, it turned out to be Reynold.

"Not playing cards anymore?"

"Lagi dragged Feidin over. What's the damn point of playing?" Reynold replied expressionlessly.

Han Xiao then chuckled before casually saying, "You must let me know if you have any requests."

"No."

"Think about it carefully again. Don't need to worry about troubling me. You must let me know if you have any problems…"

Reynold had a strange look on his face. "Why do you ask me this question every month or so?"

"It's just me showing concern for my subordinates…" Han Xiao let out a dry cough. In order to obtain Reynold's Perfect Mechanical Sense, Han Xiao showed concern to Reynold every now and then in an attempt to trigger a mission.

However, ever since Han Xiao saved Rossellin, not a single mission had appeared from Reynold again. Just when would he be able to finally obtain the Perfect Mechanical Sense talent?

Should I get some people to kidnap Rossellin so that Reynold will seek my help to save her?

"Your Excellency Black Star, how long do you think this war will last?" Reynold suddenly asked.

Han Xiao thought for a moment before saying, "If you were to ask for my opinion, a war represents opportunity, and the longer the war, the better. However, this war can only be considered ordinary when compared to the other galactic wars, which last hundreds of years. As long as the Crimson Dynasty finishes their negotiations with the Federation of Light, Klent will retreat. According to some intel that I received, the Universal Civilizations will probably finish their negotiations in a few years."

Reynold shook his head. "Looking at the current situation, Klent has completed almost half of their plan. When the Crimson Dynasty has fulfilled their wish, they will help Klent redraw the territorial borders of the Seoul Star Cluster and include the few Star Clusters conquered by Bloodshed Land in the territory of their Seoul Star Cluster. If Purple Crystal doesn't find a backer, they won't get any help for sure."

"That's right. An independent civilization will have to endure all this," Han Xiao replied. He had some thoughts of his own but did not feel that it was necessary to let Reynold know about them. After pausing for a while, he continued, "However, even after the end of the secret war, the Crimson Tide won't disappear quickly. It is just like how a rock being thrown into still waters won't only create a splash but ripples as well.

"There are numerous civilizations in the galaxy, and they all have their own desires for more, which is like extremely combustible firewood. The Crimson Tide is like a spark to light up their dormant desires. The moment their desires are ignited, they won't be extinguished easily.

"Purple Crystal also know that they cannot let Bloodshed Land occupy so many Star Systems. The purpose of this battle is to organize a large-scale retaliation, clear out all the strongholds that Bloodshed Land have in the Kant Star System, and snatch back control of the entire Star System. This is the largest military operation that Purple Crystal has launched since the start of the war, and they are sending out almost all their forces."

In two days' time, the Black Star Army would be officially deployed to meet up with the other members of Section Zero and head toward the Kant Star System.

This time, he was prepared to give the players a chance to show off their abilities and give all the dirty work to the players. More importantly, he wanted to groom the players and make them perform more war missions so that his crops could grow up healthily.

Since the players would not die, if they did not go to hell, who would?

Furthermore, the overall gaming experience would be better if the game was more dangerous. If the players did not experience some deaths, they would not be motivated at all.

…

Summer Night Flower had his eyes fixed on the forums, paying attention to the replies to his posts. Disagreements formed the majority of the replies, and his expression became ugly as he saw them.

He had only managed to create this post after some deep thought, and Summer Night Flower had felt extremely delighted at that moment. The way he saw it, he would definitely be able to knock many of the players awake and lead them in the right direction, gaining their praise in the process.

However, the reaction to the post was completely contrary to his expectations, and most of the players sided with the Black Star Army. Most of the replies were extremely sarcastic and said that his post was completely worthless and no more than a blind guess. This made Summer Night Flower extremely infuriated.

"These people do not know how to think at all!"

As Summer Night Flower saw more and more sarcastic replies, his mood became terrible, and he decided not to read the replies anymore.

Summer Night Flower edited his post and added, "All of you will know who is right and who is wrong when the truth verifies my thoughts. At that time, it will be too late for all of you to regret!"

At the same time, another player called 'Hate the Heavens' also saw Summer Night Flower's post.

Hate the Heavens had always felt that he was extremely good at spotting hidden storylines that no one knew about. He was also an avid reader of the post by Galaxy Chronicles and had even set up a small guild for players who enjoyed digging up hidden storylines.

When he saw the post, Hate the Heavens immediately felt that Summer Night Flower must be right.

The Main Storyline would not give them a meaningless faction, so there must be a hidden storyline in Klent!

Hate the Heavens made his decision and sent a link to Summer Night Flower's post to all the members in his guild.

"All of you look at this post. I think that it is extremely logical, and I plan to join the Klent faction."

The guild immediately broke out into commotion.

"You must consider this matter carefully Guild Leader! You will be screwed if your guess is wrong!"

"I think that it makes sense. Guild Leader, count me in. This trip will definitely be interesting."

"Guild Leader, how are you planning to join them? I don't think we have a path to join them, right?"

"I searched for some information, and there is a news report of Bloodshed Land hiring soldiers in Colton," Hate the Heavens replied. "I think that there will be a chance to join the enemy if we go to the frontline stronghold of the enemy alone. We can make use of this opportunity to change factions."

"This can be considered betrayal, right? We won't be able to return to the army again in future," another person added.

"So what if we can't return? Bloodshed Land is a large faction, and it may not be any worse than the Black Star Army. Furthermore, we may have the chance to come in contact with the Crimson Dynasty in the future," Hate the Heavens replied indifferently.

"All of these are guesses. Guesses can be wrong."

"I feel that it can't be wrong." Hate the Heavens shook his head. "Besides, with so many players being in the Black Star Army faction, we will know about any developments in the army. However, no one has triggered the hidden storyline in the Klent faction, and I want to play a storyline that no one knows about…"

"But the benefits of the Black Star Army are so good…"

"Haha, I am not a professional player. Why do I need to be so powerful?" Hate the Heavens replied with loud laughter.

He was a player who craved satisfaction, and the allure of a fresh storyline was far greater than benefits. Among the players, there were plenty who felt the same.

Summer Night Flower's post did have some effect. Apart from those who replied with sarcasm, there were some who began considering his words and grew curious about the Klent faction.

There were a small portion of players who were like Hate the Heavens and sought a fresh storyline, but the majority were gambling on the benefits that the Klent faction could bring to them.

…

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

It was the day to go out for battle, and all the manpower had been gathered up. A large fleet was awaiting orders in the military dock of the headquarters.

More than a million players formed a special fleet and waited on-board the battleships with excitement.

They were no longer strangers to these large-scale missions, but most of them still felt excited whenever they participated in a mission that involved more than a million players.

As a faction that had gathered all the players together, such missions gave them a sense of belonging, and they felt as though they had a mission on their shoulders.

All the members participating in the battle waited in their respective battleships with Lagi's face being displayed on the screen of all the battleships. He was currently briefing all the participants of the mission. This should have been the job of the faction leader, but Han Xiao felt that Lagi was a demonic talent when it came to boosting the morale of the troops and thus allowed him to take this job.

As such, everyone had no choice but to listen to Lagi's monotonic voice.

"We will all die eventually, and the difference is only whether we die today or tomorrow…"

-20 Morale.

"Regardless of whether we are powerful or weak, we cannot avoid death. Being alive is only a process of rotting away slowly. Everything you do is meaningless to the universe, including this battle. Regardless of victory or defeat, it has nothing to do with all of you…"

-40 Morale.

"However, even if we know that the outcome cannot be changed, we will still continue to work hard. Even if we know that life is more important than everything else, there will be some who take risks. Even if we know that we are no more than a small chess piece in the war who will be reduced to dust by the various weapons, we are still willing to fight… Why is this?"

The morale slowly rose back up.

"It's because of money!"

The morale instantly went back to zero!

"We will only be able to enjoy life with money. We will not have to bend our backs to others if we have money. We will be able to take care of all our problems easily with money! We are warriors, and fighting is the way for us to earn money. Do you lack money? Then pick up your weapon and slaughter the enemy. A war is the best opportunity for us to earn money. Every single enemy has a price on their head, and your earnings shall be determined by the number of enemies you kill!"

A special effect has been triggered: +80 Morale.

Any righteous slogan would only make the members of the army sneer in disdain. After all, the secret war was a battle of benefits between Klent and Purple Crystal. They had nothing to do with the war but chose to participate in it for money. As such, the best way to stir the army would be to tell them the truth and let them know how much money their enemy was worth.

All the players looked at each other with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. They had thought that they would be listening to an inspiring speech but never expected it to be such a pragmatic one.

Black Star, you have changed.

But we like it!

Han Xiao stifled his laughter and hurriedly kicked Lagi away, who wanted to add something. If he allowed Lagi to speak freely without following the script, the morale of the army would definitely vanish.

Han Xiao coughed dryly and added, "Set off."

Boom!

The next moment, the surface of the Black Star Army's satellite headquarters opened, and a large catapult rail was revealed. Thousands of battleships took off from the catapult rail and formed neat rows outside the atmosphere of the headquarters.

The fleet entered hyperdrive at the same moment and transformed into rays of light disappearing into the universe.

If the pedestrians on Planet Golden Gate stopped what they were doing and looked up, they would be able to see thousands of shooting-star-like objects disappearing into the horizon.

…

On Planet Heber, the Bloodshed Land headquarters…

"Your Excellency Tyrant, intelligence from the frontlines reported Section Zero sending out all of their forces. Their target is the Kant Star System, and Black Star has personally set off," Jorde reported to Heber respectfully. "I have arranged for the forces from other Star Systems to reinforce them."

"Mhm." Heber's soft murmur indicated that he had heard the report before asking, "Has Black Star grown up yet?"

Jorde hurriedly replied, "It has been a full seven years, and Black Star's strength has not changed up until now."

Talking about this, Jorde could not help but heave a sigh of relief. Back then, Black Star's fame was peerless, and it was as though he could become a Beyond Grade A Super anytime. However, seven years had gone by, and Black Star had not achieved a breakthrough. His fame was no longer as high as before, and some organizations no longer paid close attention to him.

Every Beyond Grade A seed was a genius, but they would always become ordinary after a brief commotion. It turned out that Black Star was no different from the other Beyond Grade A seeds.

Heber shook his head with a tinge of disappointment.

He had been waiting for Han Xiao to grow up and wanted to kill Han Xiao after he became a Beyond Grade A Super. Only then would he have a battle record of killing a Beyond Grade A Super to allow his prestige to increase another level.

Seven years ago, news of Klent working together with EsGod had soured relationships between Bloodshed Land and Klent. However, both parties were allies and fought for their own benefits. Thus, this little conflict did not affect the plan for Bloodshed Land to fight on behalf of Klent.

"I overestimated him." Heber felt that it was a pity. With his status, there would not be any benefits for him killing a Beyond Grade A seed.

Jorde could not help but ask, "Your Excellency Tyrant, Black Star has not shown any progress over the past seven years. Will he suddenly achieve a breakthrough and become a Beyond Grade A Super?"

Heber looked at him and slowly explained, "Before the appearance of the Primordial Ones, Calamity Grade Supers were the most powerful beings in the universe. This went on for many years, and many generations of geniuses weren't able to touch the door frame of becoming a Beyond Grade A Super. The barrier to becoming a Beyond Grade A Super won't be broken so easily. Compared to talent, luck seems to be more important. After all, one will become an entirely new organism after becoming a Beyond Grade A Super…"

This was not the first time that Jorde had heard that a Beyond Grade A Super was a completely new organism. Just where did the huge chasm between the Calamity Grade and Beyond Grade A come from?

However, Tyrant did not wish to tell him, and Jorde could only suppress the curiosity in his heart. "Does Black Star have a chance to become a Beyond Grade A Super?"

"Hmm, perhaps after a few decades of exploration," Heber said with a deep voice. "However, Klent's plan will be completed in a few years' time, and the war will be over soon. At that time, Black Star will die by hand, so he won't have the opportunity to live that long."

Heber's patience was limited, and he would only give Black Star until the end of the war to become a Beyond Grade A Super.

After the war ended, there would not be anything to restrict a Beyond Grade A Super from taking action. At that time, even if Black Star was only at the Calamity Grade, he would personally kill Black Star. Black Star had to pay the price for killing his officers.

Chapter 723 - Money Is the Most Terrifying Weapon

In the Kant Star System, a gigantic fleet was currently hovering around a space filled with nothingness. The size of this fleet was comparable to the elite forces of Klent or Purple Crystal. Two large flagships that were a few dozen kilometers long were located at the core of the fleet with the military technology of Purple Crystal being built into it. Its exterior was covered in a dark purple prism crystal, looking as though it was an artificially carved purple diamond. Energy veins that flickered with a bluish-gold color ran through the crystal, and these energy veins transmitted psionic energy to the entire ship like the veins of a human body. These veins granted the flagship an extremely powerful defense and also gave it the ability to shoot out compressed psionic blasts from any corner of the vessel.

It was a Star Diamond Grade Flagship, Purple Crystal’s flagship model. With the Gemini Star as the furnace, a special mineral from the Purple Crystal Civilization called ‘Dark Stream Crystal’ was used to forge this super flagship. It was made from military warehouse no. 3 of the Purple Crystal Civilization and was a war machine for Section Zero.

Every time he saw these two gigantic flagships, Han Xiao would drool over them. This flagship was the epitome of Purple Crystal’s technological skill, but it was a pity that it was not for sale. Furthermore, Purple Crystal’s technological skills leaned toward crystal magic and inscription magi, which was not compatible with him.

After a long distance hyperdrive, Han Xiao brought the Black Star Army fleet to the gathering point. There were already millions of battleships awaiting their orders, and they were the fleets of the various members from Section Zero. After ten years of war, Purple Crystal invested a large amount of resources and used their military factories to support Section Zero. As such, the fleet of every Section Zero member had grown greatly.

The flagship of the Black Star Army was a spherical satellite base. Han Xiao gave the flagship a name befitting its appearance, Model Marble. This was an armed satellite fortress that Han Xiao had personally modified. Its size was smaller and had a higher mobility and combat capability. It had the more stable dark energy furnace as its core, and its cost was within a reasonable range. According to Han Xiao’s estimation, it should be comparable to an ordinary flagship model of a Galactic Civilization.

The blueprint of this flagship came from a Bloodshed Land armed satellite fortress. Han Xiao created multiple versions of the fortress and completely embraced the idea of copying and plagiarism. After all, Han Xiao had chosen the path of Virtual Technology, so he was not able to gamble for the blueprints of gigantic machinery. Thus, making a copy of an existing machine was much easier to him.

Psionic energy was still far too dangerous, so Han Xiao only dared make use of psionic energy when forging high-grade weapons. When forging such a large fortress, Han Xiao had chosen to use a more stable source of energy. Dark energy existed all around the universe, and it belonged to the category of [Abnormal State Energy).

All the leaders of the participating organizations were gathered into a Star Diamond Grade Flagship called ‘Everlasting’ for a meeting. As the leader of the Black Star Army, Han Xiao naturally needed to attend the meeting. He was currently in a conference room that had more than a hundred individuals present listening to the commander from Purple Crystal nagging endlessly.

A map of the various Bloodshed Land strongholds in the Kant Star System was displayed on the holographic screen, and every Hyperdrive Base Station was connected to three to fourteen different planets. An efficient reinforcement system was formed, and Bloodshed Land had a total of eleven strongholds in the Kant Star System. They formed a fan-like formation with the first Bloodshed Land stronghold near the border as the core.

The enemy’s fan-shaped territory could be split into three different layers: six weaker strongholds at the outer rim, four strongholds to slow down the enemy in the middle, and the bridgehead, which was the very first stronghold of Bloodshed Land in the Star System. The objective of this large-scale invasion was to purge all the enemies from outside to inside.

“According to our intelligence, Bloodshed Land has found out about our operation and raised their level of defense. We will be facing a head on battle…”

Han Xiao did not pay too much attention to the meeting. He had already obtained all this intelligence from Ralph and was currently looking around at the people around him to kill time.

Of the many leaders present, the most powerful few were the leaders of the Arc Light Organization, Hero Group, New Phylen Rebels, and so on. They had once been the trump card force of Section Zero, but their position had been replaced with the Black Star Army.

At this moment, the commander said, “Bloodshed Land mobilized some reinforcements, and Hadavy will be joining this battle. Your Excellency Black Star, we will need to rely on you on our side.”

Han Xiao nodded in response, and the other leaders nodded to him in response.

He was the most powerful individual in Section Zero and would always deal with the most powerful enemy. Among all the high-level combatants, all the organizations there relied on him to deal with the most troublesome enemy. This was also the reason for the Black Star Army’s status in Section Zero.

“According to the intelligence, Hadavy and his reinforcements will be guarding the innermost bridgehead. They are currently constructing various large-scale defensive measures and plan to use their strongholds on the outer rim to slow down our progress…”

“Can’t we attack the enemy’s bridgehead directly?” one of the leaders asked.

The commander replied with a deep voice, “The border of the Kant Star System is connected to Kaya, and Bloodshed Land’s stronghold is located right behind the bridgehead of Kant. If we attack the bridgehead directly, we will have to face enemies from both the Kaya Star System and the other strongholds located in the Kant Star System. Thus, we will face less pressure if we choose to attack from the outside.

“Because of the lack of time, we have to uproot all the strongholds located on the outer rim as quickly as possible. The enemy forces located on the outer rim are the weakest, and we have an absolute advantage in terms of strength. We will split our forces into six and attack six different strongholds at once. The forces shall be split as follows…”

Han Xiao realized that the Black Star Army was assigned to lead a few different organizations to attack a weaker stronghold. An idea then came to his mind.

“I have a suggestion.”

“Please speak,” the commander said with a respectful tone.

Han Xiao pointed at the star map and said, “The smallest stronghold is only connected to three different planets, and it would be too troublesome to send an entire fleet over. Leave them to the Black Star Army. I will uproot them completely.”

The commander hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Alright then, I shall withdraw those forces.”

He had plenty of trust in Han Xiao’s strength. However, a mere three planets without a single Calamity Grade Super could be easily taken care of by Black Star alone. The enemy did not arrange for any experts in the outer rim, and it was truly a waste of resources to send a powerhouse like Black Star.

“Then the reward…”

“Don’t worry, you will definitely be satisfied.” The commander nodded. Purple Crystal definitely would not be stingy if the Black Star Army took on an extra mission.

Han Xiao smiled and said, “I don’t need too much. I just want 7,000 tons of Dark Stream Crystal and 2,000 tons of string alloy.”

am

Rare materials could be used to create plenty of elite mechanical soldiers, and compared to money, Han Xiao preferred to receive his payment in materials.

“I will report this to my higher ups.” The commander’s lips contorted slightly.

Returning to the Black Star flagship, Han Xiao called the fleet commander, Herlous, over and indicated his intention to split up his forces.

Lagi would lead the majority of their forces and join the main fleet while Han Xiao would lead a small bunch to attack the smallest stronghold.

“You want to lead them?” Herlous asked with doubt. “You can destroy the three planets single handedly, right?”

“I plan to bring Marian, Sylvia, and a portion of the undying force. I mainly want to train them.” Han Xiao shrugged.

“Alright then.” Herlous nodded.

“I also have something else to add. For the undying troops that I don’t take with me, I want you to send them to the most dangerous part of the battlefield. I want you to throw all the jobs with risks over to them.”

Herlous rubbed his head and said, “I understand. I’ll have them follow Harmon.”

After giving some instructions to Herlous, Han Xiao then issued a mission to the players through the interface. He indicated that the army would be split into two, and he would be taking 300,000 players with him.

Through the faction interface, the 300,000 spots were filled up in less than three minutes. Han Xiao then mobilized more than a hundred battleships and took Sylvia, Marian, and the 300,000 excited players to their destination.

Han Xiao’s objective of this operation was to fatten the players up and allow them to earn as much experience as possible. Thus, he was willing to participate in more operations.

Apart from the Main Storyline Mission, Han Xiao was prepared to use up the daily Faction Reward Quota to give the players experience.

On planet number K-00156 was one of the Bloodshed Land strongholds in the Kant Star System. This was a new stronghold that had not been completely overhauled. Grayish metal covered the surface of the planet, and more than a thousand battleships were patrolling the atmosphere of the planet to keep it safe.

Over a hundred rays of light suddenly sliced through the dark space and exited hyperdrive. They exited hyperdrive not too far away from planet K-00156, and Han Xiao led his forces over without stopping.

300,000 players looked at the planet through the windows of the battleships excitedly.

“This is our target, right?”

“Is it finally going to begin? I can’t hold back my excitement any longer.”

“Have you guys triggered the war mission? My mission is to destroy this planet’s stronghold. Are all of your missions the same?”

All the players obtained a subsidiary mission through the Main Storyline Mission that required them to destroy the stronghold on planet K-00156.

Frenzied Sword and a portion of the professional players took part in this mission as well. Maple Moon also followed along, and there was not even a need to mention Bun-Hit-Dog; he would follow Black Star wherever he went.

Right at this moment, an orange alert light went off in all the battleships, and Phillip’s voice sounded.

“All forces, proceed to the charge cabin and prepare to launch. Check the durability of the armor and life support system of the charge cabin. We will be entering the atmosphere of planet K-00156. We will land on the surface. Kill all enemies who fight back and destroy the base on the surface of the planet. I repeat. All forces…”

All the players heard the order and entered the charge cabins with their comrades. However, Maple Moon looked outside the window with hesitation on her face.

The Defense Team of planet K-00156 had already detected the approaching troops and were currently about to surround them. The enemy had over a thousand battleships, a full ten times their size. They were like sheep being surrounded by wolves, and it would be impossible for them to break out from the enemy’s encirclement. How were they supposed to be launched onto the planet?

Maple Moon was much more observant toward such details.

“What are you waiting for? Let’s go.” By the side, Bun-Hit-Dog pushed her along, and Frenzied Sword also began to rush her.

“Wait.” Maple Moon took out her communicator and summoned Phillip. “The enemy battleships are about to surround us. How are we going to deal with them? If our battleships are destroyed, all of us will be sucked into the universe.”

“This isn’t something for you to worry about,” Phillip replied mechanically. “The enemy fleet will not cause us any trouble, hum…”

Maple Moon wanted to continue asking, but Bun-Hit-Dog who was beside her suddenly let out a gasp. “Look outside, Black Star has met the enemy force alone!”

As the people in the surroundings heard that, they all stopped moving and looked outside the window curiously. Maple Moon also looked up, and Frenzied Sword ran back to look outside the window.

Han Xiao exited the battleship alone and faced thousands of enemy battleships.

The enemy had also locked onto him and opened fire immediately.

All the players in the spaceships could not help but grow anxious. In the previous version, Black Star had not displayed an overwhelming prowess in the universe. While they knew that Black Star would definitely have become stronger in the new version, this was the first time witnessing Black Star take action in this version. None of them were clear about Black Star’s strength.

This was the firepower of over a thousand battleships!

Would he be able to block them?

Just when everyone was feeling nervous, Han Xiao’s hands turned into claws, and as though he treated the space around him as a piece of cloth, he tugged down on it firmly. The space around him contorted, and the endless wave of cannon fire was immediately dispersed in every other direction, flying past his body.

Shortly after, ripples could be seen in the space around him, and his army boxes appeared behind him in an orderly formation.

Frenzied Sword did a quick count of the number of Army Boxes, and there were 121!

The next moment, all the Army Boxes were opened up, and as though Pandora’s box was opened, a never ending wave of black machines swarmed out. Millions of energy blasts were launched, and the energy blasts swallowed half of the enemy fleet.

Hundreds of enemy battleships were immediately torn apart by the energy blasts and reduced to fireworks in the dark universe.

In a single instant, half of the enemy fleet was wiped out!

Even though this frightening wave of machinery was charging toward the enemy, the players on-board the spaceships could not help but take in a deep breath.

In the past seven years, Han Xiao did not have much experience to level up and thus focused his attention on his mechanical army. Currently, the size of his mechanical army was already in the millions, and he had forged a new artificial intelligence to deal with the calculations in battle. Phillip would then focus completely on being a butler.

“Alert, detecting a large energy spike! Alert! Alert!” An alarm went off in the spaceship.

All of a sudden, the surface of planet K-00156 began to tremble with a huge energy wave being released. The window of the spaceship adjusted itself automatically, and the view on the window seemed to be zoomed out. A large Anti Air Railgun that was used to deal with enemy flagships appeared from the surface of planet K-00156, and a brilliant purple light began charging up in the barrel of the railgun.

Han Xiao’s attention was also attracted by the railgun, and he threw out a compressed orb, which rapidly opened to become an Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon. An even more frightening energy reaction emanated from the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon, and an ice blue pillar of light shot out from the barrel of the cannon, accurately striking the Anti Air Railgun on the surface of the planet.

Everyone aboard the spaceships could clearly see the outcome of this shot. A large ice crater was left behind on the surface of the planet with frost covering the surroundings of the railgun. Tens of kilometers of land was covered in frost, and the frost was still spreading.

While they could not hear the commotion from that attack, all the players felt a chill run down their spine.

If this attack landed on an ordinary colonial planet… perhaps a single cannon would be able to destroy an entire city.

Just when everyone was still in a daze, Han Xiao suddenly weaved through the enemy vessels and appeared beside the enemy’s flagship. He immediately activated Machinery Apostilization, and the eyes of his mechanical suit lit up with a bright blue color. This was an indication of the energy within his body being extremely abundant.

Han Xiao placed his palm on the electromagnetic shield, and through the psionic energy being emanated by his body, the electromagnetic shield was dyed blue in color. With a few flashes, it shattered like a piece of glass, and Han Xiao proceeded unobstructed to the outer armor of the flagship. His hands turned into claws, and he embedded them deep within the armor of the flagship.

A never-ending flow of psionic energy infiltrated the enemy flagship through his ten fingers. With Han Xiao’s palm as the center, the psionic energy spread out to the exterior armor of the flagship like energy veins.

The entire flagship lit up like shattered porcelain pieces, and when the light became blinding, the entire flagship exploded with bright blue flames. The flames rapidly consumed the oxygen within the flagship and were extinguished in an instant.

At the same time, Han Xiao’s mechanical army had already destroyed the entire enemy fleet and returned to the Army Boxes like birds returning to their nest. Only the remains of destroyed battleships were left floating about in space.

The battle had ended in less than five minutes. For an expert of his realm, as long as there were no Supers of the same level to restrict him, destroying an entire fleet was a piece of cake to him.

The sound of Phillip’s cheers could then be heard in the spaceships.

“His Excellency Black Star has cleared all obstacles. All forces prepare to launch in three minutes. I repeat. His Excellency…’

All the players could not help but gulp in shock.

Was this the world of the powerful?

Too awesome!

Chapter 724 - Fertilizer

Chapter 724 Fertilizer

Fighting an entire fleet with the strength of an individual. All the players were completely entranced by the sight before them.

The last time they had witnessed Han Xiao taking action, he did not have such overwhelming strength. It seemed like many things had changed greatly over the past ten years…

Frenzied Sword had a strange feeling in his heart. It was as though he had been through many good and bad times with Han Xiao.

Bun-Hit-Dog’s eyes lit up, and he immediately interviewed Frenzied Sword. “Hey, didn’t you say that our strength would slowly be unlocked with the release of new versions? Does this mean that we will be able to destroy fleets in future? This is too interesting!”

“We should be able to…” Frenzied Sword was not too sure. He felt that as long as the level of strength in the galaxy did not change, their growth in strength would influence the way NPCs viewed them. With this game’s world being extremely open and free to possibilities, perhaps they would truly be able to attain a strength that could rival Black Star.

Maple Moon looked as though she was deep in thought by the side. She felt that the effect of the players leveling up should not be limited to an increase in their PVP abilities.

This small interlude did not affect the progress of the spaceships. The hundred or so spaceships approached planet K-00156, and the AI system began the countdown for their launch.

Under Phillip’s pestering, all 300,000 players boarded the launch pods and were ready for launch.

One after another, the space chargers shot out from the spaceships, and all the players took out their weapons while awaiting touchdown. Even the Espers and Pugilists would also have firearms as weapons.

Maple Moon frowned and suddenly thought about something.

“Since Black Star destroyed the enemy’s fleet, why do we still have to be sent down to the planet? Can’t we just shoot at them from outside the atmosphere?”

Everyone was stunned for a moment, but before they had the time to react, the launch pods trembled, and everyone felt their bodies becoming weightless.

Boom!

Han Xiao floated beside the fleet and looked down on the planet from above. The numerous space pods were like burning meteors raining down on the planet.

Han Xiao then zoomed in on the surface of the planet. An endless stream of players exited the launch pods and flooded the planet like a huge wave. This stronghold had many different bases with the sergeants of the Bloodshed Land leading their troops out to fight off the players. The strongest enemy fighter was only at Grade B, and under the fearless assault of the players, the enemy was forced back slowly.

“Not bad. I should be able to earn a large amount of experience this time.” Han Xiao did not have any intention of helping and sat cross legged outside the atmosphere to watch the battle.

Han Xiao had volunteered to attack the smallest Bloodshed Land stronghold so that the Hyperdrive Base Station and the three planets that it was connected to would become the player’s fertilizer.

Apart from the war and faction mission, all the Bloodshed Land warriors on the surface of the planet were also like walking bags of experience. As long as they were killed, the players would be able to gain plenty of experience.

With his level, getting rid of these useless soldiers would only give him one experience point. On the other hand, the players’ levels were low, and thus, they would receive plenty of bonus experience from killing the enemies. Han Xiao would then harvest the experience points from the players, and a beautiful production line would be formed. It was just like the principal of feeding a chicken to lay an egg.

The strength of the players is growing, and they will slowly walk up to a larger stage and display their prominence in the various organizations.

In his previous life, as the players’ strength increased and they began to roam the galaxy, many powerful galactic organizations paid close attention to the players. In the later versions during his previous life, the players had received a resounding nickname.

Cancer of the Universe!

Han Xiao had always felt that the nickname was extremely cool and fitting.

The players were still far from that standard. Only when the first few waves of players became Grade B would it be the time for the players to rise.

As the farmer who was prepared to let the name of his crops shine far and wide, Han Xiao knew that his responsibility was heavy.

“Your Excellency Black Star, are we going to help?”

Just when Han Xiao was deep in thought, Marian who was clad in heavy armor flew to Han Xiao’s side and asked if they should reinforce the ground troops.

He was one of the three Calamity Grade Supers who had joined the Black Star Army seven years ago. He was a powerful Mechanical Pugilist who did not talk much, with his focus being set on raising his strength. He could still be considered loyal and had gained Han Xiao’s trust over time.

“It isn’t necessary. I am training the soldiers, and both of you have something else to do.” Han Xiao waved his hands.

Marian nodded in reply.

“With this planet being attacked, the Hyperdrive Base Station will definitely send reinforcements very quickly. I want the both of you to attack the Hyperdrive Base Station before the reinforcements arrive. I want you to then send me over to the two other planets through the wormhole of the Hyperdrive Base Station. I will destroy their flying equipment before sending our forces over to clear up their nests,” Han Xiao said.

He wanted to turn the ground troops on the three strongholds into lambs waiting to be slaughtered. He would destroy all their methods to escape and trap them all on the planet. Not a single person would be allowed to escape, and they would all become fertilizers for his crops.

Han Xiao wanted to add something on but suddenly detected fluctuations in space. With a chuckle, he said, “My prediction is spot on indeed. Both of you prepare yourselves. Someone is here to seek death.”

The moment his voice sounded, a whirlpool-like wormhole opened outside the atmosphere of planet K-00156 and spat out battleship after battleship.

Without saying a word, Sylvia revved up the output of her mechanical suit and transformed into a beam of light. She nimbly avoided all the incoming laser beams and charged straight into the wormhole.

Marian followed closely behind her, but his performance was far more boorish. He activated dozens of shields and charged straight into the wormhole while tanking all the cannon fire. Along the way, he had even crashed straight through two small assault ships.

Both of them were Mechanical Pugilists, and their mechanical suits had personally been fine-tuned by Han Xiao. Together with their Calamity Grade strength, they were more than sufficient to take care of a Hyperdrive Base Station without any high-level combatants. Furthermore, both of their mechanical suits were equipped with Phillip’s child program and could extend the range of his virtual intrusion. When both of them arrived, he would be able to assist them from afar in infiltrating the base.

The reinforcing battleships appeared without ending with their guns blazing. Han Xiao remained cross legged, and his new and improved eleventh generation Watcher Instrument defended him automatically. A total of 361 bluish-gold orbs floated around him to form a thick psionic shield that deflected all the enemies’ attacks.

“Let me play with you guys for a bit since I am not pushed for time.”

Han Xiao chuckled. With a single thought, a terrifying amount of data assaulted the artificial intelligence system of the battleships. In the blink of an eye, the firewalls of these battleships were completely riddled with holes, and their calculation modules became unstable.

After multiple Class Advancements, his Virtual Technology skill had already entered a new realm, and his speed was completely different from the past. Furthermore, he had obtained a new Cutting-Edge Knowledge, (Quantum Network Matrix), from Purple Crystal, which multiplied the amount of data he could send. His infiltration technique went through a revolutionary change, and Han Xiao was currently capable of directly connecting to a quantum network.

As long as the enemy was within range, he would be able to generate a storm of data with a single thought, and his infiltration ability was extremely powerful. This was the flagship skill of a Virtual Mechanic.

Han Xiao had already grown to be extremely powerful in all areas. Although he had yet to reach Beyond Grade A, he could already be considered a powerhouse in the galaxy.

A Virtual Mechanic was a huge killing machine in a galactic battle. Even if Han Xiao did not make use of his mechanical army, he would be able to easily deal with a small fleet. As he infiltrated the enemy ships to throw the enemy into a mess, Han Xiao sent out his elite mechanical army to board the enemy ships and kill all their crew. Since he was not in a hurry, Han Xiao decided to minimize the destruction and capture all these battleships.

Han Xiao had plenty of strength to spare and diverted part of his attention to the players.

On planet K-00156, one of the bases was currently a bitter battlefield.

Boom boom boom!

Frenzied Sword’s large caliber rifle punctured a hole in the body of a Thousand Beast Soldier. The corpse of the soldier fell toward him, and Frenzied Sword kicked it away before raising his arm to activate a shield. A series of gun fire immediately rained down on his shield, and Frenzied Sword began to calculate the durability of his shield. He then charged forward into the midst of an enemy five-man team. Whipping out his electromagnetic whip and helix blade, he killed the five-man team after a short battle.

Taking in a deep breath, he looked around his surroundings. They were currently in the Hub Center of the base, and the main hall was currently a messy battlefield. Both parties exchanged fire with dead soldiers lying all around the hall. The players transformed into white light after reviving and did not leave any corpse behind. Thus, the situation looked like a one-sided massacre as though a swarm of locusts had just swept by.

The players formed small parties and worked together. Their screams could be heard amid the cannon fire.

“Pull the enemies, back row output damage!”

“Hang in there, main tank. Inject yourself with life sustaining hormones. Second and third tanks, prepare to switch out!”

“Mechanics, quickly set up your artillery towers!”

“Hahaha, we’re rich! A single Thousand Beast Soldier actually gives us so much experience. What the f*ck? Who is the one who stole this daddy’s kill!”

The Esper class players unleashed their various skills, and all the different kinds of energy blasts bombarded the enemy into retreat. The players had the numerical advantage with their individual combat abilities reaching an acceptable standard. They were all Grade C at least with an extremely small portion of them having reached Grade B with their accumulated experience from the previous version. They still had their biggest trump card: reviving!

With such an army, there was no need to bother sending scouts, sneak attacks, ambushes, or any complicated combat maneuvers. They just needed to use human wave tactics.

Frenzied Sword charged past the defensive line and entered the walkway of the base. Although the mission only required them to occupy the base, Frenzied Sword was extremely experienced and knew that killing the base commander would definitely raise his mission rating. Thus, he ignored all the other soldiers and searched for the base commander.

There were definitely other players who had the same thought as him, and Frenzied Sword did not dare delay.

At the same time, the base commander was currently watching the situation of the battle from the surveillance equipment in the base. He knew that their defeat was imminent, and his legs could not help but tremble.

“This is Black Star Army’s immortal troops!”

The commander’s voice trembled with fear gripping his heart. Everyone from Bloodshed Land had looked through Black Star Army’s information before and knew that the immortal troops were the true hidden trump card of the Black Star Army. After disappearing for a full ten years, they had made their appearance again!

Hopelessness filled his heart, and he witnessed the most frightening aspect of the immortal troops from the screen. They were all extremely bloodthirsty and would never leave anyone alive. In a short while, the entire base would be soaked in blood, and all their spaceships had already been destroyed by Black Star. They no longer had any chance to escape.

“Where are the reinforcements?” The base commander still held on to the last bit of hope in his heart.

“We tried to contact them seventeen times, but we did not receive any response. We lost all contact with the reinforcements, and they were probably…” The intelligence staff had a face full of fear.

The base commander fell into complete despair. They no longer had a way out and could only wait for their deaths to arrive.

“Why don’t we surr…”

Boom!

Before he could even finish, the door was suddenly blasted open, and Frenzied Sword appeared from the large cloud of dust. Without any hesitation, he switched to a close ranged weapon and waved his axe around to slaughter anyone in sight.

“Wait a moment. I am the commander of this stronghold. I surrender!”

The approaching axe had truly frightened the base commander out of his wits, and he hurriedly knelt down to beg for mercy.

The axe stopped ten centimeters away from the commander’s head, and the base commander felt his entire body turning soft. Frenzied Sword then looked at him with doubt.

“You are the commander?”.

“I am!”

“You’re surrendering?”

“That’s right! That’s right!”

Frenzied Sword paused for a while before suddenly letting out a battle cry and swinging his axe down mercilessly to cleave the commander before him in two.

His axe was instantly stained with bright blue blood, and Frenzied Sword shook his head.

“What’s the point of keeping you if your surrender doesn’t trigger a mission? Eh? Killing a commander actually gives so much experience!”

Frenzied Sword had a bright smile on his face as he left the room, leaving behind a dismembered corpse and bloodstains all over the walls.

At the same time in the interior of the Hyperdrive Base Station, a long sword was being dragged by a slender hand. Reddish-gold bolts of energy could be seen coursing through the body of the sword, and the tip of the sword created a deep scar on the surface of the alloy floor.

This was an alloy walkway with Bloodshed Land soldiers both in front and behind. They were trying their best to push back the beautiful lady in the middle, but all of their firepower was easily blocked by the protective shield of her mechanical suit.

Sylvia completely ignored the army that was surrounding her and looked at Marian, who was currently destroying the enemy ships outside. He was smashing his body through all the spaceships and having the time of his life.

“Hurry up and take down the base. Don’t keep Teacher waiting too long,” Sylvia muttered under her breath. Holding onto the sword with both her hands, her body began spinning.

Marian, who was currently fighting the enemy spaceships in space, could clearly see a reddish-gold circle burst forth from the interior of the Hyperdrive Base Station, cutting the entire base in two and slicing off a fifth of the base cleanly.

“Why are you even more violent than me? You’d better not destroy the base. We still need to use it later,” Marian said helplessly.

Outside the atmosphere of K-00156, Han Xiao floated in space and waited silently. Over half of the enemy battleships had already been captured by him.

Right at this moment, a wormhole channel opened again with the other side of the channel being the second planet. The remaining defending battleships were clustered together as though they were screaming out, AHH! Don’t come near me!

A bright smile could be seen on Han Xiao’s face.

Not a single bag of the three fertilizers could be missed.

“Sylvia succeeded so quickly. It seems like I taught her well.”

Chapter 725 - Hidden Scheme

Chapter 725 Hidden Scheme

Because Sylvia had managed to seize the enemy’s Hyperdrive Base Station, Han Xiao quickly utilized the wormhole of the enemy side to attack the last two planetary strongholds.

With the fall of their Hyperdrive Base Station, the remaining two strongholds knew that their troops were not a match and wanted to retreat. However, Han Xiao was too fast for them, and the enemy did not even have the time to move their supplies before they were attacked. The second planet’s fleet was completely annihilated, while the fleet for the third planet left their troops on the surface, choosing to turn tail and run instead.

Having lost their means of transportation, the ground troops of the two strongholds turned into trapped beasts and could only watch as the airdrop capsules rained down on them, as the screaming immortal players rushed out like a tsunami, bringing with them blood and slaughter.

Small and new strongholds like these would not have many strong Supers, which was suitable for the players’ standards. Once in a while, there would be a Grade B Super, which could be regarded as a Boss monster. In general, clearing the stronghold went smoothly.

It did not take Han Xiao very long to wash the three strongholds with blood, using the 300,000 players. No one from the enemy side lived, the players taking all their heads. In addition to the reward provided by the battle war mission as well as the faction reward, the players obtained a huge sum of experience, leaving them satisfied.

The rest of the personnel in the Hyperdrive Base Station were also cleaned up by Han Xiao, and only the logistics department were left behind to take the supplies left behind on the battlefield.

This base station could be considered to have been successfully thrashed. Han Xiao then contacted Herlous, enquiring about the status of the Black Star Army with the objective of checking on the status of the players there.

The Black Star Army, under the leadership of Herlous and Lagi, had attacked a stronger base station. The millions of players were scattered around, attacking the six planet strongholds as they conducted ground battles through airdrops. The team with the most people was led by Harmon.

Han Xiao brought up the battlefield imagery, revealing an expanse of a desolate battlefield. Harmon was rushing at the front, full of energy and his fur bristling around his burly body as he concentrated fire on one of the enemy’s ground vehicles. He wielded his war hammer, killing one enemy after another. At his position, the tens of thousands of beast soldiers hung around him, weaving in and out with affecting his battle.

A large number of players were also cooperating with him to fight, but because Harmon’s burning spirit always resulted in him running to the area where gunfire was the most concentrated, the players behind him also received the most damage.

While Harmon’s behavior frazzled the players, following behind him was a good way to get kills. This was enjoyable yet mind numbing.

However, the treatment of the majority of these players was not as good as how Han Xiao treated his 300,000. After all, they did not have that many people reserved to kill, so their final gains would not be as lucrative. However, based on the current level of all the players, the reward could still be counted as generous.

“There are a few more battles coming up. It should be enough to allow everyone to level up a few times.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin.

Version 3.0 had begun less than half a month earlier, and excluding those who progressed quickly to reach Grade B, the average players’ level was around 93. The moment they reached level 100 and underwent their promotion to Grade B, the combat capability of the player teams would change qualitatively.

In the beginning of the Version, due to the increase in mission rewards, the players would be able to progress swifter as well. It should not be too difficult to reach level 100 in the short term.

Sylvia and Marian returned after accomplishing their task, and Han Xiao praised them for their efficiency.

It went without saying for Marian, who was always hardworking and reliable. As for Sylvia, after ten grueling years of training, she had finally turned into a powerful assistant that Han Xiao was looking for, able to hold her own.

“This is all thanks to the hard work put in by you, Teacher.” In the cockpit, Sylvia let out a happy smile upon hearing Han Xiao’s praise.

She could still remember herself being blinded from the truth ten over years ago, and she had even tried to attack Han Xiao. But in the end, Han Xiao had led her down the correct path.

Sylvia was full of gratitude toward Han Xiao. While the ten-year child labor contract had long ended, she did not mention it at all. If it was not for Han Xiao’s guidance in those ten or so years, she did not know which galaxy she would still be lingering in, and she could not imagine how bad her life might have been.

Rather than saying that it was a slavery contract, Sylvia now felt that it was more of Han Xiao using it as an excuse to lead her down the right path. After being around him for over ten years, she looked up to Han Xiao like her adoptive father, and she did not wish to leave him right after being groomed properly.

“Continue working hard. You still have room for growth.” Han Xiao nodded.

Because Sylvia had just broken through to the Calamity Grade, her strength was still on the weak side. However, with a full set of orange equipment from Han Xiao, she could unleash a higher level of strength. She herself also had the potential to grow even stronger.

Han Xiao let the entire team rest for a while before setting out to find the rest of the army to convene. Because there were a lot of people on Lagi’s side, he was reassured and did not rush to meet up with them.

When everyone rejoined, the battle had already ended, and they had also succeeded in destroying the base station. Everyone was now busy cleaning up the battlefield.

Intelligence reports continuously flowed in. The six stronghold bases of the Bloodshed Land within the Kant Star System had been completely cleared, and only some fish had managed to escape the net, falling back to the four base stations in their second layer.

Section Zero consolidated the entire team before aggressively advancing.

The next ten days showed that the speed of advancement for the team had slowed down. The base station systems of the enemy’s second layer were far more defensive compared to those in the periphery, and from time to time, they even received reinforcements from the rear, holding back the progress of Section Zero, albeit barely.

The fighting had continued unabated for the past half month, and players had gotten plenty of opportunities. They had adapted to the battle mission modes and rushed to the dangerous front lines, gaining a lot.

Cold-blooded, this was the impression that the player army left on the other members of Section Zero.

They did not accept surrender. Even enemies that showed no resistance would be killed, without a single one left alive.

All parties knew that Black Star commanded a unit of immortals, and they had finally resurfaced after a decade. Their role in this war was very obvious, making many of the forces quite envious.

Because the Black Star Army was growing ever stronger, many of the organizations had also gone to study the data of the immortals unit. According to their performance, it was projected by most organizations that these groups were a sort of Space Wonder derived from the Universe. While they were immortals, they would require a certain amount of energy to resurrect each time, and the number of resurrections was also finite in a certain time span.

While having hundreds of thousands of low-levelled Supers was not considered a lot in an interstellar war, the good point was that they would be continuously recycled. Every enemy died was one enemy less, but they would forever have a zero casualty rate, which was even better than the well-known special forces troops of the Universe, the Demon Lake, and Mechanic Empires.

In the eyes of the other organization, this group of immortals was the true trump card of the Black Star Army. Their abilities could be considered above the Thousand Beast Soldiers on the battlefield.

With the current status of the Black Star Army, they were naturally entitled to have their own special forces. Although many of the organizations were envious, they did not plan to provoke Black Star just for the immortals. Besides, apart from Han Xiao, no one else was aware that the players could still grow.

Han Xiao continued to lead his side, but he did not launch any more attacks personally for the next half a month. However, he alone could cause a thousand soldiers to retreat, causing the high-level combatants of the enemy to turtle up and not show themselves. This was all caused by Han Xiao’s fierce reputation of the many people he had killed in the past ten years. There were just too many Grade A Supers, and his name was a deterrence, causing ordinary Calamity Grades to not dare to face him.

In this battle, the only opponent worthy of him was Hadavy.

This Beyond Grade A seed was too difficult to fight against. Han Xiao had clashed against Hadavy thirteen times in the seven years, and while the battle results were all victories, Hadavy had good brains and was always able to run faster than anyone when the situation turned bad. Han Xiao had been unable to capture him up till this point and finally understood the feelings of his enemies.

Han Xiao estimated that he would only have an eighty percent chance of causing Hadavy to retreat this time. However, he did not mind that at all and was instead quite relaxed.

With the return of the players, his own level was already skyrocketing. When the time came, it would be easier for him to get rid of Hadavy. Thus, he was not worried at all.

Since the leader was lazing around, Lagi, as the high-level combatant, was sent out to lead the Black Star Army instead. Right now, Lagi was already firmly seated in the position of Vice Leader and was also a first-rate character in the eyes of the public. He could be considered the Captain of all the Mages in the Army.

While his pessimism was truly whack, Lagi’s battle prowess could not be denied. This former Forbidden Sorcerer commander lived up to his name, with vast mana and throwing around Forbidden spells like hurling garbage. His actual combat power placed him in the top ten of Section Zero.

After spending more than ten days breaking through the two base stations at the second layer, the personnel in the last two base stations took the initiative to retreat, all of them returning to their final base station at the core.

Originally, Bloodshed Land wanted to use the other base stations to stall for time and take advantage of the opportunity to arrange defense facilities. However, the offensive of Section Zero was too fierce, causing them to be unable to delay at all. They simply decided to save their fleet and assemble their forces, preparing for a final fight against Section Zero.

The last enemy base station on the Kant Star System was where all the retreating fleets had assembled. Together with a large amount of reinforcements, their military strength looked extremely robust. Section Zero formulated the corresponding tactics to deal with them, passing over the command to Han Xiao to contain the enemy’s advanced combatants, as well as to repel Hadavy.

The moment they started fighting, Han Xiao would not have time to care about the players any longer and thus arranged for his officers to brief the players properly.

At the same time, the officers of the last base station in the Kant Star System all gathered for a meeting, discussing on how to deal with the attack of Section Zero.

As a relay commander, Jorde also participated in the meeting through a virtual projection.

“We have a total of fourteen planetary bases as well as a transition base station. Whether the enemy sends a division or launches a total attack, there is a way to deal with it. While our fleets are much weaker, as long as we can endure for three days, the next batch of reinforcements will be able to arrive, and they will bring a teleportation gate with them.”

“It is impossible for Section Zero to keep such a huge number of troops assembled all the time. Furthermore, our comrades in the other galaxies can also use this opportunity to further expand. The longer this is delayed, the more beneficial it is for us.”

“There’s no need to fight to the death. We can always return to Kaya and wait for the Section Zero troops to disperse before we break through their blockade once again and return to Kant.”

Everyone present expressed their opinions and their recommendations toward Jorde, as he was the final decision maker.

After listening to everyone, Jorde nodded and replied, “We have a plan for the general direction, but it is inevitable that we will have to fight. Now that the enemy has seized the initiative, the countermeasures we are laying out might be useless, but the tactics will still need to be adapted to the movement of the enemies. What we need to consider the most right now is how to resist the enemy’s attack. Let’s not talk about Section Zero’s soldiers, since they far outstrip you all in quantity. In terms of advanced combatants, no one can fight against Black Star, so we’re at a great disadvantage.”

Hearing that, Hadavy spoke in a deep voice. “I’ll hold him back.”

“He has already pushed you back tens of times, proving that you are unable to handle him yourself. There have been many cases of you retreating early, leaving those combatants that were helping you up sh*t creek. At least fifteen Grade A Supers have died because of you,” Jorde replied rudely. Sometimes, he even wondered if Hadavy was sent by the other side. Every time that he moved, the casualty rate would definitely be higher.

Hadavy was speechless and could not refute his unscrupulous betrayal of teammates, so he could only snort in dissatisfaction.

Jorde had a solemn expression as he continued. “This time, I’ll hand the rights to the weapon specially designed to curb Black Star over to you. This can only be used once, so you’d better make use of the opportunity.”

Touching the contents of his pocket, Hadavy looked a little hesitant.

A few days earlier, a squad belonging to Jorde had been sent over, delivering a weird object to him. They had said that this was a special one-time consumable weapon created to deal with Black Star, which could damage him severely. They had told him to utilize it when facing Black Star.

While Hadavy did not understand the specific function of the weapon, it was definitely used as a hidden scheme. Hadavy had gone to work for the Bloodshed Land specially to fight against Han Xiao. He wished to use a proper confrontation to stimulate his potential, so he was reluctant to utilize underhanded methods against Black Star.

“Do you understand? If there’s an opportunity, you must use it immediately!” Jorde stressed.

“This is not the style of the Tyrant.” Hadavy was a little dissatisfied.

“But this is my order!” Jorde snapped. He respected the demeanor of the Tyrant, but there had to be someone to deal with the dirty work. This special weapon had taken him much effort to obtain, and he did not even tell Heber about it.

Hadavy deliberated for a time before finally reluctantly agreeing to use it. However, he secretly planned to never take it out.

Anyway, he was only there to fight. Whoever won the war was not of any concern to him. He was not a subordinate under Bloodshed Land, and Jorde could not punish him even if he failed. At worst, he could just stop working for them.

Chapter 726 - Psyker

Chapter 726 Psyker

Bloodshed Land and Section Zero had been fighting each other for ten years already and were extremely familiar with each other. The upcoming battle would be another exchange between both parties, and they all made their respective preparations.

The main force of Section Zero did not delay and very quickly launched an all-out assault on the final few strongholds in the Kant Star System.

Ten or so planets burned with the flames of war.

The Black Star Army fleet worked together with the other members of Section Zero to attack a few different planets. Currently, the players could not play a huge role in a galactic battle, and Han Xiao sent the players to be the vanguard force of a land assault. He placed them in the most treacherous location of the battlefield. Despite the frontlines being the most dangerous location on the battlefield, it also allowed them to gather as many kills as possible. Furthermore, their fearlessness also served the purpose of breaking through the enemy defense lines.

As for Han Xiao himself, he was situated at the core of the battlefield and followed the main troops to attack the Hyperdrive Base Station.

Their troops had the absolute advantage this time, and he did not have to infiltrate the enemy force alone. He only needed to guard the Star Diamond Grade Flagship. He watched as his allied troops slowly destroyed the enemy defense line and advanced.

In the command room from the flagship, the walls of the spaceship seemed to have been made from transparent crystals, and one could clearly view the explosions and cannon fire outside the spaceship.

A scaled projection of the entire battlefield could be seen floating in the middle of the command room, and the commander of the battle as well as his advisors were monitoring changes in the battlefield.

Han Xiao stood by the side and watched the battle.

He was not the commander of this operation, but as the most powerful fighter around, he was also a member of the core team. He guarded the command room personally and was ready to set off at any moment.

The commander and the others were currently analyzing the battlefield while Han Xiao listened by the side.

“The enemy withdrew a portion of their fleet from the other strongholds to guard their base. They are putting up a strong resistance, and we may need a long time to break through the thick defenses of the enemy.

“However, there is also a piece of good news. Because the enemy withdrew a portion of their forces from the other strongholds to guard the base, the defenses of their other strongholds have been weakened, and our forces attacking the other strongholds have the upper hand at the moment.”

Han Xiao nodded. The Hyperdrive Base Station was connected to all the strongholds and was like the heart that sent blood to the other organs. Most importantly, the moment the Hyperdrive Base Station fell, the entire defense line would also collapse.

Because his side had an advantage in the number of troops with their main force attacking the Hyperdrive Base Station, the enemy had no choice but to withdraw their forces from the other strongholds to guard the Hyperdrive Base Station. This way, it would be much easier for them to clear out the enemy strongholds.

Section Zero’s objective was to wipe out the fleets protecting the strongholds. The moment the Hyperdrive Base Station fell, the fleets of the various strongholds would definitely retreat to preserve their strength.

Thus, while the intention of their forces seemed to be an all-out assault to capture the enemy base, they were actually trying to tie down the enemy forces to allow their allies to destroy more enemy strongholds.

Han Xiao’s gaze swept past the various regions of the battlefield to find Hadavy’s location. His only job that day was to defeat Hadavy.

Han Xiao could not help but stroke his chin after realizing that Hadavy was nowhere to be found. “Isn’t he prepared to take action? Did he appear on the other battlefields?”

Perhaps Hadavy would avoid him and make use of the Hyperdrive Base Station. He could choose to reinforce the other strongholds through the wormhole since the other fleets would not have a high-level combatant capable of stopping him.

However, Han Xiao was not too worried. If Hadavy avoided him, it meant that the enemy troops would not have a high-level combatant capable of stopping him. At that time, he would be able to take action to push the enemy forces back and force Hadavy to return.

“The other divisions haven’t discovered any traces of him.” The commander shook his head. “He is still in the base. As long as he doesn’t appear, you do not need to take action. We aren’t the ones feeling anxious.”

Han Xiao nodded and opened the forums to pass the time.

The players were currently carrying out their various battlefield missions, and the forum was filled with screenshots of the battle. The players took screenshots of different enemies, bosses, and their spoils of war.

There were some players who also made live streams of the war. For example, the professional players from the various clubs did a live stream of the war in order to attract fans.

Participating in a large-scale war truly excited many of them. There was no fun without any challenges. After briefly looking through the forums, Han Xiao concluded that most players felt a sense of satisfaction from this battle.

Compared to the players from the other Star Fields who were still searching for clues regarding the Main Storyline mission, the Black Star Army had already began receiving benefits from the Main Storyline mission.

After browsing the forums for a while, the commander’s anxious voice snapped Han Xiao back to reality.

“Hadavy has appeared!”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he closed the forums. Hadavy’s figure appeared within the assault battleships of the Black Star Army, and he was currently destroying battleship after battleship. Lagi had already gone forward to stop him, and both parties had begun fighting.

“Your Excellency Black Star, please fight him off,” the commander said with a heavy tone.

Lagi and Hadavy were currently facing each other amid the chaotic battlefield. Lagi’s staff flickered with various colors, and colorful magic spells smashed down onto Hadavy like a waterfall.

Hadavy was a close-combat main tank while Lagi was a long range damage dealer. The battle between them would naturally be one chasing while the other fled.

The battlefield between the two shifted every second, and the energy waves from their battle were like shining stars on the radar. All the battleships near them were affected by their battle.

They easily traversed over ten thousand kilometers during their short exchange, and their battle went from one corner of the battlefield to another. Hadavy grasped the right opportunity and hugged Lagi’s body. Their figures then crashed into a Section Zero battleship, and both of their bodies tumbled into the inside of the battleship. They got up instantly with their gazes locked on each other.

An ear-piercing alarm sounded from the inside of the battleship, and the defensive measures of the ship were activated fully. Various miniature floating guards, mobile artillery towers, and mechanical soldiers flooded over from the various walkways. The defensive squad of the battleship also charged over without hesitation.

The sound of mechanical activity and cluttered footsteps could be heard from the walkway behind Hadavy. Without even looking back, Hadavy threw out a punch backward.

A powerful force compressed the air within the battleship and sent it out with a powerful shockwave. As though a violent storm had blown past, the entire walkway behind him was torn to shreds, and all the guards were wiped out in an instant.

Hadavy retracted his fists and lamented as he looked at Lagi. “You truly live up to the reputation of being the vice commander of the Black Star Army. I can feel a great sense of danger from your magic, and you are definitely one of the top five mages that I have seen in my live.”

“Sigh, I should have chosen to become a Psychic instead back then. What’s the point of being a Mage? I can’t kill you, and it still takes so much effort.” Lagi let out a sigh and lowered his staff.

As Hadavy saw that Lagi did not intend to attack him, he asked with a face full of doubt, “Are you going to admit defeat?”

Lagi shook his head and replied, “I can’t kill you, and you can’t kill me. Since Black Star will be coming in a while, we might as well just wait here and save our strength.”

Hadavy had a strange look on his face. You obviously just want to avoid work!

Right at this moment, Han Xiao appeared from the large hole in the battleship. Seeing the two of them getting along peacefully, Han Xiao was stunned.

Without waiting for Han Xiao to say anything, Lagi said, “I shall hand things over to you.”

Lagi then cast a teleportation spell and disappeared without a trace.

Han Xiao was truly helpless in the face of Lagi’s laziness, and he turned around to look at Hadavy.

“You again. Why did you have to join Bloodshed Land and create trouble for me? Since you like being beaten up by me so much, you might as well let me catch you and beat you up three times a day.”

“You will only face me with killing intent if I am your enemy. Only then will the battle between us be meaningful!” The moment Hadavy saw Han Xiao, his battle intent began to burn, and he charged forward toward Han Xiao.

Han Xiao had already activated his Machinery Apostilization talent, which gave him a boost of almost a thousand attribute points. He avoided Hadavy’s charge and grabbed onto Hadavy’s arm to throw him out. A new hole was immediately created in the battleship.

Han Xiao then sent out a psionic blast and sent Hadavy flying further away before summoning his mechanical army.

A cold voice sounded in Han Xiao’s helmet.

“War system Sparta awaiting orders!”

This was an artificial intelligence created specially to control the mechanical army, and Han Xiao had named it Sparta. This name sounded as though it was made for war.

Han Xiao gave out an order for Sparta to control the mechanical army to assist him in battle. A dark cloud of mechanical soldiers then chased after Hadavy to block him.

After fighting him so many times, Han Xiao was extremely familiar with Hadavy’s abilities. Because it was extremely difficult to kill Hadavy, the focus of the mechanical army was on control

Hadavy and the mechanical army were engaged in an intense battle, and Han Xiao harassed Hadavy by the side. At the same time, he casually destroyed a few battleships nearby and harassed Hadavy through voice chat.

“Stop fighting. You can’t win anyway.”

“When are you planning to run? I will give you a chance to escape beforehand.”

“Let’s make a deal. Why don’t you stand there and allow me to fire at you a few times to vent my anger? I will face you in hand to hand combat next time. How about that?”

“Heh, how much is Bloodshed Land paying you? I will give you double if you come and work for me.”

Hadavy’s face turned darker and darker before he finally exploded. “Shut up! Focus on fighting me!”

He enjoyed facing powerful opponents to stimulate his potential and felt that he would only receive benefits from a treacherous battle that forced him to the edge.

Just when Han Xiao was prepared to continue, Jorde’s stern voice suddenly sounded in the communication channel. He and Hadavy heard everything that Han Xiao had said.

“Hadavy, use the weapon I handed over to you immediately.”

Weapon?

The enemy may have prepared some special method to deal with me.

Han Xiao immediately became alert and tightened the attack of his mechanical army. At the same time, he closely monitored all of Hadavy’s actions.

However, it was as though Hadavy did not hear anything, and he continued to fight the mechanical army.

“Did you hear me?” Jorde bellowed. “Are you going to defy orders?”

Hadavy pretended that he had not heard anything

Jorde’s voice then turned cold. “I knew that you wouldn’t listen to me.”

Hadavy suddenly had a bad premonition, and the ‘special weapon’ on his body suddenly reacted. This was a Secret Message Bead that suddenly unlocked itself automatically. A faint palm-sized ball of white light then floated out from the bead and hovered beside Hadavy.

“What is that?”

Both Han Xiao and Hadavy were taken aback.

Before the two of them could even think, the ball of white light disappeared and appeared above Han Xiao. Han Xiao had already made preparations and immediately reacted.

Void Travel!

The space around him seemed to have been frozen, and Han Xiao rapidly avoided the ball of white light. This ball of white light seemed extremely eerie, and it was best to stay as far away from it as possible.

The next moment, the ball of white light shot toward Han Xiao and could actually move in the Void Dimension as well!

Han Xiao was startled and tried his best to avoid it, but the ball of white light chased after him tightly.

Han Xiao hurriedly deactivated his Void Travel and activated a short-ranged hyperdrive to exit the battlefield. However, the white light appeared before him yet again as though it was a homing skill that would definitely hit him.

This thing can’t be avoided… Han Xiao’s gaze became solemn, and he shot at the ball of light. However, the ball of light seemed to have no physical form, and the laser beam went right through it.

Since he could not avoid it, Han Xiao activated a few psionic shield layers and welcomed the ball of light instead.

However, the many layers of shield could not even touch the ball of light, and it went straight through the shields and struck Han Xiao’s body. It then disappeared right after.

Han Xiao touched his body, and he did not seem to be injured at all.

“Just what is… urgh!”

He suddenly felt an intense pain in his head, and a notification popped up on his interface.

You have been struck with Psyker’s (Psychic Parasitic Toxin). You have received 14,860 mental damage!

You have gained the (Schizophrenia) status. Duration unknown.

You have gained the [Poisoned Soul) status. Duration unknown.

You have gained the [Sensory Misdirection) status. Duration unknown.

You have gained the [Parasitic Mind) status. Duration unknown.

You have gained the [Mild Hallucination] status. Duration unknown.

Han Xiao gritted his teeth as he stared at the notifications on the interface.

The thing that shocked him the most was the attacker.

Psyker.

He was the only beyond Grade A Super in the Shattered Star Ring that Han Xiao had not met!

Psychic!

“Why would it be him?”

Chapter 727 - Psychic Toxin

Chapter 727 Psychic Toxin

There were four Beyond Grade A Supers that everyone knew about. For (Tyrant] Heber, (Dragon Emperor] Ames, [Magus] Austin, Han Xiao had met or even communicated with the three of them at some point. But for the final Beyond Grade A, the (Star Pupil] Psyker, he had never even seen the guy.

Psyker’s territory was located at the very edge of the Shattered Star Ring. Han Xiao had once attended a party of overlords, but only Psyker did not show up.

Psyker was born in a Star System level Civilization and was the Supreme Leader of that very Civilization. He had led his tribe and compatriots to develop silently in their own territory.

Could it be that this guy has also sided with the Crimson Dynasty?

Inside his Mechanical suit, Han Xiao’s expression was dark.

In Version 3.0 of his previous life, Psyker did not get involved in this secret war. He could only attribute this current situation to his influence on the events in this life.

While he had never seen Psyker, Han Xiao could still remember his data.

Psyker was not a humanoid creature. It was said that he had achieved atavism, and his genes could be traced to one of the deities in the Arcane Church. He possessed a high spiritual talent and possessed the abilities of Psychic Activation as well as Psychic Realization.

The attack that he had taken was only a Psychic attack from Psyker that was stored by some means and not from the main body, so the damage was not high. The headache inducing part was the array of negative statuses with an unknown duration.

Han Xiao himself was unsure if this sneak attack was intended by Psyker or if the enemy had managed to obtain the item from certain channels, with Psyker being unaware.

After these thoughts flashed through Han Xiao’s mind, he suddenly found that he no longer had any energy to continue thinking. The negative statuses had begun to play their role, and his brain was suddenly filled with chatter, as though there were countless people murmuring within his head.

His vision began to overlap, as though mirrors were placed in random positions all around the place, giving birth to illusions. A sense of weakness began to appear from the depths of his spirit, as though he was suffering from mental exhaustion but unable to fall asleep.

Now that the guys from Bloodshed Land know that any Calamity Grade cannot threaten me, they’ve started to use Beyond Grade A attacks against me…

Strongly suppressing the chaos in his mind, Han Xiao gritted his teeth and waved his hand, and his Mechanical army acted according to the established order, strengthening their offense against Hadavy. At the same time, they rushed like a huge mechanical wave toward the battlefield, smashing apart enemy warships and speeding up their advance.

Han Xiao did not care about the command to delay the battle any longer and prepared to rush down to take over the Hyperdrive Base Station as soon as possible and end the battle so that he could return and take care of this negative state.

Hadavy was a little stunned. The white light before was a Psychic attack, and without any outward appearance of any damage done, he did not know if Han Xiao had suffered any sort of attack at all.

Even a Beyond Grade A seed such as him could not tell, let alone everyone else on the battlefield. Only Han Xiao himself knew what exactly had happened to him.

“Jorde, what sort of thing was that?”

Hadavy’s expression was ugly. He hated using underhanded methods the most.

“This is a secret.” Jorde was dissatisfied with Hadavy and could not be bothered to explain further. Besides, Hadavy was only a cooperative partner, not loyal to Bloodshed Land. He did not take Hadavy as someone whom he could trust.

Hadavy suppressed his flames of anger, and while dealing with the concentrated firepower of the Mechanical army, he observed Han Xiao before saying, “He seems to be unaffected. What sort of damage did that white light do?”

Jorde only coldly laughed, not deigning to reply.

After exchanging blows for a decade, the intelligence collected by Bloodshed Land on Han Xiao was not little at all. Compared with his strong physical vitality, Black Star was considered weak to mental attacks. This could not be concealed, and most forces had guessed that. However, Han Xiao was only considered relatively weak in this regard; it was not his Achilles’ heel. Because his life force was so strong, ordinary Grade A Psychics or Mages were unable to exchange blows with him.

However, if the attacker was a Beyond Grade A psychic, then things would be different.

The attack was derived from Psyker’s psychic toxin, which was something that Jorde had spent a lot of effort to obtain. His inspiration came from the EsGod doppelganger that DarkStar had summoned seven years ago, with the purpose of weakening Han Xiao.

This was because the Tyrant was initially hoping for Han Xiao to reach the Beyond A Grade so that he could make an appearance and kill him to improve his reputation. Thus, Jorde had taken Heber’s orders as his life, not utilizing this toxin whilst waiting for him to improve.

However, not long ago, the Tyrant had personally accessed the situation and told him that it was almost impossible for Black Star to have a breakthrough in the next two to three years to become a Beyond Grade A Super. The Tyrant’s plans had fallen through, and thus, Jorde thought that there was no need to let Black Star go, contrary to Heber’s intentions.

Since Black Star was unable to advance, the Tyrant would have no way to interfere in the war based on the rules set, so Jorde decided to use Psyker’s psychic toxin to weaken Black Star and reduce his strength, removing the pressure of an advanced combatant.

This mentality was equivalent to originally thinking of holding a stock with great potential, yet suddenly seeing the growth of the stock stagnate or even begin to plummet and deciding to quickly sell the stock to cut his losses.

Psyker’s toxin was extremely insidious, and no hint of the source could be seen. Jorde estimated that Black Star would probably not even know of Psyker’s name.

“Your mission is already complete. Find a chance to retreat.” Jorde regained his composure, throwing out this sentence before cutting the communication.

He was very satisfied with the results this time.

Hadavy remained silent. Only he was left in the call, and he no longer asked nor grumbled about what Black Star was inflicted with. He was suddenly enveloped with a sense of loneliness and resignation.

Hadavy weaved left and right in the battlefield, utilizing the Bloodshed Land’s fleet as a protective shield as well as his indestructible body, forcefully extricating himself from the siege of the mechanical army. He then stole a spaceship and quickly fled using hyperdrive.

Han Xiao had long been accustomed to his escapes, and knowing that he could not give chase with his current strength, he recalled the Mechanical army and turned back to deal with the other enemy Calamity Grades.

The Everlasting had also entered the battlefield, its crystals emitting psionic annihilation beams continuously destroying and annihilating all the spaceships passing by its crosshairs, leaving a line of blank space on the battlefield.

Faced with the unstoppable advancement of Section Zero, the Bloodshed Land changed its strategy, no longer resisting desperately. They began to withdraw whilst fighting, and seeing that the Hyperdrive Base Station was about to fall to the enemy, they decisively blew it up, cutting off their links to their various planetary bases and preventing Section Zero from reaching them.

After losing the fast wormhole passage, the rest of the planetary bases also became independent, and the fleets from each planet started to evacuate, abandoning the Kant Star System to preserve their strength.

It did not take long for all the troops from Bloodshed Land to evacuate. Section Zero had achieved a massive success in their counterattack, expelling all enemy forces in the Kant Star System.

Bloodshed Land’s number of Star Systems reduced from five to four, which also meant that the situation in the Kant Star System was not stable. If it was the West Wind, Kaya, or Chaida Star Systems, which had been occupied for a long time, it would not be so easy to repel them. Even so, this was a great victory, and Section Zero’s morale was boosted. The Purple Crystal Civilization was also overjoyed when they received this intelligence.

The rewards for the players’ missions were also settled, and the victory result improved their mission evaluations and increased the total reward.

On a random planet that had been occupied by Section Zero, black smoke rolled, and the ground was filled with burnt corpses. Groups of soldiers combed through the battlefield to collect any loot.

There were many players in the battlefield cleaning teams, picking up loot as though they were picking up trash.

“Our harvest this time is not bad. If we convert all this broken equipment into materials, we should be able to sell them for one or two thousand Enaus.”

Frenzied Sword picked up a high-tech mechanical war hammer, throwing it into the loot box as he spoke with a happy expression.

The Rivervale team was in the area collecting war loot and idly chatting in twos or threes.

The Vice Team Leader, Evil Sword, picked up a broken blaster, pursing his lips before tossing it aside, as he casually asked, “Leader, how much experience do you have now?”

“Let me see…” Frenzied Sword glanced at his interface. “I’m almost ready to advance.”

Because the professional players had to take part in the Pro League at the end of Version 2.0, they did not save up much experience. Thus, at the beginning of the version, their levels were not the highest, and a majority of them had not reached the level 100 mark to undergo their promotion.

“You’re levelling up very quickly!” Evil Sword was envious. “I’m still lacking quite a bit.”

“I killed more enemies than you and got a higher mission rating, so of course, you haven’t leveled up as quickly as me.” Frenzied Sword smirked.

Evil Sword twisted his mouth. “Forget it, I won’t rush to promote together with you. I’d rather spend my experience on learning more High-End Knowledge. I’ll suppress my grade for the time being.”

“Why would you want to suppress your grade? You can probably promote to Grade B right after you reach level 100.”

“Who knows? Maybe there will be an experience penalty for killing Grade Cs after reaching Grade B. Anyways, with you as our guinea pig, it’s better for me to just wait for a while.” Evil Sword grinned.

“Up to you, you wimp. After all, you’ll need to promote sooner or later.” Frenzied Sword rolled his eyes in response.

On the other side of the battlefield, Hate the Heavens was also sweeping the battlefield with a few of his friends, idly chatting.

“This battle is finally over. After this, we’ll find some time to proceed toward another Star System to participate in another war mission,” Hate the Heavens suggested.

While they were involved in a war, there was no chance to defect to the enemy camp. Now that the war mission had ended, they were free to move around, and Hate the Heavens had decided to take the opportunity to move by themselves.

“But the fifty-percent discount seems to be ongoing. I feel that we should enjoy the last wave of benefits before we change to another faction. We should first return to the Black Star Army headquarters, spend all of our benefits, and then join Bloodshed Land,” one of them said.

Hate the Heavens nodded in response. “That works too.”

“It’s just that our main storyline will have to first be removed and changed to the Klent faction main storyline,” one of them said regretfully.

“There’s no way around it.” Hate the Heavens shook his head. “But we at least managed to obtain the reward from this campaign. We should not be considered to have lost out. Compared to the hidden storyline of the Klent faction, this sort of loss is nothing.”

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

At the same time, in yet another stronghold, Summer Night Flower was considering the same problem.

“After this mission ends, there should be people who go and join Klent. At that time, I’ll be able to prove my hypothesis, that the Klent faction is the best choice.” Summer Night Flower sighed to himself. He believed in his conjecture and was full of expectations toward changing factions.

…

The majority of the forces were cleaning up the battlefield, so Han Xiao allowed Herlous and the other officers to deal with that while he closed himself up inside the training room.

In the room, Han Xiao’s face was pale, and his eyes closed as he tried to gather strength to sense his body’s condition. It was only after a long time that he reopened his eyes, his expression grave.

The problem was quite thorny.

[Poisoned Soul] would keep him in a permanent status of Mental Weakness that reduced all his attributes by twenty percent. In addition, his stamina and energy would fall fifteen percent faster than normal, meaning that he would require more effort to use the same skill.

[Sensory Misdirection) reduced his hit rate, critical rate, and evasion.

[Mild Hallucination] targeted his mental state, constantly harassing it with weird voices, making it difficult for him to maintain a calm and rational state.

The (Schizophrenia) status was the most dangerous, as it produced a sub-personality within him. It was linked with the [Parasitic Mind) status, where the mental toxins would parasitize his spirit, consuming part of the energy he used each time to nourish the weaker sub-personality. This would strengthen it, to the point that it would compete with the main personality for control of the body.

If the control over his body was robbed, his interface would show that he had entered the [Chaos] status and would run rampant, not recognizing friend or foe.

However, Han Xiao knew that the actual effect would be more complicated, not as simple as stopping at the (Chaos] status.

Psyker… sigh, I really hate this Psychic…

Han Xiao rubbed his temples while frowning. Right now, the sub personality was still weak, and he could not detect its presence. However, every time he moved to attack, the sub personality would also grow in strength.

Could it be that the objective of Bloodshed Land is to restrict my movements, making me afraid to fight?

Han Xiao helplessly shook his head. Toward a psychic attack made by a Beyond Grade A Psychic, even if he was prepared for it, the attack would still land.

It seemed as though he had to let go of whatever he had currently and think of an idea to resolve his negative statuses…

Han Xiao sighed.

The duration of the negative status is not written. Thus, I can assume that it will not go away on its own. How should I go about resolving this?

Enduring the mental fatigue, Han Xiao thought silently.

The easiest method would be to request His Majesty Psyker for aid. However, he was unsure whether Psyker was a friend or foe and would not throw himself into their grasp for nothing.

The second method would be to ask Austin for help. This plan could be considered.

The information on the interface was not comprehensive enough, and Han Xiao wished to examine the nature of the toxin in detail. However, he was more suited for dealing with material items and was unable to sense his mental state. Thus, he could only invite Lagi and Feidin over.

“You were hit by the sneak attack from a Beyond Grade A Psychic?”

When Feidin and Lagi came into the room and heard the explanation from Han Xiao, both of them jumped in shock.

Han Xiao rubbed his eyebrows and sighed. “It was impossible to avoid, and I didn’t expect to encounter Psyker either. Feidin, please check and see how bad my situation is.”

Feidin turned solemn and stretched out his hands, pressing behind Han Xiao’s ears as he closed his eyes. His mental power began to seep into Han Xiao’s brain.

Han Xiao could feel Feidin’s mental energy seep in like tentacles.

Hum!

Suddenly, the vision in front of his eyes turned illusory, and it displayed the vision in his mental state, as shared by Feidin.

His mental territory was a blank world. Both him and Feidin existed in the form of spiritual bodies and light particles, overlooking the entire area.

About ten percent of the area was filled with purplish black mist. From time to time, it attempted to condense into a human figure but met failure.

“This is the psychic toxin that has taken root and parasitized your mental territory.” Feidin’s tone was grave. “Not only will it continue to absorb your strength and expand by itself, the moment it reaches approximately thirty percent of your territory, the sub personality will be born, and it will begin to fight with you for control over the body.”

Han Xiao’s expression was ugly. “Can you clear all the psychic toxins?”

Feidin helplessly shook his head in return. “This is a psychic power belonging to a Beyond Grade A Super. Its power is tyrannical and hard to remove. Even my own psychic strength will be swallowed by it and turned into its nutrients. Sorry…”

At this time, Lagi’s spiritual body also squeezed in, appearing beside the two. One look at the scene, and he patted Han Xiao’s shoulder immediately.

“You have no hope left. Just hand the position of Army Commander to me. I’ll continue your work.”

“Thanks a lot, man,” Han Xiao replied sarcastically.

Chapter 728 - Enchantment and Leaving Tutelage

Despite a Psychic toxin sounding pretty severe, Han Xiao was not too flustered and only found it pretty troublesome. He had always believed that there would be more solutions than problems.

“Even you can’t clean up the toxin?” Han Xiao asked Lagi.

“I can engrave a soul defense rune formation on your body at the very most to slow down the speed at which the toxin invades your soul.” Lagi sighed. “However, these methods won’t be able to treat you. It was indeed a mistake for me to become a Mage.”

Feidin then interrupted him and said, “I can also help you strengthen your soul’s defense to defend against the Psychic toxin. As for purging it entirely, this is something that neither of us are unable to achieve. You have to think of another method.”

Feidin was the most talented individual in the army, and he had entered the Calamity Grade even before Sylvia. However, his status in the army was more like a guest, and he did not have any responsibilities.

“Then help me suppress the toxin for now. I will think of another way.”

Han Xiao felt slightly relieved. Things were fine as long as they were not totally helpless.

Despite a Beyond Grade A Psychic being extremely powerful, a Calamity Grade Super would also be able to defend against it to a certain extent.

Feidin’s body began glowing brightly, and an endless stream of psychic energy rushed out from his body like a tidal wave and enveloped Han Xiao’s mental world. A hexagonal structure then appeared on Han Xiao’s mental wall to strengthen its defense.

Very quickly, the effect of the Psychic toxin was obviously reduced, and the purplish fog also seemed to have become less aggressive.

Han Xiao instantly felt energized, and the feeling of weakness and disturbance was reduced greatly. (Poisoned Soul] only reduced fourteen percent of his attributes from the original twenty percent, and the effects of (Mild Hallucination) and (Sensory Misdirection) had also been reduced.

“I will have to inscribe the rune formation on your body. Let’s exit.” Lagi’s mental body then left the chatroom in Han Xiao’s mind.

Han Xiao and Feidin also retracted their mental bodies, and their senses returned to the outside world. Han Xiao felt the scene before his eyes changing, and he was back in the cultivation chamber of the spaceship. Feidin also retracted his finger and walked to the side.

Lagi walked forward, and with a flip of his palm, a small jade green crystal staff appeared in his hand.

Waving the staff, ten or so thick spell books appeared in front of him and began flipping themselves automatically. As the pages were flipped, pages full of magical incantations fell off automatically and hovered around Lagi. These were the formations that Lagi was preparing to inscribe on Han Xiao.

“Take off your top. I will inscribe a formation on your body.”

Han Xiao took off his top and revealed his muscular upper body. His muscles were packed tightly, and despite being packed full with power, they were extremely lean, not bulky like a Pugilist. The (Golden Ratio Body] talent that he had transformed his body into a work of art.

“Go ahead.” Han Xiao nodded.

Lagi circulated his magic, and his eyes glowed brightly. With his staff as a brush and magic as paint, he began to draw a formation on Han Xiao’s body.

The cool magic energy lingered around his body with a tinge of pain and itchiness. It felt just like getting a tattoo.

After ten or so minutes, Lagi let out a long breath and spat out a mouthful of magic breath. At the same time, the glow in his eyes receded as well. For a mage of his caliber to spend a full ten or so minutes inscribing an enchantment, it could be said that he was giving it his all.

Lagi then took a few steps back and studied Han Xiao’s back as he said, “Although I don’t know if it will work… my drawing is truly nice.”

Han Xiao lowered his head to take a look. At this moment, his entire body was filled with exquisite and complicated runes that looked like tattoos.

A bluish-gold circular formation could be seen on the left of his chest, and a horoscope-like shape could be seen on his abdomen. The two formations were connected by a chain-like inscription that covered his entire arms as though they were wrapped up in chains. His back was also covered with runes, with his backbone as a tree trunk and countless branch-like formations extending out from his backbone.

Apart from his face, Han Xiao was covered in runes all over his body that flickered with a dim glow as though the runes were breathing.

“With your body as the foundation, I inscribed plenty of formations on your body through body enchantments. The formations will automatically absorb the elements that exist in nature to replenish themselves.”

Body enchantment was an important skill in the enchantment path. It could strengthen certain aspects of the target, and some magical civilizations would use this method to strengthen the combat capabilities of their soldiers. There were some powerhouses who would also inscribe enchantments on their own bodies. Han Xiao was not a stranger to these enchantments, and there were mages from his previous life who specialized in providing such enchantment services.

This was the way a mage could earn money, just like how a Mechanic sold their products.

Han Xiao stroked his arm curiously, and his finger could clearly feel the inscription lines of the rune. Even with his experience, he could clearly feel that the enchantment on his body was extremely complicated.

“The level of enchantment is limited by the strength of your body. The more enchantments, the greater the burden on your body. Thankfully, your body is extremely powerful, and I was able to inscribe plenty of enchantments.”

Lagi then said with assurance, “The protection of the Sacred Emperor, hug of the white robed mage ancestor, five different soul protection formations, the thirteen rings of secret soul stabilizing formation, and so on.”

“The effects are pretty good. I feel much more comfortable.”

The various hallucinations were being suppressed, and Han Xiao’s head was much clearer than before. Looking at the interface, the various negative statuses were weakened once again, and the negative effects of (Poisoned Soul] was reduced to a mere five percent.

On his interface, the effect of these various enchantments was displayed with the majority of them having the effect of increasing his Psychological Resistance. Because of an increase in the base attribute, the boost from his (Advanced Psychological Resistance) talent also increased.

“Right, I also inscribed a mental exploration formation for you.” Lagi pointed at a small formation on Han Xiao’s chest. “As long as you gather your attention on this formation, you will be able to enter your own mental world without our aid. You can use this ability to observe the situation of the Psychic toxin.”

“This is practical.” Han Xiao was overjoyed. A Mechanic did not have any mental abilities, and he was not able to observe his mental world on his own. He could not possibly get their help all the time. With this enchantment, he would be able to enter his own mental world anytime he wanted.

He tested the formation, and his mental body immediately entered his mental world.

At this moment, there were many barriers around the Psychic toxin, and the region of the toxin was reduced to six percent from the previous ten percent.

“These measures are only capable of suppressing the toxin, but if I want to purge it completely, I still need the help of a Beyond Grade A Super…”

There was no need to mention Psyker. Han Xiao did not even know if Psyker was an enemy or neutral party. Furthermore, he did not have any relationship with Psyker, and Han Xiao was not prepared to find him. It would be much more convenient for him to find Austin instead. While Austin was a mage, there were similarities between the Mage class and the Psychic class.

Han Xiao then left his mental world and took out his communicator. After thinking for a while, he put on his clothes and contacted Austin.

“Black Star?” The child-like Austin appeared in the holographic projection. “It has been a few years since you last contacted me. Why are you looking for me?”

“Your Excellency Magus, I hope to receive your help…”

Han Xiao explained what had happened.

“You were actually struck by Psyker’s Psychic attack? You are truly unlucky.” Austin laughed. “Alright, come and find me. I haven’t seen Psyker for a long time. Let me see if he has improved.”

Among the four Beyond Grade A Supers in the Shattered Star Ring, Heber was tyrannical, Ames was willful, Psyker was arrogant, and only Austin was friendly. Upon hearing that Han Xiao needed his help, he agreed without much hesitation.

After hanging up, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief before turning to look at Lagi. “Do you want to follow me to Austin’s territory?”

Lagi shook his head. Since he had left, he was not planning to return.

“Alright then. You can remain in the Black Star Army and work together with Herlous and Sylvia to tie up any loose ends after the battle. I will be leaving for a short while,” Han Xiao said solemnly. “Only you two know of my condition in the army. Don’t let anyone know.”

Even Jorde did not know the exact effect of the toxin, and Han Xiao was prepared to seal all news about it. He did not want to expose his temporary weakness.

“Feidin, follow me for now,” Han Xiao said.

With Feidin beside him, he would be able to enjoy Feidin’s Luck Glow, and the moment any changes happened to the toxin, Feidin would be able to help him to a certain extent. Most importantly, his energy would become fertilizer for the toxin if he went into battle, and he needed to keep some fighters beside him. Feidin was currently a Grade A Psychic, and his combat capability was reliable.

“I will naturally be beside you since you are in trouble.” Feidin smiled warmly, and his entire face seemed to be radiating light.

My goodness, please don’t unleash your charisma already… Han Xiao felt his head ache.

After the battle was over, Section Zero left some forces to guard the borders of the Kant Star System and build up a defensive line to prevent the Bloodshed Land from making a comeback.

The one million players who joined the battle returned full of rewards. Meanwhile, Han Xiao took Feidin and another bodyguard, Marian, and left the main force for Hidden Red Robe Abbey.

Han Xiao would be able to give out missions from the faction interface even from afar. All his products were already placed in the faction store, and Han Xiao did not need to follow beside the players all the time.

The players returned with their bags full of rewards this time, and with the fifty-percent discount still active in the faction store, Han Xiao was not afraid that no one would shop in the faction store. Thus, there was no need for Han Xiao to worry about that for now. Furthermore, after this battle, there would not be another large-scale battle like this in the near future. He had more than enough free time to take care of the psychic toxin.

The Hidden Red Robe Abbey was located in a different Star Cluster, and the journey would take a long time.

At the same time, on Planet Heber, the command team calculated the losses from the battle, and Jorde listened to the reports from his subordinates. Despite the losses being significant, Jorde still had a smile on his face and was not frustrated in the least.

Since Section Zero had sent all their forces, it was only normal for them to be chased out. However, their greatest harvest from this battle was succeeding in their sneak attack on Black Star. Jorde was extremely satisfied about this.

Black Star was only a single individual but could single handedly suppress all the high-level combatants on their side. Over the past ten years, Bloodshed Land had lost more than a hundred Calamity Grade Supers by Black Star’s hands. Even if they had the talents of an entire Star Cluster backing them, this was not a small amount.

Heber’s heart was as hard as steel, and he did not care about the losses that his forces had suffered. However, Jorde could not remain indifferent. He was an extremely meticulous butler and felt his heart ache over the loss of high-level combatants. If not for Heber wanting to rear a pig, Jorde definitely would not have allowed Han Xiao to do as he wished in the battlefield for so long.

He had made use of so many different methods but still failed to kill Black Star. Even if Black Star fell for his trap, Jorde felt as though he still could not threaten Black Star’s life. Thus, Jorde was not prepared to send out more assassins but chose to leave Black Star to His Excellency Tyrant instead.

Jorde was in an extremely good mood that day. He was extremely satisfied with the outcome of weakening Black Star.

Although he did not know what kind of injury Black Star had suffered, Jorde prayed for the best outcome, that Black Star would not be able to participate in the war anymore.

Without Black Star, the high-level combatants of their Bloodshed Land could go all out.

In some Star System within the Colton Star Cluster, Floating Dragon Island was drifting in the galaxy.

Compared to seven years prior, Floating Dragon Island had experienced a huge change. There were now three floating islands, one large and two small.

The largest island was the original floating island, which was now the main island. The other two smaller islands revolved around the main island like two small satellites. These were two new subsidiary islands where the Floating Dragon armed forces were located.

With the support of the Black Star Army, Vilna had only taken seven years to grow Floating Dragon’s second field team to a pretty sizable scale. Even the port of the main island was not able to fit the entire armed force. As such, both subsidiary islands were army camps for the new armed force. The two islands had been created by Ames’ force field.

Seven years of development had given Floating Dragon a new look.

At this moment, Ames, Aesop, Vilna, and Jenny were gathered at the Floating Dragon dock. All the famous individuals on Floating Dragon Island were present.

A small reddish spaceship was parked at the dock, and both Hila and Aurora were carrying on to their suitcases.

Both of their personalities remained the same, but they were much more mature than seven years prior. They were dressed in Battle Suits of different designs and colors. Hila’s outfit was red and black in color while Aurora’s outfit was white with golden rims.

“Are you really not going to consider staying behind to help me?” Vilna asked with a look of regret.

The date for the Black Star Army’s departure grew nearer and nearer, and Vilna’s second armed force was one that belonged solely to Floating Dragon. She was the commander of the fleet with plenty of elites and experts under her.

She had been working for Floating Dragon for a full seven years and had a close relationship with the officers of Floating Dragon. She was especially close to both Aurora and Hila.

It was the day for Hila and Aurora to leave Floating Dragon. They had followed the Dragon Emperor for more than ten years, and it was time for them to leave their teacher’s tutelage.

Vilna had pleaded for the sisters to stay behind on more than one occasion to become her leftand right-hand officers. However, it was a pity that the two were determined to leave.

“I am sorry, Sister Vilna. We promised Uncle Black Star that we would go and find him.” Aurora had an apologetic look on her face.

Vilna let out a sigh. The Black Star Army had helped her out a lot, and the sisters had a close relationship with Black Star. She would also be embarrassed to poach them from Black Star.

Jenny then said coldly, “I have deposited 200,000 Enaus into your accounts, which will be sufficient for your journey. Black Star is a wealthy individual, and there won’t be a need for me to give you any more money after you join him.”

“Thank you, Sister Jenny,” Aurora said politely.

“Humph.” Jenny turned around without saying anything else. She was extremely depressed that both of them were so insistent on joining the Black Star Army.

Wilsander then chuckled and said, “Remember to say hello to Black Star for me when you see him.”

“Alright.” Aurora nodded.

“Right, help me say hi, too.” The Logistics Manager Haier, who was used to being a transparent bug, also spoke up.

“Alright.” Aurora shrank back slightly. Even after knowing each other for more than ten years, Haier’s ferocious appearance still scared her slightly.

Aesop then shook his head and said, “I looked into both of your futures, and I don’t know if it is a good or bad thing for both of you to follow Black Star.”

Aurora blinked and said, “Destiny is never fixed and will change anytime. This is something that you have told us.”

Aesop let out a long sigh while muttering words like ‘Black Star’, ‘death’, and ‘war’ under his breath.

Finally, both of their gazes landed on Ames.

Ames smiled and said softly, “Be careful.”

Aurora smiled sweetly and replied, “Okay, Teacher.”

Even the emotionless Hila revealed a look of respect and gave a deep bow. “Thank you for your teachings over the past ten years.”

A doting look could be seen in Ames’ eyes, and she nodded without saying anything else.

Hila then straightened her back and looked at her comrades and friends over the past ten years. She then pulled Aurora along with her and boarded the dark red spaceship.

The spaceship then floated up into the air and disappeared into the stars under the gazes of Ames and the others.

Ames placed her arms behind her back and softly muttered, “So, this is the feeling of being a teacher.”

Aesop’s ear twitched slightly, and he tiptoed away like a thief.

Chapter 729 - Wanted

In the Black Star Army headquarters, the fleet returned victorious. The players received tons of rewards, and most of them were looking forward to spending them.

This large-scale operation had made quite an impact among the players. It was the first large-scale war for the players in the army in Version 3.0. After this battle, most players had gotten used to Version 3.0 and figured out the goal of the main storyline and the current situation of the galaxy.

There were countless discussions about this war on the forums. The Black Star Army’s first galactic war after the ten years period was rather commemorative, and it was recorded in the Galaxy Chronicles.

“Galaxy Calendar Year 704, August 4th, the Black Star Army and Section Zero attacked the Bloodshed Land troops in the Kant Star System and returned with an overwhelming victory.”

The Galaxy Chronicles consisted of important events that every player took part in writing; it recorded what countless players had witnessed and formed the storyline of the various areas in Galaxy.

Although it was now just Version 3.0, the Galaxy Chronicles had already recorded a lot of information, categorized by Star Field, organization, and characters.

As for the Shattered Star Ring area, the Black Star Army was the organization and storyline that the players were most familiar with. Han Xiao and the army had their own categories. The players recorded the stages of the Black Star Army’s development according to time, even including the various things that happened during the ten years of the update. It was extremely detailed.

A spaceship left the dock of the Black Star Army headquarters; the hundred or so people on the spaceship were players heading to Klent. They had contacted each other on the forums and decided to leave together. Hate the Heavens and his friends were on-board. They had just enjoyed the last benefits of the Black Star Army and spent most of what they had received in the war.

“After spending so long in the Black Star Army, I have to say, I do feel kind of sad for leaving.”

At the corner of the cabin, Hate the Heavens felt down for some strange reason while browsing through the Black Star Army records in the Chronicles. He turned around and looked out the porthole as the enormous Black Star Army headquarters became ever smaller in his eyes.

The players had witnessed the Black Star Army’s growth ever since Version 1.0. They were responsible for how much the Black Star Army had grown. The Chronicles recorded the memories of these players fighting together, and Hate the Heavens felt reluctant.

Hate the Heavens looked at the people around him. Most of the players on the spaceship were gamblers—they did not change faction to experience never experienced before storylines but to be a step ahead of others in grabbing the possible hidden benefits of joining Klent. Hence, they were not as sentimental as someone like him who did it for the storyline.

“Don’t overthink it. My judgment won’t be wrong.” A person saw that Hate the Heavens looked nervous and patted his shoulder.

Hate the Heavens turned to him; the ID above this person’s head was ‘Summer Night Flower’.

Summer Night Flower was the initiator of this team. He trusted himself, so he was going to change factions as well. He had contacted these players who intended to join Klent and invited them to move together. As he was the one that had come up with the analysis, which suggested that Klent would be more beneficial, the players on the spaceship saw him as their leader somewhat.

“I’m not nervous.” Hate the Heavens shook his head.

Summer Night Flower smiled. He then clapped and attracted the eyes of all the players on the ship. “The target of this trip is the West Wind Star System. The Bloodshed Land has many strongholds there, and their forces are the steadiest in that area. They are currently recruiting on a large scale. This is our chance to join Klent. Only then will our main storyline mission become the Klent faction’s.”

The others replied disorderly.

“Trust me, guys, you won’t regret this.”

Summer Night Flower smiled as he looked at the hundred or so players in front of him. He was excited; he felt like he was a pioneer.

After several stops and galactic flight changes, they finally arrived in the West Wind Star System after traveling a long distance. They went to the recruitment office and handed over their documents. They then followed the officers onto the ship to head toward a stronghold.

The Bloodshed Land was recruiting locally. With the Tyrant and Klent’s name, there would always be people who were willing to join. Galactic residents were very free, especially in border areas like the West Wind Star System, where there were many foreigners who were not loyal to the Purple Crystal Civilization.

On the spaceship, about a thousand galactic warriors lined up neatly to accept the inspection of the officer. Summer Night Flower and the other players were among them.

The officer browsed through the resumes of the warriors one after another. Suddenly, he stopped before Summer Night Flower, frowned, and said with shock, “You guys are from the Black Star Army? Why join us?”

Summer Night Flower thought about it and answered, “We hope to develop ourselves in the Bloodshed Land better.”

“Oh, you’ve made the right choice.” Despite saying so, a tint of derision flashed within the officer’s eyes.

The members of the Bloodshed Land were mostly tough people, and this officer was no exception. He had always looked down on people who joined the enemy because of mere profits.

“Okay, you’re now a member of the Bloodshed Land. Missions will be given to you guys once you arrive at the stronghold.”

The officer then walked away. He felt that he needed to report this to his higher-ups.

Summer Night Flower clenched his fists in excitement and softly said, “See that? I was right; the identity of being a member of the Black Star Army will give us special treatment from Klent. The earlier we join Klent, the more important we will be to them.”

The other players saw that this was a good start and were all joyous.

At this time, a notification popped up on the interfaces of these people.

You have activated a new faction-Bloodshed Land. Current Relationship: Indifferent (0/300)

You have activated a new faction-Klent Kingdom. Current Relationship: Indifferent (0/300)

Summer Night Flower and the others were just about to feel cheerful when more notifications came, stunning them.

Your Grade S Main Storyline Mission (Secret War: Section Zero] has failed. You have received a new mission (Secret War: Bloodshed Land). Accumulated Mission Rating has been reset.

You have joined the opposing faction of the Purple Crystal Civilization.

Relationship with the Purple Crystal Civilization is now (Hostile).

Some of the Colton Star Cluster Star System civilization Relationships have been reset to zero and are now (Indifferent).

You have joined the opposing faction of Section Zero.

Relationship with Section Zero is now [Hostile).

You have joined the opposing faction of the Black Star Army.

Relationship with the Black Star Army is now [Hostile).

You have lost the identity as a Black Star Army member. Faction interface and faction store are shut down. You will no longer receive services from the Black Star Army.

Relationship with the Black Star Army characters has been reset to zero. Contribution Points have been reset to zero.

Summer Night Flower and the others were stunned. Although they did guess that they would lose many things when switching factions, they still felt quite heartbroken when it actually happened.

Suddenly, everyone’s communicator rang. Phillip’s sub-program jumped out. His original cute and child-like voice became cold and robotic.

“You have betrayed the Black Star Army and decided to join the enemy. You will no longer receive services from the Black Star Army in any form. This program will automatically uninstall… Uninstallation complete, hum…”

The next second, the sub-program of Phillip disappeared. It looked like it had uninstalled, but it was actually hidden for background monitoring purposes.

Something like this would not happen if they had just joined a neutral faction. However, joining the enemy meant betraying their former faction, so it was inevitable they would be punished and lose the Favorability of their original faction, thus becoming enemies.

Summer Night Flower felt heartache. Suddenly, he felt the furious looks of the players around him and was forced to the corner.

“You have to give us an explanation!”

Such a colossal loss hurt their weak nerves. They had built up those faction Relationship Points and Favorability through the course of two entire versions, but now they were all completely gone. The hundred or so players were furious.

“Let me explain!” Summer Night Flower said hastily. “I said this long ago. There will definitely be risks in changing factions. The benefits of Klent are more long term. There’s a higher chance of winning the secret war, and there are fewer people to fight for resources with. Most importantly, there is a chance to be affiliated with a Universal Civilization. These are all future potentials. We have to give up the short-term benefits in exchange for long term profits. This is an investment! An investment! Do you get it?”

The others were indeed there because of the future potential of Klent; it was just that the tremendous loss made them lose their senses. After hearing Summer Night Flower’s explanation, they calmed down a little.

Summer Night Flower smiled and said, “Guys, don’t panic. The damage of losing the Favorability of the various factions in Colton is actually not that huge. This is because we will be developing in Klent’s territory in the future, where there’s less competition and more resources. Even though we must start climbing up from the bottom, there will be more benefits in the future. Just wait and see, there will be more people joining Klent because of the Universal Civilization sooner or later, and we will be one step ahead.”

The other players had different looks on their faces. These people only wanted to make profits, not losses, but since they were already there, there was no way of turning back. They could only trust Summer Night Flower and keep walking down this path.

Seeing that everyone had calmed down, Summer Night Flower breathed a sigh of relief.

Among the players, Hate the Heavens was the calmest. His goal was to experience a different storyline, so he could totally accept the losses. Seeing that the gamblers around him were so anxious, he thought that it was quite funny.

At the same time, Summer Night Flower and the others did not know that the moment they betrayed the Black Star Army, a new mission was suddenly pinned at the top of the mission list of the army. It was a wanted notice for Summer Night Flower and the rest.

Bounty Mission: (Army Wanted Order]

Mission Introduction: The Black Star Army shows no mercy for traitors. All members will receive a reward for killing the traitors.

Mission Requirements: Kill or capture the traitor alive.

Reward: Based on the target’s strength.

This is a Repeatable Mission.

The players were not the only ones that received this; the hundred million Black Star Army members could all accept this task.

Issuing a bounty was a definite outcome; this was the standard procedure for how most organizations dealt with traitors. Although the players were important to Han Xiao and he gave them enough freedom and benefits, he was certainly not going to miss out on the necessary punishments. Otherwise, his faction would be a joke where the players could join the enemies whenever they wanted.

If the army did not draw a distinguishable line, he would be the one to suffer losses in the end, which would be even more troublesome.

“Someone betrayed the Black Star Army?”

“It’s actually a group of players? I thought they were NPCs.”

“Summer Night Flower? Isn’t this the guy that said the Klent faction is better? So, he’s making an example of himself? Not bad.”

“This means that these players have joined the opposing faction and will become red names, so will we be rewarded every time we kill them?”

The players in the army were thrilled. It had been a very long time since there were players in the opposing faction; the earliest ones were those unlucky people that joined the Germinal Organization in Version 1.0. After so long, there were finally players who they could PVP in the open.

If the traitors were NPCs, they would be gone after being killed once, but if they were players, they could kill them as many times as they wanted. It was a reusable resource!

On the other side, shortly after Summer Night Flower and the rest calmed down, their friends contacted them privately.

“What? We’re all wanted”

Summer Night Flower’s mouth opened wide with shock.

Doesn’t that mean that the millions of players and hundreds of millions of NPCs of the Black Star Army will all be chasing after us?

This was a much more severe consequence than he had expected!

Summer Night Flower gulped uncomfortably. He suddenly felt a sharp sense of coldness from behind him. He turned stiffly like a robot and saw the enraged looks of the hundred players.

“I–I can still explain…”

Summer Night Flower forced a smile. After a thorough explanation and convincing, he finally put out the flames of rage of the people around him.

Such a severe consequence was something that he did not expect. Summer Night Flower carefully observed the faces of the others still lingering with anger and was scared.

If he had guessed wrong, the people of the army would not even have to chase him; these people beside him would all be waiting at his revive point to kill him countless times over and over again.

In a certain Star System in the Colton Star Cluster, four spaceships surrounded a dark red spaceship. Energy chains and beams locked the dark red spaceship in its place.

The leader of this group of small galactic pirates stared at his prey through the porthole; greed appeared on his malnourished face. The galactic pirate subordinates behind him were also delighted

Due to the rise of the Black Star Army, the lives of the galactic pirates in the Colton Star Cluster had become much worse. The name of Black Star struck fear into the hearts of even the big galactic pirates. A small galactic pirate group like them could only act in an extremely low-profile manner, like mice.

Finally, they met a lone spaceship, and they quickly came to rob it.

“I found it. This is a Crimson Coated Grade spaceship. It’s very expensive!” A subordinate found the model of the dark red spaceship online and was overjoyed.

The galactic pirate leader clenched his fists in excitement. Intending to seize this dark red spaceship, he hastily threatened them through the communication channel. “Don’t run away, and don’t fight back, or we will destroy your spaceship!”

It seemed like the people inside the dark red spaceship were scared. The spaceship stayed stationary and did not show any signs of fighting back. The galactic pirate leader felt relieved. He controlled the spaceship and slowly moved closer. Mechanical arms extended out of his spaceship and were about to connect with the dark red spaceship.

At this time, a high energy reaction suddenly exploded from this dark red spaceship. A red energy wave expanded in a sphere and passed through the four other spaceships in the blink of an eye, penetrating them like they had no physical form.

The smiles of the galactic pirate leader and his subordinates were fixed on their faces.

Flop, flop!

The next moment, all the galactic pirates on the four spaceships collapsed. The smiles were still on their faces, but their eyes had lost their color. Their minds were shattered in an instant, and they became corpses.

Gray shadows were dragged out of the corpses by an invisible force, turning into a rolling cluster of fog and flying toward the dark red spaceship, gathering on a white palm.

With no expression on her face, Hila absorbed that soul energy. Her Esper ability became stronger by a negligible amount.

She could absorb the remaining mind energy of dead beings to strengthen her own Esper ability. She did not have an opportunity to do so on Floating Dragon, but now that she had entered the galaxy after finally becoming Grade A through intense training, she would have plenty of opportunities to kill people. Hence, she discovered this method of becoming stronger.

In terms of growth potential, Hila was not below the average player.

However, she would not be so mad about becoming stronger and slaughter planets for it like in Han Xiao’s previous life.

“Sis, what should we do with these four spaceships?” Aurora asked while controlling the spaceship.

On Floating Dragon Island, other than training her Esper ability, Aurora had also gained other knowledge and knew how to operate a spaceship.

“Bring them along. Maybe Han Xiao will want to modify them.”

Hila was not very interested in the loot. She reflected on the battle. Since she had always been training with Ames, she did not know how strong she was exactly.

I seem to be… quite strong?

After a long trip, Han Xiao and the other two finally arrived at Austin’s Hidden Red Robe Abbey after more than half a month.

Chapter 730 - Universal Treasure

As a famous Beyond Grade A organization, the location of Hidden Red Robe Abbey was known to the public. It was located in the Gelock Star Cluster and was also known as the Palace of Hidden Spells.

Palace of Hidden Spells was a large palace that floated in the universe, and this palace was Austin’s Mage Pagoda. It was used as the base of Hidden Red Robe Abbey.

The Mage Pagoda was important equipment for a mage, and it was both useful in combat and for research purposes. As the Mage Pagoda of a Beyond Grade A Mage, it was said that the Secret Law Temple had 48,000 different formations. It had a perfect attack, defense, movement, and life support systems. Furthermore, it had projections in a few hundred secondary dimensions and was able to leave the universe and enter those dimensions at any time.

If it was classified into a grade, the grade of Austin’s Palace of Hidden Spells would exceed that of orange equipment and would be at the level of a ‘Universal Treasure’. It was the equipment of the highest grade, the gold grade.

The spaceship approached the Palace of Hidden Spells, and the trio looked out of the window and admired the gigantic palace from afar.

The Palace of Hidden Spells was majestic and luxurious with essence gold and dense silver as its foundation. It was decorated with colorful magical crystals all around and looked like a dream-like castle in the universe. The palace could be broken down into many different layers with plenty of subsidiary pagodas all around. A magical glow enveloped the entire palace and covered it with five colored gas. Numerous energy source formations were inscribed all around the protective shield of the palace to absorb a portion of the dark energy from the universe to replenish the consumption of the various formations.

“How majestic,” Feidin said with admiration.

“How luxurious,” Marian said with reverence.

“How rich,” Han Xiao said with envy. He truly saw things differently from others.

If those from the Mechanic class were like merchants, then those from the Mage class were like local tyrants. Especially a Mage of Austin’s caliber. The thickness of his wallet was something that even Han Xiao could not help but feel envious about.

Han Xiao then sought permission from the Palace of Hidden Spells to land, and after receiving permission, he piloted the spaceship toward the dock.

At this moment, the dock was filled with many different models of spaceships that came from different Star Systems. They were all there to seek apprenticeships. The Palace of Hidden Spells had always been open to the outside world, and countless mages chose to research magic in this place. If one threw a random brick out over there, at least two mages would end up being hit for sure.

Hidden Red Robe Abbey was a neutral mage organization. Austin did not work together with any Star Cluster civilizations and did not attempt to expand his armed force either. He allowed the majority of mages to enter Hidden Red Robe Abbey to cultivate and shared knowledge with them. As long as one raised their membership level, one would be able to gain access to knowledge that was of a higher grade. The organizational structure was extremely loose, and their number of members was certainly greater than that of Bloodshed Land. However, only the Forbidden Sorcerers and a few other armed forces were considered Austin’s direct subordinates.

According to Han Xiao’s understanding, Hidden Red Robe Abbey was like a private mage school, and Austin was the principal. His direct subordinates were the lecturers, and the various armed forces under him was like the security detail of the school.

The trio stepped onto the dock, and there were already people waiting for them. The one waiting for them was Desoro, who had previously appeared to bring Lagi back.

“It’s been more than ten years. You haven’t increased your rank?” Han Xiao remembered him and began to joke.

“You must be joking. His Excellency Magus is waiting in the main hall. Please follow me.”

Desoro’s attitude was much more respectful than before. Ten years ago, he had still dared to exchange pointers with Han Xiao, but now, he did not even dare to compete with Han Xiao.

The few of them then chatted casually as they entered the Palace of Hidden Spells.

“The energy level of this place is so high.” Marian took in a few deep breaths and felt extremely refreshed.

“Hmm. The Palace of Hidden Spells is capable of absorbing the dark energy and magical elements floating around in the universe and can raise the density of magical energy here,” Desoro explained. “A mage who meditates in this place will see their efficiency increased greatly, and there is also sufficient energy to conduct various magical experiments. Even if one isn’t a mage, breathing in the air here will allow one’s spirit to be greatly refreshed.”

Feidin then frowned and said doubtfully, “I feel my Psychic energy being suppressed in this place. I am unable to release it too far, and it’s greatly restricted after fifty meters.”

“It’s like this. Because many mages carry out their own magical research in this place, they set up various restrictions to prevent any mental probing. Releasing one’s Psychic energy in this place carelessly is a taboo,” Desoro said.

The few of them then entered the main hall.

Numerous thick magical books floated in midair, releasing a silver glow like the stars in the sky, seemingly forming a milky way in the main hall. There were a few hundred half-transparent Austins floating in midair and reading different books. They were all his doppelgangers, and Austin’s main body was seated atop his throne with his eyes shut. His hand was currently supporting his head up, and it was as though he was having a good nap.

The moment Han Xiao and the others walked in, Austin detected their presence and woke up from his slumber with a lazy yawn.

“Black Star, you’re here.”

Austin wiped off the saliva by his lips, and his saliva transformed into a small, sky-blue dragon about the size of a finger and flew away.

“Your Excellency Magus,” Han Xiao greeted, and both Feidin and Marian followed after him.

Desoro left tactfully and shut the doors.

“It is so rare for you to seek my help. We can talk later. Let me see what Psyker did to you.”

Austin got off from his throne, and his numerous doppelgangers returned to his main body like birds returning to their nest. He then walked in front of Han Xiao, and his height was only at Han Xiao’s waist. His large and baggy red robes were dragged along the floor like a carpet.

Austin then shook his head, and his feet left the ground. Levitating until he was at Han Xiao’s eye level, he raised his tiny hand and tapped on Han Xiao’s forehead lightly. After taking a look at the psychic toxin in Han Xiao’s mind, he let out a gasp of surprise.

“How is it?” Han Xiao felt his heart sink. For a Beyond Grade A Super to be startled, could it be that his situation was terrible?

“I see… It’s a little troublesome…” Austin retracted his finger and placed his arms behind his back. He then revolved around Han Xiao and asked, “What do you know of Psyker?”

“I don’t really know much about him…” Han Xiao pondered for a while. He tried to recall the information that the players from his previous life had gathered. However, there was too little information about Psyker. Furthermore, the players were not able to reach the upper echelons, and there was plenty that they did not know.

“Alright, I have to first tell you that this psychic toxin’s official name is called Soul Embryo, and I do not have the ability to purge it for you.”

Han Xiao was startled. “Even a Beyond Grade A Mage like you can’t do it?”

“Magic isn’t omnipotent.” Austin shook his head with resignation.

Lagi had also said the same thing.

Han Xiao muttered under his breath.

“Let me explain it to you. Just like how I occasionally make magic scrolls myself, Psyker also uses various techniques to store his psychic attacks. Our Beyond Grade A disposable weapons are sold on the black market for a sky-high price. This time, the attack that injured you was a psychic weapon that Psyker created.

“More accurately speaking, not just Psyker’s psychic energy is included. Another type of energy is also included within the attack.

“According to my knowledge, Psyker once roamed the Ancient Star Desert before he became a Beyond Grade A Super. That is an ancient Star Field, and he obtained a Universal Treasure there called the Evolution Cube. It was an item from some lost civilization.”

Hearing that, Han Xiao was stunned for a moment.

It’s actually that item?

At this moment, Feidin asked with curiosity, “What’s the use of that Evolution Cube?”

Austin looked at Feidin and felt as though he was pleasing to the eye. “Psyker hid the Evolution Cube extremely well, and I have never seen what it looks like. I also don’t know its exact usage. I only know two of its uses.

“First, the Evolution Cube can stimulate the potential of a living being, allowing it to evolve greatly in a short period of time. It can automatically adjust the gene structure of an individual to ensure that it is the optimum gene structure. Psyker relied on this method to become a Beyond Grade A Super. He activated the bloodline of his ancestors, and this was the contribution of the Evolution Cube.”

Marian’s breathing became heavy. “Does this mean that this treasure is able to lower the barrier to become a Beyond Grade A Super?”

“Not just that,” Austin said slowly. “Psyker also used the Evolution Cube to influence all the members of his race and aided an entire race to evolve and easily complete a journey that would take other civilizations a million years to complete. The genes of his entire race have reached perfection. Their body, lifespan, intelligence, and so on all exceed an ordinary species. The combat capability of a newborn infant is almost that of a Grade C Super.”

Feidin’s eyes widened with shock. “Such a treasure actually exists? This is too unbelievable. Won’t other organizations eye such a powerful treasure with greed?”

“Of course, there will be some who are greedy. The Arcane Church also approached him, and Psyker came to an agreement with them. He was willing to serve the Arcane Church with the Evolution Cube in exchange for their protection.

“Originally, Psyker’s civilization was only an ordinary Star System Civilization and grew rapidly because of this incident, looking as though it is about to become the next Star Cluster civilization. Although a Star Cluster civilization already existed in the region that he was born in, Psyker had the support of the Arcane Church, and his competitor wouldn’t dare suppress him openly. They could only watch as he slowly rose to prominence.”

Han Xiao nodded secretly. This was pretty much the same as the information that he had. Psyker’s attention was fully devoted to leading his civilization, and he did not like to participate in the conflicts of other regions.

He felt that it was extremely unlikely for Psyker to participate in the secret war.

“He sounds like a hero of his civilization,” Feidin said respectfully.

Austin did not deny those words and continued. “The second ability of the Evolution Cube was to increase one’s mental strength. The upper limit is still unknown. Thus, Psyker’s psychic energy is unbelievably powerful, and his mental strength is even higher than mine. Most importantly, the strength of the Evolution Cube had mixed together with his own psychic energy to form a special reaction, causing his sentient psychic energy to have a terrifying life force.

“The toxin in your body is actually the embryo of a new soul. In other words, your other personality. This soul that had yet to be born has taken root in your mental world and is connected with your own soul. While I am able to destroy it, your body will suffer irreversible damage in the process.”

“Irreversible damage means…” Han Xiao pushed carefully.

“Not sure. I don’t mind if you want to try.” Austin chuckled.

Han Xiao felt his head ache. “Are there any other ways?”

Austin then smiled mysteriously and said, “If Ames or I suffered such an injury, we would be able to recover very easily.”

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up, and he seemed to have understood something. “You mean…”

“While Psyker’s psychic energy is powerful, it is only at the Beyond Grade A level, and it isn’t incurable. The mental strength of a Beyond Grade A Super is extremely stable. As long as you become a Beyond Grade A Super, you don’t need to receive help from anyone and can recover on your own.”

Austin looked at Han Xiao with excitement and added, “You know that I would not say such words to anyone else. However, you are different. I have great expectations for your potential, and you may be able to become a Beyond Grade A Super before being eroded.”

“Actually, there is an even easier method.” Han Xiao could not help but say, “You can ask Psyker to help me. He will definitely understand his own attack. Your relationship with him should be pretty good, right?”

“Nonsense, I don’t know him, and I am not familiar with him.” Austin denied it without even thinking

Han Xiao rolled his eyes in response.

There’s no way I’ll believe you. You darn old man. That isn’t what you said when I first asked you for help.

Chapter 731 - Return

Chapter 731 Return

Seeing that Han Xiao did not believe him, Austin said, “Psyker is only concerned about his own Civilization and will not be interested in helping you. Even if I request his assistance, he might not give me face since we don’t have any relationship.”

Your face isn’t worth much, and to think you’re a Beyond Grade A… You’re also someone who likes socializing, just like me… Han Xiao inwardly complained.

As though reading Han Xiao’s thoughts, Austin coughed and changed the topic. “Even if he was willing, if you don’t become a Beyond Grade A Super, you won’t live for long.”

“Oh?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

“You killed so many Grade A Supers from Bloodshed Land, but because of the rules of war, the Tyrant has been unable to make a move against you,” Austin replied serenely. “However, once the secret war comes to an end, what do you think he will do?”

Han Xiao frowned in response. “He’ll praise me for all my kills.”

Austin was rendered speechless, an incredulous expression hanging on his face. He shook his head.

“If you manage to reach the Beyond Grade A level before the end of the secret war, the Tyrant will enter the war to deal with you, but you at least will have some hope of surviving. However, if you end up being unable to break through to Beyond Grade A, you will not be able to resist, and even if you try to drag the death sentence, the day will come when you two battle!

“Thus, to say that advancing into a Beyond Grade A Super is your only choice was not me lying to you. Furthermore, the time you have left isn’t great.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin, not speaking. However, Marian, who was at the side, was already dazed, and Feidin also had on an expression of worry. He glanced toward Han Xiao from time to time, his eyes showing his concern.

Become a Beyond Grade A in two to three years? That’s impossible! Feidin could not even imagine how low the possibilities were.

He knew very well that Han Xiao had already reached a very high realm at this point. If he wished to take another step forward, how difficult would that be? In the past seven years, he had practically not improved a single step, and compared to his previous speed of progression that was akin to flying, even his close friends were hypothesizing that Black Star had finally met a bottleneck.

At that time, if the Tyrant went knocking, Black Star would likely die. The huge Black Star Army would also collapse along with his death.

Even if Black Star could seize the slim possibility and advance into the Beyond Grade A realm, he might not survive under the hands of the Tyrant. The Tyrant had long since advanced to Beyond Grade A, and his reputation had been earned through fighting. Thus, his combat capability could definitely crush a newly promoted Beyond Grade A.

With this in mind, Feidin was pessimistic about the future. He reached out and squeezed Han Xiao’s shoulder, hoping to give him some comfort.

Deep in thought, Han Xiao must have been feeling very depressed at this moment.

“Where did you get your news from?”

“I naturally have my own sources.” Austin smiled.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes as he pretended to sigh. In actual fact, this news was not out of his expectations. Since he dared to participate in the secret war, he was already prepared for the enemy and did not leave anything to fate.

Originally, he was only considered an ordinary member of Section Zero, but he had turned into one of their trump cards, successfully attracting the attention of the Tyrant. Han Xiao had also always been wary of Heber’s involvement in the war. He was not scared, however, as he still had the backing of Floating Dragon, and if the Tyrant wanted to move against him, he would have to face the wrath of the Dragon Emperor. Both sides already had a prior grudge, so Ames would never take this matter lying down.

Moreover, once the Tyrant decided to intervene, the Purple Crystal Civilization would also explode and send troops regardless of the cost to surround Heber. A Star Cluster Civilization was sufficient to threaten the life of a Beyond Grade A Super. At that time, Klent would also use this as an excuse to send troops, and the nature of the secret war would become a large-scale war of two civilizations.

Both warring parties wished to control the scale of the war, so the Tyrant had not appeared. However, Han Xiao was not too aggressive. It was okay to take a piss on someone else’s head, but sh*tting would go too far.

In fact, after he carved out a name for himself, he had reduced the frequency of his appearances. Having successfully formed an alliance with Purple Crystal, he had obtained a lot of development opportunities and had completed his original intention of participating in the secret war. Thus, he wanted to avoid the situation where the winds howled around the highest peaks.

Although he might have affected the process of this secret war, just based on the strength and status of the Calamity Grades on both sides, it would be hard to change the outcome of the war. He had acted within his means and did not slave away to complete each objective the Purple Crystal set for him.

As such, Austin’s words only allowed Han Xiao’s speculations to turn into reality, so he was not too surprised.

However, on the surface, Han Xiao still had to thank Austin for reminding him.

“I can only help you so much. The enchantment that Lagi has given you is pretty good. I don’t need to improve it. You may leave.”

Austin waved his hands, telling his subordinated to send off his guests.

Seeing the situation, Han Xiao did not stay any longer as well, taking the concerned Feidin and Marian, leaving the Palace of Hidden Spells.

Austin returned to his throne, and on his round face, there was an expression as though he was watching a fascinating show.

He never involved himself in disputes, as he liked to be in the position of a bystander, watching the fights across eras even as the seas themselves turned into mulberry fields.

Pressure could be a form of motivation, and he had purposefully stated the intentions of the Tyrant to see how Black Star would behave before this looming disaster. Would he rise against it, or would he be extinguished within? Would he be a defeated dog, leaving the Shattered Star Ring to escape the pursuit of the Tyrant?

Whichever outcome it was, Austin looked forward to it.

Of course, the scene that he wished to see most would be Black Star breaking the situation of the Shattered Star Ring that had been fixed for decades, injecting new vitality into this remote Star Field.

The trio boarded the spaceship, leaving the Palace of Hidden Spells.

There was only silence on-board.

Feidin could not resist opening his mouth after a while to ask, “Do you have any hope of breaking past your bottleneck in the next two to three years?”

Bottleneck? What bottleneck? Han Xiao did not respond immediately. He only glanced at him in confusion. Suddenly, it clicked as to what he was talking about, and Han Xiao could only shrug.

“I don’t know.” He naturally did not mention the matter of his interface.

“What then? The Tyrant is sure to come and kill you.” Feidin was a little panicked.

“Maybe we can obtain the Evolution Cube from Psyker himself,” Marian suggested. “Isn’t that thing capable of lowering the threshold of entering Beyond Grade A?”

“I think there’s no chance of that.” Han Xiao shook his head.

Austin might have been able to discuss the matter with Psyker, but he had no intention of helping Han Xiao. As for Ames, because she was probably not familiar with Psyker, she could not use her face to talk to Psyker. The Evolution Cube was Psyker’s treasure. Even if he wanted to use it, he did not know the other party. There was an eighty percent chance that Psyker would just ignore him.

Furthermore, he himself did not have any real bottlenecks and merely lacked experience.

“Then, what are you preparing to do?” Feidin asked.

“Improvise.”

With the players returning in Version 3.0, Han Xiao was confident that he would reach Beyond Grade A, but he was unable to explain that to Feidin.

Feidin pressed on the shoulders of Han Xiao, speaking with a solemn expression. “If this really does not work, we’ll just abandon the Black Star Army and escape to another Star Field. Our influence can be rebuilt; our lives are more important.”

“And you’ll come along with us?” Han Xiao jested.

Feidin paused for a moment before seriously nodding. “I will.”

Feeling the genuine intentions of Feidin, Han Xiao was a little touched.

But he shook his head and changed the topic, smiling as he said, “Don’t be frightened by what has not come. Let’s talk about the issue of the Tyrant next time. Right now, I still have a more urgent problem. I need to find a way to suppress the parasitism in my mental territory. This psychic toxin… oh, I should call it the Soul Embryo. With this thing here, I can’t even exert any energy.”

“A pity that the Magus was unable to help.” Feidin sighed.

“He just didn’t want to help. Don’t look at him having an amiable expression. In actual fact, that old chicken is extremely sly. Do you think he told me all that intelligence to help me?”

Han Xiao pursed his lips. He was not as easily manipulated as Herlous. To make him go all the way there, only to see him flap his lips a little and send them off, not even reimbursing them for fuel costs, what nonsense was this?

In the end, he still had to find his own method. If he had known this, he would not have relied on Austin at all. This was a wasted trip.

As Han Xiao thought about it, he suddenly discovered a path.

Since the reason reaching Beyond Grade A could allow him to automatically recover was their strong mental strength, this meant that each time he levelled up, his spirit should increase. Thus, even if he did not reach Beyond Grade A, he should be able to suppress the Soul Embryo.

Because the NPCs did not have an interface, they could only subtly improve themselves through grinding and training. However, Han Xiao’s leveling up was an instantaneous process, and the effect displayed was significant. Although upgrading would not allow him to clear away his negative state, it should be able to inhibit the growth of the Soul Embryo.

Han Xiao opened his interface. This trip had taken more than half a month, and the players had long returned to the Black Star Army and made their purchases. He had already accumulated a reasonable amount of experience to raise his level. This would serve to test his theory.

He did not hesitate, immediately raising his level by one.

[Apostle Mechanic) leveled up to Level23.

+240 Energy, +3 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +5 Endurance, +10 Intelligence.

You have received 8 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

Han Xiao connected to his mental territory, and looking down, he saw that the area of purplish black mist where the Soul Embryo was had further shrunk. It had reduced from six percent to four percent.

Leveling up is indeed effective. The stronger the mental territory, the more the Soul Embryo will be suppressed.

As he withdrew his spiritual probing, he immediately came up with an idea. It was not as though he was incapable of attacking. As long as he reasonably upgraded himself, controlling the Soul Embryo to remain below thirty percent, there would be no possibility of a troublesome sub-personality rising.

He sighed in relief. Since there was a long-term plan to suppress it, the threat of the Soul Embryo had decreased. Indeed, enchanting and stuff were all external means; the most reliable path was still to strengthen himself. A matter that a Beyond Grade A could not deal with could be resolved simply by levelling himself.

If that’s the case, it’s not as if I can’t attack. I just have to control the time taken for battle… Oh, but to be safe, I had better look for a stronger partner…

At this time, his communicator rang. Taking it out, Han Xiao saw that it was from Sylvia, who was manning the helm at the main headquarters. There was a photo attached.

In the picture, a dark red spaceship was dragging dozens of spaceships through a traction beam into the dock. A memorable flash of dark red hair leaped into his gaze; it was Hila and Aurora who were standing at the dock, showing contrasting cold and warm expressions.

Hila’s back?

Han Xiao looked at the photo, and the corners of his mouth rose.

At that moment, he had the best candidate in mind.

“Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, the ladies have already arrived at the headquarters of Black Star Army.”

In the palace of Floating Dragon Island, Vilna had her head lowered as she reported the status of the two sisters to Ames.

Ames had squeezed her force field into tiny little green spheres and was playing with them on her fingers. She smiled when she heard the news. “Did they meet into any problems?”

“Well, I sent out a fleet in secret, and there were eight small bandit groups that tried to attack them, but all of them were easily killed by Hila.” Because Vilna was afraid that they would meet with unforeseen circumstances, she had sent out someone to follow them for protection.

Ames nodded in response. “You’ve done well. Since they have successfully reached Black Star’s territory, recall the troops. Black Star will naturally take care of them.”

She cared more for the siblings than herself. She did not feel that normally, but now that the two sisters had been gone for more than half a month, she began to feel as though she was lacking something in her life.

By the side, Aesop shook his head. “You don’t need to worry about them at all. By following Black Star, they will grow quickly.”

Looking over, Ames seemed a little unhappy. “Do you mean to say that I didn’t teach well?”

Aesop waved his hands in helplessness. “Hila can absorb the dead’s remaining spiritual powers to strengthen her own. She did not have an opportunity to use the ability here, but Black Star is participating in the war, with countless dying every second. For Hila, the best place for her to grow and practice is the battlefield. Even I can’t imagine the pace of her growth beside Black Star.”

“That’s right. Black Star, that b*stard, will definitely make them join the battlefield. It’s so dangerous. What if Black Star doesn’t take care of them?” Ames murmured to herself, obviously focusing on a different direction. She resembled a worried parent, treating her two disciples who had followed her for more than a decade like her children.

Aesop and Vilna had a bad feeling upon hearing those words.

After spending yet another half a month travelling, Han Xiao’s group finally arrived back at the headquarters and met the two sisters who had been away for a long time.

In the office, Aurora ran head first into Han Xiao’s arms, squirming non stop. Although they were already old, she still felt the same familiarity and closeness to Han Xiao.

“Based on the contract, we’re here to work for you.” Hila was expressionless.

“We’re all old acquaintances. There’s no need to talk about an agreement or contract. I’m happy that you guys are here to help.” Han Xiao stroked Aurora’s hair as he laughed. “To think that a decade has passed just like that. You’re all grown up.”

The emotions in Hila’s eyes fluctuated slightly.

They had once been puppets under the control of the Germinal Organization, but now, Black Star had become a great figure in the Universe, while Hila had also become a Calamity Grade Super. Things were different.

Thinking back to the past, Hila felt moved. The man in front of her had changed her entire life. Without Black Star, she would have grown old with guilt and hatred for the planet and would likely never have been able to enter the magnificent universe.

“The last time we fought side by side was more than a decade ago. At that time, I could not help out at all.” Hila’s eyebrows rose, and she was full of spirit. “But I’ve finally caught up to you!”

“I’ve already waited ten years for today.” Han Xiao patted Hila’s shoulders as he smiled. He then took two steps back, raising his hands as he said out loud, “Welcome to the Black Star Army!”

Chapter 732 - Cultivation Plan

In Han Xiao’s previous life, Hila strength had earned her the title ‘Goddess of Death’.

Ever since Han Xiao saved these two sisters from the Germinal Organization, he had always seen Hila as a very important aid in the future. After waiting for so many years, Hila had finally grown and was now a Calamity Grade. She was now starting to be helpful.

Han Xiao knew about Hila’s ability very well. Being able to become stronger by absorbing the souls of the dead was something that only she could do. In his previous life, she had slaughtered countless planets and grown faster than even the players.

In his eyes, although Hila did not have the Luck Glow, she was undoubtedly a legendary character… of course, a villainous character.

Although Hila was not walking the evil path, it just so happened to be in a time of war. All the dead soldiers could become the source of her power. This was a once in a thousand years opportunity that could make Hila live up to her true potential.

He needed someone that could fight in his place, and Hila was the perfect candidate.

As for Aurora…

Han Xiao turned to look at her, smiled kindly, and said, “How’s the development of your Esper ability?”

Aurora chuckled. She flipped her hand, and a golden light appeared above her palm.

“I’m not good at battles, but I can cure any physical damages, and I can also stimulate the vital forces of others and make them stronger. Try it…”

As she was speaking, a cluster of golden light landed on Han Xiao. Han Xiao felt energized as if an electric current passed through his entire body, and many buffs appeared on the interface.

“Can your power be stored?” Han Xiao asked.

“Yes, I’ve tried to inject the vital energy into potions. These can be stored for a long time. But I’m not as hard-working as my sister, so I’m not a Calamity Grade yet. Thus, the expiration date is a little short. The healing effect of these potions will diminish over time and can last for two months at most.”

Aurora scratched her head, a little embarrassed.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He looked at Aurora as if he was looking at a treasure. He saw the hope of expanding the army’s business into the galactic medicine industry.

Aurora’s Esper ability made her a born healer. When she was still very weak, her healing abilities were already extremely strong. Now that she was a Grade B Super, her healing ability would most likely have increased many times.

“Also, although I can’t fight very well, I can regenerate very quickly.” Aurora pulled out an explosive pistol from the belt of her battle suit, spun it a few rounds on her finger, and suddenly fired at her other hand.

With a bang, the beam penetrated her palm. Before Han Xiao could even be shocked by her actions, her wound healed up extremely quickly and disappeared. Her palm became white and smooth once again. no signs of it being wounded could be seen anywhere.

“See, I can protect myself now!” Like a child showing off, Aurora’s face was filled with anticipation. She wanted to be praised by Han Xiao.

In the training that lasted more than ten years, other than cultivating her Esper ability, Aurora had also learned quite many shooting and fighting techniques to make up for her combat capability. As she had once been tortured by the Germinal Organization, although she looked weak and soft, she was extremely resilient and had a very high pain tolerance. She did not even frown the slightest when she casually shot through her hand.

What a tough girl… Han Xiao smiled and praised her. “That’s an amazing ability.”

The name (Life Return) sure was not an exaggeration. Aurora was only Grade B now, so when she reached Grade A, her regeneration power would probably be even stronger than his. Sadly, her Esper ability did not have a high combat capability. However, her ability and Hila’s ability definitely made up for each other’s weaknesses.

After the three of them chatted for a while, Hila said with a serious face, “How do you plan to arrange us?”

“I shall bring you to meet the officers of the army first.”

Hila shook her head. “Before you came back, Sylvia took us to meet all the high-ranking officers. She said that when you’re back, you’ll personally decide our positions.”

During the Mutation Disaster in Version 2.0, the most senior members of the army had all met Hila. They knew that her relationship with Han Xiao was not usual, so they definitely treated them well.

“Since that’s the case, let’s get down to business then,” Han Xiao said. “The two of you will follow me as my bodyguards first. After you know more about how the army operates, I’ll then arrange official high-ranking positions for you.”

“No problem.” Hila nodded.

Han Xiao thought for a moment then said, “Rest a few days, then I will bring you guys along.”

Hila, however, shook her head and rejected that. “There’s no need; we have rested enough. Give us missions as soon as possible. I want to test my true strength.”

Why are you in more of a hurry than me? Han Xiao smiled, contemplated for a while, and then nodded. “Okay. We shall head out tomorrow. I’ll take you guys to war.”

He planned to keep a low profile for some time while reaping the players’ Experience and cultivating Hila’s potential personally.

In the West Wind Star System, Star Zone 11…

This was the border Star System that had been invaded before any others. The forces of the Bloodshed Land stationed there were the largest. They had built around a hundred strongholds spread across the various Star Zones in the West Wind Star System. Section Zero had set up perimeters at some strategically important places to prevent the Bloodshed Land from invading the areas around West Wind.

Perimeter 027 was one of them, with numerous Section Zero members garrisoned there throughout the year. The Black Star Army’s fleet was in it as well, and the people stationed here rotated in shifts.

Other than the occasional large-scale military operations, perimeters were where battles occurred the most regularly. The Bloodshed Land tried to penetrate the perimeters time after time. The troops at the perimeters also sent small fleets to disrupt and attack the Bloodshed Land strongholds regularly. Those perimeters were the ‘frontlines’ of the war.

After the Kant Star System battle ended, the players started to explore freely. Han Xiao had yet to cancel the fifty percent off sale for those taking part in the war. The requirement to enjoy this benefit was to continue participating in the war. Hence, in the more than a month Han Xiao took to travel back and forth, most of the players were scattered across the various perimeters where there were countless battles. This was also the usual way of taking part in the secret war main storyline.

There were also players that did not take part in the main storyline. Some went to do mercenary missions, some went to explore around, and some guild players bought mining devices and small carrier ships and went to become miners on the resource planets under the Black Star Army.

More than 20,000 players gathered at Perimeter 027, participating in the daily combat missions.

Not long ago, a Bloodshed Land fleet had attacked the perimeter but failed. The stationed troops were now cleaning up the battlefield. In the military space station office, the commander of Perimeter 027, Rexson, was looking at the troops outside the window cleaning the wreckages while listening to his deputy report the result of the battle.

“The enemy lost eighty-six small battleships and nineteen heavy frigates. We lost thirty-eight battleships. As for casualties… ahem, it’s unknown for the enemy. The casualties on our side are being calculated right now. The initial estimate is that the damage is very small…”

“All thanks to the Black Star Army again?” Rexson said with a relaxed expression.

“Yes. The Immortals of the Black Star Army destroyed many of the enemy battleships through close-quarter battles. Since they don’t need any retreat plans, we did not suffer any extra casualties…”

The deputy swallowed his saliva. It was written on the battle report that after landing on the enemy battleships through the charge cabin, many of them instantly detonated the charge cabin and did not consider retreating at all. Some even landed while carrying nuclear bombs. These people were extremely brave.

“Ever since the Black Star Army sent a few dozen thousand Immortals, the combat pressure on our side decreased tremendously. These people are born warriors.” Rexson took a deep breath.

It had been two months since the version started. A lot of players had reached level 100 and completed their Promotion Missions one after another, getting the opportunity to experience Race Evolution. The versatility of the players increased once again. The first batch of players had finally entered Grade B.

Although they were just the weakest kind of Grade Bs, the increase in their Grade still made a powerful impact. The mid-tier combatant standard of the Black Star Army instantly increased an entire level. As more than a million of those Supers were sent into the various perimeter battlefields, the situation of many of those perimeters immediately became much better.

For Perimeter 027, the twenty thousand or so Grade B players secured victories for all the recent skirmishes at the perimeter. Rexson could not have been more satisfied with the Black Star Army’s players.

The first batch of Black Star Army players were no longer disposable forces like before; they had the ability to make decisive impacts to small scale skirmishes. The players discussed this on the forums. Bun-Hit-Dog mentioned Frenzied Sword’s theory during his video and said that as the players became stronger with the version updates, their influence on the world would grow bigger as well, and they would be widely recognized.

Real-time feedback was an important source of fun for the players. If the attitude of an NPC was the same toward max level players and new players, it would be way too boring. The factor that attracted the players the most in Galaxy was that immersive experience as if they were living in a real world.

This time, Rexson suddenly received a notification. He glanced at it, and his expression changed drastically.

“What happened?” the deputy hastily asked.

“Quickly, make the preparations. His Excellency Black Star will be coming personally, and he’s almost here.” Rexson quickly walked out of the room.

Rexson summoned the high-ranking officers and went to the dock. After a while, the Blacklight Stealth entered.

Han Xiao brought along the two sisters and Feidin. Feidin had come of his own volition. He was worried about Han Xiao’s mental state, so he planned to always be around Han Xiao till Han Xiao recovered, just in case.

As soon as they disembarked from the spaceship, Rexson approached them respectfully. To him, Han Xiao was someone that he would have no chance of coming into contact with usually. Han Xiao had gained the respect of all the Section Zero members through his battle results.

“No need to be so formal. I would like to know about the situation of the Bloodshed Land strongholds nearby,” Han Xiao said with a smile.

Rexson was flattered. He hastily invited Han Xiao and the others into the battle conference room, opened the tactical star map, and explained the situation.

Han Xiao stared at the star map, nodded, and said, “Got it, I’m planning to attack Stronghold W-58.”

Stronghold W-58 was the biggest hostile stronghold around Perimeter 027, and one Calamity Grade was stationed there. Rexson had never thought of attacking it, but once he heard what Han Xiao said, he was secretly content.

“I need some helpers. Don’t worry, the merit will all be yours.” Han Xiao smiled.

Rexson nodded continuously and said, “I will send the perimeter fleet to work with you.”

Although Han Xiao was not his direct boss, Rexson was not willing to give up this opportunity of gaining Han Xiao’s favor, not to mention that the merit of eliminating an enemy stronghold would all go to him.

“Okay, we act in one day’s time.”

Han Xiao nodded. He had gone to the perimeter this time to let Hila test her abilities, so of course, he was going to strike.

Manudo was the Bloodshed Land Grade A Super stationed in Stronghold W-58. He was not very worried.

Not long ago, he had received a message from spies that Black Star had appeared at Perimeter 027. He was the only Calamity Grade in the strongholds nearby. Since Black Star was already there, Manudo felt that he would not mind getting rid of a usual Calamity Grade like him on the way. His heart was half-frozen in fear.

Manudo hastily reported this to the headquarters. To his surprise, the overall commander proactively contacted him.

“There’s a very high chance that the Black Star will be attacking the stronghold you’re in now. However, don’t panic. I’m going to give you a mission.”

“Is it retreat?” Manudo saw hope.

“Of course not!” Jorde said with a deep voice. “I need you to do one thing-lure Black Star into fighting and battle with him.”

“You can just tell me if you want me to kill myself…” Manudo felt the utmost despair.

“Ahem, I will deploy the Calamity Grades around to support you. You’re not going to fight alone.” Jorde was practically speechless. The fearful name of Black Star was deeply carved into the hearts of the high-level combatants of the Bloodshed Land. There was nothing he could do about it. He could only explain, “Not long ago, Black Star fell into my trap. He’s not at his maximum strength now. I need you to test him.”

Jorde wanted to speculate what damage Psyker’s weapon dealt to Han Xiao through observing Han Xiao’s reactions during battle. He could only feel relieved after seeing it with his own eyes.

At the same time, on a desolate planet between Stronghold W-58 and Perimeter 027, Summer Night Flower and dozens of other players who had joined Klent arrived in spaceships.

They were doing the main storyline mission of the Klent faction. As warriors of the Bloodshed Land, they were deployed to the stronghold near the perimeter to take part in small scale skirmishes just like the Black Star Army players.

The Bloodshed Land had very strict rules. They were not allowed to explore freely like they could in the Black Star Army. Summer Night Flower and the others were not used to it. They could not help but to miss the treatment of the Black Star Army. Sadly, they only knew to treasure it after losing it.

This time, Summer Night Flower and the others finally had some casual time. They had gone to this planet to wait for someone.

Their position in the Bloodshed Land was not high, so their privileges could not be compared to when they were in the Black Star Army. Hence, Summer Night Flower contacted his friend who was still in the Black Star Army and told him to buy the fifty percent off products from the army for them. This planet was where they were going to make the exchange.

Chapter 733 - Protecting the Law

“Brother, are you here yet?”

“Soon, soon.”

A small spaceship was parked on the brown desolate land. Summer Night Flower and the others were waiting beside the spaceship.

Very soon, another spaceship landed beside them. The people in it got out of the spaceship, looked around, and greeted Summer Night Flower.

“Where’s the stuff?” Summer Night Flower approached.

“Where’s the money?” the person helping to do the purchases replied.

“Didn’t I make the transfer long ago?” Summer Night Flower said with resignation.

“Ha, I just wanted to paint the atmosphere of an illegal trade. Didn’t it feel very dramatic?”

The person chuckled. Seeing that Summer Night Flower was expressionless, he could only wipe the smile off his face awkwardly and take him into the cabin to see the stuff.

“There, this is all the stuff you wanted. Count it. Don’t say I scammed you.”

Summer Night Flower scanned through and calculated in his mind that the quantity was all correct. Only then did he say, “No need to, I trust you.”

This time, the person helping to make the purchase rubbed his hands with a slightly embarrassed expression and said, “You know, we’ve known each other for many years. We’re quite close, right?”

Summer Night Flower was a little confused. “What are you saying?”

“I’m asking you, are we good friends that play together?”

“Why?”

“Since we’re friends, can you sacrifice yourself and let me kill you a few times to earn some bounties?” the person asked cautiously. “After all, you can’t accept the Bounty Missions from the army. Instead of letting others kill you, I can split thirty percent of the bounty with you.”

“Piss off.” Summer Night Flower was speechless. Thirty percent? How is that little bounty reward going to make up for the experience I lose from dying?

“Stop talking nonsense. You’ve brought the stuff, so I’m taking it away,” Summer Night Flower said as he was about to pick up the equipment.

This time, the person suddenly pressed on his hand and chuckled, “No, I think it’s better for me to keep it for you temporarily.”

“What do you mean? Are you trying to con me?” Summer Night Flower was furious. His friends around him all came closer with hostile looks on their faces, implying they would not hesitate to kill for the equipment.

The person helping to buy the equipment did not panic at all. He slowly said, “This is for your own good. You might be robbed very soon if you’re carrying new equipment.”

Summer Night Flower suddenly had a bad feeling

At this time, the sound of spaceships landing came from outside. Small spaceships landed on the ground one after another, and a huge group of players rushed out.

The expression of Summer Night Flower and the rest changed drastically. He knew that these people were there for the bounty. He turned to look at the person who had helped to purchase the equipment in disbelief. “You betrayed me?”

“Look at it yourself.” The person curled his lips and took out the communicator. On it was the location of the person wanted by the army, which was the location of Summer Night Flower and the rest of the people. Their coordinates were constantly monitored. This trade was not a secret to the other players at all.

“Why didn’t I know about this?” Summer Night Flower was stunned. Then he realized with resignation that his army program had automatically been uninstalled.

The Phillip sub-program of these players became a background monitoring device that sent their coordinates to the nearby Black Star Army members at all times. It was like a constant reminder to the army members nearby. Summer Night Flower and the others were as conspicuous as sheep passing through a pack of wolves, except they did not know it at all.

Only the players nearby would receive the coordinates. Summer Night Flower and the rest had only gone to Stronghold W-58 not long ago, so only the players in Perimeter 027 received the coordinates. They thought that this was just a mission reminder, so no one discussed it on the forums. Thus, Summer Night Flower and the rest had no idea.

Suddenly, Summer Night Flower realized something. With a face of shock, he said, “Wait a minute, you knew that our coordinates were exposed all long, yet you didn’t tell me and even did not cancel the trade?”

“Sorry, I’m the cop.”

“Speak like a human being!”

The person smiled and said, “Sigh, I have to make a living, okay? Since you’re already here, it’s a waste not to kill you. Like I said, instead of letting others take the bounty, just let me take it. I will split thirty percent with you.”

Summer Night Flower’s mouth shivered. He pointed at him and could not say a word.

So, you had an ulterior motive all along!

This was a trap!

I saw you as a friend, but you wanted to deceive me?

What happened to basic trust between people?

If the furious looks on the Klent faction players around them could turn into knives, Summer Night Flower would have been sliced into a thousand pieces.

Looking at the quickly approaching players, Summer Night Flower hastily raised his hand with a face full of grief. The person helping to do the purchase thought that he wanted to fight, so he quickly jumped back a few meters. To his surprise, Summer Night Flower stood in place and raised four fingers.

“Forty percent!”

The person’s eye sparkled. He kindly reminded Summer Night Flower and said, “Remember to choose the faction revive point when reviving, or you’ll get killed another time.”

“Thank you so f*cking much!” Summer Night Flower clenched his teeth so hard it sounded like pieces of metal rubbing against each other.

Woosh!

With a familiar flash of white light, Summer Night Flower returned to Stronghold W-58. His face was filled with grief, but he had no tears to cry.

This is so tiring. I shouldn’t have come to Klent…

The moment Summer Night Flower thought that, he quickly eliminated it. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and convinced himself to believe in his analysis.

Although the path ahead would be twisted, he still believed that the future of the Klent faction was brighter.

“I will definitely be able to earn back the damages suffered now.” Summer Night Flower encouraged himself then left the revive point. He was not planning to become the target of the rage of the rest of the Klent players.

This time, a message appeared on the interface. It was his friend that helped to make the purchase.

“I’ll hold onto your stuff for now. Let’s find another time to meet again.”

Summer Night Flower was filled with rage.

You want to scam me another time?

“Piss of! Refund!”

Han Xiao saw this small incident on the forums. A player made a post to show off that he got the first kill of the traitor. He felt this was something worth praising, so he sent extra experience and Enaus through the faction interface.

The analysis post of Summer Night Flower became popular again. Many were mocking him and laughing at it. Summer Night Flower said that him getting killed was nothing; it was just a usual faction conflict, and the storyline in the future would prove that he was right. He was clearly very stubborn.

After killing some time, a day later, Rexson gathered the troops and attacked Stronghold W-58.

With Han Xiao’s current experience, he had seen many small galactic skirmishes fought around a single stronghold. He did not even need to observe the battlefield to know what would happen.

The fleets fought intensely. Han Xiao was observing from the flagship and did not participate, nor did he let Hila and Feidin participate. Seeing that there were countless deaths on both sides, only then did he turn to look at Hila.

“Try the effect of absorbing souls of the dead on the battlefield.”

Hila nodded. A tint of red light flashed across her eyes. Then, black red energy covered her entire body. It was like she suddenly grew more than twenty centimeters taller and gave off a vibe of an ancient God-merciless, enormous, and solemn.

In the wide galactic battlefield, gray fog appeared in the countless spaceship wreckages floating in space. They formed countless gray snakes and gathered into Hila’s hand through thousands of miles.

The remaining energy of all the warriors that died on the battlefield was absorbed by her.

Hila exhaled deeply, clenched her fists, and said, “Both the strength and range of my Esper ability are enhanced. That saved me at least half a year’s time.”

“Great, it works.” Han Xiao was delighted. This was good news. The quicker Hila became stronger, the earlier she would be able to fight in his place. He would be able to let Hila help him get rid of those unimportant enemies.

He decided to call the quick growth method exclusive to Hila ‘Gray Soul Absorption’. It was almost like a cheat.

At this time, a strange energy suddenly exploded in the middle of the battlefield. From the fleet of the Stronghold W-58, three Calamity Grades flew out. The interference of high-level combatants quickly toppled the balance of the battlefield and became something that Rexson’s troops could not deal with. Originally, they were only slightly at a disadvantage, but they were now constantly forced to retreat.

Inside the flagship, the deputy exclaimed with shock, “Why are there three Calamity Grades? The intelligence says that there’s only Manudo!”

However, not only did Rexson not panic, he even smiled instead.

“It doesn’t matter if there’s three of them. With Black Star here, even if it were thirty…” Rexson paused. Although he was extremely confident in Han Xiao, he still did not dare exaggerate too much. He coughed and then said, “Even if there were 13 of them, His Excellency Black Star would still kill them all.”

At this time, the scenery viewing window of the flagship zoomed in and focused on Manudo.

In the window, Manudo did a provocative sign toward the flagship, and the flagship received a video message from Manudo. His pale face appeared on the screen. His forehead was covered in sweat, and he had a very twisted mocking expression on his face.

“Black Star! I know you’re in there. Don’t hide. I’m not afraid of you. Us three Grade A Supers are challenging you right here. Do you dare accept it? Hahaha!”

In the end, Manudo laughed stiffly as sweat rolled down his face. The skin on his face was even shivering as if he was about to cry, and he was barely keeping up the ferocious expression.

The people in the flagship command room had strange expressions on their faces.

The enemy is taunting us, but why does it feel so unconfident?

Han Xiao held his forehead. Taunting with such bad acting skills, are you serious?

Rexson turned to Han Xiao and respectfully said, “Your Excellency Black Star, we can’t deal with Calamity Grades. Please help.”

In his eyes, if Han Xiao attacked, killing three normal Calamity Grade Supers would be a piece of cake.

However, Han Xiao shook his head and patted Hila’s thin waist. “These three people are yours.”

Despite having to face three opponents of the same grade, Hila did not look troubled at all. She turned and prepared to strike immediately. She was someone not afraid of obstacles and was happy to conquer them. Since Han Xiao could fight multiple opponents of the same grade, Hila took this as her target as well. She had very high requirements for herself.

Furthermore, she also wanted to fight strong enemies and test her limits so that she could gain a clearer idea of where she stood in the Calamity Grade.

Manudo and the other two attacked the battleships while waiting for Han Xiao to appear. To Manudo, every second was torture. It was as if he had stepped into the execution ground and was waiting for the blade to land on his head. If not for Jorde’s orders, he would have run away immediately.

Jorde was also observing the battlefield remotely, waiting for Han Xiao to appear.

This time, a dark red meteor appeared in the eyes of those people at an extremely high speed. It headed right toward the three of them. A Grade A Cannon Master beside Manudo fired from far away. High energy particle beams landed on the dark red meteor one after another, slowly reducing its speed.

However, the next moment, this dark red meteor suddenly erupted and released thousands of red energy beams that almost covered half of the entire battlefield. These energies were extremely thick, like thousands of enormous pythons. They spun their head and crashed into the Bloodshed Land fleet.

Manudo and the other two people were also hit by dozens of almost solid red energy beams. Other than having the usual heat and explosive damage, Hila’s energy beams also gave the three of them psychic damages. They hastily backed away with shock.

“This energy is very strange.”

“This energy beam tried to absorb my spiritual body away like tentacles with suction cups.”

As the tsunami-like red energy release ended, Hila appeared. The black-red armor on her body was focused on mobility and enhancing energy release. She did not wear a helmet, but her head was covered by a half-transparent energy layer, providing life functions and a wide vision.

Manudo was shocked. He had expected Black Star to attack, but who was this woman?

“Is there such a person in the Black Star Army?”

“It doesn’t show on the intelligence. Could she be a new officer?”

“She’s very strong. I feel a sense of threat from her.”

The three of them spoke in their communication channel. They all felt the pressure.

Jorde, who was remotely spectating, was also confused. He carefully sized Hila up and was sure that he had never seen this person before, yet Black Star had sent her to fight three Calamity Grades alone. Was this because he believed in her strength?

“The Black Star Army sure has a lot of talents.”

Jorde clenched his teeth. Seeing that Black Star was not going to fight, he had no choice but to tell Manudo and the others to fight with Hila and see how strong Hila was.

At the same time, the others on the battlefield also noticed the confrontation between the high-level combatants.

The Black Star Army players saw Hila’s look and were shocked.

“Aye, this beauty looks kind of familiar.”

“I remember, isn’t this Hila who appeared in both 1.0 and 2.0?”

“That’s right. It’s her. I thought she’d died by Version 3.0, but it turns out she’s still alive and much stronger.”

“She appeared in the mid to later stages in Version 2.0. When did she join our army?”

“If I remember correctly, when Black Star went deep into the Germinal Organization’s base in Version 1.0, it was to rescue her. Could she be the captain’s old lover?”

“Oh…”

Many players let out meaningful grunts before quietly activating the video recording function.

Chapter 734 - Mislead

Chapter 734 Mislead

On the battlefield, Hila released dark red energy and fought with the three enemy Calamity Grades at the same time. Hila felt the pressure immediately. She clenched her teeth and tried to hang on, barely standing her ground using the uniqueness of her Esper ability.

Han Xiao observed for a while and figured out Hila’s actual combat capability.

These three enemies are normal Calamity Grades around level 180. With Hila current strength, she’s in the upper-middle ranking among Calamity Grades. She still lacks experience in fighting with Calamity Grades, but due to her unique Esper ability, she can deal with two such enemies at most. Three is too much.

Although Hila had sufficient strength to be part of the battles that he was in, she was still some distance away from becoming the capable assistant that he wanted.

However, with her growth rate, she would be able to overcome that distance very quickly.

As he was pondering, the situation started to gradually worsen for Hila.

Han Xiao was not worried about Hila’s safety. Not only did Hila have the Molding Talent that would lock her health, Aurora was around as well. It would be difficult for her to die even if she wanted to.

At the same time, a small incident was happening on the battlefield that Han Xiao was unaware of.

A small Bloodshed Land assault ship was fleeing in the battlefield, chased by dozens of Black Star Army battleships.

“Quickly run, they’re coming again!”

Its shield endured attacks continuously. The spaceship was trembling as the piercing red alarm echoed within. On the spaceship, Summer Night Flower and the others were covered in sweat, panicking.

They were being chased by a large group of Black Star Army players. Phillip had sent their coordinates to all the army members on the battlefield.

Quite a number of players taking part had seen it and thought, Nice, bonuses!

Thus, Summer Night Flower and the others’ nightmare began. No matter how they changed their location, it was always shown on the radar of the army players.

Originally, fighting with opposing faction players was very common. However, in this skirmish, the number of players on the Black Star Army’s side was more than a hundred times the number of players on Summer Night Flower’s side. Hence, it became one-sided, and Summer Night Flower’s group was chased by the other players.

Summer Night Flower’s mood was extremely bad. He regretted going to Stronghold W-58. He should have requested to be deployed to other strongholds that did not have to face the Black Star Army!

The Black Star Army was full of bad people that were just merciless. He was afraid.

As a player of the opposing faction, he decided to avoid the Black Star Army in the future. Even if that meant that he had to play alone in a remote stronghold, the game experience would be better than being chased by enemies all the time.

As Summer Night Flower was in a meltdown while being chased by the army players, the battle between Hila and three enemy Calamity Grades reached its climax.

The few of them kept shifting the battlefield, moving across the various areas where the fleets were fighting. With continuous explosions, people died nonstop, and gray souls entered Hila and recovered her energy.

So, this is my current limit.

While fighting, thoughts flashed through Hila’s mind.

This was the first time that she had fought in a true battle with a Calamity Grade. She quickly gained combat experience and a clearer understanding of her own combat capability.

Ames and Han Xiao who had trained her all along were much stronger than her, so she could not really measure her strength. Now that she was fighting with normal Calamity Grades, although she had the lower hand, she felt amazing. She could now finally fully utilize her strength in a battle where she was not completely thrashed.

Hila thought that she seemed quite strong, but she was not satisfied with that.

I can barely deal with three enemies… but Han Xiao can fight ten at once. There’s still a huge difference… Hila clenched her teeth.

She saw Han Xiao as the goal to chase after. Now that she felt the pressure of fighting three enemies at the same time, she had a deeper understanding of Han Xiao’s combat capability.

If he was in my place, the battle would have already ended.

Feeling the difference between the two of them, Hila clenched her teeth and increased the output of her energy.

On the other side, Manudo was communicating with his comrades.

“This woman’s ability is very strange. It gives me a Necromancer feeling, but it’s not really the same.”

“Her energy can cause both physical and psychic damage. After getting hit, even the vitality of my cells was suppressed, and the efficiency of cells creating energy decreased. It’s as if… as if my life force is suppressed.”

“What do you think, Staff Sergeant Jorde?” Manudo asked.

Jorde, who was watching remotely, nodded slowly and said with a serious tone, “I have already saved the video of her battle into the database. Although her ability is strong, it’s not the focus this time. Black Star is the target that you’re supposed to test.”

“But he’s not joining the battle. Does that mean we can retreat?” Manudo asked hastily. He did not want to stay even one second longer near Black Star.

“Maybe it’s because he’s training his subordinates or because of something else,” Jorde said with a deep voice. “Attack harder. As long as this woman’s life is in danger, Black Star will definitely do something.”

Aren’t you just hurrying us to die?

Manudo felt miserable.

The few of them fought intensely for a while. Eventually, Hila showed a flaw under the aggressive attacks from three enemies. Manudo’s Cannon Master teammate caught the opportunity. He shot a particle cannon beam that was enhanced with many burst damage abilities right at Hila’s hasty defense attempt. It shattered her armor and blasted her away.

“Er…”

Hila stopped herself from rolling in the universe. Her body was covered with black wounds and dead cells. The area around her left shoulder and half of her neck was gone, an injury a normal person would have immediately died from and was considered heavy even for Calamity Grades.

Manudo and his two teammates were just about to chase when Manudo suddenly felt alarmed and slowed down behind the other two.

Hila took a deep breath. Suddenly, thick light shot out from her eyes. Her wounds started to heal as her cells multiplied at an extremely high speed.

The flesh on her neck and her left shoulder grew back in an instant, showing her white skin under the broken armor. Energy was flowing through her entire body, and she was almost back at peak performance.

In the flagship, Aurora’s eyes were shining as well. After Hila recovered, only then did the light in Aurora’s eyes slowly disappear. She quickly gasped for air as if she had just spent quite a lot of energy.

Hila and Aurora’s Esper abilities had a special connection. Through their blood relation, Aurora created a life force link between the two of them. If Hila was too heavily injured, Aurora would send her life force and heal her remotely.

As long as Aurora still had stamina, Hila would be able to recover at a terrifying speed. Its effect was similar to Han Xiao’s Aurora Character Summon Card.

Hila fought the battles, and Aurora healed her. The number of times that she could heal depended on her stamina. It was only slightly less powerful than Han Xiao’s health-stamina cycle. When the two sisters fought together, they were almost undefeatable.

Jorde was stunned, and his expression changed slightly—this reminded him of Black Star.

Black Star had this kind of horrifying recovery ability as well!

Could it be that this redhead woman had a special relationship with Black Star?

Could she be his… daughter?

Initially, Jorde did not take Hila too seriously, but he suddenly felt that he needed to do thorough research on her.

Manudo and the others stood in place and were stunned as well.

Hila felt the overflowing energy in her body, but instead of being happy, she was filled with discontent.

She had been keeping Aurora away from harm, but because of her mistake, Aurora had to use her life force to heal her. She felt that this was her fault… Although Aurora could gain that life force back very quickly, because of what had happened back in the Germinal Organization, this was still a taboo for Hila.

Just as Hila was about to attack in rage, a large hand suddenly pressed on her shoulder. She turned around. It was Han Xiao.

“That’s enough. There’s no training value if you carry on. It will just be a battle to see who’s stamina depletes first.”

Han Xiao softly pressed on Hila’s smooth, soft cheeks. Nanoparticles extended from the tip of his finger and formed a helmet, replacing Hila’s broken helmet and allowing her to speak in the communication channel.

Hila clenched her teeth and said, “Understood.”

“Leave this to me.”

Han Xiao turned around and looked at the three nervous Calamity Grades.

Manudo was panicking. Black Star finally was going to attack.

This time, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something

The enemies clearly knew of his capabilities, yet they made such a bad attempt at provoking him, so their goal should be to lure him into battle. Of course, this was definitely not because they were kind and sending him free kills.

After thinking for a short moment and recalling Manudo’s nervous expression when provoking him, it then occurred to Han Xiao. Jorde was definitely behind this. That little weasel had used Psyker’s psychic weapon on him two months ago, but he had gone to the Palace of Hidden Spells, so he did not take part in any battles for one and a half months. This had made Jorde anxious, so he was using this to test his current state.

Having realized that, Han Xiao had an idea and did not immediately attack. Instead, he connected to Manudo’s communication channel and slowly said, “Are you sure you want to fight me? I don’t know if this is your own decision or someone ordered you to do so, but think about it carefully. People are going to die from this.”

Manudo gulped. The other two did not speak. Jorde did not want to be discovered by Han Xiao, so he did not speak either.

“I’m now giving you guys a chance. As long as you surrender and announce to leave the Bloodshed Land, I won’t do anything to you. What do you say?” Han Xiao said.

“You want me to betray the Bloodshed Land? No way!” the Grade A Cannon Master yelled and immediately fired.

Without even moving, more than 300 Watcher Instruments appeared beside Han Xiao, formed a formation, and created a psionic shield, easily blocking the attack.

Han Xiao shook his head and deliberately said, “What’s so good about Heber? Does he deserve such loyalty from you?”

“He’s the only one I’m willing to follow. How dare you speak of His Excellency Heber like that?” this Cannon Master sneered. He was a direct member of the Bloodshed Land, so he was extremely loyal.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and did not speak anymore. He summoned the mechanical army and attacked. It swept over the entire battlefield like a tsunami, scattering all the fleets.

Facing the mechanical army that filled his vision, Manudo felt suffocated. He had no choice but to fight it.

Han Xiao activated Apostilization and joined the battle. He secretly changed the tempo of the battle, increased the attack frequency of all the mechanical soldiers, and sacrificed accuracy to do so, deliberately showing impatience.

Of course, normal people would not notice such details, but he believed that the Bloodshed Land would definitely discover these tiny changes with their artificial intelligence’s analytical abilities.

Sometimes, tricking smart people was even easier than using stupid ones. All he had to do was mislead the opponents into the conclusion that he wanted them to have through details, and the opponents would fall for it easily. If they were not cautious enough, Han Xiao’s efforts would all go to waste.

High-level lies are always ninety percent real and only ten percent fake. What Han Xiao wanted was to make Jorde speculate that he had become weaker.

As for the reason, it was so that he could use this opportunity to take some time off from the secret war and focus on cultivating leeks. This was the most important matter at the moment. Be it advancing to Beyond Grade A or suppressing the Soul Embryo, they all required a large amount of Experience.

He was completely uninterested in letting his sub-personality be born. It would be best to make sure it never formed.

As soon as Han Xiao struck, the battle became one-sided. Under the True Damage of [Legendary Battle Technique), the Cannon Master was very quickly shattered by the mechanical soldiers. The head of the other teammate was also blown away. Manudo was the only one left barely holding on.

Panicking, Manudo hastily sent a message and said, “Wait, wait, I surrender!”

Han Xiao received the message and stopped the mechanical army. He then waved his hand and pulled Manudo over from afar through the mechanical suit’s force field.

Manudo did not dare resist and let the mechanical soldiers restrain him.

“You’ve made the right choice.” Han Xiao smiled.

Manudo nodded continuously. He had thought it through it was clear that Jorde did not care about his life, which meant that he would die sooner or later in the Bloodshed Land, so he might as well surrender. Furthermore, he did not have another choice if he wanted to live.

Escape from Black Star?

I’m not Hadavy, I can’t do it!

As the high-level combatants of the enemy were all eliminated, the battle that followed had a clear result. Rexson destroyed Stronghold W-58 and seized the loot.

After Hila absorbed all the remaining gray souls on the battlefield, she locked herself in her room and digested her first experience of fighting with Calamity Grades.

Jorde was analyzing the recording of Han Xiao’s battle in the headquarters.

Losing a stronghold meant nothing to him; what he cared about at the moment was Han Xiao’s state.

Very soon, he noticed something strange.

“Two months ago, Black Star never asked anyone to surrender and killed every one of our people. Even when he faced just one Calamity Grade, he never showed any mercy. Why did he ask them to surrender?”

Jorde frowned and looked at the recording a few more times.

Before, Black Star’s mechanical army’s attacks were all carefully and precisely calculated.

Today, however, the attack rate of his mechanical army increased visibility, as if he was willing to waste energy to increase the attack speed and gave up some of the precise calculations. As a result, many attacks completely missed.

This change made him feel a sense of… impatience?

“First, he asked our people to surrender, then he was in a hurry to end the battle…” Jorde pondered for a while and suddenly figured it out.

Black Star was trying to reduce the time of the battle, or he did not want to take part in the battle.

These two details made Jorde feel that he could guess Han Xiao’s current state.

Psyker’s psychic weapon might have dealt some kind of continuous damage to Black Star, and if he fought others, the damage would be enlarged. This was why Black Star acted differently from before.

“My speculation should be right!”

The threat of Black Star had decreased!

Having proved that Black Star had become weaker, Jorde was overjoyed. Although he did not know what damage Han Xiao had received, with this discovery, he could daringly adjust his strategies.

Chapter 735 - Evolve! Advancing on the Path of a Tank!

The battlefield of the secret war was too broad, and the small skirmish did not attract too much attention. Jorde was the only one who paid attention to it.

Not caring about the Bloodshed Land’s reaction, Han Xiao rejected Rexson’s celebration invitation after they won the battle. He brought Hila along and headed to other perimeters to give her more battlefields for her Soul Absorption.

While Han Xiao was going around the various battlefields, a new popular topic appeared on the forums. Quite a number of players that attacked Stronghold W-58 uploaded the video with Hila in it, which made the players recall memories from long ago.

Initially, this was just a usual video, but when people realized that Han Xiao and Hila had known each other for three versions now, especially after their ‘old love’ was dug out from the Galaxy Chronicles, the focus of the topic became entirely something else. Articles with all sorts of titles started to appear.

“Shock! Black Star Did This to Hila!”

“Reigniting Old Flames? Or Has He Found New Love?”

“A Love Story That Crossed Twenty Years!”

“Who Really Is the Woman Black Star Loves the Most? Counting Those Beauties He Once Loved…”

The players’ spirits were highest when talking about these kinds of topics. After all, they could imagine as much as they wanted, and there would not be any consequences. The topic gradually turned from Hila to Black Star’s love history.

Han Xiao was now the most famous NPC in the Shattered Star Ring. His position was high. He was rich, strong, and rather handsome. Ever since Version 1.0, the players had never really gotten to know any storylines regarding his love life, and the players were extremely curious about it.

Not just Hila, all the known living female characters related to the Black Star Army became hot topics of the players’ intense discussions. On the forums, the supporters of different female characters were split into factions and argued with each other.

“Hila’s known him for the longest. It’s clearly old flames being reignited.”

“Boo, us Dragon Emperor supporters will never give in!”

“You people know nothing. Sylvia is the one and only!”

“Us Herlous supporters are smiling.”

“Us Harmon supporters are unhappy. We’re going to chop your heads off.”

“Come on, you guys are weak. Greetings from the Phillip supporters.”

“Us Feidin supporters announce our exit. Feidin is our husband. Black Star, you’re not good enough for him!”

“Right now, Aroshia is still on the way.”

“The Germinal Organization Leader is watching you from above.”

The popular topics on the forums caused the fame of the various Black Star Army officers to grow. As the focus of the topics, Black Star also gained more attention.

Han Xiao did not pay much attention to these topics on the forums; they were all for the players’ entertainment and would not cause any influence. The only possible result of it would just be more parodies…

After going to quite a few perimeters, Hila’s combat capability quickly increased through Soul Absorption. In just half a month, her Ona grew by more than 400.

In this period, Han Xiao fought a few times. His Spirit Barrier and the Enchantments on his body decreased the growth rate of the Soul Embryo, but the size of the Soul Embryo still grew from four percent to nine percent.

However, many army players had already reached Grade B, and these people started to use Experience to learn Knowledges. In this half a month, Han Xiao finally gained enough Experience to level up to above level 220.

Han Xiao stopped the traveling, touched Feidin, and hastily locked himself inside the training room.

As Han Xiao opened the interface and looked at his total Experience, he smiled with satisfaction.

After seven years, he was finally at the doorstep of another Promotion.

Without hesitation, he threw the Experience into leveling up.

[Apostle Mechanic) leveled up to Level25.

+240 Energy, +3 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +5 Endurance, +10 Intelligence.

You have received 8 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

After leveling up twice consecutively, his level was now level 220 and at Promotion.

The Promotion mission popped up on the interface; this time, Han Xiao did not even look at it.

The Mission Completion Cards that he had been hoarding for seven years had now finally come into use!

Use [Mission Completion Card)? [Confirm/ Cancel]

“Confirm.”

You have used (Mission Completion Card)!

[Edge of Death)… completed!

(Level 220 Promotion Mission completed!

Promotion successful!

Endurance Bonus increased! 1 Endurance = 175 Health = 185 Stamina.]

His Endurance bonus increased by thirty after this Promotion, five more than the previous Promotion.

A hot stream flowed out from his heart and quickly circulated his entire body. Every cell in his body became tremendously more active; he could clearly feel his increased life force.

Han Xiao focused and looked at the interface notification—this Promotion also included a Race Evolution.

He had just got some luck from Feidin earlier. He was hoping to get some good options.

You have taken another step on the path of evolution. You have ascended in the hierarchy of life. Your genes have reformed. You’re closer to another new beginning of life…

Race Detected: Void Distorter (Human Form)

Randomly drawing 9 matching evolutionary directions…

Drawing complete!

Please choose one of the following 9 options for your Race Evolution. Warning! The evolution process is irreversible. Please choose carefully! [Appendix— Evolution Path Feature Descriptions]

(Void Rainbow (Force Field Form)]–38% Compatibility

(Void Jumper (Mutated Form)]—44% Compatibility

(Void Spirit (Spirit Form)]—28% Compatibility

[Multi-Dimensional Shadow (Mind Signal Form)]—23% Compatibility

(Void Executioner (Human Form)]—71% Compatibility

[Magomado Blade (Human Form)]—57% Compatibility

(Void Star Pursuer (Human Form)]—75% Compatibility

[High Concentration Void Dragon Hybrid (Human Form)]—66% Compatibility

(Saint-Galaxy Human Race (Gene Limiter Removed)]—54% Compatibility

Looking at the nine options before him, Han Xiao felt a headache coming on.

Not because these options were not good, but because they were too good!

He was in a pickle.

As he had once consumed a Void Lord Core, Han Xiao had skipped an entire evolution stage. Without that, the options that had appeared would have been on the same level as Void Distorter.

However, many options were evolution paths that were higher than Void Distorter.

First, Han Xiao ignored the first four options. Those four options were not Human Forms and all had very low Compatibilities. What he was having trouble choosing from were the remaining five options.

(Void Star Pursuer) was the direct evolution for Void Distorter, a Universe Life Form that fed on universal radiation and Fixed Star energy. (Void Executioner) was more combat-focused and belonged to the upper-middle class of the Void Life system.

‘Magomado’ was a Void Lord that was recorded in history. It modified strong Void warriors through Void Energy and created special elite soldiers, which were called the [Magomado Blades). They were extremely strong.

[High Concentration Void Dragon Hybrid) should be the evolution path brought by the Void Dragon Pith that he had once consumed. Han Xiao was not very clear on the ultimate result of this evolution path. Could it be that the Void Dragon genes would take over his genes and turn him into a Void Dragon or some kind of mutant?

The last option (Saint-Galaxy Human Race] was one of the end points for the Galaxy Human Race evolution chain. The removal of Gene Limiter was very tempting; he would gain a ton of attributes from it.

However, compared to the Void Life options, which still had evolution potential, Han Xiao was not very tempted to choose this. Most of the evolution paths would remove his Gene Limiter at the end point, and the Void Life chain was no exception.

“Which one should I choose?” Han Xiao walked back and forth in hesitation.

As he was closer to Beyond Grade A, this might be his last Race Evolution chance before Beyond Grade A, so he was extremely cautious.

“In terms of combat capability increase, Saint

—Galaxy Human Race is the best, followed by Magomado Blade. In terms of potential, Void Star Pursuer is the best. Void Executioner is a balanced option between the two. As for High Concentration Void Dragon Hybrid, the subsequent evolutions of this chain shouldn’t be very suitable for me…”

After pondering for a while, Han Xiao once again decided to focus on potential. He hesitated between the Void Star Pursuer and Void Executioner.

The evolution direction of the Executioner would lead to Void Lord and Void Duke, while the Star Pursuer developed toward Void Precursor and Void Archangel. Both had their specialties.

“Racial Talents have minimal effects on my combat capability. Choosing something with better long-term potential is more suitable for me…”

Han Xiao took a deep breath and made his decision.

Selection complete.

Undergoing Race Evolution… Evolution complete.

Your race has been changed to: (Void Star Pursuer (Human Form)]. Your molecular structure has been improved, organ structure strengthened, metabolism changed, and adaptability enhanced.

Your potential aptitude has been improved!

You have received bonus attributes: +154 Strength, +179 Dexterity, +323 Endurance, +188 Intelligence, +120 Mystery, +70 Charisma, +3760 Energy. Energy Level bonus attributes have been changed!

Han Xiao’s senses exploded!

As if his soul left his body, his mind slowly ascended while his body descended. It was like his body and soul were separated, but in reality, they were more tightly connected than before.

His senses seemed to have extended indefinitely, exceeding this Star System, this Star Cluster, and this Star Field. It was as if he saw the entire universe in an instant.

Although this was just an illusion, it was almost real, and it made him experience extremely high dimensional vision for an instant.

The next moment, Han Xiao’s senses were pulled right back to his body.

In extreme pain, his body structure was quickly changing. Through the changes, Han Xiao’s senses became more and more sensitive. He even gained a few more senses and could ‘see’ the world in more ways than before.

Although everything before him remained unchanged, they felt completely different in his senses.

Whoosh!

Finally, the pain retreated. Han Xiao took a deep breath. The air he exhaled consisted of extremely tiny energy crystals flashing in a dim blue-gray light.

The moment the Race Evolution finished, Han Xiao took out a mirror immediately and checked if anything weird had grown out of his body.

Hair… still dense.

Face… still familiarly handsome.

Body… hmm, great.

Tail… nonexistent, fortunately.

Han Xiao nodded with satisfaction. Although he was human no more, he still hoped that he looked like one out of aesthetic reasons.

After checking himself from head to toe thoroughly three more times, Han Xiao then opened the interface again and spent the rest of his Experience on leveling up.

After his Promotion, the Experience needed to level up increased by a considerable amount once again. He only leveled up once.

As a Universe Life Form, the Star Pursuer had an extremely strong physique, so he gained plenty of bonus attributes from this Race Evolution.

He opened the interface and looked at his own attributes.

Level: 221

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Void Star Pursuer (Human Form)

Attributes: 810 Strength, 1316 Dexterity, 1658 Endurance, 3455 Intelligence, 654 Mystery, 284 Charisma, 1 Luck

Free Attribute Points: 24

Potential Points: 15

Health: 456,060

Stamina: 382,120

Energy: 35,530 (Level13]

(Level13 Energy bonus attributes: +279 Strength, +374 Dexterity, +466 Endurance, +544 Intelligence, +308 Mystery, +50,520 Maximum Stamina, +467% Machinery Affinity (Super Electromagnetic Sense)]

Energy Rank: 29,277

Grade: A+

Grade A Bonuses: +15 Endurance, +12 All Resistances. +15% Highest Attribute , +8% Other Attributes, +80 Free Attribute Points, +10 Potential Points

Remark: Hello, Tank; bye, Tank.

This amount of health points was nauseating to look at even for himself.

Other than the bonus attributes from the Race Evolution, he also gained a few hundred attributes from the Level13 Energy Rank after his energy surpassed 30,000.

The effects of this Promotion were considerable. He was once again closer to a Beyond Grade A.

After not experiencing the satisfaction of increased strength for seven whole years, Han Xiao only had one feeling.

Awesome!

He entered his mental territory to take a look at the Soul Embryo. Its growth had decreased from nine percent to less than one percent!

“Solid, how very solid.” Han Xiao chuckled.

You want to be born, sub-personality? Your only ending is miscarriage!

After checking through his attributes, Han Xiao looked at the new Racial Talents that he had gained after the Race Evolution.

Chapter 736 - Plans of Expansion

Void Star Pursuer was the most direct path of evolution. Some of his old talents were kept and others were strengthened.

For example, (Advanced Void Travel] was changed to [Void Dimension Jump), and it was no longer a short-ranged blink skill.

Void Star Pursuer was a Void life form and could travel through space without relying on any equipment. It was able to distort the Void Dimension through its abilities and alter spacetime. As such, a Void Star Pursuer was able to remain in the Void Dimension for a very long time, and this skill was like a divine skill for escaping.

(Void Distortion) was changed to (Strengthened Void Distortion). Its strength increased and cooldown decreased.

(Void Molt) was strengthened slightly, but the name of the skill remained unchanged. (Void Ripple) had disappeared.

Of the four old talents, three were kept.

He had two new talents, which were the core abilities of a Void Star Pursuer.

[Radiation Absorption). The Void Star Pursuer was able to absorb radiation from the universe to strengthen its own body. This was a special ability of universe life forms.

The first use of this talent was to transform Han Xiao into a universe life form. He was now able to survive in the universe without the aid of any equipment and would be like a fish in water.

The second use of it was to allow his cells to absorb radiation in the universe and increase his attributes permanently. The actual effects of the skill had yet to be tested, and Han Xiao was not sure about its efficiency and if there was an upper limit.

No matter what, this is a new and stable growth path and also the talent with the greatest potential. The universe was filled with an endless supply of radiation, and it was akin to a buffet for him.

His other new talent was called (Cosmic Environmental Adaptation). The environment of the universe was extremely harsh and filled with radiation and nanoparticles. For a universe life form to survive in such a harsh environment, their bodies need to be extremely adaptable and have a high level of defense. For example, the Interstellar Beasts that Han Xiao had once killed had skin thick to the point it could make one despair.

This talent molded Han Xiao’s body into that of a universe life form and provided him with increased defense, physical resistance, and elemental resistance.

Han Xiao tested it a bit and realized that he was twice as tanky as before.

It could be said that this talent was most suitable for him to become a meat shield.

“The talents of a Void Star Pursuer lean toward support and defense. It is extremely well rounded and suited for my combat style.”

Han Xiao was very satisfied with the talents of the Void Star Pursuer.

After understanding the changes of his Promotion, Han Xiao had time to think about other problems.

Han Xiao had waited a full seven years for the level 220 promotion, and his strength had finally taken another step forward.

Han Xiao estimated that his Beyond Grade A barrier would be around level 240, and despite being happy about his promotion, he knew that this was only one of the obstacles that he had overcome. He still had a journey to complete.

After reaching level 220, the amount of experience he needed to level up had shot up again to a sky-high number. It would be difficult for a million players to support him.

After all, Skill Impartation and class knowledge was a one-off purchase, and the majority of the players had learned many different skills. Their expenditure would be lowered after the first round of purchases.

It was time for him to find a new plot of land to grow crops.

The new players from Version 3.0 were undeveloped shoots, and they had a huge thirst for knowledge and skills. This was a new market.

“Planet Aquamarine is already within my grasp, but there are a few more novice planets in the Shattered Star Ring that aren’t under my control yet…”

Han Xiao opened the star map and directed his attention to a novice planet called Planet Deirdre. It was located in the Gelock Star Cluster, and it would be the novice planet for all those who joined in Version 3.0 and the smurf accounts of the other players. This was like the opening of a new server to Han Xiao.

The new players who joined in Version 3.0 naturally would not have to go through as much suffering as the players who joined in Version 1.0. They will be able to connect to the galaxy immediately. Planet Deirdre was like a galactic interchange with many resource rich planets located around it. Many large financial groups were also situated in this location. To the new players, there would be plenty of missions for them to complete.

These players who were born outside the battlefield could choose to travel from afar to participate in the secret war or explore on their own and use the ample experience provided in Version 3.0 to catch up in terms of level. They also had a third option… to join another Main Storyline mission.

The Crimson Tide was the main theme of Version 3.0, and the secret war was one of the Main Storyline missions. There were various different events in the other Star Clusters as well. As for the players on Planet Deirdre, the large storyline that they would come in contact with was the Mercenary League storyline.

This organization was the one that the Sky Ring Army and other large mercenary groups had requested Han Xiao to set up and lead. They all felt strongly about the chaos in the Shattered Star Ring and thus gathered all the mercenary groups in the Shattered Star Ring to form a super-sized mercenary group called ‘Shattered Star Ring Mercenary League’ or just Mercenary League for short.

The Mercenary League had been set up for a few years already, and its effectiveness was extremely obvious. With all the mercenary groups working together, the Mercenary League expanded to cover a few different Star Clusters and accepted the hiring missions from a few hundred different civilizations.

Seven years ago, Han Xiao had participated in this Main Storyline mission. Although he did not pay close attention to the changes in the mercenary world, the Black Star Army was still one of the members in the Mercenary League’s council and a member of the upper echelons.

“There isn’t a need to worry about Planet Aquamarine. Planet Deirdre will also be easy to manage. I just need to expand the scope of the Black Star Army’s operations over.”

Planet Deirdre was located in the Gelock Star Cluster, which was outside the army’s scope of operations. However, with the status of the Black Star Army, it was extremely easy for them to open a sub-branch on Planet Deirdre.

He had built up the fame of the Black Star Army over three versions, and he had left a deep impression on the players. Thus, he definitely had a huge advantage in hiring new players.

There were plenty of people discussing the Black Star Army on the forums. Even a new player would be curious about the Black Star Army under such circumstances.

Han Xiao’s main objective of expanding the Black Star Army was so that he could harvest his crops more efficiently. There was not even a need for him to make a personal appearance for Planet Deirdre.

If he wanted to get to Beyond Grade A quickly, he needed to expand the size of his crops.

In his plans, recruiting the players of Planet Deirdre would be an important mission.

“The army can help me hire new players, and I can prepare for my advancement into Beyond Grade A…”

The shadow of the Tyrant was looming over him. Heber was his greatest obstacle. The moment he became a Beyond Grade A Super, he would have to face this powerful opponent in battle.

This was not as simple as dealing with a doppelganger of EsGod. He would have to face a true Beyond Grade A Super, and the pressure would be completely different!

I have to groom Hila while performing some worthwhile missions, Han Xiao thought to himself.

Because of the Soul Embryo, he had sufficient reason to temporarily pull out from the secret war and complete his own affairs in a low-profile manner.

He did not only have to level up but also needed to find a way to increase his combat capabilities. He needed to make enough preparations and obtain more talents before becoming a Beyond Grade A Super if he wanted to deal with the Tyrant.

Compared to others, this was his greatest advantage. He was able to obtain new talents and increase his strength. He would never face a bottleneck.

If only I could obtain a Universal Treasure… Han Xiao lamented.

He was truly envious of Psyker’s Evolution Cube, but it was a pity that he would not have the chance to borrow it. He also wanted to obtain a Universal Treasure that belonged solely to him.

In his previous life, the players had many records of Universal Treasures, and in the later versions, there were even players who had their own Universal Treasures. However, most of the Universal Treasures were still in unknown locations, and those Universal Treasures with known locations would be heavily guarded.

If he was able to easily obtain a Universal Treasure, Han Xiao would have long gone to get one.

In his memory, there were three famous Universal Treasures in the Shattered Star Ring. They were in the hands of the three Star Cluster civilizations. Psyker’s Evolution Cube was one of the Universal Treasures that he had heard of before but had very little information on.

Currently, Han Xiao only knew of a single Universal Treasure that he might be able to obtain.

It should still be lying silently in the ruins of a civilization.

Its location was in the Flickering World!

What a pity… It’s still too far out of my reach. Han Xiao felt a great pity.

At the very least, he would have to wait for the Crimson Dynasty to grasp control over the Flickering World and set up a stargate before he would have the chance to obtain that Universal Treasure. He would not even be able to reach the Flickering World currently.

Thus, he had no choice but to find more talents to increase his strength.

He would still have to think about the exact details of the plan. At this moment, Han Xiao only wanted to relax. He then opened the door of the cultivation chamber and returned to the cabin of the spaceship.

Hila was currently training bitterly in the real combat training room, and only Feidin and Aurora were present in the cabin. They were chatting away merrily like best friends. Upon hearing the approaching footsteps, both of them turned around to take a look.

“Chen Xing, Feidin let you out again?” Feidin’s actions were currently extremely lady-like, and it was obvious that Chen Xing was the one controlling the body.

Chen Xing snorted, and she did not wish to talk to Han Xiao. She returned the body back to Feidin, and the aura of her body changed greatly. Feidin regained control of his body and said, “She seemed to be very afraid of you.”

Han Xiao shook his head and said, “I’ve been meaning to ask. Since both of you are sharing a single body, does it mean that both of your biological needs are the same?”.

Feidin coughed awkwardly.

“Since both of you can be considered as one, does this mean that it is impossible for both of you to mate?”

Han Xiao laughed. Did this mean that they were forced into having platonic love?

“Must we talk about this? Can we talk about something else?” Feidin felt his head ache.

Aurora blinked and interrupted him. “I am actually pretty curious, too.”

Feidin was extremely sociable, and he was already very familiar with Aurora. It was mainly because Chen Xing really liked Aurora.

“Alright…” Feidin replied helplessly. “Both of us are Psychics. We can simulate our biological needs… cough, and organs. We can then use our mental bodies to mate.”

My goodness.

Isn’t this the same logic as having a wet dream?

Mating in their heads?

Is this the highest level of being a lecher?

Han Xiao had a weird expression on his face, and he pointed at Feidin.

“I never expected you to be a pervert.”

“Shut up!” Chen Xing hollered with her face flushed red before disappearing back into Feidin’s body.

Feidin then shook his head helplessly. “She is ignoring me now. I’m dead.”

So what if she ignores you. She is living in your body and won’t be able to run anywhere. In any case, both of you share the same appearance…

Aurora’s body was swaying from laughing too much, and she laughed to the point tears could be seen at the corner of her eyes. She then said, “Right, I sensed your life force strengthening greatly again.”

“You finally broke through your bottleneck?” Feidin’s eyes lit up, and he was overjoyed.

Black Star’s strength had remained stagnant over the past seven years, and he had finally made an advancement. It was definitely great news.

“You can say that.” Han Xiao nodded.

“That’s great. We still have hope if this is the case,” Feidin exclaimed with joy.

He had been extremely worried for Han Xiao ever since he heard Austin’s words. At this moment, he could not help but heave a sigh of relief.

Han Xiao then chatted with the two for a while before returning to his room.

Taking out his communicator, he sent the coordinates of Planet Deirdre to Sylvia and sent her to set up a new branch. For him to send her over to take care of this matter, Sylvia knew that this meant that Han Xiao placed a huge importance on this matter.

After thinking for a while, Han Xiao sent out a message to Bennett to check on the situation on Planet Aquamarine.

It has been ten years since he last returned.

Chapter 737 - Changes

On Aquamarine Federation Mother Planet, inside a classroom of the Basic School of the Federation, many seven to eight year old students were reading the textbook out loud with the teacher.

“… Galaxy Calendar Year 694, the movement that would then be called ‘The Great Government Unification’ occurred. Under Black Star’s influence, the structure of society changed drastically. The governments formally known as the Six Nations were replaced by the current Aquamarine Federation. This was the turning point of Planet Aquamarine’s civilization progress…

“Black Star, original name Han Xiao, born on Planet Aquamarine, former member of the Germinal Organization who later stepped onto the righteous path. He is now the protector of the Planet Aquamarine Civilization and has the highest veto power in the Federation Council. He guided the drastic civilization changes in the last twenty years, giving us the entrance ticket to galactic societies. Up till now, the Black Star Army is still working closely with the federation…”

A boy with freckles on his face raised his hand and asked, “Is Black Star still alive?”

The classroom burst into laughter.

“Of course, Nero. Black Star has a very long life span. Even after we all die of old age, he will still be alive.” The teacher smiled and nodded.

“I—I thought only those who passed away would be known as great men…” The student called Nero’s face blushed.

The teacher shook his head and said, “Black Star is a close confidant to the federation chairman, Bennett. That statue in the Central Garden was built by Bennett for Black Star. If you’re curious, you can log into the galactic internet and search for Black Star. There’s information accessible to the public there. He’s the strongest person that stepped out of Planet Aquamarine. He’s the pride of our entire planet.”

The lessons in the afternoon quickly ended, and the students headed back home. Nero followed the crowd and came to the school gate.

The school was located in the middle of a tall building. When looking around the wide square from the school gate, the entire city could be seen. Tall buildings stood next to each other like a fictional forest of metal, and anti-gravity suspended vehicles traveled along the planned routes.

In the past ten years, Planet Aquamarine had always been in continuous contact with galactic technology. Some common devices in the universe were gradually being integrated into the daily lives of the people. Planet Aquamarine had now built many cities with advanced technology. The styles of the cities were also gradually changing under the influence of galactic financial groups.

It was prospering.

Various private anti-gravity suspended vehicles waited outside the school for their children. Nero boarded one with no license, crossed the city, and entered the government building of the Aquamarine Federation.

Nero followed a secretary-looking man into an office, where Bennett was reading documents. Compared to ten years ago, he had more wrinkles and was gradually showing signs of aging. As he heard the sound and looked up to see Nero, he smiled.

“School ended? Sit down first. After I’m done with these, I’ll take you to eat.”

“Yes, Dad.” Nero put down his small school bag and sat on the sofa obediently. He shook his legs and looked around.

Ten years ago, with Han Xiao’s permission, Bennett had become the Aquamarine Federation Chairman and completed the unification of the governments on the planet. After the initial turbulent stages, Planet Aquamarine had begun its stable development while recovering from the damage suffered before.

As peace was perfectly achieved on his mother planet, Bennett’s goal was accomplished. As the federation chairman, he needed to form a family. Thus, he got married and had a child. He was a Pugilist, after all, so his physique was more than good enough to carry out the process of creating a human. Nero was his son.

“Dad, the teacher told us about Black Star’s story today,” Nero said excitedly.

“Oh? What did he say?” Bennett was rather interested.

Nero repeated what he could remember with his innocent voice and then asked curiously, “Dad, is Black Star your friend?”

Yes, I’ve known him for close to twenty years.” Bennett was feeling a little nostalgic.

“Is he really that amazing? More amazing than you, Dad?”

Nero’s eyes opened wide. In his mind, his father, the federation chairman, was the most amazing person in the world. “He’s much more amazing than me.” Bennett laughed.

Beep beep!

This time, the communicator rang.

As Bennett saw who was calling, he was a little surprised. He waved at Nero.

“Come here. Aren’t you very curious about Black Star? Come and look at him.”

After placing Nero on his knees, Bennett then picked up the video call. Han Xiao’s face appeared on the screen.

“It’s been a long time, almost ten years.” Bennett smiled.

“It sure has.” Han Xiao nodded. As he saw Nero, his eyes sparkled. “This child is…”

“Hmm, this is my kid, Nero.”

Bennett smiled and rubbed Nero’s head. “Come on, that’s your uncle.”

“Hello, Uncle,” Nero greeted obediently.

Han Xiao was surprised. “When did you get married? Why didn’t you tell me?”

You’re so busy. I didn’t want to disturb you for something so small.”

“What are you talking about? We go way back. How could you not even tell me about such good news? I’m very disappointed.” Han Xiao showed a dissatisfied expression.

Bennett chuckled and did not mind it.

Although he did not say anything, he knew that Han Xiao was on a different level compared to him now.

The daily matters of Planet Aquamarine were undoubtedly small matters to Han Xiao. Bennett did not want to disturb him for these trivial matters, so they contacted each other less and less.

“You’re the person in the textbooks…” Nero stared at Han Xiao with curiosity.

“Textbooks?” Han Xiao wondered.

Bennett smiled and explained.

Han Xiao laughed. He did not expect to be written about in history textbooks.

This feeling of being remembered by people… actually felt quite good.

After chatting for a while, Bennett suddenly said, “I’m thinking about letting Nero be your godson. What do you think?” Han Xiao was a little surprised. He nodded. With his relationship with Bennett, he was willing to be this kid’s godfather. Bennett patted Nero and said, “Quick, greet your godfather.”

“God… father.” Nero’s tone was a little stiff. To him, Han Xiao was a stranger whom he had never met before, so addressing him as ‘Godfather’ was rather difficult.

Bennett smiled and let go of Nero, telling him to go aside to play.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to ask about the situation on Planet Aquamarine,” Han Xiao replied.

Planet Aquamarine was one of the birthplaces of players that sent manpower to the Black Star Army continuously. It was equivalent to his logistics base and was very important to him.

Before opening new leek fields, he wanted to check the situation of the old one.

Bennett nodded and explained the current situation of Planet Aquamarine in detail.

Thanks to the Black Star Army, Planet Aquamarine was now shifting from a planet surface civilization to a galactic civilization and had been trying to colonize the nearby uninhabited planets.

A large number of new players had started in Version 3.0 on Planet Aquamarine and were recruited by the Black Star Army subdivision.

Overall, the situation was great.

Han Xiao was quite satisfied. “You’ve done a great job. You don’t have to worry about Planet Aquamarine anymore. Do you want to come to the galaxy?”

If he remembered correctly, Bennett had some longing for the universe, so Han Xiao proposed to invite him.

However, to his surprise, Bennett shook his head and rejected him.

“I have decided to stay in the Aquamarine Federation. The galaxy… I don’t want to go there anymore.”

“Why? I remember you were…”

“I have new wishes now. The Aquamarine Federation is still small. I hope to help it grow and devote the rest of my life to it.” Bennett smiled with deep wrinkles. “I’m old and have a family and a kid now. I don’t want to fight and kill anymore. I’m very satisfied with my current life.”

Upon hearing what Bennett said, Han Xiao did not want to persuade him anymore.

Everyone had different goals. Bennett had spent the first half of his life in wars and chaos, so now that he had found somewhere he belonged, he had a home where he could feel at peace. Han Xiao chose to respect that.

“Understood.”

“Actually, I have one more thing to ask from you,” Bennett said.

“What is it?”

“I’m still very worried about Nero. He has a very bright future and shouldn’t be staying here with me. After I pass away, I hope you can bring him along your side, take care of him, and raise him.” Bennett’s eyes were filled with fatherly love.

“What? Why are you planning these things out of nowhere?” Han Xiao felt numbness on his scalp.

“After all, I’m different from you. My life span is finite, and I don’t know when I will die. So, I wanted to tell you this as early as possible.” Bennett smiled wholeheartedly. “Can you promise me that?”

“No problem, I have enough money to raise one person.” Han Xiao raised his brows and made a joke to ease the atmosphere. “After you die, do you want me to ‘take care’ of your widow as well?”

Bennett’s mouth twitched. “No need to trouble you for that.”

After chatting casually for more than half an hour, only then did Han Xiao end the call. His smile dissipated, and he sighed.

Not everyone had a long life span like him.

Getting old and dying was the common fate of normal people.

Bennett was getting older. Sooner or later, he would pass away.

No matter what, he did feel quite sorrowful.

Nonetheless, even if he passed away one day, the cause that he loved and had devoted his life to would remain.

“The Aquamarine Federation…”

Han Xiao nodded.

With his protection, the Planet Aquamarine Civilization would go much, much farther than it did in his previous life…

With the popularity of the previous two versions, Version 3.0 became an exploding period for new players. According to statistics, there were more than ten million new players entering the game currently, and it was still growing.

Due to the fact that China had won the championship of the previous Pro League, the Shattered Star Ring attracted the most players. In just three months after Version 3.0 was released, there were already close to two million new players.

Half a month later, in the Gelock Star Cluster, Planet Deirdre…

The public airport hall had become a square for the players. Some opened stores, some asked to team up, and some provided boosting services. All sorts of players were gathered there.

It was noisy and crowded. The wall was transparent. The entire Planet Deirdre surface could be seen from there as well as the beautiful sky filled with stars.

As a galactic transit station, there were a lot of job opportunities on Planet Deirdre. Over the three months, the million or so new players had leveled up extremely quickly because of the Version 3.0 mission reward standard. Their level average was now above level 30, and some had already reached more than level 40.

Unlike the Version 1.0 Planet Aquamarine players, the players on Planet Deirdre became galactic residents as soon as they were born. Their information channels were rich, and they could search for galactic information easily.

After exploring for three months, the Planet Deirdre players found many ways to develop themselves.

At this time, among the boisterous public airport hall, there was one team that was discussing their future direction.

“We should join the Odegen Financial Group and help them fight the nearby galactic pirate groups. This is a planet’s main storyline. It’s definitely the best choice.”

“What kind of future can joining a financial group give? It’s better to become freelance mercenaries. Those senior player guides on the forums all say that becoming a mercenary is the best.”

“I’ve done the research. The biggest mercenary group in the Shattered Star Ring now is the Mercenary League. I heard some people triggered new main storylines there. If we’re going to be mercenaries, we have to join this organization.”

“Then we might as well go to Colton and join the Black Star Army to participate in the secret war main storyline.”

“The Black Star Army is good indeed, but flights between Star Clusters are rather expensive.”

“I don’t think we should go there. We have new main storyline missions here. There’s no reason to travel there.”

“How about we do something challenging? Killing and crimes are always profitable. Let’s become galactic pirates…”

“Hehe, you think we can afford a spaceship?”

“Are you stupid? Since we’re going to become galactic pirates, we can rob one if we can’t afford it.”

This player team discussed the matter for some time when they suddenly realized that the noisy environment around them had suddenly become quiet.

They turned around with shock.

In the entire hall, be it players or NPCs, everyone was looking up with their mouths wide open and their faces filled with shock.

What’s going on?

This player team looked up as well. When they saw what was outside the transparent ceiling, their eyes widened immediately.

An enormous armed satellite fortress appeared out of nowhere and filled the entire field outside the transparent ceiling. The size of this public airport was not even one twentieth of this armed satellite fortress!

Thousands of battleships guarded the satellite as it slowly approached, stopping in the outer orbit of Planet Deirdre.

The armor of these battleships all had the same symbol. For those players that often visited the forums, they recognized the symbol immediately.

It was the insignia of the Black Star Army!

The Black Star Army had moved an entire satellite subdivision there!

The million or so new players in the airport were in disbelief and at a loss.

Isn’t the Black Star Army fighting a war in another Star Cluster? Why are they here?

Chapter 738 - Purple Crystal“s Thoughts

The Black Star Army was already a famous organization in the Shattered Star Ring, and the sudden appearance of a satellite base caused a huge commotion on Planet Deirdre.

The Gelock Star Cluster had nothing to do with the secret war. The various financial groups located on Planet Deirdre and new players were extremely puzzled about the intentions of the Black Star Army.

A couple of battleships then left the dock and welcomed the arrival of the Black Star Army satellite base with caution.

The various financial groups immediately sent out a communication request, and they all wanted to talk to the commander of the fleet.

Very quickly, their requests were approved, and all the financial groups were pulled into a conference chat. Sylvia’s appearance then appeared on all their communicators.

It’s her! Black Star’s Chief Administrative Official!

As one of the important officers of the Black Star Army, Sylvia’s fame was not low, and many financial groups recognized her. Seeing such an important figure leading the group, they could not help but feel uneasy and felt that the Black Star Army was scheming in some way.

“I am Sylvia, the commander of this fleet.” Sylvia nodded and introduced herself.

“Why did you descend without informing us? Are you planning to go against the rules of the merchant world and snatch the business on Planet Deirdre?” one of the financial groups who seemed to be the leader of the group asked with an unfriendly tone.

The Odegen Financial Group was one of the largest financial groups on Planet Deirdre, and the one speaking was the person in charge, Carver.

The others shared the same thoughts as Carver. Planet Deirdre was like a treasure bowl to them, and they did not wish for others to snatch a piece of the pie from them.

Sylvia smiled and said, “Please do not misunderstand anything. Although our Black Star Army is an armed organization, we will not use force to coerce any legal financial groups. Furthermore, your operations on Planet Deirdre do not attract us in the slightest. All of you can be at ease.”

Hearing that, the faces of Carver and the others became unnatural. They treated Planet Deirdre as a treasure bowl, but the benefits from the planet were no more than peanuts to the Black Star Army. Sylvia had very obviously stated that they were not even interested in the little benefits of the planet, and this made Carver slightly embarrassed.

“Then, what is the purpose of your visit?” Carver asked with doubt. “You’ve even shifted an entire satellite base over. If I don’t remember incorrectly, the Gelock Star Cluster isn’t part of the secret war.”

Sylvia cleared her throat and said in a loud voice, “As an important member of the Mercenary League, our Black Star Army has decided to expand our mercenary operations toward the Gelock Star Cluster. Planet Deirdre is the planet that we have chosen to set up a branch on. We will take over the mercenary operations in this entire region, and all of you can treat us as an agency for the Mercenary League. If any of you need manpower in the future, you can make an application with us.”

The eyes of Carver and the others lit up. If the Black Star Army did not interfere in their operations on Planet Deirdre and only expanded their mercenary operations, there would only be benefits for them.

If a reliable mercenary group was set up on Planet Deirdre, the security of the region would be improved, and more people would be attracted to the planet.

Furthermore, with the Black Star Army around, they would not have to find other insignificant mercenary groups, and their safety would be ensured.

Currently, the Mercenary League was on their way to monopolizing the entire mercenary world in the Shattered Star Ring, and Carver felt that the Black Star Army was only expanding the operations of the Mercenary League as one of their members.

“We understand. We don’t have any opinions.” Carver was no longer as wary as before.

Sylvia then continued. “Very good. I have something to request. I hope that all those present here will make use of your influence to announce the news of our Black Star Army setting up a branch in this place. We will be able to open up this market very quickly with all of your help.”

As an organization that came from the outside, even if the Black Star Army was a huge conglomerate, Sylvia would still ease up their relationship with the local organizations. This would help to make their operations more efficient.

Carver began to hesitate upon hearing that.

At this moment, Sylvia added, “Of course, we will provide all of you with a discount should any of you need mercenaries in the future.”

“Don’t worry. We will definitely help you with the announcement.” Carver immediately agreed without hesitation.

Everyone on Planet Deirdre could see the gigantic satellite fortress floating outside the atmosphere of their planet whenever they lifted their head.

Just as everyone was filled with fear over the appearance of the satellite fortress, the financial groups made a public announcement that the Black Star Army had gone to Planet Deirdre with friendly intentions and had a cooperative relationship with the different financial groups.

The moment the announcement was made, everyone heaved a sigh of relief and was overjoyed.

The security situation in the galactic transit station was truly a problem, and the Black Star Army might be able to improve this situation.

Of course, not everyone welcomed the Black Star Army. For example, some small mercenary groups on Planet Deirdre felt immense pressure.

They all knew that their lives in the future would not be good, and all the mercenary missions would be snatched up by the Black Star Army.

However, the Black Star Army quickly released news that they were recruiting manpower and gave priority to the local mercenaries.

An endless stream of individuals immediately responded, especially the players located on Planet Deirdre.

The Black Star Army was a hot topic of discussion on the forums, and even the new players had a certain degree of understanding toward the benefits, storyline, and events of the Black Star Army.

The Black Star Army had already accompanied the players for two whole versions. With the players adding on their imagination and the legends of the Black Star Army becoming a part of the Galaxy Chronicles, many of the new players naturally felt a sense of belonging toward the Black Star Army.

In the eyes of many new players, the Black Star Army was like a player army in the Shattered Star Ring.

Because of their location, many of them did not wish to travel all the way to the Colton Star Cluster. Since the Black Star Army had expanded to the Gelock Star Cluster, most of the players no longer hesitated and joined.

The players who were hesitating were mainly concerned about the Main Storyline mission. The way they saw it, they would have to participate in the secret war storyline if they chose to join the Black Star Army. However, they did not wish to give up the freedom to explore other storylines.

However, after listening to the explanation of the other players who had joined the army, they realized that they were completely wrong. They needed to file for an application if they wanted to join the secret war. If they were not willing to join the secret war, the army would not force them, and they could choose not to trigger that storyline.

The players who did not join the war would be ordinary mercenaries in the Black Star Army, and they can choose the missions that they wanted to do while enjoying the benefits of the army.

Furthermore, they were surprised to realize that the Black Star Army was an upper echelon of the Mercenary League. They would be able to trigger the Main Storyline mission of the Mercenary League as well, so joining the Black Star Army was akin to giving them the choice between two Main Storyline missions.

There were some other players who wanted to participate in the Main Storyline mission on Planet Deirdre—helping the Odegen Financial Group chase away galactic pirates in the vicinity.

However, they were shocked to realize that the Odegen Financial Group had actually cancelled this mission. The Main Storyline mission of Planet Deirdre had mysteriously disappeared!

After asking around, the players finally understood what had happened. After all the galactic pirates in the vicinity of Planet Deirdre caught wind of the Black Star Army’s arrival, they immediately abandoned all their bases and escaped.

These galactic pirates were all frightened away by the Black Star Army!

There was not a need to even hesitate.

In just three days, over ninety percent of the players on Planet Deirdre had chosen to join the Black Star Army.

The benefits of the Black Star Army were truly too alluring to the new players. Not only was there a large amount of equipment and tools, they also had a full set of basic and advanced knowledge. There was no need for them to farm for NPC favorability all around to learn that knowledge.

The current level and needs of the players were akin to the players in Version 1.0, but they could enjoy the benefits of Version 3.0. This was an irresistible temptation that the players could not reject.

As Sylvia recruited the players on Planet Deirdre, Han Xiao’s interface received all the benefits.

The first thing all those new players did was learn knowledge.

He had the reward from the [Bloodline] mission, a Political Asset, and received a thirty percent bonus for experience. His experience pool, which had dried up, was very quickly replenished, and he had sufficient experience to level up once again.

After expanding his crops, the speed of harvesting experience had increased greatly. According to this efficiency, level 240 was not too far away.

The players in the army could be split into two different groups. The first were those who had reached Grade B and the second were the new players who had an average level of 20 to 30.

While the spending power of the new players could not match the old players, they had a huge hidden demand. Han Xiao decided to allow them to remain on Planet Deirdre and not force them to participate in the secret war. With their current strength, completing recruitment missions might be more efficient than participating in the secret war.

The Mercenary League’s Main Storyline mission would be more suitable for those newbies.

Han Xiao then thought to himself, The player market has doubled, and all these new players will have to learn all the various knowledge from scratch. However, their levels are still low, so I must groom them slowly.

Class Knowledge was a necessity, and the new players would have to learn them eventually. He was not in a rush at all. Ring ring!

His communicator suddenly rang; it was Ralph.

“Black Star, I heard that you set up a branch in the Gelock Star Cluster,” Ralph inquired.

You sure receive news very quickly. Do you have any issues?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Cough cough, I am only asking out of curiosity.” Ralph coughed dryly.

In truth, Purple Crystal hoped that the Black Star Army would always remain in Colton and did not wish for them to expand outward. However, this was not the time to talk about this.

Han Xiao then asked, “Why have you called?”

Ralph’s expression then turned solemn, and he said, “It’s like this. We received news that the Crimson Dynasty and Federation of Light have come to an initial agreement. We do not have much time left and must speed up our progress.”

The negotiations are about to be over?

The secret war would be over when the Crimson Dynasty and Federation of Light completed their negotiations. It was no wonder that Purple Crystal was feeling anxious.

“What is the reaction of Bloodshed Land?”

“They have become more active and sent out all their high-level combatants,” Ralph said. “Without your presence to suppress them, we have suffered quite a huge loss.”

Han Xiao immediately understood what was going on. Jorde had been misled by him, resulting in such a situation.

“We urgently need you to return to the battlefield. We are planning to launch another large-scale mission. Black Star, we need you to…”

At this moment, Han Xiao interrupted him. “I am sorry. I do not wish to participate in the upcoming mission.”

Ralph was stunned. Black Star was an important part of their strategy. If Han Xiao did not want to go, would that not disrupt their entire strategy?

Han Xiao thought for a moment and said, “You should know that regardless of the outcome, Heber definitely won’t let me off.”

Ralph fell silent. Purple Crystal did indeed know about this but did not inform Han Xiao about it. It was not that they did not care about Han Xiao’s life and death. However, the upper echelons were extremely pragmatic and would make use of Han Xiao as much as they could.

Seven years ago, Purple Crystal had recognized Han Xiao’s potential and begun to invest in him. However, seven years had gone by, and the upper echelons of Purple Crystal no longer thought that much of his potential after witnessing his growth stagnate.

Although they still placed great importance on him, the thoughts of the upper echelons had changed, and they no longer felt that Han Xiao would become a Beyond Grade A Super.

Purple Crystal would not allow the Tyrant to take revenge on one of their meritorious subjects, but the upper echelons had their own considerations. Although the chances of Black Star becoming a Beyond Grade A Super had been lowered, he was still a peak Calamity Grade Super, and there was still value in roping him in. Thus, they wished for Black Star to seek protection from them when the Tyrant took action. This would improve the relationship between both parties and would be extremely beneficial to the upper echelons.

As for the safety of Black Star, Purple Crystal was not too worried. Black Star had the Dragon Emperor behind him, and their presence was like the icing on the cake. They might also have a chance to form a relationship with Ames because of it.

Han Xiao was not too bothered by this. Both parties were only working together for their respective benefits, and Purple Crystal did not owe him anything. He slowly said, “Thus, I have to think of a way to break past the Calamity Grade bottleneck in this remaining time.”

“I understand.”

Since Han Xiao had laid his cards out openly, Ralph did not force the matter.

As for the situation in the secret war, Ralph understood it extremely clearly. Purple Crystal knew that they would not be able to chase out all the enemies and would probably lose a portion of their territory near the border. Their retaliation was only an attempt to reduce their losses.

Under such circumstances, Han Xiao’s refusal to participate in the war was something that Purple Crystal could accept.

Black Star probably knows this as well and thus made such a request… Ralph thought to himself and felt that Black Star was only finding an excuse.

After remaining stagnant for a full seven years, he did not think that Han Xiao would be able to make a breakthrough in the near future.

However, there was no need for him to spell things out so clearly.

“I will convey your message to the upper echelons,” Ralph said. “However, you can choose to be absent, but your Black Star Army must still participate.”

“Naturally.”

Han Xiao then heaved a sigh of relief after hanging up.

Purple Crystal and Bloodshed Land temporarily would not bother him, and he would be able to pull out of the secret war and find some talents to prepare for Beyond Grade A.

Chapter 739 - Guests

Molding Talents were something that could not be obtained easily, and Han Xiao had obtained all his Molding Talents through abnormal means.

Although the [Prey] mission was a good chance to obtain a talent, he had not triggered the next phase of the mission after such a long time. He almost thought that Thousand Shadows had given up on him. However, the mission had not ended, so Han Xiao did not know what was going on. Thus, he naturally could not count on it.

There were many different missions for him to obtain talents in his memories, but the rewards were usually ordinary talents. There were not many rare talents, and Han Xiao had to consider which missions he should do.

He first struck out all the missions outside of the Shattered Star Ring.

Some talents did not really increase his combat capabilities and would only waste his time. He also eliminated those.

After striking out all the missions that he deemed unsuitable, Han Xiao picked a few more valuable missions.

Although the talents from those missions would not be able to cause his combat capability to have an earth-shattering change, it would still increase his combat capability to a certain extent.

I will probably need a few months to complete these missions… The war won’t be over so soon, so I should have enough time…

He was currently level 221 and would need to complete a Class Advancement at level 225. He had saved a few Mission Completion Cards during the version update period, and he still had a few leftovers after using one at level 220. Thus, he was only lacking experience points.

The amount of experience needed after level 220 increased exponentially, but with his two plots of crops, he would only need a few months to accumulate enough experience.

He could complete some missions while waiting for his experience to accumulate.

Han Xiao then called Hila, Aurora, and Feidin over to explain his plans to them.

“Right.” Han Xiao suddenly thought about something and said to Aurora, “Help me create some recovery medicine. I want to give them to the high-level officers of the army. It should be able to save their lives during a critical moment.”

The Bloodshed Land had begun to go all out. In order to prevent the upper echelons of the army from getting injured, he wanted to provide them with some protection. Aurora’s life force medicine had a divine effect and was akin to a second life.

Aurora was able to freely control her Esper abilities already, and creating medicine would not cause too much exhaustion.

“No problem!”

Aurora was extremely excited. I can finally be of some help!

Hila originally wanted to persuade her otherwise, but upon seeing Aurora’s excited appearance, she chose to remain silent.

Since it was Han Xiao’s request and was not too difficult, she decided to just let Aurora do as she wished. She had personally witnessed Aurora’s growth, and she was no longer as overprotective as before.

Han Xiao spent a day settling all that he needed to before taking the three on his journey to farm for talents.

Three black, curved spaceships exited the desolate universe belt and entered the Shattered Star Ring from some deserted region.

In the cabin of the leading spaceship, Colin looked out of the window and spat out a rotten fruit from his mouth. His mouth was filled with purple juice from the fruit.

“After almost six years of flying, we are finally here.”

As he said that, he slapped the defrost button on the spaceship.

Psh…

A few dozen low temperature life sustaining chambers began to defrost, and the doors to those chambers opened. Cold air filled the entire spaceship, and many people of different heights and races walked out of the chambers.

“We slept for three years?”

“Is it time to change shift, or have we reached?”

Those fellows who had just woken up from their sleep put on their clothes and walked toward the cockpit.

Upon hearing the sound of footsteps, Colin pointed to the star map without turning back. “We have arrived in the Shattered Star Ring. All of you adjust your bodies quickly so that we don’t delay the mission of our boss.”

“Don’t worry, I just need to suck some blood to recover,” a tall, skinny man said while licking his lips.

“Baron Orozen, don’t blame me for throwing you out of the spaceship if you dare touch my subordinates.”

“Why should I listen to you?” the pale-faced Orozen sneered coldly.

“Because I am the captain His Excellency EsGod appointed. Or do you want to fight?” Colin glared ferociously.

Orozen chuckled eerily before shrugging his shoulders to show that he would submit.

Colin then snorted and said, “You’d better behave in a low-profile manner. I remember that you were a fugitive who escaped from the Shattered Star Ring. I don’t what your stupidity from the past to expose our location before the completion of the mission.”

“That bounty was over sixty years ago. It may have been removed already,” Orozen replied indifferently.

Everyone present on those three spaceships were members of Fallen Ark and were wanted criminals from different Star Fields. They had all been sent out to complete a mission in the Shattered Star Ring.

Colin had the nickname ‘Corrosive Poison’ and was the captain of this team. He had once spread a plaque in many different colonial planets in the Ancient Star Desert, which had resulted in the death of over three billion people. He was a wanted criminal of twenty-three Star System civilizations and two Star Cluster civilizations. He had then joined Fallen Ark and followed EsGod.

Orozen had the nickname ‘Baron’ and belonged to the blood race. He was another Grade A Super in the team and had hunted in many different Star Fields. He was an extremely ferocious character and was a wanted criminal in five different Star Fields.

Especially the Shattered Star Ring.

He had once eaten a high-level official during the ceremony of a Star System civilization in front of the entire Star System. That incident had caused a huge commotion, and he had joined EsGod after escaping from the Shattered Star Ring.

This group of individuals had set off six years ago and had only just reached the Shattered Star Ring. As wanted criminals, they would not dare to openly use stargates and spent most of their time in the desolate universe belt.

These three ‘Light Marten’ spaceships were equipped with top grade hyperdrive engines and were created specifically for travel between Star Fields. The ship’s highest speed was level 17.89 warp speed. If it travelled within a Star Field at top speed, it would be able to travel from one Star System to another within minutes.

Although the lowest grade among the group was a Grade B Super, they needed to rest in a life sustaining chamber in order to endure the load from travelling at warp speed.

This small team was only able to travel through various Star Fields to arrive at the Shattered Star Ring by relying on a warp speed engine.

One of his subordinates then asked, “Captain, which mission shall we complete first?”

They had two different missions in the Shattered Star Ring.

“Are you an idiot? Of course we’ll take care of the easier one first!” Colin replied impatiently. He then opened a file on the holographic screen.

There was information about two individuals in the file, Harrofal and Han Xiao.

They were the two of joint hands to deal with EsGod.

“Harrofal, Grade A Super in the Tyla Civilization, vice principal of the Tyla Mechanic School. He is a researcher.

“Black Star, Han Xiao. The leader of the Black Star Army and ally of Purple Crystal. A Beyond Grade A seed… Eh? This fellow’s battle record had been updated again. He is a powerful individual and is said to be one of the top fighters among the Calamity Grade Supers in the Shattered Star Ring.”

Orozen smiled calmly upon hearing those words. “Black Star? I never heard of such a character when I was in the Shattered Star Ring. He is no more than a newbie who only appeared recently.

“The Shattered Star Ring is only a remote Star Field,” Colin said emotionlessly. “The strength of the Supers in this place cannot be compared to the three Star Fields in the Central Galaxy.”

Colin and the others who usually spent their time in the Central Galaxy looked down on the Supers from a remote Star Field like the Shattered Star Ring. As the most ferocious criminals in the galaxy, they were all used to being arrogant, and they did not even place some Beyond Grade A Supers in their sights.

Since seven years ago, EsGod had been muttering about trees every day. They all felt that EsGod’s mental illness must have become worse for him to send them to the Shattered Star Ring to find the coordinates of some wormhole.

“Harrofal will have the data that we want, so he is the key target,” Colin said. “If we can get the data successfully, we won’t have to find Black Star. After all, Harrofal is much easier to deal with than Black Star.”

Everyone nodded.

“We can then steal the Evolution Cube after completing our first mission.”

Chapter 740 - Swaggering through the Novice Village

After a few days of travelling, the Blacklight Stealth arrived at the spot reserved for it at their destination.

The view from inside the porthole showed a planet with green vegetation and yellow earth. Blue oceans could be seen on the planet’s surface, but the yellow earth made up the majority.

Aurora stared at the planet curiously.

“Phillip, what sort of planet is this?”

“Database search, hum… Search complete.

“Planet Nalun, sitting in the Star Zone 6 of the Colton Star Cluster in the Shattered Star Ring, the planet’s number is S-0706812. It was discovered and recorded by the Galute Civilization. There are signs of civilization within, but they are considered fairly backward, yet to have developed interstellar technology. Observation priority is rated as four, hum …”

Planet Nalun consisted of an indigenous civilization, but their level of science and technology was still quite ancient, without aircraft mounted nuclear cannons, far from the stage of space exploration.

“Why did Han Xiao bring us here then?” Aurora wondered.

“He definitely has his reasons. Just ask him when you see him.” Feidin smiled.

At this moment, Han Xiao was not aboard the ship. While the trio were seated in the spaceship, he was streaking through the universe with just his flesh in order to be exposed to the cosmic radiation. This was to obtain attributes through the Void Star Pursuer’s talent [Radiation Absorption]. As a result, his travelling speed was slower than theirs.

The spaceship was suspended above Planet Nalun, and before long, the void beside it started to twist and warp. Han Xiao jumped out from the void dimension. He yawned and quickly opened the hatch to fly into the cabin.

Whoosh!

Jumping into the cabin, Han Xiao exhaled a stream of hot air.

The moment he got out of the vacuum environment, his body started to emit white smoke as though he was being cooked.

Because the cells in his body were continuously digesting the cosmic radiation from the universe, his body was like a burning furnace. The surface of his skin was hot enough to even fry eggs.

Opening his interface to take a look, Han Xiao was pretty satisfied.

This is indeed a mid to high levelled evolutionary species. Its talent shows good growth, and as long as enough time is accumulated, the bonus will be considerable.

After some practical tests, Han Xiao understood how the mechanism of [Radiation Absorption] worked.

After evolving into a Void Star Pursuer, his body cells had transformed, and now he possessed the ability to absorb cosmic radiation. If his physical body was exposed to outer space for a period of time, it would trigger [Radiation Absorption], which would permanently increase his Strength, ^ility, or Endurance by one to three points or increase his energy capacity by five to ten points.

If [Radiation Absorption] was used continuously, the effect would be weakened, and one would need to expose themselves in outer space for a longer period of time before they received the increased attributes.

However, if it was not triggered for a day, the time needed to expose oneself to trigger the effect would also return to the initial state.

This absorption process could be dismantled into three steps—absorption, storage, and digestion. Since cells are not bottomless and only had limited storage and digestion capabilities, this situation occurred.

This was a racial talent that would allow one to obtain considerable benefits just through the accumulation of time. It could be strengthened on the go and would definitely be worth the time. [Radiation Absorption] was the talent that Han Xiao was the most satisfied with at this time.

At this point, the total bonus attributes accumulated by the talent consisted of sixteen Strength, thirteen Dexterity, twenty-one Endurance, and sixty-eight Energy, as well as a huge boost to his attack.

Returning to the cockpit, Han Xiao greeted the three of them.

“You guys have waited a long time. We can start now.”

“Why did we come over to this planet?” Aurora asked.

“To be Samaritans.”

Han Xiao only smiled and switched to manual mode, turning the spaceship into stealth mode as they entered the atmosphere of Planet Nalun and slowly descended.

This was the first stop that he had chosen. Planet Nalun had three huge continental land plates, but only one of them hosted a civilization. The other two continents had yet to be discovered by the locals. Even their maritime era had not yet started, let alone venturing into the universe.

Other than the Galute Civilization, which discovered Planet Nalun, he should be the second visitor to grace this planet.

This civilization pursued the path of magic, with several kingdoms ruling over the continent. They followed the old aristocratic method of kings and lords, conquering other kingdoms for land. One of the biggest kingdoms was the Ocean Boundary Kingdom.

Ocean Boundary Kingdom.

In his previous life, the players had discovered a profession mission, which could benefit Han Xiao.

The spaceship descended to an altitude of around one kilometer above sea level in its stealth mode, sweeping across the ground under the control of Han Xiao. From their point, towns built out of stones and bricks flashed by.

The Planet Nalun’s local civilization did not possess the ability to discover interstellar spaceships.

Very quickly, the spaceship circled the entire planet once, completing its scan. Phillip created a map of the entire planet.

Hu!

The trees swayed as the spaceship landed amid a dense forest within a mountain range.

The four of them disembarked while keeping the spaceship in a stealth state, in case it was spotted by the locals. Taking out his newly created map, Han Xiao swept his eyes over it before explaining,

“Our destination is nearby. This area belongs to the Ocean Boundary Kingdom. We’re heading to an area called Stone Heart City. Let me see… oh, it’s that city.”

Pointing into the distance, Hila, Aurora, and Feidin looked to where Han Xiao had pointed.

They saw that, on the edge of the mountain, was a city built on one of the hills, with the gray stone of the surroundings as the main color of the city.

“Follow by my side and keep a low profile. None of you shall make a move,” Han Xiao instructed.

Because Grade A Supers were a top tier combat power in the universe, they had a crushing power when facing a surface civilization. None of them could be defeated on Planet Nalun, and if they were not careful, an entire city could be wiped out instead.

In order to perform his mission, Han Xiao required everyone to stay low-profile, at least on the surface to integrate into this segment.

While they did not understand the intentions of Han Xiao, Hila and the rest nodded in response.

“Phillip, imitate the appearance of the Naluners.”

A few mechanical orbs rose up, directing blue rays of light toward the four of them.

A matrix of data flashed across, and a simple simulated illusion was quickly generated on the four humans, turning them into Naluners. The body structure of the locals was similar to that of a human, albeit with darker, rougher skin and a lot of wrinkles.

After adjusting the translator channel, Han Xiao took the three alongside the mountain path toward Stone Heart City.

The afternoon sun shone lazily down.

The four of them moved extremely quickly and soon came to the scattered villages and towns outside the city. The area was undergoing plowing, and farmers were in twos or threes, working hard in the field. The air was filled with the stink of some sort of monster feces.

Having gotten used to the magnificent scenery of the universe, the group of them rather appreciated the primitive scenery of this surface civilization. It had a different flavor to it, as every Universal Civilization had once experienced such a period. The fires of civilization were weak at the beginning, and it was because they were cared for generation after generation that they finally blazed up to the universe level.

Being involved in war within the universe daily, only seeing battleships and armor, it was refreshing to suddenly come over to such a backward civilization to roam around.

There was no need to care about any enemies there. They could walk as they liked.

“The environment here is not bad. There’s no air pollution.” Han Xiao took a deep breath before shaking his head. “Even the smell of sh*t here is so fresh…”

“I’m getting the feeling that you’re becoming more perverted,” Feidin said honestly.

“No, no, in this regard, you’re still much better.”

The few of them idly chatted all the way to the entrance of Stone Heart City. The guards could not see through the camouflage of interstellar technology, which allowed Han Xiao to blend into the crowd and enter the city.

With a muggy wind blowing at them and noisy chatter in their ears, the group faced a messy stone street full of natives, which showcased backward town planning.

“What are we here for?” Aurora whispered in a small voice.

You’re the only one that keeps asking. Just follow me. We’ll get the job done.”

Using two fingers, Han Xiao pinched at the supple cheeks of Aurora’s face, pulling it a little before letting go. Aurora cradled her reddened cheek with teary eyes.

“Sis, he bullied me!” Aurora immediately turned her head to complain.

Unfortunately, Hila’s eyes remained straight ahead, as though she did not witness anything.

The few of them walked toward the notice board in town. Phillip translated the Nalunese for them into their language, and Han Xiao approached an old notice that had been left for many years.

As per the notice, a manor in Stone Heart City was believed to be haunted, and there were ghosts within. The owner of the manor hoped that someone would be able to go and solve it.

This notice had been placed here for a long time.

The location of the mission was a small manor. After Han Xiao and the rest expressed their intentions, they were quickly welcomed by the owner of the manor and seated in the main hall.

The moment they sat down, the owner could not wait and began speaking.

“This is great. Finally, there are people who are willing to help once again. This notice has already been up there for a good few years, and I’ve received at least a hundred people who have applied for this role, with five wizards among them, but no one has been able to solve this problem.”

“Relax, we’re different from them,” Han Xiao said, and the translator immediately changed his words into Nalunese. “Then, are you… are you guys wizards?” The manor owner looked hopefully at them.

“We could be counted as such. Tell me the specific situation first.”

“O-Okay.”

On Planet Nalun, there was a lifeform that resembled something like a ghost or a spirit, which the indigenous people named a ‘demonic spirit’. A few years ago, a demonic spirit had appeared in the manor and would occasionally go out at night to haunt.

Planet Nalun’s professions lay in the Mage system, which they termed as ‘Poposot’. When translated to the universe language, it meant ‘Wizard’. This Super system was very weak, with the wizards mainly utilizing potions or materials to cast spells. They were probably only at the Grade D level, but they appeared mysterious and powerful in the eyes of the indigenous people.

Exorcising the demonic spirits was the job of wizards. A few decades ago, the majority of wizards had mysteriously disappeared, causing them to be rarely seen and their heritage to thus be lost. Their Super system was cut off and could only be explored through obscure magic books.

Luckily, the demonic spirit in this manor was relatively weak, thus the owner and his family could still live here for several years.

The moment the owner finished speaking, Han Xiao’s interface pinged.

You have triggered a Chain Mission: [Planet Nalun’s Devil King]!

Mission Introduction: You have heard from the people that the wizards of Planet Nalun have mysteriously disappeared.

There should be more than meets the eye.

First Chain Mission Requirements: Extinguish the demonic spirit in the manor. Reward: 200,000 Experience

Because this was a chain mission, the initial rewards were very low. In his previous life, the players also only found out about this mission during free exploration in Version 3.0.

Each civilization would have a great number of trivial tasks. This mission was also very hidden; it was only discovered when a player who loved to perform storyline missions happened to discover this mission by chance. It was discovered that the reward of this was a talent that could boost one’s psychological resistance. While the strength of Planet Nalun was akin to a weak chicken, the talent reward was pretty good.

At this moment, because the new version had just been opened, Black Star Army had been continuously farming the players like leeks, and thus, no one had gone to explore Planet Nalun.

Because of the soul embryo in his mental territory, Han Xiao decided to get another talent toward psychological resistance and thus went there, where the power level was not even at the level of a novice village.

He was clear about the flow of tasks and would be able to omit a lot of exploration time needed.

“Leave the demonic spirit to us. We’ll resolve it tonight,” Han Xiao said while glancing at the corner of the room, where a transparent magic eyeball was suspended, watching the conversation of several people talking.

Only the manor owner was unaware of the existence of the magic eyeball. The moment they stepped into the room, Han Xiao and company had immediately seen it.

At their level, such a clumsy, low-levelled magic eyeball was just like a living man squatting in the corner and murmuring, “You can’t see me.”

They could only lie to themselves.

“Leave it alone.” Han Xiao waved a hand to stop Feidin. He knew who was paying attention to the manor, and attracting their attention was a key step in this mission.

At the same time, within a hidden meeting area deep beneath Stone Heart City…

The room did not have any windows, only a few kerosene lamps providing a faint light. From the darkness, a husky voice spoke.

“The sentry on number thirteen reacted. Someone has accepted the reward from the manor and wants to deal with the demonic spirit.”

“Most likely, they’re people who have picked up a few wizard books and think themselves actual wizards,” a youthful voice helplessly replied. “Alas, there’s no way they can handle the demonic spirit.”

They said they would move at night. Tomar, you shall follow after them.”

“I got it. I’ll protect them, lest they mess up and anger the demonic spirit, ending up hurt.”

The conversation came to an end, and the sound of gears rang in the room for a while before stopping.

Deep at night, Han Xiao made the manor owner and his family leave before they went to the back garden of the manor.

This was an abandoned area surrounded by stone walls and fences, and the door was locked with several padlocks.

Using the keys given to open the door, Han Xiao strolled in. Inside was an abandoned warehouse area with several bams.

There was a cold, viscous atmosphere floating in the air, as though there was an airflow constantly brushing past their skin.

If it was a normal person, they would start to get nervous for no reason, as though they had entered a haunted place. However, toward Han Xiao and the rest, it was useless.

“There are faint abnormal mental signals coming from here. I spotted them during the daytime,” Feidin whispered. “Should I get rid of them?”

In front of this great Psychic master, the demonic spirit paled in comparison. Let alone getting rid of one, getting rid of a thousand was just a thought away for him.

“Wait for it to appear.” Han Xiao shook his head, glancing vaguely in the direction of a barn. He had perceived a living person squatting there. This was his true goal.

“Alright, we’ll follow your lead.”

Feidin was helpless.

While he had his doubts, his role currently was a bodyguard, and his job was just to follow Han Xiao everywhere.

At this moment, Tomar stood near the barn, leaning against the wall as he watched the four of them ‘secretly’.

He was a youth dressed in a black, hooded suit, which covered his face with shadows. He looked like an assassin, just that there were many small bags hanging around his waist, which contained spellcasting materials.

Upon seeing Han Xiao and the rest looking around as though they were on an outing, Tomar could not resist rolling his eyes, showing disdain.

Too unprofessional. They don’t even know to arrange the Spiritual Light Powder in advance. Where did they get the idea to come and help someone exorcise the demonic spirit? It seems like they’re going to suffer today…

As he thought, there was suddenly a gale of cold wind. The dust rolled up like a tornado, and a pale blue phantom emerged, roaring toward the air.

“Dammit, only a few years and the blue shadow demonic spirit has mutated!” Tomar exclaimed, and he began to get worried.

He had only studied witchcraft for five years and could not guarantee that he could protect himself in the hands of this demon, let alone those four laymen.

Upon seeing the indifference on their faces, Tomar angrily cursed before reaching for his casting kit. Regardless of his hidden identity, he was about to rush out and help.

“Plop…”

At this moment, Feidin carelessly sent out a mental wave, hitting the demonic spirit.

The blue phantom-like spirit body was akin to a broken mirror, shattering and collapsing into pieces like blue snowflakes, disappearing without a trace.

Tomar, who had just dashed out, was stunned rigid at this scene.

What just happened? Was the demonic spirit destroyed in one go?

Aren’t wizards supposed to fight with potions and materials? What is this situation? The books never mentioned such a thing!

Tomar looked blank.

Chapter 741 - Hidden Talen

Han Xiao looked at Tomar and greeted him with a smile.

“Hello to my friend who suddenly appeared.”

“H-hello.” Tomar snapped back to reality and stammered slightly. He then sized up the four individuals before him and asked with uncertainty, “Are all of you real wizards?”

The moment he said those words, Tomar immediately felt that he had asked an unnecessary question.

What’s the point of asking such a question? Only a wizard can get rid of a demonic spirit…

The four individuals before his eyes had to be powerful wizards. If not, it would be impossible for them to kill a mutated blue shadow demonic spirit with a single strike.

I thought that the ones I’m protecting are novices. Who would have thought that they are in the same field as me? Tomar’s eyes widened with shock.

All of a sudden, Tomar seemed to have thought about something, and his expression changed greatly. He then took out a packet of white dust from his back and scattered it in midair before asking Han Xiao and the others to follow him.

“I used a bag of aura erasing dust to wipe out traces of magic in this place, so we shouldn’t be spotted. Hurry up and follow me. I will bring all of you to the gathering place in Stone Heart City.

As he said that, Tomar leapt across the wall of the garden nimbly and sprinted away. Han Xiao took his three confused comrades and followed behind Tomar. They then arrived at an old house in the corner of Stone Heart City. A simple concealment array was laid in this place. In the eyes of Han Xiao and his three comrades, the array was naturally extremely clumsy, and nothing could be hidden from them. However, it was more than enough to bluff the natives of the planet.

Tomar entered through the chimney and took out a comer of the floorboard to reveal an underground passage.

The gathering point is below. Follow me.”

A hanging basket floated in the opening of the cave, and people were transported through gears and chains. It was like a prehistoric lift.

They stepped onto the lift, and after a short period of descending, the hanging basket touched the ground.

They were greeted with a gray space which was like an underground base. There were many cartons of supplies and over ten rooms in the place. The burning lamp was the only light source in this place.

Being extremely used to the technological advancements of the galaxy, this backward place gave Hila, Aurora, and Feidin an extremely fresh experience. It was as though they had gone back in time.

“This is the gathering place of Stone Heart City. I will take you to meet the person in charge, Mister Lanley.”

Tomar took them to one of the rooms that was filled with bookshelves and old books.

A bearded old man was currently reading in front of an oil lamp that gave out a faint glow. Upon hearing some sound, he turned around with a face full of surprise.

Tomar gave a brief explanation, and the old man called Lanley lowered his guard. He then said with a hoarse voice, “It turns out that all of you are also wizards. Feel free to use anything in this place. Stone Heart City welcomes your arrival.”

“I have been extremely curious along the way here. All of you did not use any magical elixirs. How did you get rid of the demonic spirit?” Tomar asked curiously.

“It is actually very simple. It is a technique of using magic.” Feidin had received Han Xiao’s instructions and could only follow them helplessly.

“Really? Why haven’t I read it in the books?” Tomar rubbed his head.

As Lanley heard those words, he stood up abruptly and said with shock, “Only the legendary great wizard can cast a spell without using magical elixirs. Could it be that you are a great wizard? I thought that all the great wizards were killed by that devil fifty years ago!”

“What devil? What is going on?”

Lanley was stunned for a moment. “You guys don’t know?”

“We don’t…” Han Xiao revealed a puzzled look. Actually, I do know. However, I can only trigger the mission if it comes out from your mouth…

“I understand now. All of you are the legendary reclusive wizards and didn’t participate in the battle fifty years ago.” Lanley grew excited and began explaining what had happened.

Fifty years ago, when there were plenty of wizards who roamed the streets, a wizard called Vosumede created a ‘Divine Weapon’. It was able to create and control demonic spirits, and he could use the strength of the demonic spirits to increase his own magical strength. In order to increase his strength, he released a large number of frightening demonic spirits in multiple cities and used ordinary individuals to increase the strength of his demonic spirits. In the end, he became a great wizard by using such a method.

At that time, many wizards united together and wanted to kill Vosumede. However, Vosumede made use of the ‘Divine Weapon’ and killed all the wizards who surrounded him. He then chased after all the remaining wizards in the world and ended the legacies of many wizards.

After this, Vosumede became the Great Palace Wizard of the Ocean Boundary Kingdom and was known as the Demon King by the wizarding world. He groomed a large number of demonic spirits within the territory of the kingdom and became slightly more restrained because of his many different identities. The demonic spirit army under his army became more and more powerful and caused chaos everywhere.

A small portion of the wizards submitted to Vosumede and became his lackeys while the other surviving wizards had no choice but to hide. They set up various gathering points and helped each other.

Vosumede continued to chase after the surviving wizards, and thus, all the wizards hid themselves and no longer appeared in public. The outside world had lost all traces of the wizards, and the legacies of the wizards were in the hands of Vosumede or the gathering points. The gathering points would only pass on their techniques if they met a reliable youngster, bringing new blood into the world of the wizards and barely being able to survive.

This Vosumede is also a farmer in the same line as me… Han Xiao thought to himself.

After living in the universe for such a long time, Han Xiao had heard of plenty of similar incidents. It was basically the appearance of a powerful boss without anyone in the civilization being a match for him. Thus, a new dark era was bom.

Planet Nalun did not know that there were other living beings in the universe and were not even clear about the meaning of the universe. Thus, they naturally did not have the ability to seek help from mercenaries.

Vosumede was the final target of this Chain Mission. Although Vosumede was a powerful existence who could do as he wished on Planet Nalun, he was no more than a little boy who Han Xiao could take care of with a wave of his arm. However, he might not necessarily obtain the Talent reward from the final phase of the mission if he got rid of Vosumede directly and had thus chosen to follow the mission step by step.

In any case, it was akin to him returning to a novice village to bully the noobs. There was not the slightest bit of pressure, and he just treated it as a vacation.

Lanley paced around excitedly before saying with a respectful tone, “Great wizards, we need your help.”

“Speak.” Han Xiao nodded.

“The wizarding world will always be under Vosumede’s control as long as he doesn’t die…”

“So, you want us to kill him?” Feidin interrupted.

Lanley shook his head and said with a bitter laughter, “We have tried to do so for fifty years, but Vosumede is too powerful. He was able to kill multiple great wizards at once a few decades ago, and he is probably even more powerful now. Even if all four of you are great wizards, you may not be a match for him. We cannot send all of you to your deaths.”

Hila curled her lips up with dissatisfaction. She would be able to roam unhindered anywhere on Planet Nalun alone. However, she could only remain silent since Han Xiao did not say anything.

“Then, what do you need us to do?” Han Xiao asked patiently.

“It’s like this. Vosumede’s greatest helper is his demonic spirit army. He created the most powerful demonic spirit to lead his army, and we call it the Demonic Spirit King. If we want to deal with Vosumede, we will have to get rid of his helper first. However, the Demonic Spirit King is extremely powerful, and even a great wizard may not be a match for him. However, we have investigated his weakness.

“The Demonic Spirit King is a man-made item, and its strength is sustained by three magical altars. Every time an altar is destroyed, his strength is weakened. We have already located the locations of the three altars. There is one near Stone Heart City, but a demonic spirit army is guarding the altar. With the addition of the four of you, we will have the strength to destroy the altar.”

As he spoke, the next phase of the mission appeared on Han Xiao’s interface. It described the existence of the altar near Stone Heart City, and he could gain the trust of the gathering point by destroying the altar.

“Alright, I accept.”

Lanley was overjoyed and said, “Then we will rely on all of you. The manpower that we can mobilize is limited, so we will only be able to provide eight wizards…”

“No need, he is enough.” Han Xiao pointed at Tomar, who was by the side.

Tomar, who was listening by the side silently, was slightly surprised by those words. He then nodded resolutely. “I will try my best.”

Han Xiao nodded silently. Obtaining the Talent was one of his objectives. Han Xiao’s second objective of this trip was Tomar. This fellow had a low-grade Luck Glow and was a main character level NPC on Planet Nalun.

Most missions would have some residual influence after the completion of the mission, and the players who completed this mission in his previous life went back to Planet Nalun a few years after completing the mission. They had then discovered the achievements of Tomar.

After Vosumede’s death, the wizards on Planet Nalun had attained their freedom, and Tomar had become a famous wizard. He spent his life researching magic and achieved a groundbreaking discovery. He left behind a lot of knowledge for the later generation and single handedly raised the Super standard on Planet Nalun to a whole new level.

This was no simple matter. This was akin to someone who had only received high school level mathematics education coming up with university level mathematics proofs.

In truth, many of the heroes of the civilizations were talents who were buried because of the generation that they were born in.

Tomar was such a character as well. His magical talent was extremely outstanding, and he was a rare talent who could only be found once every thousand years. However, he could not grow properly in a backward location, and his talent was wasted as a result.

Thus, Han Xiao’s other objective was to bring Tomar into the army to groom.

Talents were precious, and the more main character level NPCs the better. Regardless of how worthless they were, they could increase the luck of the army.

The location that Lanley gave was a cave hidden in the mountains. One of the altars was located in this location.

The next morning, Han Xiao and the gang set off together with Tomar. In order to match Tomar’s speed, it took them half a day to reach the cave. The sky was already dark by then.

They stood outside the cave, and a chilly wind blew out from within the dark cave as though it was breathing.

Tomar shivered and said, “The demonic spirits will come out at night as their strength increases at night. We should set up camp outside and rest for the night before entering the cave tomorrow at noon.”

“That isn’t necessary.” Han Xiao shook his head. This mission did not pose any difficulty to him, and he walked into the cave with Hila, Aurora, and Feidin. Tomar hesitated for a while before gritting his teeth and following them.

The cave was filled with many winding tunnels with cold winds blowing from within. The deeper they went into the cave, the more obvious the cold aura being emanated from the cave. When they reached the depths of the cave, the demonic spirit aura was not covered in the slightest, and some faint muttering could be heard from time to time in the cave.

Tomar’s head was covered in sweat, and he looked around nervously, afraid that a demonic spirit would jump out and scare him at any moment. He held on tightly to the magical elixir on his waist and was ready to throw it out at any moment. His appearance was completely different from Han Xiao’s group.

“Wh-why don’t we return?” Tomar stammered with his voice trembling. “Although all of you are great wizards, we shouldn’t underestimate our enemy. There are three hundred demonic spirits in this place at the very least, and it would be extremely difficult for you to deal with them…”

Right after he said those words, a strange stone altar appeared in front of him. A few hundred candles were lined up by the altar and burnt with a green flame that seemed inextinguishable.

“This is the place. Let’s quickly destroy the altar and make our retreat!” Tomar said anxiously and was about to throw out his magical elixir.

Right at that moment, a bone piercing chill blew over, and a few hundred figures appeared in the surroundings, glaring at Han Xiao’s group coldly.

They are all demonic spirits…” Tomar’s eyes widened with shock, and his heart skipped a beat.

However, before the fear in his heart could explode, the cold aura in the cave melted away like snow in the sun.

The few hundred demonic spirits were all destroyed without even making a sound. They were all defeated in one hit by Feidin.

Their illusory bodies disappeared, and Tomar’s scream was stuck in his throat.

The scene before him had completely changed his worldview.

Just what happened just now? How did all the demonic spirits disappear?

Is a great wizard really so powerful?

“We just need to destroy this altar, right?” Hila waved her arm, and the altar turned to dust.

A notification of the second phase being completed popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

The instant that the altar was destroyed, the cave began to tremble.

Boom!

Black fog floated up from the destroyed altar and formed a black whirlpool in midair. A wave of pressure was then emanated from the whirlpool as though a being was about to descend.

Tomar’s hair stood up on end, and he felt as though a ferocious animal was glaring at him. An instinctive feeling of fear rose in his heart.

“It’s the Demonic Spirit King…” Tomar’s voice became hoarse, and he was frightened to the point that he could not move.

The next second, an eerie voice sounded from within the whirlpool and echoed in the cave.

“A few bugs actually dared to destroy my altar? You will pay the price for this!”

Han Xiao and the others watched the Demonic Spirit King’s performance emotionlessly.

“Humph, it is too late to regret. I will eat all your souls and transform all of you into a part of me. All of you shall fall into the depths of… argh!”

Before the Demonic Spirit King could even finish his act, Feidin snorted and shot out his Psychic energy. Like an inflated balloon being punctured, the Demonic Spirit King let out a miserable groan and disappeared.

The black whirlpool floating in midair had disappeared and the shaking of the cave had also become silent. It was as though nothing had happened at all.

“Hey, you didn’t end up killing it, right?” Han Xiao became worried. Would the mission be stopped midway if the Demonic Spirit King died?

“I could have killed it, but it wasn’t necessary.” Feidin rolled his eyes.

You are the one who knows me best.” Han Xiao laughed and slapped Feidin on the back.

Following which, Han Xiao then waved at Tomar, who was rooted to the spot in shock.

“The altar is destroyed. Let’s return.”

Tomar had spent a great amount of effort to shut his opened mouth before jumping back to look at Han Xiao with caution.

“Who exactly are all of you?”

Han Xiao frowned and said, “I said before. We are wizards.”

Tomar had a look of disbelief on his face.

Don’t think you can bluff me because I am uneducated. You lot are definitely not wizards.

Because wizards cannot be so powerful!

He then praised his own wisdom silently.

“Alright then, since we have been discovered, I shall tell you the truth…”

Han Xiao’s eyes spun around, and a teasing look could be seen in his eyes.

“We are actually deities.”

Hila, Aurora, and Feidin almost choked.

Woah, you’re truly shameless!

Tomar had a look of disbelief upon hearing that.

There are actually deities in the world? Could those religions be real? I thought that it was only a scam.

However, it seems like only deities would be able to kill a few hundred demonic spirits in a second.

Tomar could not think of any other explanation. In the face of a ‘deity’, he was completely helpless and did not know what to say.

Han Xiao giggled in his heart while pretending to be solemn on the surface. “I have come for Vosumede. His actions have gone against the laws of nature, and he will be punished.”

Planet Nalun was a backward planet, and it was extremely easy to fool them. It was not the first time that he had tried to act as a deity. He had tried once in front of the Black Spirit Race before. When facing the natives of a backward planet, saying that he was a deity might be more convincing than saying that he was from the universe.

Tomar’s eyes lit up upon hearing those words, and an agitated look could be seen on his face.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao placed his finger on his lips and said with a smile, “But I hope that you can help keep this secret. It is best that only you know the truth that I am a deity.”

It will be time to kidnap you when the mission is complete.

“Okay, okay.” Tomar nodded like an obedient child.

He originally wanted to inform everyone at the gathering point about the truth, but since the ‘deity’ had personally requested for him to keep silent about it, he must have his reasons. Thus, he decided to hide this truth in his heart.

Upon thinking about the fact that he was the only one who knew that the four individuals before him were deities, Tomar felt extremely agitated.

Chapter 742 - One Cannon Is Enough

After getting rid of the first altar, they spent a night outside before returning to the gathering point in Stone Heart City.

After finding out about the successful mission, Lanley was extremely surprised.

“All of you succeeded so quickly?”

He has been leading the gathering point in Stone Heart City for many years already and had always been wary of the demonic spirit army near the altar. Due to the lack of manpower, he did not dare act too rashly. He had originally thought that Han Xiao and his group would need eight to ten days to slowly clear up the demonic spirits near the altar. However, Han Xiao’s efficiency had truly surprised him.

That was especially so after realizing that there were no injuries in the group, and only Tomar looked as though he did not have a good sleep. Lanley was extremely curious about the details of their operation.

“I remember that there should be a few hundred demonic spirits. How did all of you accomplish this?”

“It’s like this…” Tomar swallowed a mouthful of saliva and began to explain.

When they set up camp outside last night, Feidin had given Tomar a subtle mental hint together with the ‘divine miracles’ that Han Xiao had gotten Aurora to perform. Tomar had completely believed that Han Xiao’s group of four were deities.

He was the only one who knew the truth about the ‘deities’, and Tomar was agitated to the point he could not sleep. In order to hide the identity of the ‘deities’, he had spent a full night thinking of an appropriate excuse to report to Lanley today.

As he gave his ‘explanation’, Tomar was extremely anxious that Lanley would spot a flaw.

He did not understand why the ‘deities’ wanted to hide their identities, but he did not dare gamble. He was afraid that the ‘deities’ would choose to leave if their identities were exposed. This would result in the gathering point losing such great support.

Upon seeing the broken fragments of the altar, Lanley did not have any other doubts, and after expressing his gratitude to Han Xiao, he left hastily to contact the leaders of the other gathering points.

“I managed to hide it…” Tomar heaved a sigh of relief.

“Good job.” Han Xiao nodded.

Tomar was extremely reserved in front of Han Xiao. Although Han Xiao’s group of four seemed extremely approachable and were not aloof like in the religious records, Tomar still felt immense pressure. He then said, “Your Excellencies, I have a question that I don’t know if I should ask.”

“Speak.”

“Actually, I have been curious since last night…” Tomar stammered. “The deities in the religious records all have their own names and authority. I wonder if… cough cough, I don’t know if it is rude for me to ask this. If it is, I hope that you can accept my apology…”

In truth, he wanted to ask if Han Xiao’s group of four were the deities in the legends that he had heard.

“Names…” Han Xiao stroked his chin before saying with a smile, “This isn’t a secret. My divine name is Black Star.”

Black Star?

Tomar had a look of confusion. He had never heard of such a deity in all the stories he heard.

Han Xiao then pointed at Hila and Aurora. “They are the deities of death and life.”

Hila had a speechless look on her face and could only allow Han Xiao to joke as he wished.

“As for him…” Han Xiao turned around and looked at Feidin who had an expectant look on his face. After letting out a light cough, he joked, “He is the deity of luck. Let me remind you about something, he is both male and female in one body and doesn’t have a gender.”

Must you really emphasize my gender… Feidin had a look of resignation on his face.

Tomar engraved the names into his heart and immediately expressed his loyalty. “I will spread all of your names and allow the world to know who the real deities are. I will spread your glory in this land.”

“We can talk about this in the future.”

Han Xiao tried his best to stifle his laughter. When Tomar entered the universe, this would definitely be his dark past.

After completing the second phase of the mission and gaining the trust of the gathering point, the gathering point began to treat the four ‘great wizards’ with much importance. In the following days, the gathering point gave many tasks to the four of them as part of the mission.

With his overwhelming strength and galactic technology, Han Xiao completed the missions with incredible efficiency. Some of the missions included destroying the other two altars, clearing up demonic spirits in many different cities, killing some of Vosumede’s henchmen, collecting rare materials, and so on.

The use of a spaceship greatly reduced their travelling time, and Han Xiao was able to easily find the rare materials by scanning the entire continent with his devices. He only needed half a month to solve the problem that had been troubling the gathering point for fifty years.

The entire gathering point was shocked by Han Xiao’s divine efficiency, which was almost like a miracle. Tomar bitterly tried to hide the ‘truth’ and did not expose the identities of the ‘deities’.

However, the result of Han Xiao’s efficiency was the suspicion of the upper echelons in the gathering point. There were some who felt that the four of them were far too successful and might be spies sent by Vosumede. Vosumede might intend to lure them all out to catch them in one fell swoop.

Wulis was the current leader of all the gathering points, and he was the one who suspected Han Xiao’s group of four the most. However, he did not reveal his suspicion, instead keeping some secrets from the four.

His plan was to create a ‘divine weapon’ to fight with Vosumede, and the rare materials that Han Xiao had gathered were the materials for the ‘divine weapon*. However, he did not reveal anything to Han Xiao’s group of four.

This way, even if Han Xiao’s group of four were spies for Vosumede, they would not know his true plan. At the same time, he would be able to borrow their strength to gather the materials for the ‘divine weapon’.

In some secret location, all the gathered materials were sent over. Wulis and a few other wizards of the upper echelons were crafting this ‘divine weapon’ secretly.

The flames of the furnace lit up the dark room, and the ‘divine weapon* was beginning to take shape.

Clank!

As the iron hammer came into contact with the red-hot ores, sparks flew in all directions, and the ores gradually began to change shape.

Wulis and the others released their magical elixirs by the side, chanted incantations, and engraved formations to complete the process.

The last step was soon reached, and the blacksmith quenched the completed ‘divine weapon’ in ice-cold water. Whoosh!

A large amount of water was immediately evaporated, and after a long wait, the blacksmith removed a metallic staff from the cold water. It looked like black vines with many curses being engraved on it.

“It is finally completed! The White Sorcerer Wand!”

Wulis picked up the staff excitedly. This was the ‘divine weapon’ that their gathering point had always wanted to forge. It was able to greatly increase the strength of their magical powers and restrict the demonic spirit army. This was the nemesis of Vosumede’s Demonic Spirit Necklace.

All the wizards present had looks of joy on their faces.

“With the White Sorcerer Wand in our hands, we have the strength to face Vosumede head on!”

Wulis held on to the staff tightly and spoke in a bright voice.

“Everyone, we must keep the existence of this staff a secret. We must not let Vosumede and the four wizards of dubious origin know about it.

“This is our strongest trump card, and we will have to rely on it to kill Vosumede! It has been a full fifty years, and it is time for the final battle!

“Inform the wizards in all the gathering points. It is time to launch an all-out attack!”

Wulis burnt with battle intent.

The Chain Mission was at its second last phase, and its mission requirement was to head to the capital of the Ocean Boundary Kingdom to meet up with the wizards of the other gathering points. The next phase of the mission would be to defeat the final boss, Vosumede, in the palace of the Ocean Boundary Kingdom.

In some secret courtyard, all the wizards of the gathering points were gathered with Wulis as the leader. There were about 230 wizards present.

It was evening, and Wulis was giving a speech in front of the others.

“Tonight is the final battle, and we are going to sneak past the defense line of the palace to ambush the Great Palace Wizard. We will gather the strength of our gathering points to kill him. This is the moment when Vosumede is the weakest, and all of our success is thanks to our four new reclusive wizards.”

Wulis then nodded toward Han Xiao’s group of four, who were seated at the front, with a look of caution hidden in his eyes.

The way he saw it, if the four of them were spies, they would definitely expose themselves that night.

Wulis had already made preparations and got his trusted aids to keep an eye on the four of them.

Han Xiao smiled without replying.

The mission would be at its final phase during the battle, and he would be able to reap the harvest from his half a month of hard work.

Tomar was within the crowd, and his fists were clenched with agitation.

I am the only one here who knows that they are deities…

Night descended after a long wait, and darkness enveloped the entire city.

Wulis no longer hesitated and announced the start of the mission.

Their large gang of more than two hundred wizards then approached the palace and suppressed their auras with magical powder. They snuck into the palace and did not disturb the guards.

Han Xiao’s group of four hid among the group and waited for the mission to enter the final phase.

The journey was extremely smooth, and the wizards very quickly gathered outside the palace of the Great Palace Wizard.

Wu!

Right at this moment, a military horn sounded from within the palace.

The palace doors swung open, and a few dozen wizards charged out from the palace. At the front of the group, an old man stood. He was Vosumede.

“Humph, a bunch of sneaky rats. I have been waiting for all of you for a long time,” Vosumede said proudly. “I have long found out about all of your little schemes over the past half a month and couldn’t be bothered with all of you. Do all of you really think that I was unaware of you sneaking into the capital?

“I have already been operating in the Ocean Boundary Kingdom for fifty years, and my demonic spirit army is hidden all around. I found out the moment you stepped into this city!

“The guards of the palace have already cut off your escape route and are on the way here. It will be impossible for you to escape!”

The moment these words were said, the wizards of the gathering point became jittery.

Wulis stood out from the crowd and said with a deep voice, “Don’t be anxious. The number of wizards in the palace is less than a quarter of ours. We will be able to kill them all before the guards arrive!”

Vosumede suddenly burst out into laughter. “Wulis, is your brain rotten? Have you forgotten about my strongest trump card?”

Vosumede grabbed the necklace on his neck as he said that, and the temperature in the surroundings fell immediately. A cold gust of wind blew over, and more than a thousand demonic spirits appeared.

A gigantic demonic spirit appeared beside Vosumede; it was the Demonic Spirit King.

The two hundred or so wizards of the gathering points took a step back subconsciously and looked at the demonic spirit army nervously.

This was what Vosumede had relied on to rule the wizard world for fifty years. His Demonic Spirit Necklace was able to create and control demonic spirits.

Compared to the anxiousness of the others, Wulis was extremely confident. He held onto the White Sorcerer Wand in his hands. This was the nemesis of the demonic spirit army and also the reason he had dared to challenge Vosumede.

You have a divine weapon, but I do too… Wulis sneered coldly in his heart.

Right at this moment, Wulis suddenly thought about Han Xiao’s group of four. His eyes narrowed, and he decided against using the White Sorcerer Wand.

The divine weapon had to be used at the most appropriate moment. Wulis was extremely wary of Han Xiao’s group of four, and he glanced at them carefully before making a decision.

If four of them are Vosumede’s accomplices and make any moves, I can use the White Sorcerer Wand to kill them!

On the other side, Vosumede stroked his beard and looked extremely calm as though the entire situation was within his grasp.

“Do you know, I have never concerned myself with you? If all of you chose to hide properly, I may have been willing to give you a path of survival. However, you chose to come out and create trouble for me time and time again, even wanting to kill me.

“Ah, your imaginations are as distant as the stars in the skies, and all of you are like a bunch of annoying flies.

“You hid yourselves for fifty years like rats. Do you think that it is possible to overthrow me? How ridiculous!”

As he said that, the luxurious robe on Vosumede’s body began fluttering despite the lack of wind. His powerful magical force burst forth from his body. In the eyes of Wulis and the other wizards of the gathering points, Vosumede’s aura seemed to have become like a towering building, suppressing their very souls.

“What is this?” Wulis and the others were shocked, and their faces turned pale.

“Humph! There is an even more powerful level above the great wizard realm. I made use of fifty years to take this last step…”

Vosumede stretched out his arms and let out arrogant laughter.

“I am now a god!”

The two hundred or so wizards were all dumbfounded, and even Wulis felt his heart falling into despair.

No! The situation has changed, and I cannot save my trump card to deal with a spy that may not even exist.

I must make use of the White Sorcerer Wand to severely wound Vosumede if not the others will die!

Wulis held onto the White Sorcerer Wand tightly and began chanting a series of mnemonics, ready to activate the ‘divine weapon’.

Vosumede obviously did not understand the logic of a bad guy dying because he talked too much. He was still intoxicated with the feeling of the entire situation being in his grasp. He raised his hand and pointed at the crowd as though he was looking down on a bunch of ants.

“You do not understand anything about true strength!”

As those words sounded, Wulis completed his preparations, and his eyes narrowed. He was about to use the White Sorcerer Wand to launch his strongest attack on Vosumede.

Right at this moment, a psionic cannon shot out from within the crowd and smashed onto Vosumede’s arrogant face before anyone could even react.

The speed of the attack was one that did not even allow him to dodge.

Bang!

The flash of light came and went quickly, and Vosumede’s head disappeared without a trace.

His headless body then shook for a while before collapsing on the ground.

Everyone present was stunned silly.

Everyone looked at Vosumede’s headless body, and they could not believe what had happened.

Wait, Vosumede was… dead?

He died like that?

Wulis’ eyes bulged out to the point that they almost fell out.

Was I the one who killed him?

That’s not right… I didn’t even use the divine weapon…

Everyone then thought about the direction from which the ball of light was shot out from. They turned their heads and looked at Han Xiao’s group of four. The wizards of the gathering point then inched away from the four subconsciously.

“Mission complete.” Han Xiao then lowered his palm and opened his interface with satisfaction.

Just a moment ago, the mission had entered the final phase, and Han Xiao had blasted Vosumede’s head off without any hesitation. Despite this fellow looking as though he was extremely powerful, he was no more than a Grade C Super. A single cannon was enough to blow his head.

All the wizards present looked at Han Xiao’s group of four, and before they could even react, a huge change occurred.

Hu!

The moment Vosumede died, all the demonic spirits present lost control and charged out in all directions toward any living being around them.

The two hundred or so wizards immediately snapped back to reality and prepared to face the enemy.

Right at this moment, everyone could clearly see Feidin, who was beside Han Xiao, tapping his forehead and releasing a formless white light to cover the entire region. All the demonic spirits who touched the white light immediately disintegrated.

In the blink of an eye, all the demonic spirits including the Demonic Spirit King were wiped out.

This time, everyone clearly saw what had happened. Their bodies were rooted to the ground, and a look of disbelief could be seen on their faces.

This… What kind of strength was this?

Was Vosumede really killed by these four? With a single hit?

Pa!

The staff in Wulis’ hands dropped on the ground, and his lips began to tremble.

He had tried to make various predictions about what might happen, but never had he expected such a scenario.

To think that the four people who he thought could be spies for the enemy actually had such frightening strength and killed the enemy leader with a single attack.

The White Sorcerer Wand that he had spent so much effort to create was actually completely useless.

“You… who exactly are all of you?”

Wulis looked at Han Xiao’s group of four with bloodshot eyes.

This was also the question in the hearts of everyone present.

Vosumede had been ruling over the wizard world for fifty years and was actually easily killed by four reclusive wizards of dubious origins.

This made all the wizards present feel a sense of defeat.

Wulis was the one who was most affected by the scene before him. He felt as though his insistence over the last fifty years was completely meaningless.

Han Xiao frowned and did not reply. He turned around to look at Tomar instead.

Tomar was excited to the point he almost exploded. From beginning to end, his eyes had been fixed on Han Xiao’s group of four. Upon seeing Han Xiao looking at him, Tomar immediately understood the hint.

The next moment, he walked out from the crowd with agitation and spoke loudly to attract everyone’s attention.

“There isn’t a need for me to hide anything anymore! I have always known their identities. They are deities, true deities! Only deities have such strength!”

Upon hearing that, everyone fell into a daze.

De—deities?

This answer was completely out of their imagination.

Everyone felt as though their world view had been lifted before being slammed back onto the ground.

Chapter 743 - News from Harrofal

After seeing the performance of the four, the audience somewhat believed that they were deities. This seemed to be the only explanation for their unprecedented power.

Ta, ta, ta!

As everyone started to rave about the deities, the royal guards of the Ocean Boundary Kingdom slowly arrived. They had originally heeded the order of Vosumede to surround the wizards, but upon learning that Vosumede had suddenly died, even the court mages were too afraid of the so-called four ‘deities’ and lost the ability to resist.

The subordinate wizards of Vosumede surrendered one after another. Upon learning that Vosumede had been killed, the head of the Royal Guards Corps could not believe it. Once he had confirmed his death, he was overjoyed.

Vosumede was not supported by the majority of people, and they hoped for him to die an early death. However, no one had the ability to kill him, so his death came as good news to a lot of people.

The head of the Royal Guard Corps initially thought that Vosumede had been killed by the head of the wizard assembly points, but the truth from the wizard’s mouth frightened him. He could not help but glance over at the four ‘deities’ before hurriedly dispatching an escort to notify the king.

While it was already late into the night, the atmosphere surrounding the area was weird. Practically everyone around was wide awake and scrutinizing the four of them. Han Xiao did not bother with their reactions and turned his attention to the Mission Completion notification on his user interface.

Having completed the chain mission [Planet Nalun’s Demon King], the talent that he was supposed to obtain as a reward finally arrived.

Talent [Soul Lock]: +20% Psychological Resistance.

Duration of all negative spiritual effects is reduced by 10%.

When you suffer a spiritual attack, you have a 18% – 34% chance to negate the damage. If damage is negated, there is a cooldown time of 30 minutes.

Adding this to my [Advanced Mental Toughness], my spiritual resistance should be at fifty-five percent. However, compared to the addition of resistance, the effect of this damage negation could result in some miracles…

While the cooldown time was pretty long, probably allowing it to only be triggered once in battle, and was uncontrollable, it was still an extremely useful ability. If he had possessed such a talent when he was facing Psyker, he would have had a chance to completely negate this effect.

The chance of triggering the damage negation was only at eighteen percent. Even if he was not too lucky, the chance was still manageable. Han Xiao had long gotten used to looking only at the lower limit of his odds.

At this time, Tomar had already started to popularize the divine names of the four of them among the crowd. Wulis brought a group of people to approach Han Xiao, displaying a cramped expression. He did not seem to know how to properly communicate with the deities, and to come into contact with someone whose life level far exceeded theirs, he was full of awe and anxiety.

“Four Majesties… oh no, Deities. On behalf of all the wizards, I thank you for getting rid of this devil Vosumede. If there are any requests, I’ll try my best to fulfil them…”

Han Xiao kept his interface, looking at the anxious group of people before smiling. “I do have a request, and that is for Tomar to be my emissary. I’ll bring him up to the kingdom of God.”

The emissary of a Deity?

Everyone’s head swiveled toward Tomar, full of envy, surprise, shock, and so on.

Tomar gaped in shock, his brain an absolute blank. He did not believe that Han Xiao was pointing at himself. “This… what is the meaning of this…”

“The meaning is, I’ll take you to the world that the deities live in.” Han Xiao pulled out all the stops in his acting. “Are you willing to?”

Tomar was rendered utterly incoherent by the surprise, and the few words that managed to escape his mouth were gibberish that even the translator could not handle. He frantically nodded, as though he was testing if he could snap his spine by doing so.

Wulis gulped. While he was full of curiosity about deities and their kingdom, he did not know their character and hence did not dare to ask further.

At this moment, the soldier who went to notify the king finally returned, reporting the situation to the head of the Royal Guard Corps.

Immediately, the head walked over to where Han Xiao and the rest were, with a respectful expression.

“Four Deities, Your Excellency Wulis, Your Excellency Tomar, His Majesty hopes that you will grace him with your presence.”

Wulis did not reply but rather turned his head to look at Han Xiao. He understood that the person whom the king wished to see were the deities.

Han Xiao thought about it before nodding and accepting the invite.

Seeing the king of this current regime would not take much time, and it could also help to dispel any worries the new leek Tomar would have.

Seeing this, both Wulis and Tomar quickly agreed as well.

“Please follow me.”

The head guard was overjoyed and quickly escorted them to the main hall.

The king of Ocean Boundary Kingdom had urgently dressed up just to meet them.

When faced with the creatures suspected to be deities, the Ocean Boundary King tried to make himself look dignified. Since it was the first time that he had come in contact with deities, he did not wish to destroy the glory of his kingdom. Unfortunately, his protruding belly had defeated all his attempts.

Upon seeing Han Xiao and the rest in the appearance of the Naluners, his internal nervousness dissipated a lot. At least the appearance of the deities was familiar to him.

“Distinguished Deities, I hereby represent Ocean Boundary Kingdom to welcome you. Forgive me, but please allow me to ask, what exactly is a deity and for what purpose have you all come?”

“Even if I were to tell you, you would not be able to understand the difference in our life levels.” Han Xiao raised a brow, behaving pretentiously. “As for our objective, it was first to get rid of Vosumede, which has been completed. The second objective is to choose an emissary, and I have chosen Tomar.”

The Ocean Boundary King glanced at Tomar, burning his face into his heart. He then jolted before asking, “In that case, does it mean that deities are willing to pass down your teachings?”

“Oh, you can put it that way.” Han Xiao nodded. This reasoning was more convenient for him as well.

The eyes of the Ocean Boundary King lit up, and he thought that he had grasped the needs of the deities.

“Since that’s the case, if the four of your Deities are able to perform a miracle and bless the kingdom, I’m willing to create a religion that belongs to you, mobilizing the people of the kingdom to become your believers.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, unsurprised. For a backward civilization, the knowledge of deities existing was equivalent to an opportunity for them to reshape their social structure. In their eyes, the help of deities was more important than the development of science and technology.

He could predict that, with his influence, the trajectory of the development of the Planet Nalun civilization would change. Religion would soon begin to intervene in politics, and there was a great chance of forming a political system that combined both politics and religion.

This time, a new mission suddenly popped up on the interface.

[Display Miracles]

Mission Introduction: The indigenous regime of Planet Nalun treats you as a God and wishes for you to show your ‘miracles’. Maybe you’ll leave a mark on the history of this civilization.

Mission Requirements: Present a ‘miracle* to the Ocean Boundary King (Requires a subversion of the target’s cognition).

Reward: 3,000,000 experience, 1 Planet Legendary Point.

“Oho, there’s even a branch task.” Han Xiao was overjoyed.

In his previous life, during the mid to late versions of the game, players would occasionally visit backwater civilizations to gain Legendary Points. They would pull all sorts of tricks to leave their names in the history of that civilization. This was also a way to gain Legendary Points.

Since he could obtain a Legendary Point, there was no need to reject this task.

Sweeping a glance at the expectant looks of the Ocean Boundary King, Tomar, and Wulis, Han Xiao breathed in deeply before raising his hands. The nanoparticles transformed into countless carving knives, drawing out a map on one of the palace walls.

’’What are you doing?” The Ocean Boundary King was shocked. He had thought that a divine miracle would be a big event and did not expect for it to be so simple.

“This is the original appearance of the world you’re in and also the map of the entire world.” Han Xiao slowly spoke.

On the wall was a map of Planet Nalun, generated by Phillip.

The Ocean Boundary King jerked in shock. He immediately scrutinized the map before suddenly exclaiming, “The world is round?”

Even Wulis and Tomar had looks of disbelief.

The civilization on Planet Nalun had only occupied a continent and had not even explored the entire world. They did not even know that their planet was in the shape of a sphere.

“Wait, other than this continent, there are still two more?” The Ocean Boundary King saw the main point and almost had a cardiac arrest.

The Ocean Boundary Kingdom was only one of the few kingdoms on the continent, and they still had to fight for domination against the other kingdoms. If there were really two other unoccupied continents, if their kingdom could take the lead to occupy them, they would gain an advantage in expansion.

Upon thinking of the possibilities of opening new territories, the Ocean Boundary King was so excited that he could hear the rapid pounding of his heart.

Suddenly, he came to his senses. He felt that all of this might not be true. Since he had no way of knowing the true appearance of the world, even if the deities decided to lie, he would not be able to unravel it.

Unable to suppress his suspicion, the Ocean Boundary King softly coughed before saying, “Respectful Deities, may I ask how to confirm the authenticity of this map. As you know, we’re all mortals, and without your powers, we have no way to cross the ocean in this continent to explore the world.”

The mission is not yet complete… Han Xiao was frowning but quickly smoothed his face as he said, “That’s right. In that case, I’ll let you see it for yourself.”

“See it for myself?” The Ocean Boundary King jerked.

Before he could react, Han Xiao grabbed him by his shoulder and formed a shield out of his nanoparticles.

Bang!

The next second, Han Xiao burst out toward the sky, smashing through the roof of the palace.

Flying up high, they quickly reached the atmospheric level, where one could barely overlook half of the entire planet. “Look, can you see it now? The world is round, and there are two continents over there…”

Han Xiao casually spoke before turning to look at the king. He only found that the king had turned pale white, his eyes rolling around while his whole body was frozen stuff, as though he had lost the ability to react.

“It seems like the stimulus was too much for him…”

Helplessly shaking his head, Han Xiao then descended and returned to the palace. The entire process did not even take a minute.

The moment Han Xiao took off, Wulis and Tomar had been stunned speechless. At this time, they saw the two of them return, and only then did they realize that they had still underestimated the powers of the deities. Their abilities were incomprehensible.

Han Xiao injected a shot of adrenaline into the Ocean Boundary King, and after he recovered, he shivered, his legs turning soft as he slumped to the ground. He could no longer maintain his proud front and only stared at Han Xiao in horror, speechless.

Before this, he had some doubts about the identity of the four ‘deities’, but he no longer dared to hold any. His bladder that almost leaked had completely replaced whatever he had for a brain, allowing his body to remember the reality that ‘deities’ could do anything.

“Do you believe it now?” Han Xiao smiled.

“Believe, I believe…” The Ocean Boundary King nodded, and besides respect, there was a fanaticism and piety within his eyes.

This was a miracle!

At this moment, he felt that he had finally found his calling.

Han Xiao’s interface was updated, and it showed that his task of showing miracles had been completed. He had obtained 1 Legendary Point.

Legendary Point (Planet Nalun): The God of the Mortal World

The miracle you have shown today will change the development trajectory of Planet Nalun to a certain extent. Your existence will seep into the history of this planet, and people will treat you as a religion and spread your divine light. Your influence will accompany this civilization for a long time.

Another Legendary Point obtained… Han Xiao grinned to himself.

After the Ocean Boundary King promised to establish a religion for the four of them, Han Xiao and his party left, disappearing in front of everyone’s eyes.

Tomar also became a member of the team. He had already agreed to follow Han Xiao to his ‘Divine Kingdom’. Because he was a standard orphan-type protagonist template, he had no strings attached and could roam freely.

Han Xiao felt that taking Tomar away was also a good thing for Planet Nalun. Tomar would be the first Naluner to enter the universe, just like him.

Because Tomar was a native of the planet, he had to open his eyes to the world and understand the true meaning of the universe.

After he had been systematically trained to maximize his talents and developed a stronger power, he could then use the resources obtained in the universe to feed Planet Nalun. This would bring more benefits to his motherland compared to him staying within.

Since the mission had already ended, Han Xiao did not tarry much longer on Planet Nalun and quickly took his group to board the spaceship, leaving the planet.

Tomar was extremely curious about everything on the spaceship, but he was also a little dazed, as the deities’ image in his mind differed from reality.

Han Xiao just threw him to Feidin, allowing him to complete Tomar’s enlightenment education.

As for himself, he returned to his room, looking through the news obtained this past half month.

The daily news of the Black Star Army was scanned, and Han Xiao flipped through his communicator before finding a message from Harrofal.

After seven years of no contact, Han Xiao was a little curious about what Harrofal wanted him to do.

With one glance, however, his facial expression changed.

The news was short, but the content gave him a headache. There was only a sentence written without any context. “It’s EsGod!”

Chapter 744 - EsGod“s Intention The

Why mention EsGod suddenly?

Han Xiao frowned. Back when he was attacked by EsGod’s doppelganger, Harrofal had fought alongside him. After seven years, Harrofal had suddenly brought it up again, so something must have happened.

Without hesitation, Han Xiao sent a message to Harrofal directly to ask him what he meant.

However, after waiting for quite some time, Harrofal still did not reply.

Han Xiao suddenly had a bad feeling. He summoned Phillip and said with a deep voice, “Search keyword ‘Harrofal’ and show me the abnormal results.”

Phillip hummed and quickly completed the search.

“Master, hum… A few days ago, various news channels in the Tyla Civilization reported Harrofal’s death.”

He died a few days ago?

Han Xiao knew that something was wrong.

“Bring it up.”

Phillip played the related reports. After watching them, Han Xiao then figured out what had happened.

Just a few days ago, Harrofal was attacked in the government school of the Tyla Civilization. He was kidnapped in front of the public. Even the three Calamity Grades working in the school could not stop the kidnappers.

One day after the kidnappers left, Harrofal’s body was discovered. The message that Han Xiao had just received was sent by Harrofal before his death.

The news stated that the Tyla Civilization had confirmed one of the kidnappers’ identities through the traces left behind, and a bounty had been issued.

Han Xiao opened the bounty information, and the image showed a pale male.

“Orozen, Blood Race… a wanted criminal from sixty years ago,” Han Xiao murmured.

He did not recognize this man.

However, after linking it with Harrofal’s message, the answer was clear—this Orozen was most likely a subordinate sent by EsGod.

“Why did they attack Harrofal?” Han Xiao frowned.

From what he knew, the only link that they had with EsGod was from the battle that happened seven years ago. Could it be that EsGod was so petty that because his doppelganger was tricked, he sent subordinates for revenge?

He felt that this was the only logical reason.

However, EsGod was maniac, and maniacs were not associated with logic.

Han Xiao had no idea if EsGod knew his current strength. If he had only sent Calamity Grade subordinates, it would basically be feeding him kills. Since even his doppelganger had failed, EsGod would definitely not be expecting his Calamity Grade subordinates to succeed.

After some thought, Han Xiao’s eyes became firm.

“This means that these people are very likely to be able to summon EsGod’s doppelganger like the DarkStar leader did!” If this was really the case, it would be quite a tough situation.

Back then, he had been able to exile EsGod’s doppelganger because of the terrain advantage and Harrofal’s help, which he did not have now.

“I’m much stronger than before. After completing the Promotion after level 220, my health is almost double that of seven years ago. Plus, I have the Void Star Pursuer talent [Cosmic Environmental Adaptation], which greatly increases my defense. Even if I must face an EsGod doppelganger directly, I won’t be in as much of a disadvantageous position as I was seven years ago… Hmm, if it’s just a doppelganger, EsGod might not be able to threaten my life. Aurora’s potions also give me the equivalent of many lives…”

Han Xiao quickly analyzed the situation. As he realized that the situation was not that horrible, he was slightly relieved.

Fortunately, Version 3.0 had begun, and he had already gained enough experience from it to become stronger once again. If he had been the same as seven years ago, EsGod’s revenge would indeed have been very threatening to him.

After looking at news of Harrofal’s death carefully again, Han Xiao sighed and could only mourn for this old friend of his that had once fought alongside him.

This time, a new mission suddenly popped up on the interface.

You have triggered Grade A Bounty Mission [Harrofal’s Revenge].

Mission Introduction: Harrofal is an important member of the Tyla Civilization. He was murdered, and the killer has caused an extremely horrible impact. The Tyla Civilization has issued a bounty. Anyone that avenges Harrofal will receive a huge amount of reward.

Mission Requirements: Kill or capture the bounty target—Orozen.

Reward: 236,000,000 Experience, 8,000,000 Enaus bounty, +1,800 Tyla Civilization Favorability.

To a Version 3.0 player, the difficulty of this mission is way above their abilities. No wonder the rewards are so good… Han Xiao tutted.

No players in Version 3.0 would be able to complete this mission. Missions with this kind of difficulty would only appear in at least two more versions.

However, Bounty Missions were not restricted by versions. Many people were wanted by civilizations or black markets. Even the players now would be able to accept Bounty Missions for Calamity Grades or even Beyond Grade As, just that they would certainly not be able to complete them.

For example, many Shattered Star Ring organizations had secretly issued bounties for Han Xiao on the black market, which totaled about ninety-two million Enaus. This was an outrageous bounty for even major galactic pirates. However, most bounty hunters knew the limit of their capabilities, so no one would accept this kind suicide mission.

“The requirement is to avenge Harrofal…” Han Xiao murmured. “There’s no need to waste energy tracking the culprit; that is Tyla Civilization’s job. A Star Cluster civilization has more resources to track the culprit. It would be like searching for a needle in a haystack for me. If EsGod’s subordinates are looking for revenge, they will most likely come for me. I will just have to wait.”

After contemplating for a while, Han Xiao made up his mind. He was not planning to break his tempo of farming talents because of this mission.

If EsGod’s subordinates were not coming, it would save him some trouble, but if they were indeed after him, he did not mind getting rid of the mission target. He was rather confident in this. After all, the outside world did not know that he had made another breakthrough in terms of strength.

According to the combat experience from seven years ago, he would just about be able to endure the pressure from an EsGod doppelganger.

Of course, being confident was one thing. The Great Mechanic Han would not be less alert because of it.

“I still have to be cautious…”

At the same time in a certain area in the Shattered Star Ring, three curved spaceships slowly flew between an asteroid belt in stealth mode. There were signs of a battle on these ships. Nano Robots were repairing their armor.

Inside the main ship, Colin, Orozen, and the rest were looking at the data records of a wormhole detector. This was a device that they had received from Harrofal. Inside was the many years of data of studying the wormholes, among which was the data of the time when an EsGod doppelganger fell into the wormhole.

“Hmm… the dates align. This is the data that His Excellency EsGod wants.” Orozen grinned, showing a few fangs. “The memories I read are indeed correct.”

Orozen’s Esper ability was the rare ‘Race Strengthening’, which enhanced his Racial Talents as a member of the Blood Race. He had the ability to read the memories of the target whose blood he consumed. These people did not kidnap Harrofal to interrogate and torture him but to let Orozen suck his blood and get the intelligence they wanted. Harrofal’s cause of death was his blood being drained dry completely while he was still alive.

“But due to your stupidity, the Tyla Civilization discovered your identity,” Colin said coldly. “The entire Star Cluster civilization is now searching for us. Maybe they will be able to discover that we’re members of the Fallen Ark. If not because you’re still a little useful, I would’ve killed you.”

Orozen did not care at all. He leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and said lazily, “So what? The Tyla Civilization won’t be able to catch up to our spaceships. Plus, this is the Shattered Star Ring, not the Central Galaxy ruled by the three Universal Civilizations.

“Is it necessary to be this careful? Might as well have some fun. So what if an organization in this remote Star Field discovers who we are? Can they go to the Central Galaxy to fight Fallen Ark?

“Plus, even if they really dare to go there, they will only end up being demolished by His Excellency EsGod.”

Colin snorted. “If any accidents happen during the operation, I will make you pay.”

“Instead of worrying about something so unimportant, how about sending the data back first?” Orozen shrugged and snickered.

Colin did not continue hanging onto the fact that their identities had been partially exposed. Through the super-long- range quantum communication device, he sent the wormhole data back to the Fallen Ark.

This way, the first mission given by His Excellency EsGod was complete.

Colin was rather satisfied with their efficiency. After planning for more than half a month, they had successfully kidnapped Harrofal and retrieved the data right away. The mission was going smoothly.

Since they had obtained the data, there was no need for them to find Black Star.

This team had three EsGod doppelgangers in their hands, which were all given different abilities. Colin did not want to waste any of them on Black Star—these were all important trump cards that EsGod had given them to steal the Evolution Cube.

Stealing the Evolution Cube from Psyker was the most important mission of this trip. Comparatively, kidnapping Harrofal was a walk in the park.

Colin clapped his hands and said with a deep voice, “The data has been sent. It’s time to get down to business. Psyker is a Beyond Grade A, so we need a detailed plan and a suitable opening.”

The three spaceships changed direction and headed to the Star System where Psyker resided.

In a desolate universe belt outside the Central Galaxy, the main army of the Fallen Ark was resting in their secret stronghold.

In the main ship, an officer woke EsGod up from his sleep.

“Your Excellency EsGod, the team we sent to the Shattered Star Ring had sent back the data you wanted.”

Upon hearing the officer’s report, EsGod woke up. The black vortex under his hood turned into a face. He then smiled strangely and said with a husky voice, “Good… good. Have the research team analyze this wormhole data and find the place that the other side of the wormhole was connected to at that time. I want to know the coordinates of that place in the universe.”

“Understood.”

“Hmm…let me think. Right, I told them to bring the Evolution Cube back. Have they succeeded?”

“They have yet to send any information related to that. They should still be on the task.”

EsGod slowly nodded and mumbled, “I have finally discovered where the Evolution Cube is. The Arcane Church has been looking for it for so long. They have no idea that the leftover records of the Evolutionary Civilization have always been in my head. I’m the rightful heir of the Evolution Cube. It can help me achieve a higher level of evolution. Psyker has no right to such a treasure…”

Chapter 745 - 745 Tomar

745 Tomar 

“My name is Tomar Tykin.

“I was born in Yellow Leaf Town of the Ocean Boundary Kingdom. I was adopted by the only orphanage in the town before I could remember, where I spent my childhood.

“I can still remember when I was six years old, I saw a few slightly older children from the town doing weird things to older sister Shanna in an alley two streets away from the orphanage.

“Sister Shanna was the oldest child in the orphanage. She always took care of everyone, and we all saw her as our older sister. She had freckles on her face. I think that she looked very pretty and gentle when she smiled with the dimples on her cheeks. I always dreamed of her when I was little.

“I thought that they were bullying older sister Shanna, so I picked up a stone and threw it at the forehead of one of them. Then, they beat me up. After growing up, only then did I know what they were doing to Shanna back then.

“After that, older sister Shanna left the town without saying goodbye. I don’t know where she went.

“Then, the guy whose forehead I hit went to the orphanage to complain. The head of the orphanage scolded me. I asked him why my parents didn’t have my back. He said that my parents died long ago. They went into the mountains to harvest things and met demonic spirits.

“Only then did I know that I had no one to rely on in this world.

“When I was ten, I left the orphanage and became an apprentice at the carpenters’ workshop in town.

“When I was fifteen, my teacher got a job that needed him to go to Stone Heart City, which was nearby. He brought us there, and after working there for half a month, we finally finished the job. On that night, Pilly cheekily said that he was going to take me to a good place. Pilly was the senior apprentice of the carpenter workshop, a few years older than me. Then, we went to a pub in Stone Heart City called ‘Honey’. That was the first time I ever drank. In that place, I saw Sister Shanna, whom I had not seen for many years.

“She was working in the pub. She had thick makeup on her face, and she smiled more than before. But her smile looked fake to me. It reminded me of the smiley-faced dolls I carved hundreds of times.

“Her job was to take food to the guests. When she passed by, there were always people who placed their hands on her body. Every time that happened, she smiled more clearly and even faker. I remember that she was still very young, but I noticed that she already had wrinkles at the edges of her eyes.

“Pilly said that I was an adult now. He had already paid, so Sister Shanna would take me to the second floor and help me to become an adult. Only then did I realize that she had become a prostitute, and her business was quite good.

Many people paid for her.

“I remember how my mind became blank. I fought with Pilly but lost. He was taller and tougher than me. I was pressed on the floor and beaten up badly. Sister Shanna did not come to help. I don’t know if she recognized me.

“After that, I was thrown out of the pub. My eyes swollen, and my body hurt, but I did not want to return to the hotel and wandered around the streets.

__On that night, I met a wizard.

“Sometimes, I can’t help but admit how unpredictable life can be. When I was a kid, I never thought that I would become a wizard in the future.

“Over the next five years, I learned all kinds of spells and ways to make magic potions in Stone Heart City. Mister Lanley always praised me, saying that I’m talented. I don’t know if he meant it… Anyhow, I stepped into another hidden world. My old life became distant and unreachable.

“The others set a goal for me—to beat a person called Vosumede. Although I didn’t know him, everyone said that he’s my enemy.

“When I was twenty, I met four people who called themselves deities. I never thought that this would be the turning point of my life.

“Their appearance changed everything. They easily completed the goal that us wizards in the gathering point had spent fifty years fighting for. I saw my enemy, Vosumede, for the first time, and then he was casually killed by the deities.

“The deities chose me and brought me to the Kingdom of Deities. I thought I would then become a faithful believer, but everything that happened after overthrew my knowledge of everything.

“We boarded a huge metal box, and this box could actually fly. When we entered the sky, I realized that my world was actually a ball!

“Why is it a ball? I don’t understand!

“The God of Luck told me that the world I was in is called Nalun. It’s something called a planet. Outside the planet is a place called the universe. In the universe, there are countless planets like Planet Nalun.

“I was really shocked, more shocked than when I realized the existence of deities. I never could have thought of something like this even in my wildest imaginations.

“However, the God of Luck then told me that them being so called deities was just a joke. They were just visitors from the universe, and I’m the only one from Planet Nalun to enter the galaxy. I could not believe that this had happened to me!

“He said that his name was Feidin, and he told me what the real world was like. This completely shattered my past world view.

“Feidin said that they were all members of the Black Star Army. That guy who tricked me is the leader of the army. I have never seen someone this shameless before…

“Nonetheless, I felt gratitude toward him. If he had not chosen me, I would have forever been an ignorant native like Feidin said, never getting to know the truth of the universe. His Excellency Black Star changed my entire life.

The Black Star Army seems to be a very strong organization in the universe, and I became a member of the Black Star Army… Alright, I’m used to things like this. Just like back in the gathering point, I once again joined an organization out of nowhere.

“For many days, I was confused and lost. While Feidin taught me the general knowledge of the world, he told me that if I don’t know what to do, I should take helping my mother planet as my life goal—this is the destiny of a pioneer of a civilization.

“Honestly, I like this destiny.

“Mister Feidin helped me a lot. I think he’s a good man. He looks nice when he smiles, like Sister Shanna in the past.

“After a few days, I was sent up to another spaceship. They were sending me to the Black Star Army headquarters to learn magic. They said that I’m talented. Sigh, why does everyone think I’m a magic genius? Isn’t magic very simple?

“I was handed over to a person that looked miserable and depressed. He said that he would be my teacher from now on.

“Honestly, I don’t think he’s a suitable teacher. He told me, ‘Magic is actually not that useful. Just learn something so that I can say I’ve done my part.'”

Three months later, on Planet Macipher…

This was a well known, neutral planet in the Shattered Star Ring, located at the edge of the Star Field and not ruled by any civilization.

At this moment, Han Xiao’s spaceship was hovering above Planet Macipher.

Three months had passed since his trip to Planet Nalun.

In those three months, the biggest battle up till now had erupted in the secret war. As the Crimson Dynasty leaked rumors about the negotiation starting to come to an end, Section Zero and the Bloodshed Land began an all-out war to delay the time. The two sides gave up all conservative strategies and fought head-on.

The warfare was tragic. In just the short three months, the Calamity Grades that died on both sides added up to close to a hundred.

Han Xiao did not participate, and Purple Crystal allowed that, but the Black Star Army had to fight given how many resources they had consumed.

The army was led by Lagi and Herlous. The players were given suicidal missions, so the number of casualties of lower- middle combatants was kept to an acceptable range. As for the high-level combatants, without their leader, Black Star, many Calamity Grades were injured. However, Han Xiao told Aurora to make some super strong recovery potions that saved lives in crucial times. Thanks to that, none of the high-level combatants of the army died.

During all that, Han Xiao took Hila, Aurora, and Feidin to travel all around the Star Field to do side missions. Tomar was the only protagonist character that he had been able to woo. This leek was given to Lagi to slowly cultivate. Han Xiao had obtained five new talents in the past three months.

Three of them were common talents, and two were rare talents. All of them were useful in some way. His actual combat capability increased to a certain extent. However, the most important thing that he received was not those talents but the Experience that he had been hoarding throughout the three months.

The senior players and new players of the army provided him with plenty of Experience. According to his calculation, that Experience was more than enough for him to level up to above level 235. He was getting closer to level 240.

The speed of getting Experience is faster than I expected. It seems to be because these new players are starting to learn Advanced Knowledges as well. At this rate, in about half a month, my Experience would be enough for me to reach level 240…

Inside the spaceship, Han Xiao was rather excited.

He had yet to use the Experience on leveling up—this was mainly because he wanted to use the Experience as a trump card for dealing with the possible revenge of EsGod’s subordinates.

However, after waiting for three months, EsGod’s subordinates had yet to appear.

Since the enemies did not appear, he was in no hurry to level up. After all, the Experience was not going anywhere. Thus, Han Xiao continued to farm talents. Planet Macipher was his next stop.

This neutral planet was known for two things—their enormous black market that consisted of countless products and their developed galactic shipyard industry.

There were a ton of mechanical and magic based shipyards there. A large number of spaceship models could be ordered there. Many galactic travelers went to Planet Macipher to build ships.

As it was a neutral planet, Planet Macipher was filled with all kinds of people. The shipyards did not care about the guests’ identity; anyone could make an order as long as they paid for it. Quite a number of galactic pirates or wanted criminals would put on a disguise and go there to purchase and resupply their spaceships.

Neutral planets always had a powerful ruler, and Planet Macipher was no exception. The owner of this planet was called Sardeem, nicknamed ‘Giant Soldier Architect’, a powerful Grade A+ Mechanic.

However, Han Xiao’s goal for this trip was not him.

Through the spaceship porthole, Han Xiao looked down on the metal planet surface of Planet Macipher. He then turned around to the others and said, “Let’s put on a disguise. We’re not using our real faces here.”

As he spoke, Han Xiao placed a transparent membrane on his face. Electrical circuits flashed on the membrane surface and turned into the face of another person.

This was a mask that he had learned to make a long time ago. The technology used in it had been updated dozens of times, and it was much more undetectable.

Hila and the others did not ask why and wore the membranes to disguise themselves—they had become used to Han Xiao’s strange actions in the past three months.

There was an obtainable Mechanic class talent on Planet Macipher. Its effect was to enhance the ability to build machines.

This was a mission exclusive to Mechanics. He had to apply for employment in a certain shipyard and become a shipbuilder. Of course, with Black Star’s identity, there was no doubt that he would not become a shipbuilder of a shipyard. Thus, Han Xiao had to disguise himself, cover up his handsome face, and be an ordinary man temporarily. Only then would he be able to trigger the mission.

After I’m done with this mission, I should have around enough Experience to reach level 240…

Han Xiao took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and gave the order to Phillip.

“Descend.”

Chapter 746 - 746 Planet Macipher and the Cornerstone Summit Corporation

746 Planet Macipher and the Cornerstone Summit Corporation

As Planet Macipher was not a colonial planet but an industrial neutral planet that would naturally attract people, there were only five cities on the planet’s surface—one main city and four sub cities. Han Xiao landed in the main city, which was the biggest.

Looking down from above, Planet Macipher had a very strong industrial theme. It was mainly made up of large spaceship yards. Some were even assembling large spaceships in the open, and the skeletons of these spaceships could be seen from above. There were no actual residences on the planet, only the hostels for the Mechanic workers and entertainment facilities, as well as all sorts of hotels for the galactic travelers.

At the heart of the city was a conch-shaped mechanical hovering city—this was the base of ‘Giant Soldier Architect’ Sardeem. It was wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. Sixteen two-hundred-and-forty-meter-tall sentry-type mechanical Giant Soldiers were mounted at the base of the hovering city, which were all in standby mode and would automatically be activated when attacked. They were very powerful.

The three branches of the Mechanic class all had their specialties. Sardeem was clearly an Armed Branch Grade A+ Mechanic that mastered building powerful mechanical Giant Soldiers.

Planet Macipher had eight planet surface ports. Han Xiao’s spaceship followed the instructions from the surface and landed in Surface Port 3 before entering the hangar. After Han Xiao went through the simple procedures, he led the disguised Hila and the others out of the port, mixing into the crowd and entering the city.

There were beings from all kinds of races on the streets—human-like beings and even some pedipalp beings—all galactic residents from different Star Clusters. The universal translator allowed them to communicate with each other at ease.

“It’s so boisterous here. Both are neutral planets. Why is Floating Dragon so quiet?” Aurora looked around curiously.

“Well, that’s because Floating Dragon doesn’t have a specialty, and it’s not friendly to foreign financial groups.”

Han Xiao shook his head and smiled. Places with Beyond Grade As in them were always popular. The reason that Floating Dragon did not prosper was completely due to their strategy—Ames did not want to develop Floating Dragon at all.

Furthermore, from the aspect of the territory type, Planet Macipher was a pure industrial planet while Floating Dragon was Ames’ home. The management mode and openness of the two were different.

Sardeem had enough strength to be the boss of an organization. He was also a Mechanic who was good at attracting investments and businesses. Thus, it was easy for him to make a place popular.

This time, the sound of energy spraying flashed past the sky. They looked up, and a team of mechanical soldiers happened to pass by. They were the armed forces that Sardeem used to maintain the law. They were also his own mechanical troops.

Opening a neutral planet is quite profitable. Hmm, although my Black Star Army is at a higher level, making a neutral industrial planet seems to be quite a good idea. It can gather more leeks…Hmm, but that’s a matter to think about after the secret war ends…

Han Xiao caressed his chin and pondered about the business expansion of the army.

Black Star’s name was quite well known in the Shattered Star Ring. Fortunately, they had put on a disguise, so no one recognized him. The group boarded ground vehicles and went to a shipyard at the center area of the main city.

This shipyard was extremely large and grand. Han Xiao and the rest stopped outside the gate and looked up at the colorful floating virtual signboard. On it were the words ‘Cornerstone Summit Corporation’ written in Universal Language.

This was one of the most credible and reputable shipyards on Planet Macipher.

This is the right place.” Han Xiao nodded. He opened the communicator. On it was the hiring notice of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation.

This kind of large shipyards recruited Mechanics constantly. The minimum requirement was Grade Cs or owners of a Mechanic Technician Work Permit distributed by a Star System civilization—just like companies in the real world that required minimum education qualifications.

Han Xiao did not have a Machinery Technician Work Permit. This was something that only those Supers focusing on researching and life skills needed. Its main purpose was to make things more convenient for research personnel and technicians that did not like fighting. Han Xiao had never had a need for this. Plus, with his Grade, he would get it easily without any tests if he wanted to.

Supers had extraordinary powers. Some used this power for violence—such as the galactic pirates, mercenaries, and bounty hunters. Some used this power to produce and manufacture things. Supers were also important labor and production forces in the galactic society.

Among which, the business of Mechanics and Mages was the most popular. Some Espers with special Esper abilities also had quite good business, and Psychics were suitable for therapy, reconnaissance, and the like. Pugilists were the only ones that had very worrying futures in the business world. After all, Pugilists were the best in manual labor jobs, which was something even robots could do but for a much cheaper price. After all, who would hire Pugilists just to carry things around the site?

Han Xiao and the rest walked into the shipyard. There were many guests in the reception hall who were all there to order spaceships. They were using the self-service screens to browse through the spaceship models available and make orders.

Han Xiao went to an unoccupied self-service screen and pressed on manual service instantly. The next moment, the image on the screen changed into a pretty lady receptionist of the Galaxy Human Race.

“Hello, welcome to the Cornerstone Summit Corporation. How may I help you?”

“I’m a Mechanic here to look for employment.” Han Xiao expressed his intentions. The disguise was effective, and he would not be recognized.

“Okay, please follow the reception robot. You will be led to an interviewer.

A palm-sized, spherical robot wearing a mini receptionist uniform flew over. It was really adorable. It bowed and led the way.

They left the reception hall, passed by the exterior factories, and entered a huge workshop. Han Xiao immediately saw quite a few low-level Mechanics working on the various workbenches, assembling parts.

This time, an old man approached. His white hair was tied into a braid behind his head, and he was smiling. He looked rather amiable.

“Hi, I’m a Senior Machinery Engineer of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation, Luke.”

Right, I need an alias as well… Han Xiao smiled and said, “I’m Barne.”

Luke paused and said with a deep voice, “Cornerstone Summit Corporation is constantly recruiting Mechanics. You should’ve seen the requirements. Which kind of test would you like to take? Showing your permit or testing your Grade?”

Testing my Grade.”

Luke nodded. He raised his hand and released a wave of Mechanical Force. He then grabbed the reception robot in his hand. The energy that he emitted had reached the Grade B standard.

He secretly sized Han Xiao up. Seeing that Han Xiao’s expression did not change, he then pressed a few more times on the reception robot. A probe popped out from the head of the robot. This was a device used to detect a person’s Energy Rank.

“I assume you know how to use this thing. Just release your Mechanical Force toward the probe,” Luke said.

Han Xiao exhaled deeply and carefully controlled the Mechanical Force inside his body. He worried that he might release too much of it and expose his Grade A identity.

A stream of Mechanical Force shot out from his fingertips. As Luke saw the results, his expression changed immediately, and his tone suddenly became enthusiastic.

You’re a Grade B+ Mechanic?”

That was still too much… Han Xiao thought in resignation.

Grade B+ was basically the top talent that a shipyard could employ. Although Calamity Grades were common in the secret war, they were exceedingly rare in normal galactic life. There was no way a Grade A would look for a job in a normal shipyard like this.

“Are there any other tests?”

“No, no, we will immediately give you the Senior Engineer position and salary. This is what someone at your Grade deserves.”

Luke was very enthusiastic. In the corporation, being Grade B was the basic requirement of becoming a Senior Engineer, but one still had to accumulate contributions before becoming one. Anyone at Grade B+, however, could become a Senior Engineer immediately.

“Please wait a moment. I will tell my superiors to discuss with you directly.”

Then, he turned around and instantly reported the situation to his higher ups before passionately escorting Han Xiao around to tour the various areas of the shipyard.

Not long after, a few Cornerstone Summit Corporation managers arrived and sincerely discussed the terms with Han Xiao. Han Xiao came just for the talent, so the two-year contract was very quickly agreed and signed by both parties, which included the usual terms such as not allowing Han Xiao to leak some blueprints and such.

Of course, Han Xiao was not planning to comply with the contract. He signed the contract as ‘Barne’ and planned to leave as soon as he received the talent. Even if his real identity was exposed someday, with his position in the galaxy, would this shipyard dare to go after him for breaching the contract?

Furthermore, he was not planning on hurting their profit.

I, a peak Calamity Grade, am working for you. What else do you want?

As the contract was signed, Luke smiled and shook hands with Han Xiao.

“The Cornerstone Summit Corporation welcomes you.”

Han Xiao nodded. “What project do I need to be responsible for?”

“Hmm, well, the corporation recently accepted a high-level order from one of our big customers. They provided the blueprint and asked us to mass produce a rather rare battleship model. Our assembly lines are unable to build some parts of it that require very advanced technology. Only Grade B Mechanics and above are able to learn and build these extremely complicated blueprints. Therefore, we used many of our Senior Engineers, but the progress is not optimal at the moment…’

“Understood, so my job is to build some of these parts.” Han Xiao nodded.

Yes. I shall first arrange your accommodation, then I will give a part of the blueprint to you. You have five days to learn the blueprint before borrowing the corporation’s factory to build it. Every Senior Engineer has a quota to meet. You’re new, so your schedule might be a little packed,” Luke explained.

Five days is completely unnecessary. Just give me the blueprint and I will learn it within a second… Han Xiao laughed in his mind. Plus, with the manufacturing ability of a Calamity Grade, mass building spaceship parts was a piece of cake.

Finally, a mission popped up on the interface.

[Engineer]

Mission Introduction: First line in the Mechanic Code of Conduct—A Mechanic’s career is incomplete without the experience of using others’ resources to train oneself!

Mission Requirements: Using the Cornerstone Summit Corporation’s resources, build 1,500 products of any type (must be for the corporation).

Current Progress: 0/1,500

Reward: 6,500,000 Experience, [Proficient Technician] talent.

It finally triggered. Han Xiao was joyous.

Although the name of this talent was a little boring, its effects were rather good. Talents that could strengthen the main class were always valuable.

He now had a total of twelve Mechanic type talents—[Energy Modification], [Machinery Analytical Comprehension], [Virtual Technology Essence], [Machinery Theory Summary], [Military Machinery Enlightenment], [Flexible Weapon Usage], [Super Electromagnetic Sense], [Elementary Grade Mechanical Sense], [Assembly Line Professional], [High Level Mechanical Suit Pilot], [Machinery Truth Knowledge], and [Mechanical Force Ascension-Apostle Body]. Most of them came from the Class Advancement of his main class.

The bonuses from these Mechanic type talents added up to a considerable amount.

For the rest of the day, Luke accompanied Han Xiao to know more about the areas within the shipyard. When night arrived, his accommodation was finally arranged. He would be staying in the high-level hostel at the internal area of the corporation. The other three had been acting as his bodyguards, so they moved in as well.

After they finished unpacking, Aurora could not help but ask, “Uncle, do you have some other motive for working here?”

“Oh?” Han Xiao wondered.

You actually want to steal their blueprints, right?” Aurora said with an excited tone and a smug expression.

“You’re overthinking this. I don’t need to do such low standard things.” Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. “If I wanted a blueprint, I can just buy it. I’m not poor.”

“Black Star, we’re not really going to stay here for two years, are we?” Feidin suddenly asked.

“Of course not, what are you thinking?”

Feidin sighed. “We’ve followed you around for three months. You said this was to experience different lives and see more things, but I really can’t figure out how this will help you to break through and reach Beyond Grade A.”

Han Xiao had no choice but to create an excuse. “I fought a seven-year-long war and did not improve much if at all. Maybe relaxing will give me something different.”

“Anyway,” Feidin said with resignation, “you have to know that you really don’t have much time left. If you aren’t able to break through, it’s best to make plans. Be it asking for the Dragon Emperor’s help or escaping the Shattered Star Ring, you have to at least have a plan.”

You’re saying it in a way as if I’m near my doom… It would be great if you’re Lagi…

This time, someone rang the doorbell. Luke walked in carrying a thick stack of blueprints, placed them on the table, and chatted for a while before leaving.

These were the blueprints for three parts—to prevent the technology of the entire spaceship being leaked, every Senior Engineer received blueprints of different parts and was responsible for the production of those parts.

Han Xiao quickly browsed through the blueprints in less than a minute. The blueprints of these three parts were recognized by the interface and quickly turned into abilities, fully learned by Han Xiao.

“The technology level of these three parts is a little high. Usual spaceships won’t need to use these three parts. Only super large spaceships do…”

Han Xiao was stunned.

If he was not wrong, only spaceships using Star Cluster level technology would need these three parts…

Linking these factors together… could the order that the Cornerstone Summit Corporation had received be to build a Star Cluster grade flagship? Like the Star Diamond Grade Flagship of the Purple Crystal Civilization?

That would be a secret manufacturing process even for Star Cluster civilizations!

Han Xiao was tempted. He was not an Armed Branch Mechanic and always had a shortage of blueprints for large machines. All he had that was considerably impactful was the armed satellite fortress. If he could obtain the blueprint of a Star Cluster grade flagship, it would be an amazing surprise.

Chapter 747 - 747 Eternal Light and Sardeem“s Attention

747 Eternal Light and Sardeem's Attention  

The next day, Han Xiao arrived at the shipyard early in the morning and was ready to craft the spaceship parts assigned to him.

For the sake of secrecy, the blueprint of the spaceship would be split into different groups and given to different Senior Engineers to complete. The core components of the spaceship would be crafted by the direct subordinates of the organization. New engineers like him usually would not be involved in such a large order.

The Cornerstone Summit Corporation considered the problem of the deadline and also the Grade B+ strength that Han Xiao had displayed. Thus, they had pulled him into their plans. However, they would never pass the core portions of the blueprint to him.

The three components that Han Xiao was in charge of had a high technical requirement but were not core components. Because it was a high-grade made-to-order component, the corporation did not have a corresponding assembly line. As such, the high-grade engineers were put to use.

He originally did not plan to steal the blueprint, but if it was a Star Cluster grade flagship… cough cough… since it was the job of a Mechanic, could it be considered stealing?

He planned to make use of his Virtual Technology skill to infiltrate the database of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation. He should be able to steal the basic framework of the Star Cluster grade flagship. The virtual engineer that the Cornerstone Summit Corporation had hired to guard their database was no more than a little brother in front of him. He could easily take a stroll in the other party’s backyard without anyone noticing.

Most important blueprints were still being kept in hardcopy format. Although such a method was pretty prehistoric, it would never become outdated. After all, Virtual Mechanics were infamous all around the world, and no one wanted their own database to be eyed up by others every day.

The Cornerstone Summit Corporation was currently rushing to complete an order, and his construction speed was his advantage. As long as he could complete the quota on his hands, the corporation would probably give him the blueprints of a few more parts for him to construct. He could then farm for progress points for his mission.

As long as he found a way to steal the remaining parts of the blueprint, he would be able to complete the blueprints of the entire flagship.

Upon arriving at the work region for high grade engineers, Han Xiao immediately saw Luke and greeted him.

“Bame, why are you here?” Luke was a little surprised.

“Why do you look so surprised?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“I thought that you would spend the entire day learning the blueprints. If you want to view your workbench, I will get someone to show you around. The deadline is coming up, and I am extremely busy. I will not have time for anything else.”

Luke thought that Han Xiao was there to familiarize himself with his workplace.

Han Xiao shook his head and said, “You misunderstand. I’m here to start work.”

Luke’s eyes widened upon hearing that. “You only needed a single night to leam the blueprints I gave you?’_

This efficiency was way too high, right?

He was truly in disbelief. The parts of these high-grade spaceships were extremely complicated, and he had needed a full three days to grasp them. The way he saw it, Han Xiao should have needed a day or two to learn it at the very least. However, to think that he was actually able to leam them in a single night!

Han Xiao looked at Luke, who was in a daze, and said, “I shall get to work if there isn’t anything else.”

Luke snapped out of his daze and hurriedly said, “Alright, alright, I won’t disturb you anymore.”

Han Xiao nodded and entered his workshop.

Luke only retracted his gaze when he saw Han Xiao close the door. This new colleague Barne was even more amazing than he had thought.

The access card of a Senior Engineer could gain access to a high-grade workshop of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation. The facilities of the workshop were extremely complete, and although it could not be compared to his personal workshop in the Black Star Army, it was still extremely valuable.

Closing the door, Han Xiao was the only one left in the workshop. He then looked around at the workshop and nodded.

“They gave me a deadline of half a month to complete my parts, but I will only need half a day to complete them. Hmm, I think this is a little too exaggerated. I should slow down a bit and drag it out for three days…”

Clank!

Han Xiao then flicked out a series of compressed orbs to form various different assistants. These were specially modified machines that he had constructed personally and were peak Grade A+ machines. These machines could not be bought on the market and were his personal equipment.

Buzz!

Mechanical Force shot out from his arms, and his assistants all began to spring into action. They then made use of all the various materials and began their construction.

His large pool of experience was the reason behind why he was not afraid of the Soul Embryo. As he constructed the parts, he used his [Quantum Network Matrix] to connect to the network of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation and infiltrated their database.

Han Xiao’s Virtual Technology skill was more than sufficient to deal with the firewall of an ordinary shipyard corporation. He easily hid his tracks and went past the firewall and alarm of the database. He then got Phillip to make a copy of all their information.

“Let me see what kind of good stuff there is…” Han Xiao was in a good mood.

An endless stream of information appeared in his mind, including records of all the Cornerstone Summit Corporation’s past transactions. After eliminating all the useless information from his mind, Han Xiao dug out a bunch of useful information.

Blueprints of high-grade spaceships would not be kept in the database, and a special safe would have been constructed to store it. However, the location of the safe was not located on the map, so he did not know the location of the blueprints.

The blueprints kept within the database were those of ordinary spaceships, but Han Xiao would not reject any freebies and accepted them all. Even the meat of a mosquito was considered meat. Furthermore, he had the talent [Research Theory] and would gain one Intelligence point for every three skills. It would only benefit him to learn more blueprint skills.

After searching for a while, Han Xiao finally found information about what he was looking for—the recent large order for the Cornerstone Summit Corporation.

“Eternal Light fortress?” Han Xiao was stunned.

This flagship model was truly too famous. It was not the product of any Star Cluster civilization within the Shattered Star Ring but one of the flagship models of the Federation of Light!

Although the Eternal Light was not the trump card flagship of a Universal Civilization, it was still a top model. In ordinary galactic wars, this was one of the main flagships of the Federation of Light. The combat capability of the Eternal Light was comparable to Star Cluster level flagships and was even stronger in terms of energy. Furthermore, the cost to construct it was also cheaper, and it was one of the flagships within the Federation of Light that had a lower technical requirement.

Battleship blueprints of the Federation of Light could not even be found on the black market. To think that an ordinary shipyard in the Shattered Star Ring was actually able to construct the high-grade battleship of a Universal Civilization.

Is there a reason behind this?

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he could not help but think about various possibilities.

For the Federation of Light to secretly employ local workshops in the Shattered Star Ring to construct battleships, are they actually trying to build up their forces in this Star Field? Could it be that they’re about to make a big move? If that’s the case, the Cornerstone Summit Corporation shouldn’t be the only corporation constructing Federation of Light battleships.

Eh, that’s not right. The Federation of Light should have their own secret warehouses in the Shattered Star Ring, so there’s no need for them to outsource production. Furthermore, the only reason for them to build up their forces in the Shattered Star Ring would be to fight against the Crimson Dynasty… Could it be that their negotiations with the Crimson Dynasty are no more than a farce and they wish to occupy the Flickering World with force?

That doesn’t seem too likely. Not to mention the fact that there wasn’t such a storyline in my previous life, if the Federation of Light wanted to do so, they would have sent an army already…

After exploring the different options, Han Xiao had a more reliable guess.

This matter should not be related to the Federation of Light. Perhaps an individual got the blueprints from some unknown channel and placed an order with the Cornerstone Summit Corporation for them to aid with the construction.

If that was the case, this large customer would either have extremely close ties with the Cornerstone Summit Corporation or was an existence that the corporation could not afford to offend. If not, they would not dare to casually provide such a valuable blueprint.

If this is the case, stealing the blueprint will be even more difficult than I imagined. I may even offend a powerful organization in the process…

Han Xiao frowned slightly.

I am ‘Barne’ now and not ‘Black Star’ anyway. What has Barne stealing blueprints got to do with Black Star?

He can just steal the blueprints and run away.

However, the basic framework of the Eternal Light fortress was stored within the database. The framework of the spaceship referred to the outer armor and components of the spaceship and formed the outer shell of the spaceship. It was akin to the skeleton and skin of a spaceship and did not have any core technical skills involved. Because the external frame of such a large flagship would usually be constructed outside the atmosphere, the technical skills involved were extremely high and required the aid of an artificial intelligence. Thus, the blueprints of the framework were entered into the database.

The core components of a spaceship included the energy furnace, shield generator, hyperdrive engine, and many more. All those components formed the organs of the spaceship and were much more important than the outer frame.

As Han Xiao viewed the framework of the Eternal Light fortress, a notification popped up on his interface.

You have received [Battleship Blueprint: Eternal Light (Incomplete)!

It’s fine even if it’s incomplete. I’d better get the other parts of the blueprint… Han Xiao thought to himself.

Over the next ten or so days, Han Xiao hid himself within the shipyard to construct components, and the progress of his [Engineer] mission shot up.

He completed the first target in three days, and the upper echelons of the corporation were stunned.

After checking to ensure that there were no problems with the quality of the components, the upper echelons all felt that they had truly picked up a treasure. They then passed the blueprints of a few more parts to Han Xiao, and he completed them in less than two days.

The upper echelons of the corporation then gave Han Xiao a few more blueprints, which were completed extremely quickly. However, the upper echelons immediately fell into a conundrum. Han Xiao’s efficiency had far exceeded their expectations, and they were faced with a problem. If things continued as such, this new recruit ‘Barne’ would learn of many more blueprints. If this continued, it would go against their initial plans of splitting up the blueprint into parts to lower their risk.

Just when the upper echelons were hesitating, the big boss behind the corporation came to inspect their progress.

In the conference room, Sardeem flipped through the latest report of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation, and his gaze swept over the managers who were by the side.

“I am disappointed in your efficiency. Why isn’t the Eternal Light constructed yet?”

“Your Excellency Sardeem, this is the flagship model of a Universal Civilization. We can’t construct it quickly with our technical skills. Furthermore, our corporation only has one Grade B+ engineer at the very most, and the production capability of those high-grade components is too low…”

“Oh?” Sardeem narrowed his eyes. “I truly wonder if all of your attention is only on the sales figures of the shipyard. All of you only want to increase your sales figures for the outside world and don’t want to do your jobs?”

You… you misunderstood us. We do not have such thoughts!” The expressions of the upper echelons changed greatly, and they hurriedly defended themselves.

Although they were the upper echelons of the corporation, Sardeem was the true boss, and the Cornerstone Summit Corporation was actually Sardeem’s property. Apart from accepting the orders of the outside world, their other responsibility was to produce machines for Sardeem.

If Sardeem was the ruler of Planet Macipher, then the Cornerstone Summit Corporation was a state enterprise. As long as Sardeem was willing, he would be able to easily take back the authority of those managers.

Constructing the Eternal Light fortress was a mission that Sardeem had given the Cornerstone Summit Corporation, and the blueprint belonged to him.

“Don’t forget whose subordinates all of you are,” Sardeem warned. “I will give you four more months. If all of you still cannot complete the Eternal Light…”

The upper echelons hurriedly expressed their loyalty. “Don’t worry, we will definitely construct it.”

Sardeem then nodded and suddenly asked after reading the report, “You hired a new Senior Engineer?”

“Yes, he is called Barne.”

Sardeem then pointed at the data displayed on the report. “Even if he is a Grade B+ Mechanic, his efficiency is extremely rare. Hmm, there are two possibilities. He may be an extremely talented Mechanic with the potential to become a Calamity Grade Super, or… he hid his strength because of some motive.”

The upper echelons were stunned. “What should we do?”

“You do not need to bother about this.”

Sardeem waved his arms and revealed an excited look.

“If it is the former, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for me to take in a disciple with potential. If it is the latter, it may be even better.”

All the upper echelons then looked at each other.

“Then how should we arrange his job? Do we continue to let him construct the Eternal Light? With his efficiency, he will probably learn a large number of blueprints.”

Sardeem’s mouth curled up, and he said, “We just need to protect the blueprints of the core components. There’s no need to be worried about the other parts being leaked.”

“Alright.” No one dared to rebut.

Sardeem then stood up and had a teasing look in his eyes. “Observe him for a while. I will find the time to come into contact with him. I think that he will be an interesting fellow.”

The sea of stars was boundless, and the universe was endless.

The Shattered Star Ring was at the edge of the explored universe. This Star Field was split into more than ten Star Clusters and at least a thousand Star Systems.

Among all these Star Systems, the Eternal Night Star System was one of the most special ones.

Because a new Star Cluster Civilization was being born in this Star System.

Under the lead of their leader, their civilization rose at an unprecedented speed. Their race evolved at an unbelievable rate, and their race would forever remember the glory that their leader brought them. They changed the name of their race and were called the Star Pupil Holy Race.

Psyker was the leader of this civilization.

Today, the Star Pupil Holy Race welcomed an uninvited guest.

Chapter 748 - 748 Target: Evolution Cube!

748 Target: Evolution Cube! 

Planet Avitan of the Eternal Night Star System was not the Star Pupil Holy Race’s mother planet. It was a highly developed administrative planet. Its location was optimal, and it was an important financial center. There were more than twelve billion residents on this planet.

In a certain main city on Planet Avitan, hovering carriers flitted between the tall buildings. The Star Pupil Holy Race people who were born with the ability to fly were travelling in the sky following the traffic rules. The city was peaceful and prosperous.

However, on this day, the peace on Planet Avitan was shattered.

A crimson meteor suddenly appeared and started descending extremely quickly from outer space. The radars did not detect the movement of this meteor before this at all, as if it had appeared out of nowhere.

The meteor descended at an extremely high speed, right toward this main city. The time in which the fleet stationed at Planet Avitan could react was very little.

Countless fully automatic planetary defense formations deployed outside the planet’s atmosphere quickly responded, releasing an enormous amount of dark energy and forming a net that extended more than a hundred miles, standing in the path of the meteor’s descent.

Such devices were usually used to stop meteor showers. The dark energy was close to materializing. It had extremely strong elasticity, toughness, and extensibility. The net could make use of the tens of thousands of meters between the atmosphere and the ground as the buffer zone to shroud the meteor and stop it.

However, the meteor penetrated this dark energy net instantly like a knife cutting through silk.

The automatic defense formation immediately started executing the second plan. It launched countless homing annihilation beams, attempting to turn the meteor into dust midair, but to no avail. It was as if the meteor was indestructible while at the same time having some kind of anti-lock on ability, causing the majority of the beams to miss.

Looking down from above, the blocks of strange black marks caused by the annihilation beams could clearly be seen. Woo!

At the same time, an air strike alarm rang throughout the city that the meteor was falling toward. Countless entrances of underground shelters appeared on the city surface. Most of the citizens quickly hid in the underground shelters nearby. Very soon, the streets became empty.

They activated a gigantic protective shield, which shrouded the entire city, in an attempt to stop the impact of the meteor head-on. Thousands of antiaircraft cannons extended from below the ground of the edges of the city and fired simultaneously at the meteor in the sky.

Outside the city’s protective shield, the Calamity Grade Star Pupil Holy Race Super protecting the city floated in midair.

The black-red meteor covered in burning flames enlarged quickly in his blue eyes.

“The flames are too thick. I can’t see the exact shape of this meteor. It’s almost reached the ground. I have to stop it now!”

The protector was a Calamity Grade Psychic. He looked up at the accelerating meteor and released all his psychic energy, hoping to stop the meteor or at least alter its course.

However, to his absolute shock, he realized that his psychic energy disappeared as soon as it touched the meteor. He could not do anything to it at all.

“What the hell is this thin…”

The next moment, the speed of the meteor suddenly increased again as it strongly penetrated the protective shield and landing right in the city.

Bang!

A several-hundred-meter-wide crater appeared on the ground. The tornado-like flames quickly dissipated, showing the true identity of this ‘meteor’. It was a completely black human-shaped being, like a cluster of fog, emitting black smoke from all over its body. It had no face, only a vortex on its head with a red dot of light in the middle, as if that was its core.

It was an EsGod doppelganger!

The observation satellite of Planet Avitan recorded this and broadcasted it live to the other cities on the planet. The EsGod doppelganger was being watched by more than ten billion people.

The garrison on Planet Avitan had already noticed this. The protector of the city and the guards were trying to surround the EsGod doppelganger. The fleet stationed there started moving as well. Spaceships quickly gathered in the area, and more than half of the military forces on the entire planet were hurrying toward this city.

However, the next moment, what the EsGod doppelganger did terrified the entire planet.

As he opened his arms wide, his energy level increased at an extremely high speed. Horrifying energy gathered like a supernova that was about to explode!

Hum!

The next instant, the blinding light made all the people of Planet Avitan watching the broadcast close their eyes. Then, the exploding radiation forcefully cut off the broadcast.

However, even without the broadcast, everyone on the Planet Avitan felt it.

The ground beneath their feet trembled!

With the EsGod doppelganger as the center, a black and red energy sphere quickly expanded into an enormous size, devouring the entire city. It could even be seen from outer space.

The energy sphere expanded over the entire city, seemingly having reached its limit.

This time, the energy sphere suddenly split into two layers of energy. The outer layer became weaker, and its color became lighter, still maintaining its original size. The inner layer quickly constricted.

When the inner layer was half of the size of the outer layer, the entire energy sphere seemed to lose its balance. Be it the inner or the outer layer, they both exploded violently, turning into a radioactive impact wave, sweeping across everything in its path!

Boom!

Great rifts were created right in this city. Be it the city protector, the ground troops, or the citizens in the underground shelters, they all turned into ash in the explosion.

It was like doomsday!

When the aftershock of the explosion finally ended, this main city was wiped off the surface of the planet, erased of its existence.

All the tall buildings disappeared, only the enormous crater and great rifts were left.

Not a single soul survived.

The EsGod doppelganger slowly flew up from the bottom of the enormous crater, out of the dust that covered the sky, and exposed himself in the satellite image.

He paused for a short moment in midair before suddenly flying in another direction—toward another city.

As the satellite broadcast recovered, everyone on Planet Avitan saw this, and everyone seemed to have forgotten how to breath.

Endless fear grasped everyone’s heart.

A few minutes after the ‘gigantic explosion’, every galactic news channel of the Star Pupil Holy Race reported the news, broadcasting what was happening on Planet Avitan to the entire civilization.

At the same time, a fleet with Psyker’s ship in the middle took off from the Star Pupil Holy Race mother planet and headed to help Planet Avitan.

Three ‘Light Fox’ spaceships in stealth mode slowly parked in an area not far from the Star Pupil Holy Race mother planet.

“Psyker’s made his move. The first step is a success!”

Colin smiled ferociously and clenched his fists in excitement.

Psyker guarded his mother planet all the time, and the Evolution Cube was on his mother planet. They would only have a chance to steal the Evolution Cube if they could lure Psyker away.

Psyker’s weakness was how important his race was to him. All they had to do was place an EsGod doppelganger with Beyond Grade A strength on an important colonial planet and let the EsGod doppelganger massacre the Star Pupil Holy Race people. Psyker would undoubtedly leave his mother planet to provide aid.

Unless Psyker chose not to care about the lives of his people on that planet, he did not have a choice.

For this first doppelganger, EsGod had gifted it Esper abilities with very strong destructive powers.

EsGod could create many doppelgangers but not infinite. Although he possessed countless Esper abilities, his doppelgangers could not use all of them. Only after his original body gifted Esper abilities to his doppelgangers would the doppelgangers be able to use those abilities. His original body would not be able to use the Esper abilities that were given to the doppelgangers until the doppelgangers were dead or if he actively made them disappear.

For example, if he gave ten Esper abilities to his doppelgangers, he would then not be able to use those ten Esper abilities, nor would he be able to give those ten Esper abilities to another doppelganger.

Therefore, EsGod kept collecting Esper abilities, even duplicates. Fusing the Super High Risk Esper Ability List was not the only reason.

“Once Psyker arrives at Planet Avitan, it’ll be the time for us to move.” Orozen smiled.

Colin nodded, looked at the second EsGod doppelganger beside him, and said, “Your Excellency EsGod, please wait awhile. We will move when the time is right.”

“Hmm.” The second EsGod doppelganger nodded.

This doppelganger was controlled by the original. Colin and the others were communicating directly with EsGod, who was far away in the Central Galaxy.

This second doppelganger was gifted stealth, teleportation, anti-detection, and various Esper abilities related to espionage.

He had been hiding this team as well as blocking Psyker’s large area Psychic senses with his Esper abilities. This was why they could hide right under Psyker’s nose and remain undetected near his mother planet.

The main force of stealing the Evolution Cube was also this second EsGod doppelganger—he was the only one that could send Colin and the others to where the Evolution Cube was stored unnoticed.

As for the third doppelganger, he had hidden on Planet Avitan long ago. His plan was to work together with the first doppelganger to stall Psyker.

The third doppelganger had mostly control-type Esper abilities.

Although his doppelgangers all had Beyond Grade A level strength, they were still just doppelgangers, and they would not be able to match Psyker. One doppelganger would not be able to last long; only two doppelgangers working together would be able to stall Psyker long enough to keep him from his mother planet.

As for why EsGod was confident in stealing the Evolution Cube, it was because he had the only detailed information about the Evolution Cube.

The Evolution Cube was no small item.

Without the instruction manual, no one knew how to carry the Evolution Cube around!

Chapter 749 - 749 It Will Not Be So Easy!

749 It Will Not Be So Easy! 

When the reinforcements led by Psyker arrived on Planet Avitan, the first EsGod doppelganger had already destroyed more than twenty cities, causing heavy casualties, and was still remolding the surface of Planet Avitan.

The fleet stopped in the orbit of Planet Avitan. Psyker flew out of his spaceship and floated at the front of the fleet. He looked down at the planet surface filled with wreckages, and an immense amount of rage appeared in his eyes.

Normally, those of the Star Pupil Holy Race had four arms, three eyes, and smooth azure skin. Their organs were also different from the human race. They had two brains and five hearts, and they had no totally lethal weaknesses. Under the influence of the Evolution Cube, their genes were outstanding. Their bone structure, muscles, and blood vessels were all enhanced. Although they were not at the level of rare Universe Species yet, even the normal members of the Star Pupil Holy Race could survive in space with just their body.

Psyker’s appearance, however, was very different from his people. He had awoken the ancestor genes in his body, so he looked more ferocious. He had seven eyes on his face, among which six formed a diamond shape surrounding his main eye. His eye was like a black gem, flickering with infinite stars as if it had a galaxy in it.

He had long, white hair, but it was not actually his hair but countless tentacles as thin as hairs that could sense things. A pair of straight, snow-white horns with jade texture extended from his forehead. His shoulders, chest, wrist, knees, back, and several other places were covered by a naturally grown white exoskeleton, like he was wearing skeleton armor. His azure skin was filled with dark purple patterns. Three pairs of pipeline-looking bone limbs grew from his back, looking like the skeleton of wings when they were opened.

Of course, as the leader of a civilization, Psyker was not naked. He wore a gorgeous, tailored robe.

The next moment, Psyker dived right toward the planet’s surface. The first EsGod doppelganger noticed and stopped on a wasteland. He then looked up and looked at Psyker as he landed in front of him.

“EsGod, I know you can hear me. You threw your doppelganger to my territory. Do you want to be my enemy?” Psyker demanded in a cold tone.

He had once travelled to other Star Fields and had knowledge of all the Beyond Grade As in the Galaxy, so he had recognized this as EsGod’s doppelganger long ago.

The red dot on the doppelganger’s face flickered as EsGod took control of him. Through the doppelganger, EsGod smiled and said, “You know why I’ve come.”

“You think that as long as you lure me out, you will definitely be able to snatch away my treasure?” Psyker sneered and instantly pointed out EsGod’s intentions.

He was the leader of a civilization, so he was clearly not stupid. For a notorious Beyond Grade A brute of the Central Galaxy to suddenly appear in the Shattered Star Ring and cause destruction in his territory, it was not because EsGod just wanted to have fun. His Evolution Cube was desired by tons of people. As soon as Psyker saw the news on the mother planet, he had known what EsGod’s goal was—it could only be the Evolution Cube.

However, even though he clearly knew that leaving his mother planet would mean he was completely following EsGod’s plan, he had no other choices. No one would be able to stop the EsGod doppelganger from destroying Planet Avitan if he did not come.

“No matter how strong someone is, as long as he cares for something, he will forever have weaknesses.” The EsGod doppelganger smiled faintly.

“What’s the point of being strong if one has no goal to stand by?”

Psyker’s seven eyes narrowed simultaneously. An enormous amount of psychic energy shot up the sky. His voice suddenly became solemn and holy, as if it filled the entire sky.

“I indeed have no way to ignore your trap, but as long as I kill you quickly, luring me away will be meaningless!”

Boom!

As soon as his sentence ended, EsGod doppelganger No.l punched forward with both fists. A maroon energy wave ejected from his fists. The ground cracked open, and the already heavily damaged lands started to vibrate violently, gradually shattering.

Esper Ability—Destructive Dark Energy!

Psyker completely ignored the approaching tsunami-like energy wave. A light shot out from his seven eyes at the same time. Invisible psychic energy turned into countless needles and shot right toward the energy wave.

Boom!

Like fireworks, the energy wave exploded. Though colorful and dazzling, it was extremely dangerous. The energy emitted dug out one rift after another from the ground. Everywhere they passed, even the mud turned to ash.

Psh!

The psychic energy penetrated the explosion and landed on the EsGod doppelganger. His body violently exploded and turned into a cluster of black fog in an instant. In the black fog, a red dot of light flickered—this was the core of the EsGod doppelganger.

The next moment, all the black fog condensed around the red dot and turned back into the doppelganger but thinner.

Psyker’s psychic energy happened to be able to deal the most damage to the core of the EsGod doppelganger. Even the EsGod doppelganger would not be able to endure attacks from Beyond Grade As with ease, not to mention the fact that the EsGod doppelganger had already used quite a lot of its energy.

Bang bang bang!

The battle between Beyond Grade As shattered the sky and the earth, mainly because the EsGod doppelganger did not care about the damage caused at all and released his energy without holding back.

On the other side, Psyker’s ability would not cause too much impact. It looked like the EsGod doppelganger’s attacks were much more horrifying, but in reality, he was no match for Psyker.

After all, he was just a doppelganger. There was no way he would be able to beat a true Beyond Grade A Super in his full form.

Bang!

For the next few minutes, they fought intensely. The EsGod doppelganger was turned into a cluster of black fog time after time and barely reformed his body afterward. The red dot of light flickered constantly as if it would disappear at any moment.

As Psyker was about to maintain his momentum and completely destroy this doppelganger, he suddenly sensed a new Beyond Grade A energy source, and he instantly looked up at the sky.

The other EsGod doppelganger that had been hiding for a very long time on Planet Avitan finally appeared. He was now attacking the fleet in the orbit of the planet.

You’re right, I won’t be able to stop you with just one of my doppelgangers,” EsGod said through the doppelganger, “but if it’s two of them, stalling you for a short period won’t be a problem. After I destroy your fleet and your spaceship, you won’t be able to rush back to your mother planet.”

You talk too much!” Psyker’s eyes became firm. He did not want to waste time by speaking and immediately overwhelmed the first EsGod doppelganger with his psychic energy.

Psyker did not panic. He was not worried about the Evolution Cube being stolen at all. He felt that EsGod only knew that the Evolution Cube was a Universal Treasure but most likely had no idea what the Evolution Cube really was.

The Evolution Cube was very strange, and it was enormous. He was not able to carry it along even after studying it for so long. Unless it was directly snatched away from him, the possibility of it being stolen was next to nothing. This was also why he was confident enough to leave his mother planet and go there.

Of course, Psyker did not know about EsGod’s true trump card.

On the Star Pupil Holy Race Mother Planet, while Psyker was being stalled by two doppelgangers, the remaining EsGod doppelganger acted. Using its teleportation Esper ability, it teleported Colin, Orozen, and the others to where the Evolution Cube was stored.

An extremely strong, blinding light!

When they finally adapted to the blinding light around them, they finally looked around.

This was a strange area. They were shrouded by a light green protective shield released by the EsGod doppelganger, and everywhere outside of it was filled with a hot, viscous liquid.

“What is this place?” Orozen wondered.

“The outer core of the Star Pupil Holy Race Mother Planet,” the EsGod doppelganger said with a calm tone.

Psyker had hidden the Evolution Cube in the inner core of his mother planet and covered it with his psychic barrier, blocking the majority of detection abilities. If not because the Evolutionary Civilization recorded the method to locate the Evolution Cube, the EsGod doppelganger would not have been able to directly teleport there.

After confirming the location, the EsGod doppelganger used his psychic Esper ability to melt the barrier left by Psyker.

The next moment, a gigantic metallic object appeared before everyone’s eyes out of nowhere.

They did not know how huge this object was. All they knew was that they could only see one side of the Evolution Cube, and they could not even see the end of it.

“This is way too huge.” Colin’s pupils constricted.

Curious, Orozen reached out and touched the Evolution Cube, but his hand entered the Evolution Cube unobstructed, as if the Evolution Cube was just a projection with no physical form.

The physical state of the Evolution Cube was very strange. It was between material and energy. It could not be touched by usual means.

“The information says as long as someone’s entire body enters the Evolution Cube, they will evolve inside. That’s the simplest way to use it.” Orozen was tempted.

Colin was a little tempted, but he still remembered the mission. “Stop wasting time. Quickly contain it with the device.” One of the people quickly took out a silver, palm-sized cube and passed it to Colin.

This was a device that EsGod had built following the information left behind by the Evolutionary Civilization. Like a container to store water, its only use was to carry the enormous Evolution Cube and make it portable.

This was special technology possessed by the Evolutionary Civilization that had been lost for a long time. EsGod, who possessed information of this civilization, was the only one that could build this device!

Without this device, stealing the Evolution Cube would be an almost impossible mission.

Colin raised up the silver cube and activated it.

Ding!

The silver cube suddenly emitted a gentle light.

The enormous Evolution Cube seemed to have sensed something. It suddenly shook, and the next moment, a black beam suddenly shot out from the side that was facing them, like it was a pipe.

The Evolution Cube started to turn itself into pure energy. Through this pipe, it slowly ‘squeezed’ itself into the silver cube, as if it had finally found a home.

The Evolution Cube in the outside world started to shrink. It was as if the silver cube was slowly drinking the Evolution Cube from a straw.

Seeing that the device worked, Colin felt relieved. “The process should take a few minutes. We have more than enough time.”

As soon as his sentence ended, a ton of pale white light clusters appeared in their peripheral vision and quickly headed toward them. If not because they were all Supers, they would not have even noticed these inconspicuous ligM among all this blinding light.

“What are those?” Colin’s expression changed drastically, and he was instantly alarmed.

“As expected,” the EsGod doppelganger said, “Psyker has a backup plan. These clusters are all his psychic energy. Every one of them is equivalent to one Beyond Grade A psychic attack. This is to protect the Evolution Cube and will attack all intruders. You guys focus on the Evolution Cube; I will stop these things!”

Every one of these psychic energy clusters had strength equal to the one-time psychic weapon that had been used on Han Xiao. At this moment, more and more energy clusters appeared continuously and swamped toward them.

The EsGod doppelganger opened an invisible psychic shield that shrouded everyone.

Boom boom boom!

The psychic energy clusters landed on the shield one after another like pouring rain landing on a lake, causing countless ripples on the surface of the psychic shield.

The EsGod doppelganger’s red dot core dimmed at a visible rate. His energy was being consumed extremely quickly while enduring so many Beyond Grade A psychic attacks.

“Quickly…quickly…”

Everyone was anxious as they stared at the silver cube slowly absorbing the Evolution Cube.

They knew that once the EsGod doppelganger was destroyed, they would certainly die.

Seconds felt like years while they waited. Fortunately, although the Evolution Cube’s physical state was weird. It was still a whole object. When the silver cube absorbed a large enough portion of the Evolution Cube, it started absorbing the rest at a much quicker rate.

Finally, the last bit of the Evolution Cube turned into energy and entered the silver cube. The absorption was complete, and the cube turned from silver to black.

This was the Evolution Cube in its complete form!

“It’s done!” Colin hastily shouted.

“Go!” The EsGod doppelganger could not hold on anymore. Using the last bits of his energy, he sent everyone else back to the spaceship and immediately cut off the teleportation gate.

The next moment, this doppelganger could no longer maintain the shield and was devoured by the energy clusters, disappearing instantly.

Nonetheless, he had completed his mission of protecting his subordinates till they stole the Evolution Cube.

Doppelgangers had limited energy. Only those subordinates of his could cross the desolate universe belt and take the item back to the Fallen Ark. EsGod’s original did not dare leave the Central Galaxy casually. The three Universal Civilizations had their eyes on him at all times. If his original made a move, he would not have been able to hide this mission, and things would have been much more difficult.

With a flash before their eyes, Colin and the others were teleported back to the spaceships. Before they could speak, their attention was attracted by the loud alarm inside the spaceship.

“Sh*t, our spaceships have been discovered. The Star Pupil Holy Race has sent a fleet to attack us!”

The expression on their faces became worse instantly.

Three ‘Light Fox’ spaceships were surrounded by a large number of Star Pupil Holy Race battleships. Their shields were swamped with attacks.

When they were stealing the Evolution Cube, Psyker had sensed it. He had quickly ordered the military stationed on his mother planet to do a thorough search of the universe space around. When the EsGod doppelganger was eliminated, the three spaceships lost their stealth barrier and were finally discovered by the Star Pupil Holy Race. They were instantly besieged by the fleet.

“Quickly, leave!”

Colin had no time to observe the Evolution Cube and quickly piloted the spaceship to dodge the attacks.

The three spaceships parted ways, and one spaceship was soon destroyed.

Relying on the spaceships’ powerful engines, the two remaining spaceships entered high-speed hyperdrive and escaped. The armor of the spaceships was covered in damages.

Colin gasped for air. When they entered hyperdrive, his tense body finally relaxed.

“We escaped. With our speed, the enemies won’t be able to catch up,” Colin said with a low voice. “Activate spaceship diagnostics, calculate damages.”

The artificial intelligence of the spaceship replied with stutter, “Tsss… self-diagnosing… Ship body damage at sixty- three percent. Shield generator close to broken. Energy furnace damaged moderately. Power output decreased by forty-two percent… Tsss… Thruster damage at thirty-eight percent. Engines No.4 and No.6 are close to broken. Selfrepair device malfunctioning… Immediate repair of the spaceship is suggested. With the current state of the spaceship, it can’t stay in hyperdrive much longer.”

Orozen grinned and said, “Stealing something from a Beyond Grade A was so exciting.”

“No matter what, we have what we came for.” Colin glanced at the Evolution Cube that was now palm sized. “The spaceship can’t travel across Star Fields in its current state. We just have to find a safe place to repair the spaceship, and we will be able to return.”

“Hmm, I know a planet that can repair spaceships and is not controlled by any civilization,” Orozen said. “It’s very safe and is located at the edge of the Shattered Star Ring. We just have to fix our spaceship there, then we can leave this Star Field. I escaped from the Shattered Star Ring from there sixty years ago.”

Hearing the name of that planet, Colin checked the star map and nodded.

“Okay. It’s very far from the Star Pupil Holy Race. We can use our speed to earn enough buffer time for us to repair the spaceships.”

They would only dare travel across Star Fields after they fixed their spaceships. Otherwise, if the spaceships malfunctioned in the middle of a desolate universe belt, they could be stuck there forever.

The ‘Light Fox’ spaceships immediately changed direction, turned into a stream of light, and disappeared.

On Planet Avitan, the last EsGod doppelganger was destroyed, turning into a cluster of black fog and dissipated.

Psyker patted away the dust on his clothes and looked up at the sky with a grave expression.

The Evolution Cube has really been stolen. I didn’t expect EsGod to have the detailed information on the Evolution Cube. This was a miscalculation…”

Three EsGod doppelgangers were equivalent to three Beyond Grade As. They were working together while he was alone, so EsGod succeeding was not completely illogical. Psyker felt resigned.

This was also why EsGod was very difficult to deal with.

However, Psyker was still calm and did not panic. He narrowed his eyes and murmured, “You did succeed, but don’t ever think you’ll take the Evolution Cube away from me this easily.”

Although Psyker did not have the instruction manual of the Evolution Cube, after having the Evolution Cube for so long, he had gained some knowledge of it. Like how Austin owned the Palace of Hidden Spells, after Psyker had the Evolution Cube in his hands for so many years, he had almost made the Evolution Cube his own treasure.

He had built a spiritual connection with the Evolution Cube. Even if the Evolution Cube was not beside him, he could still remotely use the Evolution Cube to improve his psychic abilities.

At the same time, he had left a mark on the Evolution Cube. No matter where it was, he could sense the location of the Evolution Cube.

He could sense the coordinates of the Evolution Cube moving extremely quickly, marking where Colin and the rest were.

Fleeing right after you stole from me?

It won’t be so easy!

Psyker pressed a finger on his forehead and communicated with his subordinates through his psychic abilities. “Prepare the fastest spaceship for me. I’m going after those thieves!”

Chapter 750 - Unexpected Invitation

Planet Macipher, the Cornerstone Summit Corporation.

Han Xiao had been working here for more than twenty days. His name had already spread widely among the Senior Engineers. The entire corporation knew that a highly skilled Mechanic had joined them and that he had completed more than ten times the workload of a normal Senior Engineer in less than a month.

As the boss behind them had already spoken, the upper echelons of the corporation did not worry about the confidentiality of the blueprint anymore and daringly used Barne. They gave him extra quotas to hit, which led to Han Xiao getting more and more parts of the Eternal Light blueprint.

The [Engineer] mission was already completed, and he had obtained the [Proficient Technician] talent. Its effect was a slight increase in the attributes of the machinery he built of eight to fourteen percent, twenty-two percent quicker building speed, and six percent reduced cost. This scaled well given how much machinery he would be building, so it was quite a good talent.

As Han Xiao obtained the talent, he had only had one goal left in the Cornerstone Summit Corporation—to steal… no, learn the blueprint of Eternal Light.

Due to how many responsibilities were given to him, Han Xiao learned quite a lot of the blueprints. As for the blueprints given to the other Senior Engineers, he used Virtual Technology to hack into the artificial intelligence assistants of those Grade B Mechanics and monitored them in various ways. When the Senior Engineers looked at their blueprints, Phillip would then capture the image and duplicate the blueprint.

As for some blueprints that he was unable to see with this method, Han Xiao just visited those Senior Engineers with various excuses. All he had to do was look at the blueprint for a short while, and he would be able to obtain the blueprint through the interface.

Sadly, after a past Race Evolution, he had lost the Observer’s Mark ability, otherwise secretly learning the blueprint would be much easier.

In more than half a month, Han Xiao was able to obtain the majority of the Eternal Light’s blueprint. All that was left were the core blueprints. These were all tightly stored by the core engineers of the corporation, and Han Xiao had no chance to see them. He had been pondering how to obtain these blueprints for quite some time.

During this time, as players were learning more Knowledges from the faction store, his Experience increased once again.

Inside the workshop, Han Xiao was doing his job while looking at the Experience he had on his interface, calculating.

With the current amount of Experience I have, I should be able to reach about level 238 or 239. I’m just one step away from Lv240, which will be filled up in three or four more days…

Han Xiao was secretly excited. Beyond Grade As were on a completely different level to Calamity Grades. They were important people throughout the entire Galaxy, and even Universal Civilizations had to take them seriously.

Once he succeeded, he would get a seat on the highest table of the Star Field, and the Black Star Army would become a real Beyond Grade A organization.

After looking forward to it for a while, Han Xiao looked at the time. It was time for his lunch break. He stopped working, retracted all the building assistants, and planned to go for lunch.

As soon as he walked out of the workshop, Han Xiao noticed that Luke was standing outside the door.

“Bame, I was looking for you.”

“What is it? You want to have lunch with me?” Han Xiao stopped and looked at this old gentleman curiously.

Luke smiled and shook his head. “I’d be glad to do so, but this is not why I’ve come. The real owner of the corporation wants to see you.”

The real owner? Han Xiao raised his brows. “Sure, lead the way then.”

Luke gestured for Han Xiao to follow him and led him to the core area of the corporation.

After walking for more than ten minutes, the two of them arrived at the top floor of a tall building and entered a wide office.

In the room, a person sat in a chair with the chair’s back facing the door. Han Xiao could only see the back of his head. Luke stepped back and closed the door, leaving Han Xiao and this so-called ‘real owner of the corporation’ in the room. This time, this person spoke with his back still facing Han Xiao.

“Bame, this isn’t your real name, right?”

Then, this person turned around to face Han Xiao.

Seeing his appearance, Han Xiao was stunned for a moment before understanding.

It was Sardeem. Of course, that made sense. As the owner of Planet Macipher, Sardeem controlled many of its industries. The Cornerstone Summit Corporation belonging to him was not much of a surprise.

In his previous life, the players only knew that a talent would be rewarded if they worked in the Cornerstone Summit Corporation, and any Mechanics could do this mission. However, with the strength of the players at that stage, they did not come into contact with the corporation’s core. In the players’ eyes, the Cornerstone Summit Corporation was just a small unimportant side mission. Therefore, the players did not know that the owner of this shipyard turned out to be Sardeem. Nonetheless, this was not difficult to guess.

This means that the Eternal Light blueprint belongs to Sardeem… Why did he suddenly call me here? Did he find out who I am?

Han Xiao’s mind was racing.

Of course, he was not afraid at all. Although Sardeem was a Grade A+ Mechanic as well, he would be no match for him. However, he just wanted to secretly learn the Eternal Light blueprint. If his identity was exposed, he would have no choice but to snatch it… Still, Han Xiao did not like making enemies.

Seeing that Han Xiao did not speak, Sardeem gave a knowing smile.

“I’ve been observing you for quite some time. You’ve actually been hiding your strength. You’re not a Grade B+ Mechanic but a Calamity Grade Mechanic, am I right?”

Without waiting for Han Xiao to reply, Sardeem sized Han Xiao up and continued.

“A Calamity Grade willing to work in my company as a normal engineer makes me doubt your true intentions. Through my observations, you seem to be interested in the Eternal Light blueprint, right?”

After hearing what Sardeem said, Han Xiao felt relieved instead.

Whew, luckily, this guy only noticed that I’m Grade A and did not find out my real identity. He just thinks I’m a normal Calamity Grade Mechanic.

Seeing how confident Sardeem looked, Han Xiao could guess that Sardeem was certain that he had the upper hand.

Indeed, Sardeem was Grade A+ and had the entire planet as his base. This was his territory, so normal Calamity Grades were indeed no match for him in this situation.

Figuring out Sardeem’s confidence, Han Xiao calmed down. Without correcting Sardeem’s misunderstanding, he acted alert as if he really was a normal Calamity Grade.

“What do you want?”

Seeing this, Sardeem smiled with satisfaction. ‘Barne’ becoming nervous was exactly what he wanted to see.

“I don’t know where you got the information about Eternal Light from, nor do I know which organization you belong to. But don’t worry, I did not call you here today to hold you accountable. Instead, I’m giving you an invitation.”

“Invitation?” Han Xiao raised his brow.

Sardeem stood up, smiled, and said, “Become my subordinate. I can guarantee that this will be the wisest decision you ever make.”

“You’re recruiting me?” Han Xiao said with a strange tone.

Isn’t that too careless? You don’t even know my identity.

Is this because you’re absolutely confident I won’t be a problem for you?

Pal, that’s a little arrogant of you. Even someone as outstanding as me is not this arrogant!

“I have a lot of companies and a lot of troops, but I’m short of a capable assistant. You have the ability to be one. Us together will be an amazing combo,” Sardeem said in a calm tone.

Han Xiao shook his head with resignation. “I’m not inter…”

This time, Sardeem shook his hand and interrupted Han Xiao. “If you’re willing to become my subordinate, not just Eternal Light, I can let you learn all the blueprints I know.”

“Hmm, I will have to consider…” Han Xiao immediately changed what he was about to say. As the leader of a faction, of course, he was not going to be a subordinate of a Calamity Grade. However, scamming some blueprints from him seemed to be quite tempting.

After all, whatever Barne does has nothing to do with Black Star… ahem.

Han Xiao suddenly asked, “Are you forcing me? If I don’t join you, will you use force on me?”

Sardeem shook his head and laughed.

“Don’t worry, I don’t like making enemies. If I was hostile toward everyone like you that visited Planet Macipher, I wouldn’t have been able to last till now. You can reject me, and I won’t chase you away. I won’t even force you to reveal your true identity. You can still stay in the Cornerstone Summit Corporation as ‘Bame’. I have no need to reject a Grade A Mechanic from working in my company. However, I will always keep an eye on you, and I won’t let you take part in any important projects.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. “You’re quite generous.”

“It’s very tough for someone petty to achieve great things in life. I’ve managed Planet Macipher for close to a hundred and thirty years,” Sardeem said calmly. “What situation have I not seen before? Hmm?”

Han Xiao contemplated for a while and still shook his head.

As an almost Beyond Grade A faction leader, it would be too shameless for him to become a subordinate of a Calamity Grade just because of a blueprint.

Although he did put on a disguise, if he accidentally exposed his true identity one day, it would be a mark on his history he would not be able to wipe off. It would damage his high reputation in the eyes of the players and would not be beneficial for building a sense of belonging for the faction, as well as the cultivation of leeks. In conclusion, the cons outweighed the pros.

The Eternal Light blueprint was indeed a good item, but it was not something that he had to obtain no matter what.

Also, you think that I won’t be able to get the blueprint without joining you?

You’re dreaming!

Seeing that Han Xiao had rejected him, Sardeem narrowed his eyes.

“Hehe, I know you have the pride of a Calamity Grade, but I’m worth following. Do you think that normal people would be able to get the flagship blueprint of the Federation of Light?”

Han Xiao was slightly moved.

Indeed, even he could not buy a blueprint as rare as the Eternal Light blueprint. How did Sardeem get it?

Sardeem put his hands behind his back and looked at Han Xiao. “You might think that as a Calamity Grade, you don’t have to become a subordinate of another Calamity Grade, so you rejected me… But what if I told you that I’m not just representing myself and there’s a Beyond Grade A behind this?”

“Hmm?” Han Xiao noticed something.

Now that he thought about it carefully, there should be some unknown reasons that brought about Planet Macipher’s prosperity other than Sardeem’s personal strength. He might indeed be a secret officer of a certain Beyond Grade A.

However, there were only four Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring. Who did this guy work for?

Tyrant? Possible, but not likely. After all, Sardeem was not a buffed and muscular dude.

Magus? That did not feel right either. Sardeem was not a mage…

Star Pupil? Not likely given how rarely that guy left his own territory.

Could it be the Dragon Emperor? Laughable.

Seeing that Han Xiao was confused, Sardeem shook his head and smiled.

“You have definitely heard of him before.”

Pride appeared on Sardeem’s face, together with a sense of superiority.

“Do you know about… the Mechanic Empire?”

Han Xiao was completely shocked and almost wanted to leave right away.

Mechanic Empire Manison?

Don’t know, never heard before, bye!

Chapter 751 - 751 Arrival

751 Arrival

Sardeem being Manison’s subordinate was a piece of intelligence that Han Xiao did not expect to obtain. In his previous life, Sardeem had not been considered a known NPC to the players and had no mission to trigger. He did not think that Sardeem was hiding this much.

Manison was an extremely strong guy. As a member of The Ancient Ones, he created his own faction in the Calamity of the Supers version.

Han Xiao was very sensitive to anything related to Manison and did not want to have anything to do with him. This was because of Aroshia.

She was a survivor of an artificial intelligence civilization conquered by Manison, and Risda was still hoping that Han Xiao could avenge them. Han Xiao still had the [Reboot] mission on his interface.

However, he was not willing to mess with this ancient and powerful being. The Mechanic Empire had no conflict of interest with him. It would be too big a loss for Han Xiao to become his enemy for just a normal mission. He actually did not want to do this mission, so he had been delaying it. Risda also knew that this was impossible without the help of a Beyond Grade A Super, so he had waited patiently and did not hurry Han Xiao.

Manison was mainly in the Central Galaxy and the Primeval Star River, but his organization had fangs secretly distributed among many Star Fields. His ‘Mechanic Empire’ was not just a reference to his Mechanical Army but also signified that the number of Mechanics under his command could form an entire empire.

Manison likes to recruit Mechanics. This is probably also the reason his subordinate in the Shattered Star Ring, Sardeem, is suddenly recruiting me. No wonder this guy is so arrogant.

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

However, although he was shocked by Sardeem’s background, he quickly calmed down.

No matter what, Manison did not even know that he existed. They had no conflict with each other, so he did not have to fear him.

Manison not knowing of Han Xiao’s existence was his biggest advantage. Furthermore, he had surprisingly discovered that Sardeem was secretly under the Mechanic Empire, which was a huge gain.

After purposely acting like he was hesitating for a while, Han Xiao shook his head. “Of course, I’ve heard of the Mechanic Empire, but I still don’t want to join you.”

Sardeem’s confidence fixed on his face. This time, he was the one that was shocked instead.

He had thought that as long as he mentioned the Mechanic Empire, recruiting this person would be a piece of cake. He did not expect ‘Barne’ to reject him.

“Don’t you know how many resources the Mechanic Empire has and how valuable they are to a Mechanic?” Sardeem said with an incredulous tone.

Manison had been stockpiling technology and blueprints for countless years. Not even mentioning the Cutting-Edge Knowledges, he most likely even had the Ultimate Knowledges for the Mechanic class, as well as all kinds of secret or lost blueprints. He even had tons of spaceships and weapon blueprints of the three Universal Civilizations. These attracted countless Mechanics to join under his command… of course, those Knowledges all had to be exchanged for contribution.

Han Xiao raised his brows.

“I know what you mean, but not all Mechanics want to be Manison’s subordinates, right?”

He was indeed tempted by the resources of the Mechanic Empire. However, that did not come for free. He had to do things for the Mechanic Empire over the long term. Unlike joining under Sardeem, whom he had confidence that he could completely beat, joining the Mechanic Empire was different as he certainly could not beat him. This meant that once he joined the Mechanic Empire, his true identity would definitely be exposed, and he would really end up working for him.

Therefore, there was no way that he was going to accept the invitation. This was like a Fortune 500 company trying to hire him, but he would rather start his own company. Although my company is not as big as yours now, I’m the one that gets all the profits!

Sardeem narrowed his eyes, turned around, and sat back in the chair. With an expressionless face, he said, “Then you can leave now.”

Seeing that Barne had made up his mind, he did not want to waste any time and energy convincing him.

He was not worried about Han Xiao knowing his identity. After operating Planet Macipher for more than a hundred years, his background was no secret to many people. He dared to tell the truth of his background because he was not afraid of it being exposed. He was legally operating Planet Macipher, so what if people knew that he was part of the Mechanic Empire? His Excellency Manison was not a wanted criminal; having a subordinate in the Shattered Star Ring to build a stronghold did not break any laws.

Han Xiao did not care about Sardeem’s dissatisfaction. He shook his head and left the room with a little resignation.

He was not afraid of offending Sardeem, but this meant that Sardeem would definitely monitor him more closely, which would make stealing the Eternal Light blueprints even more difficult.

Fortunately, Sardeem did not discover my true identity. His misjudgment of my strength works to my advantage. I should be able to fool him with some tricks, but if I still can’t steal it in the end, I can only use Bame’s identity to rob it… Or should I change to another identity?

While thinking about murdering and robbing, Han Xiao slowly walked away.

After Han Xiao left, Sardeem was the only one left in the office. He shook his head and was rather disappointed.

Initially, he had thought that recruiting Barne would be simple, but he did not expect this guy to be so stubborn.

Di di di…

At this time, Sardeem’s communicator rang.

As he looked at the caller, his expression instantly changed, and he immediately picked up the communicator. “Greetings, Your Excellency Psyker!”

The person that was contacting him was Psyker!

Psyker’s video call appeared on the screen, and he asked, “If I remember correctly, Planet Macipher is your territory, right?”

Yes, what can I do for you?”

Sardeem’s tone was very respectful, completely different from how he talked to Han Xiao.

As the leader of the Star Pupil Holy Race, it was simple for Psyker to contact the owner of a known neutral planet.

Furthermore, he had known Sardeem for a long time. The Arcane Church was behind him, so he had access to a lot of information. Sardeem’s true identity was no secret to him at all.

As he was backed by the Arcane Church, although Psyker was in the remote Shattered Star Ring, he was still quite known in the Central Galaxy’s Beyond Grade A circle. These powerful individuals all knew that he was a semi-ally of the Arcane Church and was a valuable chip for them.

Although Psyker focused on managing his race and did not like to cause trouble like the Tyrant, in terms of influence in high society, Psyker was the one at the top among the four Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring.

Therefore, Sardeem showed him a lot of respect.

“Hmm, I have something I need you to do,” Psyker said slowly. “I need you to pay attention to a ‘Light Fox’ model spaceship. I will send its appearance to you later. No matter who arrives on your planet in this type of spaceship, pay close attention to them. They’re very likely there to repair their spaceship, so find a way to keep them on Planet Macipher.”

“Okay, I got it.” Without a thought, Sardeem agreed—this was basically a gifted favor.

Although he claimed to be neutral, he knew what kind of people he had to give privileges to.

You must stall them and not let them escape the Shattered Star Ring,” Psyker emphasized.

“Understood.” Sardeem nodded.

Psyker then hung up.

As one of the EsGod doppelgangers had used teleportation to move Colin and the others to steal the Evolution Cube, the Star Pupil Holy Race had no visual records of these people and did not know what they looked like. However, due to the battleship fight outside their mothership, they knew the looks of these ‘Light Fox’ spaceships.

The mark that Psyker had left on the Evolution Cube showed that the Evolution Cube was no longer escaping in hyperdrive and had stopped for the first time. After looking at the star map, Psyker realized that the Evolution Cube had stopped near Planet Macipher.

Since he knew the location of their spaceship, he could guess what those thieves were planning.

Therefore, Psyker came up with a plan and contacted Sardeem to get his help.

While doing so, he had been heading toward Planet Macipher all along. As long as Sardeem could stall them for a few days, he would be able to arrive.

With his power, Colin and the others would not be able to escape.

At the same time in the orbit of Planet Macipher, Colin piloted the heavily damaged ‘Light Fox’ spaceship and slowly approached the port of Planet Macipher.

Due to the superiority of their spaceship’s engine, they had maintained high-speed hyperdrive and crossed a small half of the Star Field in dose to ten days, leaving their pursuers far behind.

They had finally arrived at this famous neutral planet. Planet Macipher was the place that they had chosen to repair their spaceship.

Chapter 752 - Emperor Mechanic!

The Light Fox spaceships flew toward the Planet Macipher port. Inside the cabin, Colin was speaking to his subordinates.

“We will first land in a sub-city. You guys will go and find a local shipyard immediately. Have them transport our spaceships over and repair them as soon as possible. Money isn’t an issue… As for the rest of us, we will be finding a relatively hidden spot in the sub-city to rest.”

The others replied disorderly.

“Don’t worry,” Orozen said lazily, “Planet Macipher is a neutral planet. No one will trouble us. The Star Pupil Holy Race doesn’t even know the direction we escaped in. There’s no one chasing after us, so we’re basically safe. We just have to stay one or two days on Planet Macipher and wait for our spaceships to be repaired. Then, we can take the Evolution Cube back.”

Speaking of the Evolution Cube, desire appeared in Orozen’s eyes as he subconsciously glanced at the tiny black cube hanging on Colin’s neck.

Noticing his glance, Colin said, “We will figure out how to use this thing after we leave the Shattered Star Ring. Don’t even think about it now.”

With such a treasure in hand, everyone was tempted, but no one had any underlying thoughts. They just wanted to experience the Evolution Cube’s effects at most.

Although the Evolution Cube was a Universal Treasure, it was not worth betraying EsGod for.

As EsGod had the data of the Evolutionary Civilization, they knew a thing or two about the Evolution Cube as well, so they did not have any unnecessary expectations for it. After all, even with the Star Pupil Holy Race having so many Calamity Grades, Psyker was still the only Beyond Grade A.

However, the fact that using the Evolution Cube would make them stronger was an indisputable truth.

This time, the spaceships entered the port, completed the simple procedures, and descended toward one of the subcities on Planet Macipher.

As soon as they left their spaceships, Colin and the rest started moving. They found a relatively unknown shipyard and paid them to repair their spaceships.

The Light Fox spaceships were equipped with top-notch hyperdrive engines. It only took them a few days to travel the distance that would take normal spaceship months. Otherwise, they would not have arrived at Planet Macipher, which was at the edge of the Shattered Star Ring, in just ten days from the Star Pupil Holy Race’s territory. They insisted on repairing the spaceships because the speed of the Light Fox spaceships would save them a ton of time while traveling. They definitely would not change their spaceships unless they had absolutely no other choice.

As they had escaped as fast as they could, they did not know for sure if there were any pursuers behind them.

However, to them, the super high-speed hyperdrive of the Light Fox spaceship was more than enough to get rid of any pursuers. The Star Pupil Holy Race might not even know where they had gone. Of course, the connection between Psyker and the Evolution Cube was a secret, so they did not know that their location had already been exposed.

As for their identities, they were not worried at all. They had stolen the Evolution Cube while using the teleportation ability of the EsGod doppelganger, so the Star Pupil Holy Race did not know what they looked like.

The only time they were exposed was back in the Tyla Civilization, which was already many months ago and had nothing to do with them stealing the Evolution Cube. No one would link the two incidents together. After all, the Star Pupil Holy Race did not announce that the Evolution Cube had been stolen, not even in the local news on Planet Avitan. The secret war was still at the top of the news.

Therefore, to Colin and the others, arriving at the Planet Macipher meant that they already had one foot out of the Shattered Star Ring. They thought that they were completely safe.

As their spaceships were sent for repair, Colin and the others stayed in a hotel in the sub-city.

What they did not know was, the moment they entered Planet Macipher, they were already noticed.

Only half an hour after Psyker’s call…

“The Light Fox spaceships have already appeared…”

Sardeem received the information immediately.

The port entry information throughout Planet Macipher was monitored by him. As soon as Colin’s spaceships entered, they were discovered. Sardeem monitored Colin and the others closely.

They went to Sub-City No.2, found a shipyard there to repair their spaceship, and went to a hostel located at…”

The entire planet was under his surveillance. After locking onto the Light Fox spaceships, Sardeem then monitored Colin and the rest.

He did not recognize them, but after his assistant artificial intelligence searched for a while, he found Orozen’s bounty from the Tyla Civilization.

“A group of wanted criminals? Why is Psyker after them?” Sardeem could not help but imagine. “Could it be that he wants to use this opportunity to establish a good relationship with the Tyla Civilization? It is indeed possible for Psyker to do something like this, but the fact that he’s doing it personally… maybe it’s because he wants to increase his influence?”

Given how much information he lacked, of course, he had no idea that the Evolution Cube had been stolen.

Also, Sardeem would definitely not link the small black cube on Colin’s neck to the gigantic Evolution Cube.

“Psyker just wants me to stall them. Hmm, if not needed, I don’t have to fight them.”

Sardeem pondered for a while and decided not to alarm them.

Instead, he issued a new order to his mechanical low enforcement troops and secretly increased the patrol density of the area around Colin and the others. This would allow him to monitor them even more closely.

“Right…”

Sardeem thought of something else. He called the shipyard that had taken the job to repair the Light Fox spaceships and ordered them to delay the process.

Although this shipyard did not belong to him, with his position on Planet Macipher, he had the power to do this.

“That should be enough. Now, I just have to slowly monitor them…”

Sardeem gave a new order to the control center of the floating city to alert him as soon as Colin and the others did anything abnormal. He then put this matter aside.

As the owner of a planet, he was very busy, so there was no way he was going to stare at the monitors all day long.

After the unpleasant meeting with Sardeem ended, Han Xiao realized that no one chased him away. He completed the job for the afternoon as usual, but when evening came, he received some bad news.

The Cornerstone Summit Corporation had moved him out of the Eternal Light project and did not let him continue participating in this project. He was no longer needed to build the spaceship parts, and the blueprints in his hands were also taken away.

He had already learned all those blueprints, so taking them away did not matter to him. However, the signal given by Sardeem was very clear—he was not going to let Han Xiao have any chance of catching a glimpse of the Eternal Light blueprint.

Sardeem has started to guard against me. If I continue to stay here, I will only become manual labor and will never participate in important projects.

Han Xiao shook his head.

I’ve already got the talent, so there’s no need to continue staying on Planet Macipher. I can leave as soon as I get the Eternal Light blueprint…

Although Sardeem had raised his guard against him, Han Xiao already had some plans in mind to steal the remaining core blueprints of Eternal Light.

Speaking of which, Sardeem was the one who had given him the idea.

Initially, Han Xiao could not find out where those core blueprints were hidden in the database of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation, so he was at a dead end. However, after Sardeem actively told him his true identity, he now had a new goal.

It turned out that Sardeem was the actual owner of the Eternal Light blueprint.

This meant that he definitely had an Eternal Light blueprint in his home, so Han Xiao did not need to do anything to the Cornerstone Summit Corporation.

Sardeem’s home was that magnificent floating city base above Planet Macipher.

Han Xiao’s target was to hack Sardeem’s floating city!

Sardeem doesn’t know my true strength. I wonder if he will regret telling me his true identity today… Oh, I almost forgot, he definitely won’t because he will never know I have hacked into his floating city.

If he did not work in the Cornerstone Summit Corporation because of a talent, he would not have attracted Sardeem’s attention. If he did not attract Sardeem’s attention, Sardeem would not have attempted to recruit him. If he was not recruited, he would not have known that Sardeem was the real owner of the Eternal Light blueprint.

It could be said that Sardeem had personally led the way for him.

Han Xiao sneered in his mind.

The floating city was the base of a Grade A+ Armed Branch Mechanic. Compared to the database of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation, its artificial intelligence defense was on a completely different level.

However, Han Xiao was a Virtual Mechanic whose level was even higher than Sardeem. As long as he made sufficient preparations, he would be able to hack into the control panel of the floating city without being noticed.

It’s best to increase my chances even further…

Han Xiao was now level 221. He would trigger the Class Advancement of [Apostle Mechanic] at level 225. His Virtual Technology would be enhanced once again after the Class Advancement.

He had plenty of Experience in his interface. As nothing urgent had happened before, Han Xiao wanted to hoard enough Experience until he could reach level 240. Now that he needed it, he did not wait any longer.

The night on Planet Macipher was as boisterous as the day. The entertainment venues there were open throughout the night. Spaceships flew between tall buildings, leaving colorful flame trails like rainbows in the night sky.

Due to how rich the nightlife was, no one stopped Han Xiao from leaving the Cornerstone Summit Corporation hostel.

He went to the ground port, returned to the hangar that he had rented, walked into the spaceship, and entered the training room. This was to prevent the impact caused by his Class Advancement from attracting unwanted attention.

After closing the door of the training room, Han Xiao opened the interface and spent Experience leveling up without hesitation.

Very soon, he reached level 225 and received the Class Advancement mission of [Apostle Mechanic].

Han Xiao had spent seven years stockpiling Mission Completion Cards, so of course, he still had some. He immediately completed the Class Advancement mission.

The next moment, his brain trembled.

You have used a [Mission Completion Card]!

You have completed the Class Advancement mission!

You have received a new class [Emperor Mechanic Levell]. +300 Energy, +5 Strength, +5 Dexterity, +8 Endurance, +12 Intelligence.

You have received 10 Free Attribute Points.

You have received 1 Potential Point.

You have received the talent [Machinery Emperor]!

You have acquired the ability [Emperor Machinery Affinity]!

You have acquired the ability [Emperor’s Gift]!

You have acquired the ability [Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel (Unactivated)]! You have acquired the ability [Secondary Dimension Army (Unactivated)]!

You have acquired the ability [Mechanical Force—Emperor’s Power (Unactivated)]!

You have acquired the ability [King’s Mentor (Unactivated)]!

The effect of all your Virtual Technology related abilities and talents has increased by 35%

Chapter 753 - Striking Firs

[Emperor Mechanic] was the next stage of [Apostle Mechanic], which had a maximum level of 35. As the name suggested, an Emperor Mechanic could rule countless mechanical soldiers. Its abilities and talents provided huge bonuses to the Army Style while also having the ability to gather much more power into the Mechanic themself.

The introduction of the [Machinery Emperor] talent was ‘Machinery obeys you like your people.’ Its effect was a 150% increase in Virtual Intrusion efficiency and a 200% increase in Machinery Affinity, as well as an increase of one level to all machinery related abilities. This bonus could exceed the maximum level.

This talent also had another core effect. Just like the [Apostle MechanicJ’s talent, [Mechanical Force Ascension- Apostle Body], [Machinery Emperor] also caused his Mechanical Force attribute to ascend once again, acquiring the ability to gift machinery stronger powers. This was the prerequisite of many of the Emperor Mechanic’s abilities.

Of course, the new Machinery Affinity ability, [Emperor Machinery Affinity] was stronger than [Apostle Machinery Affinity], which gave 150% Machinery Affinity at the max level.

[Emperor’s Gift] was one of the core abilities. Its effect was to use Mechanical Force to enhance a single machine permanently, giving it extremely powerful additional attributes. It could only be used three times on the same target and had a very long cooldown. The extent of the enhancement depended on Han Xiao’s own attributes, and the target had a random chance of receiving an extra special ability.

To put it simply, this ability could enhance common mobs into elites or even mini-bosses!

Mechanics had the ability to enhance machinery from the start, but this ability only started to ascend to another level at this stage.

As for the other ‘Unactivated’ abilities, they could only be used once the corresponding Cutting-Edge Knowledges or even Ultimate Knowledges were learned, which Han Xiao had yet to do.

[Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel] required a few Cutting-Edge Knowledges including [Advanced Space Application]. It was an enhanced method of transmitting Mechanical Force through the Void.

Due to his race, Han Xiao could transmit Mechanical Force across long distances, but this was only achievable because he was a Void Race. [Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel], however, was technology that could be used widely, not just on himself and not just on Mechanical Force, but any kind of energy. It was a much more advanced method of transmitting energy over long distances. This was also the technology that Manison used to make an AI civilization into his ‘Indestructible Mechanic Empire’.

[Secondary Dimension Army] could hide his army in a secondary dimension. He would maintain the connection to this secondary dimension and could then open it anytime to summon the army. This was a more advanced portable technology than the compressed orbs.

[Mechanical Force—Emperor_s Power] was an ability that could gather great forces onto himself, like an advanced version of Machinery Apostilization.

At the same time, once the mechanical army receiving Mechanical Force bonuses reached a certain size, they would provide attribute bonuses to himself through the Mechanical Force link. This bonus depended on the size of the army.

The larger his army was, the more bonuses [Mechanical Force—Emperor’s Power] would provide, which meant that the Army Style benefitted from this the most.

Once he activated this ability and provided bonuses to the mechanical army through his Mechanical Force, he would receive a huge amount of bonuses. Of course, the energy consumption of this ability was enormous. Normal Mechanics would not be able to activate [Mechanical Force—Emperor’s Power] for a long time if they did not have the ability to recover energy quickly.

[King’s Mentor] and [Emperor’s Gift] were similar; they were both abilities to enhance machinery. The difference was, [King’s Mentor] was an AOE ability. Its effect was also rather special. It could store the special Mechanical Force enhanced by [Machinery Emperor] in machinery over long periods of time. With the machinery’s energy furnace, that Mechanical Force would be kept within the machinery’s body, giving the machinery self-growth capabilities.

This meant that the machinery would level up on their own without Han Xiao improving them manually.

As long as the enhanced mechanical soldiers were not destroyed in battle, their attributes would slowly increase, and they would turn into elites. Blue grade mechanical soldiers might slowly become purple grade; level 100 mechanical soldiers might slowly acquire the attributes on par with level 120 mechanical soldiers.

This was like turning the mechanical soldiers into real living soldiers that would become experienced war veteran as long as they survived.

The ability introduction was ‘A king is one who has survived hundreds of battles.’

These abilities had already showcased the specialty of [Emperor Mechanic]—a ruler of countless mechanical soldiers that were treated as living soldiers. This was where the machinery started to ascend into becoming mechanical lives.

The upgraded Mechanical Force could turn into a special form of energy that could become the machinery’s own energy source, like the ‘energy’ of the mechanical lives.

[Apostle Mechanic] was the watershed of the late stages of the Mechanic class. The later the stages, the closer the Mechanic’s abilities would resemble acts of God. The word ’emperor’ was the perfect word to describe the Mechanic’s ability at this stage—the absolute ruler of machinery.

In the training room, Han Xiao’s eyes were overflowing with electric sparks as he endured the pain brought by the changes of his Class Advancement.

This was not a Race Evolution, so Han Xiao’s body did not change, but the energy in his body became violent as if his Mechanical Force was boiling. At a microscopic level, it was as if every one of his cells turned into a supernova, absorbing Mechanical Force continuously then compressing themselves time after time.

Through this process, his Mechanical Force slowly changed and ascended.

Enormous Mechanical Force surged within his body. Han Xiao could almost hear the tide.

After a short while, it was as if the cells in his body finally became exhausted, and the energy in his body started to calm.

Whoosh!

Han Xiao took a deep breath. His senses felt refreshed once again.

Energy was fundamental to Supers. It was not just the fuel of great power—it was also the catalyst of the evolution of Super-Genes. This Class Advancement caused his Mechanical Force to evolve to another level. Although his race was still the same, Han Xiao could feel his genes become stronger.

At the later stages, every Class Advancement required even more levels than the twenty level Promotion requirement, along with the increased benefits of the Class Advancement.

This Class Advancement improved his Mechanic abilities tremendously. Although his attributes did not change much, all these new abilities and talents were extremely powerful.

While browsing the new abilities, Han Xiao was quite joyous.

“Four unactivated abilities that need the corresponding Knowledges to activate. Tsk, I will only be able to test their effects after activating them…” Han Xiao pondered. “As of now, only [Machinery Emperor], [Emperor Machinery Affinity], and [Emperor’s Gift] can be used. Also, the abilities and talents related to Virtual Technology are enhanced by thirty-five percent, so hacking into Sardeem’s floating city is more likely to be successful.”

After contemplating for a while, Han Xiao decided not to level up any of his abilities. Level 240 was right around the corner, so he did not want to spend his experience anywhere else.

He then spent the rest of his Experience in leveling up to see how much more he needed exactly to reach level 240.

The remaining Experience only filled up three-quarters of his Experience gauge and was not enough to level up.

He should be just two levels away from Beyond Grade A.

“Hmm, about the same as my estimates. In just a few days, the Experience provided by the players should be able to fill this gap.” Han Xiao nodded.

He would have more than enough time to study his new abilities in the future, but he had another goal that night. He immediately connected himself to the quantum network.

His vision turned dark. The next moment, the nodes in the quantum network lit up one after another like fireworks.

The size and brightness of these nodes varied. Beams created by information transmission connected those nodes with one another, forming a network illustrating the shape of the city.

Han Xiao looked up. Above the main city, the quantum network nodes of the floating city were as bright as stars, shrouded in countless silk shaped defense measures like a crystal covered in runes.

With one thought, Han Xiao headed directly to the floating city’s quantum network nodes. The floating city node expanded in his vision as he entered right into this node.

A thick wall formed by data streams entered his eyes, and many data dots patrolled around like an army.

This was the most outside layer of the floating city’s control center firewall.

“Phillip, get him.”

Of course, Sardeem understood the threat of Virtual Mechanics. As a Grade A+ Mechanic, he had deployed many defense measures for his base. The virtual defense of the floating city’s control center was many levels above that of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation. Usual Calamity Grade Virtual Mechanics would not have been able to penetrate it at all.

However, Han Xiao’s Virtual Technology had just been enhanced after his Class Advancement, so it was rather easy for him to deal with the floating city’s virtual defense.

After all, Armed Branch Mechanics were not strong in this field. Furthermore, Han Xiao’s raw strength was already above Sardeem to quite an extent.

Hacking without living a trace and without being noticed was harder than directly demolishing the opponent’s artificial intelligence. Even Han Xiao did not dare act too hastily. He worked together with Phillip and slowly hacked through the defenses of the floating city’s control panel to avoid triggering the alarm.

While his base was quietly being violated by Han Xiao and Phillip, Sardeem had no idea that this was happening.

After spending quite some time, Han Xiao finally went around the defense of the floating city’s control center and entered the control center, gaining temporary access.

“Got it.” Han Xiao was content. “Phillip, search his database for the Eternal Light blueprint.”

“Searching, hum… Found it, hum!” Phillip’s tone was very cheerful.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled as he could not hold back his laughter any longer. “As expected, this guy did not put the blueprint in the database of any of his businesses but his own base.”

Sardeem most likely exchanged this blueprint from the Mechanic Empire with contributions. Mechanic Empire’s home was so far from the Shattered Star Ring, so there was no way the physical copy of the blueprint would be transported there. Hence, the initial way he received the blueprint was definitely through data transmission. It was highly likely that Sardeem still had the complete blueprint stored in the data form.

As the defense of the floating city was on a completely different level compared to the Cornerstone Summit Corporation, most Virtual Mechanics were not able to hack it. That was why Sardeem felt safer storing it in the database of his base.

Because of that, Han Xiao did not have to steal the physical copy of the blueprint; he just had to copy the floating city’s database which was much easier.

Han Xiao chuckled. “Phillip, copy all the blueprints in his database.”

Since the complete blueprint of Eternal Light was in the database, all the blueprints that Sardeem had obtained from the Mechanic Empire were likely in it as well.

Since he had gone through so much trouble to hack into it, Han Xiao did not mind taking everything that Sardeem had in his storage.

While doing so, Han Xiao took a look at what Sardeem was doing, which made him feel rather strange.

Sardeem happened to be browsing his database as well. As the alarm had not been triggered, even though they were using the database at the same time, he did not notice Han Xiao. He had no idea that Han Xiao had entered his control center and that his home was basically being robbed right now.

As Phillip was copying the blueprints, he had nothing else to do, so he opened the command log of the control center to see what Sardeem had been doing lately.

The log recorded all of Sardeem’s commands. Han Xiao was initially just scanning through casually, but when he noticed the history of Sardeem manually operating the control center today, his eyes stopped on that line of the log.

“Deploying a large number of mechanical law reinforcement troops to Sub-City No.2 to monitor a group of people? Interesting, isn’t Sardeem neutral? Why is he suddenly surveilling people? It must be at least a Calamity Grade, like Bame, to attract his attention… Hmm, I got it, this guy is probably going to recruit someone else under the Mechanic Empire’s name once again. If it really is a Calamity Grade, I might be able to snatch a talent away from him before leaving Planet Macipher.”

Han Xiao could not help but giggle. He casually brought up the image of the target of the surveillance. When he saw the image clearly, his smile froze on his face.

It was Colin and his gang in the image. Han Xiao has never seen these people before, but he recognized one of them.

Orozen!

A wanted criminal of the Tyla Civilization, the killer of Harrofal, and a possible subordinate of EsGod!

This man was the mission target of the Grade A Bounty Mission [Harrofal’s Revenge]!

This was completely unexpected to Han Xiao. He was stunned as guesses flashed through his mind.

“It’s these people? They’ve been missing for many months, so why are they suddenly here?”

Han Xiao started to feel alarmed.

Harrofal’s last words said that these people were very likely EsGod’s subordinates whom he had sent to avenge him. Harrofal was already dead, and now these people had suddenly appeared on Planet Macipher after a few months…

Could they have finally found him?

Han Xiao did not feel that was the case. He had kept his whereabouts hidden and disguised his identity; there was no way EsGod’s subordinates would have been able to find him.

“This is Planet Macipher, the edge of the Shattered Star Ring. Now that they’re here after a few months…Hmm, could it be that they’re planning to leave the Shattered Star Ring and escape from the Tyla Civilization, not coming for me anymore?”

Han Xiao frowned, deep in thought. From his perspective, what had happened regarding Harrofal was their only link. With such limited clues, he could only make very little speculations.

He did not expect to meet EsGod’s subordinates there. Was this their plan, or was it a pure coincidence?

After pondering for a while, Han Xiao had made up his mind.

“No matter what, since these people are here, be it to avenge Harrofal or to complete the Bounty Mission, there’s no reason to let them get away!”

Harrofal was his friend that had fought alongside him. Though Han Xiao did not have the time to search for the culprit, he would not let them go since they had appeared right before his eyes.

Han Xiao looked at the surveillance footage again, and he thought that he had guessed Sardeem’s goal.

“Humph, it seems this guy wants the bounty as well. I have to strike first!”

This was not difficult for him at all. Since he had already hacked into the floating city’s control center, he just had to make the mechanical law reinforcement troops not trigger the alarm, and he would be able to get to these people before Sardeem.

The only problem was, Han Xiao felt that these people might have EsGod’s doppelgangers.

Han Xiao clenched his fists. Due to that possibility, the threat of Orozen and his gang was very close to Beyond Grade A to him, so he remained cautious.

“Currently, I’m hidden, and they’re not. My only choice is to kill them before they can summon the EsGod doppelganger!”

Han Xiao clenched his teeth.

He did not know how strong these people were except that Orozen was Calamity Grade, but he could easily beat a group of normal Calamity Grades.

He should have a fifty percent chance of killing them before they could use the EsGod doppelganger!

Chapter 754 - Did I Become Blind?

After locking onto Orozen’s location, Han Xiao immediately contacted Feidin and Hila.

“Where are you?”

The scene of a beast fighting colosseum appeared on the screen with a couple of beasts from different planets fighting each other in the plaza. The plaza was separated from the spectator stands with a protective shield, and the stands were filled with people. Feidin was seated within the crowd, and both Hila and Aurora were beside him with all their attention focused on the plaza.

“This is the biggest gambling den in the city, so we’re gambling here,” Feidin replied helplessly.

“Since when do you like gambling?” Han Xiao asked with doubt.

“Cough, I don’t like it, but Chen Xing insisted on coming. She said that it would be a waste to not collect free money and asked me to earn some…”

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly and asked, “So, what about the other two?”

“They insisted on following me…”

Just as he finished saying those words, the battle in the stadium ended. A large python with screen scales spat out a venomous fog and paralyzed the final beast.

“We won again! We won again!” Aurora waved her arm excitedly. “Sister, we’ve won four times in a row now!”

Hila nodded before turning around to look at Feidin with a hint of addiction in her eyes. “What will you be betting on next?”

Feidin shrugged helplessly, as if he did not wish to lead them further astray.

Han Xiao felt his head ache upon witnessing such a scene and said, “Stop playing already. We have something to do. Come and meet up with me. I will be waiting for you guys at City No. 2.1 will send you the coordinates later.”

Han Xiao then hung up and left the port for City No. 2 while maintaining his connection to the main system of the floating city.

Why bother waiting for another day? Han Xiao decided to move against Orozen and his gang immediately!

However, Sardeem was a subordinate of the Mechanic Empire, so Han Xiao did not plan to reveal his true identity. Furthermore, he had already obtained the blueprints, and there was no need for him to remain on Planet Macipher. Bame’s identity was already useless, so he was not afraid of making trouble under Barne’s name. He did not need to worry about the repercussions of dealing with Orozen on the surface of the planet.

Han Xiao waited at the gathering point of City No. 2 for a while, and Hila’s group of three met up with him soon after. The moment that they saw Han Xiao, Aurora immediately detected Han Xiao’s change and let out a gasp.

Tour life force has been strengthened again!”

Feidin and Hila were both stunned as they heard that.

Han Xiao did not deny it and nodded. “I have a feeling that I have already touched the door to becoming a Beyond Grade A Super.”

Hila’s body shook, and she looked at Han Xiao with a complicated gaze.

Feidin was extremely happy for Han Xiao and asked, “Are we going to leave Planet Macipher?”

Yes, but before we leave, I have something else to do…”

Han Xiao immediately explained to the others about what he intended to do.

Hila nodded. “Since the enemies are Grade A Supers, Feidin and I will accompany you, and Aurora should wait on the spaceship.”

Feidin did not have any issue with killing a wanted criminal, but he was a little puzzled. “With your strength, you shouldn’t need our help to deal with two Calamity Grade Supers, right?”

Han Xiao shook his head, and his tone became solemn. “Don’t look down on them. They are subordinates of EsGod and have an EsGod doppelganger with Beyond Grade A strength. We need to kill them the instant the battle breaks out, so I will be going all out from the start. I will be more confident with both of you there!”

Upon hearing that this matter was related to a Beyond Grade A Super, Hila and Feidin both became serious.

“If the enemy summons EsGod’s doppelganger, my life won’t be in danger because of my strength, but it is different for the both of you. Thus, both of you must listen to my orders; we only have a single chance.”

Han Xiao immediately described his plan to them.

He had already suffered a loss once, so he did not make any rash moves this time. Because the enemy did not know of his existence, he decided to first make sufficient preparations.

City No. 2’s Star Bridge Inn was where Colin and the others were staying.

Star Bridge Inn was located in the red light district of City No. 2, and this was a district with various entertainment facilities. This inn was located in the middle of the street and was extremely eye catching.

Colin and his gang had arrived on Planet Macipher that day. After sending their spaceships for repairs, they spent their money like water in the inn and called for hostesses of different races to serve them.

The members of Fallen Ark naturally did not have any discipline and were used to indulging in their desires. Even though Colin was extremely focused on the mission, he did not reject this activity. The moment they began their long return journey, they would have to spend a few years in the desolate universe belt. Those last few days on Planet Macipher would be their final chance to enjoy themselves.

Colin pushed aside the hostess who was sleeping on him and climbed out from his bed. The large bed was currently filled with more than ten exhausted females of different species.

He then put on his robe to cover his scarred body and took out a bottle of beer from the fridge. Finishing half the bottle in a single mouth, he walked to the window of the room and looked outside at the view.

It was already late in the night, but there were still many pedestrians on the streets. However, at least forty to fifty percent of them were drunk. Green and red lights intersected each other to form rainbow-colored lights in the sky of the city, and the entire planet seemed to be indulging in luxuries. From time to time, an aircraft would cut across the sky; they were the mechanical patrol squad making their rounds.

Looking out at the scenery, Colin recalled all of his actions over the past few months. He had performed two great feats in the Shattered Star Ring. He had thrown the Star Pupil Holy Race into complete chaos with their local Beyond Grade A Super being tricked by him as well. Following which, he had managed to complete his mission and retreat successfully. Colin could not help but have a sense of pride in his heart.

He then touched the Evolution Cube, which was hanging on his neck, and smirked with disdain.

“Ah…the Shattered Star Ring.”

This Star Field did not amount to much.

Just when this thought surfaced in his head, a blinding light exploded from the window before him.

Boom!

The window frame exploded the very next moment!

The shockwave from the explosion sent the unprepared Colin flying backward. His back smashed through the wall of the room, and he landed in the corridor of the inn. At the same time, a similar explosion happened in all the rooms, and all of Colin’s subordinates were sent flying.

The entire inn experienced explosions with rocks and concrete slabs flying in all directions. A huge dust cloud enveloped the entire inn, and the inn was reduced to ruins.

A naked Orozen also fell into the corridor, and both Colin and Orozen looked at each other. The look of fury in their eyes revealed the same message.

There is someone who actually dares ambush us?

Could they be bounty hunters?

The enemy was definitely after the bounty issued by the Tyla Civilization, but with both of them present, the bounty hunters were seeking death!

Colin glared at Orozen fiercely and was about to unleash his Calamity Grade strength to get rid of the bounty hunters. The very next moment, two mental attacks swept across the entire inn. One was dark red and the other colorless.

Hu!

The brains of all his subordinates exploded, and only Colin and Orozen were able to endure the two mental attacks. However, they felt a splitting headache, and their minds blanked out, temporarily losing control of their body.

There were actually two Calamity Grade Supers among the bounty hunters?

The faces of Colin and Orozen changed greatly.

But before they could even struggle, a brilliant ray of light shone in their eyes again.

This was the last scene that both of them saw.

Outside the Star Bridge Inn, the pedestrians were all shocked and hid as far away as they could.

A moment ago, a large mechanical army had suddenly appeared and surrounded the entire inn. The mechanical army rained down heavy fire on the inn with tens of thousands of shots being fired every second.

Boom!

The street that the Star Bridge Inn was located on had been flattened!

The crowd on the streets were blocked out by the mechanical army and could not see what was going on inside.

On the other side of the encirclement, Han Xiao watched as the mechanical soldiers brought two corpses before him. The two corpses belonged to Colin and Orozen.

Before either of them could even fight back, they were wiped out by the ambush of the mechanical army!

Han Xiao had tried his best to overestimate the combat strength of the enemy and was prepared to personally engage with the enemy when the mechanical army rained down their fire from the side. However, he had never imagined that the two Calamity Grade Supers would die under a single round of fire. He was truly dumbfounded.

This had gone much more successfully than he expected.

Han Xiao had formulated a few backup plans but realized that they were all completely useless. The ease of this mission truly shocked him.

Weren’t they the subordinates of EsGod? Why were they so weak?

I thought that the subordinates of EsGod would be a little bit more powerful. It doesn’t feel any different from killing other Calamity Grade Supers…

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted, and he felt as though he had just plunged his fists into cotton.

This was no different from killing a chicken with an ox’s blade.

Oh, it may be because I just had a Class Advancement, which increased my strength. Thus, I am able to suppress ordinary Calamity Grade Supers more easily. Right, neither of them have a talent that ignores true damage. I triggered the True Damage attack thrice, so it’s not too surprising for them to have been taken out in a single go.

Han Xiao could only persuade himself as such.

Originally, he could already suppress almost all Calamity Grade Supers. After completing his Class Advancement, not to mention two Calamity Grade Supers, he would be able to face even twenty of them.

With Orozen dead, the [Harrofal’s Revenge] mission was also completed. He then got Phillip to use one of his mechanical suits to take Orozen’s corpse back to the Tyla Civilization in exchange for the bounty.

At this moment, Han Xiao looked at the other corpse and spotted the cube on Colin’s neck.

What is this thing? It actually wasn’t destroyed despite the attacks of the mechanical army?

Han Xiao bent down to pick up the black cube with curiosity.

The instant that he touched the black cube, an introduction of the item popped up on his interface.

Glancing at the introduction, Han Xiao’s jaw dropped, and he almost did not dare to believe what he had seen. Evolution… Cube?

Did I become blind?

Isn’t this Psyker’s Universal Treasure? Why would it appear here?

Did I just pick up a divine weapon on the streets?

Han Xiao held onto the Evolution Cube and was stunned silly on the spot.

He then came to an enlightenment.

Turning around abruptly, his gaze was fixed on Feidin, who was by his side.

“Why are you looking at me?”

Feidin felt his hair stand from Han Xiao’s gaze.

Han Xiao swallowed a mouthful of saliva and gave a thumbs up.

“Feidin! Awesome!”

Feidin had a face full of confusion.

A few minutes later, Sardeem led a large machinery army and arrived at City No. 2.

Only a pile of rubble was left behind, along with a huge crowd watching by the side. Han Xiao and his mechanical army had long disappeared.

The security squad hurriedly cleaned up the battlefield but could not find a single clue.

The group of people being monitored were all killed without their corpses being left behind. I can’t even find a single trace of their attackers!

Sardeem was truly exasperated.

Because of Han Xiao’s control, the scouts that Sardeem had used to spy on Colin did not send any information to Sardeem. All the mechanical patrol squads did not stop Han Xiao’s group, and the surveillance footage had been destroyed.

Up until now, Sardeem had been kept in the dark and did not know what had happened.

Just who killed Colin and his group?

Just how powerful would an enemy capable of instantly killing a Calamity Grade Super be?

What was the objective of the attackers? Were they bounty hunters, were they Psyker’s special force, or was there a hidden reason?

If the attackers were not Psyker’s men, this meant that the people under his watch had been killed with the attackers disappearing. Just how would he answer to Psyker?

Sardeem felt a headache coming on and could only report the situation honestly to Psyker.

Chapter 755 - Preparing for a Hot Potato

Meanwhile, Han Xiao took Hila and Feidin to escape from the scene. He clutched the Evolution Cube in his hand, his expression conflicted.

It was an unexpected joy to be able to pick up the Evolution Cube. After this ecstasy, Han Xiao gradually calmed down.

Since the Evolution Cube had already appeared, it should have nothing to do with Feidin. There had to be a deeper reason behind this, likely an event that happened somewhere that he was unaware of.

The emergence of the Evolution Cube had also cleared up any blind spots of information. Han Xiao’s brain moved rapidly, re-examining this series of events and speculating on the causes and consequences.

The appearance of Psyker’s Evolution Cube in the hands of these people means that they stole the Universal Treasure from Psyker in some way and transported it. No wonder they went silent for months after killing Harrofal. Turns out, their plan was not to retaliate but to plot to steal the Evolution Cube…

Han Xiao now understood their plan.

It seems like I was mistaken. These people were not here to deal with me but to steal treasures…

But why did they kill Harrofal? Did he have something to do with the theft of the treasure, or was there another motive behind it?

In his previous life, the Evolution Cube had only been made known to the players when it was in the hands of the Arcane Church. Until Austin revealed the secret, Han Xiao did not know that the Evolution Cube actually belonged to Psyker during this time period. While this might not have been a secret to the higher levels, it was not something that was publicized, and with the current level of the players, it was difficult to obtain this sort of intelligence.

In the later versions, players who joined the Arcane Church faction could pay contribution points and Enaus in exchange for the opportunity to use the Evolution Cube.

The effect of the Evolution Cube was mainly for the transcendence of a species, and its specific role varied from each person. If the weaker party became stronger, the stronger would increase even more. However, the first time that it was used would give the greatest effect. Any subsequent attempts would become weaker until there was no longer any effect.

The Evolution Cube went from Psyker to the Arcane Church. I’m not sure what happened halfway. Did EsGod interfere in the transportation?

Han Xiao suddenly paused. He recalled that in his past life, there was intelligence about EsGod creating trouble in the Star Pupil Holy Race. However, it did not occur during this time period but an event in between Versions 3.0 and 4.0.

The players did not experience it in person, only seeing a text record on it, and there was no mention of the Evolution Cube.

“Phillip, do a search on the latest news report of the Star Pupil Holy Race,” Han Xiao ordered.

Planet Avitan’s news was quickly searched through by Phillip, but due to the PR control by its government, the specific process was obscured. There was only mention that Planet Avitan had suffered heavy casualties and did not mention the name of the EsGod.

Because the huge Star Field would generate hundreds if not more of such stories every day, the event on Planet Avitan did not affect the Shattered Star Ring on a large scale. Thus, Han Xiao would not normally have paid attention to such a small story that did not involve him.

Han Xiao thought for a moment. The incident on Planet Avitan should have been committed by EsGod. I am eighty percent certain that they stole the Evolution Cube from Psyker, with the strategy of feigning an attack in the east but hitting the west.

In that case, the attack on the Star Pupil Holy Race by EsGod was carried forward.

In connection with Harrofal’s death, Han Xiao had a feeling of shock.

Could this be related to me? Is this the so-called butterfly effect?

A pity, if only there was one person left alive.

Han Xiao was a little troubled. He had planned for everything to be foolproof, going out with full force, but who knew that their opponents would be so weak that they would be wiped immediately? There was no chance left to interrogate any of them.

Wait a minute…

At this point, Han Xiao lurched to a stop. Thinking about the intelligence that he had received, a new doubt surfaced in his mind.

Since EsGod was acting secretly, and there was no sign from the Star Pupil Holy Race that the Evolution Cube had been stolen. Then, the reason Sardeem was monitoring this group would be interesting indeed.

Perhaps Sardeem was not interested in the bounty reward offered by the Tyla Civilization but the Evolution Cube in their hands?

Han Xiao’s brows furrowed. He thought of three possibilities.

The first possibility was that Sardeem had some sort of special intelligence channel and managed to obtain news of the location of the Evolution Cube, thus wanting to take it for himself.

The second was that the Mechanic Empire was aware of this matter and wished to be the fisherman that obtained all the benefits, thus instructing Sardeem, who was situated in the Shattered Star Ring, to obtain the Evolution Cube.

The last possibility was that Sardeem had been asked by Psyker to help the Star Pupil Holy Race regain the Evolution Cube… no, Psyker might not have told the truth, as Sardeem was only told to monitor them, so he might not have known about the existence of the Evolution Cube.

Whichever possibility it was, Sardeem was a competitor, and in the worst-case scenario, it meant that a Beyond Grade A Super, Psyker, was also on his way there.

Weighing the Evolution Cube in his hand, Han Xiao’s eyes were solemn.

He was no stranger to the Evolution Cube. At least he knew that the original shape of the Evolution Cube was huge, so the cube in his hands should be a portable version of the Evolution Cube.

Austin said that he himself had not seen the appearance of the Evolution Cube before. Psyker has not publicly displayed the Evolution Cube like the Arcane Church, so there should be few people that know of it, and Sardeem himself may not even recognize it…

At this moment, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something, and his face changed as he hurriedly contacted Aurora who was on the spaceship.

“How’s the situation on the ground at the port?”

Aurora was mystified. “Uncle, how did you know that there was a situation? We’ve just received a notice from the ground control that someone attacked the city, so the departure passage will be temporarily closed and departure restricted. Only when all the perpetrators are caught will they loosen the regulations.”

Indeed!

Han Xiao kneaded his fingers.

The moment he got rid of the subordinates of the EsGod, Sardeem immediately locked down the entire planet, not allowing anyone to leave.

Such a big move was not only just to ‘arrest the perpetrators of the attack on the city’ but also to keep the Evolution Cube on this planet.

However, this would raise a new problem. With him having concealed his tracks, Sardeem had no way to pursue him. Even if they did security checks on Planet Macipher, how long would it take to find the Evolution Cube? With the number of people present, the difficulty was just like finding a needle in a haystack. Without the corresponding detection method, just shutting down the planet was futile.

Thus, Sardeem should have some methods of locating the Evolution Cube. Maybe it’s a detection instrument that can sense the position when it comes within a certain distance. This may also be the detection method of Psyker. The detection should be limited, otherwise I would have long been spotted by Sardeem.

Although he did not experience the whole process himself, based on the clues that the Evolution Cube gave him, Han Xiao could guess the sequence of events. His mind suddenly brightened up.

With this in mind, Han Xiao told the other two to stop.

His original intention was to leave Planet Macipher immediately after killing Orozen, but Sardeem had already stopped the air traffic control before he could even get into his spaceship. If he wished to leave, he would have to forcibly break through their defenses, so he was in no hurry. Rather than rushing back to the port, he might as well think of how to deal with the Evolution Cube that he had now gotten his hands on.

Han Xiao summed up his current situation.

Getting the Evolution Cube meant having to face Sardeem, whose intentions were unknown; Psyker, whose house had been robbed; the scheming EsGod; and the Arcane Church!

At least two Beyond Grade As and a Universal Civilization would be looking for trouble with him!

Han Xiao sucked in a deep breath of air, realizing that this Evolution Cube was a hot potato!

While it was a joyful surprise, it posed a danger!

Therefore, he had to be cautious when dealing with the Evolution Cube.

Han Xiao turned solemn and quickly calculated the pros and cons in his head.

There are only two ways to deal with this. Hide it or give it away.

If I wish to keep the Evolution Cube… Well, I’m not far away from the Beyond Grade A class myself, so I have the qualifications to occupy a Universal Treasure. But the consequences will be becoming an enemy of Psyker. EsGod will also target me in order to obtain the Evolution Cube. I already have a relationship akin to fire and water with the Tyrant. If Psyker and the Tyrant join hands… things don’t look too optimistic.

But the benefit of keeping it is that not only can I use it to strengthen those in the Black Star Army, I can also use it to attract more forces. There are few civilizations that can resist the temptation of the Evolution Cube. Psyker did ^ this as he and the Arcane Church monopolized the usage of Evolution Cube. They did not wish to use it to cultivate more competitors.

Han Xiao secretly nodded to himself. Sardeem might have locked down the planet, but he could not stop him from taking the Evolution Cube. Even without forcibly breaking through, he could still quietly take the cube away from Planet Macipher with a Void Dimension Jump.

So long as Sardeem was unable to find the cube, sooner or later, the lockdown would end, and the trio would then be able to get out through the spaceship.

The issue was, if he kept the Evolution Cube, he would not be able to disguise it from the other organizations. The Black Star Army would then become a target of public criticism.

Han Xiao groaned.

Even if I hand it over, choosing the person to hand it to will be a problem—EsGod, the Mechanic Empire, the Universal Civilization, or Psyker.

Passing it over to EsGod would turn him from a foe to an ally, but if things were revealed, he risked offending the three Universal Civilizations as well as many other forces. Generally speaking, the risks were too great, and the disadvantages outweighed the advantages.

It would also be strange to hand it over to the Mechanic Empire. It would be in line with Planet Macipher and Sardeem, throwing the Evolution Cube that was the hot potato over to someone else, and using it to exchange for a large amount of resources. At the same time, it would also allow him to get rid of the danger, stay out of the fight, and avoid any struggles.

If given to a Universal Civilization, they would turn into staunch allies. Who it was given to would affect the benefits. The Federation of Light would give a lot of resources in exchange, whereas the Crimson Dynasty would give him a ticket to the Flickering World in addition to the resources.

These two were possible. As for the Arcane Church, it would be detrimental for him to hand over the cube to them.

If he passed it to the Arcane Church, things would be more complicated since Psyker was already considered an ally of theirs. The Arcane Church might not forsake Psyker to favor him, and either way, he would lose a Beyond Grade A ally.

However, with him turning into Beyond Grade A, the Arcane Church might not use force to try to snatch the Evolution Cube, which meant that the final result would be them returning the Evolution Cube to Psyker to maintain their relationship if he handed it over to them. In that case, not only would they retain Psyker, they would have him as their ally and still be allowed to use the Evolution Cube.

Psyker might appreciate the Arcane Church, but the same could not be said of Han Xiao.

Of course, the Arcane Church was a hegemon and would not be afraid of annoying Psyker. There was also the possibility of them pocketing the Evolution Cube.

The final option would be returning it to the owner and keeping things quiet. This would undoubtedly allow him to gain the friendship of Psyker, and he might even be able to borrow the Evolution Cube from time to time like the Arcane Church.

Just as Han Xiao was weighing the costs and benefits, Feidin asked, “Black Star, where are we going now? Aren’t we going back to the spaceship?”

Han Xiao regained his senses, thought about it, and shook his head. “There’s no need. Hila, bring Aurora over.”

They could not go back to the Cornerstone Summit Corporation anymore. Sardeem would definitely suspect himself first of all as an unknown Calamity Grade Mechanic, and he would have reported him. Since he would be suspected whether he returned or disappeared, there was no need to keep up with the pretenses.

Anyway, I was the one who did it, and I, Barne, am righteous and unafraid of trouble!

Han Xiao temporarily let go of his mental struggle.

He was long used to taking a rain check and calculating the best possible outcome, but no matter what, the Evolution Cube belonged to him alone for the moment.

Enjoy it before deciding!

Your Excellency Psyker, I’ve already locked down the planet’s port.”

On the other side, Sardeem was communicating with Psyker.

“Before I arrive, don’t let anyone go,” Psyker blandly replied.

“Alright… but please hurry. I cannot keep the lockdown for an indefinite period of time.”

Sardeem had an expression of helplessness. Luckily, there was an excuse of hunting down the perpetrators to maintain law and order, but locking the port for too long would cause Planet Macipher’s business to suffer, and this was something that he could not accept.

You’ve worked hard. I’m almost here,” Psyker replied.

“Ok, what should I do now?”

“There’s no need for you to do anything else. Just ensure that no one leaves Planet Macipher. If anyone tries to forcibly leave, stop them personally.”

He could tell that the Evolution Cube was still on Planet Macipher, but the distance was too far from it to be accurately predicted. Thus, when Sardeem informed him that EsGod’s subordinates had been killed, Psyker was slightly surprised but regained his calm afterward.

As long as the treasure was still on Planet Macipher, it would all be good. The moment he arrived personally, he would then be able to discover the position of the Evolution Cube.

Chapter 756 - Genetic Optimization and Ambitions

Along one of the continuous mountain ranges of Planet Macipher, a mountain face was dug out by Han Xiao’s machinery to form a cave, and the cave was equipped with a fully automatic environmental shelter, disguised as a rock. In the light of dawn, those outside could not see the existence of the cave, and the energy detection shield blocked out many of the satellite detectors that Sardeem had arranged in outer space, making it impossible for the owner of the planet to discover any energy responses here with just satellites. This area was a blind spot on their radar.

Within the cave was a hollowed-out mountain belly, and Han Xiao had unfolded a portable mechanical fortress there, occupying thousands of square meters. Numerous mechanical foundations were spread across the mountain walls, supporting the hollowed abdomen of the mountain. This area had turned into a stronghold, and the multiple mechanical foundations also served as light sources, illuminating the darkness of the cave.

After laying his hands on the Evolution Cube the previous night, Han Xiao had analyzed his situation clearly and decided to leave the Planet Macipher’s city to set up a temporary hidden stronghold in the wilderness of the planet to prevent Sardeem from detecting their usage of the Evolution Cube. After Hila brought Aurora over, Han Xiao took the three of them there and built a small base with the compressed orbs that he carried with him.

He always carried equipment to set up a temporary camp.

After settling down, Han Xiao took out the Evolution Cube, explaining his hypothesis so far. Originally, the three of them were confused over Han Xiao’s sudden irrational behavior, but after hearing the history of the item, they were enlightened.

The trio looked curiously at the small black cube in Han Xiao’s hands. Aurora was purely curious about Universal Treasures, while Hila was interested in its ability to promote one’s strength.

Feidin, however, showed an anxious expression. “This is the Evolution Cube of legends? Since we’ve picked it up, what do we do now? Do we return it to Psyker? Will he think that we stole it?”

Because he had followed Han Xiao to visit Austin, he knew that this belonged to Psyker.

Han Xiao could only helplessly reply, “I haven’t thought of that yet.”

“It can’t be that you’re thinking of keeping the Evolution Cube,” Feidin said. “If you do, we’ll also become enemies with Psyker. Now that you’ve already provoked the Tyrant, if we add on Psyker, that would mean that you’ve provoked half of the Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring…”

Han Xiao interrupted him. “We can discuss that later. Since the Evolution Cube is in my hands, let’s first use.”

How do we use it?” Hila impatiently asked.

“If my memory serves me right…”

Han Xiao flipped the small black cube around, scrutinizing it. Every face was as smooth as a mirror, absent of any notches. Even when he exerted strength with his fingers, it did not leave any traces.

After hesitating, he covered the two sides of the cube with both his palms, pressing down on all corners of the cube simultaneously. The next moment, the inky black surface lit up with streams of light, and a spherical black energy ball wrapped around the cube, suspending it in midair.

“The first step was right…” Han Xiao was overjoyed.

The easiest way to utilize the Evolution Cube was to enter it when it was in its natural state. However, when the Evolution Cube was fixed in its portable mode, the container needed to be opened in a specific manner to expose an opening where the energy from the cube could exit.

The first step was thus to put the container into its ‘Ready* status. This was what Han Xiao had just done. However, it did not mean that the cube had been activated yet.

A cover would then materialize around the cube, which served as a password input screen. A series of specific ‘passcode symbols’ would have to be drawn on it to open the container. This was equivalent to a password. Compared to the Secret Message Bead, this was actually quite simple.

Many players from his past life had used the Evolution Cube in the Arcane Church in exchange for their Contribution Points. Thus, there were a few that had watched the NPCs from the Arcane Church unlock the Evolution Cube in person and recorded it. The process was not a secret to him, and there were even others who posted a summary of the passwords for the Evolution Cube, which were made up of forty-two different symbols.

However, the exact shape and position of the symbols were a little vague to Han Xiao. Fortunately, his Intelligence attribute had improved so much that his memories were already structured like a bookcase. All his memories were stored in different categories, which could be manually accessed and viewed. Such thinking modes could be mastered by ordinary people just after training, let alone for Mechanics with extremely high Intelligence and large brain areas. Otherwise, would it not be too difficult for them to memorize their blueprints?

After pondering for a while, he slowly recalled the structure of the symbols and started to trace with his fingers on the energy cover of the cube, leaving behind golden trails. He quickly finished drawing the symbols, but the energy hood was only drawn back, and the cube dropped onto the ground. Obviously, it was a failure, causing him to stagger slightly.

That’s right. The password set by the Arcane Church might not be the same as that set by the EsGod. Han Xiao suddenly realized the issue. He was a little depressed. If he failed to open the Evolution Cube, he could only smash it to allow it to regain its original size. The commotion created by that would be too big, and people would definitely notice.

Frowning and sighing, he consoled himself. That might not be the case as well. The Evolution Cube belonged to a lost civilization, and making portable containers was also this civilization’s technology. It is very advanced and is not something ordinary people can decipher. Maybe the Gods can make containers such as these, but it should be difficult to improve the technology.

As such, these forty-two symbols should be the fixed password of the container. As to why the container was not opened… maybe my drawing was inaccurate, or the order was wrong.

Han Xiao did not know that he had guessed upon the truth. This set of symbols was a fixed activation password of the portable Evolution Cube, which could not be changed. It was not only used to unlock the container but also the key to harnessing the energy of the Evolution Cube.

This was the top-secret information left behind by the Evolutionary Cube’s Civilization. At present, such knowledge was only in the hands of EsGod. Even Colin and the others did not know how to open it, to prevent their greed, betrayal, or accidental disclosure of information.

In his previous life, the Arcane Church had not been afraid of leaking out such information as no one could take away their items, so Han Xiao had become one of the few people currently who knew the password needed to open it.

He tried more than thirty times, slowly replicating the symbols, refining his accuracy. Finally, on his thirty-seventh try, there was a different reaction from the Evolution Cube.

From the center of every face on the cube, a small hole appeared, in which a black stream of ribbon-like particles escaped, surrounding the cube and propelling it in the air.

“It’s open!” Han Xiao exclaimed.

Looking at the others, Han Xiao first took a deep breath, before stretching out his palm and releasing his Mechanical Force toward the Evolution Cube.

Hu!

The next moment, the black stream seemed to have discovered a vent to escape from and flocked over to Han Xiao, continuously infiltrating his body from his skin.

Itchy!

That was his first thought.

This sort of itch seemed to be bom from his soul. His skin, muscles, bones, blood vessels, and organs all felt the itch, but it was impossible to reach out and scratch it like scratching one’s body. The symptoms could not be relieved at all.

At this point, notifications started to pop up from the interface.

You have utilized the Evolution Cube (Gold Grade)!

You have received a permanent special benefit—[Gene Optimization: Evolution Cube]!

Identifying species… Identification complete. Your current species is: [Void Star Pursuer].

Your genetic structure is now being adjusted to the best state of the [Void Star Pursuer]. Please do not interrupt the Evolution process.

The first optimization has succeeded. Your potential qualities have increased. You have received +6 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +5 Intelligence, +4 Mystery, +3 Charisma, and +30 Energy.

Because your Energy Level is above Level 0, the second optimization has automatically succeeded. Your potential qualities have increased, and you have received +8 Strength, +7 Dexterity, +11 Endurance, +7 Intelligence, +5 Mystery, +6 Charisma, and +40 Energy.

Because your Energy Level is above Level 14, the sixteenth optimization has automatically succeeded. Your potential qualities have increased, and you have received +64 Strength, +67 Dexterity, +72 Endurance, +76 Intelligence, +61 Mystery, +43 Charisma, and +240 Energy.

When he was rushing toward level 238, his Energy Attribute had broken through the 40,000 mark, achieving the [Level 14] bonus.

For each additional energy attribute level, one would be able to access an additional layer of genetically optimized attributes as a reward. Hence, the stronger one’s body was, the better the effect of one’s first use. The attributes awarded were based on a variety of factors, such as cell activity, life span, and species—of which the species had the greatest impact. The Evolution Cube would be optimized based on the race, and if one’s racial species was more powerful, their benefits would be greater.

When the Evolution Cube was used for the second time onward, it would not be calculated based on the new strength level but rather repeat the optimization process for each layer. However, the attributes given would be greatly reduced, with each subsequent usage giving out less than the previous one, until there was no effect. Only through the sublimation into a new racial species would one then regain some benefits, but even that would be far less effective than the first use of the Evolution Cube.

Han Xiao endured his itchiness while calculating in his mind. This series of genetic optimizations had provided him with an extremely terrifying increase in his attributes. The five attributes of Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence, and Mystery shot up by more than five hundred points, while Charm was increased by nearly four hundred points. As for Energy, there was an increase of 2,100!

This wave of soaring attributes exceeded the total amount of attribute points that he had obtained up till Energy Level 14!

The sum of all his improved attributes added to reach more than three thousand points, which was equivalent to Han Xiao’s attributes being improved by a third. The effect was outstanding!

Because the potential of the [Void Star Pursuer] was strong—coupled with his young age, high vitality cells, and strong energy—the increase was terrifying!

When he had upgraded his profession to Emperor Mechanic, rising to level 238, his total Energy count had been at 32,600. Right now, after utilizing the Evolution Cube, he suddenly leaped up by another 2,000 points, reaching 34,450.

Even though the itchiness in Han Xiao was hard to bear, he could not help but reveal an expression of joy. This genetic optimization was too worthwhile.

However, the notifications on the interface had not yet ended.

The first time utilizing the Evolution Cube awarded you with sixteen layers of genetic optimization. There will be a +40% experience penalty to level up, which will last for 16 months.

Han Xiao nodded to himself secretly. Players would suffer from experience penalties upon using the Evolution Cube. After all, the attributes obtained were equivalent to gaining ten or more levels. It was just like the saying of pulling up seedlings to help them grow—it would be impossible without a cost. This principle was just like how a stronger lifeform would find it harder to sublimate themselves. Each time the Evolution Cube was utilized, there would be a forty percent experience penalty, and the duration would depend on the number of genetic optimizations obtained.

However, this was nothing to Han Xiao. Just a forty percent experience penalty, under the influence of his thirty percent increase through the Political Asset, was essentially just a ten percent penalty. Han Xiao’s experience gain relied on the experience of his leek fields. He could afford to just wait for a while, using this sixteen-month penalty in exchange for a large increase in attributes. This was a permanent force that would result in larger combat power.

Furthermore, the stronger one’s attributes, the higher the energy level. As such, his chances of breaking through to the Beyond Grade A at level 240 was even higher now.

At this time, the interface popped up with the last few notifications.

Special Conditions met: On your first time utilizing the Evolution Cube, you unlocked more than ten layers of genetic optimizations.

Special effect triggered.

In the next advancement, you will receive an additional opportunity to perform a Race Evolution.

Gene Optimization has ended.

The black particle flow finally stopped flowing, retreating into the Evolution Cube.

Han Xiao hurriedly squatted down to take a breath, calming himself. He then slowly sensed the power within his newly increased attributes, giving him the feeling that he could blow up a whole planet.

Feidin rushed up to help, asking, “How was the effect?”

Han Xiao only waved his hands, signaling that there was no need for any aid. He then slowly stood up, feeling refreshed. Seeing Hila staring at him, he could not help but laugh.

“I’ve tested it, and the side effects are small. All of you should have a go.”

Hila immediately nodded. “Let me go first then.”

Han Xiao did not hesitate, opening the Evolution Cube again to allow the black particle stream to flow toward Hila.

From the perspective of an outsider, the black particle stream would wrap the user into a black cocoon. It took a while for Hila to break out of the cocoon, as though emerging from the cocoon as a butterfly. There was a red glow in her eyes, which then slowly faded.

“Sis, how do you feel?” Aurora curiously asked.

Hila clenched her fists, and her sharp look softened suddenly, as she revealed a rare smile.

“I feel really great.”

Seeing the situation, Han Xiao smiled. He was happy to share the Evolution Cube, which would allow him to improve the backbone of his group.

Soon, there were another two cocoons beside the Evolution Cube. It was Feidin’s and Aurora’s turn to enjoy the baptism of genetic optimization.

Han Xiao stood beside them, looking at the two people who were undergoing the process, and suddenly spotted a problem.

If the Evolution Cube returned to Psyker, he would not know the opening symbols, only being able to destroy the container and release the evolution block, making it return to its original state.

It seemed … that only Han Xiao knew how to use the evolutionary block in its portable state.

Once this thought was bom, Han Xiao’s eyes flashed.

Maybe this is a foundation for cooperation…

In a short while, Feidin and Aurora also completed their optimizations, and each experienced with their own changes.

“Ok, what’s the plan now?” Feidin immediately asked. Since the Evolution Cube had been used, it was time for them to think about what to do next.

Han Xiao’s answer was out of his expectations.

“You all will stay here.”

The three of them stopped in shock.

“Are you planning to…” Feidin was in disbelief.

Before waiting for him to finish, Han Xiao nodded. “Sardeem has already sealed up the entire planet, so Psyker will probably catch up soon. I have my ways of protecting myself from a Beyond Grade A but not you guys. We will act separately this time. You guys stay here temporarily. I have a way to leave this planet.”

His real objective was to utilize the Void Dimension Jump to leave Planet Macipher on his own. This way, he could precisely test the accuracy of the detection method that Sardeem or Psyker had.

No matter how he planned to deal with the Evolution Cube, he could not avoid taking a risk. In this manner, it would be better if he just operated solo. This way, he would not need to worry about his teammates.

In reality, this Evolution Cube was a hot potato, but since it had already fallen into his hands, Han Xiao was not willing to hand it over.

Risk and opportunity co-existed side by side. This was the situation that he had analyzed, and there was no doubt that only by keeping the Evolution Cube in his possession could he maximize the benefits.

As for whether he had the ability to keep it… if he did not try, how would he know?

Thus, Han Xiao decided to enter the desolate universe belt with the Evolution Cube by himself, giving himself time to accumulate enough experience to reach level 240.

While he did not know the exact context, he felt that the facts should be similar to his own deduction. It was likely that there would be a pursuer, which was most probably Psyker.

Han Xiao had nothing against Psyker and even respected such heroes who cared about their races.

The Evolution Cube only worked for an individual, but the descendants of powerful individuals would also end up inheriting certain genetic optimization effects. Furthermore, undergoing another process through the Evolution Cube would be a positive cycle, and this was exactly how Psyker had managed to evolve his Star Pupil Holy Race to its current state.

To this day, the Evolution Cube was still a very important tool for the development of the Star Pupil Holy Race…

However, what had that got to do with him?

He was not a member of the Star Pupil Holy Race!

He was not even the one who stole the cube!

He just picked it up!

Han Xiao had already made his decision. At least, he had to exchange blows with Psyker once. If he could not fend him off, it would not be too late to negotiate!

Chapter 757 - This Is Not Personal; It“s Just Too Tempting.

On the floating city of Planet Macipher, Sardeem was using all his law reinforcement troops to search for clues of the culprit who attacked Colin and the others.

He had not slept the previous night. Psyker’s order was to lock the entire planet down to prevent the attackers from escaping, but Sardeem thought that if he could find the attacker soon, there would be no need to continue locking the ports down, which affected his businesses.

As it was related to his own profits, he was very motivated.

Sadly, he did not acquire any clues throughout the night—it was like the attackers had disappeared into thin air. There were no traces of them anywhere on any surveillance devices.

“Could they have the ability to teleport or something?” Sardeem scratched his head. “Or did all of my surveillance devices stop functioning?”

Sardeem could not help but look through the command records of the floating city’s control center, but he did not discover any signs of it being hacked. Han Xiao had cleared his browsing history there long ago while also ending his temporary access. With Sardeem’s ability, it was next to impossible for him to find out what Han Xiao had done.

Ring ring!

While Sardeem was getting frustrated, Psyker’s call arrived once again.

Your Excellency Psyker, what is it this time?” Sardeem suppressed his frustration and made his tone sound as natural as he could.

He was Mechanic Empire’s subordinate. Sure, he did do quite a few things for Psyker because Psyker was a Beyond Grade A, but Psyker seemed to be commanding him as if he was his subordinate, which made Sardeem a little unhappy. This was mainly because locking the planet down damaged his profits, the key reason his attitude changed.

However, what Psyker said almost made Sardeem jump up from his seat.

“The fugitive has left Planet Macipher and is running outside the Shattered Star Ring. What are you doing?” Psyker’s tone was relaxed no more and seemed truly grave, with a hint of blame.

Just a moment ago, he had sensed the Evolution Cube leaving Planet Macipher, moving away at hyperdrive speed. It had undoubtedly been taken away by someone, which made Psyker lose confidence and start to feel anxious.

“Impossible, I’ve locked down all the ports. No one should be able to leave Macipher for the time being!” Sardeem’s face was filled with disbelief, and he almost thought that Psyker was deliberately blackmailing him.

How did Psyker know about the whereabouts of the attacker? Psyker was not there, and not even Sardeem, the owner of the planet, noticed someone escaping.

“Maybe the fugitive has some kind of ability to avoid your lockdown. Anyway, he’s escaped. I need you to help me do one more thing,” Psyker said with a low voice.

He was in quite a bad mood. He had been very close to arriving at Planet Macipher and easily retrieving the Evolution Cube. However, at such a crucial moment, an accident occurred. He had no idea if this was the act of another group of EsGod’s subordinates ordered to continue the mission or that the Evolution Cube had been intercepted by someone else. No matter what, the situation was slowly getting out of his control.

EsGod’s subordinates had died, and the person who now possessed the Evolution Cube and was escaping was a mystery!

“What do I need to do?” Sardeem put away his little thoughts.

“I will point you in the direction that the fugitive is running, and you follow them. My spaceship is very fast, so I will catch up with you soon.”

“This…” Sardeem hesitated. He was confident about his strength so he was not worried about the danger but that someone would cause trouble on Planet Macipher while he was away.

As Psyker had not told him the truth since the start, Sardeem had started to realize that this matter seemed to be very significant.

“You’ll be rewarded handsomely for helping me.”

“…Okay then.” Sardeem agreed in the end. “Does this mean that the lockdown on Planet Macipher can be canceled?”

“Whatever.” Retrieving the Evolution Cube was Psyker’s only target; everything else was none of his concern.

As the communication ended, Sardeem did not delay any longer and started to pack up and leave, chasing after Han Xiao with the coordinates sent by Psyker.

While gathering his mechanical troops, Sardeem ended the lockdown.

At this time, Sardeem suddenly recalled something and immediately contacted the upper echelons of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation.

“Where’s Barne?”

“Your Excellency Sardeem, Barne was out the whole night last night and has yet to appear.”

Sardeem narrowed his eyes. This Calamity Grade with unknown origin was the first person he suspected.

“I remember he has three friends, where are they?”

“Er… they’re missing as well.”

“They’re most likely the attackers!” Sardeem heavily slammed the table with a vicious look on his face. He had thought that Bame was there to steal blueprints, but it turned out that he had something to do with this Psyker incident. This guy had prepared his ambush for more than twenty days!

Having thought of that, Sardeem immediately entered Barne and his friends’ faces into the control center and made all the surveillance facilities notify him as soon as they discovered their whereabouts.

After that, Sardeem took along a ton of elite Giant Soldiers, boarded his spaceship, turned into a stream of light, and chased after Han Xiao.

At the same time, in a mechanical stronghold in a certain mountain in the wilderness of Planet Macipher, three people were waiting.

Han Xiao had secretly left the planet through Void Dimension Jump while leaving the stronghold behind for Feidin and the sisters to hide, as well as to monitor Sardeem’s movements.

“Sis, the lockdown has been lifted, and Sardeem has left.”

In front of a few virtual screens, Aurora was controlling the machines swiftly with her fingers.

As her Esper ability lacked combat power, she had learned a lot of other knowledge during the time she was on Floating Dragon Island. She had gained a ton of subclasses and was developing toward an all-round commander.

“Black Star guessed right. Sardeem left the planet and is going after him,” Feidin said with resignation.

“And we’re left behind…” Hila clenched her fists with a frustrated expression.

In order to protect the three of them, Han Xiao had left alone to lure out Psyker, who might appear. It was clear that the three of them were a burden.

Hila wanted to fight alongside Han Xiao, but Han Xiao had rejected her because she was not strong enough to deal with a Beyond Grade A Super.

She was irritated with herself for not being able to help him.

She had trained ten years with Ames and become a high-level combatant in the universe, so she had thought that she could finally help Han Xiao, but it turned out she was still a burden.

Hila clenched her teeth tightly and felt frustrated. She had ended her training to help Han Xiao, but now she had become someone that needed his protection once again. She was not willing to be protected by Han Xiao all the time; she wanted to fight alongside Han Xiao. Otherwise, how could she repay him for what he had done for her and Aurora?

Seeing that she was not looking too good, Feidin said in a worried tone, “Hila, don’t overthink…”

Hila returned to being expressionless and said coldly, “Don’t worry, I won’t disobey his orders. Even if I insist on going after him to help, I’ll only cause more trouble to him and become even more of a burden.”

Feidin breathed a sigh of relief. After spending so much time together, he knew how stubborn Hila could be. He did not worry anymore and said with a smile, “You don’t have to undervalue yourself. Black Star sees you as someone very important to him, and you still have a lot of room to grow. In the future, you will definitely be of great help.”

Hila curled her lips and tightened her fists.

“You don’t have to worry about him. After all, we’ve all undergone the effects brought by the Evolution Cube, which you should know about. Black Star is definitely even stronger,” Feidin said.

Hila nodded. She knew very well of the Evolution Cube’s effects—they were so significant that it almost felt like she had been reborn.

“Don’t worry, I made many life force potions for him on the spot. He will be fine.” Aurora chuckled. “Don’t you trust my ability? You were just telling me to make more potions earlier.”

Before Han Xiao left, Aurora had made many life force potions for him on the spot. She had learned pharmacology from Emerald Grass in the past and studied it further on Floating Dragon Island, so the level of her subclass was very high. Combined with her Esper Ability, every one of those potions was equivalent to full health recovery.

When Aurora was making the potions earlier, not only did Hila not stop her younger sister as usual, instead, she agreed to Aurora using more life force to make potions for Han Xiao.

Recalling that, Hila blushed a little bit and turned away to avoid Aurora’s eyes while changing the topic.

The planet lockdown has been lifted, and Sardeem has left. What should we do? Stay here or leave in a spaceship?”

Feidin thought about it then said, “We shall leave Planet Macipher after Sardeem is further away. It’s safer that way.”

Hila and Aurora nodded. As long as Feidin was the one that made the decision, it might not result in a profit, but it would definitely not result in a loss.

Outside the Shattered Star Ring edge, in the desolate universe belt, a light suddenly appeared. Han Xiao left the Void Dimension and appeared with his skin a little red from the universe’s radiation.

Before him was a gray desolate planet. Han Xiao slowly landed on the cracked ground, crossed his legs, and hovered about a meter above the ground, waiting for his Army Boxes to arrive in hyperdrive.

He had used Void Dimension Jump to leave Planet Macipher, so his Army Boxes were still on the spaceship. He would only be at his peak as a Mechanic once his mechanical army arrived. As the Emperor Mechanic’s [Secondary Dimension Army] was still unactivated, his army was not with him at all times.

That’s a point. This is my first time actually leaving the Shattered Star Ring.

Looking up at the sky, this thought suddenly appeared in Han Xiao’s mind.

In the last twenty odd years, he had always been in the Shattered Star Ring.

There were desolate universe belts between Star Clusters, as well as between Star Fields, where the latter was much bigger than the former. He had once fought in the desolate universe belt between Klent and Purple Crystal, which paled in comparison as compared to now.

The desolate universe belt that separated two Star Fields had extremely sparse resources and very low value. The planets were scattered, and it was deadly silent. Even if a civilization was born there, it would have no future because of the vile environment. In the entire known universe, desolate universe belts made up to more than sixty percent of the area. In the unexplored universe, desolate universe belts consisted of even larger areas.

After feeling nostalgic for a while, Han Xiao got back to business. He opened the faction interface and started a discount event for all the Knowledges in the faction store. The reason he did this was to reward the army members for having participated for many months in the secret war. The Contribution Point cost of learning Knowledges was sixty percent off!

In order to quickly make up the experience that he needed for the last two levels, Han Xiao used the promotion to stimulate purchases. Knowledges were a necessity for players, and the only difference was when they would learn it. Han Xiao needed the players to learn them right now, so having a promotion was the best method to encourage that. He was willing to earn fewer Enaus for that.

This way, even with the forty percent experience penalty, it would not take long.

Before the enemies caught up, Han Xiao had quite a lot of confidence that he could level up to level 240.

Beep beep!

At this time, his communicator suddenly rang. It was a message from Hila.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes as he read it.

Sardeem has left Planet Macipher? He set off as soon as I left, so it seems although their locating method is not accurate enough, they are able to remotely locate the Evolution Cube.

This means that my whereabouts are transparent to them, and Sardeem and Psyker are heading right toward me.

As Han Xiao finally figured out the enemies’ detection method, Han Xiao felt more confident.

The ability to locate the Evolution Cube should be where their confidence came from!

He did not wait for his Army Boxes anymore and once again used Void Dimension Jump, turning into a stream of light and heading further away.

Since he was being chased, he could not stop. This battle was unavoidable; all he could do was make detours to meet up with his Army Boxes while stalling for the time.

While in hyperdrive, Han Xiao pondered.

I have quite a number of trump cards. Aurora’s potion, Dragon Emperor’s Character Summon Card, the rarely used [Painful Revenge] and [Luck Curse]… I must use everything I have that’s effective against a Beyond Grade A. It’s been very long since an opponent that required me to use my full strength. However, the Psychic class counters me for quite a bit. Psyker also has powerful AOE abilities. As a Beyond Grade A, he will be able to easily destroy a ton of my mechanical soldiers. Sadly, I don’t have the time to strengthen my mechanical army now…

As he had already tried in the stronghold, the Evolution Cube had no effects on his mechanical soldiers. After all, they were objects and did not have genes that could be improved. Maybe it would only be effective after they turned into real mechanical lives.

Sadly, [King’s Mentor] was still unactivated, so he would only be able to test that in the future.

Without any machinery that was useful at the Beyond Grade A level, he would not be able to reach his peak performance right after his Promotion. If only he could increase the power of his machinery before fighting Psyker…

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up suddenly.

Oh, that’s right, Sardeem…

Chapter 758 - Like Rain Pouring on a Field

With a flashing stream of light, Sardeem’s spaceship stopped outside an asteroid belt.

He had been chasing Han Xiao, following the directions that Psyker gave, for a whole day. He had noticed that the target did not head directly into the desolate universe belt but traveled in an arc around the edge of the Shattered Star Ring at a slower speed than his spaceship.

He finally caught up with the target at this asteroid belt. The coordinates given by Psyker showed that the target was hiding in the asteroid belt right then.

The target has stopped here… Sardeem had a serious look on his face.

Countless asteroids floated in the universe like a river. Some were tens of thousands of meters wide, and some were just a dozen meters wide. They blocked Sardeem’s view, and he could only use the radar on his spaceship to slowly scan the asteroid belt.

Given how large the asteroid belt was, it was indeed a great place to hide. Scanning through it was undoubtedly a troublesome task.

However, the moment Sardeem had this thought, the radar responded.

“Alert! Abnormal energy target detected!”

The vision on the porthole of the spaceship expanded. At the top of an enormous oval-shaped asteroid, a man was sat with his legs crossed. His face was hidden under his helmet, and his body was covered by the streamlined mechanical suit, with dark blue patterns evenly distributed across the surface of the armor. He was facing Sardeem’s spaceship, clearly aware of Sardeem’s arrival.

Sardeem narrowed his eyes. He stopped the spaceship, opened the hatch, and walked out. Red and gold armor extended from his chest over his entire body, forming heavy armor around his body.

Sardeem spoke first and sent a message to Han Xiao with an unfriendly tone. “Barne? Is that you?”

Han Xiao smiled faintly. “You can continue to call me that.”

Sardeem snorted. He knew that the name ‘Barne’ was just an alias. As for his true identity, he did not ask back then, and he had no idea now.

However, that did not matter. He would have more than enough time to find out after he captured and interrogated him.

Having this thought, Sardeem’s eyes started sparkling, and he came up with a plan.

Initially, Psyker only asked him to follow the target. However, since he had caught up, he was not afraid of fighting. Maybe he could pry out Psyker’s secret from ‘Barne’ before Psyker arrived. He had no idea why this person was running and why Psyker was chasing after him, so he was in a rush to find out.

“I have one more question,” Sardeem said with a low voice. “Your real goal was attacking these people, wasn’t it? That’s why you hid on Planet Macipher beforehand. Yet, you tried to steal blueprints while working in my business under a disguise. Weren’t you afraid of getting exposed?”

From the way he looked at it, ‘Barne’ came and stayed on Planet Macipher to kill the group of people including Colin. Hence, he could not figure out why ‘Barne’ was so daring to be exposed right under his nose. Would waiting in a hotel in the city not have been stealthier?

“Will you believe if I say it’s all because of luck?” Han Xiao smiled with resignation.

At the start, he just wanted to obtain a talent, then he discovered Eternal Light’s blueprint, so he focused on stealing it. After that, Orozen suddenly came right before him. He then simply wanted to kill a wanted criminal but was dragged into the storm around the Evolution Cube…

Could this be because of the great Feidin?

“Luck?” Sardeem narrowed his eyes and found that very suspicious. He shook his head and said, “Never mind, I know I won’t get anything from you now. You will learn to speak later when you’re in my hands.”

Right after his sentence ended, Sardeem’s Mechanical Force erupted. The cabin of the spaceship opened. Red and gold Army Boxes shot right toward Sardeem like rockets and opened on the way. His mechanical army quickly formed a formation and hovered behind Sardeem.

With a brief look, there were about two to three million machines. Their models were very different from Han Xiao’s; they were bulkier and more ferocious.

As an Armed Mechanic, Sardeem knew more blueprints for war machinery. The mechanical army under his command mainly consisted of heavily armored and large machines. There were five-meter-tall heavy mechanical soldiers everywhere and a few thousand conspicuous Giant Soldiers. The biggest was more than a thousand meters tall, even larger than many asteroids around them.

Other than all kinds of mechanical soldiers, there were also many combat devices that were often used in galactic wars.

Sardeem launched a ton of compressed orbs, which then expanded into huge parts that connected with his armor, forming a several-hundred-meter-tall Giant Soldier. He backed away into the center of his army. Many defense fortresses and hovering guards moved to surround him, forming multiple layers of defenses. There were also space stabilization devices around him, preventing the enemy from using hyperdrive to close the distance on him.

This was the authentic Army Style of fighting—the Mechanic was the commander in the middle of the army, focusing on utilizing the troops and formation to defeat the enemy step by step.

Seeing that Sardeem had summoned his army, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. As he scanned through Sardeem’s army, he could not help but lick his lips.

“So much heavy machinery, good stuff.” Han Xiao’s fingers moved around slightly in anticipation.

The millions of mechanical soldiers simultaneously aimed at Han Xiao. Seeing Han Xiao did not even respond, Sardeem frowned slightly.

“You’re a Mechanic too. Where’s your army?” Sardeem said with a mocking tone. “Or have you decided not to embarrass yourself and are willing to surrender?”

Han Xiao smiled. He pointed behind Sardeem.

“Isn’t my army arriving?”

Shocked, Sardeem turned around immediately.

Behind his army, streams of light rocketed from far away. It was the Black Star mechanical army that had arrived through hyperdrive!

As the Army Boxes opened one after another, more than ten million mechanical soldiers swarmed out like a black tsunami. It was more than three times bigger than Sardeem’s army!

“How is this possible‽”

Sardeem’s expression changed drastically with fear.

Suddenly, he realized that this ‘Barne’ was not just an ordinary person but someone well known from somewhere.

The size of the mechanical army represented the wealth of the Mechanic. Even maintaining the army required money. In the entire Shattered Star Ring, very few Mechanics could afford such an enormous mechanical army.

Names flashed through his Sardeem’s mind, and he finally stopped on one.

Panicked, Sardeem hastily turned around and stared at Han Xiao with disbelief.

“You’re… Black Star‽”

“That’s correct. Here’s a green hat as a reward.” Han Xiao chuckled.

With the Evolution Cube in hand and breaking through to Beyond Grade A around the corner, there was no need to continue playing the ‘Barne’ role.

“Fire!” Sardeem’s cool shattered instantly as he hastily ordered his army to start firing. The back of his army faced the approaching mechanical army, and the front of his army fired on Han Xiao.

Facing millions of light beam attacks, Han Xiao did not want to take it head-on. Like pulling on a cloth, his hands pulled down strongly. [Strengthened Void Distortion] caused chaos in the time-space around.

Countless light beams’ courses deviated. Countless asteroids around him were penetrated and shattered by the light beams, turning into dust. Even the enormous asteroid under Han Xiao crumbled.

After the initial round of fire, the tens of thousands of meters area around Han Xiao became an empty space in the asteroid belt, while he remained unharmed. He was covered in an azure psionic energy shield that was rippling brightly, blocking all the stray attacks.

Seeing Sardeem’s mechanical soldiers’ barrels lighting up again, attempting to start the second round of fire, Han Xiao immediately entered the Void Dimension.

The next instant, he appeared behind Sardeem’s army, slashing right toward Sardeem, who was protected by layers of defenses.

Surrounded by enemy mechanical soldiers in all directions, Han Xiao activated Apostilization. The psionic energy around him overflowed, shooting and spraying Psionic Impacts like they were infinite. He penetrated tons of mechanical soldiers with ease, turning every mechanical soldier before him into scrap metal, breaking through the layers of defenses extremely quickly.

The Evolution Cube had made him much stronger. Only a tank Mechanic like him would dare to go so deep into the enemy army.

Suddenly, Han Xiao’s vision was covered in darkness. A several-hundred-meter-tall Giant Soldier stood in his path, covered in spaceship grade shields and equipped with more than a thousand artillery cannons.

The gigantic mechanical palm slammed down like a mountain.

Without even dodging, Han Xiao raised his hand and stopped this slam head-on. His size was like an ant compared to the Giant Soldier, but as his mechanical suit thruster operated at its maximum power output, he was not blown away. Han Xiao’s fingers lodged into the Giant Soldier’s palm, and he hung from it.

The Giant Soldier clenched its fist immediately. However, the next moment, countless tiny cracks appeared on the Giant Soldier’s palm and spread over his entire palm. Dark blue light shone from within the cracks. Before the Giant Soldier could react, the entire arm was blasted into pieces by the psionic energy that Han Xiao had injected!

Countless parts were blown away by the impact, toppling the mechanical soldiers around.

With [Energy Enhancement Aura (Cosmetic)], the lighting effects looked very dazzling and colorful—despite not having any actual bonus, it looked cool.

After crushing this Giant Soldier that blocked the way, Han Xiao’s legs stomped in the air as he accelerated in an instant, shattering the machinery in his path and heading right toward Sardeem, who was in the middle.

“He’s too strong.” Covered in sweat, Sardeem hastily deployed more troops to stop Han Xiao.

At this moment, the Black Star mechanical army on the other side finally clashed with Sardeem’s army.

The difference between them was clearly visible—Han Xiao’s mechanical army was black, and Sardeem’s was red. At this time, the black side formed a comb-shaped formation and penetrated right into the red side’s formation, stirring up their formation.

Then, like an unstoppable train, the black side pushed the red side into the asteroid belt not far away. The formations of both sides were shattered, and it became a chaotic brawl.

Millions of light beams flashed every second, quickly shrinking the size of the asteroid belt. The area was illuminated by blinding lights.

Countless mechanical soldiers were destroyed on both sides every second, turning into scrap metal floating in the universe.

In the midst of all this, Han Xiao did not forget about Virtual Intrusion. More and more of Sardeem’s troops started to switch sides.

As a Giant Soldier shattered a team of Black Star mechanical troops, it suddenly turned and punched right through the head of another Giant Soldier.

The troops sent to stop Han Xiao became vanguards that opened the way for him. Han Xiao was initially advancing alone, but he suddenly gained a few thousand ‘traitors’ to protect him.

Sardeem was on edge and had no choice but to keep backing away. He could still fight to a certain extent with his army in his hands and might even be able to escape, but once Black Star got too close, it would be the end of him.

Authentic Army Style users would not be afraid of the enemy rushing through the layers of defenses, since it would be suicide for a normal Mechanic to use the tactic that Han Xiao was using. However, Sardeem did not think that he would be able to penetrate Black Star’s defenses. With so many prior cases, everyone knew how terrifying the ‘Indestructible Body’ was. He did not want to be the next case.

…

As the intense battle carried on in the asteroid belt, the entire asteroid belt was reduced to dust.

After lasting for so long, Sardeem finally had nowhere to back away to. He was caught by Han Xiao from behind.

The defense measures around him were shattered by Han Xiao, and the troops around were all occupied by Han Xiao’s mechanical army. All Sardeem had was this Giant Soldier that he was controlling manually. He had no choice but to fight Han Xiao in it.

Both of them had the ability to Apostilize. Psionic energy clashed time after time, spreading out like impact waves. Every punch that Han Xiao landed on the Giant Soldier shattered a large area of its exterior armor. Sardeem could only run around. He was no match for Han Xiao at all.

In terms of the Army Style, Han Xiao had more machines. In terms of personal strength, Han Xiao was stronger. Plus, he had just received a chunk of attributes from the Evolution Cube, so their differences were even larger. It was completely one sided. Han Xiao chased after Sardeem and tore his Giant Soldier apart piece by piece.

The exterior armor of the Giant Soldier was finally shattered. Han Xiao dashed inside the Giant Soldier, grabbed Sardeem, and used Mountain Ape Throw to throw him right out of the Giant Soldier, leaving a trail of shattered parts behind.

The next moment, Han Xiao instantly accelerated and caught up with Sardeem, who was still tumbling. Mechanical Force covered his entire body, and his fist was instantly enhanced by [Gene Liberation], [Legendary Battle Technique], [Overload], [Mechanical Force Overload], [Lethal Critical Hits], and all sorts of explosive abilities!

Bang!

His punch penetrated the armor and landed heavily on Sardeem’s abdomen. Like a drum, his organs made a thunderous sound within his body, making his ears ring.

Having taken the True Damage of this punch, as a paper Mechanic, Sardeem entered the Stunned state instantly.

Before Sardeem bent his body in agony, his chin was grabbed by a large hand, shattering his helmet. The fingers grabbing onto his skull started to tighten.

“D—do—don’t—” Sardeem felt like his head was going to explode. He quickly begged for mercy, but in space, no one could hear his scream.

Han Xiao tilted his head. An air bubble popped out from his shoulder and shrouded the two of them. He then opened his helmet and said, “You’ve lost. You don’t want to die, do you?”

“Don’t kill me!” Sardeem hastily yelled. He was not stupid, so he was not going to use the Mechanic Empire’s name as protection. The Mechanic Empire was countless miles away and would not go all the way there to avenge him even if he died. Furthermore, Black Star was not someone that would be intimidated; threatening him with Mechanic Empire’s name would only anger him further.

Wimping is the right thing to do!

“Then tell your troops to stop.” At this time, Sardeem’s mechanical army was still fighting with his mechanical army.

With his life in Han Xiao’s hands, Sardeem did not dare resist. He quickly stopped his troops.

The two mechanical armies stopped fighting quickly.

Han Xiao nodded with satisfaction. He smiled and said, “Give me authority over your troops.”

Sardeem’s expression changed drastically as he ground his teeth.

He was bleeding in his heart. Giving up the authority meant that he was gifting all these troops that he spent a very long time building to Black Star.

“Are you unwilling?” Han Xiao raised his brows. “I can get your troops all the same if I kill you. The only difference is that I’ll have to waste a little bit of time. If you’re willing to die, I really have no problem with it. In fact, after killing you, I can even take over your Planet Macipher. Tsk tsk, everything you’ve worked for will be mine. Is that what you want?”

“St—stop, I’ll give you the authority.” Sardeem’s face was pale. He had no choice but to reluctantly give the authority of his army over to Han Xiao.

“Don’t be so mad. At least you’re still alive.”

Han Xiao was content. He told Phillip to count the troops that he had just seized. He just had to rewrite the authority, and they would all be his.

Then, Han Xiao took out many electromagnetic cuffs and restrained Sardeem tightly.

He was not planning to kill Sardeem. After all, he was the Mechanic Empire’s subordinate no matter what. Since Sardeem was the one that started this battle, taking his resources was just considered a small conflict. Even if Sardeem reported this to the Mechanic Empire… why would Manison ever concern himself with something so trivial? On the other hand, killing Sardeem was a different matter. Han Xiao did not want to attract the Mechanic Empire’s attention at this time.

Nonetheless, he could not let Sardeem leave right away.

While filled with hatred, Sardeem was relieved. He had worried Han Xiao would kill him after getting the authority of his mechanical army, but it seemed that he was going to live.

“I have some things to ask you. If you cooperate, you can suffer less…” Han Xiao grabbed him. “By the way, this isn’t personal.”

Sardeem replied with an obedient attitude. “I will cooperate.”

Seeing that Han Xiao was not going to kill him, Sardeem slowly regained his calm. He looked obedient on the surface, but he was actually resentful.

If he had fought Black Star on his base, Planet Macipher, he did not think that he would have lost.

However, that was meaningless. The only thing that Sardeem could rely on was Psyker, who was hurrying after them.

As long as Psyker arrived, he would be rescued. A Beyond Grade A would easily demolish a Calamity Grade; Black Star would be no match for Psyker.

Sardeem did not know the existence of the Evolution Cube. From the way he looked at it, Han Xiao did not know that Psyker was chasing after him.

Therefore, before that, he planned to stall Han Xiao and not resist.

Han Xiao glanced at Sardeem and saw right through him. Sardeem clearly felt that Psyker would save him and was looking forward to the Beyond Grade A arriving in a rainbow cloud.

That was good for him. It would save him some energy.

With this mechanical army, I have more to fight Psyker. I’m now at level 239. The promotion was indeed the right choice.

Chapter 759 - Born!

One day later, a water droplet-shaped spaceship flew into the desolate universe belt from Planet Macipher. It had a unique appearance, like a translucent azure bubble. This ship belonged to Psyker.

Psyker could sense that the location of the Evolution Cube was still moving within the desolate universe belt. With his speed, he would catch up to the target in about ten hours.

Who intercepted my Evolution Cube?

More than ten hours earlier, the coordinates of the Evolution Cube had stopped moving for a while. During that period, he had lost contact with Sardeem. Psyker had sent many communication requests but to no avail.

It was clear that Sardeem had met the target and been defeated.

Psyker became more interested in this mysterious hijacker. Firstly, the fact that the target was able to defeat Sardeem meant that his strength was at the top of the Calamity Grades. Secondly, the target was very mysterious. He suddenly appeared, grabbed the Evolution Cube, and fled. This meant that the target somehow knew what the Evolution Cube looked like after it was shrunk down.

Based on these two factors, Psyker felt that this person might either be one of EsGod’s subordinates, a third party that knew about EsGod’s plans, or an opportunist that found out about this through some foresight ability. He felt that the latter two were more likely.

Since he defeated Sardeem, he should know that I’m chasing right after him, yet he’s still fleeing. He knows that’s the Evolution Cube, but he still doesn’t plan to return it to me. Does he think that he can escape from my hands?

Psyker could not help but shake his head, creating a simple impression of this person.

Someone so greedy that he valued fortune more than his own life!

Does this person not know how strong Beyond Grade A Supers are?

Among the four Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring, the Dragon Emperor and he were the lowest profile ones. Could this person think that he was easy to mess with?

As the leader of a Star System civilization, Psyker had met countless strange people but rarely anyone so arrogant.

Of course, Psyker would not be angered because he had been underestimated. As the leader of a civilization, he had learned to maintain his cool a long time ago—he just found it laughable.

It had been a very long time since anyone underestimated him.

As Psyker’s thoughts drifted away, he recalled that the last time he felt ashamed was hundreds of years ago.

At that time, the Beyond Grade As of the Shattered Star Ring had not been the same people as now. He had still been a teenager who followed his family’s financial group to the mother planet of a Star Cluster civilization for business. However, because of his race, he had been despised and picked on by those arrogant Star Cluster civilization citizens.

It was not personal, just an advanced civilization looking down on a backward civilization. Yet, this made him feel more ashamed than if it was personal—looking down on the bloodline he was proud of had hurt his most fundamental dignity as a member of his race.

Psyker still motivated himself using that experience. That Star Cluster civilization had become the civilization that had no choice but to watch the Star Pupil Holy Race rise right under their noses because of the Arcane Church.

If not because he had acquired the Evolution Cube in those ruins, the Star Pupil Holy Race would not have become what it was.

As Psyker regained his focus, his eyes became firm.

He had to retrieve the Evolution Cube!

Only then would his race continue to be supported by the Arcane Church!

…

Central Galaxy, Abyss of Stars, the Federation of Light’s Mother Planet, Supreme Court…

There was a circular stage. Dozens of holographic projections hovered above the stage. They were clearly separated into two sides, sitting opposite each other. On one side were the Elder Representatives of the Federation of Light, and on the other side were the Dynasty Emissaries led by the Crimson Dynasty Diplomatic Ambassador.

The two sides had been in this meeting for two consecutive days. In the past decade, similar meetings had happened close to a hundred times, all for one topic, but it had never come to a conclusion.

This time, it was different.

“So, on behalf of the Federation of Light, I hereby announce the final conclusion of this meeting. This meeting has now ended.” The leader of the Elder Representatives of the Federation of Light drew half a full stop to this meeting that had lasted an entire decade.

The Crimson Dynasty Diplomatic Ambassador nodded firmly with an expressionless face.

As the topic involved the ownership of an enormous Star Field, the two sides negotiated for a decade. Diplomatic means were just supportive methods; the real source of their chips came from the countless threats, resource bribes, political pressure, deterrence from Beyond Grade A Supers, and many other means in the past ten years.

After single-handedly creating the Crimson Tide that brought chaos to more than ten Star Fields for an entire decade, the Crimson Dynasty finally obtained their fruit of victory today. The two sides had come to an agreement that both were satisfied with. The Federation of Light had compromised.

This time, the leader of the Federation of Light Elder Representatives suddenly spoke.

“What is the Crimson Dynasty going to name this new Star Field?”

With a tone filled with pride, the Crimson Dynasty Diplomatic Ambassador replied, “We thought of the name long ago. This new Star Field that’s going to be included in the Dynasty’s territory will be called the Flickering World!”

…

Inside the enormous Purple Crystal satellite fortress, the Section Zero alliance was resting after a bloody battle. Damaged battleships were sent into the military factory for repairs one after another. The soldiers of the various forces wasted no time before resting and enjoying the help from their logistics departments.

The privileges and treatment of the Black Star Army warriors who returned to their exclusive supply station were clearly much better than the other organizations. The NPCs were mixed with the players as they claimed their resources and repaired their equipment.

The fortress was extremely crowded.

Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, and the others squeezed into the queue, sent their equipment for repairs, and then squeezed themselves out. Due to how crowded the place was, they even lost a little bit of health while they were pushed around in the crowd.

“What are you guys going to do later?” Frenzied Sword asked.

“The Knowledges in the faction store have been discounted recently, so I’m planning to learn a few,” Maple Moon said.

Hao Tian nodded, hinting that he was going to do the same.

Frenzied Sword then looked at Bun-Hit-Dog, only to realize that he looked very down. He could not help but ask, “What’s going on? Why are you so down?”

Bun-Hit-Dog sighed. “We fought so long on the frontlines of the secret war that our Mission Rating has increased so many levels, but why hasn’t Black Star come to join the battle recently? I’m lacking material.”

Maple Moon began to wonder as well. “I wonder, too. The battle has been so intense. The high-level combatants of the Bloodshed Land have been rampant in the past few months. I always get killed by their AOEs. If only the captain was here…”

Li Ge suddenly appeared and said, “I agree.”

Where did you come from?

Hao Tian pressed Li Ge right back into the crowd.

Frenzied Sword returned to the topic. “Maybe this is so that we can do more missions. Think about it. If Black Star was here, would we have so many battle opportunities? We might just end up watching cutscenes every day.

Bun-Hit-Dog was enraged. “Cutscenes are exactly what I want. Where else am I going to get material?”

The others shook their heads with resignation.

Frenzied Sword and the others were not alone. Countless army players were wondering about this as well.

As the leader of their faction, Black Star did not participate in the secret war, nor had he sent any messages in the past few months. It was like he went missing.

Where did Black Star go?

…

“To my knowledge, Black Star has been missing for a few months and did not take part in the war during this time. As Purple Crystal lost Black Star’s help, our high-level combatants were able to achieve rather good results…”

On Planet Heber, Staff Sergeant Jorde was reporting to the Tyrant.

Heber sat on his throne like a tiny mountain and listened to Jorde’s report in silence, occasionally nodding.

Jorde continued with excitement. “New information arrived from Klent earlier. Not long ago, the Crimson Dynasty and the Federation of Light finally came to an agreement. The handover process is going to take a few months. Only then will the Crimson Dynasty deal with the issues regarding their allies. The time it will take for them to start dealing with the secret war between Klent and Purple Crystal should be about half a year…”

“Oh?” Heber’s tone rose.

“This means that the secret war will only last half a year longer, which is shorter than we expected.” Jorde was exhilarated. “We still have control of West Wind, Kaya, Chaida, and the border Star Systems. In half a year, Purple Crystal will not be able to regain control of them. Your Excellency Tyrant, this means that we’ve won!”

“Not bad…”

Heber nodded slowly. He then suddenly asked, “How’s Black Star doing?”

“After he fell into my trap, he went missing for months, I don’t know where he is now.” Jorde rubbed his chin. “However, he may know about the agreement that the Crimson Dynasty and the Federation of Light have made, so I think he should now be planning his escape.”

“Planning his escape?”

“Yes. Black Star must know what situation he’s in. He knows that he is definitely no match for you. I think that he might escape from the Shattered Star Ring.”

Heber shook his head. “He’s not that kind of gutless coward… Hmm, maybe he will seek help from the Dragon Emperor or the Purple Crystal civilization to stop me.”

Jorde nodded.

“No matter what, I can’t let people think that there isn’t a price for killing so many of my subordinates,” Heber said slowly. “Klent got what they want, and I need to make an example out of someone.”

…

In the Palace of Hidden Spells, Austin sat with his legs crossed in midair and explained Magic theories. He was surrounded by Mages of all races who were carefully listening to the Magus’ teachings.

“Therefore, it can be seen from the mistakes in the third, seventh, and nineteenth circuits that the question asked by the Beyond Grade A ‘Holy Sorcerer’ Mapier hundreds of years ago is flawed. That’ll be all for today.”

The mages bowed and swamped out. Very soon, the hall became empty, leaving only Austin.

Austin took a deep breath. He took out his communicator from his secondary dimensional pocket and browsed through the news that he had missed.

“This is all entertainment news. Tsk, this female celebrity looks quite nice. What’s her na… Ahem, the situation in the Primeval Star River is still horrible… Hmm, more civilization ruins discovered in the Ancient Star Desert… Sigh, horrible stuff… Hmm? The Crimson Dynasty and the Federation of Light have come to an agreement?”

Austin was surprised. He was reminded of the situation of the secret war and his reminder for Han Xiao a few months ago.

Austin rubbed his tender chin with his tiny hand.

“The secret war is about to end. The show is finally going to start. I wonder what choice Black Star made. I hope he doesn’t disappoint me…”

…

Outside the Shattered Star Ring, Han Xiao took Sardeem and landed on a desolate planet. This was an extremely hot planet. Its ground was covered in cracks filled with lava, volcanoes erupted all the time, and the planet surface was filled with tons of lava lakes and rivers.

“This is it.” Han Xiao nodded in his mind.

It had been a day since he captured Sardeem. He had already obtained intelligence from Sardeem and confirmed his speculation that Psyker could locate the Evolution Cube.

Hence, Han Xiao decided to choose the battlefield and wait for Psyker, who was about to arrive.

Phillip counted Sardeem’s army. After losing a few hundred thousand mechanical soldiers in their battle, Han Xiao had seized more than two million troops, which increased his chances.

Of course, his confidence did not mostly come from that machinery.

A few hours ago, the experience from the players had finally filled up the experience bar of level 240!

He landed on this planet to complete his level 240 Promotion that he had been looking forward to for a very long time.

Han Xiao suppressed his excitement, turned around, and gave an order to the mechanical troops that restrained Sardeem.

“Keep him under control. Don’t let him go anywhere.”

“Roger,” the artificial intelligence Sparta replied coldly. It then controlled the many machines to all aim at Sardeem, ready to fire as soon as Sardeem did anything strange.

“Hmm!” Sardeem was tied up by electromagnetic chains all over his body, and even his mouth was sealed. The Super-Gene in his body was dried out by Han Xiao temporarily as well. He was extremely weak and could not move at all. All he could do was whine through his throat.

Leaving Sardeem behind, Han Xiao flew off alone. He crossed more than a thousand miles and randomly entered a crack on the surface.

He deactivated his mechanical suit and moved within the lava with his body. With his talent [Cosmic Environmental Adaptation], he was resistant to all kinds of harsh environments. The thousand-degree lava was no different to him than a shower.

“I wonder when I will be able to shower with Fixed Stars like the Tyrant… Wait a minute, why am I comparing myself with a Pugilist?”

Very soon, Han Xiao crossed the underground lava river and entered an empty space thousands of meters under the surface.

“This place should be secretive enough. The impact wave won’t be able to leave here very easily.”

Han Xiao was rather satisfied with this place.

Looking down at his muscular body, the runes drawn by Lagi made his body look as exquisite as a piece of art.

“Tsk, amazing… sigh, I’ve used the Evolution Cube, I wonder if I’ll become a monster like Psyker after becoming a Beyond Grade A.”

Han Xiao took off the Evolution Cube and slapped it into the wall. He rubbed his hands and opened the interface.

“Come on!”

After taking a deep breath, Han Xiao put all the experience into leveling up.

Straight toward level 240!

…

On Floating Dragon Island, Ames walked down the corridor of the palace with her long legs and feather-looking dress. By her side were Aesop and Vilna.

“Haven’t found them yet?” Ames said with an unsatisfied tone.

“No…” Vilna replied.

“Damn Black Star, where did he take my students!” Ames was enraged.

When Hila and Aurora finished their training with her a few months ago, she had originally planned to send people to protect them secretly. However, in the last few months, Black Star and the two sisters had gone missing together. She could not find them at all.

“You’re too worried. There’s absolutely no need. Black Star won’t harm the two of them,” Aesop said with resignation.

“Hmm? You think I’m an irresponsible teacher like you?” Ames raised her brows.

So much hatred… Aesop wiped off the cold sweat on his forehead.

“Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, if you want to know where the sisters are, why don’t you let me ask Black Star directly?” Vilna could not help but ask that.

Ames gave her a glare and said, “If I have to go to Black Star for everything, why did I create your team?”

Vilna had no words and could only lower her head.

It was actually created by Black Star… Aesop shook his head in resignation. Nonetheless, he agreed with Ames—Floating Dragon had to have their own intelligence channels. After all, Black Star might leave any day.

At this time, Aesop suddenly stopped.

Ames and Vilna only noticed that Aesop had been left behind after walking a few more steps. The two of them turned around only to notice that Aesop had closed his eyes and was frowning.

“What did you see?” Ames asked curiously. Aesop’s Esper Ability would occasionally activate automatically to give him some foresight.

Aesop suddenly opened his eyes. His face was filled with shock.

“The fifth Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring… is born!”

Chapter 760 - Exclusive Race!

_____________________

[Emperor Mechanic] levelled up to Level15.

+300 Energy, +5 Strength, +5 Dexterity, +8 Endurance, +12 Intelligence.

You have received 10 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

_____________________

Boom!

When his level reached level 240, a powerful surge of energy exploded within Han Xiao’s body. The electric Mechanical Force violently left burn marks on the floor and walls like a thunderstorm.

The level 240 Promotion Mission appeared. Han Xiao glanced at it. It was not difficult, but he was not going to stop now. He had two more Mission Completion Cards, so he directly used one of them to complete the Promotion Mission.

_____________________

Level 240 Promotion Mission completed!

Promotion successful!

Endurance Bonus increased! 1 Endurance = 210 Health = 220 Stamina.

_____________________

From level 60, a Race Evolution would occur every 40 levels. The last Race Evolution was at level 220, so level 240 would usually be a normal Promotion. However, with the benefits that he had received from the Evolution Cube, he received a bonus Race Evolution chance.

_____________________

The [Gene Optimization—Evolution Cube] effect has been triggered.

You have received a bonus Race Evolution.

You have taken another step on the path of evolution. You have ascended in the hierarchy of life. Your genes have reformed… Under the influence of the Evolution Cube, the chances of Mutation Option appearing in this Race Evolution have increased.

Race Detected: [Void Star Pursuer (Human Form)]

Randomly drawing 9 matching evolutionary directions…

Drawing complete!

Please choose one of the following 10 options for your Race Evolution. Warning! The evolution process is irreversible. Please choose carefully! [Appendix—Evolution Path Feature Descriptions]

[Void Commander (Human Form)]—66% Compatibility

[Void Devourer (Mutated Form)]—42% Compatibility

[Void Ripper (Mutated Form)]—38% Compatibility

[Thunder Element Tyrant (Energy Form)]—17% Compatibility

[New Edge Mechanical Race (Human Form)]—58% Compatibility

[Void Silencer (Human Form)]—49% Compatibility

[Chaos Demon]—27% Compatibility

[Void Pathfinder (Human Form)]—72% Compatibility

[Chaos Secret Sorcerer (Energy Form)]—35% Compatibility

[Child of Star Core (Physical Form)]—9.7% Compatibility

_____________________

Han Xiao was overjoyed.

The influence of the Evolution Cube was obvious—there were quite many mutated options in the ten options. This was probably how Psyker went through atavism.

As for the options related to the Void Race, the two Mutated Form options were out of the question. [Void Silencer] and [Chaos Secret Sorcerer] were more suitable for Mages. His best option was [Void Pathfinder], which was the next stage of his current race. [Void Commander] was the path toward Void Lord.

The other mutated options were quite good as well. Mechanical Race was the bloodline left behind by a Beyond Grade A Mechanic among the Primordial Ones. Becoming a Beyond Grade A meant becoming a one and only being in the universe, but reproduction was still possible. Beyond Grade As had very long lives, so there would be more than enough time for them to pass down their race. That Mechanic Primordial One had long passed away, but the Mechanical Race still lived in the universe. As the name suggested, they were born Mechanics.

Manison of the Mechanic Empire was the leader of the Mechanical Race. He was the second Beyond Grade A of this race.

[Child of Star Core] was also a very talented species. They were born in the cores of stars.

After some contemplating, Han Xiao selected [Void Pathfinder]. Although the Mechanical Race was very suitable for Mechanics, their potential was not as vast as that of the Void Race. Since he was so far down this path, unless he encountered an extremely powerful option, he would not easily change his path.

_____________________

Selection complete. Undergoing Race Evolution… Evolution complete.

Your race has been changed to: [Void Pathfinder (Human Form)]. Molecular structure is improved, organ structure strengthened, metabolism changed, and adaptability enhanced… Your potential aptitude has been improved!

+130 Strength, +180 Dexterity, +317 Endurance, +169 Intelligence, +169 Mystery, +73 Charisma, +3180 Energy.

Energy Level bonus attributes have been changed!

_____________________

The original five talents did not disappear, but [Void Molt] was enhanced into [Void Blessing]. The increase in its effect was about twenty-five percent.

Also, he received a new talent—[Void Path]!

As the name suggested, this was the upgraded version of Void Distortion, which allowed him to directly open the gate of the Void Dimension. This was also how the name [Void Pathfinder] came about.

Opening the Void Dimension had many uses. He could throw the enemies’ attacks inside like trash, or he could send the enemies into the Void Dimension. He could even connect to a certain area within the Void Dimension and let the beings in there out into the world.

The only flaw was its long cooldown, or he could just hide his mechanical army in it. In terms of bringing his mechanical army along with him, the unactivated [Secondary Dimension Army] was still a better choice.

Maybe because he followed the direct evolution path, Han Xiao did not feel too much pain this time. This time, a notification that made him exhilarated finally popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have satisfied the Prior Requirement: Achieving >32759.1 Ona after Promotion.

Race Mutation activated!

_____________________

At this instant, the pain level in his body suddenly shot through the roof. Han Xiao’s expression became twisted. It was as if someone kept pumping air into his body and his body could explode at any moment.

“Race Mutation… this is it!” Han Xiao clenched his teeth and held on as he stared at the interface.

This was the true evolution toward Beyond Grade A!

_____________________

You have reached the peak of the hierarchy of life. You have found your own direction on the path of evolution. You’re going to undergo changes you have never experienced before. From this day forth, you are going to become a unique being like no other in the entire universe…

Detecting evolution path… complete.

Your evolution have gone through [Carbon Based Human (Yellow)], [Type I Spacehuman], [Void Prowler (Human Form)], [Void Observer (Human Form)], [Void Distorter (Human Form)], [Void Star Pursuer (Human Form)], and [Void Pathfinder (Human Form)]…

Please select 10 from the Racial Talents below…

_____________________

The choices were all Racial Talents that he had once possessed. Some had disappeared, but they had now all become available choices.

This exclusive race would gather the essence of his previous evolutions, Han Xiao realized.

As he had taken the Void Race path, he had no need for some duplicate talents, so the choices were easy. Firstly, he kept the six strongest talents of [Void Pathfinder]. Then, he selected two talents from [Void Observer]—[Void Vision—Observer] and [Observer’s Mark]. He had missed these two abilities for a very long time, and he could finally regain them!

For the remaining two, he selected [Chaos Entity—Release] and [Adaptability]. The latter was the jack of all trades talent of the Galaxy Human Race, which gave a ten percent bonus to all resistances, including Psychic Resistance. He had selected this with Psyker’s threat in mind.

After confirming the choices, a new notification popped up on the interface.

_____________________

Please select 2 from the 5 Race Evolution choices below and receive one talent from each.

1. [Chaos Apostle (Human Form)]

2. [Void Destroyed (Mutated Form)]

3. [Void Preacher (Spiritual Form)]

4. [Advanced Ethereal Race]

5. [Saint—Galaxy Beast Race]

_____________________

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

The previous ten talents were all from the previous evolutions, but these two would be from the next stage of the evolution.

As he would become a unique race after becoming a Beyond Grade A Super, the following Race Evolutions would only enhance his exclusive race and grant him the talents of other races.

Absorbing talents had nothing to do with compatibility as he would not go through any mutation.

Enduring the immerse pain in his body, Han Xiao hesitated for a while and chose [Chaos Apostle] and [Void Preacher]. The former was to maintain his [Void Pathfinder] evolution path and the latter was because it was a Spiritual Form. Han Xiao felt that it would increase his Psychological Resistance, which would help him in dealing with Psyker.

The talents of these two races appeared on the interface. Han Xiao browsed through and made his choice.

_____________________

You have received the talent [Void Ethereal Echo].

You have received the talent [Supreme Piety].

_____________________

[Void Ethereal Echo] came from [Chaos Apostle], which could be used for many purposes such as applying debuffs to the enemy, restricting the enemy’s movement, defending, or attacking. It could only be used for one purpose at a time and had a cooldown of five minutes.

[Supreme Piety] was one of the [Void Preacher]’s talents. It gave a ninety percent Psychological Resistance increase and immunity to all kinds of deceptive psychic attacks, as well as a twenty percent chance to reflect psychic attacks.

“Okay, I now stand an even better chance against Psyker.”

Han Xiao was very pleasantly surprised. This single talent gave more bonus than all the Psychological Resistance talents that he previously had.

This time, a new notification popped up on the interface again.

_____________________

Please select your preference for the exclusive Racial Talent.

_____________________

This was referring to the thirteenth talent of this Race Mutation, which was the special talent of his exclusive race. It was no longer a talent from another race but creating his own talent.

This special talent would be the race talent to be passed down to his descendants.

The choices were attack, defense, resistance, health points, Machinery Affinity, and many others. The special talent would decide the direction of his exclusive race’s development, and there was only one chance to choose it. Han Xiao did not dare take the matter lightly, so he selected the Mechanic preference.

_____________________

Preference selected. Creating unique talent…

You have three chances to recreate. Your choice cannot be canceled after confirmation.

Creation complete.

[Natural Mechanical Senses]: +180% Machinery Affinity, +2 levels to all Mechanic type abilities, not limited to maximum ability level.

[Confirm/Recreate]

_____________________

Han Xiao shook his head. This talent was rather ordinary, so he used one recreation chance.

_____________________

Creating… Creation complete.

[Source of Mechanical Force]: When your Energy Attribute is Mechanical Force, receive 50 bonus Energy every level.

[Confirm/Recreate]

_____________________

This was not bad. If he selected this talent, he would gain 12,000 bonus Energy, which would most likely increase his Energy Level another level.

It was almost impossible to create a Molding Talent level ability, so [Source of Mechanical Force] was not bad at all.

He had two more recreation chances. Feidin was not around, so Han Xiao felt very insecure.

One more time. The exclusive talent of a Beyond Grade A won’t be too horrible no matter what… I think.

After making up his mind, Han Xiao clenched his teeth and used another recreation chance.

_____________________

Creating… Creation complete.

[Mechanical Genius]: Total Machinery Affinity * 1.15, +30% Machinery Creation Performance.

_____________________

Yo, this is what I’m talking about!

Han Xiao was overjoyed.

With this 1.15 multiplier to his total Machinery Affinity and the 1.08 multiplier of [Basic Mechanical Sense], it would give more than half the bonus of Reynold’s Molding Talent [Perfect Mechanical Sense], which was decent.

Furthermore, the thirty percent performance increase in his machinery creation was the most valuable bonus. The machinery that he created would have higher attributes. The thirty percent increase would make his mechanical army much stronger.

He would definitely have to create a new mechanical army suitable for Beyond Grade A battles afterward, so this ability would come in handy.

“This is it!”

Han Xiao did not use the last recreation chance and selected ‘Confirm’ immediately.

_____________________

You have received Exclusive Talent [Mechanical Genius]!

Tip: The effects of the Exclusive Talent will increase along with Race Evolution.

The 13 talents have been confirmed.

Exclusive Race created.

Please select a name…

_____________________

As the first being of this race, Han Xiao could name it.

“What race should I be called? Void Mechanical Race? Commercial Genius Race? A Pugilist That Doesn’t Want to Be an Esper Isn’t a Good Mechanic Race?”

The agony from evolving continued. Han Xiao decided not to waste time thinking of a name and used his own name.

He still recalled that the underground mutants that he had saved back then were called the Black Spirit Race, so using his own name would not be a problem.

_____________________

Exclusive Race Name confirmed.

Your race has become: Black Star Race

Detecting Race Appearance…

Based on your evolution experience, you can change your appearance to up to 2.7%.

_____________________

As Han Xiao had maintained his human form all along, he could not change his appearance much, nor did he want to, so he decided to keep his original appearance.

_____________________

Molecular structure is improved, organ structure strengthened, metabolism changed…

According to the preference of the Black Star Race, you have received bonus attributes.

+367 Strength, +317 Dexterity, +534 Endurance, +881 Intelligence, +380 Mystery, +249 Charisma, +5600 Energy.

Energy Level bonus attributes have been changed!

[Race Mutation] Completed. Your Grade has increased to S.

+100 Endurance Bonus! 1 Endurance = 310 Health = 320 Stamina

_____________________

33,000 Energy was the triggering point of Race Mutation. Beyond it was the territory of Beyond Grade A.

_____________________

Grade A Grade Bonuses disappeared.

You have received Grade S Bonuses.

Grade S Bonuses: +50 Endurance, +25 All Resistances. +25% Highest Attribute , +15% Other Attributes, +750 Free Attribute Points, +50 Potential Points

Please select 2 from the 7 options below as Grade Talents.

_____________________

Han Xiao clenched his fists in excitement. Just like how he received [Superhuman] when he became a Calamity Grade Super, Grade Ss had their own talents as well, which was also the main reason they were so much stronger than Calamity Grades.

_____________________

1. Physical Resistance

2. Psychological Resistance

3. Power Bonus

4. Status Enhancement

5. Health

6. Explosive Power

7. Energy

_____________________

Han Xiao focused and pondered. Power Bonus was a must. It would enhance everything just like [Superhuman], including Mechanical Force enhancement. This was the source of the destructive power of Beyond Grade As.

What he had a hard time choosing was the second option—he could not decide between Psychological Resistance and Health.

Psychological Resistance would be great against Psyker, but so would health. Furthermore, health would be more viable. He had yet to forget his two other enemies that did not use psychic attacks, EsGod and the Tyrant.

“Is taking beatings my fate?” With complicated feelings, Han Xiao sighed and made his choice.

_____________________

You have received Grade Talent [Supreme Power]!

You have received Grade Talent [Eternal Body]!

[Supreme Power]: You have gained power exceeding the Calamity Grade. The energy in the universe is yours to control. Your ability strength has increased, including but not limited to all weapons, equipment, machinery, and other combat means controlled by you. Bonus depends on Total Level.

Lv1 – Lv100: +4% attack every 10 levels; Lv100 – Lv200: +6% attack every 10 levels; Lv200 and above: +10% attack every 10 levels]

Current Bonus: 140% (This can be stacked with [Superhuman] bonuses)

[Eternal Body]: The life span of your cells is very long-lasting.

+1 Endurance Bonus every 2 levels.

Current Bonus: +120 Endurance Bonus

_____________________

“The enhancement brought by these two talents is… horrifying!”

Han Xiao was stunned.

No wonder Beyond Grade As were so powerful!

The agony became even more apparent and violent. Han Xiao focused on feeling the changes in his body.

Just as Austin had said, after he became a Beyond Grade A, the Soul Embryo in his mind disappeared instantly, directly destroyed by his Beyond Grade A mind.

The chain of debuffs brought by it on his interface disappeared all at once. He had returned to his peak state.

…

The pain finally faded after a few hours, taken over by the continuously expanding sense of power. It felt clearer and stronger than ever before. His sense of the world had never been this sharp.

The energy in his body overflowed from his every pore. His body was covered in dark blue light.

“I’ve finally succeeded!”

Han Xiao was ecstatic. From that day, he would be a Beyond Grade A standing at the top of Galaxy!

Calming himself down, Han Xiao distributed his Free Attribute Point evenly between Intelligence and Endurance, then looked at his attributes.

Despite being mentally prepared, he was still shocked by the numbers on his interface after he became a Beyond Grade A.

_____________________

Level: 240

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Black Star Race

Attributes: 2,346 Strength, 2,930 Dexterity, 4,265 Endurance, 6,672 Intelligence, 2,108 Mystery, 986 Charisma, 1 Luck

Free Attribute Points: 0

Potential Points: 84

Health: 2,533,510

Stamina: 2,487,270

Energy: 52,270 [Level15]

Level15 Energy bonus stat: +671 Strength, +848 Dexterity, +1080 Endurance, +1305 Intelligence, +653 Mystery, +141,520 Stamina Limit, +952% Machinery Affinity

Energy Rank: 43,837

Grade: S (Beyond A)

Grade S Bonuses: +50 Endurance, +25 All Resistances. +25% Highest Attribute , +15% Other Attributes, +750 Free Attribute Points, +50 Potential Points

Remark: Beyond Grade As are far more powerful than Calamity Grades. No matter which Star Field it is, you stand at the peak of it.

_____________________

“Way too powerful…” Han Xiao’s eyes widened with excitement.

Becoming a Beyond Grade A made him way stronger than Calamity Grade. He was in completely new territory.

With these attributes, no wonder no Calamity Grade could ever match a Beyond Grade A. Even he could not have beaten a Beyond Grade A before this. It was just like how a human would never be able to beat Godzilla with their bare hands.

Even he had more than 2.5 million health, so he wondered how much Tyrant had.

If those Primordial Ones never penetrated this limit, maybe the current universe would still have thought that Calamity Grades were the limit of individual strength.

“This is the power of a Beyond Grade A…”

Han Xiao felt the changes in his body. He felt like he could punch right through this planet under his feet.

And this time, it was not an illusion!

Beep beep!

Before he could test the limits of his power, Phillip suddenly sent a message.

“Master, hum… the radar has detected a spaceship in the outer atmosphere, hum!”

Han Xiao looked up immediately. As if his sights could penetrate the thick rock walls, his eyes locked onto a water droplet shaped spaceship outside the planet.

“Psyker? He’s finally caught up…”

Han Xiao’s eyes became firm.

This was the perfect opportunity. He could test out how strong he was among Beyond Grade As in the battle with Psyker!

Chapter 761 - Negotiations

The waterdrop-shaped spaceship slowly entered the atmosphere and descended. The scene of fire and cracked lava jumped into Psyker’s sight.

Psyker had already sensed the position of the Evolution Cube just below the planet, so close that he could accurately sense its position now.

“The coordinates have stopped at this planet for a few hours now… Did he give up on the Evolution Cube and choose to escape, or did he purposely stay here just to meet with me?”

Psyker tried to guess the intentions of his unknown enemy and felt that the person might have set traps for him, causing him to be unable to continue pursuing him. As a precaution, he gave up the thought of flying down using just his fleshly body, instead flying over to the coordinates he detected in his spaceship.

After flying for a while, the detection radar suddenly pinged as it had spotted a life signal hundreds of kilometers away. The distant area was expanded, and it could be discerned that there were hundreds of Mechanical Warriors around a living body, as though keeping it in captivity.

“That looks like Sardeem.” Psyker’s expression grew grim, and he immediately flew over to Sardeem.

The troops on the ground raised their muzzles, opening fire at the spaceship overhead.

Boom boom boom!

A surge of invisible mental power formed a shield, distorting the space like a wall of air. The Particle Cannon blasted shattered into blue specks of light upon hitting them.

Explosions continued to move, but the shield remained motionless.

The next instant, a pale white mental shock wave materialized, sweeping across the ground.

Swoosh!

The hundreds of Mechanical soldiers below did not possess the bonuses of Mechanical Force and were naturally shattered in a single blow. The mental wave avoided Sardeem, and he was the only one left standing after the shockwave had passed.

The Psychic profession was the profession specializing in mental strength. Its strength lay in its mental attacks, and at the same time, it possessed the means to perform physical attacks. The driving force behind this was using one’s mental strength to affect the surroundings in order to generate the physical attack.

Psyker crushed the restraints on Sardeem’s body with his mind before beaming him up into the cabin.

“Cough cough… you’re finally here!”

Sardeem held onto the cabin door weakly with an expression of joy.

He was saved!

A Beyond Grade A Super was so reliable. Believing in Psyker was the correct thing to do!

“Who’s the enemy?” Psyker did not waste time talking, going straight into the main topic.

“It… it’s Black Star!”

“Black Star? I’ve heard this name before… oh, it seems like someone from the Colton Star Cluster. He took part in the secret war and ended up provoking Tyrant.”

“Yes, yes, yes, it’s that Beyond Grade A Seed. He claimed to be invincible among Calamity Grades.”

Invincible among Calamity Grades? So, is it his moniker that gave him the confidence to go against a Beyond Grade A?

Psyker shook his head. The Colton Star Cluster was far away from his Star Pupil Holy Race, and while news about Han Xiao had passed through him, he did not pay attention to him. To him, a simple Calamity Grade was just an ant no matter how famous he was.

He had no interest in the secret war. If he had the time, he would have spent it worrying about the fertility problem of the Star Pupil Holy Race.

“Your Excellency Psyker, Black Star threw me over here a few hours ago. He should still be on this planet. Just now, when you wiped out the mechanical soldiers, you revealed yourself. I believe we should hurry to capture Black Star, lest he runs away again.”

Sardeem immediately raised that suggestion. He could not wait to see Black Star get into trouble.

He could not forget the humiliation that he had suffered and wished to take back his mechanical troops. Psyker was his backer, and in his eyes, a Calamity Grade would never be a match for a Beyond Grade A. No matter how Black Star struggled, he would only become a punching bag for Psyker.

Sardeem gritted his teeth, viciously thinking, I’m not only going to get back my mechanical army, I’m even going to steal yours!

“Oh, that makes sense. We should settle it quickly,” Psyker said as though it was natural.

With his perception pointing the way, he was not afraid of Black Star running away but rather more afraid that if Black Star had nowhere left to run, he would smash the portable container of the Evolution Cube to pieces, revealing the true form of the Evolution Cube. In that case, he would have to gather all the manpower of his Star Pupil Holy Race to move the Evolution Cube back, and he hated such trouble.

Just as he was prepared to pilot his spaceship over, he felt the Evolution Cube in his perception begin to approach them. Very quickly, a tiny black dot grew ever larger toward their location.

Rumble!

The fast-moving shadow shot over the ground, raising up gales, and the magma flowing on the surface was split to the sides due to the wind pressure.

The next moment, the black shadow stopped in midair not far off, facing squarely with Psyker.

“That’s Black Star!” Sardeem immediately pointed as he exclaimed.

“To think he came knocking on his own…” Psyker felt a little mystified. He roughly understood the intentions of the other party—to negotiate with him.

His gaze was fixed on the small Evolution Cube hanging from Han Xiao’s neck. With his perception, he knew that this was the compact version of the Portable Evolution Cube.

Hum!

Without waiting for Han Xiao to open his mouth, Psyker raised his hand, and a blast of psychic power roiled out, hitting Han Xiao on a spiritual level.

He was too lazy to speak pleasantries to Han Xiao. He knew that the other party planned to use the Evolution Cube as his bargaining chip, but what qualifications did Han Xiao, as a Calamity Grade, have to speak on equal grounds with him?

Psyker was unwilling to give him the upper hand. Thus, without a single word, he attacked directly.

If you have anything to say, wait till I get the Evolution Cube!

Before Han Xiao could speak, a wave of mental energy struck at him. Fortunately, he had been mentally prepared to use his new talent [Void Dimension] from the [Chaos Apostle] race, drawing a large amount of power from the void to offset the psychic energies. The barrier he created diffused close to half the mental damage.

The remaining amount of psychic energy pierced through, invading his brain, and he felt pain in his mind as though countless nails were being hammered in. However, his talents such as [Supreme Piety], [Advanced Mental Toughness], and [Soul Lock] had more than doubled his mental resistance. This blow shaved off more than 80,000 of his overall HP, with the interface showing that Psyker had utilized his skills to deal extra damage.

This was the true strength of a Beyond Grade A Super!

However, with Han Xiao’s current HP, this attack that was enough to destroy Calamity Grades did not even count as a light injury to him, and he recovered in the blink of an eye.

This jerk is really decisive! Han Xiao turned solemn.

However, this was what he wanted. Only by first showing his strength to the other party would he be qualified to negotiate on equal grounds.

While his thoughts moved, Han Xiao’s hands did not slow down as well. Without a second word, he immediately applied the Luck Curse on Psyker, and without retreating, he activated [Apostilization] as well as [Void Blessing]. With an arrogant bearing, a sea of Psionic energy was launched, akin to a river of stars in a galaxy as it rushed toward Psyker’s spaceship.

Boom!

The surge of Psionic energy violently smashed against Psyker’s mind barrier, akin to a waterfall against a rock. The light blue colored sparkles resembled the splashing of water, and the surroundings vibrated endlessly, with roaring echoes.

“This strength… isn’t quite right.”

Psyker could not help but be surprised. The pressure withstood by his spirit was totally different from his original expectation of easily blocking the attack.

While there was only a bit of pressure, having been a Beyond Grade A for so many years, this was the first time that he had felt pressure coming from a Calamity Grade.

Clank!

The next instant, Han Xiao poured out more energy, summoning his Mechanical army. Flashes could be seen around the sky as the Army Boxes arrived one after another, releasing an overwhelming number of Mechanical troops. A black colored wave of soldiers occupied every inch of the sky.

Not only was Han Xiao’s mechanical army there but Sardeem’s too. The total scale was over ten million.

Buzz!

Mechanical Force resembling sparks of electricity rushed out from Han Xiao, connecting to each mechanical soldier like a ginormous lightning web. At this moment, all the Mechanical soldiers’ actions were synchronized.

Han Xiao then released his full strength. The level of energy that he emitted sharply climbed, and his momentum continued to expand.

It was at this moment that Sardeem had a bad premonition in his heart.

Right on cue, Psyker opened his mouth.

“You’re wrong.”

Sardeem regained his senses and replied in confusion, “What’s wrong?”

“You said he was a Beyond Grade A Seed. You’re wrong.”

Sardeem could not help but turn to Psyker, and to his shock, he found out that Psyker’s expression was no longer easygoing. At some time, his expression had turned stern.

“He’s not a Beyond Grade A Seed…” Psyker’s tone was grave. “He’s a true Beyond Grade A!”

Like a bolt of lightning blasting apart his mind, Sardeem’s thoughts turned blank. His whole body stiffened, and his eyes slowly grew larger, as his expression turned from disbelieving to terrified.

Black Star… was a Beyond Grade A‽

This meant that the Shattered Star Ring now had five Beyond Grade A Supers‽

Sardeem’s face was pale. If Han Xiao was still a Calamity Grade, he would have had no issues making him an enemy. However, the other party was now a Beyond Grade A. What sort of revenge would he dare perform?

When did this happen? Two days ago, when I was exchanging blows with him, he was still a Calamity Grade! Could it be that he purposely hid his strength?

Maybe, when he had disguised himself as Barne, he was already a Beyond Grade A.

Then, has he been fooling me all along‽

Seeing that he was so vocal about managing to have a contact with a Beyond Grade A, Sardeem now felt utterly speechless.

If Black Star and Psyker start fighting, the aftermath of a Beyond Grade A battle…

Sardeem now started to panic. He had thought that once Psyker arrived, he would be safe, but now it seems like he would die there!

At this time, the mechanical army surrounded Psyker’s spaceship, and dense rows of muzzles aimed at him. At the same time, the dim glow of accumulating energy could be seen.

Hum!

Psyker’s seven eyes immediately grew huge, and his psychic energy was poured out, weaving layer after layer of barriers that wrapped around the entire spaceship.

“Fire!” Han Xiao pressed down sharply with his palm.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

Millions of particle cannons were fired in unison toward the same target, and the next moment, the various psionic rays converged at a single point, triggering a chain reaction. At the center point, a dark-blue energy ball was formed and quickly expanded.

The Mechanical army retreated as this energy ball swelled to more than a hundred kilometers in diameter before exploding!

Boom!

The sound was akin to a mountain collapsing.

A dazzling blue beam shot up toward the sky, heading for the atmosphere.

Without dust nor a mushroom cloud, all the Psionic energy vanished as though it had never existed.

The area was transformed into a deep pit, with the land seemingly having vanished into thin air. This explosion almost blew through the crust of the planet, and the remaining power had penetrated the mantle, causing it to turn into a bottomless hole.

Rumble!

The veins in the surrounding thousands of kilometers had all been affected, with several earthquakes happening simultaneously. All the volcanoes in the area erupted, and the cracked ground produced countless deep rifts. The crust was shredded by the tectonic movements, and magma raged from the rifts, rising like red hot dragon ridges.

Seeing the extreme changes, Han Xiao could only sigh in appreciation.

Just how many times has my offensive strength multiplied?

His Attributes and Machinery Affinity had soared, and the bonuses given by [Supreme Prestige] allowed Han Xiao’s strength to step into the realm of Beyond Grade A.

My Mechanical army has not yet been renewed. The moment I return and create a set of stronger machines, as well as a large number of Planetary Obliteration Cannons, that will be the peak of my combat capability.

Han Xiao settled his mind before turning around to look for traces of Psyker.

While the picture of devastation that he had wrought was shocking, Han Xiao never let his guard down. He would not expect such a blow to pose much of a threat to another Beyond Grade A. After all, the strong aftermath meant that his control of power was still not precise and concentrated.

Even with that huge explosion, the damage inflicted was only 250,000 HP. This was already inferred on his interface, and the majority of his attacks were stopped by the Beyond Grade A Psychic mental barrier.

In the epicenter of the explosion, there was a cracked light sphere, red in color. That was the psychic barrier of Psyker. Even his mental and psychic energies had been superheated by the Psionic blast, turning into lava red and constantly emitting steam.

The mechanical army gathered once again, and upon seeing this, Psyker glanced at Sardeem, who was trembling beside him, and shook his head.

After staying silent for a while, he dissipated his mental barrier, opened the hatch, and flew out, facing Han Xiao.

“Good strength.”

Psyker first lowered his head to start at the bottomless pit before turning back to face Han Xiao. He did not reveal any emotions on his face as he said, “Let’s talk.”

After this simple exchange, Psyker understood that the other party was on the same level as him. Thus, he could only change his attitude and acknowledge that Han Xiao was qualified for equal conversation.

While he had never made any contact with Black Star before, he would have no choice but to remember this person in the future.

Making this gesture also showed that he was ready to negotiate with Han Xiao.

In fact, Psyker was a little pissed. He had originally thought that his opponent was just a Calamity Grade that was too full of himself, but it turned out to be a real Beyond Grade A Super. The worst-case scenario actually happened, and this made the situation even more complicated.

Psyker was not afraid of Han Xiao, but as the leader of a civilization, he was not willing to easily provoke a new Beyond Grade A as his enemy unless there was no hope of negotiating.

As the saying went, whenever talented people emerged, they would leave their mark on the world. Every new Beyond Grade A expert signified some sort of change in the Star Field. While the Shattered Star Ring had not had a new Beyond Grade A expert for a long time, it did not mean that the same went for many of the other Star Fields.

With Psyker’s long lifespan, alongside with his contacts in the Arcane Church, he could follow the news beyond the Shattered Star Ring. He was well read, so he did not lose his composure, but upon witnessing the birth of yet another Beyond Grade A, it was unavoidable that he would be surprised. He just chose not to show it so as not to affect the negotiations.

Seeing this situation, Han Xiao bade his mechanical army to stop before flying in front of Psyker.

The two stood opposite each other, sizing the other party up.

“State your conditions. What do you wish to do with my Evolution Cube?”

Psyker took the initiative to speak. He did not wish to speak in riddles and immediately approached the main topic.

Han Xiao raised his brow.

This guy’s personality is really direct, probably not too good at talking…

However, that made sense. Their exchange just now was merely a simple blow, exchanging shots to prove their strength. It was far from what a Beyond Grade A Super could do.

Psyker was willing to communicate mainly because Han Xiao had proven this strength and because it was impossible to eliminate him in a single blow.

Han Xiao’s mind was full of nasty words, but he thought about it and spoke solemnly whilst holding onto the Evolution Cube around his neck. “Actually, there’s a way for us to cooperate.”

“Speak.” Psyker remained expressionless.

Han Xiao nodded before explaining the need for a password to crack the Evolution Cube in its portable form. Following which, he said, “I know how to unlock this Evolution Cube, so I can allow it to maintain this portable state and carry it around with me, so it won’t be stolen. As for you, since you do not know the password, you can only release its original form, and one day, it might be stolen by the EsGod again, leading to many deaths.

“Thus, I propose that I hold on to the Evolution Cube. Let me divert their attention. You can borrow the Evolution Cube whenever you wish, and both of our forces will also be closely allied to each other, so you do not have to worry about it being stolen and still can continue to utilize its strength. It’s a win-win.”

Psyker patiently listened before passively saying, “Ah, then I’ll also propose something. How about you give the password and the Evolution Cube to me? The Star Pupil Holy Race will be your closest allies, and you can always use the Evolution Cube anytime you wish. Furthermore, I’ll help you to get rid of the Tyrant. How about that?”

Han Xiao’s eyes twitched. “And if I don’t agree…”

“Then I’ll help the Tyrant get rid of you.” Psyker interrupted Han Xiao without hesitation, pressuring him. “Now, give me your reply. Will you hand it over?”

Chapter 762 - Apologies, I Won“t Let You Support My Ass

“Is that a threat?” Han Xiao was mystified. This was really too direct.

“No, I’m just helping you understand your current situation.” Psyker’s tone remained calm yet steely.

With them both being Beyond Grade A Supers who wielded immense strength, the laws of the various civilizations had already lost their purpose in front of them. Beyond Grade A Supers were the class that represented prestige, and they had already stepped out of the rules of society. Thus, any nonsense from Psyker was useless, and he chose to immediately strike his opponent’s weak points. This was more useful than exchanging a lot of bullcr*p pleasantries.

As for Black Star’s current situation, Psyker was not too aware, but he knew that the Tyrant had set his sights on him. Thus, no matter whom he joined, the balance would be broken.

What he was betting on was that Black Star, as a new Beyond Grade A, would choose stability as a priority. He still had to accumulate his strength and influence, splitting apart the benefits in the Star Field as he had just risen to Beyond Grade A. Thus, facing the threat of two older Beyond Grade As, he would likely choose to compromise.

The Star Pupil Holy Race’s genes were already almost optimized to the bottleneck. The function of the Evolution Cube had no use for them, and what Psyker needed was to use its value—to trade it with the Arcane Church in exchange for its support.

Over the past few decades, the Arcane Church had repeatedly proposed generous conditions in exchange for the Evolution Cube, and their latest bid proposed that they would support the Star Pupil Holy Race into becoming the designated spokesperson of the Arcane Church in the Shattered Star Ring, allowing it to become a true Star Cluster civilization. This promise moved Psyker.

However, his bargaining chip was then stolen.

As such, it did not really matter if the Evolution Cube was portable or not. Han Xiao’s conditions were not attractive in his eyes, as he did not need to borrow it but rather needed the Evolution Cube itself.

No matter what, the Evolution Cube had to be returned to his hands, or else he would lose the support of the Arcane Church. After all, without the Evolution Cube, there was no need to discuss anything else!

Han Xiao thought a little and could understand Psyker’s rationale as well as his bottom line. The other party could not compromise, which gave him a headache.

This little comrade refused to perform the win-win cooperation and only wished to take back the Evolution Cube. He could not fulfill Psyker’s wishes in any way.

Threatening another’s race would do more harm than benefit as well. All galactic civilizations were covered under the Civilization Treaty but not mercenary groups. This was the difference in the nature of their organizations. It would be okay for others to hit him, but he himself could not attack other civilizations. This was how sad and pathetic the life of a mercenary was.

Psyker cared about his own race, and this was a well-known weakness of this. But if he gave in every time someone threatened him with his race, the Star Pupil Holy Race would not have reached this current stage. One could even say that Psyker had received threats his entire life, leading to his tough stance in dealing with problems. Unless Han Xiao decided to abandon his Black Star Army and turn into a wanted man in the galaxy, like EsGod, he would not use the Star Pupil Holy Race to threaten him.

However, he knew of this point and is not willing to use the Black Star Army to threaten me. This means that he still has some morals left and is not willing to force me into a corner.

Han Xiao’s heart was moved.

The focus of this competition was for the Evolution Cube, and both parties had some sort of restraining fear. In order to avoid the losses of both, they had not mentioned their respective forces.

However, Han Xiao was unwilling to hand the cube over to Psyker so easily. For most civilizations, the Evolution Cube was an unprecedented opportunity for development, and no civilization would be able to reject this opportunity. If he controlled the Evolution Cube by himself, it will form a huge collective of interests, and the Black Star Army’s influences would soar hundreds of thousands of times higher than it currently was.

Taking a step back, with his identity as a Beyond Grade A, if he took the Evolution Cube to work together with the Crimson Dynasty, he would be able to obtain the support of a Universal Civilization. The Star Pupil Holy Race obviously enjoyed such a benefit from the Arcane Church, and they would also be able to join in the forces for early exploration to the Flickering World, laying the groundwork for future versions.

At the same time, the Evolution Cube would still be able to attract countless Calamity Grades and maybe even Beyond Grade As. That was not impossible.

He was not someone like Psyker who only had his own race in mind, keeping all the good stuff only for his race to utilize.

There was only one Evolution Cube, so the benefits were huge. He did not have a chance before, so that was it. However, this opportunity had been presented to him, and he had the strength to keep the treasure. If he gave it up too easily, it would be letting himself down.

When it was time to fight, Han Xiao would never retreat.

Taking the Evolution Cube for himself would give the best benefits, accompanied by the same amount of risks. However, with his body and Aurora’s medicine, even if the Tyrant and Psyker joined forces, they might not be able to kill him. His forces would be able to improve even further without any threat, as the supporting ability of the Evolution Cube was top-class. However, if he gave the cube back to Psyker, while there would be no danger, he would have given up a lot of benefits, only being able to obtain the scraps once they had been distributed.

This was the choice of wanting a single tree or taking the entire forest!

Han Xiao no longer thought about it and asked, “Is there no room for compromise at all?”

“If a civilization wishes to develop, it is inevitable that they fight for resources, for the future,” Psyker blandly said. “Since ancient times, no matter how advanced or backward a civilization is, you cannot escape this rule, and you cannot fight it. In the end, if you don’t follow these rules, you’ll be eliminated. I believe you’ve heard the saying ‘a civilization without ambition has no future’.”

He would not say things like the Evolution Cube belonged to him and that he should get it back, as they were both standing at the pinnacle of individual strengths. It was useless to reason. In essence, the Evolution Cube was ownerless, but the other influences considered it his only because he had held it for a long time.

If it was something that the Star Pupil Holy Race had created, Han Xiao would probably have handed it over. However, this treasure did not belong to Psyker, and even if the other party wished to use it for righteous causes such as upgrading his own race, this universe was not only made up of the Star Pupil Holy Race. Resources were obtained by fighting, so why did others have to make way for him? The Star Pupil Holy Race was an intelligent civilization but so were others!

Psyker occupying the Evolution Cube and transforming his race would make him regarded as a hero by his people but a selfish enemy by others. The judgement of one’s position was purely based on their perspective, especially in Galaxy where relationships were complex. The development of a civilization had long been a process of sailing against the flow.

In Han Xiao’s view, the Star Pupil Holy Race had already enjoyed the benefits of the Evolution Cube. Even if they lost it, the Star Pupil Holy Race would still be a strong civilization. Psyker only grabbed onto this benefit and did not wish to let go because he was not satisfied with the status quo, wishing to take his civilization to a higher level.

“A civilization without ambition has no future. This sentence makes sense. You, as the leader of a civilization, indeed have to place the burdens of the entire civilization on your back. It’s just that…” Han Xiao sighed. “I don’t intend to pay the bill for your ambition.”

Psyker paused before his tone got even more severe. “Have you thought it through?”

“There’s only one Evolution Cube. Neither of us wish to let it go, and there’s no way to reconcile, so there’s nothing left to say.” Han Xiao shook his head. He had never been a good person who would turn his head away from money. After weighing the cost and benefits, he came to this decision.

“Good, I hope you don’t regret this decision!”

Psyker suddenly moved, and boundless psychic energy in the form of shock waves burst out, distorting the air as they attacked the mechanical army behind, directly penetrating the formation.

Boom!

Thousands of fireworks exploded in the mechanical army, and the broken parts flew all over the sky. Nearly a hundred thousand mechanical soldiers were severely damaged, and their bodies were broken. Some were even directly scrapped.

Those mechanical soldiers constructed at the Calamity Grade were indeed too brittle before a Beyond Grade A, even with the Mechanical Force bonus…

“Spread the formation!” Han Xiao ordered the battle Artificial intelligence from his mind, and his mechanical arm changed its shape to form a spiral drill entwined with psionic energy as it thrust toward Psyker.

Psyker hand eye coordination was swift, and he quickly gripped the drill.

Buzz buzz…

The drill in Psyker’s hands spun rapidly, and his palms were covered with a psychic shield that was in contact with the drill. Sparks were constantly being emitted from the friction between the two. Psyker’s eyes gleamed at this moment.

Han Xiao felt a burst of pain in his mind as he was attacked in the spiritual state once again. Without waiting, Psyker released white light all over his body, and ripples of psychic energy spread rapidly, smashing into Han Xiao like a block. He was pushed back thousands of meters.

Immediately, Psyker’s hands clasped together strongly, and a loud blast of energy surged into the sky!

Han Xiao stabilized his body, and upon looking, he found that Psyker’s appearance had changed dramatically.

Psyker’s body had swollen to become a circle, and the two jade-like corners of his forehead had elongated. The small hair-like tentacles around his head merged to form a huge white tentacle, like a tail on his head. It waved around, seemingly extremely tensile, and three pairs of wings spread out from the vents around his body, turning him into an arthropod.

His seven eyes lit up with a dazzling white light, and the deep purple lines on his skin all lit up, exuding immense energies. Within the joints of his bone armor, sharp bone blades emerged, and a white cloud like psychic power was continuously released around his body.

Psyker had revealed his true combat form.

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed. Not everyone would be willing to work with him, and since Psyker had rejected the support, he decided to keep his own ass and speak with his fists.

In the end, using their fists was still the most direct way to resolve any issues.

When negotiations failed, they could only persuade people in such a way.

I just spoke about flipping the table, and this guy really did so. What a fine temper… but don’t think I’m afraid of you!

Boom!

Han Xiao no longer conserved himself and activated all his buff skills before exploding out with all his Mechanical Force.

Whoosh!

The Mechanical army lined up, firing toward Psyker, and the psionic rays from the Particle Cannons were akin to a sea of destruction.

Compared to the hasty confrontation previously, this was a real battle!

This was also the first Beyond Grade A battle that Han Xiao had personally taken part in!

Chapter 763 - Intense Battle

Two figures, one white and one blue, collided like two meteors!

Boom!

The shockwave from their collision sent the densely packed mechanical soldiers flying in all directions!

The surging psionic energy in Han Xiao’s body was unleashed without any restraint, and Han Xiao’s fists hammered down heavily on Psyker’s psychic shield, sending out intense shockwaves in all directions. Han Xiao did not retract his fists as his armor transformed into a gigantic hand cannon, with a burning red glow charging up in the barrel of the cannon.

Boom!

Violent dark energy shot out from the barrel of the cannon and swallowed Psyker in a tower of light. However, Psyker remained unmoved like a rock within the tower of light.

Han Xiao frowned. This fellow’s psychic shield is too powerful. The shield durability is far too high and he can easily generate another shield after the old shield is destroyed. Although he isn’t able to ignore True Damage, my attacks would have to first hit him.

A Psychic’s psychic shield was like a Mage’s magic shield and even more powerful in certain areas. A Psychic’s shield was able to defend against both physical and mental attacks, and Psyker was able to freely control the state of the shield. Since Han Xiao only had physical attacks, Psyker could reduce the strength of his mental shield by ninety percent and channel his energy to physical defense. As such, the shield was extremely durable.

Thankfully, Psyker’s physique was not particularly strong, and he did not have any talents to ignore True Damage. Han Xiao could also trigger True Damage attacks on the shield to multiply his damage. However, damage done to the shield was not the same as damage done to Psyker.

The Psychic branch was his nemesis, and the most direct solution would be to compete in firepower.

Boom!

The mechanical army got into formation and spread out in the sky, unleashing their never-ending fire down on Psyker. Particle Cannons, dark energy cannons, psionic cannons, and many other different weapons rained down on Psyker.

Including the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon, more than ten satellite cannons shot into the sky, and thick beams of light smashed down on Psyker’s shield.

At this moment, Psyker spread out his arms, and a white whirlpool of psychic energy burst forth from his body and sent Han Xiao flying.

The psychic shockwave swept all the mechanical soldiers near Psyker away, and these soldiers were all smashed into pieces.

Following which, Psyker’s knees bent slightly, and he looked as though he was about to jump, treating the sky as flat ground.

Bang!

Psyker’s body exploded forth, with every step producing a sonic boom as he charged straight into the mechanical army.

The psychic energy surrounding his body began to spin rapidly, and Psyker seemed to have transformed into a drill. He weaved through the army with unstoppable momentum and released mental attacks while crashing through the army.

The formation of the mechanical army was immediately ripped into shreds with many soldiers being reduced to scrap metal.

The intense battle between the two continued and left giant craters on the planet that they were battling on. The planet’s diameter was reduced by a few thousand meters; it was as though a layer was shed from the planet.

Han Xiao tried to approach Psyker to engage in a close combat fight, but Psyker refused to tangle with Han Xiao and focused all his attention on destroying Han Xiao’s mechanical army. Whenever Han Xiao came close to Psyker, Psyker would use his psychic force to push Han Xiao back.

Psyker was extremely swift and his shield extremely thick. Many of Han Xiao’s attacks were avoided by him, but a portion still managed to find their way to him.

A portion of Psyker’s attributes were displayed on Han Xiao’s interface. His level had a question mark, but his health was not as high as Han Xiao’s. Psyker only had slightly more than 2,000,000 HP and had already lost a little more than 100,000 HP. Psyker’s HP was recovering slowly, and he could recover 10,000 HP every second. His normal recovery rate was about 0.5% per second, but with his high total HP, the amount of HP that he could recover was not too low.

Han Xiao glanced at the interface and thought to himself, He doesn’t have the Beyond Grade A talent [Everlasting Body] and should have chosen a talent related to energy.

Energy was the foundation of the Psychic class, and Psychics expanded energy extremely rapidly.

Upon seeing that the almost one million mechanical soldiers were destroyed, Han Xiao waved his arm, and his Mechanical Force stuck onto the spare parts like a spider web. All the spare parts gathered together, and Han Xiao combined the spare parts with his [Waste Modification] and [Basic Machinery Construction] skills before throwing them back into the fray.

His mechanical army was not too powerful, but he had many methods to repair his army in battle, and it would not be destroyed so easily. However, he did not have a relaxed expression on his face.

This fellow knows that I have not rebuilt my mechanical army yet and is treating my mechanical army as his breakthrough point. His energy is recovering too quickly, and it’ll be difficult for me to fight a protracted battle with him.

He had lowered Psyker’s HP by about 100,000, but he had lost about 700,000 HP in return. As Psyker destroyed his mechanical army, Psyker would occasionally send him a few Psychic Blasts or mental attacks. Even though Psyker suffered from the Luck Curse and had a decrease in critical rate, his normal damage was not low.

The Mechanic Class lacked skills that guarded against mental attacks, and he had no way to avoid the opponent’s mental attacks.

However, his HP had already recovered to the maximum.

His [Middle Grade Cell Proliferation Control] talent converted energy to health with a 1:5 ratio. Because of the upper limit of his energy, he could regenerate 250,000 HP every second. Although the psychic attacks did not allow him to absorb energy, he could control the Watcher Instruments around him to attack him to regain his energy.

I’ll be on the losing side if this continues, and I cannot allow him to attack my army without restraint.

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and a machine appeared beside him. This was a high-grade control type machinery that could use a powerful magnetic force to control the target.

A golden Mechanical Force shot out from his palm and struck the machine. This special bolt of Mechanical Force then merged together with the machine, and the stats of the machine were immediately multiplied.

Emperor’s Gift!

The next moment, more than ten thick bolts of electricity exploded forth, and an intense magnetic force was released toward Psyker.

Hum!

Psyker, who was flying at high speed, suddenly stopped in midair as though he was grabbed by an invisible hand.

Without the boost from the Emperor’s Gift, it would be impossible to catch Psyker.

The control duration was extremely short, and Han Xiao immediately entered the Void Dimension and appeared behind Psyker the very next moment, grabbing both of Psyker’s arms.

His Mountain Ape mechanical suit then transformed into handcuffs to lock onto Psyker’s body.

Buzz

Han Xiao activated his [Gene Liberation] skill, and the damage of his entire army was increased.

The next moment, the entire mechanical army fired at both of them!

Boom!

A new gigantic crater was left behind on the surface of the planet.

Han Xiao was sent flying far away and only managed to stabilize his body after travelling a few hundred kilometers. His first priority was to recover his HP before looking around for Psyker.

Psyker was also sent flying and was not in a good state.

At this moment, Psyker had a couple of burn marks all over his body. He had been obstructed by Han Xiao previously, and his psychic shield could not block the full force of the explosion. A small portion of his HP was lost during the blast, but he had various talents to guard his mind and would not be affected by a dizzy status or such.

Right at this moment, Han Xiao could feel a sense of danger approaching from behind him.

He hurriedly unleashed his psionic shield toward his back and saw a white, mist-like figure appearing behind him. As though the shield did not exist, the white figure went through the shield and into Han Xiao’s body.

Hum!

Han Xiao could clearly feel this white figure entering his mental region and creating destruction all around before detonating itself. His mind was severely wounded, and his entire head felt heavy and woozy.

Psyker’s attack had wiped out almost 200,000 HP, and Han Xiao immediately retreated. However, he also heard Psyker letting out a soft grunt at the same moment.

Bearing with the intense headache, Han Xiao looked over and saw Psyker bleeding from his every orifice.

This is… right! Han Xiao immediately looked at the combat information and almost burst out laughing.

Psyker’s sneak attack had triggered the twenty percent mental rebound of [Supreme Piety]. Psyker had suffered from the rebound damage.

Although his Luck was low, Psyker had suffered from his Luck Curse and did not have very good luck either.

I wonder if this is because of my good luck or his bad luck…

Right at this moment, Psyker lifted his head up, and six of his auxiliary eyes lit up to form a white circle on his face with his main eye being the center of the circle.

Following which, his appearance transformed again, and the skeleton armor covered his entire body, only revealing his seven eyes.

The combat information displayed that Psyker entered a new state with all his attributes explosively increasing. A new white layer appeared on his health bar, which was a full sixty percent of his max HP.

“Again,” Psyker said with a deep voice and his voice resounded like a bell.

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted.

Transforming again?

Do you think you are Frieza[1]‽

This is against the rules! Do you think you can do as you wish just because you are a combat race?

A Beyond Grade A is truly perverse with never ending methods.

Han Xiao felt his balls ache.

Although Psyker did not have regenerative capabilities like him, he had many different forms that provided him with extra HP and defense.

When he was in the Calamity Grade, he had an almost BUG like ability among the Calamity Grade Supers. However, every Beyond Grade A existence was like a bug-like character, and not a single one was easy to deal with.

“Hiss…”

Han Xiao took a deep breath and circulated his energy to the maximum. Letting out a loud roar, Han Xiao led his mechanical army to clash with Psyker again!

After their previous exchange, Han Xiao had a rough estimate of the Psyker’s strength. Both of them were on par, and it would be extremely difficult for either of them to get rid of the other party. However, with his mechanical army being destroyed, his damage would decrease over time.

Since his mechanical army had to be rebuilt anyway, Han Xiao decided to ignore the damage to his army and make use of this opportunity to measure his combat strength. He would only have the chance to go all out when facing another Beyond Grade A Super.

Bang bang bang!

Their battle lasted a few hours, and they flew around the entire planet a few times, destroying its surface.

The surface of the planet was riddled with many unfathomable craters, and the intense vibrations on the surface of the planet caused lava to shoot out from these craters a few thousand meters into the sky. The entire planet seemed to have become an orange that was riddled with holes, and all its juice was being squeezed out from it.

The lava that spurted out into the sky cooled down rapidly and rained down like meteors.

Bang!

This was the umpteenth time that both the figures had collided and separated.

Han Xiao floated in midair, and the surface of his mechanical suit shattered into pieces to reveal his body. This was already his fourth mechanical suit. His [Machinery Continuation] skill reached its time limit, and his mechanical suit was reduced to a pile of scrap metal.

The mechanical army in the surroundings had become sparse. Han Xiao had used his Waste Modification skill to reform the wasted machines too many times, and the upper limit had been reached. But even if this was the case, his mechanical army still had the size of about four million soldiers.

On the other side, Psyker’s skeleton armor was half destroyed with blue blood all over his body, and his psychic energy was much weaker than before.

More than half of my mechanical army has been destroyed, and I’ll be on the losing end if this battle continues, Han Xiao thought to himself. He won’t be able to deal with me, and I can’t do anything to him. There isn’t a need to continue this battle. I should rebuild my mechanical army first…

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he threw an Observer’s Mark onto Psyker.

He would not be able to remove the psychic mark that Psyker had placed on the Evolution Cube and could only return the favor. With both of them aware of the other party’s location, he would not be on the losing end.

“Hmm?” Psyker’s eyes narrowed. His mental sense was acute, and he could clearly sense the feeling of being spied on but did not know where it came from.

He was not a mage who could grasp multidimensional energy, and although he could feel the Observer’s Mark, he could not get rid of it.

Furthermore, Han Xiao was already a Beyond Grade A Super, and it would be even more difficult to get rid of his Observer’s Mark. At the very least, it would be impossible for a Calamity Grade Mage to do so.

Clank!

Han Xiao then waved his arm and stored his mechanical army away. Without saying a word, he activated his Void Dimension Jump and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

During the battle, he had intentionally destroyed the other party’s spaceship, and it would be impossible for Psyker to catch up to him in terms of flying speed.

Psyker watched as Han Xiao disappeared and did not make a move.

He had already gone all out, but Black Star was not at a disadvantage. It would be difficult for him to snatch the Evolution Cube back with just his own strength…

Han Xiao was not the only one who felt that they would not be able to do anything to each other. Psyker also had such a feeling.

He could not count the number of times he had attacked Black Star with his mental attack. However, the other party only seemed to have lost his mechanical army but remained as lively as a tiger.

Such a situation reminded him of the Tyrant.

“A new Beyond Grade A Mechanic who has a powerful physique like Tyrant,” Psyker muttered to himself. “Indestructible Body?”

Right at this moment, a figure flew over. It was Sardeem. His appearance seemed extremely pathetic, and he was equipped with a simple thruster made from spare parts.

“You’re still alive?” Psyker looked over.

“I hid myself when the two of you were fighting.”

Sardeem had a sense of lingering fear in his heart. He did not have any equipment on him, and the battle of two Beyond Grade A Supers was enough to threaten his life. He had long escaped from Psyker’s spaceship and escaped from the battlefield.

Looking at Psyker’s appearance, Sardeem asked with a trembling voice, “You… weren’t able to defeat Black Star?”

Psyker glanced at Sardeem and replied, “He escaped. I couldn’t keep him back.”

Sardeem took a deep breath. He had already expected such a reply but wanted to confirm it. Although he was already mentally prepared for such a reply, he was still filled with shock.

“The fifth Beyond Grade A Super has been born in the Shattered Star Ring, and the Star Field will experience a huge change,” Sardeem murmured. “I’d better send this piece of news to His Excellency Manison.”

“Not just the Shattered Star Ring…” Psyker interrupted him with a profound tone. “Perhaps the attention of the entire galaxy will be drawn.”

Psyker’s eyes gleamed. The Evolution Cube isn’t so easily taken.

With Black Star carrying the Evolution Cube around with him, it would be extremely difficult for him to snatch it back alone. Psyker decided to find a few allies and make further plans.

Before this, I shall leave the item in Black Star’s possession.

Since his psychic mark was still present, Psyker felt that things were within his control.

He then looked up at the sky. Psyker was not planning to fly with his body, so he looked at Sardeem.

“You’re a Mechanic, right?”

“Er, what’s the matter?” Sardeem was stunned for a moment.

Psyker pointed at the spare parts on the ground.

“Build a spaceship.”

“…” Sardeem.

[1] This is a Dragon Ball reference. It’s where the “This isn’t even my final form” meme comes from.

Chapter 764 - The Impending Storm

Han Xiao left Psyker, who did not have a spaceship, on the unlucky planet and made use of his Void Dimension Jump to return to the Shattered Star Ring.

He contacted Hila and the others, who had left Planet Macipher, and got them to fetch him with the spaceship. Both parties finally met up in the desolate universe belt.

Whoosh.

The hatch of the spaceship opened, and Han Xiao was greeted by Hila and the two others the moment he entered the spaceship.

Feidin walked forward and studied Han Xiao. After making sure that he was completely intact, he heaved a sigh of relief. “It seems like you are alright. We’ve been extremely worried about you.”

Hila snorted. “Speak for yourself…”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao could not help but chuckle. “Actually, it wasn’t very dangerous. All of you should be extremely clear about how robust my life force is.”

“Talking about life force…” Aurora had a look of confusion on her face, and she said with disbelief in her voice, “If my senses aren’t wrong, have you…”

“Has he what?” Hila interrupted.

Han Xiao had a smile on his face and took out the Evolution Cube to play with it.

“Your guess is correct. I fought Psyker, and the outcome of the battle was a draw. He didn’t manage to snatch the item back.”

Fought Psyker to a draw?

Hila was stunned for a moment, and it took a second to understand what Han Xiao meant. She took a deep breath, and a look of disbelief could be seen on her usually expressionless face. She looked at Han Xiao with her eyes widened.

“Could it be that… Beyond Grade A‽”

“It was by luck.” Han Xiao waved his hands but had a look of pride on his face.

After hearing him admit it, Hila, Aurora, and Feidin revealed looks of shock.

Black Star… is really a Beyond Grade A Super already?

Although the three of them had looked forward to Han Xiao achieving a breakthrough and standing among the ranks of the Beyond Grade A Supers, their trip with Han Xiao had felt more like a holiday, and they did not notice any signs of breakthrough from Han Xiao.

All of them had felt that the chances of him achieving a breakthrough were not high.

However, he had achieved a breakthrough just like that! While they were not mentally prepared for it, Black Star had suddenly risen into the next grade and even fought a Beyond Grade A Super who had long made a name for himself to a draw. They truly could not imagine how Han Xiao did it.

The three of them felt their heads blank out at this moment.

After snapping out from their daze, they all erupted with surprise.

Although they were very surprised, it was a good thing!

Feidin was overjoyed. “Wonderful! I’ve always believed that you had such potential. We don’t have to escape from the Shattered Star Ring if this is the case!”

“I never intended to escape…” Han Xiao said helplessly.

Aurora then looked at Han Xiao and asked with shock on her face, “Does this mean that you are already at our teacher’s level?”

Ames? It is time for me to have a talk with her, Han Xiao thought to himself and nodded in response.

“You…” Hila hesitated for a while before swallowing what she wanted to say. “Congrats.”

She had a complicated feeling in her heart. She had always wanted to chase after Han Xiao. When Han Xiao was still in the Calamity Grade, she could still spur herself to work harder. However, things were different this time.

During the ten years when she was on Floating Dragon Island, she had experienced Ames’ strength many times and was extremely clear about the strength of a Beyond Grade A Super. At the same time, she was extremely clear about how difficult it would be to become a Beyond Grade A Super.

For so many years, the Star Field only had four Beyond Grade A Supers. Together with Han Xiao’s advancement, there were now five. Hila had known Han Xiao for almost twenty years and witnessed his weak appearance, his invincible Calamity Grade appearance, and his every stage of development.

He had taken him a mere twenty years to go from an ordinary man to a new Beyond Grade A Super. He would probably be the individual who took the least amount of time to become a Beyond Grade A Super in history. Because she understood Han Xiao’s past, Hila knew how difficult it was for Han Xiao to have achieved what he had.

Even if Hila refused to admit defeat on their surface, she could not help but admire Han Xiao’s achievements in her heart.

If Hila had originally possessed any thoughts of competing with Han Xiao for glory, at this moment, she was willing to become the shadow behind Han Xiao’s splendor.

She had a feeling that she was witnessing the birth of a legend.

Of course, it was impossible for her to reveal her true thoughts.

Hila then changed the topic and asked, “Just how did you do it? Can you teach me?”

Er, I can’t teach you anything since you don’t know how to harvest crops… Han Xiao coughed dryly before placing his hands on Hila’s shoulders with a solemn expression.

“No, you don’t need me to teach you anything.”

“What do you mean?” Hila was puzzled.

Han Xiao then looked at Hila and said, “I have always believed in your potential. Just like how you believe in me, you will stand by my side at the peak of the galaxy one day.”

Hila pushed Han Xiao’s hands away and turned around to prevent Han Xiao from seeing her flustered appearance. She then said with a soft voice, “Thank you.”

So, it turns out that you have so much trust in me. I didn’t even know that…

“There isn’t a need for thanks between us.” Han Xiao waved his arms. “We’ve known each other for twenty years.”

At this moment, Aurora pulled on Han Xiao’s clothes and whined, “What about me? Do you believe in me?”

Han Xiao rubbed her head helplessly and said, “Wait until you reach the Calamity Grade.”

“Humph. So biased.” Aurora turned around.

After soaking in the excitement of Han Xiao becoming a Beyond Grade A Super, they then got back to the main point.

“Black Star, you took away Psyker’s Evolution Cube; he won’t give up so easily, right?”

“Hmm, he said that he will work together with the Tyrant to deal with me. Compared to the benefits of the Evolution Cube, this risk can be considered extremely low. There isn’t a need to bother about him in the near future. He’s still busy with something else.” Han Xiao shook his head with a smile. From the Observer’s Mark, he could see that Psyker was still on the planet and rushing Sardeem to build a new spaceship from spare parts.

Feidin frowned and said, “It’ll be very dangerous if the Tyrant and Psyker work together.”

Han Xiao waved his arms and said, “It isn’t a big deal. Although I am a new Beyond Grade A Super, I do not belong to the bottommost rung of this level. Besides, I have allies as well.”

Isn’t this a competition of numbers? You’re not the only one who knows how to play that game.

As compared to the other Beyond Grade A Supers, his largest advantage was his clear path of advancement.

The other Beyond Grade A Supers would have to find their own path after entering Beyond Grade A, and it was akin to searching around in the dark. However, it was as though he had a torchlight with him, and he could easily progress by harvesting crops. His growth rate would completely outstrip the others.

“How are you planning to deal with the Evolution Cube?”

“Take it back to the camp first and let the officers enjoy the effects of the Evolution Cube.” Han Xiao stroked his chin. “I will then use it to find allies and a new backer.”

Psyker had the support of the Arcane Church, and he could achieve the same effect with the Evolution Cube in his hands.

Compared to Psyker, his advantage was the fact that the Evolution Cube was now portable. With him carrying it around, the likelihood of it being stolen was much lower.

News of him having the Evolution Cube would spread throughout the Galaxy eventually, and it was impossible for Psyker to help him keep the secret. Psyker might even choose to create more enemies for him.

At that time, all the organizations eyeing the Evolution Cube would have their attention drawn to him. It would be impossible for him to hold onto the Evolution Cube in the long term with just the strength of the Black Star Army, so he needed to find a backer.

Beep beep!

Right at this moment, an emergency transmission lit up on his communicator. Han Xiao glanced at his communicator, and it was a communication request by Ralph.

Han Xiao waved his arm to ask Hila and the others to pilot the spaceship. He then walked to the side and picked up the call.

“Black Star, I have a heaven breaking piece of bad news!”

“You make it sound as though we had good news in the past.” Han Xiao was in a good mood and joked.

Ralph ignored his joke and said with a solemn tone, “We verified a piece of news a few days ago. The Crimson Dynasty have concluded their negotiations with the Federation of Light. After the Crimson Dynasty takes over the new Star Field, they will turn their attention to the storm that they created in the various regions. Our secret war with Klent will also come to an end in half a year’s time!”

“Oh?” Han Xiao muttered. “This is a piece of bad news indeed.”

The Bloodshed Land still controlled a few Star Systems around the borders of the Colton Star Cluster, and Klent was the loyal lackey of the Crimson Dynasty. The Crimson Dynasty would definitely make use of this excuse to demarcate these territories as part of the Klent Kingdom. The authority of deciding borders was something that the three Universal Civilizations gave to themselves, and if Section Zero were unable to chase Bloodshed Land out before then, Purple Crystal would probably lose those few territories.

The Shattered Star Ring belonged to the management zone of the Federation of Light. Unless Purple Crystal gave up their neutrality and chose to submit to another civilization, it would be impossible for anyone to come out and uphold justice for them. The Crimson Dynasty and Federation of Light would be exchanging benefits at a higher level, and Purple Crystal did not even have the right to interfere in their negotiations. They could only watch as their territories were taken away.

Of course, Purple Crystal could strongly protest against the decision made by the three Universal Civilizations and unilaterally decide to reject their decision. However, the outcome of such a decision definitely would not be a pretty one. As the ones setting the rules, the three Universal Civilizations would not allow anyone to challenge their authority. All three civilizations were powerful civilizations who had been through dark times and definitely were not merciful characters.

With the strength to overlook the entire galaxy, they had countless methods to make a civilization submit. The rules were completely irrelevant to those who set the rules.

Thus, Han Xiao was not too surprised about the appearance of the Silver Revolutionary Army. However, it was still far too early to talk about that.

“Black Star, your holiday is over,” Ralph said with a solemn expression. “We need your strength to snatch back as many territories as possible.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and came to a decision. “The biggest backing of the Klent Kingdom is the Crimson Dynasty. However, I have an idea to get the Crimson Dynasty to stay out of this matter and not help Klent negotiate with the Federation of Light. This way, it will be useless even if the Bloodshed Land occupies the border Star Systems.”

Ralph’s eyes lit up, and he immediately asked, “What idea do you have?”

“I…” Han Xiao then thought about something and decided against telling Purple Crystal that he was a Beyond Grade A Super. “It is extremely likely for my plan to succeed, but I have to keep it a secret for now. You just need to believe in me. In any case, the situation can’t be worse than it is right now.”

It was not that Han Xiao wanted to hide his Beyond Grade A strength. If Purple Crystal knew about his newfound strength, they would announce it to the entire world to serve as a deterrent.

This was not good for him.

His original plan was to remain low profile after entering Beyond Grade A and accumulate his strength. When the Tyrant attempted to kill him, the Tyrant would then underestimate his strength, and he would be able to deal a low blow to the Tyrant. However, the sudden appearance of the Evolution Cube spoiled his plans, and it would be impossible for him to hide his strength. Despite that, Han Xiao did not want to fight the Tyrant immediately.

He needed some time to build a new mechanical army and Beyond Grade A base. He still had to activate many of the Emperor Mechanic skills and allow his combat strength to reach the peak. Compared to letting Purple Crystal announce his strength to the world, he would rather let Psyker slowly reveal news to the Star Field. This way, he would have a bit more time.

There was another reason he did not wish to let Purple Crystal know of his strength. Han Xiao wanted to increase his value.

If he was an ordinary Beyond Grade A, his best choice would be to form an alliance with a Star Cluster civilization just like Heber had done. Although Universal Civilizations also welcomed Beyond Grade A Supers, they would not place such great importance on these Beyond Grade A Supers compared to a Star Cluster civilization. After all, that which is rare is dear.

However, things were different with the Evolution Cube. The Evolution Cube was a unique Universal Treasure, and with Psyker as an example, the Universal Civilizations would offer an even higher price. This way, their Black Star Army would be raised to the next level.

Because of the existence of the Flickering World, Han Xiao had already decided that the Crimson Dynasty would be his most suitable ally.

If he formed an alliance with the Crimson Dynasty, he would be able to resolve the secret war and foil the plans of the Klent Kingdom.

If he allowed things to develop normally, the outcome of the S Grade secret war mission would probably be failure. Although it was because of the uniqueness of the mission, and they would still have some reward, their mission rating would be lowered, and the players of the Black Star Army would not be able to gain the best reward.

Considering the need to maintain the players’ reliance on the Black Star Army, joining the Crimson Dynasty was the best choice.

Before Ralph could continue questioning him, Han Xiao hung up and walked to the cockpit.

Aurora sat on the pilot’s seat and asked, “Where are we going?”

Han Xiao smirked.

“Back to the army!”

…

A few days later, Sardeem finally returned to Planet Macipher. At the same time, he brought with him a piece of shocking news. He said that he had personally witnessed the Beyond Grade A seed Black Star, who had the title of ‘Indestructible Body’, becoming a Beyond Grade A Super.

This news rapidly spread through Planet Macipher, and many visitors on the planet did not believe it.

Why would Black Star become the fifth Beyond Grade A Super in the Shattered Star Ring so suddenly? Why did Purple Crystal not react? Could it be a rumor?

This piece of news was not backed by any evidence, and the galactic residents who had been exposed to a wide variety of information were not convinced.

However, Psyker, who was a guest on Planet Macipher, actually personally admitted it!

All doubts disappeared, and the entire planet was filled with shock!

The fifth Beyond Grade A is born‽

Oh my goodness! This is big news!

The residents of Planet Macipher who had received this news were dumbfounded and immediately posted this piece of news on the net.

News of the battle between Black Star and Psyker spread rapidly like a virus throughout the entire Star Field.

A storm that was about to sweep through the entire Shattered Star Ring began brewing…

Chapter 765 - Prelude to Change

In some transit station at the border of the Shattered Star Ring.

In an olden style inn, Hadavy sat in the corner and drank a glass of strong wine. There were mixed blood elves performing on the stage with a beautiful tone lingering in his ears. The customers of the inn were of many different races, and they were laughing merrily.

The atmosphere was soothing, but Hadavy had a depressed look on his face.

A few months ago, Jorde had made use of him to launch a sneak attack against Black Star. Hadavy had terminated the cooperation with them in a fit of rage and left the secret war.

He had chosen to join the Bloodshed Land because he wanted to spar with Black Star and stimulate his potential through battle. After fighting Black Star more than ten times, he could not help but feel a sense of appreciation for Han Xiao. In his eyes, Black Star was an opponent worthy of respect.

Hadavy would rather lose to Black Star time and time again than use despicable methods to deal with him.

After this event, Hadavy no longer had the face to find Han Xiao to spar. He planned to leave the Shattered Star Ring and roam the other Star Fields. This was the reason he had visited the borders of the Shattered Star Ring.

Just when he was drinking and depressed, a conversation caught his attention.

“Have all of you heard? The fifth Beyond Grade A Super has appeared in the Shattered Star Ring!”

What? A new Beyond Grade A?

He was a Beyond Grade A seed and his target had always been becoming a Beyond Grade A Super. Thus, he paid close attention to this topic.

With his senses of a Calamity Grade Super, the conversation of the table beside him seemed to be right beside his ears.

“You have heard about it, too? I know about Black Star. There were reports about him a few years ago saying that he was the most likely person to become a Beyond Grade A Super in the Shattered Star Ring. I thought that it was no more than a farce at that time but never imagined that it would actually become the truth.”

“He is the leader of the Black Star Army. All of you should know about the Black Star Army, right? It is the famous armed organization in the Colton Star Cluster. I have a friend who is a merchant. Once, his merchant ship was robbed, and he sought help from the Mercenary League to solve the problem. They sent the Black Star Army, and the mercenaries of this organization are extremely friendly and reliable.”

“Didn’t he become low profile over the past few years?” someone else asked curiously. “I heard that news of him becoming a Beyond Grade A Super is only a rumor.”

“It isn’t a rumor. Even ‘Star Pupil’ Psyker admitted that he only fought Black Star to a draw. If he is able to fight a Beyond Grade A Super without losing, he can only be a Beyond Grade A Super.”

Ka-la!

Hadavy crushed the wine glass in his hands, and wine splashed all over his body. However, he was still in a daze with a look of shock on his face.

Black Star has actually become a Beyond Grade A Super already‽

Upon hearing news of his old opponent, Hadavy could not help but be filled with envy and jealousy. He had spent a few decades but not touched the door of Beyond Grade A.

He had already given it his all but was still overtaken by others. After being filled with shock, his heart was filled with bitterness.

Why can he do it? What trick did he use?

Hadavy’s face changed color, and he hammered down on the table before standing up abruptly. The sudden commotion attracted the gaze of all the customers present.

Ignoring the strange looks on their faces, Hadavy left the inn.

He came to a decision. He would not leave the Shattered Star Ring but make a trip to the headquarters of the Black Star Army.

This time, he would not go on behalf of the Bloodshed Land but using his personal identity.

Perhaps Black Star would not recognize an old opponent like him, and his life might be in danger…

However, he had been troubled by the problem of becoming a Beyond Grade A Super for many years. He decided to take this risk. Regardless of whether Black Star showed him any respect, he wanted to give it a shot.

…

The headquarters of the Mercenary League in the Gelock Star Cluster was a gigantic space fortress built by Black Star, Sky Ring, Blades, and many other large sized mercenary groups. Surrounding the gigantic space fortress were more than twenty armed satellites that were the branches of the respective large sized mercenary groups. The Black Star Army also had a branch located there. To all the members of the Mercenary League, this was akin to a second headquarters.

The million or so new players who were on Planet Deirdre had participated in many different storylines.

Some of them had chosen to join the secret war while others had chosen to remain in the Gelock Star Cluster and follow the storyline of the Mercenary League.

The storyline mission of the Mercenary League also gave huge rewards, and with the background of the Black Star Army, the players had plenty of mercenary missions to choose from.

After a few months, the average level of the players had risen rapidly, and they were all approaching level sixty.

Han Xiao’s legends had spread to the Mercenary League, and the players in the branch had also heard about it.

After the news spread, a huge commotion was created on the forums, and the players were all shocked.

Han Xiao was an NPC that the players were extremely familiar with, and many of the players respected him as the leader of their faction. They had witnessed his growth from Version 1.0 to Version 3.0, and Han Xiao was a legendary character in the Shattered Star Ring to the players.

At this moment, a new chapter of this legend had begun.

All the players who participated in the secret war were even more shocked. Black Star had disappeared from the battlefield for a few months, and many of them had been guessing Black Star’s whereabouts. However, none of them had guessed that he would return as a Beyond Grade A Super!

This news became a hot topic on the forums, and all the players of the Black Star Army were extremely agitated. As part of the Black Star Army, the promotion of their leader brought them glory as well.

“What else is there to say? Our Army Commander is the coolest! Black Star is the coolest!”

“There were only four Beyond Grade A Supers in the Shattered Star Ring before this, and Black Star is the fifth. Does this mean that our army is going to become a Beyond Grade A organization as well?”

“Of course!”

“Wahahaha. Our Planet Aquamarine faction leader is too awesome. We can match up to all the other factions in the other player regions alone. A growth type faction is too tyrannical.”

“@Summer Night Flower, stop hiding. Get over here!”

“@Summer Night Flower, how’s life in Bloodshed Land? Come out and share your experiences with us. We won’t laugh at you. Hahaha…”

“@Summer Night Flower, please begin your performance.”

“@Summer…”

Summer Night Flower’s post from a few months ago was now trending, and many players were gloating at his misfortune.

Seeing the excitement of the other players, Summer Night Flower did not dare show himself.

What is going on? The storyline shouldn’t be like this!

Some were feeling their nuts ache while others were overjoyed. Compared to Summer Night Flower, Bun-Hit-Dog was overjoyed.

Bun-Hit-Dog had been frustrated over not having any good material the last few months, but Black Star had gone and become a peak expert in the galaxy during this period. There was no better material than this.

He already had some ideas. This can be a milestone episode in the Black Star series.

Many of the older players were having merry conversations on the forums while the new players read the posts from the side silently. The newbies from Version 3.0 did not have very deep feelings toward Black Star, but after participating in the conversation, they had a much deeper impression of Han Xiao.

Very quickly, the news became an official report that was placed on the desks of various large organizations, causing an even greater commotion at a higher level.

Compared to the galactic residents who only wanted to join in the fun, the various organizations of the Shattered Star Ring had to consider how the birth of a new Beyond Grade A would affect the situation in the Shattered Star Ring as well as how they should interact with Black Star.

…

On Planet Heber, Jorde stood up abruptly after reading the report and had a look of disbelief on his face.

“Black Star is a Beyond Grade A‽ How is this possible! Didn’t I…”

All of a sudden, his heart was thrown into a mess. His scheme had originally forced Black Star to back out from the war, but Black Star had now become a Beyond Grade A.

All his plans were disrupted!

Jorde hurried over to the Tyrant’s abode and looked at Heber. Just when he was about to give a report, Heber took the initiative to speak.

“I know about it already. Klent just contacted me about it; they are extremely flustered. They are trying to verify the truth at the moment and told me to make preparations.”

Heber sounded as though he was a little excited.

Upon hearing that, Jorde calmed himself down and asked, “What should I do?”

“You don’t have to do anything,” Heber said slowly. “When Black Star or Purple Crystal admits that he is a Beyond Grade A, it will become my business.”

Jorde could not help but gulp in anticipation. The Tyrant… His Excellency Heber was about to take action!

Heber shook his head and got Jorde to leave. Heber was the only one left in the palace.

Du! Du!

Right at this moment, his communicator rang.

Heber looked at the caller, and his eyes narrowed.

“Psyker? It has been a long time since he last contacted me. Why is this fellow looking for me?”

…

In some region of the Shattered Star Ring, the final Light Fox spaceship was escaping. This fellow was the last of EsGod’s subordinates who was lucky enough to survive.

“I lost contact with Orozen and the others, and don’t know where the Evolution Cube went. What should we do?”

“They should be dead. Black Star became a Beyond Grade A Super and fought Psyker. The Evolution Cube may be in his hands.”

“Quickly report this matter to EsGod. We failed.”

…

Very quickly, news spread across the Star Field to every level and region, and more and more people found out about this piece of news.

The entire Shattered Star Ring was shaken!

As long as a new Beyond Grade A was born, it would definitely become the headlines of the Star Field for a long period of time.

Every Beyond Grade A figure had once been in the spotlight of the entire world.

It was now Han Xiao’s turn to enjoy such treatment.

The attention of the Shattered Star Ring was gathered on the Black Star Army. Rumors were rumors after all, and everyone was waiting for the new Beyond Grade A to announce his status in the Star Field and admit his strength personally.

However, regardless of the rumors in the outside world, Black Star did not appear, and the Black Star Army did not release a statement. The media was blocked out of the headquarters of the Black Star Army, and even their ally Purple Crystal was unusually quiet.

The longer this lasted, the more anxious the other organizations became, desperate to confirm Black Star’s strength.

Everyone was waiting to see what would happen next.

By that point, Han Xiao had returned to the Black Star Army and summoned all his officers.

Chapter 766 - Setting Up the Black Star Guards Regimen

The spaceship sailed into the private port of the army headquarters and slid through a secret channel to arrive at Han Xiao’s personal dock. This dock was not open to members of the Black Star Army and was a dedicated back door for the senior officers. Compared to the boisterous harbor, this place seemed quite deserted, and the atmosphere was more somber.

Standing around the dock were the dozens of senior officers that had been called over. They had long gathered in this place, with solemn expressions on their faces.

Among them were the Calamity Grades who had been at the front line just a while ago. Due to the rumors of Han Xiao advancing to Beyond Grade A, the situation of the secret war had started to show strange changes. Before this, the two sides had been fighting for several months, but as soon as the news came out, both sides tacitly gathered their troops and began to reduce the number of battles. All of them began the game of wait-and-see, so the Black Star Army was able to transfer their officers back.

Both sides knew that if a Beyond Grade A appeared on both sides, then the direction of the secret war would no longer be left to them.

While Han Xiao had not shown himself, he had already started to subtly influence the situation as a Beyond Grade A, directly affecting the secret war.

Whoosh!

The cabin door opened, and Han Xiao stepped forward. The eyes of many of the officers, including Sylvia’s, lit up. They contained excitement, joy, and expectation.

All the officers present sized Han Xiao up. While there were no outward changes to his appearance, everyone could feel a sense of pressure, which came from the natural suppression of a higher life form.

The crowd exchanged glances, with confused looks, and looked toward Feidin, who was standing behind Han Xiao. Feidin only smiled and nodded at everyone else.

Han Xiao stepped onto the dock, sweeping his gaze over everyone present before giving a slight nod. As he walked forward, the officers all made way for him to pass through before walking behind him, entering the inner quarters of the Black Star Army headquarters.

The group arrived at the Army Commander’s office in the headquarters. Sylvia was at the back and shut the door after everyone had entered. Han Xiao then turned around to address everyone. He nodded as he said, “I know that many of you are curious if the rumors outside are true. I only told you that I would be issuing a notice, but right now, I can say that the rumors are not wrong. I’m now a Beyond Grade A Super.”

Upon hearing the personal confirmation, the taut expressions of the majority of them relaxed. Some even showed expressions of joy, and some, expressions of respect.

Sylvia, Herlous, and the older officers had the most excited expressions. They were the ones most loyal to Han Xiao and had been with the army the longest.

Reynold could not help but immediately wish to beg Han Xiao for some tutelage. He was the one most excited about it.

As for the few Calamity Grades who had joined the Black Star Army a few years prior, they were betting on Han Xiao being a Beyond Grade A seed that would rise to a true Beyond Grade A with time. The moment Han Xiao turned into a true Beyond Grade A, they would also become the backbone of this strong force.

It seemed like their bets had paid off, and their futures were bright.

The Vice Commander Lagi sighed, his face bitter as he said, “Now that you’ve become a Beyond Grade A, we’ll likely be involved in the battle vortex of Beyond Grade As in the future, encountering stronger and stronger opponents. I feel that my life is less safe, so I would like to step down as the Vice Commander… Reynold, are you lacking people in the Logistics department? Is there a more leisurely position?”

Reynold remained expressionless. “That’s fine with me. I’m currently lacking a Senior Enchantment Engineer. I’ll pay you a daily salary of 2,000 Enaus, and you have to work for fifteen hours a day. There will occasionally be overtime. Do you want to try it out?”

“… Forget it, I’ll stay as the Vice Commander. I get paid without having to work. That’s so much better.”

Han Xiao’s brain started to cramp up. “Talking about skiving in front of me, do you think that I don’t exist anymore? Oh, by the way, where’s that Tomar guy that I handed to you? How’s his progress?”

Hearing this, Lagi’s expression became even more twisted. He seemed to be filled with a negative aura, as though he would squat down at any moment and begin to draw circles on the floor.

“Just where did you find that genius? He’s beginning to make me feel as though my years of learning magic are all wasted. Indeed, I should not have chosen the Mage profession all those years ago…”

Ok, that’s enough, you can go to the corner and reflect in silence…

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, but he forcibly suppressed the words he wished to say and regained his impassive expression.

“Today, my reason for gathering all of you is for two things. The first was to inform you that I’ve reached Beyond Grade A. As for its importance, I don’t need to emphasize it, but the business of Black Star Army will be able to expand far beyond what it is currently, rising to a real Beyond Grade A organization and fighting head on against Bloodshed Land.”

Upon hearing the gravity of this matter, other than Lagi who was still murmuring nonsense, the rest all turned serious.

“By all means, this matter should have been announced in a high profile so that the entire Star Field knows of my existence…” Han Xiao shook his finger. “But for certain reasons, it is temporarily inconvenient to confirm the rumors that I’ve become a Beyond Grade A. I also do not intend to announce it within the headquarters yet. However, this acknowledgment is basically formal, high-profile behavior, and most organizations already believe in the truth of this rumor. Thus, even if I do not step up, there’ll still be messengers that will come and contact us.

“Therefore, I’ll need you all to cover up this fact to a certain extent. Secretly contact those forces who intend to cooperate with us, screen them, and handle the cooperative relationships. This matter involves us becoming a Beyond Grade A organization, so the earlier we get this done, the better. As for the specifics, you guys are veterans at this and should know what to look out for.”

Everyone else nodded.

Was it not just getting support? They had long learned this from their Army Commander himself.

Han Xiao then raised up his second finger. “The second thing is regarding benefits for you…”

As he spoke, he took out the Evolution Cube, letting it float in midair as he smiled.

“This is the Evolution Cube. That’s right. It’s the Universal Treasure that was originally with Psyker. After a series of coincidences, I intercepted this thing and had a fight with Psyker. Thus, this is now in my hands…” He then went on to describe the benefits of the Evolution Cube.

As soon as this remark was made, everyone stood stunned, their mouths open in disbelief.

It was rumored that Black Star had fought with Psyker, which led everyone to speculate why they would fight. The officers had also been curious about this but did not expect the reason to be about the Evolution Cube!

The Evolution Cube has changed owners‽

It’s now in the hands of our Army Commander‽

One of the Calamity Grades, Misecech, gulped and stuttered with a look full of expectation, “Do… do you mean to allow us to enjoy the benefits that the Evolution Cube brings?”

Han Xiao nodded and laughed. “I’ve already let Feidin and the rest use it. Since the cube is now in my hands, I’ll definitely allow my own officers to enjoy the benefits. You’re all the backbone of my army, and helping you all get stronger means that the army will also become stronger.”

Most of the Calamity Grades who came later were overjoyed. They did not expect to receive such benefits. For most of the Calamity Grades, they were extremely enthusiastic whenever it came to ways to enhance their strength.

Lagi also stopped his murmuring and immediately lunged forward to grip Han Xiao’s hands, his face solemn.

“As your Vice Commander, it’s my responsibility to inform you that the priority of benefits should be given by our ranks. I’ve shed so much sweat and blood for the army, and as your Vice Commander, you should know what I mean…”

Han Xiao swatted his hands away, glancing at him sideways as he retorted, “You might have sweated for the army, but you’ve never bled for us before, so this makes things difficult to place.”

Lagi clutched his chest ‘painfully’, putting on a helpless expression. “Actually… I was heavily injured once on the battlefield…”

“Scram aside, you won’t lose your benefits anyway.” Han Xiao could not be bothered to argue with him any longer. “When we talk about work, you lie there like a corpse, but the moment we mention benefits, you immediately jump up. This guy, you’re getting more and more sly.”

Even Lagi—who was like a salted fish, not interested in anything happening around him—was excited. This spoke volumes about the attractiveness of the Evolution Cube.

The Evolution Cube was provided to the Senior Officers free of charge, and for the other members of the organization, Han Xiao did not intend to hide it. He first intended to form an alliance with the Crimson Dynasty to completely protect the Evolution Cube before opening it to the entire army. According to their ranks, they would pay a corresponding amount, which would allow them to enjoy the Evolution Cube while comprehensively improving the combat capability of the entire army.

This could also attract countless Supers to the army.

At the same time, this was a new service that would be provided to players. The forty percent experience penalty only applied to upgrades, which was not a big problem for the players. As long as it was used after reaching the upper limit of the current version, there was no problem in having the experience penalty.

Even if the players could not resist and used the Evolution Cube before their level cap was reached, it was also not harmful to Han Xiao. Since there would be a penalty for upgrading, players would use their experience to improve their skills or learn new knowledge, which would still flow into his pocket.

This was perfect!

With this in mind, Han Xiao could not help but smile. After that, he shelved the unnecessary thoughts, returning to the actual topic. “Basically, these are the two matters. I’ll use the Evolution Cube to help you all optimize your genes in a while. But before this, I would like to announce new personnel appointments.”

Hearing his words, everyone quietened down as well.

Han Xiao tilted his head toward Hila, saying, “From today onward, the Black Star Guards will be formally established, selecting the Calamity Grade Supers to be part of it. This is an elite combat team that takes orders solely from me. With regards to officer rankings, Hila will serve as the first captain of the Black Star Guards. Does anyone have any objections?”

While the Beyond Grade A did not require bodyguards, they would always have an elite force under them that was well-known. For example, Heber had his Vanguard Officials, Austin had the Forbidden Sorcerers, Psyker had his Grand Priests, and Ames had… uh… her Black Star Army?

Because Beyond Grade As usually did not deign to personally act, only serving as deterrence, Han Xiao also planned to establish a small elite team that would be used to act in most situations. A Beyond Grade A Super had their own dignity and should not move so easily.

Hila stepped forward and faced everyone with a passive expression. “Who agrees? Who wishes to object?”

While she had only been in the army for a few months, most of the old Officers recognized her and would not have any issues. As for those that had joined later, they recognized her for her identity as the disciple of Dragon Emperor Ames and naturally did not doubt her strength.

Seeing the situation, Hila slowly nodded and returned to standing behind Han Xiao without a single word.

Han Xiao tilted his hand as he asked, “Feidin, would you be interested in joining the Black Star Guards as well?”

While Feidin’s status in the army had been more of a guest, after months of getting along, Han Xiao felt that their relationship should have improved, and they were ready to take things to the next level… inviting him to become a direct officer under him.

Feidin thought for a while before revealing a warm smile. “Alright.”

This guy is finally mine… Han Xiao secretly exclaimed to himself before turning back to look at the rest of the officers. He then picked a couple more battle-hardened Calamity Grade officers for his elite forces—one of which was Marian.

The Black Star Guards had a total of four members, which could be considered barely established. This was just a prototype, as he would recruit more once his status as a Beyond Grade A was publicized to the Star Field and they recruited more experts.

After finishing all his official matters, Han Xiao then activated the Evolution Cube, performing genetic optimization for all the officers at once. As long as the energy output of the Evolution Cube was adjusted, multiple people could be optimized at the same time.

Once all of that was finished, Han Xiao dispersed the crowd before locking himself in the machinery modification room. He began to create his Beyond Grade A combat equipment. This was the most important task at present, as strength was still fundamental. Other matters would be placed behind the priority of restoring his combat capability.

His mechanical army, mechanical suit, weapons, and so on needed to be remanufactured and updated with his Beyond Grade A class level.

…

“He’s already achieved Beyond Grade A…”

Aroshia returned to her home, and Risda emerged in midair, saying, “He has the ability to save our race now. Aroshia, go talk to him.”

However, Aroshia slowly shook her head. “We’ve got to at least wait for him to pass this current hurdle and for the Black Star Army to stabilize, else he won’t help. There’s no harm in waiting a while longer.”

“We’ve already waited for a long time, and thinking of my comrades being oppressed by Manison, I really don’t wish to wait any longer!” Risda was a little unsatisfied. “I can see that Black Star has always been trying to put us off.”

But Aroshia blandly replied, “I don’t think so. Just the two of us are enough to give Black Star the motivation to deal with another Beyond Grade A.”

She had already regained her memories and was now the combination of her three personalities within her mind. She was still her, but she was no longer so ignorant.

“If you’re not willing, I’ll look for a time to talk to him,” Risda said. “There must be a way somehow.”

Risda then severed the connection, disappearing in midair.

…

The Black Star Army’s silence did not result in the excitement of the Star Field dying down but in fact gave them a mysterious vibe, attracting even more attention from others. Practically everyone was guessing that Black Star should have certain problems that did not allow him to speak up, but he could not remain silent forever.

As the news continued to spread and Han Xiao’s influence stewed even more, in an area where no one knew what was going on, many things were happening.

In the presence of this undercurrent, another half a month passed.

Han Xiao exited his machinery modification room—he had built the prototype of his new army.

Chapter 767 - 767 Announcement 1

767 Announcement 1 

In Han Xiao’s personal factory, dozens of army boxes were lined up in a row with a few hundred different mechanical soldiers lining up neatly. They were arranged from tall to short and light to heavy as though it was an exhibition.

“Seventy percent of the soldiers weren’t changed, and the new blueprints that came from Sardeem’s collection were mostly giant soldiers. Another portion of blueprints are those newly merged blueprints. Although there isn’t an upgrade in my knowledge, I managed to unlock new blueprints after becoming a Beyond Grade A and got a good amount of new blueprints from gambling…”

Han Xiao placed his hands behind his back and studied the different models.

A new army was usually created by using the new skills that he obtained after reaching Beyond Grade A to forge more powerful machines with better attributes. The introduction of new models was not that important.

Because of the lack of time, Han Xiao did not have the chance to learn any new knowledge, and the majority of his mechanical soldiers were still old models. However, their attributes were far stronger than his previous army. With the increase in his Intelligence, the bonus from [Supreme Prestige] and [Mechanical Genius] largely increased the attributes of his mechanical army.

However, even if they were old models, these mechanical soldiers were the elite products that had gone through many generations of improvements. The ordinary soldiers were all rebuilt, and all his elite forces such as the Oathkeepers and Phantoms were also reconstructed. At the same time, he had plenty of new additions such as the giant soldiers, Planetary Obliteration Group, Black Knights, and so on.

As for the weapons with large firepower, Han Xiao had modified the various satellite cannons. Because he had not learned the relevant knowledge, he was not able to construct a true Planetary Obliteration Cannon. However, the satellite cannons that he modified had comparable strength to the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon. Furthermore, its penetrative and explosive abilities were even more powerful. Although it would be impossible to destroy a planet now, destroying a continent wouldn’t be a problem.

With his firepower reaching the Beyond Grade A level, Han Xiao also built a new mechanical suit to replace his Mountain Ape suit.

The new mechanical suit had a black theme with some yellow accents. It looked extremely sturdy and was like a growling beast.

The mechanical suit was made from precious alloys, and the nano transformation technology was further strengthened to improve its self-repairing capabilities. The strength of the mechanic suit was its movement speed. It was equipped with a high speed hyperdrive thruster that enabled Han Xiao to swiftly avoid enemy attacks in battle. As for its firepower, apart from the normal energy and close-range weapons, it also had a psionic energy furnace to increase damage.

The name of this mechanical suit was Battle Tiger. The Mountain Ape suit was suitable for those at level 165, and this ‘Battle Tiger’ suit was level-215 orange equipment. Its attributes were increased in every way. Its armor was over 100,000 points, and its energy was over 10,000 points. Before obtaining new knowledge and forging a new trump card suit, Han Xiao planned to temporarily use this suit to increase his strength.

The mechanical suit came with many additional abilities, including a variety of close combat abilities and a sound wave attack called ‘Tiger Roar’. It was even more powerful than the Mountain Ape suit in terms of violence and was far superior to the Mountain Ape suit in terms of armor and damage. This was a killing machine suitable for many different battlefields.

These machines have all reached Beyond Grade A. As long as there’s enough of them, I will be able to fight normally.

There were other larger machines that he had not had the time to build, such as the Eternal Light and a new base. When he activated [Secondary Dimension Army], he would be able to break through the limits of the compressed orb. At that time, he would be able to carry an entire satellite fortress and different super-sized machines with him.

Boom!

Right at that moment, the room trembled slightly.

“Is there a problem?”

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and he contacted Phillip.

“What happened?”

“Someone forcefully broke through the defensive line of the headquarters and landed on the satellite base. I will now send you images of the satellite, hum…”

The next moment, the image of the satellite appeared before him. A man broke through from the barricade of the battleships and landed on the surface of the satellite, resulting in an alarm being set off. The warriors of the army then flooded out and surrounded the man.

Upon seeing the appearance of this individual, Han Xiao was slightly shocked.

“Hadavy?”

“Master, hum… your Guards Regiment have rushed over already. Are you going to take care of matters personally?”

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and the Battle Tiger suit transformed into a bracelet on his arm. He then opened the door of the workshop and walked out.

“Tell Hila to not let him escape. I will go over immediately.”

…

At the same time, a few hundred spaceships were floating around the Black Star Army headquarters and recording the scene before them.

These spaceships were the news spaceships from the various galactic media groups. In order to get first-hand information of Black Star’s true strength, they had been waiting there for half a month. However, they had been blocked out by the defensive fleet of the Black Star Army and could only float in space nearby.

When a Calamity Grade Super appeared and broke through the defensive line of the Black Star Army fleet, the commotion immediately drew the attention of the galactic reporters, and they all became energetic.

The rumors said that Black Star had already become a Beyond Grade A Super, but there were still those who dared to provoke him. These reporters could keenly sense that this was the chance to dig up some interesting news. As such, they all gathered around to watch.

“I know this person. He’s Hadavy, and he had appeared in the secret war before. He is someone on the Bloodshed Land’s side.”

“Could this be provocation from the Bloodshed Land? Are they announcing war with the Black Star Army publicly‽”

“There will be a nice show to watch!”

In the entrance of the satellite, the soldiers formed three layers of encirclement around Hadavy with numerous cannons being aimed at him. Hadavy was not flustered in the slightest and said, “I am here to see your Army Commander. Since your fleet wouldn’t let me in, I could only barge in.”

Because Han Xiao had issued the order that he would not meet anyone before going into seclusion, all miscellaneous issues had been handed over to Sylvia and Herlous. The defensive fleet had strictly followed Han Xiao’s orders, and Hadavy did not manage to get an exception after reporting his name. He had thus barged in.

At this moment, a beam of red light appeared in front of Hadavy.

“Don’t move,” Hila said with a frosty expression.

Hadavy paused for a moment and sized Hila up. “Who are you?”

“Captain of the Black Star Guards, Hila.”

“Black Star Guards?” Hadavy’s eyes lit up.

Chapter 768 - 768 Announcement 2

768 Announcement 2 

This was the first time that Hadavy had heard of the Black Star Guards. However, this was not the first time that he had seen Hila.

There was a period of time when Han Xiao had taken Hila around the various frontline battlefields. Before leaving the Bloodshed Land, Hadavy had once looked through Hila’s file, and this was the first time that he had met her.

He looked around the surroundings, and the densely packed warriors blocked all avenues of escape.

“Where is Black Star? I want to see him!” Hadavy shouted.

“Our Army Commander isn’t someone you can meet whenever you want to,” Hila then replied coldly. “Hadavy, you have provoked our headquarters. You’d better surrender yourself right now.”

Upon hearing that, Hadavy looked at Hila and said provocatively, “And if not? Are you going to catch me?”

Hu!

Hila lost her patience and immediately took action. Blood-red energy gushed out from her body and smashed into Hadavy’s chest. It sent him flying into the sky, and a small red shockwave exploded.

The light faded, and Hadavy floated in midair with a solemn expression on his face.

As a well-known Beyond Grade A seed in the Shattered Star Ring; ordinary Calamity Grade Supers would not be able to harm him at all. However, Hila’s casual attack made him feel a wave of deathly energy invading his body. A portion of his cells became inactive, and he felt as though his life force was being absorbed.

Although the damage was not large, the destructive force of the red-haired woman before him was something that an ordinary Calamity Grade Super would not be able to match up to.

After obtaining the benefits of the Evolution Cube, she had experienced an obvious rise in combat strength, and her destructive force had become much more frightening. The death energy that she gave out could reduce the activity of her target and inflict special damage. Even Hadavy was not able to block it completely and had to treat her seriously.

Bang!

Hila’s stomp generated a sonic boom, and she shot toward the sky. The dense death energy was like a tsunami crashing down on Hadavy.

The two collided in midair, and an intense battle broke out. Rings of visible energy waves exploded forth, and the warriors by the side did not interfere in the battle between them. They left the battlefield to those two and watched from the side.

A portion of the Calamity Grade officers who were currently present watched the battle by the side and had no intention of interfering.

“Sylvia, do we really not need to intervene?” a Calamity Grade officer asked.

Sylvia shook her head and said, “His Excellency Black Star wants to set up the Black Star Guards. It isn’t to protect him but to let the various organizations know that he has an elite force under his command. Hadavy is a powerful fellow, and Hila will be able to gain a great amount of fame as long as she doesn’t lose to him. This will be the first impression the world has of the Black Star Guards.”

“But if she loses, won’t…”

“Someone personally chosen by my teacher won’t lose so easily.”

The scene of Hila and Hadavy fighting was recorded by all the galactic reporters in the surroundings. This group of reporters watched the fight unblinkingly as they wrote their draft, recording the entire process of how Hadavy charged into the Black Star Army headquarters and was stopped by the Black Star Guards under Black Star.

Boom boom boom!

Both of them were Calamity Grade Supers, and the impact of their battle was not small. Hila trapped Hadavy in the center and unleashed her death energy on him.

Hadavy’s body hardening Esper Ability had been developed to a perverse level. Despite that, plenty of scars were still left behind on his body. It was not that he did not have the ability to escape, but he naturally would not escape since he was there to meet Han Xiao.

The dense, red waterfall of death energy knocked Hadavy out of the sky, and he crashed onto the alloy ground.

Boom!

Hadavy hurriedly got up and avoided Hila’s follow-up attack while looking back at Hila with a strange gaze. Hila’s attack would not threaten his life but made him seem extremely pathetic. Her strength had truly shocked him.

The Black Star Army had a few Calamity Grade officers. In the past, Lagi was the only one who could give Hadavy some pressure, so Hila was the second.

Black Star has more and more experts under him, Hadavy thought to himself.

What a powerful body. Hila frowned.

Death energy then surrounded her body as though she was on fire.

Hadavy’s expression turned solemn, and he got into a defensive position. His muscles then bulged up like steel.

The army members watching the battle by the side also began backing off. They knew that the following attack would create a large shockwave, and they might be injured if they were to close.

Just as Hila was about to launch her attack, a deep voice sounded from behind the crowd.

“Hila, that’s enough.”

Everyone looked over and saw Han Xiao floating over slowly with an immense pressure bearing down on everyone present. The entire place fell silent, and even a falling needle could have been heard.

Everyone’s gaze was locked on Han Xiao.

Upon hearing those words, Hila snorted coldly and retracted her death energy.

The crowd then opened a path, and Han Xiao walked in front of Hadavy. “You want to see me?”

In truth, Han Xiao had arrived a long time ago and allowed both Hila and Hadavy to fight for a short while before stopping them.

Just as Sylvia had suspected, since he had set up the Black Star Guards, he had to help Hila build up her prestige in the Star Field. Hadavy was a classic meat shield, and his attacking strength was low. With Hila’s current strength, she would be able to fight Hadavy for some time without losing, and this was the best chance to build up her prestige.

The galactic reporters by the side all grew excited. Ever since the rumors began to spread in the outside world, this was the first time that Black Star had appeared in public. Thus, all their attention was placed on him.

“You finally came out!” Hadavy’s eyes lit up. This was the result that he wanted to see. “Do you still remember me?”

“How can I forget you?” Han Xiao said with a tinge of interest. “Aren’t you a member of Bloodshed Land? Are you coming to my headquarters to provoke me?”

“I have already left Bloodshed Land, and I am here to represent myself only,” Hadavy explained.

“Oh… then what do you want?”

“I wish to issue you a challenge!” Hadavy suddenly said loudly. “I am willing to use myself as the stakes for this battle!”

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment, and doubt could be seen in his eyes.

“What exactly do you want?”

“If I lose, I will join the Black Star Army and fight for you like I once fought for Bloodshed Land. If I win…” Hadavy paused for a moment. “If I win, I want you to be my subordinate.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao could not help but laugh in his heart. He had already seen through Hadavy’s true thoughts.

This fellow has probably come here because I became a Beyond Grade A Super. For him to insist on challenging me even after knowing that I have become a Beyond Grade A Super, he probably has two motives. First, he wants to spar with a Beyond Grade A Super and thinks that I won’t kill him on account of the fact that we are old opponents. Second, he wants to join me after losing to me.

Hadavy had always wanted to become a Beyond Grade A Super, and his heart was becoming itchy after witnessing Han Xiao becoming a Beyond Grade A. Thus, Hadavy wanted to join Han Xiao so that he could seek help from him. However, although Hadavy was tempted by such a thought, he was not willing to directly join the Black Star Army because of his pride. He did not want to lower his head before his old opponent directly and thus chose to put on a show and use the excuse of losing the battle to join the Black Star Army.

Defeat was not humiliating to Hadavy, but lowering his head was.

After thinking for a moment, Han Xiao nodded and agreed without exposing Hadavy.

When they were opponents, Hadavy was truly annoying and was a sh*t stirrer. However, if this meat shield wanted to join him, he would be a rare treasure in Han Xiao’s eyes. After all, there were very few Beyond Grade A seeds.

Putting on a show to gain a powerful fighter—such a deal was very much worth it.

Furthermore, Han Xiao felt that he could make use of this chance to display his strength to the Star Field. The influence of him becoming a Beyond Grade A could only be utilized if he admitted it personally.

He had already constructed a new army, and he was able to display the strength of a Beyond Grade A. Furthermore, the Tyrant would not allow him to drag things on for too long.

Han Xiao was extremely clear about the thoughts of his enemy. If he continued dragging on as such, Klent would then announce to the world that he did not dare to reveal his strength because he was afraid of Heber. They would then be able to suppress his influence while boosting the Tyrant’s prestige.

He had stayed silent for half a month already, and Klent was already showing signs of doing so. He decided to avoid such a situation before Klent took action.

Han Xiao shook off all these thoughts and looked at Hadavy. “Come.”

Boom!

Hadavy stomped on the alloy ground and shot toward Han Xiao’s chest like a cannon.

The muscles on his arms bulged up, and an explosive strength burst forth.

However, Hadavy’s fist was stopped ten centimeters before Han Xiao, and the immense strength of the attack generated a powerful gust of wind. However, Han Xiao did not even blink.

At this moment, his arm, which was covered in the Battle Tiger suit, grabbed onto Hadavy’s throat. Hadavy’s powerful attack could not even shake Han Xiao’s arm, and Hadavy was not able to move forward even an inch after being grabbed by Han Xiao’s arm.

Advancing to Beyond Grade A and the boost from the Evolution Cube had largely increased Han Xiao’s attributes and allowed him to completely suppress a Calamity Grade Super. Even Hadavy, who was famous for his body’s strength, was not an opponent for Han Xiao.

“This…” Hadavy’s eyes narrowed.

Before he could even react, the mechanical suit on Han Xiao’s arm began spinning around rapidly and sent a powerful shockwave into Hadavy’s body through his arm.

The special sound wave attack flowed through Hadavy’s skin and echoed in his flesh and bones. Hadavy heard a ringing sound as though all the noise in the world had been pumped into his ears.

Tiger Roar!

With the target’s body as a medium, the special shockwave attack would pass through all forms of armor and echo within the target’s body. If this attack was used in a vacuum, it would only be effective in close-range battle. This was an attack that Han Xiao had created by mimicking Stephanie’s Esper Ability.

“Pu!” Hadavy spat out a mouthful of blood. Because it was not True Damage, he was not immune to it.

Following which, Han Xiao slammed him into the ground.

Bang!

A crater was created, and Hadavy was stuck in the crater.

Not waiting for him to get up, Han Xiao placed his hands together, and his body lit up with brilliant bolts of electricity. The Mechanical Force that he gave out then combined with the alloy ground.

Boom!

The next moment, the alloy ground sprang into action, and the alloy ground transformed into a whirlpool to trap Hadavy in the center. The alloy ground then began spinning upward and formed a small spinning mountain.

Hadavy could not move an inch.

“Pa!” Han Xiao then clapped his hands, and two cannons were revealed behind him. The barrels of the cannons were aimed straight at Hadavy. If Han Xiao shot at Hadavy, who was currently in the air, his cannon would shoot toward outer space and would not destroy the headquarters.

The barrels of the cannons lit up, and the frightening energy being gathered made everyone’s hair stand on end.

“My destructive force isn’t the same as before,” Han Xiao said slowly. “You may become paralyzed if these two cannons hit you. Admit defeat.”

Hadavy gulped in horror, and his heart was shaken.

He had challenged Han Xiao because he wanted to verify the difference between the Beyond Grade A Black Star and the Black Star from before. In the end, he realized that the gap between them had widened to the point where he did not have the ability to make Han Xiao get serious.

Was this the difference in a Beyond Grade A? Hadavy felt his heart burning.

“I… admit defeat.” Hadavy took a deep breath and admitted his loss.

Han Xiao had already expected this and said, “Hila, bring him down.”

Clank!

The alloy mountain then collapsed. and Hadavy fell to the ground. Hila immediately walked forward and slapped a pair of electromagnetic handcuffs on his wrists. The handcuffs were not very useful and were only for show. Hadavy was then led into the headquarters of the Black Star Army.

Han Xiao then turned around and looked at the numerous spaceships in the surrounding area. With a simple shake of his head, he connected to the quantum network.

The reporters on the spaceship were currently recording the scene before them and writing about how Han Xiao had easily taken care of Hadavy. All of a sudden, Han Xiao’s face appeared on every screen in the spaceships, and all the reporters were startled.

Following which, Han Xiao’s voice sounded on the screen.

“I know that all of you have been lingering in the vicinity to hear me admit the recent rumors. Yes, I am already a Beyond Grade A. Please help me spread the news around the entire Star Field!”

After saying what he wanted, Han Xiao’s face disappeared from the screen, and the screens returned to normal.

The jaws of the reporters dropped, and they finally snapped back to reality. They immediately jumped to the window of the spaceship and looked toward the Black Star Army satellite, only to see Han Xiao turn around and walk back into the headquarters.

“He admitted it! Black Star admitted it personally!”

All the reporters were overjoyed. After camping for such a long time, they had finally gotten some exciting news.

An official announcement was completely different from rumors being spread around. Rumors were like sparks to ignite the flames of curiosity in the Star Field, but Han Xiao’s admission was like pouring hot oil on top of the fire!

The influence of a new Beyond Grade A would reach the peak in a single step!

Chapter 769 - Huge Sensation!

769 Huge Sensation!

Hadavy was led to a room by Hila and tied to a chair. Hila stood with her arms folded by the side, staring coldly at him.

“Wait here. Black Star will arrive in a while.”

Hadavy did not struggle as well. After quietly sitting for a while, he seemed to feel that the atmosphere was a little awkward. He looked at Hila and asked, “What’s your Esper ability? I’ve been roaming around the Shattered Star Ring for so many years, yet I haven’t heard of you. Someone like you would not be able to mask the news. Which civilization are you from?”

Hila did not even bother to reply, keeping a passive expression.

Seeing that she had no interest, Hadavy could only cough dryly. “Seems like you don’t like to converse.”

This time, the door opened, and Han Xiao walked in, smiling. “She’s from my hometown; we’re both from Planet Aquamarine. Because she was learning under Ames, she only appeared recently to help me with my matters.”

“The Dragon Emperor’s disciple?” Hadavy was stunned, and the look he shot toward Hila changed, filled with admiration and envy.

Planet Aquamarine, a surface civilization, could actually give rise to people like Hila and Black Star. This intrigued Hadavy.

Ka-la!

Moving his hand, Han Xiao freed Hadavy from the restraints. He suddenly had a thought, saying, “Ok, you may leave now.”

Hadavy was given another shock, and his mouth gaped open as he said, “You’re letting me go?”

“That’s right.” Han Xiao smiled. “No matter what, we’ve fought so many times, and I respect your abilities. This time, I’m letting you go. The bet can be nulled.”

“No no no…” Hadavy immediately stammered. “I’m a man who keeps his word. Since I’ve lost, I must accept my promise and work for you.”

“Well, such a strong Super like you would not agree to simply being someone’s subordinate in such a manner,” Han Xiao replied, half-seriously and half-jokingly. “I might have reached the Beyond Grade A level, but to peak-level Calamity Grades such as you, I have my respect and will not force you.”

Hadavy was so anxious his face turned red. He had initially thought that his plan would be successful and that he could succeed in his gamble and join under Black Star’s flag. He did not expect Black Star to actually reject him, with the reason so moving that even he could not reply to that.

“I… you…” Hadavy was speechless, unable to voice his thoughts.

Should he just say that he wanted to serve Black Star? Hadavy felt that this was a little shameful, and he could not bring himself to do it. However, if he just walked away, that would defeat his purpose of going there. In that instant, he fell into a dilemma, not knowing what to do.

Seeing this situation, Han Xiao smiled. “I won’t mess with you any further. If you wish to join the Black Star Army, I’ll welcome you with open arms. If you are trying to use such tricks to fool me, we can stop the discussion.”

Hadavy’s face turned red. “You already knew‽”

Upon having his thoughts seen through, he was so embarrassed that he wished to find a hole to hide in.

For Hila, who was standing by the corner with a passive expression, the corners of her mouth curled up into a barely discernible smile.

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow, leisurely saying, “In that case, I’ll formally extend an invitation to you. Hadavy, my legion requires your strength. Are you willing to come under my banner?”

Hadavy found it hard to open his mouth at this time. His mouth seemed to be glued shut, and he applied all his Grade A level strength just to unlock his jaw.

“I… I am willing…”

After saying those three words, Hadavy felt as though his entire body had gone soft. The feeling was as though he had just finished ten consecutive gladiator matches.

“Good.” Han Xiao nodded with a smile. “On behalf of my army, I welcome you.”

Seeing that Han Xiao was no longer fooling around with him, Hadavy finally breathed a sigh of relief, putting down the embarrassment in his heart. “What role do you require me to take?”

Han Xiao thought about it before pointing to Hila. “You can join the Black Star Guards, which is under Hila.”

With Hadavy having a well-known reputation, him joining the Black Star Guards would also increase their renown.

“Black Star Guards?” Hadavy stroked his chin before replying, “That’s fine, but I have a request. I hope that you will be able to impart some of your experience in achieving Beyond Grade A to me…”

Han Xiao nodded before shaking his head. “Every Beyond Grade A has a different method for their promotion, and everyone has their own path. I’m unable to pass down my experience to you, but what I can do is spar with you, allowing you to feel the difference between your level and that of a Beyond Grade A to give you more inspiration.”

“This…” Hadavy shook his head helplessly. “That works as well.”

While this was a little different from his expectations, being able to spar with a Beyond Grade A was also what he wanted. He originally loved to squeeze his potential out through battles.

The average person could not give him much pressure, but facing Black Star would remind him of his fear of the beasts when he was young and weak. This sort of fear would be a catalyst for growth.

Han Xiao waved his hand, allowing Hila to take Hadavy to meet his new colleagues.

He now had a total of five guards, of which Hadavy, Feidin, and Hila were the strongest, all high-level Calamity Grades. The other two were Marian and a Pugilist named Deluno. Both of their combat capabilities were average, not extraordinary in the Calamity Grade, but it was good enough to be a mini-boss. In this manner, all his guards were actually elites.

After dealing with Hadavy, Han Xiao called Sylvia over to talk about the expansion of the Black Star Army.

Since he had personally announced the matter of reaching Beyond Grade A, he would have to start making some big moves, increasing his influence, and making more allies in the Star Field. His plan was to make the Black Star Army reach the level of a true Beyond Grade A force.

But before that, there was still another matter he needed to address.

“Sylvia, help me prepare a fleet. I’m going out.”

“Noted. Where are you going, Teacher?”

Han Xiao paused, his tone strange.

“Floating Dragon.”

…

The countless interstellar news outlets released the article about Han Xiao personally acknowledging that he had broken into the Beyond Grade A class. At its peak, ninety-five percent of the entire news channels in the Shattered Star Ring were occupied by news about this matter, setting off a new storm of public opinion.

Most of the official news sources had acknowledged this matter, making it a sure bet. During this period, almost all the media outlets in Shattered Star Ring were covering the topic. With so many media channels, this was far larger than compared to the rumor and word-of-mouth influence that had spread earlier. As long as the citizens had internet, there was no one that would not have heard of Han Xiao’s name!

Similarly, this sensational news had also been shared by the media of other Star Fields, and their organizations had also learned that the Shattered Star Ring had given birth to yet another Beyond Grade A Super!

The player forums almost detonated from this situation. Although Han Xiao’s name often dominated the forums, it was because of the players’ discussion. That day, even the players from other Star Fields could also see their news channels commenting on Han Xiao’s name!

Those belonging to other Star Fields were shocked. At Version 3.0, players had yet to cross between Star Fields. In their eyes, each Star Field was currently an independent server. Now, the NPC character from the Shattered Star Ring had actually ‘broken’ this barrier due to his fame!

Since the previous versions, Han Xiao had constantly established his main storyline character position in the Shattered Star Ring. The players from the other Star Fields also knew of his name. This wave of public opinion had generated a strong interest within the player base. Not only was Han Xiao filling up the screen in the Shattered Star Ring news channel, his name was also within the forum channels of the other Star Fields. On all channels, he was within the top three topics.

The official news channels also had their own rules, and the various great organizations of the Shattered Star Ring responded appropriately.

…

The Purple Crystal Civilization was extremely happy now.

They had seen the potential revealed by him more than seven years ago and decided to hedge their bets on him. Finally, Black Star had stepped into the realm of the Beyond Grade A, and the Purple Crystal Civilization now had a Beyond Grade A Super just like Klent. Within the seven Star Cluster level civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring, only two of them had such powerful allies.

Their bet had truly paid off!

Furthermore, Black Star had only spent around twenty years to reach the Beyond Grade A rank, with his total age not even being close to fifty yet. With the lifespan of a Beyond Grade A Super, he was considered an infant, and this spoke volumes of his potential.

The moment Han Xiao admitted his promotion in person, the Purple Crystal Civilization had adopted a variety of measures such as adding a huge investment to the Black Star Army as well as putting out more favorable policies and resource conditions for them. They were committed to building a more stable relationship with Han Xiao as an alliance.

At the same time, the Purple Crystal Civilization also issued announcements to the entire Star Field through their media channels.

“In the name of the Civilization, we congratulate Black Star for reaching the Beyond Grade A rank!”

This sort of behavior expressed their attitude to the entire Star Field and conveyed a message that their relationship was extremely stable. Those outside parties who wanted a share of the pie should just save their energy and get lost.

Godora was unwilling to be left behind and followed suit by having Serbia The Fifth coming out to explain Han Xiao’s role in saving Godora, as well as emphasizing that he was the recipient of the Golden Gal Badge. Finally, he represented all Godorans in congratulating Han Xiao on his advancement before revealing that he was planning to add a celebratory festival named Black Star Day to thank Han Xiao for all that he had done for them.

Were it any other civilization that had done this, it would have sounded very much like boot-licking. However, Godora was different, as their ties with Han Xiao ran extremely deeply. Be it the eradication of DarkStar or the Discrimination Transformation Movement, it had a huge impact for their entire civilization. Thus, a festival to thank Han Xiao was nothing extraordinary.

Purple Crystal and Godora quickly took their stand, and to jump on the bandwagon, hundreds of civilizations began to congratulate Han Xiao. This was as though they were attempting to form a trend. Most of these galaxy-level civilizations were half-allies that had chosen the Black Star Army, and they had allowed the army to set up bases on their planets. At this moment, they scrambled to speak up, as though afraid that others would not know they were in an alliance with Black Star.

The behavior of these civilizations was actually understandable. Purple Crystal was the boss of this Star Cluster and thus got the ball rolling. The other civilizations jumped on the bandwagon in order to have a good relationship with this Beyond Grade A faction, but this crazy chain left those on the sidelines speechless and shocked.

The entire Colton Star Cluster was basically standing behind Black Star, shouting and congratulating him. An entire Star Cluster was celebrating for one man!

In such a situation, those on the sidelines could not even reply due to their shock.

The reputation of Black Star in the Star Cluster was so shocking!

Even when the other Beyond Grade As had advanced, they did not receive such a resounding celebration!

At this moment, the entire Star Field remembered the name Black Star. Just like the other four, he turned into an icon of the Shattered Star Ring in everyone’s minds, the Fifth Beyond Grade A Seat!

However, it was at this juncture that unexpected events started to appear, allowing the public opinion to skyrocket to unpresented levels.

The Tyrant Heber and Star Pupil Psyker both openly made a declaration of battle toward Black Star!

Heber’s reason was because of the secret war. Since the Purple Crystal also possessed a Beyond Grade A now, he would personally act. Because both Beyond Grade As were fighting for different sides, there was no problem with that.

However, Psyker’s reasoning caused a huge outburst.

He openly admitted the existence of the Evolution Cube, announced that Black Star had taken the Evolution Cube from his hands, and requested for Black Star to return it!

The Evolution Cube is now in Black Star’s hands? Two elder Beyond Grade As are challenging a newborn Beyond Grade A‽

Those two pieces of news caused a stir.

The entire Star Field burst into an uproar!

The Beyond Grade As… were going to fight openly‽

How long had it been since that last happened!

…

Just as the major organizations and those on the sidelines were shocked at all the ongoing news, Han Xiao had taken his spaceship and arrived on Floating Dragon Island.

Chapter 770 - Independence

A large fleet appeared not too far away from Floating Dragon Island with Han Xiao’s spaceship being at the very front.

Aurora was seated in the pilot’s seat with Han Xiao standing behind her with his arms crossed.

Floating Dragon now had three different islands and a second field team in charge of guarding Floating Dragon. Looking out at the scenery, Han Xiao could not help but lament to himself.

“I haven’t been back for quite some time, and the changes are truly great. So many years have gone by in just a blink of an eye. I still remember the first time I came to Floating Dragon…”

Du! Du!

Vilna’s face appeared on his communicator, and she said, “Your Excellency Black Star, Her Excellency Dragon Emperor is waiting for you.”

It seems like she knew that I would come and meet her… Han Xiao nodded.

The second field team opened a path and allowed the Black Star Army fleet to land on Floating Dragon Island.

“Black Star Guards follow me. The others remain here and await my orders,” Han Xiao instructed and led Hila and the others onto Floating Dragon.

On the dock, Jenny and the other officers were already waiting for him.

“Your Excellency Black Star.”

The various officers saluted him.

Although they had once been colleagues with Han Xiao, Han Xiao was now a Beyond Grade A Super, and his status in the galaxy far exceeded theirs. He was a figure who stood at the same level as the Dragon Emperor, and they could only look up to him.

Even Jenny, who had a terrible relationship with Han Xiao, also had her head lowered with a respectful appearance.

Aesop stepped out from the crowd and said with a complicated expression, “I knew that you would return. This day had to come eventually.”

Han Xiao then looked around at the faces of his colleagues before looking back at Aesop. Shaking his head, he said, “Didn’t you already start making preparations?”

“I just didn’t think that it would be so sudden…” Aesop let out a sigh before turning around to lead the way. “Follow me. Ames is already waiting for you.”

Han Xiao followed behind Aesop and entered the palace, only to see Ames seated on top of a floating throne with a calm expression on her face.

“You’re here. Black Star, I have been waiting for you,” Ames said as though she had already expected his arrival.

Han Xiao stood a few meters away, and Aesop’s group walked behind Ames. At this moment, there seemed to be an invisible barrier separating the two groups.

Neither of them spoke immediately; they looked at each other silently instead. The Black Star and Floating Dragon officers who were by the side all could not help but gulp as their hearts tensed up.

The officers of both sides were aware of Han Xiao’s intentions and could not help but feel nervous upon seeing the tense atmosphere. They were afraid that the two Beyond Grade A Supers would start fighting because of some disagreement.

The new member of the Black Star Guards, Hadavy, was probably the only exception. He was currently sizing Ames up carefully, looking as though he was eager to test her strength.

After a silent standoff of over a minute, Ames shifted her gaze toward Aurora and Hila, who were beside Han Xiao, and asked, “How have both of you been over the past few months?”

Aurora did not dare face Ames’ gaze at this moment and lowered her head with guilt.

“Fine,” Hila replied.

Ames showed care and concern for her two disciples but ignored Han Xiao completely. Han Xiao was not too bothered by this and watched silently by the side.

The teacher and disciples chatted for a while before Ames changed the topic. “Are you two going to stand on his side?”

Hila and Aurora’s expressions changed slightly, and everyone felt their hearts tightened up slightly.

Before waiting for them to reply, Han Xiao waved to his Black Star Guards and said, “Hila, leave with them. Let me talk to Ames alone.”

Hila heaved a sigh of relief. She was not afraid of facing powerful enemies, but she did not wish to be sandwiched between her teacher of ten years and Han Xiao.

Ames tacitly approved of the departure of the Black Star Guards, and upon seeing this, Aesop had no choice but to take the officers of Floating Dragon away as well.

Aesop felt that it was extremely normal for Black Star to seek independence. If he was Ames, he would not stop Black Star but provide his support instead. However, Ames was not like him and tended to act in a willful manner. Furthermore, Black Star was the subordinate who she placed the greatest importance on, and Aesop was worried that Ames’ willfulness would ruin matters.

Only Han Xiao and Ames were left behind in the main hall. Ames controlled her floating throne to land, and she walked forward to face Han Xiao with a complicated look in her eyes.

“When I first saw you, I never imagined that you will be standing at the same height as me one day.”

Upon hearing that, the scene of how he met Ames floated up in Han Xiao’s mind.

Ames had been high above at that time, capable of controlling his life and death with a single thought. In comparison, he had been a small grain of sand in her eyes. Ten or so years later, he was now able to stand face to face with her as equals.

“Anything is possible in this world,” Han Xiao replied.

Ames smiled and said, “I know this feeling. A long time ago, I never imagined that I would become a Beyond Grade A Super either.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and did not say a word.

Pausing for a moment, Ames then asked, “Why are you here today?”

“There are three things.”

“Three things?” Ames raised her brows. “What’s the first?”

Han Xiao took out the Evolution Cube and said, “This treasure is in my hands. I am prepared to allow you and all the officers of Floating Dragon to enjoy the Evolution Cube.”

Ames was a little surprised but did not reply immediately. She asked instead, “What’s the second matter.”

“I request to leave Floating Dragon and allow the Black Star Army to gain independence,” Han Xiao said without the slightest bit of awkwardness.

“Humph, this is probably your true motive, right?”

Ames let out a soft sigh but wasn’t angry. She was already mentally prepared for this day to arrive but still felt a tinge of discomfort when Han Xiao said it. She then said expressionlessly, “I have something to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“Were you planning to leave me from the first day you joined Floating Dragon?”

Ames’ gaze was locked firmly on Han Xiao. Ever since she viewed the Black Star Army headquarters a few years ago, she had known that she was not suitable to be Han Xiao’s leader. She just wanted to be certain of Han Xiao’s thoughts.

“Yes,” Han Xiao replied honestly. From the very beginning, he had treated Floating Dragon as a jumping board. Even if saying so would make Ames angry, he did not intend to lie.

“I thought so.” Ames shook her head, and a tinge of sadness could be seen in her eyes. “I am not a leader worth following for someone like you.”

She had not felt this during the initial development of the Black Star Army, but as the prestige of the Black Star Army overshadowed Floating Dragon, she had understood that a legendary character like Han Xiao was not someone she could keep.

Ames did not hesitate in the slightest and did not bother trying to keep Han Xiao. She was not that weak and said with a resolute voice, “Alright. I understand. From today onward, Floating Dragon is Floating Dragon and the Black Star Army is the Black Star Army. You are no longer my subordinate.”

A notification immediately popped up on his interface indicating that he left the Floating Dragon faction.

Han Xiao let out a deep breath.

From this moment on, the Black Star Army was no longer a subordinate of Floating Dragon and was now an independent organization.

“What is the third matter?” Ames asked expressionlessly.

“I hope that the Black Star Army can form an alliance with Floating Dragon,” Han Xiao said. “I hope that you will fight alongside me against Heber and Psyker.”

Upon hearing that, Ames’ face immediately became a little strange. She had already heard about the Beyond Grade A battle that shook the Shattered Star Ring. She was puzzled about Han Xiao’s actions.

“Since you want my help, why did you choose independence? You know that I would definitely help you if you chose to remain in Floating Dragon.”

Han Xiao smiled and said with a carefree tone, “I know. That’s why I gave you a chance to choose.”

Ames was stunned for a moment and immediately understood what Han Xiao meant.

The way she saw it, as long as Han Xiao chose to remain in Floating Dragon, he could tie Floating Dragon to him and ensure that she would help him to deal with his enemies for sure. However, Han Xiao did not choose to make use of his identity as a Floating Dragon officer but chose to request help after leaving Floating Dragon.

This meant that Han Xiao did not want to make use of her. If not, he could choose to borrow Floating Dragon’s strength to deal with Heber and Psyker before gaining independence. It would be akin to making full use of her before leaving.

In truth, Ames had also considered such a possibility before their meeting. Even Ames herself did not know if she would have rejected Han Xiao if he had chosen such a route. The development of the situation was truly out of her expectations.

“Are you not afraid that I will reject you?” Ames suppressed the surprise in her heart and spoke calmly. “Your life will be in danger if you want to fight both of them alone. Aren’t you afraid that you won’t be able to pass this tribulation?”

Han Xiao smiled and said, “I believe that you won’t reject me.”

Ames’ face then darkened, and she said coldly, “You are no longer my subordinate, and I haven’t accepted your alliance. Do you really think that I care a lot about you, or do you think that you have some chips in your hands that I won’t be able to reject? Do you want to make use of the Evolution Cube to persuade me? And go back on your word if I don’t agree?”

“My promise is valid regardless of whether you form an alliance with me.” Han Xiao shook his head. “That was something I brought up before leaving Floating Dragon. I am providing that benefit to you as an officer of Floating Dragon and do not plan to make use of it as a bargaining chip. You can treat it as my compensation to thank Floating Dragon for taking care of me.”

Ames had a strange look in her eyes, and she sized Han Xiao up as though she did not recognize him. “You are not someone like that in my mind.”

The way she saw it, the sequence of Han Xiao’s requests was completely wrong. He chose to leave Floating Dragon before seeking help and did not wish to use the Evolution Cube as a bargaining chip for their alliance but compensation toward Floating Dragon.

This was akin to surrendering his advantage and leaving the decision in her hands.

“Why?” Ames asked. Han Xiao’s current actions had overturned her impression of him.

Han Xiao smiled. “I just feel that there isn’t a need for there to have so much scheming between us.”

Ames’ expression froze in place, and her breathing seemed to have stopped for a second.

She then looked at Han Xiao deeply and took two steps back. “I don’t know if the words you have said are true or false, but I can at least see some sincerity.”

Han Xiao’s lips curled up slightly, and he said, “It seems like we have come to an agreement.”

“I agree to your alliance.” Ames’ eyes shone before she slowly said, “Besides, I have long wanted to have a fight with Heber. Although you are a new Beyond Grade A Super, you definitely won’t drag me down with your strength.”

“Hahaha, you are still the Ames that I know!” Han Xiao raised out his hand to shake Ames’ hand. “Alliance mate, please take care of me in the future.”

Ames looked at Han Xiao’s hand, which was floating in midair, and snorted.

“Humph, you used to call me Your Excellency Dragon Emperor but call me alliance mate now.”

After saying that, she raised out her hand as well.

Both of them shook hands.

Their alliance was set up from this moment on.

After shaking hands, they let go, and Han Xiao had a strange look on his face.

When they were shaking hands, Ames had squeezed hard as though she was throwing a tantrum. However, Han Xiao’s physical defense was too high, and he did not feel much.

Han Xiao shook his head and looked at the door of the palace. “Still eavesdropping? All of you, come in.”

Hila, Aesop, and the others walked out from behind the door with embarrassed looks on their faces.

They had all worried that Ames and Han Xiao would fall out with each other and did not go too far away. They had all been eavesdropping outside the door and were a little embarrassed since they had been caught. In actual fact, all of their actions could not possibly escape from the senses of a Beyond Grade A. It was just that Han Xiao and Ames could not be bothered with them.

Upon seeing the both of them resolving matters harmoniously, the atmosphere in the place became relaxed, and everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

Although the Black Star Army had left Floating Dragon, both parties had formed an alliance, and they were still allies. The barrier between both parties disappeared immediately, especially since the officers of both parties had a good relationship in the first place.

Aesop was extremely relieved that Ames did not lose control of her emotions, and the outcome was much better than what he had expected. For two Beyond Grade A organizations to form an alliance, they would be able to gain a huge advantage in the Shattered Star Ring, and it was extremely beneficial to both parties.

My prediction back then wasn’t wrong. Ames will develop better with Black Star beside her, Aesop thought to himself. Back then, he had felt that Black Star would become the Dragon Emperor’s right-hand man to support her to the next level. Although his guess was not wrong, he had gotten a small detail wrong. Black Star would not be the Dragon Emperor’s right-hand man but an equal to the Dragon Emperor.

“Alright, since you are willing to work together with me, we have to decide how we should deal with Heber and Psyker,” Han Xiao said.

“What are you prepared to do?” Ames said with excitement.

“It has been some time since they issued a challenge to me, but I have yet to give them a reply. It is time for me to give them a reply. Since they want to create trouble, we should muddy the waters further. I will issue a joint response with you and shake the Shattered Star Ring even more.” Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

He could also make use of this opportunity to announce the independence of the Black Star Army and their alliance with Floating Dragon.

Han Xiao was sure that this would increase his influence to the next level!

“I thought that you’d ask me to keep this matter a secret and give them a good surprise,” Ames replied.

“We won’t be able to hide it from them, and there isn’t a need to do so. Since they challenged us openly, we can also reply to them openly,” Han Xiao said. “Since they want to be high profile, we shall accompany them in being high profile!”

Ames revealed a look of interest. “It sounds very fun.”

As Hadavy and the others heard that, they immediately grew excited and were agitated to the point they had goosebumps. The Shattered Star Ring had five Beyond Grade A Supers, and four of them were involved in this battle. Only the Magus was left out, and he would probably run over to join the fun. If that was the case, this battle would involve all the Beyond Grade A Supers in the Shattered Star Ring!

This was a one in a hundred years event, and it would definitely go down in the annals of history.

Just thinking of the sight of the five Beyond Grade A appearing together made Hadavy’s blood boil.

At this moment, Han Xiao suddenly said, “Before that, I have to fulfil my promise.”

After saying that, he took out the Evolution Cube and looked at Ames.

“Do I need to make any preparations?” Ames asked.

“You don’t need to.”

“Alright.” Ames nodded.

Although she did not chase after strength, she was extremely curious about the Evolution Cube.

Opening the Evolution Cube, a wave of black particles surrounded Ames, and the gene evolution started.

Han Xiao looked at the other officers of Floating Dragon, and after seeing them nod, he controlled another new wave of black colored energy to evolve their genes.

Only Aesop waved his hands.

“Old man, don’t you want to use the Evolution Cube?” Han Xiao asked with doubt.

“Don’t need to worry about me.” Aesop waved his hands. “I used it a few hundred years ago when this item was still in the ruins. If not for the fact that it was too large and I was too lazy to find someone to shift it away, it would have been mine.”

Han Xiao truly did not know what to say.

…

The gene evolution continued for quite some time, and all the officers of Floating Dragon completed their evolution. Their strength experienced varying degrees of improvements, and they all had looks of joy on their faces. Only Ames was still being surrounded by the black particles.

After a few hours, Ames broke out of the ‘cocoon’ and experienced a huge change.

All the others had gone down to rest, and Han Xiao was the only one left in the hall. He was currently seated on Ames’ throne and scrolling through the forums for entertainment. Upon seeing Ames exit, he walked forward to Ames with a look of curiosity.

“How do you feel?”

Ames did not reply, and her brows were furrowed as though she was trying to feel something. Her figure then disappeared suddenly.

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment and extended his senses to feel the undulations of space around him.

At his current level, apart from his five basic senses, he could detect other things such as radiation, energy waves, and so on.

After extending his senses, Han Xiao was stunned for a moment.

He could see Ames making circles around him in the Void Dimension.

“You are able to enter the Void Dimension?” Han Xiao asked with shock and entered the Void Dimension as well.

“It seems like this is my new ability,” Ames said excitedly.

Floating Dragon Island was built on top of the skeleton of a Void Dragon, and Ames had consumed the Void Dragon Pith before. Thus, she had a trace of Void Genes in her, which was activated by the Evolution Cube.

Although they were not from the same Beyond Grade A race, they both had Void Genes, and a portion of their genes were similar.

After playing for a while, Ames left the Void Dimension and began testing her new strength.

“The effect of the Evolution Cube is truly amazing. The strength, range, and control of my Force Field have been increased, and my physique seems to have improved.”

That is because your attributes have increased…

Han Xiao had some experience with this. Ames did not have an interface and could not see the changes in her body.

Chapter 771 - You“d Better Not Run

After both parties formed an alliance, Floating Dragon changed their drifting trajectory and headed toward the headquarters of the Black Star Army. They would work together with Han Xiao during this period.

Since Ames had chosen to fight by Han Xiao’s side, she naturally had to bring her personal weapon along. Floating Dragon had another two more islands, and using it to smash others would definitely be more painful.

Han Xiao then got Reynolds to inform the army’s logistics department to modify some empty backup satellite fortresses. Han Xiao was prepared to give them to Ames so that she could use them as her weapon. After all, she could not always use her main camp as her weapon.

After using the Evolution Cube, everyone rested for a day before Han Xiao and Ames gathered all the officers together.

This time, it was to reply to the Tyrant’s challenge.

Before announcing his response to the world, Han Xiao decided to contact the Tyrant privately.

The secret war had been fought for such a long time, and the two parties had not contacted each other before. The last time they had seen each other was more than ten years ago at the Tyrant’s gathering. Back then, he had been only Ames’ follower, and Heber had tried to recruit him.

Han Xiao did not have the Tyrant’s communicator number, but Ames had it in her communicator. This time, he was going to borrow Ames’ communicator to contact Heber, which Ames had no issues with.

Han Xiao then opened Ames’ communicator and pulled out Heber’s number from the blacklist. Because of Heber’s pursuit, Ames had always blocked his number.

Han Xiao then sent a communication request to the Tyrant.

Beep beep!

After a few seconds, the communication request went through, and Heber’s image appeared on the communicator.

“Ames? You are finally going to… Hmm? Black Star‽”

Heber immediately frowned. Ames’ name appeared on his communicator, and he thought that Ames had finally thought things through and decided to agree to become his partner. However, he had never imagined that the call would be made by Black Star.

“Ames formed an alliance with you?” Heber immediately reacted.

Han Xiao only nodded.

Heber’s eyes narrowed, and his expression remained emotionless.

For a few years, many organizations had been spreading rumors about the Black Star Army and Floating Dragon splitting up. When Han Xiao became a Beyond Grade A, Heber knew that both of them would definitely split up, and Heber was hoping that Black Star and Ames would become enemies as a result. The outcome that he did not want to see was the two of them becoming allies.

“It seems like the little tricks of those organizations weren’t able to shake your relationship,” Heber said calmly.

“You don’t seem anxious at all.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“It makes no difference to me,” Heber said. “Tell Ames that I will give her a final chance. As long as she stays out of this matter, I can ignore her. I will not show any mercy otherwise.”

“Get your head out the clouds. I didn’t ask you to show any mercy,” Ames said coldly upon hearing those words.

Heber ignored her and said to Han Xiao while shaking his head, “Black Star, I gave you a chance a long time ago. It is a pity that you didn’t treasure it and rejected my invitation. If you are contacting me to plead for mercy, it is too late. We are now enemies, and there isn’t anything to talk about between us.”

“I called you to respond to your challenge. Set a time and place,” Han Xiao said with a deep voice.

Through his Observer’s Mark, Han Xiao knew that Psyker had contacted Heber privately and invited Heber to work together with him. However, the Tyrant rejected and insisted on dealing with Black Star alone but did not stop Psyker from going to view their battle. Thus, both parties had issued separate challenges.

Han Xiao also understood Heber’s thoughts from the conversation between the two. Heber did not only want to take revenge but also want to establish his prestige with a new Beyond Grade A Super. Heber wanted to have as many people paying attention to this matter as possible and thus publicly set a time and invited the various organizations to watch the battle.

“Alright,” Heber said resolutely. “The time will be set twenty days from now. The location will be in the desolate universe belt between the Colton Star Cluster and Seoul Star Cluster. I will announce the coordinates publicly.”

Choosing a neutral region between the two made it convenient for Bloodshed Land to send out their army and create a confrontation between Purple Crystal and Klent. It was still equivalent to both the civilizations fighting a proxy war.

Heber set the date twenty days from then so that the news would be able to spread throughout the Star Field and attract more people to witness his battle with Black Star. However, he would not drag the battle on for too long as he did not want to give Han Xiao too much time to prepare. He also did not want the matter to die down and wanted to establish his prestige when Black Star’s influence was at the peak.

If Black Star wanted to back out of the battle, Heber would not lose out either. Heber could just say that Black Star was afraid of him and did not dare appear for their battle. He would also be able to build up his prestige as well and have a reason to visit the Black Star Army headquarters.

“Alright, you’d better not run when the time comes,” Han Xiao said without much hesitation.

Han Xiao then hung up without waiting for Heber to reply.

“This fellow is still as domineering as usual. How annoying,” Ames said with her eyes narrowed and her force field energy being gathered in her palms. Every time she saw the Tyrant’s annoying face, she had the urge to smash her Floating Dragon down on him.

“In any case, the time and location have been decided. We just have to show up when the time comes.” Han Xiao looked at all the officers. “You lot heard the conversation, right? Announce it to the public in the name of the Black Star Army.”

“Understood.” Sylvia nodded and started a long-distance conference. As the Chief Administrative Official, public relations was her job.

“There’s still twenty days…”

Han Xiao’s eyes glimmered. It seemed like this would be all the time he had for preparations.

…

The challenge given out by the Tyrant and Star Pupil created a huge commotion in the Shattered Star Ring, but Black Star had not given an official response. Many individuals had their appetites whet and were looking forward to the development of the matter.

Because of the storm created by the battle, many Supers who wanted to join the Black Star Army controlled themselves and waited to observe what happened. Thus, there were not too many who applied to the Black Star Army during this period. However, Han Xiao was also aware about this and thus did not start his recruitment.

Seven days after the challenge was issued, the Black Star Army finally made a response.

Black Star accepted the challenge!

Not just that, the Black Star Army had also announced a shocking piece of news.

From that day on, the Black Star Army would leave Floating Dragon and gain independence!

Many organizations had intentionally spread rumors that led many to believe that the Black Star Army would cut off all ties with Floating Dragon after gaining independence.

However, the truth had shocked many. The Dragon Emperor Ames had actually chosen to form an alliance with Black Star and deal with the Tyrant and Star Pupil!

This was something that no one had expected. Black Star had to fight alone originally and face the challenge of the Tyrant and Star Pupil single-handedly. Many individuals could not help but break out in cold sweat for this newly ascended Beyond Grade A. However, the interference of the Dragon Emperor immediately leveled the playing field.

A total of four Beyond Grade A Supers had entered the fray!

This was like a stimulant that caused the entire Star Field to blow up with excitement!

Regardless of whether they were ordinary citizens or members of large organizations, everyone was extremely clear about one thing.

A huge show was about to erupt in the Star Field!

…

In the Palace of Hidden Spells, Austin looked through a report on his communicator and thought to himself, Black Star accepted the challenge officially? He’s even taking the Dragon Emperor…

It was now a two-on-two battle, and the Shattered Star Ring had five Beyond Grade A Supers.

This meant that his presence would influence the direction in which this matter developed, and everyone else knew that as well.

“It seems like there will be people looking for me very soon.” Austin shook his head.

Beep beep!

Just as he thought that, Psyker called him.

Austin let out a helpless chuckle and accepted the call, hanging up after chatting for a short while. Just when he hung up, another call arrived. It was Han Xiao this time.

“It has been a while since I last saw you. You didn’t disappoint me indeed, Black Star.”

“I actually have to thank you.” Han Xiao smiled.

“Thank me for what?”

“If not for you telling me about information regarding the Evolution Cube, I may not have been able to obtain this item.”

“Oh, I see.” Austin smiled and said straightforwardly, “I know why you called. Psyker called me before this.”

Han Xiao’s eyes glimmered, and he did not beat about the bush. “Since you already know our intentions, what do you plan on doing?”

Both parties wanted to attract Austin to their side.

Austin’s eyes narrowed, and he said, “Although I have some ties with Psyker, he never agreed to lend me the Evolution Cube. Now that he’s lost the Evolution Cube and this chip is in your hands, are you prepared to use it in exchange for my help?”

“That’s right.” Han Xiao nodded. Austin was no fool, and there was no need for Han Xiao to waste his time explaining it to Austin.

Unexpectedly, Austin shook his head and said, “I am very willing to provide compensation for using the Evolution Cube, but I cannot agree to this matter.”

Han Xiao’s heart sank.

However, Austin added, “Don’t worry, I don’t intend to help Psyker either.”

“You want to remain neutral?” Han Xiao was surprised.

Austin smiled and said, “The silent Shattered Star Ring has been stirred up again after so many years. How can I allow this wonderful show to end prematurely because of my interference? Hahaha!”

This darn old man just wants to watch the world burn… Han Xiao gritted his teeth.

Austin wanted to be a spectator and watch the show by the side. Furthermore, he felt that there would be a chance to use the Evolution Cube in the future based on Black Star’s character. Thus, Austin was not prepared to join any side this time.

To a Beyond Grade A Super like him who was used to maintaining his neutrality, he was willing to give up some benefits to remain on the sidelines and watch the show. At his current level, he did not have to restrain his own personality and preferences.

Furthermore, both parties were Beyond Grade A Supers, and he would offend the other party if he chose to get involved. Austin was no fool; remaining neutral was the best choice for him.

Austin’s attitude was resolute, and it would be impossible for Han Xiao to persuade him. Thus, Han Xiao hung up after a short casual conversation.

Although he did not manage to bring Austin to his side, Han Xiao was not too disappointed. He had never planned to have Austin on his side from the very start. It would be a pleasant surprise if he could succeed, but his failure was well within expectations. At the very least, Psyker also did not manage to pull Austin over to his side.

The situation was already clear, and the division of the Beyond Grade A Supers would not change. If that was the case, Han Xiao could only find aid from other organizations.

…

In the Crimson Dynasty embassy on the mother planet of the Klent Kingdom…

“Ah, Klent wants us to help them deal with Black Star?”

Within the office of the embassy, the Crimson Dynasty envoy Zoel looked at the Klent emissary with a smile.

“That’s right. Black Star is in the Purple Crystal faction and killed a few dozen of our Calamity Grade Supers, dealing a huge blow to our high-level combatants. Now that Black Star is a Beyond Grade A Super, he will become a bigger obstacle to us. Our strength is limited, and we hope that the Crimson Dynasty can provide us with some aid,” the Klent emissary said respectfully.

Zoel tapped his fingers on the table and looked at the party silently without talking.

He was the envoy that the Crimson Dynasty had sent to Klent, and he had been there for many years. He was also the envoy who Han Xiao had met at the Tyrant’s gathering many years prior.

The life span of the Crimson Dynasty race was extremely long, and ten years was not much to them.

Over ten years ago, when Klent openly submitted to the Crimson Dynasty, Zoel had surfaced from the dark and built an embassy on the Klent mother planet. This represented the diplomatic ties between the Crimson Dynasty and Klent.

At the same time, he had the authority to mobilize any army that the Crimson Dynasty stationed in the Shattered Star Ring.

The three Universal Civilizations had their own secret factories in every Star Field, and the army that they had stationed in every Star Field was enough to start a war with two to three Star Cluster Civilizations at the same time.

The authority to control the secret armed force of the dynasty was enough to show how high a status Zoel had in the Shattered Star Ring. He was the individual with the highest authority in the envoy party.

Zoel thought for a while before saying, “I will consider Klent’s request. Please leave for now.”

Upon hearing that, the Klent emissary could only take his leave.

“Black Star…” Zoel muttered.

Zoel naturally had some understanding toward this new Beyond Grade A Super who had created a huge commotion in the Shattered Star Ring recently. In truth, Zoel had been constantly updating Black Star’s shocking battle record in the dynasty’s database over the past ten years.

Klent did not wish for Purple Crystal to have a Beyond Grade A ally and requested for the Crimson Dynasty to help them get rid of Han Xiao completely.

As an envoy of the Crimson Dynasty, Zoel’s sights were naturally set at a very high level. It was not that he was being full of himself. Even if there were many Beyond Grade A pillars in the Crimson Dynasty, he would not underestimate other Beyond Grade A Supers. It was because he understood the strength of a Beyond Grade A Super that he knew that a Beyond Grade A should not be provoked easily.

It was not that Zoel did not want to help Klent deal with a local Beyond Grade A Super but that he had an interest in Black Star.

“He completed his Beyond Grade A journey in twenty years, and he is the first in history to accomplish such a feat. He still has a long life ahead of him, and his potential is immeasurable.”

Furthermore, such a character had snatched the Evolution Cube, which was hidden by the Arcane Church.

Perhaps I can find the opportunity to interact with him.

As for the thoughts of Klent… As an envoy of the dynasty, why did he have to give a Star Cluster civilization an explanation?

Right at that moment, his communicator rang, and the face of his subordinate surfaced.

“Your Excellency Zoel, a special individual wishes to speak with you. Should I patch the communication through?”

“Who is the other party?”

“Black Star.”

He actually took the initiative to find me?

Zoel paused for two seconds before nodding.

“Patch him through.”

Chapter 772 - Negotiations and Hidden Currents

After waiting for a while, Zoel’s figure appeared on his communicator.

Han Xiao raised his brow.

Since the Crimson Dynasty embassy did not reject his communication request, it meant that they were interested in negotiating with him. This was a good opening as the Crimson Dynasty was an important part of his plans.

With a smile, Han Xiao said, “It has been many years since I last saw you, Envoy Zoel.”

“That’s right. It has been more than ten years since we last met, and you were participating in the Tyrant’s gathering beside the Dragon Emperor back then. I still remember you trying to persuade Ames to join the Crimson Dynasty. Although you didn’t manage to succeed, I have a very deep impression of you,” Zoel said with a smile.

His good attitude toward Han Xiao was not only because Han Xiao was a Beyond Grade A Super but also because of how Han Xiao seemed to lean toward their dynasty.

“It turns out that you still remember.” Han Xiao smiled. “Back then, I felt that it was extremely likely for the Crimson Dynasty to win the Flickering World, and history has proven my prediction correct.”

Zoel’s smile became brighter upon hearing that.

Over ten years ago, Black Star had predicted that the Crimson Dynasty would successfully take control of the Flickering World; Zoel’s impression of Han Xiao immediately rose.

“You are truly able to see far ahead.”

Of course, I doubt anyone can look further into the future than me… Han Xiao thought to himself.

This was the benefit of being familiar with the storyline. Before even eating today, he knew what kind of sh*t he would have tomorrow.

After pausing for a while, Han Xiao got to the purpose for his call.

“My thoughts have not changed since ten years ago, and the Black Star Army has already left Floating Dragon. I do not need to persuade anyone, and I can make the decision myself.”

Zoel’s eyes lit up, and he said, “If I didn’t understand those words wrongly, you wish to join the Crimson Dynasty?”

“That is the reason for my call today.”

Han Xiao nodded.

Because of his advancement, the Black Star Army had the right to be called a Beyond Grade A organization. However, the upper limit of his organization would be dependent on his resources and network. In the galaxy, the three Universal Civilizations were the largest possible backers, and he would be able to obtain a huge amount of resources as long as he joined one of them.

At the same time, he also needed a strong ally to protect the Evolution Cube. Psyker and the Arcane Church definitely would not give up on the Evolution Cube, and the Federation of Light might even choose to intervene. All the large organizations in the universe would have their eyes set on the Evolution Cube, and it was impossible for the Black Star Army, which was still at the Star Cluster level, to defend against all these ill intentions.

Among the three Universal Civilizations, the Crimson Dynasty was the most ideal ally to Han Xiao. He would be able to gain early access to the Flickering World and also foil Klent’s plan to obtain victory in the secret war.

Those were all important factors affecting his benefits.

Of course, there was another reason beside this.

Han Xiao had been part of the Crimson Dynasty faction in his previous life, so he had more information regarding the storyline and chance encounters in the Crimson Dynasty. Among the three Universal Civilizations, he admired the Crimson Dynasty the most.

The history of the three Universal Civilizations could be traced back to the origin era, which was before the exploration era, and these three civilizations were not born during the same period. The Federation of Light was the oldest, followed by the Arcane Church, and then the Crimson Dynasty. The time period of their uprising was separated by a few thousand years.

The origin era was the most chaotic era and lacked historical records. At that time, there was not a single powerful civilization to unite the galaxy, and the different Star Fields were not connected to each other. All the civilizations were alone and explored the dark universe on their own.

At that time, the three Universal Civilizations had not reached their current heights, and there were other civilizations in their Star Field that exceeded them in terms of strength. After many years of development, they finally eliminated all their opponents in their various Star Fields and obtained the rights to rule over a Star Field. They then began to explore the desolate universe belts.

The Central Galaxy where the three Universal Civilizations were located was the starting point of these three civilizations, and they were all neighbors of one another. They naturally discovered each other’s presence and wanted to get rid of each other. As such, war broke out between the three Universal Civilizations, and this became a turning point between the origin era and exploration era. The three Universal Civilizations then worked together to start a new era.

During the exploration era, the three Universal Civilizations fought each other while exploring the outside world. With the Central Galaxy as the core, the flames of war spread toward the outside with more and more Star Fields being discovered. During the process of exploring these new Star Fields, more and more civilizations were forced to join the battle, and the war became extremely ferocious. Many civilizations were destroyed because of this war.

The war that spread throughout the entire galaxy was extremely miserable. In fact, a few desolate universe belts in the present galaxy were originally Star Fields. They were Star Fields that had been reduced to a desolate universe belt because of the flames of war.

Back then, the three Universal Civilizations did not have their current strength, and there were a few powerful civilizations at the same level as them. The Evolutionary Civilization was one of them. If these civilizations had survived, they would very likely have become Universal Civilizations as well. However, it was a pity that they were wiped out during the wars in the exploration era. Only the Federation of Light, the Arcane Church, and the Crimson Dynasty had managed to survive. They then consolidated their authority and stopped the war to allow themselves to catch their breath.

After many years of peace, the Federation of Light and Arcane Church had begun to display signs of stagnation in their development. Only the Crimson Dynasty did not fall in times of peace and maintained their ambition and development.

Thus, Han Xiao thought highly of the Crimson Dynasty. A civilization full of ambition would always create the opportunity for development. Forming an alliance with the Crimson Dynasty would definitely give him a brighter future.

“Hmm…”

Upon hearing Han Xiao’s response, Zoel did not reply immediately but fell into a deep thought.

He had originally intended to probe Black Star to understand his intentions but never imagined that Black Star would immediately request to join the alliance.

It was not anything new for a Beyond Grade A Super to join a Universal Civilization, but it was definitely a matter out of his authority. Thus, he had to report the matter to his superiors.

Zoel secretly estimated Han Xiao’s value.

Black Star’s strength and potential are undeniable. Since more than ten years ago, he’s leaned toward the dynasty and definitely isn’t an opportunistic individual. Furthermore, the Black Star Army has a sizable influence in the Shattered Star Ring, and it would be advantageous to the exploration of the Flickering World. Furthermore, he still has the Evolution Cube in his hands… Right. I need to have a good talk with him about the Evolution Cube.

The Evolution Cube originally belonged to Psyker and was protected by the Arcane Church. Now that it was in Han Xiao’s hands, it was an important bargaining chip.

Thinking about this, Zoel said, “I need to be clear about something. How are you going to deal with the Evolution Cube?”

A bright smile could be seen on Han Xiao’s face.

“This item will naturally be a part of the conditions. We can use a sharing method to deal with the Evolution Cube. The Crimson Dynasty will support me in keeping the Evolution Cube, and you guys can send an unlimited number of individuals to use the Evolution Cube.”

This was the cooperation method that Psyker and the Arcane Church had opted for. However, he was not prepared to have an exclusive contract with a Universal Civilization like Psyker.

Psyker used the exclusive contract to get the Arcane Church to give more support to his Star Pupil Holy Race, but Han Xiao did not have a race to bring up. The benefits from sharing the Evolution Cube with other civilizations would be greater.

“Hmm, not bad.” Zoel nodded. This was within an acceptable range. “The upper echelons of the dynasty will probably accept this condition. We can help you deal with some obstruction on the outside. Apart from this, do you have any other conditions?”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. This was the time for them to negotiate about benefits.

“I have a few requests,” Han Xiao said with a serious expression. “First, I hope that the Crimson Dynasty will provide resources to me and the Black Star Army.”

“No problem,” Zoel replied without any hesitation. “With the Evolution Cube, we will be willing to provide more resources.”

“Second, I hope that the Black Star Army can join the Flickering World exploration squad.”

“Haha, I think that the dynasty would have requested that you go even if you didn’t mention this matter.”

Han Xiao only nodded.

That’s right, the Shattered Star Ring is the nearest to the Flickering World, and if the Crimson Dynasty needs a vanguard force, the organizations in the Shattered Star Ring will be their first choice.

The entrance ticket to the Flickering World definitely would not be a problem.

“Third, I hope that the Crimson Dynasty will not speak on behalf of the Klent Kingdom with regards to the secret war.”

Zoel frowned upon hearing that.

“This is a decision for the upper echelons and not within my authority. I cannot give you any assurance on that.”

This request was not something that he had expected but was still reasonable.

After fighting for so many years, it would not be strange if Black Star wanted to obtain victory. However, Klent was also an ally of the Crimson Dynasty, and this was a question of which party had greater value. Even Zoel could not guarantee what the upper echelons would decide.

“No problem.” Han Xiao waved his hands. “These are my three greatest conditions.”

“Hmm, I will report the matter up.”

Zoel then suddenly said, “Right, I heard about the conflict between you and Heber. Do you need me to mediate on your behalf?”

Since Black Star was about to form an alliance with the Crimson Dynasty, the Tyrant and Black Star could be considered allies as well. Their battle was akin to friendly fire between both parties.

Although the public challenge could not be rescinded, they only needed to announce that Black Star had joined the Crimson Dynasty. At that time, both parties naturally would not fight.

“That isn’t necessary,” Han Xiao rejected.

Zoel thought for a while and came to a realization. He then said with a smile, “You’re right. I was the one who lacked consideration.”

It would not be good for Black Star’s image if the Crimson Dynasty came out to resolve the conflict between the two. The outside world would think that Black Star had chosen to join the Crimson Dynasty because he could not escape the Tyrant.

“If you don’t have anything else to add on, I will report your conditions to my superiors.”

“Right.” Han Xiao suddenly thought about something, “I have a small request. I hope to obtain some Mechanic Cutting-Edge Knowledge within twenty days.”

The Crimson Dynasty naturally had the entire set of class knowledge, and Cutting-Edge Knowledge was not that precious to them. Perhaps he would be able to activate the skills of the Emperor Mechanic before the battle.

With Han Xiao’s current construction speed, twenty days was enough for him to build a large number of machines with his new knowledge.

Zoel nodded. If it was Ultimate Knowledge, the upper echelons might still need to consider the matter, but Cutting-Edge Knowledge was nothing to them. After all, the other party was a Beyond Grade A Super who was about to join their alliance. This could be considered basic treatment.

“Alright, await my reply.”

This was only their initial negotiation, and the exact outcome would be determined by the upper echelons of the Crimson Dynasty.

…

At the same time, in some region of the Shattered Star Ring, Psyker was rushing toward the Colton Star Cluster.

“Since the Dragon Emperor has decided to intervene, it seems like this matter won’t go so smoothly…”

Psyker was not in a good mood.

Heber insisted on fighting Black Star alone and refused to join hands with him. Thus, Psyker could only issue a separate challenge to Han Xiao. However, Psyker had also found a good opportunity from this.

Since Black Star was maintaining the Evolution Cube in its portable form, Black Star would definitely take the Evolution Cube around with him. During the day of the battle, Black Star would reveal some flaws when fighting Heber. At that time, he would have an opportunity to snatch the item back from Black Star.

At that time, it would be useless for the Tyrant to reject him. As long as the Tyrant and Black Star began their battle, he would be able to join the battle anytime, and no one would be able to stop him.

He would not have to clash head on with Black Star if he wanted to seize such an opportunity, and the odds of his success were pretty high. Psyker’s final objective was the Evolution Cube, not dealing with Black Star. He was not bothered about the views of others. For the development of his race, losing a bit of reputation was nothing.

Originally, this plan of his could not have gone wrong. Black Star was due to be fighting alone, and while his focus was on the Tyrant, he would definitely not be able to deal with another Beyond Grade A Super.

However, Ames’ interference had foiled his plans.

Since Black Star had an ally, Ames would definitely stop him if he wanted to launch an attack. It would then be impossible for him to snatch the Evolution Cube from Black Star using such a method.

Unless… someone could restrain Ames.

The best candidate was Austin, but that darn old man only wanted to watch the show by the side and refused to help.

Thus, he could only look for other helpers.

Thankfully, he had a powerful ally.

“It seems like I can only seek help from the army that the Arcane Church stationed in the Shattered Star Ring. They should be willing to take action if it is to restrain a Beyond Grade A Super…”

Psyker’s eyes lit up brightly like a lightbulb.

Chapter 773 - Star Field Trend

After the time and location of Black Star and Tyrant’s challenge was announced to the outside world, a huge storm was ignited throughout the Shattered Star Ring.

All of a sudden, spaceships that numbered in the billions flew toward the Colton Star Cluster, where the battle was going to happen.

Regardless of whether they were free galactic residents or from large organizations, none of them were willing to miss out on this rare event in the Star Field. They all rushed to the battlefield to witness the battle for themselves.

As the party involved in the battle, Bloodshed Land led their troops to the desolate universe belt near the border of West Wind and demarcated the battlefield. Purple Crystal resolutely decided to support Han Xiao and led the Section Zero troops to the battlefield as well.

The Black Star Army did not remain idle either, and under the orders of the various officers, numerous armed satellite fortresses rushed over from various Star Systems to support their Army Commander.

Bloodshed Land and Section Zero began a standoff with each other, and the gap between them formed the demarcated battlefield.

There were numerous spaceships piloted by the galactic residents who went to join in the fun from all around the Star Field. Numerous spaceships of different models were packed tightly and formed a huge ocean of spaceships that one could not see the end of.

Looking at the ocean of spaceships, a nebula seemed to have been formed from the lights of the spaceship.

It was an extremely majestic sight!

Furthermore, there were more spaceships arriving every day, and the size of the audience was growing by the second.

The different galactic media groups had also arrived at the destination of the battle and adjusted their broadcasting equipment.

It was still too early for the battle, and all the Beyond Grade A Supers had yet to arrive. However, a huge crowd had already formed, and many were already excitedly anticipating the arrival of the battle.

This was not just a clash between Beyond Grade A Supers but also a once in a lifetime event for the Shattered Star Ring.

Beyond Grade A Supers had an exalted status in the hearts of the galactic residents, and they were like superstars that every family knew about. Everyone wanted to personally witness their strength.

The twenty days of preparation time allowed the commotion of this event to be blown up even greater with over sixty percent of the galactic citizens discussing the event.

As the battle drew nearer, the anticipation of the galactic residents also grew greater.

…

The various betting groups in the galaxy would not let go of this huge business opportunity, and they all sprang into action.

Very quickly, the betting ring for the Tyrant and Black Star’s battle was opened up, and a huge number of bets were made.

The various betting groups had a different payout rate, but Heber’s payout was generally lower than Han Xiao’s. This proved that the majority had more confidence in the Tyrant.

Although both were Beyond Grade A Supers, Han Xiao was a newbie after all and only had a single battle record with another Beyond Grade A Super. However, the Tyrant was different. He was an old powerhouse with a long history.

As a Beyond Grade A Super who had only been around for a month, Han Xiao’s status in the Shattered Star Ring was naturally not as high as the Tyrant’s.

Most of the mercenaries were gamblers, and although their boss was the one fighting, the warriors of the Black Star Army could not help but place their bets as well. Even the officers were not immune to gambling.

Herlous took the most and bet it all on Han Xiao. Most of the officers also placed their bets on Han Xiao but only bet a small amount to show their loyalty and trust.

There were only a few exceptions.

“You placed all your bets on the Tyrant‽” Sylvia glared at Reynold with disbelief.

Reynold said with a solemn expression, “According to probability and my calculations, the Tyrant’s odds of victory are more than thirty percent higher than His Excellency Black Star.”

Sylvia shook her head helplessly. “Don’t you believe in our teacher at all?”

“I only believe in science,” Reynold said expressionlessly.

Rossellin, who was lazing around by the side, listened to the conversation with interest while drinking some wine.

Rossellin was now the teacher of the Black Star Army and was in charge of building up a culture within the army to increase the sense of belonging of the soldiers.

At this moment, Rossellin smiled and said, “According to what I know, our vice commander also placed his bets on Tyrant. Furthermore, he placed quite a large bet.”

“LAGI!” Sylvia flew into a rage and charged out of the door.

She was the Chief Administrative Official and had a great deal of authority in her hands. Although Lagi was the vice commander of the army, Lagi pretty much ignored all the affairs of the army, so Sylvia had the courage to confront Lagi. To think that he had placed his bets on the enemy as the vice commander. This was too outrageous!

Reynold’s expression also changed slightly as he heard that.

“Oh no. Lagi also placed his bets on Tyrant. The winning chance of our Army Commander will be increased by ten percent at least.”

Rossellin laughed. “Hey hey hey, I thought you only believed in science.”

“Magic is also a part of science…” Reynold said with resignation.

However, regardless of how he placed his bets, he still hoped that Black Star would win.

…

Because of Black Star and the Tyrant’s battle, the secret war also came to a halt, and the players did not have any battles to fight in.

Even the Main Storyline mission was stopped because of this event. To the players of the Shattered Star Ring, this was the largest event in the three versions.

Black Star was already the leader that all the players had recognized, and his status was elevated further after he entered Beyond Grade A.

Although Han Xiao did not issue any faction missions, all the players located in the various regions followed the forces of the army and arrived at the battlefield to support their Army Commander.

This was not the first time that the Black Star Army had held a collective event, but the number of players participating in this faction event was the highest in history!

The forums were filled with threads regarding the cause and effect of this battle, and one of the threads received huge approval from the other players. The thread said that this battle would be a turning point for the destiny of the Black Star Army.

The Black Star Army was the main faction in the hearts of the Shattered Star Ring players, and Black Star had been the main character NPC ever since Version 2.0. Together with the growth of the faction, the benefits that the players could receive also increased, and almost all their needs in terms of missions, levels, skills, knowledge, equipment, and so on were fulfilled.

A single faction was better than the addition of many different factions in other Star Fields. Thus, the players in the Shattered Star Ring did not need to waste any time farming favorability with the other factions. As such, the Black Star Army was treated like a special existence that only the players in the Shattered Star Ring could enjoy.

Many of the players had tried to analyze the future of the Black Star Army. According to the experience of the players from the other Star Fields, some were worried that the Black Star Army would not continue to exist forever and would suffer from some irreparable damage during the later versions. At that time, all the benefits that they currently experienced would be gone, and they would have to join different factions like the players from the other Star Fields.

Could they really remain in the Black Star Army forever? No one knew.

Such a question had always existed but was not mentioned very often. Most of the players could not be bothered to make such wild guesses, and only the players who enjoyed diving deep into the storylines analyzed the question. Summer Night Flower was one such individual.

In the intense discussions on the forums, this battle became an important factor to predict what happened in the future. If the Black Star Army could achieve victory, the Black Star Army would soar to greater heights, and their faction would go up to the next level, still appearing in the next version.

But if the outcome of this battle did not go as planned, the feelings that the players had toward the army would also undergo a subtle change.

Bun-Hit-Dog was affected by the topic being discussed on the forums. The Black Star series videos were his most popular series, and he was the one who wished for the successful development of the Black Star Army the most.

“I must gather enough material this time to make an explosive video,” Bun-Hit-Dog swore to himself.

…

In the Aquamarine Federation, Bennett placed down the communicator in his hands, and a look of concern could be seen on his face.

News of the battle between Black Star and the Tyrant had spread throughout the Shattered Star Ring. Now that Planet Aquamarine was connected to the galaxy, everyone was able to view the galactic web, and the events in the galaxy were no longer a secret to those on Planet Aquamarine.

“This is probably the strongest opponent that you have faced, right?” Bennett lamented.

Nero, who was doing his homework, raised his head and asked curiously, “Daddy, what are you talking about?”

Bennett waved his hands, and Nero sat down on Bennett’s thighs obediently.

“Your godfather is being dragged into a dangerous storm. A powerful opponent challenged him, and he chose to accept the challenge…” Bennett briefly described the situation. Nero was still a child, so Bennett skipped many details and only told him that Han Xiao was in danger.

Nero was Han Xiao’s godson, and Bennett was prepared to hand his child over to Han Xiao.

“What should we do?” Nero rubbed his head. “Daddy, will you help godfather?”

Bennett laughed helplessly and said, “Your godfather doesn’t need my help. You will understand all this when you grow up.”

They were too far away in terms of realms, and he did not even have any intention of contacting Han Xiao as he did not want to disturb Han Xiao.

Bennett hugged Nero and looked up at the sky above. He knew that Han Xiao was in some part of the galaxy and prayed for Han Xiao.

“Old friend…”

…

The large fleet that set off from the Black Star Army headquarters met up with Floating Dragon and flew toward West Wind together.

A few days later, Zoel took the initiative to contact Han Xiao to inform him of the Crimson Dynasty’s response.

“The dynasty accepts your requests, and I welcome you to our alliance on behalf of the dynasty.”

Zoel said these words with an official tone before smiling and adding, “We are now one big family.”

Han Xiao clenched his fists and was truly excited.

“May we have a pleasant working experience.”

“Don’t worry. Our dynasty has plenty of experience in this regard and will always treat a Beyond Grade A Super with sincerity. You can rest assured,” Zoel said with a smile.

The three Universal Civilizations were at odds with each other, and every Beyond Grade A Super ally was an important deterrent. Thus, they would not bully their Beyond Grade A Supers for sure.

The moment their alliance was confirmed, the Universal Civilization would treat their allies with the utmost respect in order to keep them.

“The Crimson Dynasty is now taking care of matters regarding the Flickering World and will pass by the Shattered Star Ring along the way,” Zoel said. “It shouldn’t take too long for the resources from the dynasty to reach your hands. However, we can only work together officially after your battle with the Tyrant comes to an end. During this period, the dynasty will send the contract to me, and we just need to sign it when the time comes.”

Although a contract was not very restrictive to a Beyond Grade A Super, this was a way for the government to officially confirm their alliance, and it had a political meaning.

Han Xiao nodded upon hearing that.

Joining the Crimson Dynasty was the way for him to achieve greater heights, and the benefits of his decision would slowly begin to show. Currently, he had to deal with the Tyrant first before he had time to deal with the development of the Black Star Army.

“The dynasty also has a request for you. The dynasty hopes that you can make a trip to the Central Galaxy. The upper echelons would like to meet you and introduce you to the other Beyond Grade A allies of the dynasty.”

For him to appear in the Central Galaxy with the status of the Crimson Dynasty’s ally, this was akin to the Crimson Dynasty showing off to their neighbors their new chip.

He did not have anything against this. Since he was willing to accept the support of the Crimson Dynasty, he naturally had to play his part.

Although this meant that many organizations would label him as part of the Crimson Dynasty and draw the attention of the dynasty’s enemies, his own scope of operations was mainly in the Shattered Star Ring, and the other organizations would not casually make trouble for him.

Han Xiao shrugged. “No problem.”

“Hmm, there is something else. My intelligence net noticed that the Arcane Church’s forces have been mobilized and are moving toward the location of the battle. They may be there to provide backup for Psyker,” Zoel said. “I will mobilize the Crimson Dynasty’s army to be present on the day of the battle as well. This is what we have agreed upon, and we will help you fend off other powers.”

“You guys are also going to watch the battle?” Han Xiao stroked his chin. “Is this alright? Won’t people suspect you?”

“Of course not,” Zoel said. “After all, the Tyrant is also our ally.”

Han Xiao almost burst into laughter upon hearing that.

That’s right. The Crimson Dynasty can use Heber as an excuse to mobilize their forces, and no one will suspect them. Not a single person will be able to guess that they are actually there to help me.

The Crimson Dynasty would not intervene in the battle between Han Xiao and the Tyrant. This could be considered an internal battle. Although, the Tyrant was still in the dark regarding this.

However, Psyker was not one of their allies and was a latent threat.

The Arcane Church’s goal was naturally the Evolution Cube, and the Crimson Dynasty would not allow anyone to snatch the Evolution Cube.

“One more thing,” Zoel added. “Your request for Cutting-Edge Knowledge has been approved. I will send you the data later.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Compared to the resources that he had yet to receive, this was a much more practical benefit.

There were nine Cutting-Edge Knowledges for the Mechanic class, and he had learned four from Purple Crystal. There were five more that he had not grasped, and he had sent a list to Zoel previously.

“How many Cutting-Edge Knowledges will the dynasty give me?”

“How many? Do you have some misunderstanding about Universal Civilizations?”

Zoel laughed.

“We will give you everything.”

Chapter 774 - Spending Potential Points Sure Is Comfortable

They are truly a wealthy bunch!

Han Xiao was overjoyed.

A Universal Civilization naturally would not be petty with a Beyond Grade A Super. Apart from Ultimate Knowledge, they would be able to freely give him all the knowledge from basic up to cutting-edge. In his past life, Han Xiao had needed to farm for contribution points in order to obtain new knowledge, but things were completely different now.

The conversation then ended after chatting casually for a while. Not too long later, a file was sent to him.

Looking at the file, joy filled Han Xiao’s face.

Han Xiao had already obtained the Cutting-Edge Knowledge [Controllable Annihilation Weapons] from the Armed Branch, [Abnormal State Energy] from the Energy Branch, and [Advanced Space Application] and [Quantum Network Matrix] from the Control Branch.

The file that Zoel sent over contained the last five Cutting-Edge Knowledges.

Armed Branch: [Cutting-Edge Material Science] and [Ultra-Composite Mechanical Architecture Technology].

Energy Branch: [Beyond Visible Energy Transfer] and [Activation Theory].

Control Branch: [Spacetime Dimension Exploration].

“The entire set is now complete!” Han Xiao was extremely excited.

He belonged to the Control Branch, and learning a Cutting-Edge Knowledge required four points. However, learning the knowledge of the other two branches required twelve points each.

Han Xiao saved a large amount of Potential Points when he advanced into Beyond Grade A. Although it was not enough to level all the knowledges up to their maximum level, it was enough to level all the knowledge up by one.

It was impossible for players to be so extravagant and in Han Xiao’s previous life, the players could only choose one or two Cutting-Edge Knowledge to learn. However, Han Xiao was different.

He had a large sea of experience points to level up his skill and he was able to farm for plenty of Potential Points. Thus, it wasn’t impossible for him to learn all the Cutting-Edge Knowledge.

“Heber probably thinks that twenty days is too short. Hehe…”

Han Xiao chuckled in his heart.

Compared to other Mechanics, the interface was his biggest advantage. As long as he paid the relevant Potential Points, he would be able to rapidly learn new knowledge and save a large amount of time. Thus, he was able to achieve rapid growth during the limited time before his battle with the Tyrant.

Without any hesitation, Han Xiao spent his Potential Points to learn all five Cutting-Edge Knowledges.

_____________________

Mechanic class Cutting-Edge Knowledge [Spacetime Dimension Exploration] detected. Do you wish to spend 4 Potential Points to learn it?

Learning in progress. Do not cancel.

9%… 24%… 57%…

Success! You have learned [Spacetime Dimension Exploration]!

Mechanic class Cutting-Edge Knowledge [Cutting-Edge Material Science] detected. Do you wish to spend 12 Potential Points to learn it?

Learning in progress. Do not cancel.

Success! You have learned [Cutting-Edge Material Science]!

Mechanic class Cutting-Edge Knowledge…

_____________________

A large amount of information flowed into his brain, but with Han Xiao’s current Intelligence, this load was negligible.

The new knowledge that entered his brain was broken up and reorganized before being stored in his memory palace.

After spending fifty-two Potential Points to learn the five Cutting-Edge Knowledges, the names of these Knowledges lit up on his knowledge tree with an orange light. In the class knowledge tree, Basic Knowledge was white in color, Advanced Knowledge green, High-End Knowledge purple, Cutting-Edge Knowledge orange, and Ultimate Knowledge gold.

Right at this moment, a few notifications popped up on his interface.

_____________________

Prerequisite requirement fulfilled. Your skill [Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel] has been activated!

Prerequisite requirement fulfilled. Your skill [Secondary Dimension Army] has been activated!

Prerequisite requirement fulfilled. Your skill [Mechanical Force—Emperor’s Power] has been activated!

_____________________

The three Emperor Mechanic skills, which were originally grayed out, had turned green to indicate that they could be used.

The new knowledge that he had acquired fulfilled the prerequisite knowledge for these three skills, and only the final skill, [King’s Mentor], had yet to be activated. Not only did this skill need [Activation Theory], it needed a higher level Ultimate Knowledge.

Because [King’s Mentor] was a skill to help nurture his strength in the long run, this skill would not be able to help him much for the battle in ten days. Thus, Han Xiao was not too anxious about activating it and planned to find another chance to activate it in the future.

“With the Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel, my mechanical army will be able to engage in long-range battles and enjoy the boost from my Mechanical Force even without my appearance. This means that my mechanical army now has the ability to go on a long-distance mission on their own, and the Secondary Dimension Army skill means that I no longer have to use army boxes. I can receive reinforcements at a much quicker speed and bring around a much larger force with me…”

Han Xiao was extremely satisfied.

The skills of an Emperor Mechanic were extremely powerful, but that was not all he had gained.

Following the changes in his knowledge tree, the new knowledge also brought him new skills.

_____________________

You have learned [Active Mechanical Force]!

You have learned [Advanced Machinery Construction]!

You have learned [Fine Material Refinement]!

You have learned [Legendary Enhancement]!

You have learned [Machinery Fusion]!

_____________________

Han Xiao raised his arms to release Mechanical Force, and the Mechanical Force in his palms experienced a change in color. A light golden color could be seen amid the blue bolts of lightning, and it looked extremely luxurious.

This was the effect of [Active Mechanical Force], which came from the knowledge [Activation Theory]. It is a passive skill that could increase one’s Machinery Affinity by 150% at level one and 280% at the max level.

[Advanced Machinery Construction] was the upgraded form of [Basic Machinery Construction]. It largely increased the speed of construction, and as long as the raw materials were sufficient, raw materials could rapidly be transformed into spare parts before being assembled into machines.

This skill could also increase the effect of [Waste Modification]. Originally, machines could only be recycled for four times, but the upper limit had been increased to eight. The original twenty percent decrease in a machine’s attributes had fallen to ten percent.

[Fine Material Refinement] and [Legendary Enhancement] were the upgraded abilities of a Mechanic’s basic skills. They increased his ability to work with new materials and also strengthened his machinery.

Both [Machinery Fusion] and [King’s Mentor] came from [Activation Theory] and were used to strengthen his soldiers.

They bestowed a mechanical soldier with the ability to swallow other machines and decompose the target to snatch the target’s armor and equipment. This was a way for a mechanical soldier to evolve and grow.

The two skills did not overlap. [King’s Mentor] increased the energy of a mechanical soldier whereas [Machinery Fusion] improved the hardware of the mechanical soldier. Explaining it simply, [King’s Mentor] was used to increase a mechanical soldier’s energy whereas [Machinery Fusion] increased a mechanical soldier’s body strength and basic stats.

Both skills were complementary and could increase the strength of a mechanical soldier when used together.

These skills are extremely important to increase my strength in this phase, Han Xiao thought to himself.

Using the Evolution Cube resulted in a ten-month experience penalty, and Han Xiao was not planning to waste his extra experience leveling up during this period of time. He was prepared to use it to increase the level of his skills instead of increasing his chances during the battle with the Tyrant.

After looking through his new skills once and raising most of them to the max level, Han Xiao closed the interface.

These new skills should be used on his mechanical army, and his strength would definitely reach a new peak after the next ten or so days.

Han Xiao passed all the miscellaneous tasks over to his officers and remained in the workshop to construct his new machinery. The others knew that he needed to prepare for battle, and even Ames did not disturb his seclusion.

…

The date for the battle soon arrived.

The desolate universe belt outside of West Wind was bustling with activity and had become a sea of spaceships.

After travelling for twenty days, numerous spaceships rushed over from all the different regions, and there seemed to be a never-ending sea of spaceships.

In every Star Field, Star Cluster, Star System, and planet, the number of people watching the live broadcast of the event was many times that of those present.

The battlefield had become the stage for the trillions all over the galaxy.

Not a single Beyond Grade A Super had arrived at this moment, and everyone was waiting excitedly for the main characters to arrive.

Bloodshed Land and Section Zero’s fleets were currently in a standoff with each other, and both Klent and Purple Crystal had sent out their official fleet to maintain order. The atmosphere was extremely tense, and the secret war looked as though it was about to erupt and become a war between two civilizations. However, both parties had extremely good self-control and had a tacit agreement to not escalate the conflict.

“There are truly too many people…”

In one of the Star Diamond Grade Flagships, Ralph looked out at the sea of spaceships. Even with his authority and status, he could not help but feel nervous at such a majestic scene.

The number of spectators was probably in the trillions!

“It would be impossible for us to maintain order if chaos breaks out.” Ralph felt his heart thumping. “When will Black Star arrive?”

“The Black Star Army headquarters just sent a message and said that His Excellency Black Star’s fleet will arrive soon.”

Ralph felt his palms drenched in cold sweat as he tried to imagine what would happen next. He had not brought the Purple Crystal fleet over for fun and was prepared to provide reinforcement for Black Star when needed.

After finally gaining a Beyond Grade A ally, Purple Crystal was not willing to give up on Black Star. If the battle was to Black Star’s disadvantage, Purple Crystal would reinforce him even if it meant an all-out war. Since the secret war was already in a stalemate, Purple Crystal was not afraid of flipping the table. Furthermore, the authority to mobilize the fleet was in the hands of Ralph and a few other military commanders. Thus, Ralph truly had a heavy feeling in his heart.

In the Section Zero camp, the Black Star Army fleet was in the most prominent spot with tens of thousands of spaceships present. The players were present within the Black Star Army fleet, and they looked out at the scene before them.

“The battle is going to begin today…”

Frenzied Sword clenched his fists tightly.

All the players around him had looks of curiosity, anxiety, excitement, agitation, and many other different emotions.

The scale of this gathering was one that they had never witnessed before and the largest event in the three versions of Galaxy. None of the players wanted to miss out on such an event.

In the Bloodshed Land faction, there was also a batch of players present. They were the ‘traitor army’ with Summer Night Flower in the lead.

Summer Night Flower looked at the Black Star Army fleet with a complicated look on his face.

I was once a part of them…

The way Summer Night Flower saw it, the battle between the bosses of Bloodshed Land and the Black Star Army was his final chance to prove himself.

The Mercenary League had sent their forces and occupied a VIP spot.

“How many years has it been since such a majestic event took place in the Shattered Star Ring?”

The bigshots of the Mercenary League were chatting casually, and Gureja could not help but lament. He was the leader of Sky Ring and one of the upper echelons of the Mercenary League.

“The last time Beyond Grade A Supers publicly challenged each other was 276 years ago. It was Austin fighting one of the powerhouses from the previous generation, right?” another Army Commander said.

“More than two hundred years ago. Heh, I was still a small guerrilla captain back then,” Underworld Feather said while chewing on some snacks.

“I bet you definitely didn’t have such a weird fetish two hundred years ago.” Gureja could not help but look at the dry meat in Underworld Feather’s hands.

“What weird fetish? I am a gourmet.” Underworld Feather rolled her eyes.

Gureja shook his head and ignored her. “Since Black Star has already become a Beyond Grade A Super, regardless of the outcome of the battle, I will invite him to become the chief of our Mercenary League. All of us will be able to find more development opportunities if we are under him.”

All the Army Commanders nodded, and no one disagreed.

The Mercenary League could be considered a large organization in the Shattered Star Ring, and the Black Star Army was one of the founders. None of them minded Black Star becoming the nominal leader of their organization as it would bring them a brighter future.

There were many other organizations that Han Xiao had cooperated with before present as well.

Right at that moment, a blue whirlpool-like transportation door suddenly appeared in the middle of the battlefield and expanded rapidly.

“They’re finally here!”

At this moment, the crowd erupted in a huge commotion.

The excitement that everyone had been suppressing was ignited once again!

Chapter 775 - The Battle Begins!

Everyone in all the spaceships stopped talking, and their gazes were fixed on the transportation door in the middle of the battlefield.

The wormhole-like transportation door enlarged continuously as though it was limitless. The largest spaceship present currently was the armed satellite fortress of the Black Star Army, but the size of the transportation door had already exceeded that of an armed satellite fortress. The radars of all the spaceships began ringing as they detected a large energy surge.

The next moment, a majestic castle covered in a colorful magical shield floated out from the transportation door. The complicated engravings on the spherical shield looked like exquisite decorations, and they shimmered as though they were breathing.

The treasure of the Hidden Red Robe Abbey, Palace of Hidden Spells!

“Austin is here!”

“He actually brought his entire base over. He is truly too high profile.”

“Is he here as a spectator or to help one of the parties?”

Although the first Beyond Grade A to arrive was not involved in the battle, the spectators were still extremely excited. Since Austin had made his appearance, this meant that all five Beyond Grade A Supers in the Shattered Star Ring would gather there!

“This fellow is also here to join in the fun?” Ralph was startled and was worried that Austin would spoil his plans.

The commander of Bloodshed Land, Jorde, also felt nervous.

“I wonder if Austin is an enemy or ally…” Jorde gulped nervously. Psyker was the one who had contacted Austin in private, and thus, Jorde was not clear of Austin’s intentions.

The Palace of Hidden Spells very quickly completed its descent, and the transportation door shrank rapidly before disappearing with a flash of light. Austin’s main camp was a Beyond Grade A Universal Treasure Mage Pagoda, and he had engraved a large number of teleportation formations on the pagoda so that it could engage in long distance travel.

Numerous mages living in the Palace of Hidden Spells walked out of the castle and gathered together on one of the balconies to munch on snacks as they waited for the show to start. Austin then appeared on top of the castle with his Forbidden Sorcerer squad and controlled the Palace of Hidden Spells to find a good spot beside the battlefield.

“Tsk, why am I the first one here? Youngsters these days don’t have any sense of time,” Austin lamented.

He had rejected both parties’ requests to form an alliance and was there to watch the battle. In order to ensure that he could watch the show comfortably, he had even shifted his entire house.

Just when the spectators were discussing Austin’s intentions, a commotion broke out from afar.

A gigantic fleet approached the battlefield, and all the spectators who saw the insignia on the fleet could not help but make a path for them in shock.

The insignia on the outside of the spaceship was one that everyone could recognize. It was the insignia of a Universal Civilization, the Arcane Church!

The Arcane Church had made an appearance as well!

This was a small portion of the fleet that the Arcane Church stationed in the Shattered Star Ring. The frigate was composed of a special Arcane Church model, which had a thin disc-like shape with the entire body covered in black and dark purple. Three gigantic empty holes could be seen on the body of the spaceship in a triangular formation with a dark-red energy ball floating in the middle of the holes. It served both as an energy furnace and annihilation weapon.

The flagship was of the butterfly model with a ball in the center and a few hundred butterfly wings connected on both sides. These wings were currently in their closed form and looked like a single pair of wings. Although the spaceship was made from metal, it was made from a special alloy and had a soft, silky texture. When the flagship entered battle, all the butterfly wings would open and slide along the surface of the ball in the middle to form a sun-like shape.

The Arcane Church fleet entered the battlefield without any obstruction, and a spaceship flew out from within the fleet. When the hatch of the spaceship opened, Psyker flew out from the spaceship. He was the second Beyond Grade A to arrive.

His body floated in front of the Arcane Church fleet, and his gaze was fixed on the Purple Crystal and Section Zero fleet far away. Despite being a tiny ant compared to the gigantic fleet, the attention of all the spectators was gathered on him.

Everyone took a deep breath.

“Psyker has arrived!”

“The Arcane Church has actually sent a fleet with him. Is this the attitude of a Universal Civilization?”

It was no secret that the Arcane Church was behind the Star Pupil Holy Race, but the Universal Civilizations had not displayed an official stance with regards to this matter yet. For them to appear at this moment, it meant that they were about to interfere in the battle. This was something that all those present did not expect.

Regardless of whether they were the spectators present or those watching the live broadcast, everyone was shocked.

They originally thought that this battle was only a conflict between Beyond Grade A Supers. However, the appearance of a Universal Civilization meant that the situation had become a lot more complex.

“Things aren’t looking good. The Arcane Church is here to help Psyker!” Ralph immediately felt as though a huge enemy had descended.

The fleet sent by the Arcane Church was extremely powerful and was comparable to the fleet of both Purple Crystal and Section Zero. Furthermore, how would Purple Crystal and Section Zero dare fight a Universal Civilization?

On the other side, Jorde became wary.

Because the Star Pupil Holy Race was too far away from the battlefield and could not send a fleet to support Psyker, everyone had thought that Psyker would come alone. However, the appearance of the Arcane Church meant that Psyker was the one with the most powerful backing out of everyone who is present. The special position of a Universal Civilization made all the organizations present tremble slightly.

However, before everyone could accept the changes before their eyes, another fleet descended.

Upon seeing the incoming fleet, everyone present was dumbfounded!

The Crimson Dynasty!

Yet another Universal Civilization‽

The technological skills of the Crimson Dynasty were obviously extremely different from those of the Arcane Church. The spaceships of the Arcane Church had a mystical and magical style while the spaceships of the Crimson Dynasty had a heavy industry style. The spaceship had a solid metal beauty and emanated a tyrannical pressure even from afar.

The Crimson Dynasty squeezed into the battlefield and stopped beside Klent, entering the face off with the Purple Crystal fleet as well. They looked as though they were there to support Tyrant.

Ten days prior, Zoel had agreed to Klent’s request for them to send a fleet to support the Tyrant. Upon seeing their backing arrive, Jorde immediately became relaxed, and he looked at the Black Star Army camp with a sneer.

Do you see that little brother? Do you have any backing?

We have two on our side!

On the Star Diamond Grade Flagship, Ralph’s face was completely pale, and he felt his legs turn to jelly.

He had never expected that things would turn out as such. The situation was not just bad at this moment. It was hopeless!

If both parties broke out in a conflict later, they would not be able to hold their own against two Universal Civilizations.

Right at that moment, all the spectators finally snapped out of their stupor.

“Both the Crimson Dynasty and Arcane Church have arrived!”

“Two Universal Civilizations are standing against Black Star‽”

“Black Star only has Purple Crystal behind him, and his situation truly looks pathetic…”

“A new Beyond Grade A Super actually has to face such a situation, huh? I think his luck just ran out.”

In the eyes of the spectators, both Universal Civilizations were going against Black Star together. The alliance of the Tyrant and Star Pupil was far too powerful, and Black Star was definitely on the losing side.

At the thought of Black Star’s predicament, cold sweat slid down the spectators’ backs. At the same time, the bets placed on the Tyrant rapidly surged up like mad. The various betting rings only planned to stop accepting bets after the arrival of Black Star and Heber but were forced to immediately stop accepting bets.

All the players in the Black Star Army camp could not help but feel anxious. This was the first time that they witnessed the peak characters of the universe, but they were all enemies of their faction.

“It seems like our Army Commander is in trouble…” Maple Moon clenched her fists tightly.

Frenzied Sword also could not help but worry, and his fists were clenched tightly as well.

Although the Black Star Army was the main camp in the hearts of the players, the brainwashing of the three versions had made all the players believe that the Universal Civilizations that had existed for a long time were the true tyrants of the galaxy. Originally, there were plenty of players who were optimistic about the battle, but the changes in the situation made it such that the players could not even force out a smile.

Many individuals could not help but be shaken. The next few versions would definitely revolve around the Universal Civilizations, but their Black Star Army had become an enemy of the Universal Civilizations. This was not a good sign at all…

On the contrary, Summer Night Flower was overjoyed.

The reason behind his inclination to the Bloodshed Land was because the Bloodshed Land would give them a path to join the Universal Civilizations. On the other hand, the Black Star Army only had the Purple Crystal Civilization above them. The appearance of the Crimson Dynasty was like an injection of confidence, and Summer Night Flower began to regain confidence in his belief.

“Do you see that? This is what I meant by a limited faction growth,” Summer Night Flower said with a face full of smiles. “I have emphasized this point since the start; we cannot be dazzled by the short term benefits placed before our eyes like the players of the Black Star Army. We should look far into the future and make the right choice instead.”

At the same time, many of the officers in the Black Star Army flagship had bitter looks on their faces.

Lagi then said with a sigh, “It seems like I will die here today…”

The other officers would usually tease Lagi about his pessimism, but no one replied that day.

Even they could not help but feel pessimistic.

They had not forgotten that their Army Commander had to face two different challenges!

Even if he could hold his own against the Tyrant, there was still a Psyker who wanted to force Black Star to give up the Evolution Cube. No matter what, they felt that it was better for Han Xiao to give in and take the initiative to hand over the Evolution Cube. There were two Universal Civilizations eyeing up the Evolution Cube, and their strength just could not hold a candle to Universal Civilizations.

They truly could not understand how their army could keep the Evolution Cube.

One of the Calamity Grade officers could not help but say, “Well, if he chooses to behave stubbornly…”

“Shut up!” Sylvia glared at him hatefully, “Our job is to obey the orders of our commander. What do you want to say‽”

Everyone could not help but look at each other helplessly.

“Hopefully Black Star doesn’t lose his rationality…”

Right at this moment, a Bloodshed Land spaceship flew over from afar and came to the center of the battlefield. Heber had finally arrived.

He was equipped with a set of heavy armor and floated in the middle of the battlefield like a small mountain. All the spaceship’s radars began to ring after detecting his frightening energy.

Heber then turned around to glare at Psyker, warning Psyker not to interfere with his plans.

Psyker retreated a distance expressionlessly.

“The Tyrant is here as well. Only Black Star and the Dragon Emperor are left.”

“Eh, they’re here.”

All the spectators turned around to look, only to see a Black Star fleet arriving together with the Floating Dragon Island. Because the Floating Dragon Island could not travel at a high speed, Han Xiao and Ames were the last two to reach the battlefield.

The surrounding spaceships made a path for the humongous Floating Dragon to enter the battlefield.

“Everyone is finally here!”

The spectators’ excitement had reached the peak.

Ames floated up into the air, and Han Xiao also flew out from his spaceship, looking at Heber and Psyker from afar.

Han Xiao had filled the empty Mechanic slot, and the five Beyond Grade A Supers of the Shattered Star Ring were different classes. The spectators could not help but feel as though a ceremony was going on, and they were all witnessing this once in a lifetime ceremony.

Han Xiao turned around to look at Ames, and both of them nodded to each other. He then glanced at the huge crowd, and his face could not help but contort.

“Aren’t they afraid that I may accidentally kill a few lucky audience members?”

Han Xiao then looked at the Palace of Hidden Spells and shook his head helplessly. Finally, his gaze landed on Heber.

After sizing Heber up for a while, Han Xiao connected to the Tyrant’s communication device, and his voice sounded in Heber’s armor.

“I am here, Little Ty-Ty. How do you want to fight?”

“… What did you call me‽” Heber was stunned for a moment.

“Heh, I will call you whatever I like.” Han Xiao chuckled.

Heber could not be bothered to reply and said, “Black Star, I’ve thought highly of you since over ten years ago. This proves that my foresight wasn’t wrong. It is a pity that you rejected my invitation and made the wrong decision. I gave you a chance before, but you didn’t know how to treasure it.”

Han Xiao curled his lips and said, “Don’t talk about such useless things. Don’t you want to make use of me to establish your prestige?”

“That’s right.” Heber did not bother hiding anything. “You are only alive today because you didn’t have any value for me to uproot before, and you really didn’t disappoint me. I let you keep your life until today so that I can use your fresh blood to paint my throne.”

At the Beyond Grade A level, one was only able to gain fame by killing another Beyond Grade A Super, and this had always been the Tyrant’s goal. In his eyes, as long as he could increase his prestige, more and more talents would come under him.

However, the other three Beyond Grade A Supers were not easy to deal with, and he did not have a reason to take action. Even Ames, who had her abilities countered by him, had impressive lifesaving abilities. Thus, he had decided to rear up a Beyond Grade A enemy and get rid of the fellow before he could grow up fully.

Han Xiao was the target whom he had chosen.

Upon hearing those words, Han Xiao couldn’t help but shake his head.

Since you like rearing pigs so much, you’d better be careful not to get squashed by the pig.

Right at this moment, Han Xiao’s interface lit up.

_____________________

You have triggered S ranked mission [‘Tyrant’ Heber]!

Mission Introduction: A Beyond Grade A Super stands at the peak of the galaxy, and Heber is one of them. Are you sure you want to battle him?

Mission Requirements: Last for as long as possible under Heber’s attacks. (Battle method isn’t restricted. You can only leave battle mode for 30 mins at most. There are no restrictions to the number of times you can leave battle mode.)

Reward: You will be able to attain the corresponding reward by fulfilling the corresponding requirements. (Only 1% of the time out of battle mode will be counted toward the mission.)

Last for 10s: 100,000,000 Experience

Last for 30s: 230,000,000 Experience

Last for 1 min: 450,000,000 Experience

Last for 2 mins: 700,000,000 Experience

Last for 3 mins: 900,000,000 Experience, +1 Legendary Point

…

Last for 7.5 mins: [Character Summon Card – ‘Tyrant’ Heber], 3,000,000,000 Experience

…

Last for 20 mins: The opportunity to draw one of the Tyrant’s abilities or talents, 8,500,000,000 Experience, +1 Legendary Point

_____________________

“To think that it is actually such a mission.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

A Beyond Grade A Super was a true boss and an unscalable mountain. Even if the players had his current level, they would not be able to defeat a Beyond Grade A Super with a body full of Molding Talents. The only difference was the amount of time they could last. In his previous life, there were some players who had challenged Beyond Grade A Supers, and a portion of them triggered special S rank missions like this one. It had given them rewards based on the amount of time they could survive.

In his previous life, it was incredibly difficult for most of the players to last even a minute. The only method they had was to leave combat mode and escape to the best of their abilities. Because only one percent of the time was calculated, this meant that only eighteen seconds would be counted toward the mission at the very most. If the players wanted to earn the reward for lasting twenty minutes, they would have to leave combat mode more than sixty times at least. Furthermore, they had to ensure that the Beyond Grade A Super would not catch up to them for thirty mins. This meant that they needed to escape from the Beyond Grade A Super for more than thirty hours. It was a mission that was almost impossible to complete.

Han Xiao had challenged a Beyond Grade A Super before, and his best record was only a few minutes.

However, the interface’s judgement of a mission rating was on the basis of the player’s strength, and Han Xiao was an exception.

He did not need to leave combat mode and could choose to fight head on!

With his endurance, twenty mins would only be a warm up!

Han Xiao let out a deep breath, and his bluish-gold Mechanical Force burst forth.

Behind him, a large mechanical army appeared, forming an endless wave of black!

Emperor Mechanic! Secondary Dimension Army!

Upon seeing that, Heber cracked his neck, and his body exploded with a ball of fire.

The next moment, the mechanical army welcomed a shooting-star-like figure.

Chapter 776 - The Battle

In the past ten days or so, Han Xiao’s mechanical army had gained millions of members, and the enhancements of all the models were completed. The enormous army stood before Heber, firing at him with all kinds of ranged weapons.

The psionic particle cannons’ dark energy annihilation beams formed a bright rain of light.

The Pugilist flames all around Heber’s body expanded into a huge golden light sphere thousands of meters wide, forming his protective energy layer. His tiny mountain-sized body charged forward, carrying a long tail of flames behind, and headed right into the wave of machinery like a meteor.

The storm of attacks crashed onto Heber’s protective shield, leaving clusters of explosions on the path behind him.

Facing the focus fire head-on, Heber dashed right into the formation of the mechanical army, penetrating the defenses of the mechanical soldiers layer after layer, heading right toward Han Xiao.

He decided to use his strength against the enemy’s weakness—to quickly defeat Han Xiao in close-range combat!

“Horrifyingly tanky, as expected for a Beyond Grade A Pugilist…”

Han Xiao glanced at the combat information and raised his brows.

Heber’s level, attributes, and health were all question marks. The interface showed that many of Heber’s Molding Abilities were triggered. There were [Low Damage Immunity], [True Damage Immunity], [Fixed Damage Reduction], and many other damage reduction abilities. These abilities and his Beyond Grade A Pugilist energy shield reduced the strength of Han Xiao’s attacks tremendously!

Heber was immune to True Damage as well as any damage that did not exceed a certain level, and only the portion that exceeded that level would be calculated. If the damage immunity limit was 100 and the raw damage was 110, Heber would only take 10 damage. A part of that 10 damage would then be reduced by his protective energy shield, and the remainder would be reduced once again by his resistance talents…

The damage would only count for Heber after so many layers of reductions!

The most terrifying thing was, Heber’s recovery ability was pretty good, too. Although not as powerful as Han Xiao’s, it still gave him a lot of sustainability.

This was the true Beyond Grade A Tank!

Han Xiao’s eyes focused. He had known long ago that this would be a tough battle.

Hadavy had True Damage Immunity and Low Damage Immunity as well, but as he was an Esper, his attack was not very high. In comparison, Heber was clearly more comprehensive as a Beyond Grade A Pugilist that excelled in both attack and defense.

Hence, Han Xiao had no interest in fighting a Beyond Grade A Pugilist with his body. Even though he was quite tanky, the difference in a Beyond Grade A’s main attribute and sub-attribute was way too huge; fighting Heber in close range combat was basically looking for a beating.

Seeing that Heber was heading right toward him, he immediately knew that Heber wanted to end this quickly. His lips curled up.

Although this was the right strategy for a Pugilist to use against a Mechanic, this also meant that the Tyrant was very confident in his offense and clearly ignored his ‘Indestructible Body’ nickname.

“You think it’d be this easy?” Han Xiao snorted. He casually threw a Luck Curse on Heber. Doesn’t matter if it works, use it first.

Different strategies had to be used against different opponents. Han Xiao quickly changed his strategy into moving around with his speed and surrounded Heber with his mechanical army.

The mechanical army was more powerful after receiving Beyond Grade A bonuses. With the bonuses that he currently provided with his Machinery Affinity, just a few thousand normal mechanical soldiers would be able to fight a normal Calamity Grade. Furthermore, he had the sustainability given by [Advanced Machinery Construction], so he was not afraid of the battle dragging on.

Most importantly, a huge portion of his mechanical soldiers could penetrate Heber’s defenses. Despite the damage dealt being reduced tremendously, given the sheer size of his army, they were able to deal rather considerable damage to even Heber. This was indeed the strength of the Army Style against any class—the Human Wave Tactic would always be a threat.

Han Xiao knew that there were no shortcuts against an opponent like the Tyrant, the only thing he could do was slowly reduce his health.

The energy of the mechanical suit flowed into the thrusters. Han Xiao turned into a stream of light and moved swiftly through the battlefield. The wide battlefield gave him more than enough space to distance himself.

Energy flames erupted with Heber’s every movement, like a Fixed Star exploding, shattering tons of mechanical soldiers. However, the shattered machinery quickly reformed under Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force and kept intercepting Heber in changing formations.

As a Beyond Grade A, Han Xiao had all kinds of devices that gave him mobility. His speed was higher. Although Heber was not slow, he was much bulkier comparatively, so he could not close the distance.

Heber broke a Giant Soldier into pieces and frowned. The battle will drag for too long this way.

There had been no Beyond Grade A Mechanic in the Shattered Star Ring for many years, so Heber did not have much experience fighting a Mechanic of the same grade, but he knew that the source of a Mechanic’s strength came from their knowledge and time.

It had been less than two months since Black Star became a Beyond Grade A, so he had extremely limited time to learn knowledge and did not have enough chances to expand his machinery. This was the time when he would be the easiest to deal with.

Therefore, what Heber wanted was an overwhelmingly one-sided victory, not a protracted battle.

I have to use more energy… Heber took a deep breath, not of air but the dark energy that was everywhere in the universe. Every single one of his cells absorbed the dark energy like a bottomless hole and quickly split open.

The next second, his mountain-sized body expanded, instantly destroying his armor and turning into a tall giant dozens of meters tall. He had entered the second stage directly.

He was a unique Beyond Grade A species. Furthermore, Pugilists Beyond Grade As basically all had one specialty—their Gene Limiter was removed.

In other words, his body strength ‘theoretically’ had no limits!

Heber extended his palm, aimed at Han Xiao far away, and shook his head.

“You’re talented indeed. If you had enough time, you might’ve become someone like Manison in the future… Pity.”

The next moment, everyone’s vision was filled with white light.

A blinding light sprayed out from Heber’s palm. This Shockwave Blast was extremely fast, and it was not just shot out but could be controlled remotely by Heber.

Han Xiao dodged dozens of times but was still hit by the beam. His entire body showered in the red-gold Pugilist flames.

However, this Shockwave Blast did not explode like expected but solidified into energy like a long tentacle, grabbing Han Xiao.

_____________________

Judging Energy Level… Judgment failed.

Your Energy Level is lower than the opponent’s.

You have entered [Energy Locked] state. You can no longer use energy.

_____________________

Han Xiao was shocked. The Pugilist flames around him formed a restricting force, making the Mechanical Force in his body entirely quiet and trapped in his cells. His link to his mechanical army was cut.

He tried to break away from the Pugilist flames but was faced with terrifying resistance. His body movements were extremely slow. It was almost as if he was fixed in the beam of light.

“This is…”

Han Xiao’s pupils constricted.

“Come here!” Heber quickly pulled with his hand. The red and gold light beam shrank and pulled Han Xiao toward him at a high speed.

Energy was the extension of the body for Pugilists. In terms of the strength of energy, Pugilists were the master among the five Super classes.

To Pugilists, the so-called abilities were just different techniques. There were trillions of Pugilist styles in the universe and countless abilities.

This ability was the compression of Pugilist energy, forming a special force field when hitting the target, suppressing the target’s energy with his own energy. It was like deploying a barrier around the target, forcing the target’s energy in his body.

This could only be avoided if the target’s Energy Level was higher or equal to Heber’s. Heber was a senior Beyond Grade A Super who had lived for many years; he knew many energy training techniques, and his Energy Level was unfathomable.

The mechanical army focused fire on Heber under the control of the artificial intelligence. However, without Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force enhancements, they could not even penetrate Heber’s defenses.

Han Xiao’s brain worked quickly.

I need to think of a simple method to get out of this. Heber will definitely use this more than once. The cooldown of Void Hyperdrive is too long. It will work once but not twice…

Suddenly, he had a flash of insight. He activated the talent that he had not used for a very long time—[Chaos Entity – Release]!

He turned into a cluster of gray fog and became a Chaos Body, then immediately followed it up with Void Hyperdrive, getting out of the red-gold light beam before returning to human form.

Void Race’s talent… Heber had read Han Xiao’s information before and was not surprised.

The intelligence showed that Black Star’s Void Travel could not be used for a few minutes. As he had used it now, it meant that he had lost one trump card.

However, what the intelligence did not know was that if Han Xiao used Void Hyperdrive type talents as a Chaos Body, the cooldown would be reduced to just more than ten seconds!

This was the talent of Chaos Observer. Back then, he had not been as famous as he was now, and he rarely showed this ability to anyone!

Han Xiao reconnected with the mechanical army and breathed a sigh of relief in his mind.

Initially, he wanted to fight the Tyrant with his own strength. Now, however, he realized that there was indeed some distance between himself and Heber. Given how tanky he was, his life would not be in danger, but the situation would definitely be bad for him.

Since this battle was witnessed by countless people, Han Xiao did not want to just have the lower hand throughout the entire fight.

I wanted to save this, but apparently, I won’t be able to…

Han Xiao licked his lips. He opened the interface and activated an item.

Character Summon Card—Reynold!

Perfect Mechanical Sense!

Han Xiao’s eyes widened instantly; his pupils were filled with lightning.

The Mechanical Force flowing inside the mechanical soldiers became blinding. Blue and gold light overflowed from the gaps of the machinery.

At this instant, Han Xiao’s Machinery Affinity rocketed. The 1.4 times increase made his mechanical army immensely stronger!

Heber’s movements paused for a second, and he looked confused.

It feels a little different.

…

“This is the power of a Beyond Grade A. Amazing…”

The audience stared at the two of them in shock. Many people only had an idea of what Beyond Grade As were, but never had they witnessed any battles between Beyond Grade As. They were all dazzled.

“His Excellency Tyrant is marvelous during battle.” Jorde’s face was filled with excitement.

Most of the Pugilist officers of the Bloodshed Land had personal admiration for the Tyrant. Seeing the Tyrant showcase his strength, the people of the Bloodshed Land were exhilarated.

On the other hand, the Purple Crystal Civilization and the ally organizations of Han Xiao were all nervous.

Ames did not interfere with their duel. As long as Han Xiao did not say anything, she had no need to fight the Tyrant.

Ames was not closely staring at Psyker. Han Xiao had told her that as soon as Psyker did anything, it was best to stop him instantly.

Psyker glanced at Ames then looked at the battlefield again, narrowing his eyes.

Black Star is stronger than when he fought me, but he’s still no match for Heber. The Tyrant getting the upper hand is certain…

Psyker shook his head in his mind. The current situation was within his expectations. He had a very clear idea of how strong the Tyrant was. Black Star being able to fight him evenly did not mean that he could do the same against the Tyrant.

Psyker was not afraid of Heber because psychic attacks happened to be the Tyrant’s weakness, just like how he feared the Tyrant’s raw strength. Hence, they minded their own business and never messed with each other. However, Black Star could not make use of the Tyrant’s weakness like he could, and the Tyrant’s raw strength was clearly stronger than a new Beyond Grade A’s.

If it was an ordinary new Beyond Grade A, the Tyrant might really kill him. However, having fought Black Star before, Psyker currently had the most knowledge of Black Star’s strength, but he did not share this with Heber.

Black Star also has a very tough physical body even among Beyond Grade As, not much worse than Heber’s. He should be able to last a very long time. They’re still not going all out. When they’re more worn out, only then it will be the time for me to make a move…

Thinking of that, Psyker glanced at the Arcane Church flagship behind him.

He knew that in the command room of the flagship, the commander of the fleet was waiting for his signal.

At this time, a meteor-like shadow flashed past the edge of his vision right into the Bloodshed Land’s formation not far away, shattering a few spaceships.

Psyker turned and looked over, soon becoming shocked.

The one that was blown away was the Tyrant‽

Psyker was a little stunned. As he quickly turned around and looked at Han Xiao, the look in his eyes gradually changed.

It seems I still underestimated you…

Chapter 777 - Sudden

The energy Han Xiao was giving off had become much stronger. The power of the mechanical army had increased instantly. Not expecting this, Heber had been blown away by the countless particle cannon attacks.

Heber’s continuously growing momentum was broken, which shocked countless spectators.

“Black Star hid such power…” The look in Psyker’s eyes slightly changed.

The energy that Han Xiao was giving off surprised him. He was certain that Black Star had not been this strong when he fought him more than a month ago.

Is this his trump card?

Ames could not help but glance at Han Xiao. A tint of shock flashed through her eyes.

Seeing their own boss penetrating their formation, Jorde’s expression changed for the worse. The excitement of the Bloodshed Land officers was instantly extinguished.

Although Heber had merely taken a small hit, the Bloodshed Land officers had initially thought that the Tyrant would have the complete upper hand as the opponent was just a new Beyond Grade A Super. The current turn of events shocked them.

The mechanical army chased after Heber. By this time, Heber had already stabilized himself. His face was grave. Having been taken by surprise, he was a little angry.

His fist charged forward, shooting a thick Pugilist impact wave toward the mechanical army.

The mechanical soldiers responsible for defenses moved from the back to the front, forming an enormous psionic protective shield in front of the army.

The Star Shaking Fist crashed onto the shield. The blinding red and gold light quickly expanded, exploding like a supernova, filling everyone’s vision with white light.

As the mechanical army was stopped by the Star Shaking Fist, Heber took the opportunity and dashed out. He made a turn and pulled the battlefield away from the Bloodshed Land’s forces. Han Xiao followed right behind and chased him with his mechanical army.

With the enhancements of Perfect Mechanical Sense, the mechanical army was tremendously stronger be it in terms of offense of defense. The millions of mechanical soldiers surrounded a single person, the light of psionic energy flashing nonstop within the battlefield.

Suddenly, Heber slowed down. He endured the focus fire and explosions with his body and launched another [Energy Lock] Shockwave Blast toward Han Xiao.

However, this time, Han Xiao had experience. He quickly escaped from it with his Chaos Body and Void Hyperdrive. Heber was astounded—he had thought that Han Xiao’s Void Hyperdrive was still in cooldown.

“The same ability won’t work again on me.”

Having realized that he had judged it wrong, Heber frowned. Now that this ability no longer worked on Han Xiao, he had no choice but to patiently deal with the mechanical army while thinking of another way.

With every punch, kick, and Shockwave Blast, tons of mechanical soldiers were heavily damaged or even instantly destroyed.

Heber, however, was not unharmed. Wounds gradually started to appear on his mountain-sized body.

With his energy increasing his cell vitality, the old wounds kept recovering, but new wounds kept appearing as well. The mechanical soldiers that he had destroyed were repaired time after time by Han Xiao’s [Waste Modification] and [Advanced Machinery Construction].

Feeling the flowing Mechanical Force in his body, Han Xiao was thrilled. Perfect Mechanical Sense is really a god-like ability…

The 1.4 times total Machinery Affinity multiplier was a powerful Molding Talent. The damage the mechanical army dealt to Heber was clearly on another level. More than half of the raw strength difference between him and the Tyrant was mitigated by Perfect Mechanical Sense.

Sadly, this Molding Talent came from Reynold’s Character Summon Card and was not yet his own. He only had three chances to use it; this was the second.

After fighting for quite some time, Heber’s expression gradually became graver.

Initially, he had thought that no matter how talented the new Beyond Grade A was, his combat capability would not be too high. Yet, Han Xiao’s current combat capability had shattered this thought directly.

The situation suddenly became even. Heber’s plan to quickly end the battle was instantly broken, and he was forced into destroying machinery with his bare hands in a long battle.

Long battles were the strength of Army Style Mechanics. Heber knew full well that the combat had fallen into Black Star’s control. If this carried on, it would be bad for him.

What he wanted was to make an example out of Black Star, but if the battle became even, it would be the other way around.

Not only would he fail to build more reputation, he would even lose it and become a stepping stone for Black Star’s name. Black Star was a new Beyond Grade A who lacked fundamentals. Being able to fight him, a known senior Beyond Grade A, evenly would definitely be beneficial for Black Star.

Furthermore, he was the one that had demanded this battle. If he turned out to be unable to defeat Black Star, he would definitely be extremely ashamed.

Close combat was the strength of Pugilists. Although Heber also knew ranged abilities such as the Star Shaking Fist, a Beyond Grade A Mechanic like Black Star had way too many ways to block ranged attacks. In order to heavily damage Black Star, the only chance was to get close to him.

Heber’s close-range damage output was horrifying. Among all the Beyond Grade As in Galaxy, no one would remain unharmed after a close-range explosive combo of a Beyond Grade A Pugilist, not even Heber himself.

He did indeed have one ability that could instantly get close to Black Star. However, he could only use it every once in a very long time. Black Star had many dodging and fleeing abilities, so he would be able to easily get away from him again if he failed. Heber was rather troubled.

Slippery guy. Heber frowned. The window of opportunity to get close to Black Star would only last for an instant; he had to wait for a chance.

…

Heber fought intensely with the mechanical army. The explosions lightened up the sights of all the audience. Almost all the spaceship radars of the spectators were repeating alarms continuously.

“High energy reaction detected! Please get away immediately! High energy…”

If the battlefield was a planet, it would have been destroyed long ago.

“It seems even…”

“I can’t believe it. Black Star is matching up to the Tyrant.”

“The Tyrant seems to have the lower hand now.”

Countless spectators were stunned. Their impression of Black Star was continuously refreshed.

Seeing that Han Xiao stood his ground, the Black Star Army players were thrilled.

“Black Star gained control of the battle using the kiting strategy. The Tyrant’s only way of breaking this is to get close. However, he seems to be unable to get across the mechanical army.” Inside the battleship of the army, Hao Tian analyzed the battle. As a pro player, despite his level not being high, his PVP senses were still very sharp.

“Pugilists are good at explosive power at close range,” Frenzied Sword said. “As long as the captain maintains this kiting, he will not be defeated… given that the mechanical army can last that long.”

“That’s what I thought.” Bun-Hit-Dog nodded.

However, at this time, a sudden change occurred in the battlefield. Hao Tian, Frenzied Sword, and the others’ expressions changed drastically.

“Not good!”

…

The focus fire of the mechanical army created blinding explosions and obstructed the audience’s vision.

At this time, surrounded by the mechanical army, Heber suddenly disappeared.

The next instant, he appeared behind Han Xiao immediately.

As expected. Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He had expected this. He had known that Heber would have a teleportation type Pugilist ability, so he had prepared for it long ago. However, he had to admit that Heber had picked a great opportunity.

Just as Han Xiao was about to dodge with Void Hyperdrive, all the abilities on his interface became gray.

_____________________

Heber has used Racial Talent [Giant’s Gaze] on you!

You have entered [Forced Silence] state. All abilities are frozen. Duration: 0.3 seconds!

_____________________

Han Xiao’s pupils constricted. He had no way to break free from a forced silence type ability. Heber had waited so long to use this and surprised him.

This interrupted his Void Hyperdrive and held him in his place.

With a cold expression, Heber punched right through the psionic shield and onto the Battle Tiger mechanical suit. An impact wave flew into Han Xiao’s body.

_____________________

Heber has used the ability [Strength Punch—Molecular Vibration] on you!

Judging… Judgment failed. Your Strength is more than 1,000 lower than the opponent’s.

You have entered [Out of Control] state. You are unable to control your body. Duration: 0.8 second

_____________________

This is bad.

He had been avoiding getting comboed by Heber all along, but Heber’s attacks were not easy to deal with. Now he was on the passive side.

The next second, red and gold fists landed on his body like a thunderstorm. The punches created countless afterimages and pits on the mechanical suit.

Dong! Dong!

Heber’s every attack was a different Pugilist ability. As soon as he successfully landed the first disabling ability, he would be able to use continuous disabling abilities. Due to his vastly superior Strength and Dexterity, the Judgements for those abilities would usually all succeed.

The terrifying combo damage caused the armor of Battle Tiger and Han Xiao’s own health to plummet.

With cold murderous intent in his eyes, Heber went all out without hesitation—he planned to heavily injure or even immediately kill Han Xiao in one combo!

…

The developments of the battle made the expression of countless people change drastically.

“Black Star is in danger…” Austin murmured.

Being controlled by Heber at close range was more than enough to threaten the life of a Beyond Grade A.

Ames could not help but look over.

“Chance!”

At this instant, Psyker moved. He rushed right into the battlefield, straight toward Han Xiao at an extremely high speed.

Distracted, Ames was a second slower to respond. Anger appeared in her eyes.

Just as she was about to drag Psyker back with her force field, the fleet of the Arcane Church suddenly fired. Highly condensed annihilation beams headed toward Ames.

Ames did not expect the fleet to suddenly attack. She hastily turned around and stopped the attacks of the fleet with her force field.

In just an instant, Psyker approached Han Xiao and Heber.

Black Star is being pinned down by the Tyrant. This is the opportunity to grab the Evolution Cube!

The sudden change of situation shocked everyone. In their eyes, it was clear that the Arcane Church had broken the rules, restraining Ames with their fleet while Psyker suddenly attacked Black Star together with Heber!

It was as if Black Star had fallen into a desperate situation in an instant!

“Teacher!”

“Black Star!”

“Captain!”

The expressions of Sylvia, Herlous, and the army officers all changed drastically!

Chapter 778 - Counter

“Hmm?”

As another punch landed on Han Xiao’s chest, Heber noticed the abnormality. He quickly turned around and stared at the quickly approaching Psyker.

“Want to grab the Evolution Cube?” Heber looked at Psyker with hostility.

Psyker had publicized the information regarding the Evolution Cube, clearly stating his goal. Although Heber was interested in it, he had no means of locating the Evolution Cube.

He refused to cooperate with Psyker because he did not want anyone to disrupt his duel with Black Star and break his plan to make an example. Seeing that the Arcane Church had suddenly attacked to restrain Ames and Psyker was clearly using him, he was enraged.

His eyes were filled with warning as he stared at Psyker.

Expressionless, Psyker continued to charge forward. He had to retrieve the Evolution Cube even if it meant offending Heber.

In his senses, the Evolution Cube was right on Han Xiao. His psychic energy had already shot toward Han Xiao. As soon as he got the Evolution Cube, he would retreat and not waste energy fighting him.

Seeing that Psyker had ignored his warning, the hostility in Heber’s eyes became stronger. However, there was no way he was going to let Black Star go and turn around to attack Psyker.

Psyker had publicly stood against Black Star by demanding a battle with Black Star just like he did, which means that they were on the same side. If he gave up on the opportunity to heavily damage Black Star to stop his supposed ‘ally’, the situation would go out of control. Psyker had already tied him up using his standpoint.

Due to many factors, Heber had no choice but to watch Psyker approach, unable to stop him. He was enraged.

With a gloomy expression, Heber decided to get back at Psyker after he finished dealing with Black Star.

At this moment, to his shock, his punch was suddenly stopped!

His eyes quickly moved away from Psyker and back to Han Xiao. Shocked, he realized that Han Xiao, who was supposedly unable to move, suddenly regained control and stopped his fists with his hands.

Instantly responding, Heber’s muscles expanded. A powerful surge of energy flowed into his arms. Just as he was about to forcefully break away from Han Xiao’s block and disable Han Xiao again, he was stunned.

A terrifying power came from Han Xiao’s arms that matched his own!

What’s going on‽

Heber looked at Han Xiao’s face with shock. Half of Han Xiao’s mechanical suit helmet was broken, showing half of Han Xiao’s face and his calm eyes.

“Really horrifying damage, almost took half of my health…” Han Xiao licked away the blood at the tip of his lips and grinned. “Sadly, we have fought for far more than twenty minutes!”

The mechanical army had stalled the Tyrant for long enough, so he had obtained the Tyrant’s Character Summon Card long ago!

_____________________

[Character Summon Card—’Tyrant’ Heber]. Usages: 1/3. Effect: +4,000 Strength. Duration: 40 minutes!

_____________________

With the increase in his Strength, he became immune to Heber’s disabling abilities!

The next second, Han Xiao clenched his fists and grabbed Heber’s hands. Surging power filled his body. With a turn of his waist, he lifted Heber and threw him right at Psyker!

“What‽” Disbelief appeared in Heber’s eyes.

I lost to a Mechanic in a battle of strength‽

Are you kidding me‽

This made Psyker’s expression change dramatically as well.

Black Star had obviously been pinned down by Heber; he did not expect him to be able to escape it that fast and with raw strength!

The mechanical army far away regained its Mechanical Force bonuses and fired at Heber and Psyker. Psyker had no choice but to stop and block the attacks with his psychic shield while grabbing Heber and helping him regain balance.

The violent attacks exploded on the psychic shield. The expanding light obstructed their sight.

Before the two of them could make the next move, they suddenly felt a sense of pressure. Turning around, they saw an enormous satellite penetrating the attacks outside the psychic shield and crashing directly toward them.

Not having the time to think about anything else, Heber rapidly absorbed dark energy and turned his body into a giant. His fists launched toward the armed satellite, hoping to stop its impact.

However, the difference in size was too huge. Heber and Psyker were both slapped onto the surface of the satellite.

Ames’ eyes were flickering with a green light. Her force field pushed the armed satellite forward like a marble, drawing an arc and crashing toward the Arcane Church’s fleet.

The attacks of the Arcane Church fleet had caused her to be unable to stop Psyker in time, which made Ames quite displeased. Luckily, Black Star had gotten out of the dangerous situation himself. Without hesitation, she immediately backed Black Star up and set the Arcane Church fleet as a target as well.

Facing the enormous armed satellite, the Arcane Church fleet fired without hesitation. The storm of dark energy blasts fired on the armed satellite and destroyed it.

This was the biggest explosion since the start of the battle. The strong light caused by it made the eyes of countless spectators hurt and forced them to close their eyes. Only stronger Supers could barely open their eyes.

As the aftershock of the explosion dissipated, only then did everyone see the current situation.

Han Xiao and Ames stood in the middle of the battlefield together, while Heber and Psyker endured the explosion and hovered before the Arcane Church’s fleet. Four Beyond Grade As on two sides stood against each other.

The situation had taken too quick a turn, and the people could not react immediately. Once they figured out what happened, their eyes gathered on Han Xiao.

The situation earlier had been dire for Han Xiao, but Han Xiao had used raw strength to fight back against Heber. He had used the most direct and straightforward method to break the situation of being surrounded by Heber and Psyker!

“Hu…” Sylvia took a deep breath—she had been really startled earlier.

Hila’s fists opened, and her tense body relaxed.

The audience calmed down and once again focused on the battle.

“Psyker and Ames both acted. It’s probably not a duel but a battle now.”

“The Arcane Church interfered. Not just the Beyond Grade As, even the fleets of two sides might start fighting!”

“The Crimson Dynasty will definitely respond as well; this might cause another war.”

“I feel like we should back off a little more…”

Countless people were feeling nervous. The Arcane Church’s involvement changed what was initially a duel between Beyond Grade As. The situation became complicated.

Just in terms of forces, Heber’s side with the Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church had the complete upper hand. If the fleets took part in the battle, Black Star’s side would definitely be at a disadvantage.

Psyker’s expression was not looking good. After his failed attempt, his plan was shattered. Since he had already acted, he would not be able to watch from the side anymore. He could only snatch the Evolution Cube head-on, which would be much more difficult.

He turned around, looked at Heber, and saw that Heber was looking at him with sharp eyes as well.

Psyker knew that he had offended the Tyrant due to what he had just done. He sighed in his head before speaking to Heber with psychic energy.

“Ames has joined the battle; you won’t be able to duel Black Star anymore. They will fight you two on one, so you need help. We’ll settle what happened earlier in the future. Let’s work together first. I have the Arcane Church; you have the Crimson Dynasty. Using our fleets, help me retrieve the Evolution Cube, and the Arcane Church and myself will give you more than enough benefits.”

Heber frowned. His plan was messed up, and he really wanted to suffocate Psyker. When Psyker asked him to work together, he had suggested a similar plan. Back then, he had rejected it, and he still did not want to agree.

He did not invite the Crimson Dynasty; they had made a certain deal with Klent, which Heber did not know the details of. However, since the Crimson Dynasty had come, they were there to back him up. He did not want a duel to turn into a full out war—it would be far off from his initial intentions.

At this time, the Crimson Dynasty’s fleet suddenly moved, attracting everyone’s attention.

The Crimson Dynasty fleet turned around, aiming their countless cannons at the Arcane Church’s fleet. Before anyone could react, the Crimson Dynasty fleet suddenly fired!

Countless particle cannon beams blasted into the Arcane Church’s fleet. Suddenly being attacked from the side, the Arcane Church had no time to react.

At this moment, everyone was stunned!

Wh—What’s going on‽

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up suddenly.

“Zoel acted!”

Chapter 779 - 779 Your Ally Is Not Bad...

779 Your Ally Is Not Bad…

What is the Crimson Dynasty doing‽ Jorde was stunned. He could not understand why the Crimson Dynasty suddenly attacked the Arcane Church. Aren’t we on the same side today?

Ralph was startled by this sudden turn of events as well. He was at a loss. Both the Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church were on the enemy’s side, so why did one suddenly attack the other‽

The Arcane Church hastily adjusted their formation to face the Crimson Dynasty. While guarding against the attacks, they tried to counterattack. The Crimson Dynasty was behind the Bloodshed Land formation, so the Bloodshed Land fleet and the Klent fleet were affected as well.

Psyker’s expression suddenly changed as he quickly distanced himself from Heber.

“Was this your plan‽”

All kinds of speculations appeared in his mind. Was Heber’s sudden betrayal revenge for his earlier interference, or was this planned long ago? Could it be that Heber was so mad that not only did he want to make an example out of Black Star but him as well?

Could it be that the Crimson Dynasty wanted to use this opportunity to get rid of him, an Arcane Church ally in the Shattered Star Ring?

Psyker could not help but to make many guesses. However, he realized that Heber looked puzzled as well, as if he did not know why the Crimson Dynasty had suddenly attacked.

Heber had no time to care about what Psyker was thinking. He turned into a meteor and flew back to the Bloodshed Land formation, entering the closest spaceship and borrowing their communicator.

“Jorde! Contact the Crimson Dynasty’s men and ask them what they’re doing!”

“Your Excellency Tyrant, their commander told us to attack the Arcane Church with them and did not mention the reason!” Jorde hastily replied in the communication channel.

“Then contact Klent’s men. Tell them to ask the Dynasty Emissary Zoel for the reason.”

“O—okay,” Jorde replied. “The officials on their mother planet are trying to contact Zoel.”

Zoel had been staying in the Crimson Dynasty Diplomatic Building on the Klent Mother Planet all along. He had only deployed the Crimson Dynasty garrison but did not go to the scene personally.

The two Universal Civilization garrison fleets had fired at each other. Many nearby observers were affected and blasted into pieces.

The other observers backed away in panic. Countless spaceships turned around and escaped from the battlefield.

The situation became chaotic in an instant. Everyone was busy dodging stray bullets, and no one paid attention to the main participants.

The Black Star Army and the Purple Crystal’s fleet on the other side were not affected. Seeing that the enemies were in chaos, they were confused. Han Xiao did not publicize becoming the Crimson Dynasty’s ally, so Han Xiao and the Crimson Dynasty were the only ones that knew about it.

Due to the sudden change, both Heber and Psyker’s attention was diverted, and they had no time to care about Han Xiao. Han Xiao and Ames, who were in the middle of the battlefield, did not chase after them. They looked at the battle between the Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church from far away.

Han Xiao suddenly smiled.

“With the Crimson Dynasty’s attack, this should end soon.”

“This is your doing?” Ames turned to look at Han Xiao, and then it occurred to her. “You’ve joined the Crimson Dynasty.”

She did not know about this either. Before this, she had thought that she was Han Xiao’s most powerful ally there.

“The Tyrant wants to step on me to increase his reputation, and Psyker wants to take back the Evolution Cube,” Han Xiao said slowly. “I also want to use this opportunity today to increase my influence. I’m a new Beyond Grade A Super, so I need to achieve many deeds to have a reputation like the Tyrant’s, which will take too long. An opportunity for the Tyrant is also an opportunity for me; I can use this battle to obtain a ton of reputation and fame.”

Ames raised her brows and said, “It sounds like you don’t need my help to deal with the dangers today, or did you think I’m not good enough?”

“Don’t misunderstand, I’m just used to having more than one plan.” Han Xiao smiled with resignation.

…

The Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church did not turn out to fight a full out war. Very soon, both sides stopped firing and distanced themselves from one another. The atmosphere was tense.

Still puzzled, the observers all focused on the Crimson Dynasty’s fleet from far away. Everyone wanted to know why the Crimson Dynasty had done what they just did.

At this time, the trillions of spaceships at the scene all received a message from the Crimson Dynasty. This was an announcement made in the official civilization public communication channel—a channel shared by the civilizations above the Star System level, only used to make official announcements. Any message sent using this channel would be received by all devices within a certain area.

“This is the Crimson Dynasty Shattered Star Ring Garrison K-004 Fleet Commander, Sciurio, hereby sending a warning to the Arcane Church…

“Firstly, this battle is monitored by the Crimson Dynasty. Any organization breaking the rules will be firmly stopped by us. Your interference has violated the rules.

“Secondly, the Black Star Army is the Crimson Dynasty’s ally. The Evolution Cube currently belongs to the Crimson Dynasty. Any organization planning to snatch it will be seen as the Dynasty’s enemy!”

After hearing this announcement—be it Klent, the Bloodshed Land, the Purple Crystal Civilization, even the Black Star Army, or any other observer—everyone’s eyes widened with shock.

When did Black Star become the Crimson Dynasty’s ally‽

So, the Crimson Dynasty is actually not here to help the Tyrant but Black Star!

Everyone was stunned.

Heber’s expression changed drastically. “Why didn’t I know about this‽”

Jorde’s mind was blank.

The Bloodshed Land was the Crimson Dynasty’s ally, and now the Black Star Army had become the Crimson Dynasty’s ally. Did that not mean that they were now on the same side‽

The two sides had fought for a decade, but they had become allies‽

“What the f…” Summer Night Flower’s expression stiffened, and his face turned pale.

Initially, he had thought the Bloodshed Land’s biggest advantage was having the Crimson Dynasty as their backer. Now, however, the Black Star Army had the same thing.

As his last shred of hope shattered, Summer Night Flower’s heart was filled with regret.

Suddenly, his vision was blocked by a shadow. He turned around and saw that the players around had surrounded him with unfriendly expressions on their faces.

…

“The Black Star Army has become the Crimson Dynasty’s ally. When did this happen‽”

Ralph was astonished.

Comparatively, all the players of the Black Star Army were overjoyed by this news.

Opposing the Crimson Dynasty was not optimal. They had initially been worried about the Black Star Army’s future. They had never expected the army to become the Crimson Dynasty’s ally!

The millions of army players were relieved immediately. Becoming an ally of a Universal Civilization meant that the Black Star Army had a channel for even more growth and that its potential was even greater!

Many players’ previously shaken beliefs became firm once again, and they were more confident in the army now than ever!

“Sh*t, I thought it was the end of us.”

“The captain somehow got to the Crimson Dynasty. The term ‘Black Star Networking Group’ is definitely accurate.”

“It seems that our army will most likely last for many versions.”

“Amazing, I’m going to be famous again.” Bun-Hit-Dog recorded footage with a huge grin on his face.

Inside the Black Star Army flagship, the many Calamity Grade officers breathed a sigh of relief, followed by joy.

“The captain made a backup plan long ago!”

With the Crimson Dynasty backing them, the Black Star Army was no longer an ordinary Beyond Grade A organization!

The many officers were thrilled and glad that they made the bet years ago to become a pillar of the army!

They did not make a mistake in believing in Black Star!

Inside the Palace of Hidden Spells, Austin’s eyes sparkled.

“I see. Not only did you showcase your power by fighting the Tyrant, but you also publicly announced your support from the Crimson Dynasty, enhancing your reputation and indirectly solving your battle with the Tyrant. You single-handedly turned this feast today into an event to increase your fame. Heber and Psyker both fell right into it. You’re the biggest winner this time…”

A strange smile appeared on Austin’s face.

“Good, a person with ambition. The Shattered Star Ring is finally going to become boisterous.”

…

“No wonder you were so calm. You joined the Crimson Dynasty using the Evolution Cube…”

Psyker had a complicated feeling. Now that the Crimson Dynasty had their hands on the Evolution Cube, the difficulty in snatching it back was beyond his abilities.

Seeing the situation, he sighed and sent a message to the Arcane Church Fleet Commander.

“Retreat.”

With the Crimson Dynasty expressing their standpoint, no matter what the Bloodshed Land and Klent were thinking, the Crimson Dynasty would be part of this. Since Black Star and the Tyrant stood on the same side and he had become their common enemy. The Arcane Church fleet would not be able to do anything by staying there.

After considering both the pros and cons, Psyker felt retreating was the best choice. Hence, even though he was very displeased, he still made a decisive decision.

Under the eyes of the crowd, the Arcane Church fleet slowly retreated and left the battlefield, turning into a stream of light and disappearing. The Crimson Dynasty did not stop them; their goal had been to make the Arcane Church retreat all along.

“The Arcane Church has retreated!”

“Psyker left, too.”

Countless people turned to look at Heber. With one of the people that demanded a duel with Black Star leaving, the Tyrant was the only one left. The direction of the situation was in the Tyrant’s hands.

Originally, everyone had thought that the Tyrant and Black Star were enemies, but they had just discovered that they were allies. This duel had become an internal conflict between the Crimson Dynasty’s allies.

Hence, the Tyrant was in a very awkward position. Heber’s earlier confusion looked sincere, so most people believed that Heber did not know about this.

If that’s the case, will he still insist on fighting Black Star now?

The situation had taken many turns, and no one knew what was going to happen next.

The Bloodshed Land remained at the ready. Heber did not return to the battlefield to continue fighting Han Xiao immediately. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Han Xiao from far away, and Han Xiao was looking at him.

As Heber did not make a move, the battlefield had entered a strange silence.

Inside the spaceship, Heber asked Jorde in a deep voice, “Did Klent respond?”

“They’re still talking to the Crimson Dynasty…” Jorde could hear that Heber’s tone was unpleasant.

…

At the same time, in the Crimson Dynasty embassy on the Klent Mother Planet…

“Envoy Zoel, what is the meaning of this? Didn’t the Crimson Dynasty agree to fight Black Star together with us? Why did you accept Black Star as an ally?”

The outcry of the Klent high-level officials sounded from the communicator. Zoel raised his eyelids and slowly replied, “I don’t think I ever agreed to this request. I dispatched the garrison to the venue and only said that it was to back up our ally. Klent is our ally, as is Black Star. Our target is just Psyker and the Arcane Church backing him up. You misunderstood, that’s all.”

“But you did not notify us about Black Star becoming your ally!”

“Oh?” Zoel raised his brows. “Does the Dynasty have to notify you every time we gain an ally? Do you also want the Dynasty to give you all of our military secrets?”

Chapter 780 - Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation

“I did not say that. But you knew Black Star is our enemy, yet you did not tell us about it. Doesn’t that go against our agreement? If we’d known that Black Star was on our side in advance, we definitely would’ve told the Tyrant to cancel this duel, and the joke today wouldn’t have happened.”

“You’re exaggerating it.” Zoel was not angry and smiled. “Hiding this news was Black Star’s request, and I agreed personally. I dispatched the garrison to the scene to prevent the situation from getting out of hand. Furthermore, didn’t the results of what happened today turn out to be beneficial? The entire Star Field now knows you people and the Black Star Army have become allies, which is beneficial for both of you. Overall, not only did you guys not suffer any damage, but you actually benefited from it. After all, such a grant occasion like this rarely happens.”

The Klent official clenched his teeth and smiled. “… Looks like we misunderstood you.”

“That’s right. Sigh, but I am indeed responsible for this. How about this? I will confess my wrongdoings to the Dynasty superiors and request for resources compensation for you. What do you think?” Zoel said with a smile.

“There’s no need for that. We misunderstood you in the first place; you’ve done nothing wrong.”

“Alright then. Nonetheless, to express my apology, please accept the resources compensation.”

“Okay.”

As Zoel ended the communication, the smile on his face disappeared instantly. He nodded with satisfaction.

Klent is smart, good.

…

Not long after, the Bloodshed Land received Klent’s message at the scene.

“Your—Your Excellency Tyrant, Klent has responded,” Jorde stammered.

“Speak.”

“They said that Zoel was the one that agreed to make Black Star an ally. Klent told us to stop the duel and re—retreat immediately…”

Klent knew that they had been tricked by the Crimson Dynasty, but what could they do? They still wanted a piece of the Flickering World, so it was impossible for them to rescind the agreement. They could only swallow it up.

Black Star’s chips were too attractive. Klent knew clearly that the Crimson Dynasty would certainly not reject the Evolution Cube, so they could only accept it. Fortunately, the duel was mainly the Tyrant’s idea; Klent did not suffer much damage, so they had quickly compromised.

Heber closed his eyes.

After a while, he then reopened his eyes and squeezed out a word between his clenched teeth.

“Retreat.”

The order sounded from the Bloodshed Land’s commanding channel. The many Bloodshed Land officers all became spiritless, like they had lost all their energy.

Jorde’s face twitched with resentment, but there was nothing he could do.

The Crimson Dynasty, Klent, and the Bloodshed Land’s fleets left one after another, leaving only Purple Crystal and the Black Star Army’s people at the scene.

“The Bloodshed Land retreated, haha!”

In the countless battleships, the warriors of the Black Star Army cheered with joy.

Influenced by the atmosphere, many players followed along in the cheering.

Ames smiled.

Although Han Xiao keeping this a secret made her feel a little unhappy, seeing Heber getting tricked by them made her feel very pleased.

The expression on Han Xiao’s face under the helmet was filled with mockery. “Tyrant? Hehe.”

As their battle had been stopped, a winner was not decided. However, during the battle, he had fought the Tyrant on even ground, so no one would think that he had joined the Crimson Dynasty because he was afraid of the Tyrant.

On the other hand, despite being the one initiating this duel, the Tyrant had left in the end. This meant that Heber had become his stepping stone, defining his position in the Shattered Star Ring. He would no longer be underestimated by some people because he was a new Beyond Grade A.

At this time, a Legendary Point notification popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have received 3 Legendary Points.

Star Field Legendary Point (Shattered Star Ring): Battle Against Tyrant—Your battle with ‘Tyrant’ Heber is known by all of the Shattered Star Ring. This battle will be passed around by one after another across this Star Field, along with your name.

Star Field Legendary Point (Shattered Star Ring): Ally of the Crimson Dynasty—Universal Civilizations are the biggest forces of this galaxy. You have become an ally of one of them, the Crimson Dynasty.

Star Field Legendary Point (Shattered Star Ring): Star Field Signature Character—Your name echoes through the entire Star Field as one of the signatures of this Star Field. From this day forth, whenever the Shattered Star Ring is mentioned, your name will be linked to it.

_____________________

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Star Field Legendary Points’ bonus to experience was much higher than that of Star Cluster Legendary Points, and they were extremely difficult to obtain. He had received three at once, which meant that his plan to command respect through this duel had been very successful.

When what had happened spread throughout the universe, his reputation in the Shattered Star Ring would certainly rocket once again.

At this time, Ralph sent a communication request.

Han Xiao knew what Purple Crystal’s reaction to this would be, so he had thought of what to say long ago.

“Black Star…”

The communication connected. Ralph’s face appeared on the tactical screen under the mechanical suit helmet. Ralph looked hesitant.

“I know what you’re going to say.” Han Xiao spoke first. “Becoming the Crimson Dynasty’s ally was my idea. As you guys know, the secret war is not looking good for us. In order to destroy Klent’s plan, the only way is to do it through people with a high position. Using myself as the chip, I exchanged for their stand regarding the secret war. This was the method to win the secret war I told you about.”

Ralph opened his eyes with a complicated expression.

He had initially thought Black Star would abandon Purple Crystal. Once he heard what Han Xiao said, he felt much better.

Luckily, Black Star still remembered Purple Crystal’s support and requested the dynasty to give them some benefits. At least he was not someone to abandon them even after accepting so many resources from them.

“You and the Crimson Dynasty, sigh…”

“I know you guys hope to maintain the neutral ground of the civilization, but I’m different. I’m Purple Crystal’s ally, too, like a bridge between you guys and the Crimson Dynasty. This will be beneficial to a certain extent for all three of us.

Ralph nodded. This was indeed true.

He knew what Han Xiao meant—he wanted to be the Crimson Dynasty’s ally while continuing being Purple Crystal’s ally.

Of course, Purple Crystal was not satisfied with this. They had funded and supported the Black Star Army for close to a decade, all because they wanted to be the biggest partner of a Beyond Grade A. However, a Universal Civilization had gotten to Han Xiao first. Ralph was unsatisfied.

However, after more thought, he could only feel resignation. After that fight, the Black Star Army would become even more powerful. If Purple Crystal rescinded the agreement, the Black Star Army would not be afraid since they had an even better ally. In the end, the ones suffering the most losses would be Purple Crystal.

The best solution currently was to continue the partnership and share the profit brought by the Black Star Army.

After investing so much resources for so long, Purple Crystal was not willing to gain nothing.

“Understood. I will report this to the upper echelons…” Ralph calmed his emotions down and secretly admired Black Star’s guts.

“Wait for the good news.” Han Xiao smiled.

If he was just an ordinary Beyond Grade A, he might not have been able to make the Crimson Dynasty change their standpoint on the secret war. However, with the Evolution Cube in his hands, things were different.

Han Xiao ended the communication and secretly felt relieved.

Things were going great. Han Xiao felt relaxed. Having become a Beyond Grade A, he had truly entered the top circle of Galaxy. Most of the restrictions he had once faced as a Calamity Grade were now gone, and the weight of his name had become tremendously heavier.

This time, a teleportation gate opened beside Han Xiao and Ames. Austin, who had been observing from the side, walked out from it.

“Hehe, congratulations, Black Star,” Austin said with a smile.

“Hehe…” Han Xiao replied with a smile as well.

“This isn’t a good place to talk. Let’s chat again during the next Tyrant Party.” Austin did not say much.

Then, he teleported back to the Palace of Hidden Spells and activated the spells on it. The palace flew into the teleportation gate and disappeared.

“Tyrant Party…”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He wondered if the Tyrant would invite him to the next party.

“Since things are settled, I shall get going.” Ames waved and flew back to Floating Dragon. Floating Dragon slowly left.

Han Xiao watched Ames leave. He then returned to the Black Star Army’s flagship and entered the command room, where the army officers gathered. As soon as he walked in, everyone looked at him with admiration in their eyes.

“Sylvia, Herlous, announce the fleet to return,” Han Xiao said.

“Roger!” Sylvia’s face was filled with excitement.

“Also, using the Black Star Army’s name, issue a recruitment order to the entire Star Field. It’s time for those who have been observing to make a choice.” Han Xiao smiled.

Due to the Tyrant’s invitation to the duel, the Black Star Army had been keeping a low profile. Since the matter had been dealt with, it was time for the Black Star Army to expand and officially become a Beyond Grade A organization!

Many officers were exhilarated—this was what they had been waiting for!

Han Xiao turned and looked at Feidin. He had yet to complete the mission to draw the Tyrant’s ability because he wanted to touch Feidin for some luck.

Patting Feidin on the shoulder, Han Xiao gave everyone a few words of encouragement and sent all the officers away, saying that he needed to rest.

Han Xiao returned to his room alone and opened the interface to claim the reward.

_____________________

You have received the reward: Draw Heber’s one ability/talent.

Tip: Heber is a Pugilist. Part of the abilities/talents are adjusted according to your class.

Randomizing… complete!

Please select one from the five options below as the reward:

1. [Phantom Combo]—Ability: +75% close-range attack speed. Duration: 7s. Cost: 80 Energy. Cooldown: 18s

2. [Star Tossing Power]—Ability: Use energy to enhance your cells, +600 Strength. Duration: 20s. Cooldown: 120s

3. [Weakness Observation]—Ability: +30% close range Critical Chance. Duration: 15s. Cooldown: 180s

4. [Close Range Killer]—Talent: +40% close-range attack and attack speed. +2 levels to all close-range combat abilities.

5. [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation]—Ability: A secret technique the Tyrant uses to cultivate his energy. Current Effect: +500 Energy. Training Times: 0/650. This must be used on a Fixed Star. The effect of every training session depends on the time spent on the Fixed Star. Maximum effect per training: 25 Energy. Minimum: 0. Cost: 6,000,000 Experience per training session.

_____________________

Scanning through the first four options, Han Xiao was a little disappointed. Beyond Grade A Pugilists had many abilities, so the chance of getting something good was exceedingly low. The first four options all had very limited effects.

However, the last option made Han Xiao surprised.

This is what Heber uses to train his energy?

This is good stuff.

Some of the Pugilists’ powerful energy came from talents and some came from cultivation type abilities.

When someone reached Beyond Grade A and wanted to continue becoming stronger, they would start searching for all sorts of abilities to train their energy. The longer one had been a Beyond Grade A Super, the stronger one’s energy would usually be.

His current health-energy cycle had reached an obstacle. This was because of his energy number—compared to his two million or so health, he only had fifty thousand energy, and this became a restriction to how tanky he was.

Although [Radiation Absorption] increased his energy, it required a very long time. Even if he searched for Energy Training Techniques like the other Beyond Grade As, it would also be highly time-consuming. Heber’s Energy Training Technique, however, was the shortcut he needed at the moment to increase his strength. A high-grade secret technique created by a Beyond Grade A would have a considerable effect on increasing his energy.

As for the experience cost that was enormous for the players… Han Xiao happened to have the experience penalty for more than ten months, so there was no need for him to level up.

The other four options were not very useful, so Han Xiao selected the last option without hesitation.

_____________________

You have received [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation]!

_____________________

Han Xiao closed the interface with satisfaction.

“The biggest problem is temporarily settled. Next is the expansion of the Black Star Army. Plans regarding the Flickering World need to be brought forward as well. Speaking of which, when the army stabilizes, I will need to visit the Central Galaxy once…”

…

At the same time somewhere in the Central Galaxy, a broadcast of the duel in the Shattered Star Ring was playing on the screen. It had come to an end, and people started leaving.

Beep.

The broadcast was shut down, and EsGod’s face was reflected on the dark screen.

“Contact Black Star.”

Chapter 781 - EsGod“s Suggestion

The viewers at the scene and in front of their screens could not calm down for a long time, watching as the Black Star Army’s fleet left.

At this instant, in their hearts, the position of the Black Star Army had risen to that of the Bloodshed Land, deeply carved into their hearts.

During the return journey, Han Xiao made a detour and stopped by a fixed star in order to test out the effectiveness of [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation]. He told the fleet to pause for a moment whilst he flew over to the surface of the Fixed Star.

Without donning his mechanical suit, the strong infrared radiation and high temperatures directly hit his body. The closer the distance, the higher the intensity.

When he had reached a certain distance, the words [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation] on his interface lit up, signaling that it was able to be used.

After spending millions of experience, Han Xiao began his first cultivation session.

The energy in his body boiled up instantly, frantically absorbing the energy that was radiated by the star. His skin turned red, and the brightness continuously rose.

That’s right. I should activate [Radiation Absorption] as well.

At this moment, a stream of radiation shot out from the fixed star straight toward Han Xiao, resembling a crimson tsunami. Han Xiao did not avoid nor retreat but rather allowed the fixed star radiation to engulf him. His HP dropped a notch.

Under the high temperature, his HP decreased without stopping, but it very quickly filled up once again using his energy. The effect of the Stellar Furnace Cultivation would depend on the length of his stay on the star. The reason it was classified as a high-level cultivation method was because there were practically no Grade As that could survive on a fixed star, but with the current fleshly body of our Great Mechanic Han, he could live on this fixed star till he died of old age.

“This is literally taking a bath among the stars.” Han Xiao played with a lump of stellar energy from the fixed star, rolling it on his chest like bubbles as he roared in laughter.

After enduring for half an hour, the interface indicated that the effect of his cultivation had reached its limit. Only then did Han Xiao leave the fixed star. The count on his Stellar Furnace Cultivation now read 1, which added an extra 25 Energy to him.

For every half an hour, I get 25 energy. If I practice it 650 times, which is to completion, I will receive a total of 16,000 energy, which converts to almost 80,000 HP.

Han Xiao was in a good mood. Having reached Beyond Grade A, increasing his strength had become more difficult than before. The opportunity for him to improve so much was rare, thus making him feel that this was some peerless divine technique.

After finishing his test of the Stellar Furnace Cultivation skill, Han Xiao returned to the fleet. After settling the affairs of his army, he would have the free time to practice this Energy Training Technique.

…

“The Black Star Army has allied with the Crimson Dynasty, and the Evolution Cube is now under the ownership of the Crimson Dynasty, forcing the Arcane Church to retreat.”

“Black Star became famous in his battle, causing the Tyrant to voluntarily retreat!”

“Our field reporters were all unfortunately killed, and according to the incomplete statistics, the casualty rate of the spectators reached tens of millions…”

The dust from the battle had settled, but its impact had spread like a tornado throughout the entire Shattered Star Ring, making headlines on every major news channel.

This event had attracted the attention of too many people. The five Beyond Grade As of the Shattered Star Ring had all gathered, and while the process was not long, the situation had changed again and again. For everyone, Black Star was the greatest protagonist in this event, having fought with the Tyrant. The most shocking thing was that the Crimson Dynasty had gone against expectations and announced the joining of Black Star in a high-profile manner. This was something no one had expected.

Everyone knew that this signified another Beyond Grade A gaining a solid foothold in Galaxy. With a hegemon as a backer, and that day’s matters being enough to be recorded in the history of Shattered Star Ring, it was a signal that the flow of the Star Field was about to change.

The day after the battle, the Black Star Army issued a recruitment order to the entire Star Field.

For a period of time, countless people who had only been watching felt an urge to respond.

With the Crimson Dynasty as a backer, the Black Star Army naturally did not lack resources, and their leader Black Star was even a Beyond Grade A who had proved his abilities. Such a new-born force had an immense future, and the benefits they provided would be many.

The Black Star Army recruitment order was like a deep-sea mine, setting off a huge wave in the Shattered Star Ring. Only a day after the order was issued, spaceships had already set off from the various Star Clusters, heading directly toward the headquarters of the Black Star Army in the Colton Star Cluster.

A multitude of applicants gathered. This was the largest recruitment in the history of the army. Phillip received tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions, of resumes and application forms every day.

Many organizations in the Shattered Star Ring also threw out olive branches to the Black Star Army.

…

“You want to merge under my name and let me be the chief of the Mercenary League? That’s not a problem, but you must continue to be responsible for the daily affairs… Yes, that’s roughly what it means. We can do it this way. When the time comes, we’ll jointly declare to the Star Field that the Mercenary League is now anchored under my name.”

After ending the call with Gureja, Han Xiao pinched the bridge of his nose. He had already lost count of how many organizations had contacted him over the past few days and proposed such requests.

Some of his mercenary allies wanted to take advantage of his renown, but this mainly went for organizations that were closer to him. For example, Serbia the Fifth of Godora had called the day before, explaining that he wanted to organize another political visit. He hoped that the Black Star Army would not relocate its headquarters as well and stay near Planet Golden Gate.

Because of the existence of the Black Star Army, Planet Golden Gate had ushered in a period of explosive development in its recent years. With its original purpose as a transportation hub as well, the economy had become extremely prosperous.

Serbia the Fifth also wanted to invite Han Xiao to become an honorary officer of Godora, but the intention behind this was too obvious, and he was directly rejected by Han Xiao. A Golden Gal Badge was good enough for him, and the position of honorary officer would affect the position of the Black Star Army.

A Star System level Civilization could not satisfy Han Xiao’s appetite. With a godly support tool like the Evolution Cube in his hands, he had to watch which civilizations he chose to integrate with. Thus, it was not suitable to take such a clear stand with Godora.

The many civilizations in the Colton Star Cluster had also contacted him, of which a majority were those whom he had received mining rights from. Now that he had established his position through the battle with the Tyrant, those civilizations were trying to deepen the connection they had. In addition to gaining a Beyond Grade A as an ally, it was more because they lusted for the Evolution Cube.

Their alliance contract had a change in terms, which included expanding the mining area of the resource planet, allowing them to establish more branches and so on. To summarize, each civilization basically took out a large slice of their own benefits and distributed it to Han Xiao, accepting him as a high-level power in Galaxy.

However, regarding the agreement on the Evolution Cube, Han Xiao had left the other civilizations on hold and did not lock it down immediately. With something as good as the Evolution Cube on his hands, he did not intend to rush into obtaining benefits immediately. Since he had the seller’s advantage, he might as well take his time to decide.

Another issue was that many small organizations were requesting to merge with the Black Star Army. There was no shortage of organizations that were helmed by Calamity Grades. There were even several organizations in Section Zero that wished to become members of the army. After all, the temptation of the Crimson Dynasty was too great.

The last group consisted of all the financial groups actively investing to cover the cost of the expansion of the organization. Money had an extraordinary strength, and the expansion of the Black Star Army could be proportionally related to how much investment they obtained from the financial group.

Before he even got to rest a few minutes, his communicator rang once again. It was Zoel calling.

“Black Star… no, I should be addressing you as Your Excellency Black Star now.” Zoel smiled.

Han Xiao replied sarcastically before asking, “Envoy, why have you called me today?”

Upon getting to the main topic, Zoel no longer bothered with the pleasantries, immediately saying, “Now that we’ve already announced our alliance, we have to plan for our future cooperation. As for your alliance, the Dynasty has decided to first settle the matters of the Shattered Star Ring, which is your secret war.”

Interesting. Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

“Klent is preparing to submit a proposal during the Galaxy Central Civilization Court, asking for a complete reshuffling of the Colton Star Cluster and Seoul Star Clusters, which will be mediated and decided by the three Universal Civilizations.”

The Galaxy Central Civilization Court was the most formal place where the three Universal Civilizations had agreed to mediate disputes. It covered all Star Clusters, Star Field, and Star System Civilizations, with some special ethnic groups even having seats inside it, uniting the vast majority of civilizations in the universe to discuss and resolve their problems. It was an extremely formal process.

“Since Klent is also your ally, what do you plan to do?” Han Xiao asked.

“We plan to talk to Klent in private, asking them to give up the idea of submitting a proposal.” Zoel nodded. Because Klent was also their ally, the Dynasty could not be too harsh in dealing with them. They would not sit idly by and allow Klent to submit the proposal.

In fact, Klent’s scheming for the territory of the Purple Crystal Civilization was not the intention of the Crimson Dynasty but something Klent had decided on themselves to satisfy their own ambitions using the banner of the Dynasty. This sort of thing was too common, and as long as they did not exceed certain boundaries, the Crimson Dynasty would turn a blind eye to this matter. However, since they now had other considerations, they had the authority to put a stop to Klent’s plans.

Of course, the Dynasty would definitely give some sort of compensation, such as giving Klent more territorial benefits in their division of the Flickering World.

“Klent is very knowledgeable, and they know that it will be useless for them to disagree. The Arcane Church was also hit by us and will definitely obstruct Klent’s proposal to get back at us. Without us opening our mouth, the proposal will not pass.” Zoel waved his hands.

“That’s true as well.” Han Xiao nodded. He did not feel that the Arcane Church would be one to swallow this injustice silently; they would look for a place to vent. The political stage would be one such area.

“Now that your Black Star Army and Bloodshed Land are our allies, we will work together to open up the Flickering World in the future. Thus, after solving the problem of the secret war, you guys have to have a good talk with each other, turning from enemies to allies,” Zoel said.

The Crimson Dynasty valued the development of the Flickering World, and their two allies in the Shattered Star Ring were the pioneers for exploring it. Naturally, the dynasty did not wish to see its two allies affect the exploration of the new Star Field because of mutual misgivings. Even if it was only a superficial reconciliation, they wanted to see some effort put in by them.

“That’s alright with me. However, I’m not sure what Ty-Ty will say.” Han Xiao shrugged in response.

Hearing this, Zoel also helplessly smiled. The party that had lost the most this time was the Bloodshed Land, and he would definitely have quite a lot of say.

After pausing for a while, Zoel said, “As for the last matter, the Dynasty will soon send the first batch of people to undergo the Evolution Cube transformation. When I know the exact time, I’ll inform you once again.”

Han Xiao nodded in response. This had already been discussed in their contract; the Crimson Dynasty had the right to utilize the Evolution Cube.

While he did not know who would be within the first batch of people from the Crimson Dynasty, they would naturally be elites. Maybe Han Xiao would see some ‘familiar faces’ within.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Han Xiao then ended the communication. Just as he hung up, his communicator rang once more. It was an unknown number this time.

Pausing for a moment, he answered the call, and his expression changed.

On the screen was the ugly face of EsGod.

“Black Star.” The corners of the EsGod’s mouth were curled up in a strange smile as it greeted him.

Han Xiao only stared at the screen and did not talk. He did not expect EsGod to actually contact him. Toward this reputedly fierce Beyond Grade A brute, he still had his reservations.

“I have a deal to discuss with you.”

“What is it?”

The EsGod smiled. “Rest assured, I won’t snatch your Evolution Cube. You’re different from Psyker, and you’re not as stubborn as him.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Now that the Evolution Cube is in your hands,” EsGod leisurely said, “let’s make a deal. Let me use it once, and I’ll help you with one matter.”

Han Xiao immediately narrowed his eyes. EsGod’s claim that he would not snatch the Evolution Cube was something that Han Xiao did not believe. Furthermore, making a deal with EsGod was akin to trying to scheme against a tiger for its skin.

Before he could reply, EsGod said, “I understand that your alliance with the Crimson Dynasty has just started, and you have your reservations. However, for someone like you who is bound by the rules of order, there will be a point when you require a lawless thug to help you achieve something… You don’t have to be in a hurry to answer me. When you’ve thought it through, you can call me again to give your answer.”

Smiling, EsGod shut off the communication.

Han Xiao furrowed his brows, his finger stopping at the option to delete the encrypted number of EsGod.

After pausing for a long time…

His finger swiped down.

EsGod’s number was placed in his blacklist.

He did not delete it.

…

Spaceship after spaceship landed on Planet Aquamarine, carved with various insignias belonging to different financial groups. All of them were material transport ships carrying a large amount of resources.

Bennett, together with the Aquamarine Federation, stood at the dock as they watched the mechanical workers moving the supplies one by one.

As the hometown of a Beyond Grade A, they had received even more investment and support from the financial groups.

Bennett could not help but turn his head, looking outside the door of the hangar to the huge black statue erect at the center of the city. There was a touch of relief and gratitude in his eyes.

Chapter 782 - Interlude, an Unexpected Gues

The headquarters of the Black Star Army started to get lively.

In the following half a month after the recruitment order was issued, countless spaceships flew into the headquarters to pay them a visit. All of them were candidates that had been vetted by Phillip and the alliance, and they went to the headquarters to meet Black Star and await the final review of the Army Commander.

While the fleet that had gone for the battle had yet to return to the headquarters, all the new members were orderly lined up in the satellite base’s outer layer, awaiting Black Star’s arrival. If one looked up from the surface of Planet Golden Gate, they would be able to see another ring somehow materializing around the Black Star Army’s headquarters. The headquarters seemed to have a ring of stars that consisted of spaceships shining like bright mist.

“Yet another batch of new recruits is coming in.” Within one of the metal strongholds in the headquarters, the drill sergeant, Brock, who was supervising the training of the reserve members looked out at the spectacular sight outside the porthole and could not help thinking back.

Brock had joined the Black Star Army more than a decade ago. He had witnessed the history of the Black Star Army, how it had grown from an ordinary mercenary group into the behemoth that was allied with a Universal Civilization.

With DarkStar having long been annihilated, the problem with discrimination in Godora was also beginning to settle down. The mixed Godorans were gradually returning to the embrace of the Godoran Civilization. With no goal to fight for, Brock thus buried his past and decided to conceal his identity as a DarkStar spy, completely devoting himself to the Black Star Army.

Brock, however, was unaware that Han Xiao had known of his identity since the beginning. However, with DarkStar having vanished, there was no need to settle debts with this ‘obedient’ spy, so he had left him to his work.

While working in the Black Star Army was tough, after abandoning his identity as a DarkStar member, Brock’s attitude became more relaxed. He began to fall in love with the process of grooming batch after batch of warriors and soldiers. Under the care of Han Xiao, he had served for a decade as a drill sergeant and had long become accustomed to his role.

He could be considered a veteran in the Army and was also the top person in the Godoran faction within the army. Due to the popularity of the Black Star Army in Godora, many of the Godorans chose to work in the army and formed a Godoran faction, which was just one of the many factions in the army. With the current size of the Black Star Army, there were naturally many smaller factions within.

Just as he raised his head to observe the spaceships hovering in the air, there were also three passengers in a ship staring intently at the headquarters of the Black Star Army within the huge group of spaceships outside the headquarters.

This was a small, standard spaceship commonly found in Galaxy, completely unassuming.

“Can we really blend in with them? The Black Star Army personnel won’t be so negligent, right?”

A man with thick eyebrows and big eyes had a hesitant tone as he spoke. He was a humanoid species, with smooth and bright silver skin, wearing a black cloak. Inside the black cloak, his exposed skin could be seen, covered in complicated and delicate magic lines.

“Other than that, there’s no other way about it. If we want to see that person, we can only enter the Black Star Army headquarters,” another person said. This person was a mixed race, with red, dragon-like scales on both his cheeks. He was a burly man about four meters tall, wearing a simple metal vest that exposed the knotted muscles on his arms.

“Relax, even if we really get exposed, we can masquerade as people trying our luck to join the Black Star Army. They’ll at most chase us away. There won’t be any danger.”

The last person leaned against the wall as he spoke. He wore a tight combat suit, with two pairs of arms extending from his shoulders. One of his upper arms was placed behind his head like a pillow, while the other played around with a silver alloy dagger. The lower arms were placed akimbo on his waist, giving him a lackadaisical air.

These three were not new members of the Black Star Army like the others. They had different objectives, and they seemed to be led by the silver-skinned guy who had spoken first.

At this moment, in the starry sky outside the porthole shone a sudden stream of light approaching them and stopping over Planet Golden Gate. It was the Black Star Army that had returned to the headquarters.

“Wow, so many new members.” Seeing the ring of spaceships, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

“This is only the first batch of recruits. They’re all waiting here for you, Master, hum…”

In Han Xiao’s neural connected quantum network, Phillip started to bubble. His small body was lying at the extremes of Han Xiao’s field of vision, with only his head popping out in his vision.

“Humph, I suggest sending a mechanical army to test the actual combat capabilities of these new members. Unqualified people will not be eligible to join the troops of my master!”

On the other side, the usually quiet and solemn Artificial intelligence Sparta also revealed his body. He was wrapped in heavy armor, and his face could not be clearly seen. Only a single cold looking eye was revealed, and his voice was husky and powerful.

With Han Xiao’s [Virtual Technology] skill tree having been completed, he had studied the data structure of Risda and given his Artificial intelligence the ability to think for themselves, as well as unique personalities. This would be used to improve his computing power, as his brain would be connected to them through the quantum network at any time. This would allow him to supervise the dynamics of the Artificial intelligence without the fear of accidents happening. It was similar to taking care of a pet, just that it did not require someone to clean up their sh*t after them, and the AIs would not flare up, even helping in his daily life.

Would there be a better pet than the one stated above‽

Within the quantum network, Han Xiao’s thoughts turned into a stream of data, flowing into Phillip’s eyes. He instructed, “You can open the hangar of the headquarters now. When I dock, let all these new members come and meet me.”

“Roger, hum…”

The hangar for the headquarters opened, and the Black Star Army fleet slowly descended, sliding into the empty hangars. As for the new members who had waited for many days, they also received the notice and started to descend.

The huge spaceship ring around the headquarters split into a few dozen streams, pouring into the various hangars. Numerous mechanical assistants were activated to receive all the new members.

The majority of the new members would be directed to the spacious lobby of the headquarters. When everyone had gathered, they would meet up with Han Xiao together. As for the new members in the Calamity Grade, they would receive special treatment and would proceed to the conference room in advance to meet with Han Xiao and his officers personally.

Leading his officers, Han Xiao entered the conference room. Within were more than ten people, and their gazes all shot toward him the moment he entered. All of them stood up immediately.

“Your Excellency Black Star!”

“Army Commander!”

They all saluted, excitement filling their faces. They were the first batch of Calamity Grades to be admitted, coming from different Star Systems. This was the first time they had personally laid eyes on their new Beyond Grade A leader, which made them extremely emotional.

In the eyes of the ordinary, reaching the Calamity Grade was already something unbelievable, but when faced with a Beyond Grade A, the majority of the Calamity Grades had the same feeling as when an ordinary person faced them. Furthermore, there was also another layer of yearning and longing.

Han Xiao smiled. “Hello, everyone.”

After becoming a Beyond Grade A Super, not only had he advanced in strength, his horizons had also widened. In the past, if there were over twenty Calamity Grades who wished to join his Army, he would have been smiling from ear to ear, but right now, he was actually very calm. He could at least endure till there was no one around before he burst into laughter.

While the fame of a Beyond Grade A was appealing, a Calamity Grade could also be considered a high-end combat power. Many of the Calamity Grades were unwilling to join under other forces. Even though he was a Beyond Grade A, Han Xiao would never look down on Calamity Grades. Recruiting more than a dozen high-end combat personnel this time was the highest record ever for the Black Star Army.

Han Xiao chatted with the dozen or so Calamity Grades, motivating them. These recruits were the top combat force and would be his officers in the future.

Because the size of the army was too huge, Han Xiao did not have the time to check the attributes of every single new member. Thus, he only focused on the stronger newcomers, which were precisely these Calamity Grades.

After quietly looking through the interface properties of everyone, he secretly nodded.

While none of them have any Molding Talents, the strongest has reached the level of A+ and can be considered a mini-boss.

Turning back to look at Hila, Han Xiao said, “The Black Star Guards will serve as my elite unit, with the Calamity Grade as the threshold for entry. Hadavy is also a member of the Black Star Guards, and this is my Guards Captain, Hila. Because the Guards were only established recently, it needs to be expanded. The quota is known by Hila, and she as well as the other Black Star Guards will test your abilities and pick a few of you to enter the Black Star Guards.”

The eyes of the Calamity Grades lit up. The Black Star Guards were obviously the bodyguards of Black Star and would follow him around. The temptation of this position was not little at all, and compared to the benefits they would obtain as ordinary officers, they looked forward more to learning from the experience of a Beyond Grade A, allowing themselves to be stronger. After all, earning money at their level was pretty easy, and the attraction of material enjoyment was quite limited. What they pursued was more of a promotion in realms.

The Black Star Guards took the ten or so Calamity Grades away, and Han Xiao led the rest of his officers to welcome the new members. However, Phillip suddenly started emitting bubbles again.

“Master, hum… I discovered a spaceship with no verification. There are three people on board the spaceship who do not have an invitation. They’re not new members joining our army, nor is their data present in the database. Their identities are unknown, and they are situated in Hanger No.6. Do you want to look through their information?”

“Oh, they might be here to fish in murky waters and try to be accepted into the army. You can just chase them…” Before Han Xiao could finish, the image of the trio was transferred to his mind, and he suddenly paused, his eyes growing wider.

Seeing that Han Xiao did not reply, Phillip tilted his tiny head to the side, prompting him. “Master?”

“Hu…” Han Xiao let out a long breath, his eyes flashing as he changed his order. “Don’t stop them. Let them enter and pretend you are unaware of their identities. Just activate the surveillance within the army and constantly lock onto their positions.”

“Roger that, hum…”

After disconnecting from the quantum network, Han Xiao stroked his chin, his eyes narrowed.

“To think that these three thugs dared to show up in my territory at this moment… Hmm, it seems that the butterfly effect I’m causing is spreading. There’s an eighty percent chance that they’re here for her…”

…

The spaceship entered and stopped at the dock. The trio—Silverskin, Dragonscale, and the four-handed man—set foot on the crowded dock, looking around.

There were none of the anticipated alarms, no mechanical assistants waiting to confirm their identities, and no one coming over to escort them.

They had entered so easily!

“The Black Star Army’s security measures are too lousy, as good as nonexistent.” The four-handed man pouted. “Even my mother star that is about to be destroyed by the crazy scientists is safer.”

Silverskin was a little uneasy, softly saying, “We’ll blend in first before looking for a chance to split off and act. Don’t get caught.”

“Ok.” Dragonscale nodded.

Silverskin then squeezed his fingers as he murmured, “Hopefully, we can find the rumored Rossellin here…”

Chapter 783 - Celebrities of the Future

All the new non-Calamity Grade members gathered in the main hall of the headquarters. It was filled with people.

The roof of the hall suddenly opened. The army officers descended from the sky and landed on the most conspicuous stage in the hall. They stood in a row and looked around at the millions of new members below.

“That’s the army’s Chief Administrative Official, Sylvia. Beside her is the Fleet Chief Commander, Herlous. They’re both seniors under Black Star’s command.”

“That’s the army’s Vice-Captain Lagi. They say he’s the strongest person under Black Star’s command.”

“Hadavy became one of Black Star’s guards some time ago. He should be the strongest.”

“Why aren’t the Black Star Guards here?”

In the many years of fighting the secret war, the various officers of the Black Star had earned a name for themselves. The new members in the hall all recognized these officers.

This time, a flash of light appeared on the stage. Han Xiao walked out of the Void Dimension and nodded at the millions of new members.

The people under the stage focused. Facing a Beyond Grade A, most people were both excited and nervous.

“Welcome to the Black Star Army…”

Han Xiao scanned through the hall filled with people and started his speech while his thoughts drifted to the three unwelcome guests. While presenting his welcome speech, he watched the images on the surveillance cameras and focused on the whereabouts of those three people at the same time.

They had already found Rossellin.

…

Rossellin was special among the army officers. She was the Cultural Instructor. Due to her unique ability, she rarely appeared in public and usually gave people lessons in the army training camp.

After returning with the fleet, she did not follow Han Xiao to show herself in front of the new members but directly returned to her room in the training camp in the headquarters. However, on her way, she was stopped by three people.

“What do you want?” Rossellin slightly raised her brow.

Rossellin sized up the silver-skinned man, the man covered in dragon scales, and the four-armed man.

“Let me introduce myself. My name is Edmond, and these two are my friends. The buff one is Kayde, and the four-armed one is Haywal,” The silver-skinned Edmond said.

The man covered in dragon scales, Kayde, nodded as a greeting. The four-armed Haywal waved his hands.

Rossellin narrowed her eyes and suddenly said, “You’re not members of the army, are you?”

“Yes, but we mean no harm. We just hope to have a talk with you.” Edmond lowered his voice. “You’ll definitely be interested.”

After a period of silence, when Edmond felt a little anxious, Rossellin slowly nodded. “Okay, follow me.”

Then, she turned around and led the way. Delighted, Edmond took his two friends and followed behind.

When they came to a corner with no one around, Rossellin stopped and turned around.

“Tell me, what do you want to talk to me about?”

“The three of us are from the Sea of Star Spirits. We’re planning to build a career, and we hope to invite you to join us.” Edmond got straight to the point.

“Interesting. You came to the Black Star Army’s headquarters and tried to recruit a Beyond Grade A’s officer. You have some guts,” Rossellin mocked. “Tell me about your so-called career. Don’t disappoint me.”

Edmond licked his lips, lowered his voice, and said, “We want to overthrow the three Universal Civilizations.”

Rossellin’s smile stiffened.

“…Allow me to confirm something.” Rossellin’s lips twitched. “You’re not mental, are you?”

“I know this sounds unbelievable, but this is indeed my aspiration.” Edmond’s tone started to get a little elevated. “The three Universal Civilizations have ruled the galaxy for way too long. In order to maintain their ruling position, they toy with the rules that they set under the name of maintaining order, eliminating the future of countless races.”

Rossellin frowned. “But it’s also thanks to those rules made by the three Universal Civilizations that the universe is as peaceful as it is today. If they disappear, countless civilizations will start a war to become the ruler that will spread across the entire universe. Quintillions of lives will be lost in the flames of war, only for new rulers similar to the three Universal Civilizations to be born in the end. What’s even worse is that maybe all civilizations will be destroyed. Don’t you know that?”

“I do. This is the price for overthrowing the current rules, but…” Edmond took a deep breath. “That’s what a revolution is.”

“A revolution is to create a better era, but the era now is peaceful—lives are decent. Since people can still live well, why do you want to revolutionize? If… and I mean if, you really overthrow the three civilizations, can you promise the future will be better than now?”

“No one can promise what will happen in the future. Whether a revolution will create a better era or not, I don’t know. But I’m not willing to deliberately ignore the problems of today because I can’t let go of the peace and watch the wrong things continue to exist without doing anything.” Edmond shook his head. “In this era, resources are rich—more than enough to feed everyone even if they choose to do nothing in life, have no motivation, act like walking bags of meat… The basic resources are no longer our reason to start a revolution.”

Rossellin narrowed his eyes. “Then what do you fight for? For those races you said are oppressed? Or for your own ambition?”

Edmond shook his head. “Neither… revolution itself is my aspiration.”

Rossellin sized up Edmond carefully again. He looked ordinary, but his guts were anything but ordinary. With the three Universal Civilizations’ position, this was equivalent to going against the gods!

“If the revolution succeeds, what will you do? Take over the three civilizations?”

“I don’t know,” Edmond answered truthfully.

“… Why me?”

“In order to overthrow the authority that the three civilizations have in the hearts of countless people, we need your ability. Furthermore, we heard about what you did,” Edmond said softly. “You were once a reformer with great aspirations, too, weren’t you?”

Rossellin closed her eyes and did not speak.

After a long silence, she reopened her eyes and slowly asked, “How many of you are there now?”

“Just the three of us.”

“You haven’t even built your organization, and you already want to recruit me‽”

Rossellin’s tone was filled with disbelief.

Edmond bowed and said with a sincere tone, “Yes, but my sincerity is true in every sense. I hope to gather those with the same aspirations and beliefs and create something together. Rossellin, I hope you can consider my request.”

This time, it was as if Rossellin saw Black Star’s shadow on Edmond.

Both were big swindlers!

“I will consider it. Give me your communicator number.”

After a lot of hesitation, Rossellin did not make a decision instantly.

After exchanging communicator numbers, Edmond’s face was filled with joy. This time, Kayde, who never interrupted, suddenly spoke.

“Since the matter is settled, we should quickly leave the Black Star Army headquarters and not let ourselves get discovered.”

Edmond nodded continuously. He bade farewell to Rossellin and hastily left with the other two.

Rossellin opened her mouth, but in the end, still did not tell the three of them. They thought that they had snuck in here, but Black Star Army’s surveillance system had undoubtedly discovered the three of them long ago. In the headquarters, nothing could be hidden from Black Star.

She just did not know why no one had gone to catch these three all along.

This was why Rossellin had been curious since the start—did Black Star purposely let the three of them in?

Beep!

At this time, Rossellin’s communicator suddenly rang, and Phillip’s voice sounded.

“Master wants to see you, hum…”

…

When Edmond and the other two headed to the port, the inspection in the hall had ended as well. All the paths were filled with people, and it became boisterous.

The three of them were relieved. With the crowd as a disguise, they felt that the chance of them being discovered was much lower.

When they passed by the hall, Han Xiao had yet to leave. The three of them gave him a quick glance and immediately looked away, not daring to attract Han Xiao’s attention. They then left along with the crowd.

They came to the dock, retrieved their spaceship, and left the Black Star Army. Only then did Edmond finally relax.

“This doesn’t feel right,” Kayde suddenly said with a frown. “Our infiltration was too easy.”

Even Haywal who complained at the start felt that it was strange. “The Black Star Army’s headquarters’ defenses can’t possibly be this easy to penetrate, can they? If we were killers, we might have already killed a few officers.”

The three of them could not figure it out at all. There was no way they would ever think that Han Xiao had deliberately let them in.

From their perspective, they were just a few ordinary people. Why would a Beyond Grade A recognize them?

To prevent any pursuers, Edmond hastily sped up and entered hyperdrive. The spaceship turned into a stream of light and disappeared.

At the same time, in the corridor toward the officer conference room, Han Xiao smiled.

In the vision of the Observer’s Mark, Edmond’s movements were clearly shown.

The reason he had remained in the hall was to secretly throw an Observer’s Mark on Edmond as it was somewhere they had to pass.

I didn’t expect to see the leaders of the Silver Revolutionary Army here…

Those three were the founders of the Silver Revolutionary Army, the people that would be the main focus of an entire version in the future!

These future celebrities had yet to reach their potential; they were still at the beginning of their career and had not officially created the Silver Revolutionary Army.

Edmond was a restless revolutionary, a challenger of the authority of the three Universal Civilizations. The him now might have no idea how much he would achieve in his career.

Taking Rossellin in was one of Han Xiao’s bets, but to his surprise, this really turned out to attract the Silver Revolutionary Army, the core members even.

Han Xiao decided to watch things unfold and not eliminate Edmond and the others. He had no conflict of interests with the Silver Revolutionary Army. Plus, they might even become one of his chess pieces.

Edmond and his friends were very weak; killing them was a piece of cake for Han Xiao. However, eliminating the Silver Revolutionary Army storyline in advance would not benefit him in any way. If he went to tell the Crimson Dynasty that he had killed a group of people that would one day shake their authority, the Crimson Dynasty’s response would just be one word—”Okay.”

Hence, Han Xiao did not chase Edmond away. He planned to establish a positive relationship with the future Silver Revolutionary Army. Plus, he had planted an Observer’s Mark on Edmond unnoticed, so he had already obtained the upper hand.

When he walked into the conference room, Rossellin was the only one inside. She sat on a chair and looked at Han Xiao.

“I knew it. You let these three in.” Rossellin shook her head.

Han Xiao sat down, tapped the table with his fingers, and asked, “What do you think about them?”

“In terms of what?”

“What do you think about their proposal?”

Rossellin smiled and said, “Are you asking if I’m going to betray the army?”

Han Xiao shook his head. “I won’t call it a betrayal. You’re Reynold’s older sister. You’re just staying in the army to help. I didn’t say I was going to keep you here all your life. I knew you’re a restless person long ago.”

Hearing what Han Xiao said, Rossellin truthfully said, “The reason I’m staying in the army is primarily the generous salary and reward. No matter what I want to do, I will need the funds. Secondly, my history. You said that as long as I work for you, you will clean up my history. Thirdly… maybe a little bit because I want to repay you for saving me, ahem, but just a little bit.”

“I know, don’t have to emphasize it.” Han Xiao laughed. He paused and asked, “So, what are your thoughts?”

As he had saved Rossellin in advance, he did not know if she would still join the Silver Revolutionary Army like she did in the previous life.

“Humph, there are so few of them, and there’s no benefit at all. They really are ignorant for even thinking they could take me away to join their revolution. I’m not interested in those three simple-minded men.” Rossellin despised them a little. “However, to be honest, overthrowing the three Universal Civilizations… seems very interesting.”

So, you are interested… Han Xiao was speechless.

It was indeed true that one’s personality defined one’s fate. For a restless reformer like Rossellin, even if she did appreciate what he had done for her, she would still end up walking down the same path.

“If you’ve made up your mind, come to find me anytime. I will allow you to leave.” Han Xiao stood up.

Although Rossellin was very useful, he was not planning to force her to stay. Rossellin would most likely be a pillar of the Silver Revolutionary Army in the future. Having a good relationship with her was equivalent to planting his chess pieces in the Silver Revolutionary Army in advance. Furthermore, through Rossellin, he could let Edmond and his friends know that they had been able to sneak in today because he had turned a blind eye. This way, he would establish a positive relationship with them.

Besides, letting Rossellin go might lead to a chance to trigger missions from Reynold in the future.

The Great Mechanic Han still had not given up hope on Perfect Mechanical Sense.

The Silver Revolutionary Army started to grow quietly in the various Star Fields except for the Central Galaxy, only to erupt when their forces were powerful enough. They had yet to even form, so that would be very far in the future.

It has only been about half a year since the start of Version 3.0, Crimson Tide, and the secret war main storyline is already coming to an end. The development of the Flickering World is around the corner. It’s the perfect chance to let those players explore it. The seed of the Silver Revolutionary Army has appeared as well. As the storyline of this version develops, the strength of the players will become more and more apparent.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

The plan to expand the leek fields had to be brought forward. He could not be limited by the Shattered Star Ring.

Luckily, to respond to the Crimson Dynasty’s summon, he would have to visit the Central Galaxy later. This would be an opportunity.

…

At the same time, in the Crimson Dynasty Diplomatic Building on the Klent Mother Planet, a secret meeting had already lasted a very long time.

Bang!

Klent Diplomatic Ambassador slammed the table and stood up in a rage.

“Zoel! You’re crossing the line! Why is the Crimson Dynasty demanding that we give up submitting the proposal to re-classify the ownership of the Star Cluster? You’re telling us to give up everything we’ve done in the secret war for the past decade! Whose side are you on!”

Zoel wiped off the saliva that had splashed on his face and narrowed his eyes.

“I’m always on the Crimson Dynasty’s side.”

Chapter 784 - Voluntary Retreat!

The Klent Diplomatic Ambassador glared at Zoel and had no words.

“I’ve already told you the details,” Zoel said slowly. “The dynasty has decided not to take a stand regarding this issue. You can insist on submitting the proposal, but the chance of it being approved is very low. The Arcane Church will oppose your request. On behalf of the dynasty, I’m just suggesting that you guys give up on this proposal, not interfering with your choice. If you insist, we won’t stop you.”

“I don’t understand!” the Klent Diplomatic Ambassador said furiously. “Why is the dynasty helping Purple Crystal‽”

“The dynasty’s upper echelons have their considerations.”

“Is it because of the Evolution Cube‽ Is that why you people suddenly changed your stand‽”

“Let me emphasize again. The dynasty’s upper echelons have their considerations,” Zoel said with a heavier tone. “Plus, you’re wrong. The dynasty only upholds its own position, and this rule has never changed. The dynasty has never shown any support for your plan all along.”

The Klent Diplomatic Ambassador clenched his teeth. They did not think much when the Tyrant’s duel went south, but they had never expected it to be their turn so soon.

Klent had invested a ton of resources into the secret war. Initially, the Crimson Dynasty approved of this with silence, but now that the Crimson Dynasty had suddenly opposed it, this meant that Klent’s investments for the last decade might all go down the drain!

Of course, they were displeased with this.

No matter how the Klent Diplomatic Ambassador thought about it, he felt that this was because of the Black Star Army. Although Zoel did not explain why the Crimson Dynasty had decided to do this, it was painfully clear that this was certainly because of Black Star!

This time, Zoel changed the topic and said, “The development of the Flickering World is about to start. We hope you can dispatch your troops and make preparations as soon as possible. The exploration tasks will be rather complicated and difficult.”

The Klent Diplomatic Ambassador understood that this was most likely the Crimson Dynasty’s indirect compensation for them—allowing them to obtain more profit in the Flickering World.

After some pondering, he finally said, “Since this is what the dynasty has decided on, we will reconsider the proposal. As for the exploring of the Flickering World, we will definitely send our very best.”

Zoel smiled faintly.

After they were done with the business, they chatted for a while before the Klent Diplomatic Ambassador hastily left.

The Klent Diplomatic Ambassador walked out of the Crimson Dynasty Diplomatic Building, boarded a carrier, turned on his communicator, and contacted his superiors to report what had happened. This stirred up intense arguments.

In the end, the upper echelons came to a conclusion—there was nothing they could do to the Crimson Dynasty. No matter how displeased they were, they could only swallow it. Every Klent upper echelon felt wronged. As a civilization ruled by a Universal Civilization, they had no choice but to obey.

The person they hated most was their ‘new ally’, Black Star.

It could be said that Black Star had single-handedly shattered that decade-long plan!

…

More than seven years ago, Han Xiao had already vastly expanded his army using his fame as a Beyond Grade A Seed, which had built the fundamentals for him for the years to come. Since he had experience, this time, he used his influence as a Beyond Grade A to its fullest. Furthermore, with the Crimson Dynasty and the Purple Crystal Civilization backing him, most of his opposing forces did not dare make any moves. The expansion of the army met almost no obstacles at all and went extremely smoothly.

Countless free Supers in the Shattered Star Ring responded to the Black Star Army’s recruitment, and new members joined the army batch by batch. In just a short time, the size of the Black Star Army skyrocketed. Now there were more than three hundred million members of the Black Star Army across the various Star Systems in the Colton Star Cluster.

There were tens of millions of Grade Bs and more than forty Grade A Supers. Just in terms of high-level combatants, the Black Star Army had already surpassed most of the Star System Civilizations.

With Han Xiao’s influence as a Beyond Grade A, the Black Star Army expanded extremely quickly. With the investments from the many financial groups and the support from the Purple Crystal Civilization, Han Xiao had more than enough funds to support this quick expansion.

He threw an outrageous amount of money into the Logistics Department to build more battleships as well as new satellite bases so that he could have more divisions within the Colton Star Cluster.

While the Black Star Army was expanding at an astonishing speed, the galactic residents of the Shattered Star Ring were all paying attention to the aftermath of the duel. What they were interested in was what impact the Black Star Army becoming a Crimson Dynasty ally would have on the secret war.

The secret war had recently entered a ceasefire. After the duel, be it the Bloodshed Land or Section Zero, neither started any conflict. It was oddly quiet.

Countless galactic residents were paying attention to the secret war and saw it as a sign. According to the current situation, the next turn of events in the secret war would indirectly represent the result of the battle.

At this crucial time when everyone was expecting something to happen, a piece of news exploded from the secret war that caused a sensation in the entire Star Field!

Without any battle, without any announcement, out of nowhere, the Bloodshed Land gave up all their strongholds in West Wind, Kaya, Chaida, and the border Star Systems, voluntarily retreating out of the Colton Star Cluster!

When the information spread, all the people that were paying attention to the secret war were shocked.

The Bloodshed Land represented Klent’s stand. Retreating voluntarily meant that Klent had given up their invasion plan, given up the results of the past decade… This meant that Purple Crystal had won this war effortlessly.

The secret war, which had lasted an entire decade, had ended just like that‽

No one knew what agreement the two sides had made in secret. In the eyes of an outsider, the Black Star Army becoming the Crimson Dynasty’s ally definitely had something to do with this.

The most likely situation was that through becoming the Crimson Dynasty’s ally, the Black Star Army had somehow forced Klent to give up on the invasion, helping Purple Crystal win the secret war!

At its core, the merit all went to Black Star himself!

Advancing into Beyond Grade A, snatching the Evolution Cube away, forcing the Tyrant to retreat, becoming the Crimson Dynasty’s ally… this chain of events had flipped the entire situation!

This meant that Black Star had ended the secret war single-handedly!

This was the truth in the eyes of the people of the Star Field!

Before the aftermath of the grand duel even dissipated, the ending of the secret war stirred up a storm in the Shattered Star Ring once again!

…

_____________________

Grade S Faction Mission [Secret War: Section Zero] completed.

Mission rating: Unbelievable

You have received 6,000,000,000 Experience, Random Reward * 5, +40,000 Purple Crystal Contribution Points, and +1 Legendary Point.

Star Cluster Legendary Point (Colton Star Cluster): Star of the Secret War—You have contributed tremendously to the secret war. The people of the Purple Crystal Star Cluster will remember you for what you have done.

You have received 2 Political Assets.

Political Asset (2): Purple Crystal Civilization

You are loved and admired by the people of the Purple Crystal Civilization. When trading with Purple Crystal Civilization citizens, you can buy at lower prices and sell at higher prices.

The Purple Crystal Civilization is willing to listen to your requests. You can make suggestions to the Purple Crystal Civilization’s government directly. According to the rationality of the request, there’s a slight chance that the Purple Crystal Civilization will fulfill your request.

This is a symbol of political influence. Your achievements are praised in the universe. When interacting with certain organizations or characters, +45% Favorability gain rate.

You have valuable experiences. +45% Experience gained from all sources.

Remarks: Your relationship with the Purple Crystal Civilization has to be at [Reverence] for the above effects to take place.

Dungeon Creation: [Secret War]

_____________________

“Hmm? The secret war main storyline mission finally ended?”

On the closest Fixed Star from Planet Golden Gate, the burning Fixed Star energy surrounded a man.

In the free time he had during the army’s expansion, Han Xiao had been training [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation]. He was just taking a bath in the Fixed Star. Only when the chain of notifications popped up from the interface did he finally discover that the secret war had ended.

His mind connected to the quantum network and found the news about the Bloodshed Land retreating in an instant. Smiling, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

“Looks like Zoel carried out the terms and convinced Klent. It’s much quicker than I expected…”

Klent was rather decisive in directly letting the Bloodshed Land retreat, but Han Xiao knew that Klent was certainly resentful. They would not dare be displeased with the Crimson Dynasty, so their hatred would most likely be directed toward him. This was unavoidable.

To heal Klent’s tiny little heart, the Crimson Dynasty would definitely have made a deal with them secretly, which he would have no way of knowing the details of.

Han Xiao did not care about offending Klent. Despite them being allies on paper, the hatred between them would not just disappear after they had fought for an entire decade. Klent hated him, and he did not forget about Klent’s never-ending assassinations in the past decade.

Scanning through the mission reward, Han Xiao was delighted.

A Grade S Mission’s rewards were impressive. This was worth his decade of hard work!

Even to a leek farmer like him, six billion Experience was still rather considerable. The five Random Rewards were also more than the three rewarded by [Bloodline] in the past.

One Star Cluster Legendary Point was not bad either. Including the three Star Field Legendary Points that he had obtained through his battle with the Tyrant, his Experience Reward Quota for the players had almost doubled!

The two Political Assets were the most valuable reward. Political Assets were extremely rare and only appeared in outrageously difficult missions. His Experience gain increased by forty-five percent again. With this and the thirty percent given by the Godora Political Asset, he basically had a 1.75x Experience Card activated at all times!

After becoming a Beyond Grade A Super, the Experience needed to level up was on an entirely different level. With the bonuses provided by Political Assets, his efficiency in harvesting leeks would be tremendously increased. After the ten or so months’ Experience penalty period was over, he should have a ton of Experience ready for him to level up.

The [Secret War] Dungeon was a sub-product of large main storyline missions, just like the [Six Nations and Germinal Organization] Dungeon. He could cut out some battle that he had experienced during the decade-long secret war and create Dungeon Crystals.

Han Xiao immediately thought of another use for this.

“The players only joined the secret war toward the end. The earlier part of the war was just a background introduction to them. Maybe I can show them what the Black Star Army experienced in the decade-long war through the dungeon. They can personally experience how the army rose and learn more about the army’s history. This is beneficial to strengthening the players’ sense of belonging to the faction…”

After pondering for a while, Han Xiao felt that this could work and had many thoughts along with it.

“I can even give them internal honorable titles within the army, just to those players that participated in the secret war, signifying that they witnessed the rise of the army and let the new members know they’re senior members. They can even enjoy a permanent discount in the army in the future. This will be good in keeping the players here…”

Having thought of that, Han Xiao could not help but open the player forums.

He had obtained the secret war main storyline ten years in advance, so his rating being high was certain. Furthermore, winning the secret war increased the Mission Rating—not just for him but for all the Black Star Army players!

Han Xiao wanted to see how the players on the forums would react to this.

Chapter 785 - Forums“ Response and Themed Episode

As soon as he opened the player forums, two top posts marked ‘hot’ entered his sights—the new Galaxy Times episode and Bun-Hit-Dog’s video.

Both of those mentioned him, and the Galaxy Times even used his name as the subtitle of this episode. The name of this episode was ‘Galaxy Times: Legendary Leader—Black Star’!

“Yo, the Times made an episode about me.” Han Xiao was delighted.

The Galaxy Times often introduced large events experienced by the players in the various Star Fields. Sometimes, they would have an episode focused entirely on some grand event or important person.

For example, when Version 3.0 started, the Galaxy Times dedicated an episode to analyze the different storylines the Crimson Tide brought to the players in the various Star Fields. The Shattered Star Ring secret war was just one of them.

If he remembered correctly, although the Galaxy Times had mentioned him many times, this was the first time they had used his name as the subtitle of an episode.

It made sense. He was a renowned character that had existed through many versions, and he was also the first person to advance into Beyond Grade A in the eyes of the players. He deserved to have an episode dedicated to him.

Han Xiao looked at Bun-Hit-Dog’s video. Its title was ‘Black Star Army Specials: Rising in the Star Field’.

These two videos were the most popular posts at the moment. Han Xiao did not open them immediately. He had a habit of browsing through the other ordinary posts first to see what the other players were talking about.

He looked down, and countless new posts appeared, almost all about the secret war main storyline mission. The other players’ secret war main storyline mission had ended as well, which made a lot of players create posts out of surprise. Everyone was talking about this new topic.

“Damn, the main storyline mission ended? A notification suddenly popped out of the interface. I was not prepared for it at all!”

“I just saw the news. The Bloodshed Land retreated.”

“The news said that Purple Crystal initially had very slim chances and that it was the captain that turned the tables this time single-handedly, making Klent give up on the invasion.”

“Wow!”

“The Mission Rating is so high. Is it because we won the secret war?”

“Definitely. The Mission Rating details said that winning the war would increase the Mission Rating by an entire grade!”

“That’s amazing!”

“Captain is the best!”

“I’m crying over here. I went to do the storyline of the Mercenary League. If I’d known about this, I would’ve joined the secret war too.”

“Regret +1.”

On the forums, most of the Black Star Army players were overjoyed. This was a Grade S main storyline mission. Increasing its rating an entire grade should have been extremely difficult, but this time, it basically fell right down from the sky.

Only the army players had this benefit. The players were over the moon and liked Han Xiao even more.

As everyone was getting excited, some people thought about Summer Night Flower again and brought his post encouraging the army players to betray the army up to the front page.

“@Summer Night Flower, come out!”

“@Summer Night Flower, how are you feeling? Surprised? Shocked? Overjoyed‽”

“Yo, why aren’t you teaching us about the ‘right way to play the secret war’ now?”

“Didn’t you say the Bloodshed Land would win? How did this happen?”

“Very few can understand the truth? Ha!”

Summer Night Flower’s speculation had three key points. Today, the truth had proved all of them wrong.

He felt that the Black Star Army had no way up. Suddenly, the Black Star Army became the Crimson Dynasty’s ally, and the faction leader, Black Star became a Beyond Grade A.

He felt that the Bloodshed Land would win the secret war. The Black Star Army won.

He said that the Black Star Army had too many members, and the privileges given to each member were limited, which was even more ridiculous. The current army players made a killing, while those ‘traitors’ that joined the Bloodshed Land were almost going mad from being chased by the army players.

The players kept mentioning Summer Night Flower. Summer Night Flower basically acted as if he was dead and did not appear at all, afraid of exploding from the mockery from the players.

After scanning through the posts for a while, Han Xiao returned to the top posts. He opened the new Galaxy Times episode and watched it.

The opening was still those never-changing male and female hosts, as well as the same old opening speech that even the audience had memorized.

“Hello players,” the female host said, “this is Galaxy Times, dedicated to sharing first-hand game information. Your gaming career is our top priority.”

“We have only one topic to talk about in today’s episode—the renowned character who’s caused a sensation in Galaxy recently—Black Star!” the male host said.

The image changed. It was a screenshot from a certain player, and the background was the duel scene from not long ago.

The perspective of the screenshot was from the Black Star Army formation, which was behind Han Xiao. In the image, Han Xiao’s back was facing the player, and before him were countless enemy battleships. As if he was facing countless enemies alone, it looked very cool.

Then, the episode sorted out Han Xiao’s life story, introducing the rise of the Black Star Army and the large events experienced by the players.

In the Black Phantom era, he stirred up the Planet Aquamarine structure behind the curtains, starting a war single-handedly, getting his revenge, and eliminating the Germinal Organization.

In the Black Star Mercenary Group, he led the first group of professional players to battles in the universe, joined Floating Dragon, grew at an astonishing speed, and built the fundamentals of the future army…

In the Mutation Disaster era, for the promise he made, he led the Black Star Mercenary Group back to Planet Aquamarine, helping his mother planet fight against the disaster. He then guided the players into the galaxy, officially creating the Black Star Army, helping Godora eliminate the notorious DarkStar, becoming the rare example of an outsider receiving Godora’s Golden Gal Badge.

In the secret war era, he expanded and made the Black Star Army grow in the ten years unknown to the players, became a Beyond Grade A, single-handedly turned the tables, and helped Purple Crystal to win the war. He then made the army an ally of a Universal Civilization, the Crimson Dynasty.

The episode narrated Han Xiao’s life story from the players’ perspective in a rather official tone, accompanied by some Black Star Army sub-storylines recorded in the Galaxy Chronicles. It even played some players’ daily life experience in the army and added some interactive factors to the episode, showing how the players grew together with the army.

This episode ended with a conclusive remark.

“In just more than twenty years, Black Star left his mother planet and created an enormous and astonishing base in the Shattered Star Ring. From the once Black Phantom to the Black Star today, we witnessed his growth. He’s the first character we have seen advance to become a Beyond Grade A.

“As a leader, he is undoubtedly legendary. His ambitions, abilities, and intelligence are extraordinary, and he’s still active today. However, it’s as if he always wore a mysterious mask. We never fully understood his beliefs and personality.

“No one knows how much the Black Star Army can achieve under his leadership, but what’s certain is that… we’re witnessing the birth of a legend.”

The video ended there. The Galaxy Times used this episode to summarize what he had done. It was a rather official positive report.

Han Xiao felt that this was quite beneficial. To the old players from Version 1.0 and Version 2.0, he was an old friend, but to the new players in Version 3.0, there were still quite many people that had limited knowledge about him.

This Galaxy Times episode basically introduced him to more new players and brought him some fame.

“Not bad.” Seeing that he was on TV again, Han Xiao was glad. He then opened Bun-Hit-Dog’s video.

Compared to the Galaxy Times’s official tone, Bun-Hit-Dog’s video had a strong personal bias—an almost fawning tone.

At the start of the video, the image was pitch black, and a narrative sounded.

Han Xiao’s brow suddenly twitched. Bun-Hit-Dog’s narrative used the first-person perspective and spoke as if he was him.

The black image coated the deep voice with a layer of mystery.

“When I first stared at the night sky, it was filled with countless stars, bright and beautiful like diamonds. But at the edge of the sky, there were two overlapping stars. The front star blocked the starlight of the back star, making it a pitch-black star.”

“At that moment, I thought that maybe, one day, I can also block the light of other stars… so that everyone only sees me.”

Chapter 786 - Everything Comes at the End of Fawning

“Tsss…” Han Xiao felt a sense of numbness on his scalp.

This guy was still remarkable at fawning, and he had learned new tricks. Han Xiao could guess what this video would be like just by watching the start.

As expected, Bun-Hit-Dog used self-narration at the start to create a mysterious atmosphere. Then, the image changed as he began to describe his history since Black Phantom era. Although the Galaxy Times episode was similar, Bun-Hit-Dog had a completely different style. He used first-person narration most of the time, using material from many older episodes to create a strong sense of storytelling.

The first-person narration made the video strongly immersive. Bun-Hit-Dog described Han Xiao’s past using his perspective, creating a sense of personal experience, making the audience feel as if they were there.

Another specialty of the first-person narration was that through speaking his thoughts as ‘Black Star’, the audiences would have an even stronger impression of him.

Han Xiao always kept his distance when interacting with the players—he only expressed his surface thoughts. Therefore, the players could never understand his true thoughts. Bun-Hit-Dog wanted to use this episode to give ‘realness’ to the players’ impression of Black Star.

His goal was to strengthen his position as the official and authentic Black Star Army video series creator, making this episode a must-watch for anyone that wanted to know about Black Star in the future. Through deduction, analysis, imagination, and the strongly immersive narration, he created a lively image for Black Star, making this character more real in the eyes of the players.

To the players, a character-focused episode like this was not a new concept. They loved giving NPCs more direct personalities. After all, they could portray the NPCs any way they wanted, and the NPCs would never see it.

The basis of Bun-Hit-Dog’s analysis was what Han Xiao had done throughout the years. He deduced the reasons and motives for Black Star to do those things through his own perspective, beautifying Black Star’s image. A larger portion of the personality was based on speculation and guessing, but the players loved this.

From the Black Phantom era until now, it was as if the players experienced Black Star’s thoughts from the first-person perspective. Bun-Hit-Dog used Han Xiao’s very few public speeches, giving him a ton of positive personality traits—such as ambitious, loving his mother planet, wise, loyal to his friends, a man of his word, decisive, daring but careful, and many more.

“Damn, that’s way too much fawning.”

Bun-Hit-Dog made him sound like he was the essence of all virtues. Even Han Xiao himself was embarrassed.

But it felt good indeed…

The image that Bun-Hit-Dog had built was far off from him, but the benefits were obvious. Only players themselves could create a clear image of him this way. With such loyal paparazzi, it was beneficial in increasing his personal charm to the players. There were clearly more comments on this video than on the Galaxy Times video. Tons of people were praising their captain.

In the later part of the video, Bun-Hit-Dog emphasized on the future of the Black Star Army and made a new speculation.

“The secret war is the main storyline in our eyes, but the way I see it, this might just be the surface. The true hidden storyline is the rise of the Black Star Army!

“The secret war is actually the background of Black Star’s journey to becoming a Beyond Grade A Super and the rise of the army within the Star Field!”

This speculation gained approval from most of the army players. They remembered when the Black Star Army was far smaller than what it was today. When Version 3.0 started, the Black Star Army became completely different after the war and grew at an astounding speed.

Now that Black Star had ended the secret war, the rise of the Black Star Army felt more like the real main storyline that had snatched the attention from the secret war.

Seeing that most of the army players agreed with this, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

This was an opportunity to carry out his plan to make the history of the secret war into Dungeons.

…

The next day, the army players received a surprise gift.

For the players that had participated in the secret war, their army assistant in the communicator notified them that due to their involvement in the secret war, they had received the honorable title [Secret Warrior]. This was a title that was displayed on the army resume. It was a form of recognition from the army.

This was a title that was linked to the faction and had nothing to do with their interface. However, all players with this title would forever enjoy a ten percent discount when spending in the army!

The players that participated in the war were overjoyed, not just because of the discount but also because of the honor this title represented. There would only be one secret war, so this title would only be granted once, which meant that it was a faction title that would never be awarded again. This represented that they had witnessed the rise of the army; it was an honor that proved their position as seniors in the army.

At the same time, the faction store put up a ton of [Secret War] Dungeon Crystals that included many wars that spread across the ten years that the players did not experience.

The Dungeons had always been one of the players’ favorite activities, and this had piqued their interest. These secret war Dungeons clearly belonged to the same series. Just like the [Six Nations and Germinal Organization], it was suitable for their current level. The players considered this as one of the specialties of a growing faction. After every main storyline, the Black Star Army would create a corresponding Dungeon series. The players were used to it.

Other than farming rewards in Dungeons, the secret war Dungeons could help the players learn about the Black Star Army’s journey during the ten-year version update period. Personally experiencing it in the Dungeons was much more enjoyable than words recording the story.

Han Xiao had another motive for doing this. The secret war had ended, so the players had entered the free exploration stage. By giving out a ton of Dungeons at this time, it would give them new things to do to fill the time between the main storylines. When the Crimson Dynasty’s order to develop the Flickering World arrived, he would take the Black Star Army to explore the Flickering World. Then, there would be more than enough things to do.

The Flickering World was the storyline of the next version. After the Crimson Dynasty finished their early-stage development, only then would they let the various organizations of the Star Fields take part in the exploration. To players, this would be like a ‘World Server’. They would gather there, explore the unknown, and fight for resources. For him, however, he could take the army players into it in advance in Version 3.0.

Currently, all Han Xiao could do was wait and focus on expanding his army, grabbing as much profit from his sudden increase in influence. He kept the Evolution Cube exclusive for the time being, filling the various civilizations of the Colton Star Cluster with temptation.

With the ton of new members joining in, the matters within the army became complicated and more numerous. These matters were dealt with by Phillip and Sylvia, so he did not have to worry.

…

As half a month passed, most of the members that were willing to join were recruited. The expansion of the Black Star Army gradually started to slow down.

All the departments of the Bloodshed Land returned to the Seoul Star Cluster through stargates.

“Your Excellency Tyrant, what are you going to do?”

Hearing Jorde’s careful and cautious question, Heber turned around.

After what had happened to the duel, he had been keeping a low profile, quietly watching the Black Star Army’s expansion.

His ‘Tyrant’ name became Han Xiao’s stepping stone, and his reputation had been reduced tremendously. This result was too far from his expectations.

However, Black Star had become his ally on paper, so it would be impossible to make him a target for building his reputation. The Crimson Dynasty had ordered them to make peace.

Heber stayed silent for a while before saying, “On my behalf, send an invitation to the various organizations of the Shattered Star Ring. I’m going to host a new party.”

“Then, Black Star…” Jorde’s heart beat quickly.

“Since he’s the fifth Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring, of course, he deserves to be invited.” Heber did not look at Jorde’s expression and turned around.

Chapter 787 - Showing One“s Face for the Mission

“Heber invited me to his party?”

In the Black Star Army headquarters, Han Xiao glanced with interest at Malekith, who had a strained expression.

“That’s right. His Excellency Tyrant mentioned it.” Malekith’s hands already had a layer of sweat on them.

It was only because both sides had given face to the Crimson Dynasty that they had become allies on paper. However, their relationship remained delicate, as the confrontation of both sides over the decade was hard to resolve. Now that Malekith had come with an invitation letter, this resulted in tension within the enemy camp.

Looking at Han Xiao, who was seated on his Mechanical Throne, Malekith had mixed feelings.

He had once tried to recruit Han Xiao, but after more than a decade, he was still the Chief Vanguard Official under the Tyrant, whereas Black Star had leapt toward the sky and become a Beyond Grade A, the same realm as the Tyrant.

Han Xiao tapped the armrest of his throne with his fingers, deep in thought.

He had once attended a party of the Tyrant’s when he was following Ames. This was a party for the upper echelons of the Shattered Star Ring created by Heber, and all the major characters would participate in the show.

However, due to his defeat in the war, the Tyrant’s reputation had taken a hit, and the Bloodshed Land as well as Klent had been silent for a while. Heber was eager to convene a new round of meetings as he had intended to stabilize his position.

Since the Tyrant wished to maintain his current influence, he would definitely take the chance to invite this new Beyond Grade A. Or, it could be because Heber was grudgingly agreeing to the request of the Crimson Dynasty, enduring and trying to be nice. Then again, this could also be a Hongmen Feast[1], but the chances of that were not high.

Because the secret war had not ended too long ago, there were still many conflicts of interest. Perhaps this meeting was also to clarify such matters.

As his thoughts spun, Han Xiao nodded.

“Return and tell the Tyrant that I’ll attend.”

Malekith breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly bid farewell. Standing in front of Han Xiao gave him great psychological pressure.

The date of the meeting was set a month later. Because the secret war had just ended, Klent also had no choice but to endure their anger to negotiate with Purple Crystal to open the stargates at the borders of the Star Cluster, allowing both of their Star Clusters to be reconnected once more.

Based on the news that he had heard from those in the Purple Crystal Civilization, due to the intervention of the Crimson Dynasty, the negotiations between the two Star Cluster civilizations had gone pretty well, and they were expected to officially reopen the channels in the next ten days.

“In one month’s time, well, by then, the expansion of the Black Star Army will be almost complete. The Crimson Dynasty will also send in their first batch of elites to accept the blessing from the Evolution Cube after this meeting, so the time is just right.”

During the expansion, other than practicing Heber’s Stellar Furnace Cultivation and reforming his organization, he did not have too many things to do. Thus, he had time to drop by the Tyrant’s party to discuss things with the other organizations.

At this moment, Harmon suddenly pushed open the door, entering the room.

“Black Star, I’m leaving,” Harmon loudly said.

“Oh?” Han Xiao recalled now. “That’s right, you’re returning to fight for the position of chief, right?”

Harmon was a main character template for the Luhan Beastman Tribe. The Luhan beastmen were an interstellar civilization, and their brutal tradition was governed by a tribal system where each tribe would control several planets.

Their system had a special origin to it. The Luhan beastmen were not indigenous people but nomads who had been exiled from other star systems a long time ago. They were scattered on different planets in the same area and had developed independently to form different tribes. All of them had the same origin tradition, but due to the long evolution, each tribe now had a different culture. When they finally united as one, they chose to retain each respective tribe’s independence, resulting in this system.

Their method to select the chief was to randomly throw all their candidates to different planets in the universe, letting them hone themselves in the interstellar area, forming their own ‘War League’.

When the stipulated deadline arrived, each candidate would take their own War League back to battle for contention of the chief’s position. Since the campaign date for Harmon’s Rockfall tribe was arriving, his mercenary career was about to come to an end, and he was ready to return to inherit his interstellar tribe.

In order to recruit Harmon more than a decade ago, Han Xiao had also joined his War League, and thus, this mission was still hanging on his interface.

“Black Star, you’re part of my War League, and you need to come over to help me.” Harmon snorted.

“The Luhan Beastman Civilization is located in the Seoul Star Cluster…” Han Xiao stroked his chin. “It’s on the way to the Tyrant’s Party. That’s good. When the time comes, I’ll bring you along.”

This was an age-old tradition of the Luhan Beastman, and since he had promised it earlier on, Han Xiao was not prepared to go back on his words.

When Harmon left, Han Xiao took out his communicator and sent the news to the Dragon Emperor.

“Ames, the Tyrant has organized another meeting. Have you received the invite? Come over, we can set off together.”

Very soon, he received the reply from Ames.

“Ok.”

…

A few days later, Ames took a spaceship to the headquarters of the Black Star Army.

They were now allies, tied to the same thread, and already old friends. There was no need for formalities when meeting each other, and they were very easygoing.

Han Xiao only took his Black Star Guards along this time as he left the headquarters. Harmon and his War League were included within, as well as a few players who had accepted the mission of the War League. All of them travelled toward the battlefield together.

Since there were two Beyond Grade As inside this spaceship, alongside a group of high levelled Calamity Grades. The lineup could be described only as luxurious.

When they arrived at the border of the Star Cluster, because the stargates that had been closed due to the secret war had reopened, there were countless spaceships present, lining up to bypass the desolate universe belt. From afar, they resembled a winding dragon.

During wartime, the population from the two Star Clusters were unable to access each other’s areas due to the traffic restriction. This had just been restored.

Upon entering the Seoul Star Cluster, Han Xiao adjusted the direction and shot toward the territory of the Luhan Beastmen tribes.

At the same time, on Luhan’s Blood Planet…

This was a desolate planet almost totally covered in gray. It had a special place in the tradition of the Luhan Beastmen. Every tribe’s candidate for Chief would use this planet as a battle platform.

Luhan’s Blood Planet had a broken stone colosseum present. Each new tribal election would result in a new colosseum being built, leaving behind many wrecks and relics.

In a certain area of the planet, a fierce looking Luhan Beastman’s spaceship rested on the surface, and surrounding it was a newly built colosseum, which would be the battlefield of the current chief candidates that the Rockfall tribe would use to compete for the inheritance.

The current chief of the Rockfall tribe, Faleta, was a burly Beastman. Based on the Beastman aesthetics, the number of hairs one had on their body indicated their age, and Faleta was almost completely covered in hair, showing his old age.

He was the father of Harmon, who was the second heir to the right of chief.

“Mogo, Getaw, Thaler… of the twenty-five chief candidates, only six have returned. The rest should have died in the Universe.”

Looking over where the rest of the candidates were together in their respective War Leagues, he shook his head.

Most of the candidates were descendants of the superior tribes. The Luhan Beastmen were tribes that leaned toward the martial, and only the strong had the capability to rule over the tribe. After all the candidates were expelled from their home planet, they could not accept any kind of help from their tribes except the War League that they brought with them. This was to examine the candidate’s comprehensive survivability, if they could live on and return. Such candidates would then be eligible to compete for the Chief position. This was a screening in itself.

The candidates could not actively contact anyone in the tribe as well, otherwise they would be disqualified and mocked. Candidates could only passively accept their tribal notifications, so Faleta was not sure of Harmon’s current situation as well. He only knew that he had joined the Black Star Army and was still alive.

“Don’t even know if his War League is strong enough…” Faleta secretly worried.

The fight for the position of chief was a battle of life and death. There was no tradition of the Luhan Beastmen showing mercy to their own enemies. The six candidates had returned after more than a decade, bringing with them strong War Leagues, of which Mogo and Getaw’s were the strongest.

Mogo had joined the Bloodshed Land and brought many good warriors back with him, including many Grade B Supers. As for Getaw, he seemed to have become an important partner of some financial group, with a group of mercenaries behind him, but far less compared to Mogo’s.

The two of them stared at each other across the distance, regarding each other as the greatest competitor this time round.

“Relax, Mogo. We’re the elites from Bloodshed Land, and the enemy is only a bunch of ragtag warriors that have no fame. Their numbers are also fewer than ours. They are not our opponents.” One of the Bloodshed Land officers patted Mogo on his shoulder. They had fought side by side for many years and had a deep relationship.

Mogo grinned, waving his war hammer twice as he replied, “Among all the candidates, I’m only afraid of Harmon. A pity he didn’t come back, probably died in the universe. Other than him, the rest cannot defeat me. For someone like Getaw, I can settle him in a few blows.”

On the other side, Getaw secretly whispered to one of the mercenaries, “Boss, I’ll be counting on you later.”

“Relax. With me around, you’ll definitely get the position of chief.” That man coldly laughed. He was called Riel, and his real identity was the leader of one of the rogue organizations around Seoul Star Cluster. He had a notorious reputation.

Getaw had entered this particular rogue organization. However, there was a rule in the chief selection that a candidate could not choose the path of an outlaw. Doing so would forfeit their right as a candidate since a chief could not be a wanted person in the universe. However, Getaw was not willing to give up the position of chief and thus tried to disguise the identity of his group as wandering mercenaries.

His reliance was on Riel, who was the only Grade A Super among all the candidates’ War Leagues.

Riel had promised to help Getaw become chief, and in exchange, Getaw would provide them with supplies and logistics.

Although the Rockfall tribe was only one of the various tribes in the Luhan Beastman civilization, they had a few planets under their control, which meant that they were rich in resources.

The time passed while waiting, and dozens of other chiefs of the Luhan Beastman took their seats. All had come to witness the election of the Rockfall Tribe Chief. When the time was almost up, Faleta loudly spoke.

“The time is almost up. Mogo, Getaw… everyone is to take their War Leagues onto the battlefield and select a position. Prepare for battle!”

Everyone snaked onto the battlefield like fish swimming before taking up a certain area, confronting the others.

Faleta was anxious as he looked at the time. Candidates who returned after the official start of the war were considered late and directly disqualified, but Harmon had not yet arrived.

At this moment, Riel stepped out under the command of Getaw, releasing his Grade A energy fluctuations. His momentum rose into the sky.

“Calamity Grade‽”

The other candidates’ faces changed dramatically.

Faleta was also shocked. As a star system civilization, the Luhan Beastman also had a dozen Calamity Grade Supers, of which three were in the stands. Getaw had brought a Calamity Grade into his own War League, and his strength immediately overwhelmed the other candidates.

At this time, two of the candidates on the battlefield suddenly threw down their weapons and raised their hands. This move represented surrender, and before they started fighting, the two men gave up their qualifications for the chieftain. While it might be shameful, they at least need not fight with a Calamity Grade and could keep the lives of themselves and their War Leagues.

There was a commotion in the stands as this happened.

“Are we really going to fight against a Calamity Grade?” Seeing the situation, the Bloodshed Land’s officer also started thinking of retreat. He threw his originally eloquent words into the clouds and beyond.

“Fight!” Mogo’s expression changed several times, but he gritted his teeth and held on tight to his war hammer.

“This… can I still give up now?” One of the Bloodshed Land warriors threw away his weapon, slowly retreating.

They were willing to help Mogo by being part of his War League due to their relationship, but they were not willing to throw their lives away.

Mogo’s expression was also extremely ugly.

On the other side, Getaw raised his eyebrows and exhaled, a proud expression on his face as he arrogantly surveyed the audience. Standing beside Riel, he had the feeling of being a false sense of dominance.

Faleta, who was in the stands, was astounded and conflicted. At this moment, Getaw’s father, who was at the side, opened his mouth.

“Chief, don’t try to stall for time. Let us start now.”

Getaw’s father was also an upper echelon of the tribe, and while he was usually quite low key, he was different this time.

It’s also good that Harmon is not back yet… Faleta sighed, and just as he was about to speak, a spaceship descended from the air, attracting the attention of the audience.

Whoosh.

The spacecraft landed in a corner of the battlefield. The hatch opened, and Harmon walked out with a group of people.

“Harmon is back!”

Many of the members from the Rockfall tribe felt their spirits get refreshed. Harmon was very prestigious in the tribe, and his bravery was recognized by the tribe members.

There was a flash of panic in Getaw’s eyes. Having been pummeled by Harmon all his life, he had a deep shadow in his heart. However, the moment he remembered Riel beside him, he regained his confidence and stared at Harmon with gritted teeth.

“It’s useless even if you come back. Whoever fights me today will die!”

Hearing the cheers from the stands, Riel knew that Harmon should be a competitor with some fame. He coldly snorted and revolved his strength, viciously pressuring Harmon and his group in an attempt to deter this group and force them to retreat.

At this moment, a voice sounded.

“Yo, little brother, you are a bit arrogant.”

From Harmon’s back, out walked several people. Han Xiao was at the very front, and he stared at Riel with a funny expression, as though watching a peacock challenge. His Black Star Guards that had expanded to nine people followed directly behind him.

Hila raised her brows and reversed the pressure in a flash.

The other party also has a Calamity Grade‽

Riel felt his chest tighten. He rubbed his eyes, and after taking a good look at Han Xiao and his entourage, he froze for a few seconds before suddenly turning pale and taking a few steps back, tumbling into Getaw’s chest.

“Black Black Black… Black Star‽”

He uncontrollably screamed out the name, and everyone’s gazes landed on Han Xiao and his group. Their expressions changed as well.

An uproar rose up in the stands. Everyone stared in shock, unable to believe their eyes.

That was… Black Star?

Beyond Grade A!

Harmon had actually invited a Beyond Grade A over‽

Faleta was dumbfounded.

Ding ding dang dang!

At this moment, all the competitors threw away their weapons.

Even Getaw quietly chose to forfeit, his heart extremely unwilling.

He had originally thought that being backed by a Calamity Grade would allow him to win the tribe chief’s status. To think that Harmon would actually invite a Beyond Grade A over!

Who would be able to win against him‽

Mogo said in a tiny voice, “If only His Excellency Tyrant was willing to help me…”

“Are you dreaming?” The Bloodshed Land officer looked at him with an expression as though he was looking at an idiot. “What kind of status does the Tyrant have? Would he even notice you?”

Mogo pointed at Han Xiao in return, causing the Bloodshed Land officer to be rendered speechless.

Seeing this, the spectators of the various tribes in the stands went crazy. This is the only time in the history of the Luhan Beastman that all candidates had abstained, and it is also the first time that a Beyond Grade A has become part of the candidate’s War League!

“Uh?” Harmon had a look of confusion. He scratched his head, still puzzled. “Why did all of them stop fighting? Is that it?”

Hearing this, everyone gritted their teeth, wishing nothing but to beat him to death.

A Beyond Grade A has arrived, and the gap in power is so huge. Why should we fight‽ Do you want all of us to die‽

“Just like that?” The interface showed the completion of the mission, and the players who followed almost fell over in disbelief.

They did not even do anything and only came here to see a cutscene. Their mission was completed like that?

We thought there would be a bitter battle!

The whole audience stared at him, causing Han Xiao to helplessly shake his head. With his current status, many low-level tasks could be completed directly by just showing his face.

It was good that he had gone to help Harmon get the chief’s position.

[1] Hongmen Feast is a figure of speech used to refer to a trap or a situation that looks joyous but is in fact treacherous.

Chapter 788 - Migration and Negotiation

Boom!

Two huge wooden barrels clashed together, and amber-colored liquid splashed out from the edge.

Harmon raised his head, gobbled it down, and exhaled with satisfaction.

Han Xiao shook his head with a smile and drank some too. The spicy alcohol flew down his throat. The ethanol was broken down as soon as it entered his body. To him, this was no different from water.

They were sitting in the Rockfall Tribe’s flagship on the way back. Harmon had invited Han Xiao and the others to visit his home.

Usually, battles were unavoidable in the process of fighting to become the chief. However, because of Han Xiao’s appearance, the other candidates had given up in despair. The chief position had gone to Harmon without question. Overjoyed, Harmon hosted a party on the ship.

They were old friends, so Han Xiao, of course, gave him face.

“Congratulations to the next Rockfall Chief.” The other chiefs of the Luhan Beastman Civilization came to congratulate Harmon one after another, all looking at Han Xiao with envy.

They had no idea how Harmon had such a good relationship with a Beyond Grade A. The War League of the tribe’s chief signified his network. With a Beyond Grade A friend, those chiefs knew very well that the Rockfall Tribe would rise after Harmon took on the position.

Watching Harmon be congratulated by his people, Han Xiao pondered. In his previous life, this storyline mission had been simple and rough—fighting from the start till the end. Harmon would then obtain the chief position through battle. Now, due to his interference, there was no battle. Therefore, he did not think any Dungeon Crystal would be created.

However, this did not matter to Han Xiao—he was not interested in such a little mission reward. He had gone to help because of his more than a decade long friendship with Harmon. Harmon had joined him when the Black Star Army was still the Black Star Mercenary Group. Han Xiao was never petty in helping an old friend such as Harmon, just like how he had treated Herlous.

On the table beside them, as Hadavy stuffed a huge chunk of Beastman-style burnt meat into his mouth, his eyes kept drifting toward Harmon. He moved his butt over to beside Hila and said softly, “Black Star has quite a good relationship with that Beastman. Is he always so caring about his officers?”

Hila was frowning and staring at the object that looked somewhat like an eyeball of a beast at the bottom of her cup. Hearing Hadavy’s question, she glanced at him. Her eyes seemed to be saying, Get away from me.

Ignored, Hadavy moved his butt to beside Feidin and softly said, “Brother Feidin, is Black Star always this good to his subordinates?”

Feidin rolled his eyes.

“Go away, I’m Chen Xing.”

Not far away, a group of players gathered and chatted while looking around at the many famous Black Star Guards.

“I heard Black Star is heading to the Bloodshed Land’s headquarters this time. Could he be going there to make trouble?”

“No idea. But Black Star is going to meet the Tyrant again. There’ll definitely be a good show.”

After Harmon’s War League mission was completed, Han Xiao gave these players new missions through the faction interface to make them follow him.

Although he initially did not plan to take players along to the Tyrant’s party, leaving these people halfway in the Seoul Star Cluster was not suitable. He did not want to lose this stack of leeks. Therefore, he gave them a following mission with a rich reward so that they would not run around.

Bun-Hit-Dog was not there, but there were still people posting his whereabouts on the forums. Now all the players knew that Ames and he were going to the Bloodshed Land headquarters together. Some even said that they were on a honeymoon trip to fight with Heber—which was very Beyond Grade A like.

Ever since Han Xiao and Ames formed an alliance, there had always been discussions about them being a couple on the forums. The players felt they were perfect for each other, and there was definitely something going on between them. Someone even wrote an adult novel about Black Star rising in position to conquer this capable woman, and it was rather popular.

“Your Excellency Black Star…”

While drinking, Han Xiao heard someone call his name at the side. Han Xiao looked over. It was Faleta, who looked like he had something to say.

“What is it?” Han Xiao smiled. He was Harmon’s elderly father, after all, so Han Xiao’s tone was very friendly.

Faleta coughed and said, “Can we talk in private?”

Han Xiao nodded, put down the cup, and walked out of the party hall with Faleta. They came to an empty corridor on the flagship.

“What is it?”

“Your Excellency Black Star, I’m wondering… what’s the exact relationship between you and Harmon?” Faleta asked cautiously.

“He joined under my command more than a decade ago and has given me a lot of help. When my mother planet faced a disaster, he was there to help me. I agreed to join his War League before I was even a Calamity Grade. Therefore, you don’t have to worry. I don’t have any ulterior motive.” Han Xiao smiled. He knew very well of Faleta’s worries.

After all, a Beyond Grade A personally helping someone fight for the chief position of a branch force within a Star System civilization looked suspicious in every way.

Faleta looked hesitant. Suddenly, he clenched his teeth and asked, “Your Excellency Black Star, I have a request… Does the Black Star Army accept race migration jobs?”

Han Xiao blinked, signaling for him to go on.

“The origin of us Luhan Beastmen is a stray civilization. Today, although we formed a Star System civilization, every tribe is still an individual nation. In terms of the development direction of the civilization, we have a lot of disagreements. I hope to migrate the Rockfall Tribe out of the Seoul Star Cluster.”

“Why?” Han Xiao was curious.”

“The Seoul Star Cluster is Klent Kingdom’s territory. They have a very strong desire to control everyone. There are a few Star System civilizations in their Star System; us Luhan Beastmen are just one of them.

“The other few civilizations are more or less connected to Klent. They have been marginalizing us, squeezing our resources to force us to become Klent’s vassal too. Our territory was three Star Zones wide more than a hundred years ago. Now, we only have one and a half. The Luhan Beastmen are brave and capable in combat. The faction of Supers in our people is very high. Klent has always had an interest in us.

“Our Rockfall Tribe hopes to maintain independence, and we are unwilling to become a vassal, but the majority of the tribes want to compromise with Klent. Our people who prefer independence are the minority, and we are all looking for a way out.”

Han Xiao rubbed his chin and pondered. This was common in the universe. When a civilization had more than one government, there would always be disagreements when it came to the overall future direction of the entire race.

Such a political structure was not suitable for Star System civilizations. In Galaxy, where there were organizations everywhere, the decision of a civilization had to be made with the entire race in mind. However, having multiple governments meant they would have different interests, so conflict would occur very easily. Sadly, due to the Luhan Beastmen’s past, they were forced to use this structure. It would be very difficult to change it even though they knew what the problem was—no tribe was willing to voluntarily give up their power.

The Luhan Beastmen Civilization was considered a comparatively weak Star System civilization. Every tribe ruled a few colonial planets, and they only had around a hundred planets in total, spread about different places.

A Star System usually had more than ten Star Zones. For example, a powerful Star System civilization like Godora would be able to rule an entire Star System and all the Star Zones. On the other hand, multiple Star System civilizations existed in some Star Systems. They all ruled some Star Zones and fought for resources. Of course, those Star Systems were weaker in comparison.

“You want to make the Rockfall Tribe independent, leave the alliance civilization, and develop in another Star Cluster as a branch of the Luhan Beastmen?” Han Xiao nodded.

“That’s right.” Faleta quickly agreed.

“Do you know the consequences of that? If you do that, a lot of your people will choose to stay and not migrate with you.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“I will settle that. There are quite many who are displeased with Klent in the other tribes,” Faleta replied with a deep voice.

Han Xiao then stopped asking questions and slowly said, “Okay, when you’ve made up your mind, contact me anytime.”

He only cared about carrying out the job in exchange for money. Someone else’s tribe would be someone else’s responsibility. With the Black Star Army’s ability, taking care of a tribe’s migration was no difficult task.

In the universe, it was not rare for a civilization’s government to seek independence, so he was not surprised by this.

Faleta nodded continuously. The migration process would be very dangerous, so they needed guards. Initially, he had been hesitant. Once he saw Harmon and Black Star’s relationship, he felt that the Black Star Army might be able to make this plan work.

The migration matter had to be discussed with the next chief, Harmon. However, with Harmon’s personality and experience, he would most likely refuse to be Klent’s vassal as well.

They arrived at the Rockfall Tribe’s planet and stayed as guests for three days. Then, Han Xiao bade farewell to Harmon and continued to head to the Bloodshed Land.

Harmon went to be a chief, but if the Rockfall Tribe decided to migrate, they would still have the chance to meet in the future.

…

Ten days later, a thick blue stream of light dashed across the universe.

Planet Heber appeared in their sights. The blue stream of light stopped, and a spaceship appeared, slowly flying toward Planet Heber. At this time, there were already many spaceships landing on and leaving Planet Heber.

“It’s been more than ten years since I last came.” Looking at Planet Heber, it still had the same old look. Han Xiao turned to look at Ames and said, “I came with you last time too.”

“You were much cuter back then.” Ames smiled.

“Time sure passes fast.” Han Xiao sighed and told Phillip to land the spaceship.

This was his second time stepping onto the Bloodshed Land’s headquarters. More than ten years ago, he had been Ames’ follower. Today, he had received an official invitation as someone that stood at the top of the Shattered Star Ring.

The spaceship had already reported their identity and flew into the port following instructions. As the ship landed, Hila and the Black Star Guards led the way at the front and disembarked from the spaceship first. Han Xiao and Ames then stepped onto the dock.

Both of them were wearing black. Han Xiao wore his black windbreaker, as usual, and a few mechanical hovering guards swam around him mischievously.

Ames wore her high-cut black dress as always. The dress complemented her long and beautiful legs, making her look royal and gorgeous.

“Your Excellency Black Star, Your Excellency Dragon Emperor.”

The Vanguard Official captain, Fosters, was waiting at the dock to welcome the two of them. He greeted them with a stiff tone.

“Yo, isn’t this an old opponent?” Han Xiao chuckled. “I remember you were saying you’re going to kill me during the war. Why aren’t you saying that now?”

Fosters clenched his teeth tightly and glared at Han Xiao, but he did not dare to respond. It was clear that the Tyrant intended to make peace with Black Star by inviting him this time, which actually made the Bloodshed Land officer feel quite resentful.

However, this was Heber’s order, and they could not disobey it. They had no choice but to swallow their rage.

“Please. Follow. Me!” Fosters squeezed out one word after another between his teeth, turned around, and led the way, making up his mind about not responding to Han Xiao.

Seeing this, Han Xiao did not want to make fun of him anymore. He walked beside Ames and followed Fosters into the guest castle.

He attended a Tyrant Party before, so he knew the procedure. They would usually stay a few days in the guest castle, communicate with the representatives of the other organizations, and expand their network while waiting for all the guests to arrive. The party would then start officially.

The players who followed behind were filled with curiosity. This was their first time in the Bloodshed Land headquarters, so it felt refreshing. They secretly wondered what Han Xiao’s intentions were. The Tyrant Party was an activity for those in high positions, so the players did not know about this at all.

After a peaceful walk, they arrived at the guest castle. There were already many representatives of large organizations inside. They were surprised to see Han Xiao and Ames, and the atmosphere became strange.

Many people looked like they could not wait to talk to them.

With the Evolution Cube in his hands, everyone wanted to get close to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao did not walk in immediately and asked, “Is the Tyrant not planning to see us now?”

“Don’t know, don’t ask me,” Fosters replied with a stiff tone.

Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he suddenly stopped and looked at Hadavy. “You’re now a member of the Black Star Army, huh?”

“Hmm?” Hadavy realized that Fosters was talking to him and nodded. “Yes, I’m now a Black Star Guard. The treatment’s quite good. Do you want to come too?”

Fosters felt as if he was being ridiculed and was furious.

Hadavy had once worked with the Bloodshed Land, but it had ended after Jorde used him. He had then joined Han Xiao.

However, in Fosters’ eyes, this felt like Hadavy had ‘walked into the light from the darkness’. He was already enraged, and now he was furious and needed to vent it. “As a Bloodshed Land Vanguard Official, I challenge the Black Star Army’s Black Star Guards. Who dares fight me?”

Hearing what Fosters said, Ames and Han Xiao’s expressions became strange. They looked at each other’s eyes and realized that they thought of the same thing as if they had communicated with their eyes.

Haven’t we seen this before?

Isn’t this similar to when you challenged that traitor, Carroll?

Han Xiao smiled with resignation.

In the past, he had taught Floating Dragon’s traitor a lesson for Ames. Now, the Bloodshed Land’s officers had become the side that were displeased and wanting to challenge his guards. How the tables had turned.

Fosters was loyal to the Tyrant. Heber had failed in establishing power, so Fosters wanted to try to earn some pride back. Hence, he targeted Han Xiao’s officers. Although Han Xiao was an invited guest, the relationship between the two sides was odd. He was not willing to show friendliness to an enemy that had killed more than three digits of Bloodshed Land high-level combatants.

It was a just challenge, so it would be difficult even for a Beyond Grade A to stop it. Furthermore, the Bloodshed Land did not stop Han Xiao from challenging Carroll more than ten years ago.

Like thunder, his voice attracted the attention of the various representatives in the hall.

Hila narrowed her eyes and stepped forward. “Where are we going to fight?”

“Who are you?”

“Captain of the Black Star Guards, Hila!”

A murderous intent flashed through Fosters’ eyes. Just as he was about to speak, a shadow suddenly shrouded him. A deep voice came from behind him.

“Get back.”

The crowd looked up and their expression changed. It was the Tyrant, Heber.

Hearing Heber ordering him to stop the challenge, Fosters clenched his teeth and turned around and left, quickly disappearing from everyone’s sight.

Hila took a few steps, too.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and looked up at the tiny mountain-tall Heber. Heber looked down at him with an expressionless face.

The atmosphere around seemed to become heavy. Other than Ames, everyone in the hall felt that it was difficult to breathe.

As the atmosphere kept getting tenser, Heber suddenly spoke and shattered the uptight atmosphere.

“Black Star, Dragon Emperor, follow me. Let’s have a chat between us five Beyond Grade As.”

Then, he turned around and walked into his palace.

It seemed like how the two of them treated each other in the future would be decided this time. Without hesitation, Han Xiao told Hila and the others to rest in the guest room while he followed Heber into the palace.

“All five?”

With a faint smile on her face, Ames followed him into the palace as well.

Chapter 789 - Meeting and Goal

The two of them walked into Heber’s palace and arrived at an enormous circular hall with five hovering thrones. Heber sat on one of them. Two of the other four thrones were already occupied. It was Austin and Psyker.

“Hehe, we meet again so soon.” Austin greeted them with a smile.

This old man… Han Xiao thought in his mind and looked at Psyker on the other side.

Psyker almost never attended the Tyrant Party, but he had come. Han Xiao was quite surprised.

Er, maybe because he no longer has the Evolution Cube, he doesn’t have to stay at home anymore?

“Black Star.” Psyker nodded with a calm expression as if Han Xiao was not an enemy that had taken the Evolution Cube away from him.

Han Xiao could not guess Psyker’s intentions. He nodded in response and did not speak.

Although they had a conflict of interests and personal hatred against each other, they were all Beyond Grade As of the Shattered Star Ring, so they would not start fighting as soon as they saw each other.

Ames floated up and sat on the throne. The eyes of the other four all focused on Han Xiao.

Han Xiao smiled, floated up, and landed on the last empty seat, the newly added fifth throne.

At this moment, he had officially entered this circle.

The five of them sat on the thrones—this was the new peak power structure of the Shattered Star Ring.

“Everyone is here. Let’s have a proper talk,” Heber said with a deep voice and turned to look at Han Xiao. “First, our problem. There are two choices in front of us. One is to continue to oppose each other, and the other is temporary peace.”

“Hmm, I’m listening.” Han Xiao did not make a stand.

“Since you are now an ally of the Crimson Dynasty as well, we have no choice but to become allies on paper, and we must stand on the same side,” Heber said slowly. “During the decade-long secret war, you killed many of my subordinates. Many of your warriors died at the hands of my men, too. The hatred between us is too strong. You definitely won’t be willing to take a step back, and neither am I. How about we put our conflict aside for the time being and get back to it in the future?”

“What you mean is, we shall slowly settle this after the Flickering World’s exploration ends?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

Too many of their comrades had died at each other’s hands in the past decade, so things would not be settled easily. This was already beyond what just the leaders wanted. If they forced an alliance, their subordinates would not be able to accept it. This would not be beneficial in the unity of their faction.

Heber nodded before shaking his head. “We don’t have to work together. The Flickering World is very broad. We can ceasefire and do our own exploring, not interfering with each other. This way, the Crimson Dynasty’s request will be fulfilled, and there is no need to compromise.”

Han Xiao rubbed his chin. This proposal was quite sensible.

The two sides would not form an alliance but explore the Flickering World separately. To the Crimson Dynasty, as long as the two of them did not drag each other down, it would be acceptable. Even the Crimson Dynasty would not be able to force a Beyond Grade A to let go of his hatred and shake hands with his enemy.

He roughly understood what the Tyrant meant. Exploring the Flickering World was very important to the Crimson Dynasty. As a completely unexplored new Star Field, there were too many areas that could be developed in the Flickering World.

The results of their exploration would not just be the fundamentals of their own organizations’ future development—the Crimson Dynasty would also reward them for the results of their exploration.

This meant that although they were allies on paper, they were also competitors—they were competing in their exploring ability in the Flickering World.

“No, the Bloodshed Land is not the only competitor. The Crimson Dynasty will gather their allies from the various Star Fields to explore this together. By then, I will have to fight with more organizations for resources.”

Han Xiao was overjoyed.

His advantage in this respect was way too huge.

To just about every explorer, the Flickering World was an unfamiliar area, and they had to depend on luck to explore it. To him, however, the map of the Flickering World was crystal clear. He knew about the resources in the various areas; there was no way the other competitors would surpass him!

“Okay, I agree with this plan. We shall have a temporary ceasefire and mind our own business. When exploring the Flickering World, do what we can and don’t drag each other down.” Han Xiao nodded.

The Flickering World was the most important. At this crucial time, there was no need to drag each other down. The Tyrant felt this way, too.

After the Crimson Dynasty completed their initial exploration and obtained a large amount of resources, only then would they open the Flickering World to the entire Star Field. Only then would the non-ally organizations enter the new Star Field, shuffle the organizations in chaos, fight for territory and resources, and form the structure of the Flickering World.

The players all over Galaxy would then enter the Flickering World.

In his previous life, the update between Version 3.0 and Version 4.0 had been when the Crimson Dynasty carried out their initial exploration. However, because of his actions, the majority of the Shattered Star Ring players would be able to enter the Flickering World in advance. This was a rather significant advantage.

As the World Server to the players, many guilds had occupied desolate planets in the Flickering World in his previous life and built their own strongholds. During that version, guild wars had been very frequent, and the players had been more active. As the players of the Shattered Star Ring would enter before others, they would have more time to operate their strongholds.

However, the players now did not know that the Flickering World would become the World Server in the future.

“Okay,” Heber slowly replied.

As Han Xiao had become an ally of the dynasty, he put the thought of using Han Xiao to build his reputation away, knowing that he could not do that. Therefore, he treated Han Xiao differently and saw him as someone on his level.

Having decided on the ceasefire agreement, Han Xiao nodded in his mind—the main goal of attending this Tyrant Party had finally been achieved.

Although true peace would not be achieved, it was enough for now.

This time, Psyker slowly said, “Now, it’s time for us to talk.”

Han Xiao looked over at Psyker and said, “The Evolution Cube is in my hands. If you’re not planning to give it up, are you planning to continue to be my enemy?”

“The Crimson Dynasty has its eyes on the Evolution Cube and is willing to back you up. I know it’s impossible for you to return it to me, so the only way is to snatch it back from you.”

Psyker did not hide his intention of the Evolution Cube at all. “However, can the Crimson Dynasty protect you at all times? Even if they can protect you, can they protect your Black Star Army? You don’t have to stare at me like that. I’m not threatening you, just telling you the truth. Even if I’m willing to give up, the Arcane Church won’t give up, and even the Federation of Light will act.”

Han Xiao raised his brows. “You don’t have to threaten me. The Evolution Cube is the relic of a certain sub-Universal Civilization from the exploration era. It’s indeed an amazing item, but you managed to hold onto it for so long, didn’t you?”

“Our situations are different.” Psyker glanced at Heber and suddenly said, “You’d better be careful about the Crimson Dynasty’s allies.”

“Hmm?” Han Xiao frowned.

“Those organizations going to explore the Flickering World are all allies of the Crimson Dynasty from various Star Fields. The dynasty can block the exterior pressure for you, but internal hostility…” Psyker narrowed his eyes. “What’s important to the Crimson Dynasty is the Evolution Cube itself; the person that possesses it might not be so important. The Evolution Cube has immeasurable value to an organization. Some people might take the risk and target you. Once you die… what do you think the Crimson Dynasty will do?”

“I get what you mean, save the boring provocation.” Han Xiao shook his head.

What Psyker meant was that the Crimson Dynasty’s allies all had their own interests. There might be another Beyond Grade A from another Star Field interested in the Evolution Cube and would find the opportunity to kill him for it. As long as it did not get discovered before it was done, the dynasty would not do anything for a dead man. However, Han Xiao had once stayed in the Crimson Dynasty for many years and knew very well of the dynasty’s way of doing things. The possibility of that happening was very low.

The Federation of Light might do something like this, but the Crimson Dynasty would not.

The dynasty would only use this as an excuse to acquire the Evolution Cube themselves. Even for a Beyond Grade A ally, as long as anyone broke the rules, they would still uphold their standards. It could be seen from the Crimson Tide event that the dynasty was very firm and stern.

Psyker’s expression remained the same. His plan was not to threaten Han Xiao—this was just casual talk. He then said coldly, “Don’t forget, EsGod also has his eyes on the Evolution Cube. If he finds you, you’d better pray you run fast enough.”

EsGod…

Han Xiao thought of EsGod’s number in the blacklist of his communicator, and his expression became odd.

“About the Evolution Cube, I will handle it, no need to trouble you.” Han Xiao sized Psyker up. “I’m curious, what are you really doing here today? Just trying to scare me?”

“Who said I’m here for you?” Psyker shook his head.

He did indeed not come for Han Xiao. As he had needed to guard the Evolution Cube in the past, he had rarely left the Star Pupil Holy Race’s territory. Furthermore, with the Evolution Cube in his hands, the support from the Arcane Church had come nonstop. He had a superior position and had no need to attend this kind of gathering.

Now, however, his Evolution Cube had been taken away. Like he had broken off his chains, he had decided to become active in the Star Field. This was not just because he wanted to but also because he would not be as important to the Arcane Church now that he no longer possessed the Evolution Cube. He planned to get out and move around, do some networking by attending the Tyrant Party, and work toward making his race a Star Cluster civilization.

Then, Psyker closed his eyes and did not want to speak to Han Xiao anymore.

Han Xiao then turned to look at Austin. Seeing that the old man was staring at him with bright eyes, he sighed and said, “Do you also have something to say to me?”

Austin extended his tiny finger and pointed at the Evolution Cube on Han Xiao’s neck, chuckled, and said, “Let’s make a deal. Let me use it once. I will fulfill one request for you.”

“Hehe.” Han Xiao did not smile at all.

When he was troubled in the past, Austin did not help him. Now that things had settled down, this guy finally came to make a deal with him, thinking that there would be more than enough chances to exchange a chance to use the Evolution Cube given Han Xiao’s personality.

You damn old man…

Han Xiao was filled with resignation. His goal of obtaining the Evolution Cube was to gain favor all along. Using it to exchange for a Beyond Grade A’s promise was worth it no matter how he looked at it. There was no reason for him to refuse.

“Any request?” Han Xiao snorted. He pointed at Psyker and said, “Then fight with me now and kill this guy.”

Psyker was unaffected and continued to rest with his eyes closed.

“Stop messing around. You know I can’t agree to that request.” Austin shook his head with a bitter smile. With a luring tone like he was tricking a little girl, he said, “Request something else. How about you play with my Palace of Hidden Spells? I can lend it to you for a few months.”

“Lend it to me? How about you give it to me?”

“Come on, we’ve known each other for quite some time. Don’t be so greedy.”

“This is a no, that’s a no, what can you do for me?”

Austin contemplated, then shrugged, and said, “Don’t know, but you won’t make a loss.”

Veins popped up on Han Xiao’s forehead. You don’t say. There’s no cost to let you use the Evolution Cube. Of course I won’t make a loss, but you will make a huge profit!

Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration.

“How about you help me to deal with EsGod?”

“… Let’s talk about killing Psyker.”

Psyker’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably.

The two of them negotiated back and forth for so long Ames started to yawn. Then Han Xiao and Austin finally came to an agreement.

First, a Beyond Grade A Mage could cross multiple dimensions and would frequently acquire some extremely rare materials. Austin had to provide some materials consisting of the genes of high-grade Void beings for free every year.

Second, the Hidden Red Robe Abbey would form a half-alliance with the Black Star Army. The Hidden Red Robe Abbey had to send high-level Mages to the army every year to train some Mages as well as teach some rare spells.

Last, Austin had to do something within his ability and not against his morals… and the final definition of ‘morals’ depended on Austin.

There was nothing Han Xiao could do about him. The two of them had quite a good relationship, and Austin even helped him a few times in the past. Thus, he was not willing to let that all go to waste over the Evolution Cube.

“By the way…” Han Xiao suddenly thought of something and threw an Observer’s Mark over to Austin.

“What are you doing?” Austin was confused and casually shattered the Observer’s Mark. As a Beyond Grade A Mage, breaking such a simple Void Energy application method was a piece of cake, even though Han Xiao was also a Beyond Grade A. After all, he was a Mage that could control energies of multiple dimensions.

Han Xiao did not give up and threw another Observer’s Mark, and Austin shattered it with his eyes opened wide again.

The two of them stared at each other and repeated the process more than a dozen times. In the end, Austin gave up resisting and allowed the Observer’s Mark to land on his forehead with resignation.

Only then did Han Xiao nod with satisfaction. He felt much better.

Heber felt a little bit of headache and regretted putting the two of them together.

The atmosphere had been so intense, but it was suddenly not serious at all!

Seeing that Austin had made a deal with Han Xiao, it suddenly occurred to Heber.

Among the five people present, it seemed like he was the only one that had no chance to use the Evolution Cube.

Heber looked at the Evolution Cube, then Han Xiao’s face, and his eyelids twitched slightly. Without even thinking, he knew that Black Star would definitely not agree to let him use the Evolution Cube.

Suppressing the desire inside, Heber adjusted his emotions and slowly said, “Black Star and I will stay here. The three of you can leave.”

“Looks like you guys had quite a good chat. Black Star, I shall leave first.” Ames stood up and stretched.

She was not interested in the matters discussed there. It looked like she had just attended to show her face, but as Han Xiao’s ally, showing up meant making her stand clear.

Among the five people present, she and Han Xiao were the only ones that were firm allies. Although the other three did not mention this, they knew it clearly. In terms of strength, given that Han Xiao and Ames were on the same side, they surpassed the other three completely.

The three of them left, and the gate of the hall closed again, leaving only Han Xiao and Heber in the room.

This time, the side door opened, and Zoel walked out with a smile.

“I’m glad the two of you have come to an agreement.”

“Envoy.” The two of them nodded slightly as a greeting.

Zoel was followed by a Klent representative. Everyone in the room was on the same side on paper, so it was clear that they were going to discuss official business.

As expected, Zoel pressed on his waist. A 3D star map projection appeared in midair, drawing out a new shining area in the wide universe map. It was marked as the ‘Flickering World’.

“Using this opportunity, let me explain the current situation in the Flickering World, so you guys can understand the rough process of the exploration,” Zoel said loudly. “Carefully prepare for your exploration plan. When the developments start officially, we’re all going to have missions.”

It seemed like this was for them to consider the areas they were going to explore…

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Chapter 790 - Main Storyline— Flickering World

The 3D star map showed the Flickering World area. In the black unexplored universe, there was an area that was shining. This was the rich Star Cluster the three Universal Civilizations discovered outside the Shattered Star Ring using their radar. It was named the Dawn Star Cluster.

The Dawn Star Cluster was the area first detected by the radar and, currently, the only Star Cluster officially belonging to the Flickering World. As the starting point of the exploration of a new Star Field, it was marked in green. Outside it were the extremely wide unexplored areas marked in gray.

Being the only one that was lighted up, the Dawn Star Cluster was like an island in the middle of a wide sea.

Developing a new Star Field was a huge task, and the expected date of it completing was unpredictable. After all, the actual exploration was different from astronomical observation.

The Crimson Dynasty had spent more than a decade obtaining the Dawn Star Cluster from the Federation of Light and defined it as the starting point of the new Star Field. Due to the two of them restraining each other, the development of it had always been on hold. However, the astronomical observation of the three civilizations had never stopped. After observing it for more than ten years, the rough area included in the Flickering World was already defined.

In the star map given by the Crimson Dynasty, the Flickering World was divided into roughly nineteen Star Clusters with various sizes. The size of the Dawn Star Cluster made up only three percent of the entire Star Field. Everything else was unexplored.

The size of desolate universe belts varied, and there would usually be many small to medium desolate universe belts inside Star Fields. Only the extremely large desolate universe belts would be considered as the border of a Star Field. The Flickering World was no exception. It was estimated that there were more than 7,000 small to medium desolate universe belts within it, some between Star Zones and some between Star Systems, spread across the entire Flickering World.

Therefore, to the dynasty’s exploration team, selecting areas was very important. If the area they were going to explore was filled with desolate universe belts, the profit they made would be very low.

“The dynasty has decided to first explore the three Star Clusters around the Dawn Star Cluster for the first stage of the exploration,” Zoel said while pointing them out on the map. “They’re the Renault, Garu, and Crown Star Clusters.”

Han Xiao, Heber, and the Klent representative paid careful attention to the star map. This was the initial star map created by astronomical observation. Due to the complicated universe environment, it would be somewhat inaccurate, but the rough distribution of planets was usually correct.

Among the three Star Clusters, the Garu Star Cluster was the largest. It had a number of obvious desolate universe belts, and the other two were ordinary.

There were two types of desolate universe belts. One had very sparse planets that were very far from each other or lacked Fixed Stars or some high energy astronomical bodies—those were areas discoverable by astronomical observation. The other type of desolate universe belt were the ones that had generally poor planets with little resources. This type of desolate universe belt was more difficult to find compared to the former, as it would look like a normal area until field exploration proved otherwise.

Although there was already a rough sketch of the star map, basically every planet’s information was unknown. The aim of the Crimson Dynasty’s exploration of it was to compile detailed information on every planet in it and adjust the astronomical observation errors, as well as occupy the rich planets within it in advance.

This was the task of the exploration team—even obvious desolate universe belts had to be explored.

There were a ton of planets in every Star Field. Even though the dynasty only planned to explore three Star Clusters first, it was still a vast project.

Heber looked at it for a while and made his decision. “Renault Star Cluster.”

The Bloodshed Land and the Klent Kingdom would be developing the same area.

“Black Star, what about you?” Zoel turned around.

Han Xiao rubbed his chin and said, “I shall choose the Garu then.”

“I see, Garu, the number of people that have chosen this area is the smallest… alright.” Zoel nodded.

Han Xiao smiled in his mind.

He knew that among these three Star Clusters, the Garu Star Cluster had the highest potential profit.

It seemed like the Garu Star Cluster had more desolate universe belts compared to the other two, but the other two Star Clusters had quite a number of hidden desolate universe belts, so the difference was not really that large. Furthermore, in the desolate universe belts of the Garu Star Cluster, there were some Galactic Civilization ruins that possessed archeological value.

In terms of resources, the Garu Star Cluster was slightly larger. It had many Fixed Stars, habitable planets, and slightly more resource planets. In terms of species, the Garu Star Cluster had more intelligent species that had formed civilizations, and the majority of them were still in the surface civilization stage. This meant that exploring would be easier.

In his previous life, the Garu Star Cluster had been one of the most prosperous Star Clusters in the Flickering World. Therefore, after thorough consideration, Han Xiao decided to develop the Garu Star Cluster.

Another important reason was that in Han Xiao’s memories, that Universal Treasure in the Flickering World with no owner was located in a desolate universe belt near the Garu Star Cluster and not included in the areas for the dynasty’s first stage exploration. He would only be able to head there if he was close by.

For now, no one other than me even knows the existence of this Universal Treasure. Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

He had to obtain it.

This time, a notification popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered Grade S+ Chain Mission [Flickering World]

Mission Introduction: The Flickering World. A new Star Field represents a new structure. It’s your job to explore this Star Field, so it is your opportunity.

Hint: Mission requirements, mission rewards, exploration points, and the Mission Rating depend on your faction.

You belong to the Crimson Dynasty and the Black Star Army.

Mission Requirements: According to the areas selected, explore the Flickering World for the Crimson Dynasty as a member of the Black Star Army.

You have received the first round of exploration goals.

Current Exploration Area: Garu Star Cluster

Personal Exploration Points: 0

Total Exploration Points: 0

Current Rating: E-

Remarks: Your mission reward depends on the Mission Rating. The Mission Rating depends on the Total Exploration Points.

Exploration Points are earned from the results of the exploration, such as completing the field exploration of a planet, improving the planet information, adjusting the star map error, discovering a civilization’s ruins, contacting an intelligent species, operating a stronghold, discovering habitable and resource planets, discovering rare resources, and so on.

_____________________

The main storyline mission of the Flickering World! Han Xiao was thrilled.

The scale of this main storyline was huge, and it was very complicated. It was considered a combination of a Chain Mission and Faction Series Mission. The main reason for it to be Grade S+ was because of how complicated and time-consuming it was.

Firstly, the details of this mission changed depending on one’s side. Not every player was a member of the Crimson Dynasty. After the Flickering World opened to the world, the players of the various Star Fields would represent different organizations and have different areas to explore, hence the different ways in calculating their reward.

For example, for the Crimson Dynasty, the area they explored was broad, meaning it would be more difficult.

The Personal Exploration Points were one’s own achievements, which would grant rewards when it reached a certain number. Compared to the other factions, the Exploration Points needed to trigger the reward under the Crimson Dynasty faction were higher, but the rewards were richer.

The Total Exploration Points were the total of all the Personal Exploration Points of the players in the same faction. This required the players of the same faction to work together. It also gave rewards once it reached a certain stage. The Total Exploration Points were also associated with the Mission Rating. When the Total Exploration Points were more than enough to increase the rating, all the players of the same faction would receive rewards distributed according to the players’ Personal Exploration Points ranking.

Every exploration area meant one round of the Chain Mission. Once done, the reward would be given based on the rating. When going to a new exploration area, both the Personal Exploration Points and the Total Exploration Points would be reset to zero. The Grade S+ overall mission [Flickering World] would only be completed after the entire Star Field was explored, which would then give rewards based on the Exploration Points and Mission Rating of every area.

Han Xiao pondered. The exploration had yet to officially start. Now that he had this mission, he could distribute it to the army players and make preparations in advance.

At the same time, he could let the players know that they had a new main storyline after the secret war.

After the business was settled, the star map shrank back to the device on Zoel’s waist.

Zoel smiled and said, “I will report your choices to the dynasty. There most likely won’t be a problem.”

The Shattered Star Ring was the nearest to the Flickering World, so the allies in this area would be at the frontline of the exploration. The areas they chose would mostly remain unchanged.

“One more thing.” Zoel looked at Han Xiao. “The first batch of elite personnel to accept transformation from the Evolution Cube have already entered the Shattered Star Ring following the dynasty’s transport team. They will arrive at the Colton Star Cluster in some time. Black Star, don’t forget about this. The first batch of resources for you are with them.”

“Hmm, I’ll head over after the meeting.” Han Xiao nodded before asking, “Who are the first batch of people?”

“I have a list here, take a look.” Zoel transmitted a document to him.

Looking through the list, Han Xiao was surprised.

There was a total of 30,000 people, all elite soldiers from the army selected by the dynasty. At the top of the list, he really did see familiar names, and more than one.

Among them, he had a very deep impression of one name.

One of the future dynasty marshals… Teny Amenos?

Han Xiao’s eyes widened slightly.

“After this group of elite completes the transformation,” Zoel said, “a small group of them will stay to take part in the Flickering World while the rest will return to the dynasty. You can go along with them to the Central Galaxy and meet the dynasty upper echelons… Black Star, Black Star?”

“Oh.” Han Xiao regained focus. “I heard you, let’s do that.”

“Okay.” Zoel did not suspect anything. He nodded and said, “That’ll be all.”

The others nodded, and Han Xiao left Heber’s palace directly.

…

Once returning to the suite, before Han Xiao sat down for long, someone suddenly knocked on his door. Hila opened the door, and a few people stood outside.

They were the representatives of a few other Star Clusters in the Shattered Star Ring. Seeing that Han Xiao had returned, they chased right after him and went to knock on his door almost immediately after he entered.

“Your Excellency Black Star, we hope to chat with you,” one of them said with a smile.

“Please come in.” Han Xiao invited them in and knew exactly why they were there.

As expected, they chatted for only a little bit before the topic became the Evolution Cube.

However, this was just a start. Right after, the various representatives attending the Tyrant Party all came to his doorstep.

Very soon, about ninety-five percent of the people in the guest castle had come.

The enormous suite suddenly became cramped.

Everyone wanted a piece of the Evolution Cube.

The Tyrant Party was initially an activity for Heber to toughen his influence, so the guests were all someone important in the Shattered Star Ring. This gave Han Xiao the opportunity to spread his network.

Using this, Han Xiao also started to talk about terms with the various organizations.

“As for the Evolution Cube, the Crimson Dynasty did not restrict my use of it. If you want to borrow it, it is possible if you can fulfill my terms,” Han Xiao said with a smile.

Everyone in the room kept quiet and listened. Han Xiao’s voice was the only sound in the room.

Ames looked at this from outside the room.

You really are good at operating an organization…

Chapter 791 - Star Field Profit Blueprin

“I can give you guys opportunities to undergo a transformation, and the terms are very simple.”

Han Xiao looked around at the others and said, “First, of course, money. You will have to pay me Enaus every year in exchange for the fixed allocation of using the Evolution Cube. It doesn’t have to be money—minerals, materials, and other resources can be used as well.”

“How much every year?” a Star Cluster civilization representative asked.

“That depends on your needs.”

“The lending fee every year will depend on the basic allocation number you want to purchase every year. Report it to me in advance, and I will arrange the schedule. Every organization can purchase up to a million allocations every year. I’m quite busy, after all.”

Han Xiao’s time was limited, so it was impossible for him to spend all his time using the Evolution Cube for the others. Furthermore, multiple uses of the Evolution Cube for an individual would weaken its effects.

Someone could not help asking, “What if we hope to have the entire race evolved?”

“Good question.” Han Xiao raised his brows. “Other than basic allocations, you can purchase extra allocations, which doesn’t have an upper limit. However, the price for that will be much higher than the basic allocations. I’m not underestimating your purchasing power, but given the large population of your civilizations, that will most likely be very costly.”

Some civilization representatives felt a little regret. To them, having their entire race use the Evolution Cube at once would be best. Sadly, Han Xiao was clearly not willing to do that.

A Star System civilization would have a population of billions at the very least. The fee would be over the roof.

However, after thinking about it, having the entire race evolve was indeed unnecessary. Every high-level civilization had a ton of people that never contributed to society and were just waiting for days to pass. Purchasing evolution allocations for them was obviously a waste.

To have some of the elites’ genes improved every year with the one million slots was acceptable for the representatives of the civilizations.

Han Xiao then said, “Secondly, business partnership. This depends on the nature of your organization. Civilizations can provide the rights to mining planets, transport channels, and military factory usage. Armed forces will have to form an alliance with the Black Star Army and share intelligence. Financial groups can provide more partnerships on the business side… These are the prerequisites of buying allocations from me.”

The people there came from different organizations. Han Xiao did this to expand the Black Star Army’s business to the various industries, hoping to bloom in all fields.

At the same time, through business partnerships, he could form a deeper partnership relationship with these organizations.

This was within their expectations, so they were not surprised.

Through the analysis of various information, they knew that Black Star was ambitious. Since there was a chance for his organization to become a Beyond Grade A organization, he would of course not be satisfied with it just being a pure armed force.

“Last… I hope to have a seat in the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference,” Han Xiao said with a deep voice.

The Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference was similar to the Galaxy Central Civilization Court, a political civilization alliance. Being a Star System civilization was the entry requirement.

The civilization representatives exchanged looks. Someone said hesitantly, “Only civilizations can attend the conference. Black Star, although your forces are powerful, you’re not a civilization.”

Han Xiao smiled. “Don’t worry, I know the rule. I’m planning to use my mother planet’s name.”

Planet Aquamarine?

They exchanged looks.

“If I remember correctly, the civilization on your mother planet has yet to reach the Star System level…”

Han Xiao shrugged. “Hence this term.”

He would only have official political influence after he obtained a seat at the Civilization Conference. This way, even if Planet Aquamarine did not reach the Star System level, it would also be protected by the ‘Peace Treaty’.

He would benefit from it, too. Not only would his personal position be higher, the Black Star Army under his command would also be a semi-government. The army members would be protected by all kinds of laws.

Simply put, if this was agreed, if other players attacked any Black Star Army members, including themselves, and it was discovered, they would all become ‘red names’ and lose Favorability with a lot of organizations.

Hearing Han Xiao’s terms, the various civilization representatives sighed. This was beyond their authority. They all said that this was not for them to decide and that they had to ask their superiors before getting back to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao was not worried. The Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference was controlled by the Star Cluster civilizations of this Star Field. Since these Star Cluster civilizations wanted to work with him, adding him in as an exception would not be difficult. They just needed an excuse.

During the secret war times, quite a number of Star Cluster civilizations had secretly done things because they did not want to see Black Star rise. However, there was nothing they could do anymore. With resignation, they could only lower their heads and seek cooperation.

The Shattered Star Ring had been affected by the Crimson Tide for a decade. Its structure had changed in subtle ways. This was the time to grasp onto opportunities.

After roughly settling on the terms, the guests left one after another—they had only gone to express their intentions. The details had to be discussed by the corresponding departments of both sides. This would be Sylvia and Phillip’s job.

Han Xiao tapped the table and pondered.

In his plan, this was a key step in the Black Star Army’s expansion—using the Evolution Cube, he would form a connected profit network with the Black Star Army at its center!

Not only would he benefit from the partnerships, the channels of the various organizations would be linked as well, forming an enormous profit network.

In order to achieve this, his organization had to be strong enough. Of course, as a Beyond Grade A organization, the Black Star Army was qualified.

With this opportunity, the Black Star Army would be able to become stronger very quickly. Maintaining this profit network would indirectly turn the entire Shattered Star Ring into the Black Star Army’s base, providing continuous resources.

Currently, the Evolution Cube was the key for this to work. As long as he could make the various organizations see that they could benefit from this, even without the Evolution Cube, they would still continue to maintain the cooperation. Similar to how Heber had made the Tyrant Party into a recognized party for the people at the top of the society, Han Xiao’s goal was to make the Black Star Army the core of the Shattered Star Ring’s profit network.

…

After three days, the guests finally all arrived. In the early morning, Heber invited everyone to the palace and officially started the party.

The hall was set up as a banquet. With the musicians playing their instruments in the background, the representatives of the various organizations formed small circles and spoke softly.

Han Xiao and the others occupied a corner, and many people gathered around them.

The players were taken there as well. They looked left and right curiously and kept throwing [Reconnaissance] at the people around. Everyone they saw was someone important. The few Beyond Grade As were chatting with people in the hall as well.

Over the past few days, the players had asked around about the Tyrant Party. Now that they had seen so many organizations’ representatives, this party suddenly felt much more high class.

The guests there were basically the rulers of the Shattered Star Ring. It turned out that Black Star was at this level.

The players would usually not be able to come into contact with the activities between those high-level people. When these players shared the details of the Tyrant Party on the forums, only then did the players know that this existed. They all discussed it with excitement.

“So, this is the level of people that Black Star has been in contact with now.”

“He’s a faction leader, of course.”

“All Beyond Grade As are there? Haha, won’t they start fighting?”

“Isn’t the Bloodshed Land our enemy? Why did Black Star go?”

This time, Heber stepped out of the crowd. The people stopped chatting, and they all looked at Heber.

“In the past decade or so, the Shattered Star Ring has been through many storms. Fortunately, I can still see so many familiar faces here today,” Heber said slowly. “Before the party starts, I would like to make an announcement.”

Then, he turned to look at Han Xiao and said, “After private negotiations, Black Star and I have agreed to a temporary ceasefire, and we will take part in the Crimson Dynasty’s development of the Flickering World together. Everyone here shall be a witness.”

The others turned to look at Han Xiao, and Han Xiao nodded in agreement.

“Flickering World?” many players murmured. This piece of information attracted their attention immediately.

Han Xiao smiled in his head. He had known for sure that Heber would announce this during the party. He immediately distributed the mission that he had prepared on the faction interface.

At the same time, on the list of acceptable missions on the many players’ faction interface, the Grade S+ main storyline mission [Flickering World] was instantly pinned at the top.

“Oi, a new main storyline mission!”

“What, Grade S+? That’s higher than the secret war!”

“This should be the next main storyline of Version 3.0.”

“Develop the Flickering World. Looks like this will be the next big operation for the Black Star Army.”

The army players were surprised, and many instantly accepted the mission.

A main storyline with such a high grade was clearly a huge event. After the secret war ended, many players had entered the free exploration stage with no clear goal, but now they had a new goal.

Due to the recent chain of events, the players had an overflowing sense of belonging to the army. In their eyes, the Black Star Army’s storyline was basically the main storyline.

The players did not know much about the Flickering World. Countless posts appeared on the forums to discuss it immediately. Han Xiao scanned them and was satisfied with the impact.

However, the army players did not know that not only was [Flickering World] the Version 3.0 storyline after the secret war, it was also a large main storyline that would last the whole of the next version.

…

The business that had to be discussed had already been discussed a few days ago, and the official party was just a routine.

Since Heber had announced the ceasefire, of course, he did not allow his subordinates to cause any trouble. With his restrictions, no matter how resentful Fosters was, he did not make any trouble.

Han Xiao had basically achieved his targets for attending this Tyrant Party, so he was quite satisfied.

After the party ended, he did not stay for long. After he let Austin use the Evolution Cube, he headed back with Ames, Hila, and the others.

Hu!

When the spaceship left Planet Heber, Han Xiao turned on the communicator and contacted Bennett.

Over the past few days, those civilization representatives had relayed his message to their superiors. Those upper echelons had already responded and agreed with his terms.

Very soon, the communication was picked up.

“Han Xiao? How are you free enough to contact me?” Bennett’s frank laughter sounded.

“I have to tell you something…” Han Xiao explained.

Hearing what Han Xiao said, Bennett said with an overjoyed tone, “You helped the Aquamarine Federation enter the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference? That’s great!”

Planet Aquamarine was just an elementary galactic civilization, way too underqualified to enter the Civilization Conference. Being able to enter the conference as an exception was clearly an opportunity of a lifetime.

“Hmm, I’ll be the representative of the civilization. Are you okay with that?” Han Xiao asked.

The seat in the Civilization Conference belonged to the entire civilization. Usually, the representative would be from the government. However, although Han Xiao was close to the Aquamarine Federation, they were still two separate organizations. By doing this, even though this seat belonged to Planet Aquamarine’s government, they would only be able to express their opinions in the future through Han Xiao.

Bennett did not hesitate at all. “You’re the one that gave us this chance. Plus, you’re Planet Aquamarine’s protector. Giving you the position will only be beneficial for us.”

He had a very clear mindset. Planet Aquamarine would not have been able to achieve what the Black Star Army had achieved today even if they had many years. He did not want to see the Planet Aquamarine civilization making the wrong choices in the future. Therefore, he had been working hard to tie the Planet Aquamarine government and the Black Star Army together.

Han Xiao smiled, chatted casually for a while, and then hung up.

He decided to let Planet Aquamarine use the Evolution Cube on a large scale after returning. Since he had obtained a political seat on Planet Aquamarine, the better Planet Aquamarine grew, the more he would benefit from it.

Speaking of which, I shall go and take a look at the Black Spirit Race. I can let them use the Evolution Cube too, Han Xiao thought. This race admired him like a god, so he considered them to be on his side.

Chapter 792 - Teny Amenos

792 Teny Amenos

Somewhere in the Shattered Star Ring, many streams of light hyperdrive dashed across the silent universe.

This was an enormous fleet, formed by metal, beast-like Crimson Dynasty ships.

This was a logistics team that the Crimson Dynasty had dispatched to the Shattered Star Ring. Other than transporting resources, they also had the ability to build assembly and military factories.

This logistics team had two main goals—provide the Shattered Star Ring garrison with logistics backup and enhance their military power, and head toward the Flickering World’s Dawn Star Cluster to build the dynasty exploration team’s main base on the spot.

As for transporting some resources to the Black Star Army, it was just a small matter.

The three Universal Civilizations had many inter-Star Field quick military passages made of enormous stargates that connected the Star Fields. They could also build small to medium-sized stargates between the desolate universe belt to carry out continuous teleportation.

This logistics team spent quite some time gathering the people, but the time taken to travel was not long in comparison. They arrived at the Shattered Star Ring very soon.

On the path of the enormous logistics team, a small recon fleet was leading the way. There were only twelve light recon ships.

Under the 3D map on the radar of the main recon ship, a middle-aged man stood firmly with his hands behind his back, looking up at the map.

Teny Amenos, 0014855 term outstanding graduate of the Dynasty’s ‘Journey’ High-Level Military School. Averaged first among all graduates of the same term in all sixty-two subjects including Strategy, Tactics, and Combat.

Joined the dynasty military after graduation, dispatched into multiple military operations. Galactic wars experienced: more than 1,000. Independent commanding record: 170 times. Promoted multiple times due to exceptional achievements.

Now the colonel of the dynasty’s 33rd army, an important person among the dynasty’s younger generation. He was also one of the elites going to accept modification from the Evolution Cube.

Being in charge of the recon task for the transport team was his own request.

Teny looked energetic and admirable. The air around him was like a burning flame, bright and tough. His back was straight like a flagpole.

He had one semi-arc shaped alloy ring on each of his two ears. This was an advanced multifunctional analysis device built by the dynasty. It had functions such as communication, detection, analysis, tactical imaging, and so on.

He wore a high-grade officer uniform of the Crimson Dynasty. It was black and decorated with red and gold patterns, and it had the dynasty’s national emblem on the chest.

All the high-grade officer uniforms of the Crimson Dynasty were made from nano-cloth. They were light, tough, and had excellent defense capabilities. It was also equipped with many combat and survival functions.

“Colonel Teny, the radar has received a distress signal. The coordinates are T406.B189.K22, right on our path. According to long-range observation, a group of galactic travelers is being attacked by a galactic pirate group. The pirates have thirty low-grade battleships.”

The exclusive deputy, Corbus, bowed and reported the situation.

“Send an area announcement. Warn them and tell them to leave our route immediately,” Teny quickly said.

“… The announcement has been made. They have not responded.”

Corbus looked at the image detected and said, “They have strengthened their attacks, intending to quickly finish the galactic traveling group.”

“Report the situation to the main team. The rest of you… switch to combat formation. Level two alert. Initiate the long-range kiting strategy,” Teny ordered calmly.

His mission was to scout the route and eliminate unstable factors. As an elite officer of the dynasty, he did not like to be involved in matters of the others. The galactic traveling group’s rescue request was not within his consideration. However, these people happened to be blocking the hyperdrive route of the main team, which was why he commanded the fleet to engage.

The twelve recon battleships formed a fan shape and headed toward the galactic pirate. They started to fire as soon as they were in range.

Those galactic pirates attempted to fight back but to no avail. They could hardly land any attacks on the recon team. Under Teny’s command, the recon team maintained their maximum attack range, which was far superior to the galactic pirates’.

Destroying a few enemy ships with ease, Teny switched strategy. He commanded the recon fleet to swiftly surround them while maintaining their distance.

Although he had fewer than half of the battleships the enemies had, Teny could always create opportunities where they outnumbered the enemy in partial battles.

Under his command, it was as if these galactic pirates were slowly being chipped away despite having the advantage in numbers.

Teny was used to fighting in large armies; commanding a small group in combat was not his strength, but he was still amazing at it.

His strategic style was as firm as a mountain, calm and slow like an adult toying with a child. No matter what those galactic pirates did, he countered them with ease.

The galactic pirate could not even find the opportunity to escape with hyperdrive. They were overwhelmingly beaten.

With the immeasurable difference in strategic capabilities and the large difference in spaceship performance, this battle lasted barely a moment before the galactic pirates were wiped out without surprise. Teny suffered basically zero damage, only some energy used to maintain shields.

“Tell the main team that the problem is solved,” Teny said with a calm tone. Having witnessed so many large galactic battles, the battle earlier was not even a warmup.

“Colonel, the spaceships of this galactic traveling group are heavily damaged and can’t support long-range travel. They have asked to board our ship.” Corbus’ voice was thunderous.

“Refuse them,” Teny said without changing his expression. “Activate scanning probe and detect the individual energy level of the people inside this traveling group. If no abnormalities are found, release small cabins for them as carriers.”

Teny was experienced in this. There were way too many examples of using distress signals as a trap in history. He was used to being alert against traps.

Even if no abnormality was found, he would not let outsiders board his battleship but would give the unoccupied small cabins to throw these stranded passengers to the nearest colonial planet. He would not waste time guarding and giving them a ride.

Corbus suddenly received a message. “Colonel, a person in these passengers wishes to speak to you. There’s information about him in the database. He’s the leader of a small financial group in the Shattered Star Ring. His history is clean. He said he knows Black Star.”

“How does he know that we’re going to meet with Black Star? This feels like a poorly planned trap.” Teny raised his brows.

“That might be easily explainable.” Corbus looked at the data, shaking his head. “The news about the dynasty forming an alliance with Black Star has spread widely in the Shattered Star Ring.”

Teny thought for a moment and said, “Pick up the communication. I’ll speak with him.”

Usually, he would not bother about a request from an irrelevant person like this. However, that person had mentioned Black Star, which was a topic he had recently been very curious about.

Black Star was the dynasty’s new ally, and Teny knew that he was on this trip to meet Black Star and accept modification from the Evolution Cube.

Be it friend or foe, he always would find out as much as he could about the person he would come in contact with.

This came from his military habit. He had already finished reading through Black Star’s data on paper. More information about Han Xiao was exactly what he needed.

Du…

The communication connected. This leader of the financial group’s face was filled with excitement and nervousness.

When attacked by the galactic pirate, he had thought that misfortune was about to fall. To his surprise, they were saved by the Crimson Dynasty. Having seen an opportunity to contact a Universal Civilization, he tried his luck to attract their attention and mentioned Black Star’s name.

“How do you know Black Star?”

This person could not wait to reply. “More than ten years ago, I hired Black Star’s mercenary group and had close contact with Black Star. This is all recorded.”

“Okay, tell me from the start.” Teny narrowed his eyes.

Even over there in the Central Galaxy, there was no example of such a quick rise. It could be said that Black Star had broken the record for the shortest time an ordinary person had become a Beyond Grade A Super.

Teny was very curious about this legendary person.

Furthermore, Black Star was a Mechanic just like him. Teny even had some thoughts about seeking guidance.

…

As Han Xiao returned from Planet Heber, he brought back the partnership intention of a ton of organizations. Sylvia became busy, negotiating and dealing with different organizations every day.

Luckily, she had the physique of a Calamity Grade. If it were an ordinary person, that person would probably pass away from overworking.

Sylvia was exceptionally hardworking, which Han Xiao was glad about. If his Managing Director was Jenny, she would probably sacrifice her own life to kill him by running into him carrying a psionic bomb.

Ames did not return to Floating Dragon but actively looked to walk along with Han Xiao.

It did not matter where they were going—it was mainly because she would have an old friend who was on her level to chat with. Furthermore, she felt that interesting things would always happen around Han Xiao.

The dynasty’s elites were still on the way. Han Xiao decided to complete the evolution for Planet Aquamarine and the Black Spirit Race first.

Planet Aquamarine would need time to gather its citizens, which he had Bennett take care of. Han Xiao went to the Black Spirit Race first. The Black Spirit Race had their Mind Network, so they would be easier to gather.

…

Ever since the Black Spirit Race planted their roots on this unpopulated planet, the planet’s name on the star map had officially changed to Planet Black Spirit.

Hu!

A spaceship penetrated the atmosphere and slowly landed. The gray and green surface expanded in his sight.

The radar showed the vital signal’s source location. Han Xiao piloted the spaceship and headed to the Germinal Tribe’s territory cave with familiarity.

There were no clouds in the sky.

Dashing past the surface mainly made of rocks and the sparse forest, an enormous pit appeared before his eyes.

This was a large open cave, and densely packed holes filled the cave walls. This was originally an underground cave. The Black Spirit Race had taken away the ground above them and exposed it.

Han Xiao had once taken a group of Black Spirit Race to mine resource planets. Impacted by the various cultures in the galaxy, the Black Spirit Race had started to learn about intelligence and civilizations.

As their Mind Network had a highly unified group conscience, knowledge spread extremely efficiently. In the past decade, the Black Spirit Race had tried to leave their beast habits behind and started learning to use tools, building caves above the ground.

This open cave also had some messy rock piles in it, which were actually prototypes of buildings. The Black Spirit Race had gradually come up to the surface from the underground. This place could be considered the basis of a city.

An enormous Prophecy Stone totem stood at the heart of the cave. It had been carved into a strange shape.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, trying to identify it for quite some time. Only then did he confirm that this statue with pieces of carapace, spikes all over its body, and sharp teeth in its mouth was supposed to be him.

Han Xiao did not know whether to laugh or cry. He could somehow recognize who this statue was supposed to represent despite all the ‘add-ons’ it had. The Black Spirit Race’s rock carving technique was really unbelievable.

But their aesthetic senses…

The spaceship hovered above the cave. The Black Spirit Race of the Germinal Tribe all climbed out from their caves and looked up at the spaceship.

Han Xiao walked out of the hatch and slowly descended from the sky. The Black Spirit Race below all lowered their bodies as if they were worshipping.

Feidin released prophecy stones energy and let Han Xiao log into the Prophecy Stone group chat server.

As soon as Han Xiao entered the Black Spirit Race’s Mind Network, countless voices sounded. The internal thoughts of every Black Spirit Race member became crystal clear.

“Such a powerful aura, it’s beautiful.”

“Black Star God, you’ve come to see me again.”

Countless Black Spirit Race members spoke in the Mind Network, expressing their love and admiration for Han Xiao.

The Black Spirit Race referred to him as ‘God’. His relationship with them had always been [Reverence].

The voice of the Germinal Tribe’s leader sounded. “Black Star God, what do you need us to do?”

“I came this time to help you people evolve…” Han Xiao talked about the use of the Evolution Cube.

The Black Spirit Race was thrilled, mumbling strange prayers and feeling like this was a blessing from their god.

Through the Mind Network, all the Black Spirit Race members in this cave received the message almost instantly. They all moved and surrounded Han Xiao, kneeling with their front limbs on the ground in a respectful position. Their gathering speed was extremely quick.

“What a highly efficient race.” Han Xiao could not help feeling that way.

He had always felt that the civilization potential of the Black Spirit Race was extraordinary.

Their natural Mind Network made them extremely unified and in sync. Any group activity would be astonishingly convenient.

The Mind Network could also share their knowledge and intelligence, so spreading knowledge was almost instant. The Black Spirit Race’s one-hour long communication might achieve the effects of what would take some races decades and centuries.

Chapter 793 - Golden Leek!

A small silver cube floated above the totem, gushing out black cloud-like energy.

Evolution energy spread in the nest, covering the Black Spirit Race one after another. In just a short time, the nest was already filled with black cocoons.

With a flash of Mechanical Force on Han Xiao’s fingertips, the small silver-white cube obediently returned to his hand, and he wore it back on his neck.

Han Xiao nodded. “Now, I just have to wait. I wonder what the Black Spirit Race will evolve into.”

Advanced civilizations more or less controlled secret technology that others could not replicate. The Evolution Cube was a relic of a civilization very close to becoming a Universal Civilization. The technological essence within it had long been lost. Even when it was in Psyker’s hands, the Arcane Church could not understand it. Han Xiao had only tested the various parameters of the Evolution Cube.

There were comparatively fewer restrictions on this Universal Treasure. The Evolution Cube would absorb multi-dimensional and dark energy to charge up automatically. The method to use it over a large area was to cover an entire area with the Evolution Cube. That way, all the creatures within that area would be evolved.

This evolution energy was considered in the rage of Space Wonders—safe, no side effects, and exceeded all kinds of gene medicine and gene hormones. It was as if countless years of natural evolution were all concentrated in one individual.

After a short wait, a sudden clear and crisp sound appeared.

Ka-cha!

One black cocoon cracked open, showing the Black Spirit Race member inside.

The Black Spirit Race were originally black insects with strange appearances—they had hair between the gaps of their carapace, and their mouths were cone-shaped and could penetrate stone. They had no eyes, only four antennae that functioned as their sight organs. They had four muscular legs and a shovel-shaped tail covered in carapace. Basically, they looked like very vicious beasts.

Now, however, the appearance of the Black Spirit Race had drastically changed.

The proportion of their carapace and their muscle became much more balanced in a streamlined shape, much more aesthetic to the eyes. The hair in between the gaps on their carapace was all gone. They looked much neater.

The sharp fangs in their mouths became tidy. Two of the four antennae on their heads became longer and thicker, hanging on the back of their head like hair. The two antennae below disappeared and became bean-sized azure eyes. The antennae were previously organs to help them to adapt to living underground, but now the Black Spirit Race had started to get used to sunlight and were trying to live above ground. Originally, it would take many years for them to slowly develop and evolve into having eyes. However, the Evolution Cube had drastically reduced this process.

The Black Spirit Race still used four feet, but their two back feet became much more muscular as if they could easily stand up.

Kaching!

With the first Black Spirit Race completing its evolution, it seemed to start a chain reaction. Tons of black cocoons started to shatter. The brand new-looking Black Spirit Race appeared and looked around with confusion.

The surprise of the Black Spirit Race spread quickly in the Mind Network. To Han Xiao, these internal thoughts sounded as young as the voices of a child.

“Wha—What is this feeling?”

“I can see so clearly. Is this what sight is?”

“The sun is so blinding…”

Having gained normal sight for the first time, countless Black Spirit Race members felt curious and adapted to their new organ.

Han Xiao suddenly realized—the biggest change that the Black Spirit Race had undergone was not their appearances but their minds. They were born with connective minds, which meant that the Black Spirit Race had a very high talent in that area. Now, that talent was amplified… The most direct impact was that the brains of the Black Spirit Race became much more developed.

This time, a clear voice appeared in Han Xiao’s mind, which shocked him a little. This voice did not come from the Prophecy Stone group chat server but was a voice sent to him through direct psychic communication.

“Black Star God, we will remember the blessing you’ve granted upon us forever.”

Han Xiao looked over and saw that the Germinal Tribe leader was noticeably larger than the normal Black Spirit Race members and was staring at him with his bean-sized eyes. The voice came from him.

“You can use psychic power?” Han Xiao wondered.

The Prophecy Stone was the base station of the Black Spirit Race’s Mind Network. Without it, the Black Spirit Race could not previously connect their minds. Now, however, the Germinal Tribe leader was able to transmit his voice without the help of the Prophecy Stones. This had exceptional meanings.

“I don’t know. I just felt that I could suddenly do it. I seem to be able to do this too.” The Germinal Tribe leader shook his head and suddenly picked up a small Prophecy Stone, bit it, and swallowed it. Right after, a circle of invisible energy spread from his head.

Feidin was slightly shocked. “Such special energy, there are traces of the Prophecy Stone in it…”

The next moment, the Germinal Tribe leader’s psychic energy formed a new Mind Network and turned him into a chat server. He had undergone some kind of positive mutation during the evolution, which tremendously stimulated his psychic talent. There were dozens more mutants just like him.

Han Xiao was surprised. Every complete Prophecy Stone was equivalent to an individual Mind Network server. Only the Black Spirit Race members in the same server could communicate with each other. Now, however, some mutants had become able to create their own servers, once again increasing the mobility and unity of this race.

This had extraordinary meanings to a race. With their race-specific talent enhanced, they would be able to adapt to more environments.

With such high potential, maybe this race can really grow into a powerful civilization in the future.

That was how Han Xiao sincerely felt.

He was truly glad that he had kept the Black Spirit Race alive back then. Han Xiao had a feeling that this insignificant investment of his might yield more profit than he had ever expected.

After bidding farewell to the Germinal Tribe, Han Xiao did the same for the other tribes one after another.

As the Black Spirit Race had migrated as an entire race back then, although the various tribes lived separately throughout the years, they were still relatively close in terms of distance. So, it did not take too much time.

Han Xiao had gifted them the evolution opportunity, so the Black Spirit Race felt gratitude toward this ‘god’ of theirs from the depths of their hearts. Their belief became more deeply rooted, and they believed that they were a race blessed by God.

After Han Xiao left in the spaceship, all the tribes started to sculpt new wall paintings—of a small man representing Han Xiao floating above the ground, worshipped by the Black Spirit Race under him.

This day was forever recorded in the Black Spirit Race’s history.

…

Completing the Black Spirit Race’s evolution had taken less time than Han Xiao expected. He took his time looking for Fixed Stars to train Heber’s Energy Training Technique on the way and finally arrived at Planet Aquamarine.

“Welcome home.”

At the dock, Bennett looked at Han Xiao as he walked down the spaceship, smiling with the joy of reuniting with an old friend.

Home…

Han Xiao’s thoughts drifted away for an instant before he suppressed the sudden surge of some kind of emotion and sized Bennett up.

Bennett still stood as straight as he always had, and his white hair was neatly combed.

Behind Bennett were a ton of officers that looked like they were filled with nervousness and panic. When facing Black Star, their protector, only Bennett could remain casual. Everyone else was overwhelmed by the pressure.

Black Star’s ‘wiping away nations with a few words’ deed had only been a few years ago. The example of the Six Nations was still crystal clear in the minds of these people. They could not control their anxiety when facing someone who could decide the life or death of their entire government with a few words.

However, the impact of what Black Star had done back then had already shown throughout the past years. From the perspective of an entire civilization, uniting the government was indeed beneficial. It drastically reduced internal conflict, and making decisions was much more efficient. Had they entered the galactic society with multiple governments, they would have ended up like the Luhan Beastmen.

“You look well.” Han Xiao nodded. He then looked at the small boy beside Bennett.

Nero looked up and stared at Han Xiao with curiosity.

He had seen Han Xiao countless times in textbooks. He even memorized his deeds before. However, this was the first time that he had seen him in person.

“God—Godfather,” Nero stuttered with a shy tone.

“Good boy.” Han Xiao smiled. He then lowered his waist and picked Nero up, firmly holding him in his arms and tapping Nero’s forehead.

Nero was Bennett’s child. Bennett had decided to stay and guard Planet Aquamarine and given his child to Han Xiao to take care of. Of course, he was willing to take care of an old friend’s child.

Nero had initially been a little nervous because of how high Han Xiao’s position was, but Han Xiao was very friendly and warm to him, so he became relaxed in no time and laughed joyfully.

“This toy is for you.” Han Xiao casually waved. Nanoparticles flew out from his shirt and quickly turned into a black and gold hovering guard flying around Nero.

This was high-level Orange equipment; its energy core was a stable dark energy reaction furnace. It had both offensive and defensive abilities and multiple other functions.

A bright blue and gold electric spark lit up on Han Xiao’s palm and flew into the floating guard. He gave this machine permanent [Emperor’s Gift] and [Machinery Fusion] blessings, giving it increased capability.

“This Hovering Guard is a gift for you to protect yourself. You can give it a name.”

Then, with a snap of Han Xiao’s finger, he created a nano-level nerves connection device and planted it into the back of Nero’s head without him feeling any pain. He added, “It can move with your thoughts. However, this thing is very powerful. You’d better not use it recklessly, especially not to hit your father.”

An orange equipment made by a Beyond Grade A Super was extremely powerful. Even without his Mechanical Force bonuses, this hovering guard alone would be able to easily defeat any Grade C Supers. This type of machine had no level limit. It was basically god-tier equipment to low-level Supers. He did not even sell this to the players.

Nero tried to control the hovering guard. With a thought, the hovering guard followed his commands and moved around smoothly as if it was his own body. Nero’s eyes sparkled immediately as if he had discovered a new continent.

“Thanks, godfather!” With a face full of surprise, Nero hugged Han Xiao’s neck and expressed his excitement.

“Go play.” Han Xiao chuckled, put Nero down, and turned around to head to the political building with Bennett.

On the way, Bennett started to report the situation.

“I’ve announced gathering orders in the various cities. It’s almost done. There’s nothing I can do to those we’ve missed.”

He had explained the situation about the Evolution Cube to the people of Planet Aquamarine. Those who wanted to evolve would gather on their own. This would save a lot of time.

However, some people were unwilling to gather due to various reasons.

“Let them be. I’m not forcing everyone to accept the evolution.” Han Xiao shook his head. “By the way, I’ll let you use it first.”

Bennett smiled bitterly and said, “I don’t actually want to use it…”

“You’re different.” Han Xiao waved his hands. “This is an evolution involving an entire civilization. Don’t you want to experience it for your people beforehand so that you have nothing to worry about?”

Bennett shook his head with resignation and did not oppose it.

“By the way, Nero too…” Han Xiao paused. “Let me take him into the galaxy. I’ll help him become a Super.”

“Isn’t he too young?” Bennett hesitated.

“The earlier he becomes a Super, the better. Since you’re planning to let Nero live his life in the universe in the future, it’s best to let him get used to that life as early as possible. Plus, there’s me. What do you have to worry about? He’s my godson. I’ll take him to travel for a few months in the universe before bringing him back.”

“Sigh, alright then.” Bennett was initially hesitant, but he nodded in the end. He decided to stay and guard his mother planet, but he did not want to limit Nero’s future because of his own reasons.

This time, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something.

He thought about seeing Nero’s attributes.

He turned and looked behind. Nero was following behind them and playing with his new toy.

Han Xiao secretly released a tiny bit of Mechanical Force, turning nanoparticles into a metal needle invisible to the naked eye. He remotely controlled it and stabbed Nero’s butt.

“Ow!” Nero felt a pain on his butt and yelled with shock. He looked around hastily but did not notice anything.

As this dealt 1 damage to Nero, combat information appeared on the interface, and Nero’s attributes were fully listed in Han Xiao’s eyes.

Han Xiao scanned through. Suddenly, a tint of shock flashed past his eyes.

Nero was still an ordinary child, so his attributes were basically empty. However, under the list of talents, there was a bright and shining list that shocked even Han Xiao.

The Molding Talent—[Advanced Luck Glow]!

Thi—This is Feidin’s level of Luck Glow. This kid is a high-level protagonist character‽ Han Xiao was so in disbelief he almost wanted to rub his eyes.

In his previous life, Bennett’s life had been completely different, and Nero did not even exist.

Bennett had Basic Luck Glow, and his son had Advanced Luck Glow. What are the chances of that? Did this thing run in their blood‽

This time, a daring speculation appeared in his mind.

Could it be that… Nero’s Advanced Luck Glow has something to do with me?

Come to think about it, Nero’s dad is the Aquamarine Federation’s leader, his godfather is Black Star, who’s known across the entire galaxy, and he will receive personal mentorship from a Beyond Grade A at a young age! Isn’t that exactly extraordinary luck‽

Han Xiao had no idea that such a high-quality leek would come to grow in his own leek field. He was so surprised that even the way he looked at Nero changed.

Although Nero was just a kid, in Han Xiao’s eyes, this kid had become a treasure overflowing with luck.

If he had decided to take care of Nero because of personal reasons before, he now truly wanted to train this potential stock!

For a high-level protagonist-type character, he would at least become a Calamity Grade in the future!

What a pleasant surprise…

Han Xiao was thrilled.

Chapter 794 - The “True Protagonist“

The first group to accept the evolution from the Evolution Cube the next day were the residents of the capital, Black Star City.

The spaceship with Han Xiao and Bennett and the others in it slowly passed from above the city. The energy released from the Evolution Cube covered the people below.

“Maybe this will be a new chapter for the Planet Aquamarine civilization.” Bennett could not help but feel that way when looking at this.

He had already undergone the evolution the previous night and felt the effects of the Evolution Cube clearly. It was as if he had returned to his peak in his younger years. His body felt energetic, and his mind worked much faster. The enhancement the Evolution Cube provided to ordinary people was focused on strengthening their mind.

Turning to look at Han Xiao’s back, Bennett had a lot of thoughts in his mind. Planet Aquamarine had been able to achieve the era it had all thanks to this old friend of his.

Twenty years ago, who would have thought that a traitor of the Germinal Organization could ever reach such an unbelievable height?

Galactic spaceships would take no time to go around a planet. Very soon, the process was completed.

Han Xiao did not pay attention to how overjoyed the people were. Bennett would take care of the aftermath. He would definitely promote what he had done and might even include this in the textbooks.

As Han Xiao was done with this task, he did not want to stay much longer on Planet Aquamarine and wanted to leave immediately. He got a message from Sylvia that the Crimson Dynasty’s team were about to arrive at the Black Star Army headquarters, so he had to return.

As the spaceship returned to the dock, a gentle woman waited there, holding Nero’s hand.

Bennett brought his officers to the dock, shared a few words with the woman, and pushed Nero’s back a little, signaling for him to board the ship.

“Go, your future is in the galaxy. Black Star will take care of you,” Bennett said slowly.

Nero’s eyes were red. He had found out that he would be following his godfather into the universe the night before, and he almost thought that his daddy did not want him anymore. He cried and cried, and only after Bennett talked and explained it to him for very long did he accept this.

He had only read about the galactic society in textbooks and on the internet; this was his first time entering the galaxy. Thinking about those weird-looking aliens that existed in the universe, he was both afraid and secretly looking forward to it.

Nero climbed up the gangway tiredly with his tiny legs. Han Xiao stood beside the hatch and pulled him in.

Han Xiao exchanged looks with Bennett, and they both nodded at each other.

“Shut the gate,” Han Xiao ordered.

Whoosh.

The hatch closed slowly. Nero looked around. Through the gradually shrinking gap of the gate, he saw that Bennett and his mother were standing on the docks, waving goodbye to him.

Ka-cha.

The last gap disappeared. The hatch shut tightly as if separating the two worlds.

“Follow me.”

Han Xiao shook his head and brought Nero to the cockpit of the spaceship.

Through the porthole, Nero saw the city quickly shrinking below his feet and the sky above him turning from blue to black.

The spaceship trembled slightly and left the planet’s atmosphere. The full look of Planet Aquamarine appeared in Nero’s eyes. He stared at it with his eyes and mouth wide open. This experience was too marvelous for a kid like him.

He tightly grabbed Han Xiao’s legs—this was the only support his tiny heart currently had.

Han Xiao stood beside him with a smile and did not move. After the spaceship entered hyperdrive, he brought Nero out of the cockpit and toured the entire spaceship while teaching him the general knowledge of the galaxy.

“These are the things you need to remember. Don’t worry. With me here, most people in the universe won’t be able to hurt you.”

The two of them came to the hall. Ames, Hila, and the rest of the Black Star Guards were chatting casually. When they saw Nero, they all took turns to tease him with friendly and loving looks on their faces. They all quite liked this cute and obedient kid. Even Hila suppressed her cold aura, and her eyes looked gentler.

“So this is Uncle Bennett’s kid.” Aurora hugged Nero in her arms and could not let go. Originally, she was the youngest there, but now there was finally an even younger one. She was overjoyed. Furthermore, this was the kid of someone she knew.

Nero’s face blushed completely. He stood in place stiffly and did not dare move.

Han Xiao could not help but pull Aurora away and say with resignation, “Stop hugging him. Do you want to suffocate him?”

Looking down, Aurora slightly blushed. She snorted softly and heavily bashed Han Xiao’s waist, which, of course, was just a tickle to him.

“By the way, Uncle Han Xiao gave you a gift. I shall give you one too.” Aurora’s eyes suddenly brightened. She extended her palm, and a clump of golden energy appeared in her hands. She pressed it into Nero’s chest.

“Wha—What is this?” Nero was shocked. Then, he suddenly felt a sense of warmth and comfort all over his body, as if an infinite amount of strength was suddenly born inside him.

He touched his chest confusingly as if he could not understand how that clump of golden energy entered his body.

Aurora blinked and proudly said, “This is my Esper Ability. I gave you some concentrated vital energy, which will make you never sick and continuously vitalize your cells. Your body will gradually be enhanced, and you’ll be even taller and stronger.”

Not only could her Esper Ability heal people, but it could also give people buffs and stimulate the growth of beings.

For example, that fatty white bear who stayed in the Black Star headquarters and did nothing became a powerful individual after absorbing vital energy while being near Aurora for a long time. In more specific terms, Aurora’s vital energy could give someone stronger attributes.

Seeing this, Hila, who rarely talked, spoke up. “Then I’ll give you a present, too.”

She snapped her fingers and shot out a red energy bullet, hitting Nero’s back of his hand.

“Ah!” Nero suddenly felt a burning sensation on the back of his hand. He yelled with pain and rubbed his hand with droplets of tears in his eyes.

He looked down and saw a bright red pattern on the back of his hand that extended to his wrist, like a tattoo.

“This is a Dead Spirit Mark. For every creature you kill, this mark will absorb its remaining soul and enhance your psychic power.” Hila’s tone was casual and normal.

Although it was not really appropriate to mention murder to a kid, the people there were all used to it. Almost everyone there was a Calamity Grade who had killed hundreds of thousands, so they were not keen on painting ‘the world is a fairy tale’ image to a kid. Furthermore, since Nero would be guided by Black Star, he would definitely not be ordinary in the future. Therefore, they did not avoid this topic.

Nero was a little scared. He carefully pulled his sleeve and tried to cover the tattoo.

“Then I’ll give you something too.” Feidin smiled. His overflowing friendliness made Nero feel relaxed immediately.

Feidin released a wave of invisible psychic energy into Nero’s mind, forming a Calamity Grade psychic barrier, preventing others from hurting him through psychic means.

The various other Black Star Guards were not petty and took out things to gift to Nero one after another. Although they were not worth much in the eyes of Calamity Grades, every single one of them could be considered a treasure in the eyes of lower-level Supers.

Looking at this, Han Xiao felt a sense of familiarity.

Why does this… look so familiar?

Isn’t Nero exactly one of those types of blessed protagonist type characters who is loved by a bunch of old men from a young age‽

So, it’s this type of Advanced Luck Glow, Han Xiao thought it was funny. Having received so many treasures, this kid’s path ahead is wide and bright.

Lastly, it was Hadavy’s turn. He searched his body and realized that there was not anything that was worth gifting.

Seeing that everyone was staring at him, he thought for a moment and took out a set of Wayne Cards from his pocket with a chuckle.

“How about I teach you to play cards?”

“Piss off!”

Bang!

Han Xiao moved like lightning and instantly kicked Hadavy onto the ground. Nanoparticles turned into cuffs and tied him up tightly.

Nero was startled and backed off hastily while the other Black Star Guards looked around as if the environment outside was marvelous.

“Hmm…” Hadavy’s mouth was sealed by alloy. Not a single muscle on his body could move, leaving only his eyes moving around frantically.

“Stay on the ground and reflect!” Han Xiao was furious.

Teaching someone Wayne Cards is an unforgivable sin!

Never mind the fact that you’re not giving my golden leek fertilizer, how dare you poisoning it‽

Do you want my golden leek to walk Herlous’ path and fall deep into the abyss of achieving nothing‽

Ames caressed her chin and looked at this with a light smile on her face. Suddenly, she waved and signaled Nero to come over.

Nero obediently walked over to Ames. He was a little nervous. Although Ames looked just as friendly as everyone else, she felt very different from the other Black Star Guards to him. It was as if she possessed a unique sense of nobility. In front of her, Nero subconsciously felt restrained.

“Don’t be nervous. I’ll give you something too.”

Ames smiled lightly. Suddenly, she took off the obsidian necklace on her neck and placed it into Nero’s hands.

Han Xiao was a little surprised. This necklace did not have any special functions. It was just an ordinary accessory. However, Ames always wore it. Han Xiao wondered what story it had.

“Take care of it,” Ames said with a light smile, not planning to explain the meaning of it. Then she faintly glanced at Han Xiao.

Nero hastily nodded and carefully pocketed the necklace.

After all the ‘old men’ finished sending their gifts, Han Xiao called Nero over and said with a smile, “I promised your father to raise you to be a powerful Super. You’ve definitely learned about Supers in school on Planet Aquamarine. Do you still remember how many types of Supers there are, right?”

“Yes.” Nero nodded heavily. Then counting with his fingers, he said, “There are five—Psychic, Esper, Mechanic, Mage, and Psychic!”

“Now, it’s your time to choose. What kind of Super do you want to be?” Han Xiao asked with a smile.

He did not know what kind of Super talent Nero had, so he asked him directly.

Everyone became quiet.

Choosing a Super system was the decision of a lifetime. Black Star seemed to want to strongly raise and teach Nero, so his choice was very important.

Nero hesitated for a while and looked up at the hovering guard flowing above him. His eyes became firm.

“Godfather, I want to be a Mechanic!”

“Haha, good choice!”

Han Xiao was overjoyed. Since Nero had chosen the Mechanic class, he would rightfully become his student. In the Shattered Star Ring, he was the peak of the Mechanic class. No one was more qualified than him to teach others.

Hearing that, many Black Star Guards secretly sighed.

Alas, why did you choose not to live like a human being?

…

Han Xiao activated Nero’s Mechanical Force right on the ship. With his current strength, the method used to activate Mechanical Force in others was no longer the ‘electric chair’ that Sylvia had once experienced. It became safer and painless.

Planet Aquamarine was very close to the Black Star Army’s headquarters. Han Xiao and the others returned not long after.

One day after, the Crimson Dynasty’s transport team finally arrived.

The enormous fleet shrouded the sky. It was as if an eclipse was happening on Planet Golden Gate.

The army’s headquarters became more boisterous.

The first batch of resources given by the Crimson Dynasty was unloaded and transported into the army’s warehouse.

The first batch of dynasty elites to accept evolution also stepped onto the Black Star Army headquarters’ docks.

There were four captains, representing elite members of their own faction respectively. Teny was one of the captains. He represented the dynasty military’s Youngsters Faction.

These elites followed the army’s receptionist into the hall, looking straight ahead all the way.

Upon arriving in the hall, the elites of the dynasty saw Han Xiao, who was waiting on his throne, immediately.

“Your Excellency Black Star.”

Pa!

The tens of thousands of dynasty elites did a dynasty military greeting simultaneously and instantly. Their boots stomped the metal ground and made a crisp, loud sound.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. He walked down from the throne. The four captains stepped out of their formation and came to shake hands with Han Xiao one after another.

These four were all renowned NPCs in the previous life, among whom, Teny was the most famous. Almost no one in the Crimson Dynasty Faction did not know this renowned dynasty marshal. This was also the person whom Han Xiao paid the most attention to.

Compared to his appearance in Han Xiao’s previous life, Teny was still very young. He gave off a very sharp, energetic vibe.

When it was time to shake Teny’s hand, Han Xiao stared closely at his face and suddenly gave a mysterious smile.

“Teny Amenos, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Teny was stunned.

Black Star did not say anything when shaking the others’ hands. Why did he just speak to me?

Heard a lot about me… has my name already spread to the Shattered Star Ring?

Then, the intelligence he had collected in the past few days flashed through his mind. A few days ago, he had discovered one of Black Star’s abilities from this data.

This person has some kind of foresight ability.

There’s definitely a reason for him to only speak with me!

This thought flashed through Teny’s mind, but his face did not express any change. He shook Han Xiao’s hand firmly and let it go.

Chapter 795 - Goal

The dynasty’s elite soldiers were always quick and direct. The four of them briefly explained themselves. They did not request to rest and immediately asked to accept the Evolution Cube modification.

Han Xiao agreed. He would have more than enough time to communicate with them after that.

Buzz!

With a flash of blue and gold Mechanical Force, a small silver cube hovered above his head. He activated it with the password. The evolution energy flew out instantly and spread in the hall like a tsunami, shrouding the tens of thousands of dynasty elites.

Han Xiao deactivated the Evolution Cube, looked at the black cocoons all over the hall, and nodded with satisfaction.

He then looked at Teny’s cocoon, smiled slightly, and thought, Since you came to my doorsteps, how can I not invest in you?

It could be said that he was extremely familiar with this future dynasty marshal. He was one of the renowned NPCs of the dynasty that existed through multiple versions.

In the later days, he led many large fleets of the dynasty alone and called them the ‘Dynasty’s Iron Hoofs’, which fought many legendary battles. His performance was exceptional throughout many versions. The players under the Dynasty Faction could choose to join under his command and become his soldiers or officers, where they would receive plenty of War Missions.

There were two things that Teny was best known for. One was during the [Calamity of the Supers], where he led the fleet under his command and killed a notorious Beyond Grade A without any help!

The other was during the World Tree Civilization invasion event. For the sake of the entire war, he put his own life on the line and led his troops to charge into hundreds of Star Systems, restraining the enemy’s overwhelming invasion. He penetrated countless lines of defenses and entered the heartland of the World Tree Civilization, earning a ton of time. In the end, his troops were wiped out by the enemies. Dragging alongside countless strong enemies, he was killed in battle and met a tragic end.

Teny was just a Calamity Grade.

He was an extremely strong commander, strategist, and leader of fleets. The dynasty’s fleets could achieve astonishing strength in his hands. To the dynasty, such a military talent like him was even more important than Beyond Grade As.

According to his life’s direction, in the future, Teny Amenos would obtain a very high position in the dynasty and have masses of soldiers under his command. Since an opportunity to build a relationship with the dynasty’s future military boss was right before him, Han Xiao was not going to let it go.

There were many factions in the dynasty. The first group of dynasty elites was selected from the various factions. The Military Youngsters Faction, which Teny represented, was a very strong faction, and he would become one of the faction’s representatives in the future. He was worth Han Xiao wooing.

Han Xiao knew his place. Although he had become the Crimson Dynasty’s ally, it was just the beginning and far from being carefree. Even as an ally, he had to think of ways to increase his influence within the dynasty. After all, he was not the only Beyond Grade A in the dynasty.

I’ve operated in more than twenty years in the Shattered Star Ring, so I’m considered quite important. In the Central Galaxy, however, there are more Beyond Grade As. Plus, many of them are seniors that have lived many years. I have limited influence over there, Han Xiao thought.

Universal Civilizations had many powerful individuals and allies. Their profit network was complicated and broad. Although he had some power within the dynasty, it was pathetically little, and this included the bonus from the Evolution Cube.

The other three captains beside Teny were also known characters whom Han Xiao was familiar with. They did not achieve as much as Teny would eventually, but since they were all leeks right at his doorstep, he decided to not let any of them go.

…

The evolution lasted about half a day. The tens of thousands of dynasty elites came out of their cocoons one after another.

Teny was the last to complete the evolution. He extended his hand and clenched his fists, familiarizing himself with the changes in his body.

“This feels amazing…” His deputy, Corbus, was overjoyed. He was not initially qualified enough to be selected, but because he was Teny’s deputy, he was able to obtain this opportunity.

“It’s indeed magical. It feels even better than the Federation of Light’s Gene Adjustment.” Teny nodded firmly.

All the newborns of the Universal Civilizations would usually experience free Gene Adjustment right after their birth to increase their potential.

Federation of Light’s Gene Adjustment technology far exceeded the other two Universal Civilizations’ as it was one of their specialties. Federation of Light’s Super ratio was the highest in the entire Galaxy.

The army’s officer who had been waiting at the side walked over and said, “Friends from the Crimson Dynasty, the Army Commander told me to wait here for you to complete your evolution. I will now take you to the army’s guest area to rest.”

The people nodded. Some of them would be following the dynasty’s main logistics team to go to the Flickering World and explore, which planned to rest for some time in the Black Star Army headquarters. Therefore, they would be waiting there.

The rest of the dynasty elites were there purely for the evolution and would return to the Central Galaxy after it was done. Teny was one of them. Han Xiao would be traveling with them as well, and Zoel had already told them about it. Therefore, they would be staying in the army’s headquarters and waiting for Han Xiao to head to the Central Galaxy together.

They came to the guest room area and settled down. Not long after, Han Xiao came. Teny and the other captains went to welcome him.

The first thing Han Xiao asked about was how they felt after the evolution. He then moved the topic onto the situation within the dynasty and started to chat casually.

The elites from the Crimson Dynasty were indeed different. Maybe because they had met many Beyond Grade As since they were officers of a Universal Civilization, their attitudes were very natural. They were neither nervous nor arrogant, just chatting with Han Xiao normally.

Han Xiao’s goal was to improve his relationship with these people who would have high positions in the dynasty in the future so that it would be easier to become friends with them later.

He knew a lot about the people present. The chat was going very pleasantly.

However, Han Xiao noticed that Teny was the calmest and kept observing him. It seemed he was a little wary against him.

Han Xiao did not speak too much in their first conversation. He stood up and left after briefly familiarizing himself with the others. Making non-profit focused friends took time. It would only achieve the opposite effect if he was too hasty.

After sending Black Star away, Teny looked at his back and pondered.

What’s with this guy?

…

“Teny seems wary of me. This doesn’t seem easy…”

After returning to his office, Han Xiao tapped the table and contemplated it.

It was indeed not easy to bond with someone so talented. He had to focus on Teny’s likings.

Han Xiao nodded—this was his advantage. He knew about Teny’s likings. This was all hidden intelligence dug out by the players in his previous life after countless wrong attempts. He wondered how many strange and weird gifts Teny had received throughout those years.

“He doesn’t have much fondness for many material possessions; he only likes special types of gifts. Hmm, I think he has a hobby to collect Star Core samples? If I remember correctly, he also likes reading mechanical theory books written by high-level Mechanics… Sigh, even the hobbies of outstanding people are high class.”

Han Xiao shook his head. Since Teny had such a specific preference, even if he wanted to give him any gifts, it had to be subtle. Otherwise, it would expose the fact that he had a motive and would make Teny think that he had researched him, which would only achieve the opposite effect.

“Mechanical theory books…” Han Xiao murmured. “I’m a Beyond Grade A Mechanic, so he might even ask about it.”

He put this at the back of his mind for the time being and called the Hila sisters, who were taking Nero around headquarters. He then called Reynold there as well.

Not long after, Reynold opened the door.

“Army Commander, were you looking for me?”

“I have a mission for you.”

Then, he turned to look at Nero, whose face was filled with curiosity about the alien, smiled, and said, “Nero, you will be learning mechanical theories from Reynold for the time being. I have some business to do outside. I’ll teach you myself after it’s done.”

Nero was suddenly worried and said with an indignant tone, “But you promised to bring me to travel the universe…”

The universe was a completely unknown environment to him. The only person he could rely on was Han Xiao. When he heard that he was going to be left in the army’s headquarters, he instantly panicked.

This reminded him of his father, Bennett. He promised to take him to play time after time, but he always used work as an excuse to disappoint him again and again. In his limited view of the world, adults never kept their promises. He was afraid that Han Xiao would do the same.

“Don’t worry, after I come back, I will definitely take you to somewhere fun…” Han Xiao comforted him.

There were many strong people in the Central Galaxy. Even he did not know what he would face. Nero was way too weak; it would be dangerous for him to follow Han Xiao. With so many officers and allies, Nero would be safer in the army headquarters.

Furthermore, Nero had just awoken his Mechanical Force and needed to learn a ton of theories—he would have to do homework anyway, so where he did that homework made no difference.

Giving Nero to Reynold to teach temporarily was also a decision made after thorough consideration. In the time that Nero spent learning the basics from Reynold, his Advanced Luck Glow might give him this guy’s Perfect Mechanical Sense. After all, Nero was a high-level protagonist character, so everything was possible.

“No problem, leave it to me.” Reynold nodded.

Han Xiao paused and suddenly thought of something. “By the way, is your sister still in the army?”

“Hmm?” Reynold was confused for a moment. “She is, why?”

It seemed that Rossellin had yet to leave with those three guys. Han Xiao caressed his chin. Rossellin and he were the only ones that knew about that; even Reynold did not.

“Then, what has she been doing recently? Has she done anything abnormal?”

“Abnormal… it seems so.” Reynold thought about it. “I realized that she hasn’t been going out much recently and has been spending a lot of time in her room doing who knows what. She hasn’t been coming to chat with me recently. I’ve asked her a few times. She said that she’s writing something, but I don’t know what that is. Do you need me to ask her for you?”

“No need.” Han Xiao waved his hands. He could roughly guess what Rossellin was writing—probably the plan for the Silver Revolutionary Army.

Although the goal of these founders was to overthrow the three Universal Civilizations, give other civilizations a chance, and help one ruler overthrow another, there was no way they could use these words to convince ordinary people, and they knew that full well. Rossellin was the spiritual leader; she wrote most of their slogans and beliefs and used her Esper Ability on those ideas.

He was not intending to interfere with the birth of the Silver Revolutionary Army because this would be a choice of the era. He alone would never be able to stop the windmill of an entire era. In conclusion, this storyline would be the first time that various advanced civilizations would work together to challenge the ruling position of the three universal civilizations, ever since the start of the exploration era and the countless years of peace. No civilization was willing to be ruled forever. When ambition and strength reached a certain threshold at the same time, the new and the old would clash. It was unavoidable.

Therefore, he might as well watch it happen and let the people he knew about climb up in position. This way, he would at least have an advantage, and it would be easier than dealing with the people he was unfamiliar with.

Han Xiao casually grabbed the aggrieved Nero and put him onto his knees. He then called Sylvia and Herlous.

“I’ll be going to the Central Galaxy in a few days. Are the manpower, battleships, and resources I’ve asked you to prepare ready?”

They nodded.

“Good.” Han Xiao exhaled.

This trip to the Central Galaxy was not sightseeing. He had many things to do.

Speaking of which, this was his first time leaving the Shattered Star Ring and heading to another Star Field in this life.

Chapter 796 - Plan

The main goal of heading to the Central Galaxy this time was to meet the upper echelons of the dynasty and enter the dynasty allies circle. Then, he would officially step into the Central Galaxy stage and be known in the heart of the universe.

Other than that, Han Xiao had two more important goals.

One was to try to obtain Ultimate Knowledge from the dynasty during this trip.

The dynasty had generously given him all the Mechanic class Cutting-Edge Knowledges, but Ultimate Knowledges were much more valuable. Even Beyond Grade A allies would have to make some contributions before getting rewarded with it. The dynasty was generous to give him all the Cutting-Edge Knowledge at once, but keeping the Ultimate Knowledges back was a rule.

Resources were not given completely free to the Beyond Grade A allies of Universal Civilizations. Han Xiao estimated that he would only be able to request Ultimate Knowledge after he finished exploring the Flickering World. However, he wanted to go to the Central Galaxy and see if he could get it in advance.

Due to the Experience penalty he received from the Evolution Cube, his strength growth was paused. Han Xiao planned to look for other ways to become stronger like the other Beyond Grade As.

Other than talents, blueprints, and abilities, there was only class knowledge left. Ultimate Knowledges could make anyone from any class tremendously stronger.

Currently, the highest-level knowledge he had was only Cutting-Edge Knowledges. His [King’s Mentor] required Ultimate Knowledge to be activated.

Another goal was to grow new leek fields.

Only some of the players were in the Shattered Star Ring; there were a lot of players in the other Star Fields. In the past, due to how far the distance was and how the army was not strong enough, Han Xiao could not reach them.

Now that there was a chance to borrow the Crimson Dynasty’s military inter-Star Field channel, he could bring some people to the dynasty’s territory to grow new leek fields.

This way, the fame within the players he had been accumulating throughout the last three versions would be of use. The name of The Black Star Army was attractive to the players of the other Star Fields too, and the players of the Shattered Star Ring were the best examples.

He might be able to bring some of the Central Galaxy players back.

Han Xiao smirked.

“This trip might take about two to three months, but I will return in time for the official exploration of the Flickering World. During this time, I will leave the matters of the army to you guys.”

“It’s thanks to you bringing back so many Shattered Star Ring allies that our partners are spread all across this Star Field,” Sylvia said with a serious face. “The expansion of the army is almost complete. We will be able to stabilize as long as we follow the plan. You don’t have to worry.”

“I’m not worried when you guys are taking care of it.” Han Xiao nodded with a smile.

The Black Star Army had officially become a Beyond Grade A organization and was now a giant in the Shattered Star Ring. According to the planned blueprint, it would continuously build more than ten thousand bases that would be spread across the various Star Clusters and Star Systems in the Shattered Star Ring.

The expansion of business was going very smoothly too. Through the channels provided by the partners from various industries, the Black Star Army had officially stepped into the various business industries. They were now involved in financial group trading, intelligence dealing, tourism transportation, mercenary production, and many more. Of course, most core businesses were still mercenary requests, resources mining, and armed alliance businesses. These three were the pillars of the army.

Among all the business models, the only one that was not replicable was the profits brought by the Evolution Cube. There was only one Evolution Cube, so it rightfully became the specialty of the Black Star Army. This was also the reason that the Black Star Army’s expansion was going so smoothly.

The Evolution Cube was accessible for the army members as well. They just had to exchange for the right to use it with Contribution Points. This was also how the army was able to attract many more newcomers than it had estimated, building the fundamentals for the army’s large-scale expansion.

As the Tyrant had ceased fire and Psyker had admitted his loss, no organization in this area could threaten the army’s position.

It could be said that the Shattered Star Ring had become the Black Star Army’s headquarters. The army had built a strong and firm base there. The next step was to open new markets.

“I will bring some Black Star Guards with me. Vice Commander Lagi will be responsible for the high-level combatants here. Don’t let him slack…”

Han Xiao suddenly thought of something and added, “Also, announce to the entire army that I’ve been invited to the Crimson Dynasty.”

“No problem.” Sylvia did not ask why.

Since he was going to open new leek fields, Han Xiao did not plan to not use the players’ information channel. He wanted to spread this news through the forums and let the players over there in the Central Galaxy be mentally prepared beforehand.

Han Xiao was not worried about someone messing with his headquarters after he left. The Tyrant had become his ally on paper, and they had agreed to a ceasefire, so causing trouble would not be beneficial to Heber at all.

Psyker was temporarily lying low as well. Through getting a seat for the Planet Aquamarine in the Civilization Conference, Han Xiao had given Planet Aquamarine political protection. If Psyker did something to the army while he was not present, it would be a law-breaking act. Furthermore, Psyker still had his race behind him, so he would not do anything rash.

The Evolution Cube was on Han Xiao at all times. If someone wanted to get it, they could only snatch it from him. Therefore, attacking the Black Star Army was meaningless. This applied to EsGod as well.

Han Xiao was even less worried about enemies below Beyond Grade A causing trouble—with so many Calamity Grade officers in the army, anyone who dared look for trouble would be asking to die.

…

After resting for two days, the long-distance fleet heading toward the Central Galaxy officially gathered.

It was the day of their departure.

The fleet was formed of 3,500 battleships, and the main ships were three mobile satellite bases. Although they were rather bulky, they were also equipped with hyperdrive devices, just not very high-speed ones.

Han Xiao did not produce Eternal Light flagships on a large scale—it would be too flamboyant for him, a Crimson Dynasty ally, to use the Federation of Light’s flagship. Han Xiao took it as a secret weapon and built it discreetly, storing it in the hangar. He did not plan to use it publicly for the time being.

Teny and the other dynasty elites had been invited by Han Xiao to take the same battleship.

In the command room, the people at all posts readied and stared at Han Xiao’s back, waiting for his order.

Before the enormous porthole, Han Xiao stood side by side with Ames and looked at the sea of stars outside.

The light from the thrusters of the battleships around illuminated their faces.

“Are you sure you want to come with me?”

“It’s not like I’ve never been to the Central Galaxy.” Ames smiled. “I’ll treat it as sightseeing.”

Aesop, who was beside them, caressed the beard on his chin and said, “I can visit my old friends.”

Han Xiao nodded. His deep voice then appeared in the communication channel, sounding in every battleship.

“Depart.”

Rumble!

The ship shivered slightly and started accelerating, leaving the Black Star Army headquarters.

The fleet had left.

Very soon, the spaceships turned into streams of light and disappeared in the black universe.

…

When the fleet departed, countless army members were watching from the headquarters satellite.

Following Han Xiao’s orders, Sylvia publicized Han Xiao’s whereabouts to the entire army. Everyone knew that their army commander had been invited to the Crimson Dynasty and was going to the dynasty’s capital to meet its leader.

That’s the head of one of the three universal civilizations, the most powerful person in this entire universe!

Countless army members were excited and honored. The army players expressed their shock actively on the forums—Black Star was the first person they knew about to cross servers!

This news piqued the interest of the players of the various Star Fields.

In the past, the Shattered Star Ring had always enjoyed the Black Star Army’s benefits alone, causing a lot of envy in the players of the other Star Fields.

Tons of the Black Star Army’s deeds were already circulating on the forums. Along with the sensational news that Han Xiao had become a Beyond Grade A, the benefits of the army had already spread to the players of all the Star Fields. Comparatively, the players of the other Star Field realized that the privileges and benefits their own factions gave was not even worth mentioning—no one would refuse to enjoy the army’s benefits.

Now, the opportunity to come into contact with the Black Star Army had arrived!

The players of the Central Galaxy were overjoyed. This topic exploded on their forums.

“Is the Black Star Army finally growing beyond its Star Field?”

“Haha, fantastic, we finally have a chance to join the Black Star Army.”

“Alas, only if they’re coming to the Primeval Star River too.”

The Shattered Star Ring players did not think much of it. The stronger the Black Star Army grew, the prouder they would feel. They also felt curious—after the army commander expanded into other Star Fields, would he bring back players from the other Star Fields?

To the current players, crossing Star Fields was way too difficult—they had no right to borrow the Inter-Star Field Stargate and could not afford spaceships that were fast enough. No player had crossed Star Fields for the time being. Furthermore, they had yet to even finish exploring the Star Field they were born in.

The players in the various Star Fields all played on their own and would only meet others on the professional stages and never in any other way.

“What if, since the Black Star Army guided us into the galaxy in Version 2.0, it will also be the faction to guide us to cross Star Fields in the future too?”

“That’s actually highly likely. The army has now become an ally of a universal civilization, and its next step will be to explore the Flickering World. It feels like it’s opening an inter-Star Field era for us.

There was a lot of speculation on the forums.

…

At the same time in the Bloodshed Land…

“Black Star has departed?”

“Yes, just.”

Heber sat on his throne. His fist supported his face, and he looked straight forward blankly at the palace gate.

As an ally of the Crimson Dynasty, he had been to the Crimson Dynasty long ago, exactly as Han Xiao had been invited.

As if his vision crossed the wide universe, an odd emotion appeared in Heber’s eyes as if some of his memories had resurfaced.

“Those guys in the Central Galaxy… are not the friendliest.”

…

On the Crimson Dynasty’s mother planet was Tarunamir Palace, the office space for the government affairs of the dynasty. Including the leader of the dynasty, all the core upper echelons dealt with their official duties inside. It was extremely large and could be considered a city on the mother planet.

This was the center of power of the dynasty. It was solemn, serious, and tightly guarded. The government officials that passed each other almost never spoke to each other.

A short person and a tall person walked side by side down a long corridor in Tarunamir Palace. Warm light shone from the windows on the left and painted their shadows on the wall.

The government officials that saw the two of them on the way all showed admiration by standing still and bowing, expressing their respect.

“This gathering is for you guys to meet that new ally.”

“I think he’s called Black Star?”

“Yes, he’s from the Shattered Star Ring, only became a Beyond Grade A recently.”

“Oh, a new Beyond Grade A from the Shattered Star Ring. When was the last time a new Beyond Grade A was born there? I can’t remember.”

“I have forgotten too.”

“Isn’t that quite tough-skinned Heber from the Shattered Star Ring too. Is he coming this time?”

“Don’t think so.”

“Sigh, then it’s no fun…”

“Who knows? The data shows that this new ally became a Beyond Grade A in the shortest time ever in history. His combat capability is not low, and he fought on par with Psyker and Heber. Furthermore, he has a nickname called ‘Indestructible Body’. Although he’s a Mechanic, his body is very tough.”

“Oh? This sounds fun. I wonder who’s more durable to beatings, him or Heber?”

The two of them chatted casually.

Chapter 797 - Inter-Star Field Stargate

The Central Galaxy was many Star Fields from the Shattered Star Ring. There were also many desolate universe belts in between. The distance was extremely far. Back then, even though EsGod’s subordinates had taken an extremely fast high-grade spaceship, it had still taken them years to cross this distance in hyperdrive. Without hyperdrive, it would probably have taken billions of years.

The first stop of the fleet was the Inter-Star Field Stargate Station that the Crimson Dynasty had built in the Shattered Star Ring.

Inter-Star Field Stargates could tremendously reduce the traveling time. It was the one and only way to safely and quickly travel between Star Fields. This did not include natural wormholes.

The further the distance reduced by the stargate, the more difficult it would be for the coordinates to be accurate, and it would be easy to deviate from the target. An Inter-Star Field Stargate was a technology barrier; even Star Cluster civilizations could not build them. Civilizations stronger than Star Cluster civilizations had this technology, but the three Universal Civilizations had made a rule to forbid any other civilization except them from building Inter-Star Field Stargates. Therefore, all the Inter-Star Field Stargates used to travel between the Star Fields came from the three civilizations. They were divided into military and citizen use.

Han Xiao and the others planned to borrow the military path, which was quicker and more convenient. As a high-level ally of the dynasty, of course, he had the right to.

“I have notified the troops at the stargate station,” Zoel said in the communicator. “Once you identify yourself, they will let you pass and help you activate the military stargate. When you arrive at the Constellation Corridor, the dynasty’s troops would be waiting there for you.”

The Central Galaxy was the general name of the mother Star Fields of the three civilizations. They formed the central area of the universe. These three Star Fields were the Federation of Light’s Abyss of Stars, the Arcane Church’s Silver Arm, and the Crimson Dynasty’s Constellation Corridor.

The Crimson Dynasty’s military stargate in the Shattered Star Ring was located in a Star Cluster at the edge. Leaving from the Black Star Army, it would take about more than half a month to reach even with the stargates of the Star Cluster civilizations along the way and hyperdrive.

Han Xiao stayed within the long-distance fleet and communicated with Teny and the other dynasty elites on the way. With his identity and position, as well as the fact that they would meet each other every day given they were on the same ship, most people became familiar with Han Xiao.

Only Teny maintained an indifferent attitude—he was naturally suspicious, and keeping his alert up was a habit.

However, Han Xiao knew his personality rather well. If he used his personality to get close to him, it would have the opposite effect and make him even more cautious. Furthermore, as a Beyond Grade A, he would not lower his pride and fawn over a dynasty colonel. Therefore, Han Xiao treated all equally and did not look for Teny to speak privately.

According to Teny’s personality, Han Xiao decided to stay put and wait. As Teny was also a Mechanic, he would likely go to him and ask for a lesson. After all, they were both on the dynasty’s side; getting to know Han Xiao was the best way to learn. Although Han Xiao did not know where Teny’s alertness came from, it did not seem like there was a need for him to give up an opportunity like this.

About ten days after setting off, Teny finally knocked on his door.

…

“You want to learn about my machinery technology?”

Inside the room, Han Xiao told Phillip to control the domestic robots to send two calming light green vegetable drinks onto the table. He looked at Teny and his deputy, Corbus, who sat opposite him.

Teny nodded slowly and did not touch the drink on the table. “Not really learn. I just want to exchange some knowledge with you.”

As he had a request to make on this trip, he would not give an unfriendly face. He let go of a part of his caution and used a sincere attitude.

To him, this was nothing to be ashamed of. No matter what he would achieve in the future, for now, he was just a dynasty colonel. His position and identity were miles away from Han Xiao.

Han Xiao was delighted within but did not show it at all. He tapped the table and said, despite knowing the answer, “I only know you’re a Mechanic, but I have never heard about what branch you focus on.”

“Pure Mechanic, Armed Branch. I crossed the Grade A barrier two years ago and became a Calamity Grade,” Teny said.

“Hmm, although I’m not of the Armed Branch, I can still teach you some experience.” Han Xiao smiled.

“That’s exactly my request.” Teny nodded.

Every Beyond Grade A Mechanics had a specialty. Some had special styles; some had unique technology. With Teny’s current level, he rarely had the chance to come into contact with any Beyond Grade As. Since Black Star was there, he did not want to give up on the opportunity to learn things from him.

Back when he knew that he was going there, he had already thought of this. After observing Han Xiao for a few days, he had finally decided to make a move.

Han Xiao chatted with him about technology for many hours, and Teny felt he had benefitted a lot from it.

“Let’s end here for today.” Han Xiao stopped and smiled. He then deliberately pointed at his temple and said, “I just transmitted some theory information into your communicator. Some is my experience; some are theories I’ve collected. Take a look.”

Teny heard and nodded. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Han Xiao waved his hand, suppressed his grin, and acted casual. “There’s nothing much to do on the way anyway. If you have anything you want to ask, you can come to me again.”

“Okay.” Teny squeezed out a smile and gave an even better attitude. After all, he now owed Han Xiao a little.

Han Xiao knew to not continue and expressed his intention of sending the guests away. Teny bowed and left the room. His footsteps were much lighter.

After watching Teny leave, only then did Han Xiao started to shake his head and laugh with satisfaction. With this opportunity, their relationship would have chance to grow. Teny’s Favorability was close to ‘Friendly’.

With this identity of mine, making friends with high-class people is much easier than before.

If it were a player who wanted to get close to Teny, they would have almost no way to do so. For him, however, it was different. Teny had yet to achieve what he achieved in his previous life, so his position now was higher than Teny’s. Furthermore, he was the dynasty’s ally. With so many factors, even though Teny seemed cautious, he still came right to Han Xiao’s doorstep.

With Han Xiao’s current position and identity, farming character Favorability was much easier for him compared to the players.

…

In the next ten or so days, Teny went to consult Han Xiao every two days. Their relationship gradually improved, and they slowly turned into friends. This future marshal of the dynasty was treating himself as the student when he was with Han Xiao.

Of course, due to identity reasons, it was impossible for him to really become Han Xiao’s student. However, Beyond Grade As had zero obligation to teach their experience to anyone. Han Xiao being so generous was doing him quite a huge favor. Despite being suspicious, Teny was not someone that could not differentiate the good from the bad. With this in his mind, of course, he would not distance himself from Han Xiao.

Also, every time Teny came, he would bring Corbus along. Han Xiao had some knowledge about this person as well—he was very loyal to Teny, and Teny treated his subordinates well, which gave this guy quite a lot of extra benefits.

Han Xiao felt that he could do something about Corbus. Like chasing a girl, bribing her best friend was a shortcut. Of course, he could not bribe Teny’s loyal subordinates, but if he did a great favor for Corbus, Teny might have even more gratitude for him given how Teny had taken care of Corbus.

More than half a month passed. The fleet finally arrived at the dynasty’s military stargate station at the Shattered Star Ring.

In the dark universe, a hexagonal stargate hovered. Thick space energy flew inside the gate, forming a deep blue vortex. Around it was the dynasty’s heavy universe fortresses with garrisoned troops. Unlike the citizen-use station, no spaceship could enter or leave the stargate there—this was only for the dynasty’s troops to use.

As the fleet approached, this stargate expanded in their sights. When getting close, the edges of this stargate seemed to extend to the end of one’s sights. It was enormous and marvelous.

“Warning! Warning! Psionic Annihilation Beam aim lock detected!”

The artificial intelligence on the main ship that Han Xiao was in alerted them. The people were not surprised. They knew that they would be locked on by the guarding troops as soon as they entered a certain distance around the military stargate.

The artificial intelligence received a message from the guarding troops. “Stop advancing, report your identity.”

“Black Star.” Han Xiao validated his identity.

After a while, he finally received a confirmation message of his identity. The guarding troops removed the annihilation beam’s aim lock and signaled for the fleet to advance.

This time, the main fleet received a communication request from the guarding troops. After picking up, a person that seemed to be the commander appeared on the screen and said with an expressionless face, “Your Excellency Black Star, Envoy Zoel has told us to set your course in advance. This stargate teleportation will be in direct mode.

“The target is Crimson Ring Star Zone 8, the dynasty’s territory. There will be a team of troops there sent by the mother planet to receive you. They will open a flight path and bring you guys for hyperjump. Only then will you be able to pass through the Psionic Belt outside the mother planet and arrive on the dynasty’s mother planet.”

Han Xiao nodded.

All the Universal Civilizations had powerful weapons to prepare for the day if one of them went mad and used super-long range Primordial Psionic Energy cannons to instantly shatter their mother planet. Therefore, all the Universal Civilizations’ mother planets were equipped with all kinds of top-notch defensive measures.

Then, this commander looked at Teny, who was on the side, squeezing out what looked like a smile from his seemingly paralyzed face. “Teny, it’s been a long time.”

“It’s you.” Teny’s expression was a little odd. “Why are you here guarding the stargate?”

“This is an order from above.” This commander shook his head. A hint of bitterness appeared in his eyes but was immediately suppressed.

This command and Teny were graduates from the same year of the dynasty’s ‘Journey’ high-level military school. They knew each other, and both of their results were outstanding. They were supposed to have bright futures, but Teny did not expect him to be sent to guard the stargate.

Guarding the stargate was not a good job, especially military stargates. There was close to zero chance of achieving something remarkable, and they would be held responsible if anything went wrong. However, to keep the stargates safe, elite troops had to be stationed there. Therefore, those stationed at the stargates were either sent there randomly or unlucky ones who were marginalized during faction conflicts. No one would ask to be stationed there.

Teny understood that this friend of his had clearly suffered due to faction conflicts. He shook his head with resignation. “All the best then. Anyway, you’ll be sent away in a few years. Take it as an opportunity to train your soldiers.”

The transfer period of the stargate guarding troops was not long, usually around six to ten years. The dynasty would also not waste elite troops on stargates all the time.

After chatting for a little, this commander finally ended the communication. This time, the fleet was about to enter the stargate as well.

An extremely strong attraction force came from the other side of the stargate, wanting to drag all of them in like a black hole.

The fleet entered the stargate, and the world outside the porthole became bright.

The inside of the stargate path was filled with violent space energy but was restricted by the stargate’s technology, creating a stable path.

The spaceship almost felt stationary. The people inside could not feel the speed of the spaceship’s advance at all, as if the fleet had stopped moving in the stargate.

However, in an instant, the ship trembled. The space energy around disappeared, and the scenery outside the porthole became the black universe filled with diamond-like star lights once again.

The stargate that had previously been in front of them was now behind the fleet.

The fortresses around were stationed differently as well. The troops stationed there were more than ten times larger in quantity compared to the previous one.

A special fleet waited before them. The appearance of the spaceship was special. It seemed to be a very uncommon spaceship model.

Beep beep!

This time, every quantum network device received an area announcement made by this special fleet.

“Welcome to the Central Galaxy, Your Excellency Black Star.”

Chapter 798 - Dynasty Mother Plane

“Welcome to the Central Galaxy, Your Excellency Black Star.”

I’m here, at the center of the universe…

As the area announcement sounded, this strange-looking fleet slowly advanced. The fleet’s main ship received a communication request. An officer wearing the dynasty’s high-level army uniform appeared on the screen. He had a small mustache and looked highly intelligent.

“I’m the commander of the dynasty mother planet’s Guard Team 17, here on orders to welcome the dynasty’s ally.”

Han Xiao’s brows rose as he sized him up. This commander was not someone famous, but Han Xiao was somewhat familiar with him. In his previous life, when the players traveled to the dynasty’s mother planet, they had to go through many inspections before the mother planet’s guard team brought them through. These people were like the gatekeepers, so the players were familiar with all of them.

“Thanks,” Han Xiao said.

“Please follow me.”

Then, the guard team turned around and headed to the mother planet. The fleet followed behind.

Ames suddenly turned and asked Han Xiao, “This is your first time here at the Central Galaxy, right?”

“Hmm.” Han Xiao did not deny it. He knew the Central Galaxy like the back of his hand, but on paper, this was his first time there.

“Then let me tell you about it…” Ames shook her head. She used to occasionally visit the Central Galaxy to sightsee while also searching for Aesop, so she was quite familiar with it. Since Black Star had never gone before, she felt that she had to help Han Xiao know more about the situation here.

Listening to Ames talking about the Central Galaxy, Han Xiao felt a little strange, as if he was a farmer entering a big city for the first time.

“Unlike the other Star Fields, here in the Central Galaxy, the three civilizations rule over all the Star System and the Star Cluster civilizations,” Aesop added while Ames was speaking. “In the other Star Fields, the various civilizations are on different sides, while here they’re all on one side. The security here is the safest in all the Star Fields. Other than some brutes that are on EsGod’s level, there are close to no galactic pirates or wanderers here. They are eliminated as soon as they’re discovered by the three civilizations.”

Han Xiao nodded. The three civilizations ruled over the Central Galaxy. This was their headquarters and was basically under their complete control. Maintaining the law was equivalent to maintaining their own ruling, so they were not going to allow any disruption.

The two fleets left the stargate station and stopped.

The commander of the mother planet guard team said, “Please wait a moment. I will now open a path for everyone and bring you guys to the mother planet.

Then, the mother planet guard team’s battleships shot out blue and green beams, which formed a dot far away. A blue and green ring gradually expanded from it and turned into a teleportation gate-looking path. The inside of the gate was bright green.

“This path is for you guys to safely pass through the Psionic Seal Ring of the mother planet. Your spaceships will receive a coating once you enter the path, so you won’t be obliterated by the Psionic Seal Ring,” the mother planet guard team commander explained.

The Psionic Seal Ring was like layers of shielding covering the mother planet, protecting it against all kinds of Planetary Obliteration attacks.

This was not just a regular shield. It covered around half of the entire Crimson Ring Star System. Only universal civilizations could build something this grand.

The coating was one of the advanced application methods of energy. Different coatings were like different passwords, and the wrong coatings would not be allowed into the various Psionic Seal Rings. It was like a security pass and a key.

As the fleet entered the light green gate, a thick, colorful coating covered all the spaceships. The guard team followed behind, and the gate closed after them.

The guard team led the way ahead. The two fleets turned into streams of light and advanced following the safe path.

On the ship, Teny started to chat casually with Han Xiao about his mother planet.

“The Psionic Seal Ring was built during the exploration era war. Back then, it was to protect against the Planetary Obliteration attacks from the other civilizations. The cosmic space inside the ring can be considered a completely sealed new world. During the war, the scientists adjusted the physical constants inside, all for the sake of safety. When the time of peace came, these altered physical constants became a form of contamination. It took quite a lot of effort to fix them and make the sealed world that the mother planet was in return to a normal cosmic space…”

“The three civilizations’ technology is so much more advanced than before.” Aesop caressed his beard as he spoke. “With the concentration of resources, talents, and technology, their development speed far exceeds those beyond Star Cluster civilizations. The gap between them is growing constantly. I wonder what can even shake your rule nowadays.”

Han Xiao scratched his nose and did not say anything.

This time, the two fleets passed by an area. Through the porthole, Han Xiao could see a cluster of dark blue light faraway.

Seeing Han Xiao look over, Teny explained, “That’s a cluster of Primordial Psionic Energy. If we get close, we will be assimilated and devoured. That’s one of the defense measures of the Psionic Seal Ring.”

After flying in hyperdrive for two days, the spaceship trembled suddenly and finally left the Psionic Seal Ring. In their sights, a sesame-sized dark red planet appeared.

“That’s the dynasty’s capital, the Crimson Ring Star Group. Planet Crimson Ring is the main planet. There are sixteen satellites and sixty large government life stations around it, as well as many space bases. The total population is 470 billion,” Corbus said with pride.

Han Xiao tutted and said, “The house price there must be very high.”

“That’s right… but your focus is a little odd.” Corbus’ lips twitched. I was talking about how marvelous the mother planet is, and you asked me if the house price there is high? Are we even talking about that‽

As the fleet moved closer, they started to see the details of the Crimson Ring Star Group.

Planet Crimson Ring was extremely large. The people of the Crimson Dynasty had artificially modified the size of their mother ship. The sixteen smaller satellites orbited around it. These natural satellites had been moved there by the dynasty using their technology to offset the gravitational pull so the mother planet’s habitable area would be enlarged. The planet’s surface was filled with buildings.

There were also many large life stations and space fortresses around.

“The capital of a universal civilization, it is indeed marvelous to look at,” Ames complimented softly. This was her first time there at the capital of the Crimson Dynasty, and it was thanks to Han Xiao.

“When I was still one of the Ancient Ones, I did come once before, but I did not have as grand an entrance as you.” Aesop sighed. “I wonder if the national pillars of the Crimson Dynasty still remember me. I only met them once.”

Following the orders, the fleet parked at a space port. The members of the Black Star Army remained in the ships while Han Xiao and the others took the spaceship prepared by the Crimson Dynasty toward Planet Crimson Ring.

He deliberately decided not to bring the players. The players possessed too many uncertainties, so things might get out of hand if they caused any trouble there. Furthermore, if he took the Shattered Star Ring players there, he might not be able to take them back.

As they approached Planet Crimson Ring, the buildings on the surface became gradually clearer. The Crimson Dynasty was known to be strict, hardworking, and pragmatic. Compared to the Federation of Light and the Arcane Church, the cultural aspect of the dynasty was not as advanced. Their architectural aesthetic was focused on sharpness, bulkiness, and symmetry. The main colors used were red, black, and metallic gray.

Hu!

The spaceship slowly landed outside a huge city. The sunlight from the artificial Fixed Star coated the upright buildings with a layer of gold. This was the main city of the dynasty’s mother planet, Tarunamir Palace, the power center of the entire dynasty.

A group of receptionists were waiting at the docks. They approached and said, “Your Excellency Black Star, we’re responsible for welcoming you. Please follow me to Tarunamir Palace’s Dynasty Reception Center to rest for a day. The dynasty’s leader will personally meet you tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Han Xiao had no objection. He then looked at Teny and the group of the dynasty elites and said, “What about you guys?”

Teny shook his head. “We have to report to the army.”

Han Xiao nodded before casually summoning a set of Beyond Grade A orange-grade hovering guards to give to Teny.

“For you to protect yourself, I don’t know when we will meet next. Keep in contact.”

Teny was stunned for a moment. He accepted the set of machinery and gave Han Xiao a deep look. “Okay.”

Han Xiao did not forget about the other elite officers and gave them some machinery too, showing friendliness. Mechanical weapons built by a Beyond Grade A were quite valuable to Calamity Grade Mechanics, and Han Xiao had a ton of them.

Han Xiao watched as Teny and the others left.

If not because they had gone to accept the modification, Han Xiao would not have had the chance to have close contact with them. He wondered if he would have chances like this to gain Favorability again in the future.

After the dynasty elites left, the group only consisted of Han Xiao, Ames, Aesop, Hila, and the Black Star Guards. They followed the receptionists through the military security zone and entered Tarunamir Palace.

The moment Han Xiao stepped into the city, suddenly, seven enormous waves of energy erupted and soared into the sky.

Boom!

“Hmm?”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and stopped his footsteps.

These seven sources of energy were all Beyond Grade A!

The seven waves only lasted for an instant before they were withdrawn. There seemed to be no provocative intention, just to showcase their own existence.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. Seven Beyond Grade As… They should be the ones belonging to the dynasty itself and the allies that the dynasty had gathered.

He thought about it. This did not look like a provocation, more like a Beyond Grade A style greeting to the newcomer.

“Your Excellency Black Star, to welcome your alliance, the dynasty has gathered the National Pillars under its command,” the receptionist said at a suitable moment. “Other than those who are held back by business or are too far away, all the Beyond Grade As who are free have come. There is a total of seven of them.

“After you meet with the dynasty’s leader tomorrow, we will arrange for the various National Pillars to meet with you too.”

“National Pillars, these guys have quite a nice title.” Han Xiao smiled casually.

“What are you talking about?” The receptionist chuckled. “You, too, are now a National Pillar of our Crimson Dynasty.”

…

“That newcomer is here.”

In a certain room inside Tarunamir Palace, a few people with various appearances sat on the sofa and looked in Han Xiao’s direction with interest.

“Didn’t respond.”

“Looks like it’s his first time seeing so many Beyond Grade As together, so he doesn’t know the rules.”

“It’s only normal since he’s from the Shattered Star Ring.”

“Hmm? The woman beside him is a Beyond Grade A, too.”

“The Dragon Emperor, Ames, I know her.”

“The old man beside looks familiar too… Hey, that guy seems to be one of you guys, the Ancient Ones in the past. The one that knows prophecy.”

“It is him. I remember.”

“Hehe, this new ally seems quite interesting.”

“The Evolution Cube is in his hands. Don’t be excessive tomorrow. I still want to borrow it.”

Chapter 799 - “Dynasty Ruler“ Urranrell and “Dark Lord“ Clotti

The interior reception center of Tarunamir Palace had multiple independent villas.

Han Xiao and the others followed the receptionist into one of them. This would be the temporary accommodation for them.

After settling down, Han Xiao locked himself in his room and pondered about the next day.

“I will be meeting the dynasty’s leader and those Beyond Grade As tomorrow. I wonder what the dynasty’s leader will talk to me about… Hmm, other than the customary welcome of me being a new ally, the dynasty’s leader might request to use the Evolution Cube here on a large scale, as well as invite me to some events…

“As for those Beyond Grade As, they will take me into their circle as an ally. Since we’re all on the same side, we will have to help each other…”

He knew the Beyond Grade A members list of the dynasty very clearly, and he knew some of their personalities and likings. However, at this moment, he did not know who the seven who had come were.

“Many of the Beyond Grade As of universal civilizations are seniors who have lived a very long time. They have a ton of talents, abilities, energy, and are very strong…”

He felt that his meeting with the Beyond Grade As tomorrow would most likely not be just a simple meeting.

Beyond Grade As were all individuals with extreme power; strength was their fundamentals. When a newcomer joined their circle, some people might want to test him. If he was weak, even if he would still be accepted into the circle, he would be marginalized—only the strong would be respected.

The three strongest individuals were at the top among the Beyond Grade A allies of the dynasty. Han Xiao wondered how many of them were in attendance this time.

“Although I’m not weak, I’m just barely over the Beyond Grade A doorstep, and some of my attributes are not high enough. The Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation is already halfway done, which gave me close to 10,000 energy… as for the machinery aspect, it’s also more complete…”

Lately, other than dealing with the army’s matters, Han Xiao had spent a lot of time building machinery and had stocked up quite a lot of inventory.

Through all the Cutting-Edge Knowledges he obtained, Han Xiao had fused many new machinery blueprints. Other than adding new units into the mechanical army, he also built many other high-level machines that could be used for multiple purposes. He had been increasing his strength through the Mechanic way.

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up suddenly.

“Since I know some information about these Beyond Grade As… maybe I can make use of that tomorrow.”

…

After sleeping for the night, in the early morning the next day, one dynasty emissary came to Han Xiao’s doorstep.

Hila opened the door. The emissary was standing outside with a respectful expression.

“Greetings, the Dynasty Ruler has invited His Excellency Black Star to a meeting.”

“Let’s go.” Han Xiao walked out of his room and nodded.

Hila and the others wanted to follow, but Han Xiao waved his hands and told them to stay. Seeing this, the emissary, who was about to stop them, swallowed the words he wanted to say.

Flying was not allowed above Tarunamir Palace, so the two of them boarded the long-awaited land carrier and drove toward the city center.

The city center was the office area for the people at the highest positions in the dynasty. It was a marvelous and enormous palace.

The closer they got to the center, the tighter the security was. The areas were covered with all kinds of mechanical detection devices and teams of dynasty elite patrols. With just a brief feel, Han Xiao could sense the presence of more than ten Calamity Grades, and that was just from one direction. The defense of the dynasty’s capital was extremely powerful.

Not only did universal civilizations control the Central Galaxy—they also controlled some other Star Fields to a certain extent. They had rich talents and resources, as well as all kinds of high-level Super schools to raise talents within. Their ratio of Calamity Grades far exceeded anywhere else in Galaxy. With those factors, the universal civilizations had plenty of powerful members.

The carrier stopped outside the palace, and Han Xiao followed the emissary inside. They passed by checkpoint after checkpoint before boarding the hovering lift inside to the top floor. This entire floor was the office of the dynasty’s leader.

After passing by the guard and secretary area, the emissary pushed a door open and gestured for him to enter.

Han Xiao nodded and walked right in. The room entered his sights.

This was a wide office. The room was rectangular, the walls were deep red, and there were floor-to-ceiling windows on every wall.

The floor was covered in a red carpet, and at the edge was a green potted plant. It looked like it was carefully looked after and was giving off a calming aroma. A filled bookshelf stood against one side of the wall, and on the other side was a white stone circular coffee table and a red sofa used to seat guests. There was no furniture in the middle of the room. A huge chandelier hung from the ceiling. Further in, there was an office desk, and a person sat behind it. Another person stood beside the desk.

With just one look, Han Xiao recognized the dynasty’s leader who was sitting down.

Her long and white hair was coiled up. The dignified vibe and her serious eyes could make people ignore her looks.

Urranrell Shin Rybet, the Crimson Dynasty’s ruler!

Yes, the dynasty’s current leader was a woman!

The Crimson Dynasty only admired the strong; sex was not a factor.

The succession of the dynasty’s leader had nothing to do with the bloodline. During the term of the previous leader, the training for the candidates for the next leader would have already started. There was more than one candidate. They were all top-notch elites that the upper echelons and the various factions selected through negotiations.

The emissary closed the door from outside.

“Black Star, I’m the Crimson Dynasty Ruler, Urranrell. Please, take a seat.” Urranrell stood up, approached him, and reached out her hand.

The man behind her followed tightly after. His sharp eyes were fixed on Han Xiao as if no movement could deceive his eyes.

“Hi.” Han Xiao shook her hand. The two of them then sat opposite each other on the guest sofa, while the man behind Urranrell still stood behind her.

“This is Clotti, the captain of the Dynasty Ruler Personal Guards.” Urranrell introduced the man behind her.

Clotti raised his head a little with an expressionless face as a greeting.

Han Xiao looked calm, but he had a lot of thoughts in mind.

In his previous life, the leaders of universal civilizations changed quite a number of times throughout the versions. Urranrell was the Crimson Dynasty Ruler during one stage. During her term, to the players, the most famous achievement she made was the battle and the development of the Flickering World. She obtained a new Star Field for the dynasty.

The players in his previous life did not know much about this Dynasty Ruler. That was because, during her reign, the main stage of the players were the Flickering World and their own Star Fields. They had yet to have much contact with the upper echelons of universal civilizations. To them, the leaders of universal civilizations were just a few lines of words in the background introduction.

Now, however, Urranrell was right before his eyes. This woman was one of the three most powerful people in the entire universe. It could even be said that they ruled the universe. What she represented had completely overshadowed her appearance or sex.

Clotti, who was behind her, was her bodyguard, a senior Beyond Grade A nurtured by the dynasty. He was an Esper, and his ability was the control of dark energy and dark matter. Among his nicknames were ‘Dark Emperor’, ‘Lord of Dark Matter’, and ‘Cosmic Distorter’.

This person was one of the three strongest Beyond Grade As in the dynasty!

“Firstly, on behalf of the Crimson Dynasty, we welcome you as an ally.” Urranrell cut to the chase and stared at Han Xiao’s eyes.

“This is my honor,” Han Xiao replied.

“For the initial stages of the Flickering World exploration, the dynasty needs Heber and your power,” Urranrell said slowly. “According to our agreement, other than the resources the dynasty gives you as support, after everything is done, you will receive an area in the Flickering World…”

Han Xiao nodded. “I know.”

“You’re the dynasty’s ally. As long as you make contributions to the dynasty, the dynasty will certainly not hold back on our resources,” Urranrell said with a very serious tone. “The more tasks you’re willing to take on, the more resources the dynasty will provide you. Sometimes, the dynasty might send out an announcement to dispatch the Beyond Grade As including you and carry out some missions. Of course, if you encounter difficulties, you can also request backup from the Beyond Grade As of the dynasty. Remember, you’re one of the dynasty’s National Pillars. At the same time, the dynasty has your back.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and was quite satisfied. Duty and power were associated. By becoming the Crimson Dynasty’s ally, he became their power, and they became his. The various Beyond Grade A allies were not just the dynasty’s resources, but he had the right to borrow them as well.

“As for the Evolution Cube in your hands, you don’t have to worry. By all means, we welcome you to hand it to us willingly, but even if you’re not willing to, the dynasty will certainly not snatch it away from you. However, I have a request. The dynasty doesn’t oppose you to use the Evolution Cube to negotiate with other organizations, but the evolution allocation for the dynasty must be unlimited. We will send people to the Black Star Army anytime for evolution.”

“Of course.” Han Xiao nodded. He limited allocations for the other civilizations, but he would not set a limit for his biggest ally, the Crimson Dynasty.

Furthermore, the Crimson Dynasty’s population was way too high. There was no way they would make the outrageous request of having their entire race go through evolution. They would not do that even if they had the Evolution Cube themselves.

“Since you’ve come to the dynasty’s mother planet, you might as well stay here for a few days and transform the teams on the mother planet,” Urranrell said.

As expected, this is one of the main reasons you called me here, Han Xiao thought.

Compared to selecting elites and sending them to the Shattered Star Ring for evolution, it was clearly more convenient to call him over to the Crimson Dynasty.

Furthermore, the mother planet’s troops could not casually be moved around, so summoning him there to use the Evolution Cube was the best solution. This way, the various factions also would not have to negotiate for allocations.

Chapter 800 - Pressure

After the two of them talked about business for some time, Urranrell changed the topic. “One more thing. The dynasty is willing to help the Black Star Army build a division in the Central Galaxy to aid communication between both sides. I know you already planned to do this since you brought your portable base here. The dynasty supports this.”

“That would be great.” Han Xiao nodded.

“As for the details, I will let someone settle them with you,” Urranrell said. “If you have any other requests, you can tell me now.”

Han Xiao caressed his chin. “I hope to obtain the Ultimate Knowledge of the Mechanic class as soon as possible. I’m wondering if there are any chances.”

Without changing her expression at all, Urranrell said, “The resource rewards of the dynasty are given to allies who’ve made contributions. If you want to obtain it as soon as possible, I suggest you help the dynasty do some things. I will have someone make a list of the matters that the dynasty requires aid with and notify you.”

Then Urranrell stood up, extended her hand, and signaled the end of this meeting. Han Xiao did not continue to speak. He stood up as well and shook her hand before bidding farewell and leaving.

The emissary had been waiting outside the door. He guided him out of this palace.

After Han Xiao left, Urranrell leaned on the chair and said slowly with her eyes closed, “Crowell, when you guys meet him later, remember to keep the situation under control.”

Clotti grunted in assent and left.

…

Han Xiao boarded the ground carrier. The driver did not head in the direction they had come from but toward another direction.

“Your Excellency Black Star, the National Pillars have been waiting. I’m taking you to meet them,” the emissary explained.

Han Xiao did not reply and was still thinking of his meeting with Urranrell earlier.

The meeting was short. Urranrell had plenty of matters to deal with every day, so she would not have time to have a casual chat with him. Hence, everything they had talked about was business. The terms and agreements of the Flickering World partnership were mentioned. After the pioneering of the entire Star Field was complete, as the leading exploration team, he would receive one area that he would be able to develop freely. It was like land awarded by the government.

He would rule that area and own all kinds of rights to it as long as he paid taxes to the dynasty every once in a while.

This was one of the most important terms in their agreement, it would make the Black Star Army even stronger. This was also something very important to Han Xiao. As for the location and size of that area, it would depend on his achievements during the development of the Star Field.

The use of the Evolution Cube and creating a new division of the Black Star Army were his rights and duties as an ally of the dynasty. If he wanted to obtain Ultimate Knowledge personally, he would have to do some dynasty missions. With Urranrell having already spoken about this, he would not have to trigger them himself. The dynasty’s men would make a mission list and give it to him, which was much more convenient.

Urranrell… Dynasty Ruler… doesn’t show her emotions, not easy to read…

Through the conversation earlier, the image Urranrell gave to him was filled with prestige and the vibe of someone in a high position. Compared to an individual with flesh and blood, this Dynasty Ruler felt more like a symbol, making people ignore her personal traits. Han Xiao basically gave up on wanting to farm her Favorability.

The ruler represented the dynasty. Urranrell had most likely cut off all her personal desires, so she would not have any weaknesses, would be able to maintain rational at all times, and would never let her emotions take over. Her personal feelings would never affect her decisions.

To someone like this, farming Favorability was basically a high-cost, low-reward act, so Han Xiao did not want to waste his efforts.

Comparatively, it would be easier to bond with the Beyond Grade As.

Very soon, the carrier stopped before a villa. This was not a villa in the reception center but the residential area of the internal members.

Clotti stood in front of the door with an expressionless face. He nodded and said, “Black Star, follow me. Everyone’s waiting.”

Han Xiao walked out of the car and looked at Clotti with a strange expression.

The two of them had just met back at Urranrell’s place not long ago. He had traveled there by carrier, while this guy had sprinted over so that he could be waiting for him in advance. Although Beyond Grade As’ speed would be much quicker than land carriers, visualizing that image in his mind still felt quite comical.

They opened the door and entered.

As soon as they entered the house, the eyes of six different Beyond Grade As all looked over and stared at Han Xiao with curiosity.

Clotti looked for a seat and sat down, leaving Han Xiao standing alone.

Han Xiao scanned around. He was not unfamiliar with all six of them. They were all known Beyond Grade A allies of the Crimson Dynasty. There was even a member of the Ancient Ones.

However, among the three strongest people in the dynasty, only Clotti was present.

The seven people there all had different looks in their eyes. Some were filled with anticipation, some were cold, and some were curious. These Beyond Grade As all had different dynasty factions behind them, so their personal stand was not the same.

“So, you’re Black Star from the Shattered Star Ring?” One of them sized Han Xiao up. When his eyes looked past the Evolution Cube, a tint of hostility seemed to have flashed for an instant.

“Who else did you think I was?” Han Xiao raised his brows and did not respond politely. Everyone there was a Beyond Grade A; he did not plan to keep a low profile. He would only be respected if he showed his strength.

“Of the four… oh, five Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring, both you and Heber have joined the Crimson Dynasty. Which one of you is stronger?” someone beside asked with curiosity.

“If you’re so curious, why don’t you try it out yourself?” Han Xiao shrugged. He did not want to be questioned while standing up, so he found a random seat and sat down.

These Beyond Grade A had no idea that although this was their first meeting, Han Xiao knew about them quite well and had a very clear idea of the situation in this room.

Among the seven people, Clotti was above all and looked calm and cold. He represented the ruler’s confidant faction, so he only watched but did not interfere. Another Beyond Grade A who was close to the dynasty military’s Youngsters Faction looked very interested in him and seemed to have the intention of wooing him. The other five more or less wanted to test him.

Seeing how Han Xiao did not take any steps back at all, they exchanged glances and saw a little bit of surprise in each others’ eyes.

In the past, the newcomers came with the intention of making friends with them. These newcomers thought that everyone would be talking calmly and politely, while the older members would make this meeting into somewhat of a review and questioning section. They would keep asking provocative questions and watch the new Beyond Grade A suppress their anger and answer every question. Most people there had experienced this and left a dark history. Therefore, this became a tradition in accepting the newcomers.

If someone could not take it, they would speak with fists to determine their position in the future.

If it was a previously renowned neutral Beyond Grade A becoming an ally, only then would they give the newcomer face and restrain themselves.

Of course, Black Star, who had just become a Beyond Grade A, was not on that list.

However, this was only the start, and they had yet to even start the real provocation, but Black Star had already retaliated. It was clear that this newcomer was not planning to follow their plan.

It’s probably because Heber shared his experience with him…

In their eyes, it looked like Han Xiao knew about their tradition, and Heber, who also left a dark history there, was from the Shattered Star Ring. Therefore, it was most likely that Black Star knew about this from him and did not want to let their plan succeed by speaking in this manner.

“Not going to happen…”

They secretly exchanged looks and made a plan.

“Hehe.” The person who spoke first said coldly, “Black Star, I don’t think you’ve realized what your position is.”

“Oh? Mr. Star Slasher, what do you mean?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

Viru, a Beyond Grade A Pugilist of the War Soldier Branch. Among his nicknames were ‘Star Slasher’ and ‘Fixed Star Splitter’. He came from the Primeval Star River, now an ally of the dynasty, and was operating tens of thousands of galactical Pugilist dojos in the Central Galaxy.

“This is the center of the universe, the Central Galaxy. Do you think this is the Shattered Star Ring that only has five Beyond Grade As? How dare you speak to us that manner…”

Boom!

Before he finished his sentence, Viru suddenly released his energy, which slashed the villa in two. The thick aura and his cold stare pressed onto Han Xiao. As if he was furious, he said word by word, “A newbie who has just entered the Beyond Grade A stage, who gave you the right to be this arrogant in front of us‽”

“Tsk.” Expressionless, Clotti waved his hands and told the patrols who rushed there not to get close. Viru restrained his energy and did not let it spread out. Clotti did not stop Viru’s action.

Other than the Beyond Grade A close to the Youngsters Faction who was shaking his head and did not speak, the others all had unfriendly expressions on their faces and stared at Han Xiao, pressuring him.

Even if Heber had told him the rules earlier, they did not believe that Black Star would not be afraid of offending all of them at once.

If Black Star continued to not step back, they did not mind teaching him a lesson. As for if that would anger Black Star… they all had Beyond Grade A organizations, so it did not matter.

The few of them secretly looked at Han Xiao’s expression, hoping to find a tint of panic or fear on his face.

The sharp and aggressive aura was like a knife in Han Xiao’s face. He narrowed his eyes and suddenly chuckled. “Alright, let’s make things easier. We’re all Beyond Grade As. If we have any conflicts, we can settle it by fighting.”

Then, before everyone could respond, Han Xiao pointed at Viru. “You and I will fight, how about that?”

The others were surprised and even more interested.

This newcomer is deliberately issuing a challenge? How confident. Doesn’t he know we’re all seniors who’ve fought a very long time for the dynasty?

They initially wanted to bring sparring up to provoke Black Star into fighting, but they did not expect this guy to propose it first.

“Okay.” Viru’s expression looked irritated.

He had already showcased his energy, yet Black Star still wanted to challenge him. Did Black Star think that he had a chance of winning?

Viru would not allow his position to be threatened.

Han Xiao was calm. He had already guessed that only strength would earn him respect in the Beyond Grade A allies circle, so he had mentally prepared to fight long ago.

In order to befriend Beyond Grade As, he first had to show strength worth befriending.

This time, Clotti spoke slowly.

“Go fight outside the Psionic Seal Ring. Don’t fight near the mother planet.”

…

“Your Excellency, Black Star’s meeting with the National Pillars was not pleasant. He challenged His Excellency Star Slasher to a spar. Clotti and the other National Pillar have gone along as well.”

Hearing the report from the internal communicator, Urranrell said, “Clotti will take care of this. You guys don’t have to worry about it.”

“Understood.”

“Hmm… go and notify Black Star’s friends.”

Then, Urranrell hung up the communicator and shook her head.

She did not like the tradition of bullying the newcomer between the Beyond Grade A allies, but she also did not want to force these Beyond Grade As to do anything unless absolutely necessary.

However, the private relationship between the dynasty’s allies being bad might not be a bad thing. It would not affect their partnerships with the dynasty, and profit was the priority.

…

“What? He’s fighting with those allies?”

After hearing what the emissary came to their doorsteps to say, Hila and the various guards’ expressions changed drastically.

This time, Aesop spoke and comforted them. “Don’t worry, it’s just a test of strength between Beyond Grade As. Sparring is very normal. I’ve seen them do it before.”

Sadly, not many people took what he said in.

“Let’s go take a look.” Ames did not say much and stepped out of the door.

Chapter 801 - Spar

Outside the Psionic Seal Ring, Han Xiao and Viru floated in the cosmic space. A spaceship was looking there from not very far away.

The spaceship carried Clotti and the other Beyond Grade As, as well as Ames, Aesop, and the rest who had arrived later.

“It’s been a long time, Aesop,” that Ancient Ones member greeted with a fake smile.

“Ravenlaude, you’re still alive,” Aesop replied.

“Ever since you were kicked out of the Ancient Ones, I have yet to hear from you. So, it turns out you went to the most rural area, the Shattered Star Ring. Why, you couldn’t make a living in any other Star Fields?” Ravenlaude said with a mocking tone.

“You’ve lived so long that your memories are failing you. Why do I remember that I left the Ancient Ones?” Aesop gave him a faint glance.

Among the Ancient Ones, Aesop did not have a good relationship with this person.

Back when Aesop left the Ancient Ones, other than because he did not want this title to prevent him from looking for trouble, it was also because he did not have a good relationship with some of the other members. As a powerful Oracle, he did not like to use his ability for unrelated people. When the times he rejected them started to pile up, it became the source of their conflict.

Ames did not know anyone, so she stood at the side and watched alone.

This was a chance to observe Black Star’s strength. Other than Clotti, who was not very interested, everyone else was focused and looked forward to the two of them to start the fight.

They knew how strong Viru was; his combat capability had been tested countless times through battle. Therefore, the only question was—how long could Black Star hold on?

They had heard that Black Star had the ‘Indestructible Body’ nickname and that the toughness of his physical body seemed to be on par with the Tyrant’s. They wondered if he would be able to stop Viru’s sky splitting blade.

Han Xiao activated his mechanical suit. The helmet covered his face and hid his expression. Then, he opened the secondary dimension gate. The mechanical army swarmed out and filled the battlefield instantly.

Quite a lot, but in front of me, these are all minions. Viru snorted in his mind. His muscle violently expanded, and a light blue flame burned on the surface of his body.

A surging flame concentrated on his palm and kept extending, forming a hundreds-of-meters-long blue energy sword so dense that it almost looked like it had a physical form.

Pugilists had different branches. The War Soldier Branch focused on fighting with blades, but it was different from being a Mechanical Pugilist. Mechanical Pugilists completely relied on weapons to fight and used Mechanical Force to enhance their weapons, while Pugilists only used weapons to better their own skills. Their damage source was still their own Pugilist flame.

With a deep breath, the flames gushed into the hundreds of meters long blade. Viru slashed multiple times consecutively. Blue blades of light shot out and created empty areas within the formation of the mechanical army. The power of those blades of light dropped as they destroyed mechanical soldiers, from completely shattering the first ones to only heavily damaging the ones after.

Han Xiao immediately activated various bonus abilities and controlled his mechanical army to join him in the battle.

Viru was surrounded by tons of mechanical soldiers. His sword danced so quickly that it formed a sphere. Blades of light continuously shot out from it and destroyed the formation of the mechanical soldiers, causing tremendous damage. It was as if a tornado had appeared in the cosmic space.

As the combat information kept refreshing, Han Xiao tutted in his mind. This guy’s damage is indeed high. Maybe even Heber is weaker in this respect.

Compared to Heber’s heavy and firm offense, Viru mainly focused on swiftness and sharpness. His area attacks were not bad, and his individual target damage was even more horrifying. Earlier, when colossal defense-focused Giant Soldier turned its shield to full capacity in an attempt to stop Viru’s attack, Viru still easily slashed it in two without stopping.

Nonetheless, Han Xiao did not randomly pick this opponent. Viru’s attack damage was indeed high, but he was inferior compared to Heber in one aspect… his tankiness!

Although this guy was also a Pugilist and had a ton of damage reduction talents, he did not have a very essential core tanky talent… he was not immune to True Damage!

Viru had a fifty-percent True Damage reduction talent, which was way weaker than True Damage Immunity. True Damage was still much more terrifying than normal damage even when halved!

When comparing Heber and Viru, Han Xiao could only fight head-on with the former, but for the latter, he just so happened to be the type of enemy Han Xiao indirectly countered!

The blades of light shot out in all directions. The mechanical army formation took quite a lot of damage, so the mechanical army dealt with it by spreading and attacking from further distances.

Under the focus fire of psionic cannons, Viru’s blade formed a complete sphere. He used a certain ability, turning the blades of light around him into a special kind of shield, blocking most of the psionic attacks. The explosions were blocked by the sphere of light.

However, the mechanical army was too large, and their attacks were too concentrated. Viru’s defense could not stop all of them. Occasionally, psionic attacks would pass through the blade shield and land on his body, shaking his protective energy flames.

Feeling the obliteration of the cells in his body, the look in Viru’s eyes changed.

So powerful… prolonged battles are not suitable for me. I need to attack his physical body.

Having realized that, Viru’s energy flame vibrated. The shield around his body expanded and turned into an impact wave, blowing away the mechanical soldiers around him.

Then, he held his sword backhand. His entire body turned into a blue phantom and charged toward Han Xiao, leaving countless afterimages behind. When he reached the frontline of the mechanical army, he turned from holding his sword backhand to front hand, striking forward. It was like all the afterimages were concentrated on this attack.

Star Slasher Style Technique—Blade Shadow!

Thousands of blades of light erupted at the same time and spread outward in all directions, instantly shattering the formation of the mechanical army in one direction and penetrating many layers of defenses. The shattered mechanical parts splashed everywhere.

Han Xiao immediately clenched his fist. Blue-gold Mechanical Force shot out from the Void Dimension, grabbing all the parts like a lightning net and connecting them together.

[Waste Modification]!

[Advanced Machinery Construction]!

The shattered parts became mechanical soldiers again.

However, in just this short instant, Viru disappeared. As if he had teleported, he passed through the layers of defenses and appeared right in front of Han Xiao. The sword in his hand returned to normal size from hundreds of meters long. With the more concentrated Pugilist energy sword in his hand, he slashed right down!

“It’s not my first time fighting a Mechanic,” Viru said with an expressionless face. It was not a secret that Mechanics had the Waste Modification ability. Being very experienced, he knew that a Mechanic would definitely use it. Using that opportunity, he used a special mobility ability and instantly got close to Han Xiao. He was a Pugilist focused on speed, so he had more ways of closing the distance than Heber.

Swoosh!

The blade slashed right through Han Xiao’s body without any resistance, as if it had cut him in half. However, Viru did not feel like he had slashed through anything. His expression changed instantly.

The halved ‘Han Xiao’ suddenly disappeared. His real body was little more than ten meters away.

Earlier, Han Xiao had used some kind of illusion device and misguided Viru’s senses. Deceiving a Beyond Grade A Pugilist who could lock the target with his energy was very difficult, but this special illusion device was one of the high-level machines that Han Xiao had built that could be used in Beyond Grade A battles. It could create an illusion that perfectly simulated even his own energy presence, and it had a quite long cooldown.

Having missed one attack, Viru’s movement did not stop. He turned and attacked another time, quicker and swifter. His blade extended and slashed onto Han Xiao’s chest like a whip.

Star Slasher Style Technique—Whip Slash!

This attack was initially targeted at Han Xiao’s chest, but Viru changed its direction and targeted Han Xiao’s head.

However, Han Xiao’s response shocked him—he did not dodge at all and went toward it directly.

The blade cut Han Xiao’s mechanical suit right open, slashing across his forehead. Blood gushed down from his head.

Viru was shocked. Before he could withdraw his blade, he saw Han Xiao grab onto his arm like he was completely unharmed and punched right onto his chest.

Boom!

The vibration echoed in Viru’s body. Tons of cells were destroyed and quickly born through Viru’s energy. As the process repeated, he felt a strong pain in his body.

[Machinery Apostilization] and [Mechanical Force—Emperor’s Power] gave Han Xiao a lot of attributes, so his attacks were much stronger.

Then, Han Xiao’s bloody wound recovered right under Viru’s nose. The nanoparticles of the mechanical suit fixed the broken part as well.

This recovery speed… Viru’s pupils constricted.

This time, the mechanical army behind Viru turned their barrels and fired at the two of them.

Just as Viru was about to back away, two enhanced Oathkeepers appeared beside Han Xiao and held him back.

With a swing of his blade, he slashed an Oathkeeper’s body but met a tremendous force of resistance. He could not cut it in half with one slash. The blue-gold Mechanical Force flashed inside the wounds of these two Oathkeepers.

These two Oathkeepers were elite mechanical soldiers that had received bonuses from the [Emperor’s Gift]. Even Beyond Grade As would not be able to destroy them in just one attack.

Unable to break the Oathkeepers into pieces in one slash, Viru reacted quickly and hastily blew them away with an energy impact wave. However, he was attacked by the Oathkeepers at the same time. Psionic cannon shots landed on his chest, and his movement paused for an instant again.

The psionic cannon fired from behind him. Chains of shots landed on his back. Viru was not willing to give up on the opportunity of being able to attack Han Xiao at such a close distance, so he released a defensive shield behind him that barely blocked the focus fire for an instant before attacking Han Xiao violently.

The battlefield left its original area and kept shifting.

The two of them fought at close range. Viru’s blade slashed through Han Xiao’s body time after time, cutting away parts of his mechanical suit and his flesh again and again. However, he recovered at a visible speed, and his wounds healed in seconds.

The longer Viru fought, the more shocked he was. He had heard about Han Xiao’s ‘Indestructible Body’ nickname, but he had never expected it to be so powerful.

Since some time ago, Clotti, who was watching from afar, had stopped being uninterested. He was now focusing on their battle with a serious look on his face.

Han Xiao’s recovery speed shocked even him.

He had never seen any Mechanic with a physique so strong that it could match up to even a Pugilist.

“A newbie who has just advanced shouldn’t have such combat capability,” one of them said with shock. He voiced the thought that was in everyone’s mind.

Han Xiao used [Repel – Thorns] and [Void Dimension Jump] consecutively to guard against his opponent’s attacks. The two of them fought at close range for a short period of time before the enormous mechanical army finally held Viru back again. Han Xiao finally got out of the close-range battle.

After taking Viru’s chain of powerful attacks, Han Xiao was close to unharmed. At least the others could not see what damage he had taken on the surface.

Han Xiao patted his chest and opened his arms.

Before Viru could respond, the mechanical army’s attacks became stronger. With the help of all kinds of traps, Viru temporarily became passive.

At this time, many enormous mechanical barrels appeared behind Han Xiao. Psionic energy started to concentrate and gave off a powerful energy reaction.

Planetary Obliteration Cannon!

The expression on Viru’s face changed drastically.

Come on, using this kind of war level weapon has exceeded the context of sparring!

Suddenly, from the mechanical army around Viru, hundreds of electromagnetic chains dashed out and tied onto Viru from all directions.

Viru tried to escape, but to his shock, he realized that he could not escape from it in an instant. It was as if these chains were tentacles. They could direct his strength away.

Extreme Electromagnetic Locked Catcher, single target control type mechanical trap. This was equipment that Han Xiao had built with the Cutting-Edge Knowledge [Activation Theory]. It could temporarily control even Beyond Grade As and was considered as a high-level machine. It hid within the mechanical army and activated at a crucial moment, capturing Viru right away.

The next moment, the teams of mechanical soldiers fired on Viru, and psionic attacks rained like a thunderstorm!

The light illuminated Viru’s drastically changed expression. Flames all over his body immediately erupted, turning into blades of flames, and quickly spun around his body, forming a layer of shield-like defenses.

Blade Control—Energy Barrier!

The sphere of light expanded. Han Xiao fired the Secondary Sky Planetary Obliteration Cannons that had completed their energy charge. Enormous dark-blue beams of light gushed out and headed right to Viru.

When the beams were only halfway through, clusters of dark energy suddenly appeared on the attack route and clashed with the psionic energy beams. The two forms of energy caused chains of explosions, continuously expanding in the cosmic space.

On the other side, dozens of dark energy barriers stopped the focus fire of the army and gave Viru time to breathe.

Viru hastily escaped from the trap, activated some kind of mobility ability, turned into a stream of blue light, and escaped the battlefield. He hovered at the side with a pale face, looking like he was more than slightly injured.

If it were Heber, these attacks would just have been tickles. However, Viru’s health had been reduced quite a lot by the True Damage attacks.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and made the mechanical army stop attacking before looking at the spaceship.

Clotti was standing behind the porthole and had one hand raised. He was the one who had controlled the dark energy and interfered with their battle earlier.

“The spar has ended,” Clotti said in the communication channel. “This shall be… considered a draw.”

Draw?

The others had different looks on their faces.

They knew exactly that this was just a way of saying it so Viru would not be humiliated. Just from the situation earlier, Han Xiao had won undoubtedly. Han Xiao had showcased his combat strength.

With his powerful recovery ability and enormous mechanical army, as well as his oddly powerful attacks, a Mechanic like him had close to no weaknesses. They were shocked, and they put away the slight underestimation they had for Han Xiao because of him being a newcomer and his Shattered Star Ring origin.

Han Xiao had earned their respect with his strength.

Viru’s expression was not looking good. As the one that had been challenged, he had initially been completely confident. However, he had instead become the target for the newcomer to showcase his strength. He felt very embarrassed and displeased.

However, the opponent had gained the upper hand with valid ways, so he had nothing to say and could only feel unhappy inside.

Hearing what Clotti said, Han Xiao did not deny it and withdrew his mechanical army.

The result did not matter. As long as the goal of showcasing his strength was achieved, it was enough for him.

Furthermore, if Viru had gone all out, his explosive power would only have been higher than Heber’s. It would not be easy for Han Xiao to deal with even with his powerful recovery speed.

One reason he had gotten the upper hand in the spar was because of the combat style counter; another was the nature of the battle. It looked like he had completely overwhelmed Viru, but if it had been a real battle, Viru might not have made the same mistakes.

I have to become stronger.

Among Beyond Grade As, he was very strong in long-duration battles, but his raw strength was not high enough.

He had accumulated a large sum of Experience. When the Experience penalty was over, he would be able to level up again.

He estimated that only then would he be able to obtain a higher position among the Beyond Grade As.

He returned to the spaceship and walked into the cabin. The others approached him.

Han Xiao noticed that there was no longer inspection in their eyes, and now there was some respect. Han Xiao nodded in his mind.

Through this spar, his strength had been recognized. Now, he had officially been accepted into this circle.

Viru walked in after Han Xiao. With a long face, he turned around and said with a deep voice, “If there’s a chance in the future, we have to spar again.”

“Then I guess there won’t be any chances.” Han Xiao raised his brows. With no benefits, why would I fight you? It’s not like I’m a battle maniac.

Speaking of which, it seemed like most Pugilists were battle maniacs…

Chapter 802 - Eat and Sleep Before Fighting EsGod

The spaceship returned to the mother planet. On it, the few Beyond Grade A allies no longer put on any airs. It seemed that they had genuinely accepted Han Xiao as a comrade, formally introducing themselves.

Han Xiao had long known the names of all the people and was merely going through the formalities. Some of them were related to the dynasty, some were characters who had influential power in the Central Galaxy, but only two of them were big names throughout a few Star Fields.

They came from the Sea of Star Spirits and the Primeval Star River respectively. The latter was a Beyond Grade A who leaned toward militaristic Beyond Grade As. Thus, within this crew, his attitude was the most favorable.

This guy was not that old, and his name was Beyoni. He had the nickname of ‘Incineration’ due to his Esper Ability, Original Source of Fire. He was able to ignite all types of things from a microscopic level, even if they seemed non-flammable at first glance. This was not limited to matter, as he could even burn energy. The most famous story was that a wandering planet had once been ignited by him, and all the trees, dirt, and metal were burned, turning it into a scorched planet.

Sometime ago, Han Xiao had spent some time with the elites of the dynasty, and the eyewitnesses had told him how he had taken care of Teny. This was interpreted as a sign of goodwill for the dynasty, as Teny was considered one of the core figures even though he had not actually entered the upper echelons, or else he would not be given the chance to undergo the evolution process.

Thus, because of factional reasons, Beyoni intended to make friends, and Han Xiao would naturally not reject. The two of them talked for quite a bit.

Other than him, another person that Han Xiao felt he needed to be careful of was Ravenlaude from the Ancient Ones. He was neither cold nor warm toward Han Xiao, and thus, he did not purposely associate himself with the other party.

The Ancient Ones were a loose alliance whose members were all strange people. Some of them were Beyond Grade A Supers—some possessed special abilities. Their common point was that they all had a long life span and lived far longer than other creatures. In Galaxy, the Ancient Ones were one of the most well-known organizations, with members from the three Universal Civilizations also within.

For example, on the side of the Crimson Dynasty, there were two members of the Ancient Ones. One was naturally Ravenlaude, and the other was one of the three strongest National Pillars.

The Federation of Light as well as the Arcane Church also had a few people inside the Ancient Ones. One of them would be the leader of the Mechanic Empire, Manison. While their empire was considered as one of their strongest allies, they possessed high independence. After all, he was the head of the entire Mechanic Empire. With so much power in his hands, it naturally turned into a faction of its own.

The Ancient Ones represented a huge pool of resources and connections. It was a pity that Han Xiao himself had not yet reached the required age, or else he would have given it a try.

Because of the previous spar, Han Xiao had obtained a certain level of respect. As the crowd returned to the mother planet, a discussion began on the spaceship. Since everyone had already acknowledged Han Xiao, so he was able to mix in with the rest.

A few of them required borrowing the Evolution Cube to use, but Han Xiao did not agree immediately. For the Beyond Grade As, this was like adding wings to a tiger. There was no free lunch in this world, and while Clotti had a direct relationship with the dynasty and was thus able to enjoy such a privilege, the same could not be said of the other allies. Without any benefits, Han Xiao would not allow them to improve their capabilities. After all, they had no relationship.

Hearing that Han Xiao wanted some benefits in exchange, the group had differing thoughts and did not immediately express their stand.

The majority originally thought that Black Star would be more pliable the first time they met and immediately take out the Evolution Cube to please them. However, Black Star turned out to be more difficult to deal with, so their plan went awry, and they could only wait till a later time to use the cube. As great figures themselves, they could not display any form of desperation.

After bidding goodbye to the group, Han Xiao and Ames returned to their residence. Seeing the duo return, Hila and the rest felt reassured.

This also counts as my official appearance within the circle of advanced combatants in the advanced civilizations. I’m now stepping onto the stage of the Central Galaxy, Han Xiao thought to himself. This was something long within his plans.

Having more friends would mean getting things done was easier. By befriending this group, he would also be able to utilize some of their connections. Of course, he would appear the same in the eyes of the others, and this was using each other’s networks to one’s benefit.

There were also disadvantages, however. They would be treated as chips on the table of the dynasty by the other organizations and would attract the attention of the greater organization. The hostility and strength of their opponents would naturally be higher in the future.

There was no way around it. To obtain so many resources from the dynasty, it would be a pipe dream to think that there were no conditions attached to it.

The Central Galaxy is controlled by the three Universal Civilizations, and its organizations do not have the freedom to develop and are not suitable for major operations. It is still necessary for them to look outward to the Shattered Star Ring and Flickering World for development. For this area… I’ll just leave a contact point. After this is done, it would be better for me to stay away from this area unless necessary.

If one wished to increase their standing within the Central Galaxy, it need not be done within the area. The best way was always to be able to run an area properly. If one’s value increased, it would be simple to obtain a rise in standing.

…

The same night, Clotti shared the information of Han Xiao’s spar with Viru with Urranrell and gave his opinion about Han Xiao at the same time.

Even in the late night, Urranrell’s office was still fully lit. She stared at Clotti and asked solemnly, “What do you think about the chances of Black Star being able to raise to a higher level in the future?”

“There is a possibility.” Clotti simply phrased it as such.

The pioneers had already broken into this stage more than tens of thousands of years ago. After researching for so long, they had also started to give a proper classification to the tiers for the Beyond Grade A realm. With Black Star’s current age and his lack of an apparent weakness in his fighting style, there was definitely room for growth in the future. Most might not be able to keep up with his pace.

Clotti was not stingy with the evaluation of Han Xiao. In his long lifetime, he had seen countless Beyond Grade As. Some of them had exhausted all their potential breaking through from the Calamity Grade, destined to stay at their current level forever. Some of them could continue to grow even after, and those were the geniuses among geniuses. In his eyes, Black Star belonged to the latter group.

However, he had already seen far too many of them, such that he no longer liked to communicate and meet with new people. Moreover, Clotti was directly related to the dynasty, and with his position, he need not butter up anyone. Thus, he did not show much attention toward Han Xiao.

After all, not every Beyond Grade A was like our Great Mechanic Han, who liked to have support and nurturing.

Urranrell leaned back on her chair, a thoughtful expression on her face.

“Since that’s the case, it would be more useful for him to stay on the fringes of the Star Fields. His current mentality is geared toward developing the Flickering World, but after that, he might come over to the Central Galaxy to develop… However, there is sufficient manpower here, and we do not need him.”

The three Universal Civilizations would occasionally have friction within the Central Galaxy, but because it was their base camp, they would never escalate into an all-out war. Thus, there was no need for so many Beyond Grade As to hold helm in the dynasty. They just needed a sufficient number for deterrence, and too many would instead waste their resources. It would be better to send the Beyond Grade As into other Star Fields to expand the control of the dynasty. This was the meaning behind the phrase National Pillars.

However, since the Central Galaxy was the heart of the Universe, countless people wished to have the right to speak there. To Urranrell, the number of allies they had there was too saturated, and she did not like to have so many people relying on the name of the dynasty to develop their organizations in this place.

Since Black Star had brought over his portable mobile fortress, it meant that he wanted to establish a branch there. To give face to her allies, Urranrell was willing to provide some help, but she was planning to secretly limit the expansion speed of the Black Star Army in the Central Galaxy. This was to stop him from coming over to the Central Galaxy, instead retaining his thoughts toward the development in Shattered Star Ring or Flickering World.

Urranrell believed in Clotti’s judgement. Since he mentioned that Black Star had the possibility of advancing into the next tier, he would definitely not be wrong. As such, Black Star would be an important chess piece for them…

Since he was an important chess piece, he naturally needed to be placed at the proper position to display the best effects.

…

The news of Black Star being officially received by the Dynasty Ruler was spread throughout the channels of the dynasty. Based on what Han Xiao knew, they would not hide something like this and would rather announce that they had new chips.

His name now formally entered the sight of all the major organizations in the Central Galaxy. Han Xiao had no foundation in the Central Galaxy, however, and was unable to understand the responses of these organizations.

Over the next few days, the Dynasty arranged for the mother planet’s garrisoned troops to undergo the transformation of the Evolution Cube, and Han Xiao focused on cooperating with them.

It took several days to finally complete the evolution of all the dynasty’s garrisoned troops.

During this time, the Black Star Army did not idle. With the help of the dynasty, they used a small piece of land in the dynasty to create a simple office, only leaving a small group of staff for a long term stay for easy communication. Before they left, they had assessed this group of people and picked only those that were willing to stay in the Central Galaxy.

As for the mobile satellite bases of the Black Star Army, the dynasty would naturally not allow them to settle next to the mother planet, so they gave Han Xiao a star map, allowing him to choose a spot in the territory of the dynasty to set up the sub-base.

There was no need to hesitate in choosing since Han Xiao had long drawn up a draft.

Since it was meant to dig out more leeks to farm, the location of the subbase naturally would be the main activity area of the players.

Due to some matters, Han Xiao chose to temporarily stay behind on the mother planet. He commanded his troops to leave without him. Because of the stability and high security within the dynasty, his army did not require him to open the base there.

The reason he had chosen to stay behind, other than to accompany Ames and the rest sightseeing, was because he was planning to obtain some Ultimate Knowledge.

Urranrell had sent the list of tasks organized by her people over to Han Xiao, and after choosing, he had finally selected a mission.

The general miscellaneous tasks were not enough, and only the trickier ones would entitle them to obtain Ultimate Knowledge. What Han Xiao chose was a task that required a Beyond Grade A to participate… the clearance of the remnant Fallen Ark forces!

In other words, fighting EsGod!

The three star fields of the Central Galaxy were separated by a desolate universe belt, which was sensitive and difficult to manage. As a result, bandits and outlaws who dared not remain in the three Star Fields had poured into the border belt, forming a piece of polluted land.

This desolate universe belt occupied a large area. During the initial periods of the war, the three Universal Civilizations had fought their brains out on their doorsteps, and their battlefield had turned into this desolate universe belt. Countless planets had turned into barren wastelands because of their attacks.

A large number of outlaws hid themselves within, making them difficult to locate. With the border area connected to the desolate universe belt of the Central Galaxy, the connection between the two made it impossible for them to be eradicated.

This sensitive ground was not easily governed. Besides, the three Universal Civilizations had stargates connecting to each other, so most people would not even choose to travel along the desolate universe belt. Thus, its impact on the security of the Central Galaxy was not too huge.

EsGod’s team usually hid within the seams of the borders along the desolate universe belt. Their presence had always been a secret, and only recently did they suddenly reveal their tracks, being caught by the dynasty’s surveillance.

With the notoriety of EsGod, the three Universal Civilizations had long treated this job as ordinary, as though their daily tasks would be to eat, sleep, and fight with EsGod, thus the name ‘Routine Clearance’.

Han Xiao still had a grudge to settle with EsGod. While EsGod had made him an offer, Han Xiao would not regard EsGod as an ally or friend. Since he was based inside the Lawful Faction currently, he had to draw a line between himself and this sort of notorious outlaw.

Speaking of which, it had always been EsGod that looked for him to create trouble. This was the first time that he was paying back his dues.

If it was not for the opportunity given by the dynasty, he would not have been able to do so. Having a backer was truly awesome.

However, he was a little anxious toward the strange abilities of EsGod, so he did not move solo, instead inviting a few Beyond Grade A allies of his for this operation.

Clotti had a position and thus refused without even thinking. The rest of them also made excuses, as they did not wish to provoke EsGod. Only one person agreed to his invite.

“When do we set off?”

The communicator showed Beyoni’s horn-covered head, the volcanic texture for skin, and the fluttering around him of agile fire snakes. He was no human but rather an Esper of the Pyre Tribe.

“Tomorrow. I’ve already informed the people in the dynasty, and they will send us over.” Han Xiao stroked his chin.

He had settled everything on the dynasty’s mother planet, and there was nothing left for him to do. The next step would be to complete the two plans that he had in the Central Galaxy.

The first was to obtain the Ultimate Knowledge, and the second was to develop his leeks. The latter only needed the brand of the Black Star Army and did not require him to be there in person.

“It will be dangerous with just the two of us. EsGod’s fleet is too large, and he himself is dangerous.” Beyoni shook his head.

“We don’t just have two Beyond Grade As here.”

He glanced at Ames to the side. Upon knowing of this matter, Ames had automatically volunteered, as though she was worried about being left out, and more people would always be welcome.

Seeing him look over, Ames gave a light smile, as though she was raring to go.

Chapter 803 - No Coincidence

An ordinary dynasty spaceship leisurely left Planet Crimson Ring, and within it, Han Xiao stood at the porthole, looking out at the shrinking dynasty mother planet, his expression passive.

Having accepted this routine clearing task and notified the dynasty, they had specially arranged an escort spaceship to see them off. The entire process was settled that day, with no delay. Thus, the three of them, together with Hila and the others, boarded the dynasty’s spaceship and set off to the garrison base located at the border to participate in the removal of the Fallen Ark forces.

“This time, I really came in a hurry and left in a hurry.” Han Xiao’s eyes looked at the gradually shrinking mother planet as he mused.

He had only stayed on the mother planet for a few days, not even close to the time he had spent on the road. He did not wait long, leaving the moment he finished his activities there, swift and decisive.

This trip allowed him to meet with the Dynasty Ruler as well as the National Pillars of the dynasty to deepen his ties, expanding his network in the dynasty. His image within the dynasty was now clearer, and with the Crimson Dynasty’s well wishes, he would also become one of the backbones of the dynasty in the future.

“The dynasty’s troops have finished organizing themselves and are just waiting for a Beyond Grade A Super to take the fort. Through the stargate, we will converge with them in another four to five days.”

Beyoni walked over from the side as he spoke, spitting out little fire seeds.

The Crimson Ring Star System was the center of the dynasty, and they were moving to the edge of the Star Field. Needing only four to five days was not because of the short distance but because the transportation of the Central Galaxy was much better compared to that of the Shattered Star Ring. This was because the three Universal Civilizations had planted a multitude of stargates within the Central Galaxy to form a quick transport channel. If they converted this to time taken in the Shattered Star Ring, the journey might have taken longer than a month.

“Before this, did you participate in any related activities?” Han Xiao suddenly asked.

“Oh, I’ve only taken part in the encirclement and suppression of the Fallen Ark twice. This is the third time for me. Those Beyond Grade As who reside in the Central Galaxy have participated in such actions,” Beyoni noted.

This is really eat-sleep-fight, and that bunch of allies who made excuses saying they did not wish to provoke EsGod did so only because they did not wish to group up with me… Han Xiao’s mouth curled up.

“Then, had EsGod practically fought with all the Beyond Grade A people in the three Civilizations?”

“You could say so. However, the majority of times we only came into contact with the doppelganger of EsGod. Only during large operations will we come across his true body. However, people on Clotti’s level would be in charge of such operations because the true body of EsGod is far too strong. I’ve heard that more than two Beyond Grade As have already fallen at his hands. We only have so many Beyond Grade As, so this can be considered a terrific result.”

Beyoni shook his head.

Because of his deliberate attempt to foster ties, Han Xiao’s relationship toward him was closer than to the rest of the allies.

Hearing his words, Han Xiao nodded to express his understanding, his eyes flashing.

The capability of EsGod was well known, but to the three Civilizations, if they gritted their teeth, they would be able to get rid of this threat. There was no need for them to endure EsGod for so long. There had to be something more hidden.

“This time, there are three Beyond Grade A Supers holding the fort, so even if we’re unlucky and encounter his true body, we can still retreat without losses,” Beyoni said.

Unlucky? Heh, there’s an eighty percent chance we’ll meet with his true body this time.

Han Xiao smirked to himself. EsGod revealing some tracks the moment he entered the dynasty’s mother planet was no coincidence.

Upon thinking about the contents of when EsGod had contacted him, it was likely because of this reason. However, he had still chosen to participate in this cleaning operation.

Putting those thoughts aside, he opened the interface to look. The cleaning operation missions were placed within, with great rewards.

_____________________

Dynasty Battle Operation: Fallen Ark (Repeatable)

Mission Introduction: The Fallen Ark, the paradise of the thugs in the Universe are evil and notorious, is constantly besieged by the three Universal Civilizations. Today, the Crimson Dynasty has discovered the whereabouts of one of the Fallen Ark’s groups, and you decided to participate in this battle and contribute your strength.

Reminder: This is a faction series mission. You can complete the below requirements during this mission.

Elite Soldier: A cumulative kill count of over 2,000 enemies. Reward: 3,800,000 Experience, +20 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

Fierce General: A cumulative kill count of over 200 Supers at least at Grade C. Reward: 8,100,000 Experience, +30 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

Street Cleaner: A cumulative kill of over 10,000 enemies. Reward: 13,350,000 Experience, +50 the Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

…

Beheader: Kill the Fleet Commander. Reward: 120,000,000 Experience, +220 the Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

Face Off Against EsGod (I): Deplete a cumulative total of 0.5% of EsGod’s HP (either to the true body or its copies). Reward: 200,000,000 Experience, +350 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

Face Off Against EsGod (II): Deplete a cumulative total of 5% of EsGod’s HP (either to the true body or its copies). Reward: 1,500,000,000 Experience, +550 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

Face Off Against EsGod (III): Deplete a cumulative total of 15% of EsGod’s HP (either to the true body or its copies). Reward: 6,500,000,000 Experience, +900 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

Face Off Against EsGod (IV): Succeed in joining forces with the Crimson Dynasty troops to eliminate a doppelganger of EsGod. Every 1% of contribution effort made in battle will reward: 250,000,000 Experience, +80 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Point, and an EsGod Character Summon Card.

_____________________

This was not a one-off opportunity. As long as there was another cleaning operation, this mission would appear once more.

The Crimson Dynasty was one of the top organizations in Galaxy, so the rewards were the standard of the middle to later versions, involving the Beyond Grade A level. The highest rewards were worth tens of billions of experience.

This time, the Fallen Ark fleet was discovered near the frontier of the dynasty, so it was the troops belonging to the dynasty that were deployed.

Han Xiao had accepted this task because he saw the ample reward.

This was so for the [Face Off Against EsGod] series reward. Ninety percent of the potential rewards came from those mission requirements. This meant that it would be challenging, and most players could only complete the basic requirements of killing the enemy troops, since it was almost impossible to cause damage to EsGod. Even if the mission requirements were for cumulative damage, it was just too difficult.

However, it was a different case for him. When he was only at the Calamity Grade, he had been beaten black and blue by EsGod, but right now, even if the true body of EsGod was present, he might not be able to defeat it, but it would not pose any trouble to him.

Players needed to obtain a total of twelve thousand Contribution Points from a Universal Civilization in order to exchange for Ultimate Knowledge. However, his current identity was now different from theirs, and he had a discount of fifty percent. Only six thousand points were needed for one Ultimate Knowledge.

The stronger the faction, the harder it would be to increase favorability. In order to obtain Ultimate Knowledge in the past, the players had almost burst their livers from working. This sort of cleaning operation was the most popular. Since Han Xiao did not wish to stay too long in the Central Galaxy, he prepared to take full advantage of this mission to rack up his favorability.

In the entire mission list given by the dynasty, only this mission temporarily met his requirements, and it was also the most convenient.

This was also an opportunity for him to separate himself from EsGod and send a signal to him.

Han Xiao suddenly remembered something and asked, “That’s right. How is it living out in the Primeval Star River? What’s your relationship with the Mechanic Empire?”

Beyoni had belonged to the Pyre Demon Tribe before he advanced to Beyond Grade A. Currently, he had kept his original appearance as part of the Pyre Demon Tribe. He led his clan within the Primeval Star River, and while they led a life like thieves, they could still be considered bigshots in the Primeval Star River.

The Mechanic Empire was situated in the Primeval Star River, so Beyoni would definitely recognize him.

“Manison? Why are you asking?” Beyoni was confused.

“After all, he’s a Beyond Grade A from the Mechanic profession, so I’ve admired him for a long time.” Han Xiao casually gave an excuse.

Beyoni did not suspect a thing. “We seldom come in contact, but his influence is deeply entrenched in the Primeval Star River, far more than mine. If you wish to visit him, I can help you, but he belongs to the Federation of Light, so it might not be a good idea to visit him in private.”

“You’re thinking too much. The Universal Civilizations will never restrict our private meetings.”

“Oh, but I don’t like to associate with people from other organizations.” Beyoni shook his head.

Han Xiao smiled in return. While he was not prepared to completely offend the Mechanic Empire, Aroshia’s issue made him pay more attention to it.

As for the visitation, he was not lying. He was genuinely interested in Manison’s ‘Indestructible Mechanic Empire’. However, this was not the time to pay a visit. The exploration of the Flickering World was imminent, and he did not have the time to run off to the Primeval Star River.

However, upon mentioning the Mechanic Empire, Han Xiao could not help but remember an old archenemy of his—Thousand Shadows.

This guy did not seem to have acted for several years. Han Xiao surmised that he had given up, but the [Prey] mission still hung on his interface without disappearing.

I should pay a visit to the Abyss of Stars at some point.

He had not forgotten how much trouble that guy had caused for him. Now that his wings were growing, it was time to settle old debts.

…

Amid the rifts around the border of the Central Galaxy, a huge fleet was slowly cruising. This was the branch fleet of the Fallen Ark.

In the main flagship was a palace. The ground was covered in energy transmission loops that were connected to the throne in the center. A doppelganger of EsGod sat on the throne, and the energy core of the spaceship constantly flowed through, sending energy to it, as though it was a battery pack charging EsGod up.

At this moment, the main consciousness of EsGod was descending upon this doppelganger.

“Not sure whom the Crimson Dynasty will employ this time for the Beyond Grade A Super that will hold the fort.” EsGod was musing. “My intelligence stated that Black Star has recently appeared in the Crimson Dynasty. Will he come over to find me?”

He had learned about Black Star’s trip to the Central Galaxy more than half a month ago. If Black Star wished to perform the trade with him, he would need an opportunity to get in contact, so EsGod had intentionally revealed some of his traces to the dynasty to create an opportunity for him.

He could not easily leave the Central Galaxy. Thus, if he wished to allow his true body to utilize the Evolution Cube, he could only invite Black Star to his door. In order to prevent any blackmailing or threats, Black Star would not search for him on his own, so he had to provide a plausible excuse.

“He should understand my intentions…”

After thinking about it for a while, EsGod shook his head.

He did not doubt Black Star’s perception, but since Black Star had not contacted him. It was likely that he had not decided as to if he wished to perform the trade.

In this situation, EsGod felt that Han Xiao might not come in contact with him.

…

“Black Star has already set off. Beyoni will watch over him.”

In Tarunamir Palace of the Dynasty Ruler, Clotti wore an unreadable expression as he read Urranrell the intelligence report.

Urranrell put down the documents in her hand, rubbing her eyes. “He chose to fight with EsGod, which is out of my expectations. In addition, the timing is a little too coincidental. He brought the Evolution Cube with him, and EsGod is also interested in that thing. We must take precautions.”

Initially, it should not have been the concern of a Dynasty Ruler like her as to which mission Han Xiao had picked, but she felt something suspicious about this, so she could not help but start to pay attention.

To the dynasty, the matter of EsGod attempting to steal the Evolution Cube was no secret. Han Xiao had taken the Evolution Cube to fight with him and could be seeking revenge, but it could also be for other things. While Black Star appeared as a new ally, with the dynasty taking care of his every matter, it was also a form of surveillance on him.

Beyoni accepting Han Xiao’s invite was partly because he had a good relationship with him and partly because of Clotti’s request. In addition to providing protection, he also wished to monitor Han Xiao’s movements.

One always needed to have their guard up toward others, and the dynasty was not willing to see any of their allies come into contact with EsGod.

“Black Star’s information shows that he is good at cooperation, working along the borders of many different organizations. To have built up his foundation to where he is today, he is definitely not someone that is easily satisfied…” Urranrell opened her eyes wide, her gaze cold and indifferent. “I hope he will not be too arrogant and attempt the same thing, thinking that he can deceive the dynasty.”

Chapter 804 - Main Body

A couple of days later, in the desolate universe belt, the small spaceship with Han Xiao and the others on it approached a large Crimson Dynasty fleet. This fleet belonged to the dynasty’s border defense army, the 36th Division. This was the team tasked to eliminate the Fallen Ark. They were waiting to rendezvous with the dynasty’s Beyond Grade As.

After checking the various passes and confirming their identity, the small spaceship entered the fleet’s formation and connected with the square Soldier Grade Heavy Main Ship that looked like a coffin.

Whoosh!

The path opened, and Han Xiao and the rest entered the main ship’s cabin. Officers were there to welcome them.

“Your Excellency Black Star, Your Excellency Incineration, and Your Excellency Dragon Emperor. I’m Commander Murraky’s deputy, here to welcome you guys,” an officer said respectfully.

Although Ames was not the dynasty’s ally, she was a neutral Beyond Grade A who had followed Han Xiao there, so the dynasty would not treat her badly.

Han Xiao nodded. The group followed this deputy. After walking for a while, they realized that they walked into the resting area, not the command room.

“Is the commander not meeting us?” Beyoni wondered.

The deputy smiled apologetically and said, “The commander means to let you guys rest first. He will take care of the strategy, so you guys don’t have to worry.”

Han Xiao raised his brow. “Doesn’t he want to discuss it with us?”

“The commander is currently busy discussing with the staff. You guys will be notified once the strategy is complete. The enemy might escape any time. We can’t stay on standby for too long. We will be departing and engaging the enemies very soon. Please rest well. We will need your strength then.”

Han Xiao and Beyoni exchanged looks and both shook their heads. It was clear that this Commander Murraky was not willing to let them interfere with the strategy planning, not even discussing with them.

“Then we shall rest.” This was the first time that Han Xiao had marched into battle with the dynasty’s army. Seeing that Beyoni did not say anything, he did not oppose the arrangements.

Seeing that the three Beyond Grade As did not have any objections, the deputy looked relieved. He then told his subordinates to make sure that Han Xiao and the others were settled before bidding farewell. He headed right back to the command room.

It was quiet in the command room. The commander, Murraky, stood before the enormous star map and observed it with his hands behind his back. The staff sergeants around him were all silent.

The deputy approached and reported, “Commander, the three Beyond Grade As have settled down.”

Without turning back, Murraky said, “Did they have any objections?”

“No.”

“Hmm, good. I don’t like people who object.” Murraky nodded faintly. “Announce to the entire fleet that we will depart immediately.”

He was responsible for this elimination. His troops waited for a very long time for the Beyond Grade As of the dynasty arrived, which Murraky was very displeased about. However, the Beyond Grade As’ position was very high, and they were not soldiers of the dynasty, so there was nothing he could say.

He did not like those Beyond Grade As who did not directly belong to the dynasty. As the commander of the fleet, he looked at matters from a strategic point of view. In his eyes, despite those Beyond Grade As having very high positions, they were just powerful destructive tools on the battlefield without their National Pillar titles.

Murraky did not want those Beyond Grade As to share his commanding power. The dynasty had given those tools to him, so they were for him to use. Therefore, he did not think that there was a need to waste time discussing strategy with the Beyond Grade As.

No matter how high their position was outside, one fleet could only have one commander—the Beyond Grade As just had to follow and obey his orders.

He had told his deputy to meet the Beyond Grade As because he was too lazy to give them a perfunctory welcome. He did not even want to see those Beyond Grade As step into his command room.

Under Murraky’s command, the fleet started moving. They turned into streams of light dashing across the desolate universe belt and headed in the enemies’ direction.

…

Inside the cabin, Han Xiao, Ames, and Beyoni were casually chatting.

“The commander of this fleet doesn’t seem to like us.” Ames shook her head.

Beyoni neither agreed nor disagreed. “The dynasty’s military takes discipline extremely seriously. The Beyond Grade As, however, usually don’t obey orders unconditionally. The words of the commanders are usually not taken seriously at all, so there have always been some dynasty officers who don’t like to let us Beyond Grade As interfere with the overall strategy.”

After a pause, Beyoni then said unhappily, “Despite all that, this guy named Murraky is way too arrogant. He doesn’t even want to come to welcome us personally and even told us to just wait for his orders. Does he think us National Pillars are his soldiers?”

If it were an outsider who dared to act so arrogantly in front of some Beyond Grade As, he would have been killed easily. However, this guy was a soldier of the dynasty, and they could not do anything to him, which Beyoni was very displeased about.

Han Xiao, however, did not mind it too much. He waved and said carelessly, “He’s the commander, after all. It’s understandable for him to want to uphold his authority. One army can’t have two commanding voices. Although our positions are high, there’s nothing wrong with him treating us like the others. If we’re just allowed to casually make suggestions, he won’t be able to deal with them easily. Therefore, he simply divided our tasks clearly from the start so that we don’t interfere with his command.”

Beyoni glanced at him. “You really don’t think of yourself as a Beyond Grade A.”

Han Xiao shrugged.

Some senior Beyond Grade As were used to being high and mighty, not allowing the slightest disrespect. His attitude was different; he did not have such unnecessary pride.

After all, Murraky was a professional commander, so he was not willing to be told what to do by amateurs. Nonetheless, Han Xiao also felt that Murraky was indeed arrogant.

No matter what, it would not be asking too much for him to at least respect the strongest bunch of people in the universe. Never mind if he did not want to woo them, did he need to act so disrespectfully? Did he think he was the dynasty’s marshal?

Shaking his head, Han Xiao did not want to bother about it anymore. They would most likely meet EsGod’s main body this time, so he needed to think.

EsGod deliberately attracted the dynasty’s army. He definitely intends to test me.

EsGod had once proposed to do one thing for him unconditionally in exchange for the use of the Evolution Cube. Han Xiao had to admit that he was tempted, but after careful consideration, he realized that this was not a pit that he could jump into.

EsGod was not a kind person—the deal itself was already a trap. Given the fact that anything that had to do with EsGod was a sensitive topic, if he really agreed to the deal, he would have left a weakness for others to possibly exploit. Since EsGod could live in between the three civilizations right under their noses, Han Xiao absolutely did not believe that EsGod had no connections with the three civilizations. If he agreed to EsGod’s request, EsGod might expose this to the dynasty.

After EsGod finished using the Evolution Cube, he could disobey the agreement anytime he wanted. After all, he had never been known for having integrity. The uncertainties were too severe. Even if EsGod does live up to the promise, he would have plenty of ways to force Han Xiao into the opposite side of the Lawful Factions. EsGod was not afraid to do bad things, so it would be way too easy for him to drag Han Xiao down.

Han Xiao had another worry—EsGod had stolen the Evolution Cube from Psyker, exposing the fact that he had information about the Evolutionary Civilization, and now Han Xiao could use the Evolution Cube too, so it would be very easy for people to assume that they might have some sort of connection. People had definitely started to suspect him long ago. The Crimson Dynasty did not question him about this, so it might be because they had secretly investigated him and decided to trust him. However, if EsGod really wanted to drag him down and did something, it would affect him.

He would not be able to delay this matter forever. EsGod would not be willing to keep waiting, so he would definitely act once his patience ran out. If he was not in the Central Galaxy at that time, it would be very difficult for him to prove his innocence.

Being an ally of the dynasty would give him long-term benefits, so why risk it? He had made up his mind and decided that some things had to be made clear. He was certainly not going to jump into this pit. Since EsGod would not let him go, he was going to make it crystal clear that EsGod was his enemy!

Some things might look tempting and delicious, but inside, they were poisonous!

…

“Your Excellency EsGod, we have detected that the Crimson Dynasty’s fleet has appeared behind us. According to our current speed, they will catch up with us very soon. Should we accelerate and get rid of them, or turn around and fight?”

Inside the main ship of this Fallen Ark fleet, the EsGod doppelganger listened to the report from his subordinates and waved his hand.

“Turn around and engage.”

The very reason he had ordered this fleet to loiter around the dynasty’s border was to attract the dynasty’s army. Of course, he was not going to flee.

The Fallen Ark consisted of tens of millions of spaceships, and there were still many hidden bases in the desolate universe belt making new spaceships. Using one fleet as bait was not significant to EsGod at all.

If Black Star did not come, EsGod planned to capture some Espers during this battle so that he would not return empty-handed.

The Fallen Ark fleet turned around and faced the direction the dynasty’s fleet came from, preparing for battle. Not long after, the 36th Division Army of the Dynasty Border Guard Army appeared on their radar.

Although Fallen Ark was made up of undisciplined brutes, they were not powerless. They fired right away at the dynasty’s army from far away, at the same time, turned the thrusters’ performance to their maximum and charged right at the dynasty’s troops.

The three civilizations and EsGod were old enemies, there was no need for any words when they met, the battle erupted instantly.

The two fleets quickly charged toward each other and penetrated into each other’s formation.

Spaceships exploded in the cosmic space one after another, turning into colorful and bright fireworks, beautiful and cruel.

There was a desolate planet at the side of the battlefield, wreckages of the spaceships turned into meteors and crashed onto its surface, creating craters all over.

The Soldier Grade main ship of the 36th Division Army fired all its weapons. Dark red energy annihilation beams shot out nonstop and destroyed Fallen Ark’s spaceships one after another.

Murraky looked at the 3D battlefield map, observing the entire battlefield. He stared at the enemy’s main ship and said coldly, “Strike first, have those three Beyond Grade As engage at the same time and force EsGod out!”

The order sounded on the communication channel. Beyoni frowned and said with a deep voice, “All three attacking together? Won’t that expose our full capability immediately?”

Murraky heard the reply in the channel and said with an indisputable tone, “My orders are not for you to question. Execute them!”

Alright, this guy really is stubborn… Han Xiao sighed with resignation.

Almost everything about the Crimson Dynasty was good except this. Their civilization was too powerful, so it gave some of its government members too big a sense of superiority and confidence.

A tint of dissatisfaction flashed through Beyoni’s eyes. This was not the right time to argue, so he endured it, kept silent, and jumped out of the hatch right into the battlefield, heading toward the enemy main ship where EsGod was.

Ames was a little unhappy, too. She shook her head and was about to step into the battlefield. This time, Han Xiao suddenly stopped her and sighed.

“Sorry, I didn’t know the commander would have such a trash personality and made you endure this with me.”

Ames’ footsteps stopped. She turned around and glanced at him. The tiny bit of unhappiness in her eyes disappeared, and she teased, “Am I a kid to you? Does it look like I need you to comfort me, hmm?”

Then, Ames flew onto the battlefield and headed to EsGod’s location from another direction.

Smiling with resignation, Han Xiao followed right after.

As soon as the three of them entered the battle, the situation changed. Everywhere Beyoni passed, groups of enemy battleships started burning out of nowhere and were covered in flames of all kinds of colors. Even the highly heat resistant alloys were burning and turned into liquid. Entire ships melted and exploded.

Ames directly grabbed countless battleships with her force field and swept left and right, creating countless empty areas. Those battleships that got too close were instantly crushed by the force field’s pressure.

These two were both good in AOE abilities. They were weapons of mass destruction on the battlefield!

Han Xiao did not even need to put in any effort. He was happy to slack off behind the two of them with his mechanical army, only casually finishing some enemies off to complete some missions.

The three of them approached the enemy’s main ship. Inside the main ship, the EsGod doppelganger saw Han Xiao and was surprised.

“So, you’ve actually come…”

Hum!

The next moment, he disappeared and teleported right before the three of them. Without even looking at Ames and Beyoni at all, he stared right at Han Xiao and sent a private psychic voice message with a tone filled with anticipation.

“Black Star, you really do understand me well. Have you decided to make the deal with me?”

Bang!

Han Xiao fired with countless psionic cannons at the EsGod doppelganger without hesitation, slamming it onto the surface of the desolate planet.

The three of them followed right after and hovered in the sky of the desolate planet. Ames dragged the EsGod doppelganger who crashed into the ground up with her force field and compressed it into a twisting black shadow. She then pulled it right toward the three of them.

Beyoni raised his hands and aimed at the EsGod doppelganger. Suddenly, flames erupted from within the EsGod doppelganger’s dark body.

Han Xiao activated [Gene Liberation], and the mechanical army fired at the EsGod doppelganger continuously.

Psh!

Dark blue beams penetrated the EsGod doppelganger time after time like a thunderstorm, followed the gravitational force of the desolate planet, and disappeared in the cosmic space.

Pa!

The EsGod doppelganger exploded into a black fog and slowly dissipated.

Even Psyker could easily eliminate two EsGod doppelgangers alone. One EsGod doppelganger with limited energy would only be completely thrashed in the face of three Beyond Grade As.

“Not bad.” Murraky, who was in the main ship far away, nodded.

Now that the EsGod doppelganger had been eliminated, he just had to wipe out the enemy fleet.

Just as he was thinking that, a space energy vortex suddenly appeared where the EsGod doppelganger had been eliminated. An ordinary ugly man wearing a hood stepped out of it.

As soon as this person appeared, as if he had brought an immeasurable amount of pressure with him, the spacetime around him seemed to freeze for an instant.

At this moment, Murraky’s expression changed drastically.

Beyoni’s relaxed body tensed up instantly.

Ames frowned tightly.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

This was no longer a doppelganger but EsGod’s main body!

The notorious brute feared by many Beyond Grade As!

EsGod stared coldly at Han Xiao and spoke slowly with a cold tone.

“I’m… very disappointed with your response.

“But… when rejecting me, you shouldn’t have been so close to me.”

Chapter 805 - Overwhelming

EsGod’s appearance made Murraky horrified. He had thought this was just a regular routine elimination; he had never expected EsGod’s main body to appear there.

It was common knowledge in the Central Galaxy—If you meet EsGod’s main body, it’s best to escape immediately.

“You guys, lure EsGod away and buy us some time!”

Murraky ordered his fleet to ignore the damage incurred and keep attacking the Fallen Ark’s fleet while decisively giving Han Xiao and the other orders.

EsGod’s vicious name was deeply embedded in the Central Galaxy. Murraky was arrogant, but he knew that there was no way to kill EsGod with the manpower he had. His goal was just to eliminate the enemy fleet and reduce EsGod’s power so that EsGod would be alone, and they could try to force him away. If he succeeded, it would be an amazing achievement!

Although EsGod was one of the strongest even among Beyond Grade As, there were three Beyond Grade As on his side at the very least. It was time to make use of them.

As the dynasty’s troops started moving, the three Beyond Grade As including Han Xiao were confronting EsGod on the desolate planet. They completely ignored Murraky’s words and focused all their attention on EsGod.

The atmosphere was almost solidifying, and the murderous intent in the air kept growing.

Beyoni did not dare to move his eyes away from EsGod, so he glanced at Han Xiao with shock from the corner of his eyes—he had heard what EsGod said.

What response? Does Black Star have a private contact with EsGod?

With the movements of Han Xiao’s fingers, the mechanical army all aimed at EsGod but did not fire immediately. Han Xiao slowly said, “Did you really think I would agree to your terms and let you use the Evolution Cube? I’m now a member of the dynasty, so you and I will only be enemies, nothing else! I came this time to make that crystal clear. The Evolution Cube is right here. If you want it, come and get it!”

Han Xiao did not hide the fact that the two of them had communicated in the past and actively stated his stance.

EsGod narrowed his eyes and stared at Han Xiao’s neck as if his sight could penetrate the mechanical suit and see the Evolution Cube.

Black Star knew that this was a signal he sent deliberately, yet he still dared to personally come here to reject him? He had even brought the Evolution Cube along to draw the line clearly. Was Black Star really not afraid of him snatching it, or was Black Star too confident in himself?

EsGod glanced at Han Xiao and the others and said coldly, “Has fighting me as three given you confidence?”

As soon as his sentence finished, EsGod moved. With a push of his hands, rainbow-like energy gushed out and turned into countless beams of light, shooting toward the three of them.

“Shield!”

With a quick flash of green light in Ames’ eyes, a thick force field shrouded the three of them. The rainbow energy exploded over the force field and turned into fireworks. Its penetration power was very strong and even had a decomposing attribute. If not because Ames’ force field had a continuous supply of energy from her, these attacks would not have been easy to defend against.

EsGod turned his palm, and suddenly, another force field appeared and pressed onto them.

“He has a type of force field Esper Ability, too.” Ames was shocked and hastily sustained her own force field. The two force fields entered a stalemate for the moment, but they were surrounded by EsGod’s force field.

Force Field Esper Abilities were quite common and did not have very high potential. Ames was the one and only person that had become a Beyond Grade A with it. However, the low-grade Esper Abilities that EsGod had absorbed would receive Beyond Grade A bonuses from him, so the two of them were on par for the time being.

Along with Han Xiao’s thoughts, the mechanical army outside started attacking immediately. EsGod narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, the space around him solidified and seemed to crystalize. Countless psionic attacks were deflected. Some disappeared into the sky, and some landed on the ground, causing enormous explosions, but none managed to hit him!

“Pure energy reflection Esper Ability…” Han Xiao’s expression changed.

At this moment, Beyoni released his Esper Ability from afar and ignited EsGod’s body. Be it his flesh, bones, or the energy inside him, they all turned into fuel for the flames.

However, EsGod was unaffected. He inhaled deeply, and it was as if the flames on his body were absorbed by his skin. Beyoni’s flames turned into pure energy and were devoured by his cells.

Before they could respond, half of EsGod’s body suddenly turned into black fog. The black fog concentrated into a human shape beside him. As if his cells had split, a new doppelganger appeared.

Swoosh!

This doppelganger disappeared instantly, ignoring Ames’ force field, and appeared before Beyoni, punching right onto his chest. With its [God Speed] Esper Ability, this doppelganger was extremely fast.

Beyoni’s response was quick, too. Energy flew in his body. He raised his arms at the verge of danger and blocked the EsGod doppelganger’s fist. However, the fist had no momentum or power. Instead, the moment it touched Beyoni, a strange energy entered into Beyoni’s body.

“Wha…” Beyoni’s expression changed drastically. At that instant, it was as if the Esper Ability in his body had disappeared. He could not even sense his energy anymore.

At this time, the EsGod doppelganger emitted a blinding light and expanded extremely quickly.

Hum!

A black mass of light appeared, quickly expanding like a black hole, and shrouded Beyoni. A part of the mechanical army around were devoured too and were all obliterated. The mechanical soldiers that were not in the center of the explosion were blown away by the shockwave, incurring various degrees of damage.

Boom!

The mass of light expanded and exploded, leaving an enormous crater on the ground.

A black sphere of fire hovered in midair. The flames around it dissipated, and Beyoni appeared from within.

His entire body was burnt black. His Esper Ability had been suppressed by some kind of Esper Ability of EsGod. When the doppelganger exploded, he could finally sense his Esper Ability at the last moment and ignited the energy around him, offsetting the approaching energy and canceling most of the explosion’s power, creating an empty space around him. This was why he was not too heavily injured.

Not far away, a rippled appeared in midair, and Han Xiao walked out of it. He had avoided the explosion by entering the Void Dimension. On the other side, Ames walked out of the Void Dimension, too. Her method of avoiding the explosion was exactly the same as Han Xiao’s.

After just a short fight, the faces of all three of them looked grave. They looked up and stared at EsGod, who did not even move.

“What a terrifying guy…”

Although expected, the extent of how powerful EsGod was still shocked Han Xiao. Rumors were one thing—facing EsGod himself was another. He had fought an EsGod doppelganger before, but his doppelganger and his main body were on completely different levels.

This being before him was someone who had spent countless years collecting Esper Abilities, a monster with who knew how many abilities!

This guy’s main body was the true definition of ‘EsGod’—the mighty God of Espers!

The potential of an Esper Ability determined its owner’s Grade limit. Many unique Esper Abilities had a very low Grade limit, but when EsGod absorbed these Esper Abilities and used his own Beyond Grade A energy as their energy source, some abilities that would have never reached Beyond Grade A could now possess Beyond Grade A level of power. Even the simplest Esper Abilities would be extremely powerful in his hands, and some strange abilities would even have shocking effects!

For example, the ability that suppressed Beyoni was originally an ability that could silence someone else’s Esper Ability, but that ability had a very low limit and could not even affect Calamity Grades. However, when EsGod used it with his own energy, despite it only being able to activate at close range, it became effective even against Beyond Grade As.

With so many Esper Abilities, he almost had no weaknesses. To him, there were only two restrictions—his own energy limit and the fact that he could not use too many Esper Abilities at the same time, as that would overload his genes.

He suppressed three enemies including Han Xiao alone and did not look pressured. In the entire universe, very few could match up to him in a direct battle!

“Luckily, I dragged Beyoni here. The situation would have been much worse if there were only two of us. Although three of us still can’t beat him, at least we can barely stall him…”

With a heavy heart, Han Xiao reorganized his scattered mechanical army.

Compared to the other Beyond Grade As whom he had fought before, EsGod was the only one whose strength completely overwhelmed him!

“He does live up to his notorious name.” Ames gasped for air. This was also her first time fighting EsGod, and she was shocked after experiencing EsGod’s overwhelming strength.

EsGod glanced at the three of them and suddenly disappeared by teleportation.

“Sh*t.”

Han Xiao hastily looked up and saw that EsGod had moved into the dynasty’s army.

Murraky, who was commanding the fleet, had the same thought. When he saw EsGod appearing in the fleet, his expression changed dramatically.

The next moment, EsGod punched forward and shot out a crimson beam of light toward the main ship. It directly penetrated the main ship’s high-level energy shield and created a huge hole on the ship, completely penetrating it from one side to the other. Armor plates scattered around.

“Warning! Warning! Ship damage 10.8%! Engine Three broken! Energy circuit damaged. Energy core output efficiency decreased by 18%. Repairing…”

The tremble of the ship made the people in the command room stagger and almost fall. When Murraky finally balanced himself, his face had turned pale.

“Quickly, retreat!”

As the main ship was attacked, the situation changed in an instant. If they were attacked by EsGod a few more times, he would be dead for sure. The tiny bit of will of not wanting to accept defeat so easily disappeared immediately, and he did not dare continue fighting.

However, the main ship was EsGod’s target. He fired a chain of black-red beams of light.

Looking at the beams of light approaching from the porthole and hearing the alarm in the spaceship, it suddenly occurred to Murraky that in the face of such superior strength, he was powerless. The fleet he trusted so much could not help him at all; he was like a pig waiting to be butchered.

Despair appeared on his face.

The beam of light shot right into the main ship. The next moment, light expanded from within, and the main ship exploded into pieces.

Murraky’s vision was filled with darkness. He had already closed his eyes and was waiting for his death. Suddenly, he felt that his entire body was covered by cold metal. He immediately opened his eyes and saw that the mass of light emitted from the main ship’s explosion was getting further in his sights, while he was covered by a mechanical suit and was quickly getting away from the area of the explosion.

“I’m not dead!” Murraky’s eyes were opened wide. Fear still lingered in his heart.

Buzz…

At this time, the tactical display lit up, and Han Xiao’s face appeared.

“Still alive? Don’t just freeze there. The fleet needs your command. Don’t think about retreating. EsGod is indeed terrifyingly strong, but he won’t be able to beat the three of us in a short time. This place is very near the dynasty’s borders. The guard army of the border is able to reinforce us anytime, so he won’t stay here for too long. As long as we hang on, we can force him away.”

As the main ship exploded, Han Xiao had arrived and saved Murraky—he could not let this guy die. The fleet needed a commander.

Black Star? This guy saved me?

Murraky’s expression changed. After hearing what Han Xiao said, he clenched his teeth and left the thought of retreating behind. He hastily opened the command channel and told the fleet to continue attacking. The mechanical suit on him protected him and helped him flee, so he would not die.

Han Xiao took the other two to surround EsGod again, fighting him with all their might. They finally barely pulled him away from the fleet.

The four of them fought intensely. EsGod did not show any sign of difficulty dealing with the attacks of all three of them, while the number of wounds on Han Xiao and the others kept increasing instead. The damage of the mechanical army gradually increased too. None of them could match EsGod alone, so they could only fight him together.

In the middle of the intense fight, Han Xiao suddenly received a psychic voice message from EsGod.

“I’ve always wondered, how do you know how to use the Evolution Cube?” EsGod said with a curious tone.

He did indeed wonder. The data of the Evolutionary Civilization was clearly in his hands. He had checked Han Xiao’s history and knew that Han Xiao had never had any form of contact with the Evolutionary Civilization, so why did he know how to use the Evolution Cube?

Han Xiao blocked an energy shockwave with his psionic shield, clenched his teeth, and barely opened his mouth. “I… was lucky!”

“Luck? Do you think I’m easy to fool?” EsGod’s face was filled with doubt.

The activation password of the Evolution Cube is extremely complicated. For you to get it from luck alone, the possibility is infinitely close to zero. You’re not going to fool anyone.

There was only one possibility—the data of the Evolutionary Civilization had definitely leaked.

EsGod paused, dodged Ames’ force field impact, and suddenly shook his head. “Never mind, what’s important is the fact that you know how to use it. The reason doesn’t matter. Maybe this has given you the confidence not to be afraid. Sadly, you underestimated me and overestimated yourself. Bringing the portable Evolution Cube right in front of me is the biggest mistake you’ve made.”

Then, EsGod raised his hand. A cluster of blue light hovered above his palm. The next moment, it disappeared and turned into a familiar tiny silver cube.

Han Xiao trembled and hastily looked down. The Evolution Cube on his neck had disappeared, and he did not feel it at all!

Chapter 806 - Clue

“A space swap Esper Ability?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

“You don’t seem nervous at all.” EsGod narrowed his eyes. Then, having suddenly realized something, he pressed down hard on the tiny silver cube and shattered it.

Silver alloy pieces scattered from his palm—there were no traces of any evolution energy at all.

EsGod’s movement became stiff.

Han Xiao chuckled. “Did you think that I would really bring the Evolution Cube here to see you? Let me return your words back at you… you underestimated me.”

This guy was not Psyker, who had possessed the Evolution Cube for many years, so he did not have the psychic detection to identify the real Evolution Cube.

EsGod stayed silent for a few seconds before shaking his head. “That’s right. Since you’ve decided to reject me, how could you have really brought the real one here? I was misguided by you.”

When his main body had just appeared, Han Xiao acted very tough and told him to come and get it if he wanted the Evolution Cube, making his attention focused on the ‘Evolution Cube’ on Han Xiao. Afterward, EsGod did not have the time to think too much during the battle, so he subconsciously thought that the tiny silver cube on Han Xiao’s neck was the real deal.

He just said that he was not easy to fool, but then he was fooled right after… EsGod’s expression was not looking too bright.

It was no secret that the Evolution Cube had become portable. As Psyker was always attempting to take it back, it was impossible to let anyone else carry the Evolution Cube. That was the misconception that Han Xiao had been building, so people would think that he carried the Evolution Cube with him at all times. Therefore, due to this preconception, EsGod had mistakenly assumed that knowing Han Xiao’s location was equivalent to knowing the Evolution Cube’s location and failed to think of the possibility that the Evolution Cube might not be with Han Xiao.

The data left by the Evolutionary Civilization consisted of a method to locate the Evolution Cube, but it was different from Psyker’s psychic method. That method could only accurately locate the Evolution Cube within a certain range when used in combination with a special detection device.

The technology used in this device came from countless years ago and had certain flaws compared to the present. Furthermore, the data left by the Evolutionary Civilization was not complete, so the detector had limitations, mainly distance.

Back when EsGod stole the Evolution Cube, it was because he had a rough idea of where the Evolution Cube was since it was on Psyker’s mother planet. He had only used the detector when he was nearby to obtain the accurate location of where the cube was on Psyker’s mother planet. If he did not know where the Evolution Cube was at the start, the detector would not be able to find it across the wide Star Field either.

If not because EsGod did not have the wrong preconception and did not have the time to look at the device while fighting the three of them, he would have noticed that the Evolution Cube was not nearby.

Psyker’s psychic energy was linked to the Evolution Cube. Although the location would be not very accurate when the distance was too great, he could still sense the Evolution Cube no matter how far it was. This was why Han Xiao always carried it around with him. However, this time, it was different coming to have contact with EsGod. Knowing that EsGod had a lot of tricks up his sleeve, Han Xiao was prepared. The Evolution Cube was not with him for the time being.

Some time ago when he departed from Planet Crimson Ring and spent a few days to reach the border, he had secretly sent a spaceship in another direction during the trip, not to the border but stealthily moving in the territory of the dynasty. The real Evolution Cube was there, and no one knew about this.

Psyker was far away. The further he was, the less accurate the location of the Evolution Cube would be to him. Psyker only knew that the Evolution Cube was somewhere in the Central Galaxy. Furthermore, not mentioning Psyker not knowing what was happening right then, even if he did know, a famous member of the Arcane Church would not be able to enter the dynasty’s territory. Therefore, Han Xiao could temporarily ignore the threat from Psyker.

For safety purposes, he had dispatched another mechanical army on the stealth spaceship that had the true Evolution Cube on it.

With his [Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel] ability, even if the army was very far from him, he could still transmit Mechanical Force over and let the mechanical army over there have Beyond Grade A level power!

Staying in one place and letting the Beyond Grade A level mechanical army carry out expeditions was the specialty of Beyond Grade A Mechanics.

When he was not even at the scene, how could the enemy close the distance on him‽

This was somewhat similar to EsGod’s doppelgangers but even better. This was exactly the combat mode that Manison used—the enemies would not be able to even see his face when fighting him.

Han Xiao was currently not using this strategy because his army had yet to reach the Mechanic Empire’s level. Furthermore, his tankiness was one of his strengths, so it would be a waste to not utilize it.

However, the mechanical army he sent on an ‘expedition’ could also completely thrash Calamity Grades, so they were more than enough to be guards of the Evolution Cube for the time being.

While these thoughts flashed through his mind, Han Xiao did not stop moving and controlling the mechanical army to focus fire on EsGod. Although EsGod’s energy reflection shield could reflect most energy attacks, Han Xiao had plenty of ways to deal with that.

The mechanical army had a wide variety of attack methods, so one single Esper Ability could not possibly make him helpless. His mechanical army could even counter Metal Manipulation, so a mere energy reflection was no obstacle.

Furthermore, EsGod could not use too many abilities simultaneously and was not going to keep defending but not attacking. Also, there were two more Beyond Grade As beside Han Xiao.

The three of them could not defeat EsGod, but at the same time, EsGod could not easily defeat the three of them. The result of the battle could not be determined in a short time, and the two sides had entered a stalemate.

In the battlefield, Murraky, who had just escaped death, had no time to relax and ordered his fleet to keep attacking. Despite being arrogant, his professional capability was no fluke. After all, he could single-handedly command an entire border defense army.

Under his strategic orders, the dynasty’s troops attacked violently and had the firm upper hand. Without the interference of Beyond Grade As, this Fallen Ark fleet was no match for him at all and was quickly falling apart.

While dealing with the attacks, EsGod glanced at the fleet battlefield and frowned. He could see that his fleet was going to be wiped out.

As he had just confirmed, the Evolution Cube was not with Han Xiao. Therefore, to EsGod, there was no need to continue fighting. This place was too close to the dynasty’s border, and their reinforcements would reach very soon. Even he did not want to face tons of dynasty border guard armies. Even if he would eventually escape unharmed, he did not want to provoke the three civilizations too much.

If he killed too many the Crimson Dynasty men, the Crimson Dynasty might immediately gather a large army and march into the sensitive areas to pursue and eliminate the main Fallen Ark army. By then, it would be Clotti and the other two old dynasty b*stards he would have to face.

Although EsGod was not afraid of them himself, he would lose far more than just a fleet, so it was not worth it.

At this time, Han Xiao suddenly sent a psychic voice message and said with a deep voice, “You have a space swap Esper ability, so I’m guessing you never wanted to make a deal with me since the start, and this has always been a trap.”

EsGod blocked Ames’ force field then replied in a mocking tone.

“It’s true I have no credibility nor reputation, but this time, you’re wrong. I was indeed sincere. The Evolution Cube was the only hope to reach the higher territory in my eyes, but it isn’t anymore. I have seen a wider world! To me, the Evolution Cube is no longer my final target, just a tool that I want and not an absolute necessity. If you’re not willing to lend it to me, I really would not have done anything to you…”

A higher territory? Han Xiao wondered. EsGod was combining the clearly restricted Super High Risk Esper Abilities and taking in countless galactic wanted criminals to form the Fallen Ark. Everything he did was for stronger power—his motive was very straight forward.

“You want to be like the Primordial Ones, break through the limit of individual power and discover a new grade?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

“Hehe.” EsGod neither agreed nor denied it. Then, he suddenly changed the topic and said, “Speaking of which, I have to thank you. You made me see a new hope and changed my goal.”

“Thank me?” Han Xiao was confused.

“A few years ago, my doppelganger fought you in the Shattered Star Ring. It was toyed with by you and thrown into a wormhole,” EsGod said with a mysterious tone. “Sadly, you did not follow me through the wormhole. You have absolutely no idea what you’ve missed.”

Between the lines of his words, it was as if that event had turned out to be beneficial to him.

Han Xiao suddenly had a flash of insight and linked all the clues together. Shocked, he asked, “Was that why your people killed Harrofal?”

Back when the DarkStar leader returned to assassinate him, he had used an EsGod doppelganger. That was the first time he had come in contact with EsGod.

At that time, he had been no match for the EsGod doppelganger. He had used the wormhole environment around and worked together with a Mechanic who studied wormholes, Harrofal, leading the EsGod doppelganger into the wormhole and banishing it.

After that, EsGod had sent his subordinates to steal the Evolution Cube but killed Harrofal too. Han Xiao did not know the reason. This had happened a very long time ago, and he did not expect EsGod to bring it up. It seemed like there was something else to this.

“Harrofal?” EsGod paused, as if he finally remembered this name after thinking for some time. “Hmm, right, that’s his name, that guy who tricked my doppelganger together with you at that time. I obtained the data of that wormhole tunnel from him.”

Han Xiao was puzzled. EsGod said that he had seen the hope for the next stage. What did this guy see on the other side of the wormhole?

Did EsGod obtain the data for that particular wormhole tunnel so that he could locate the destination of that random teleportation and build a stable tunnel?

What did that wormhole lead to that was worthy of even EsGod putting in so much effort‽

Han Xiao was tempted to know, but EsGod had no interest in speaking about it. He suddenly teleported and escaped from the siege of the three of them, waving his hand. A teleportation gate appeared behind him.

From far away, EsGod’s sights stabbed Han Xiao like knives. From EsGod’s eyes, Han Xiao understood what he meant.

I’ll let you go this time, but we will have plenty of chances in the future to play again. The days are still long!

Their gazes clashed.

Then, EsGod took a step back and disappeared without a trace together with the teleportation gate.

“He retreated…”

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. The mechanical army lost the target and stopped moving.

EsGod could not obtain the Evolution Cube this time, so he would most likely make more plans in the future. Han Xiao had no idea what methods EsGod would use in the future.

The two of them were now on completely opposite sides. However, this guy could not easily leave the Central Galaxy, so Han Xiao did not know when they would fight again.

Also, the wormhole that EsGod mentioned had piqued his curiosity.

Thinking of the strength that EsGod had showcased in this battle, Han Xiao felt a lot of pressure.

“He is the final boss of the Chaotic Evil Faction. I don’t have enough strength to fight him yet…”

Han Xiao felt a sense of pressure—he needed to become stronger.

Chapter 807 - EsGod Character Summon Card: Esper Silence

Though they kept their guard up a while longer, EsGod did not appear again.

“We forced him away?” Beyoni’s voice sounded in the communication channel filled with doubt and disbelief.

Ames looked at the fleet battlefield afar that was completely one-sided, shook her head, and said, “Does he not even want his fleet anymore?”

“They’re all wanted criminals. None are good,” Han Xiao said slowly. “Across the entire universe, new criminals are born every second and every minute. Countless people have sought protection from him. EsGod basically has an endless supply of manpower. How much will he care about the lives of his subordinates? If he did care, he would not have used his subordinates as bait.”

Without EsGod, this Fallen Ark fleet scattered and escaped in all directions. The dynasty’s troops chased right after them. The three of them did not do anything about those escaping battleships and returned to one of the sub-ships. Chasing those fleeing enemies was the dynasty’s troops’ task.

As the main ship had been destroyed by EsGod, Murraky had moved to this sub-ship to re-establish his command. As soon as the three of them entered the spaceship, they immediately saw the few soldiers who had been waiting beside the hatch all along.

“Y-Your Excellencies, the commander has invited the three of you to the bridge.” The soldier was a little nervous. All these soldiers on the spaceships witnessed the fight between the three of them and EsGod—they had a very clear idea of how strong these three were.

“So, now this guy’s willing to let us go to the command room?” Han Xiao laughed and walked at the front. The soldier quickly caught up and led the way.

When the three of them entered the command room at the bridge, Murraky was staring at the strategic map and talking nonstop, giving out orders to maximize the results of the battle. As he turned around and saw Han Xiao and the others walk in, his face turned respectful, and he hastily went to the three of them.

“Your Excellency Black Star, you saved my life, thank you! I’m very sorry about what happened before!” Murraky’s attitude was completely different from before, and he could not have been more respectful.

No matter how arrogant he was, he could not act that way to Black Star, who had saved his life.

Han Xiao looked at him with narrowed eyes and said indifferently, “You’re the commander. You can be arrogant, you can act all high and mighty, and you can have all kinds of problems… but you can’t forget your job. The battle has not ended, yet you left your commanding position and came to apologize to us? Putting it bluntly, no matter what attitude you have, it will never change the difference in position between you and us. Do you think we care about your apology?”

The command room became silent. The people around dared not make a sound.

Murraky shivered. His intention to apologize was sincere, but he never expected to receive such an uncompromising response. It was almost shameful. He could not help but feel somewhat wronged. However, with an awkward expression, he did not dare speak again and returned to his station to continue commanding the battle.

After Han Xiao finally left with an expressionless face, the people in the room finally dared to breathe freely.

The annoyance in Beyoni’s heart disappeared immediately. He patted Han Xiao’s shoulder and laughed. “Dynasty military officers like him don’t know how to respect the strong. That’ll teach him a lesson.”

Han Xiao glanced at him and shook his head in his mind. It was not Murraky’s attitude that he was unhappy about. If this was directed just toward him, he would have generously laughed it off. However, this did not just concern him. Ames was not an ally of the dynasty—she had helped him purely because she was kind enough to. Yet she was treated this way, so there was no way Han Xiao was just going to act as if nothing had happened.

Therefore, even though Murraky had gone to apologize sincerely, he still did not accept it at all and used the chance to teach him a lesson. Ames was not the dynasty’s ally, so she had no place to speak. Only he could help her vent her anger. Even though Ames had never requested him to do so, Han Xiao still did it.

Ames looked at Han Xiao with an interested look on her face. “Yo, this is the first time I’ve seen you show off your Beyond Grade A identity. Kiddo, has arrogance finally caught up to you?”

Han Xiao glanced at her and raised his brows. “Don’t tell me you didn’t like it.”

“Smart.” Ames laughed and shook her head. She softly poked Han Xiao’s cheek with her slender finger.

Han Xiao turned his head around with resignation, caught Ames’ hand, and pressed it down. “Your words were more than sufficient.”

They casually chatted about the battle earlier as they returned to the house. Han Xiao entered a room alone and closed the door after him. Now, he finally had the time to take a breather and recollect the battle earlier.

He had gained quite a lot from this test.

The goal on paper to take part in this elimination was to complete a mission and obtain Contribution Points, as well as to clarify his stand and draw an obvious line with EsGod.

One of the secret goals was to evaluate the combat capability of EsGod’s main body.

The Great Mechanic Han had a very clear idea of his own capabilities and knew that he was no match for EsGod at the moment, which was why he had hidden the Evolution Cube in advance. However, he was at least at the Beyond Grade A level just like EsGod, so he would not be too afraid and knew that he could at least fight EsGod.

Since EsGod was his enemy, while he had help, he wanted to test EsGod’s strength personally and feel their differences. This way, he would have a rough idea when facing EsGod in the future and would not be unprepared.

The test did give him a result—EsGod felt unfathomable, like a bottomless pit. Just seeing the tip of the iceberg had already given him a lot of pressure.

“Level, talents, and Ultimate Knowledges need to be obtained, and the mechanical army needs to be continuously expanded.” Han Xiao was planning ahead.

A Beyond Grade A Mechanic’s army could travel long distances without him having to be there. Other than his own abilities, he also had to increase the size and strength of his mechanical army. After he obtained the Ultimate Knowledge to activate [King’s Mentor], he would be able to enhance his mechanical army even further and make use of the Beyond Grade A Mechanic combat style.

The most important goal he had this time was to plant a ward on that guy.

EsGod had multiple abilities, but he was not a Mage. Even though the chances were slim, he had to try it. With this attitude, Han Xiao had secretly thrown an Observer’s Mark at EsGod during the battle. Sadly, EsGod had discovered it and shattered it instantly.

Han Xiao was not very regretful about this. It was a gamble to begin with. It would have been a great surprise if it worked, but he had been mentally prepared for it not to.

Ding.

At this time, the mission complete notification popped up on the interface.

“The battle has finally ended?”

He opened the interface and looked at the notifications.

_____________________

[Dynasty Warfare: Fallen Ark (Repeatable)] Completed!

The targets you have completed are: [Elite Minions], [Brave Warrior], [Scavenger]… [Facing EsGod I], [Facing EsGod II, [Facing EsGod III], [Facing EsGod IV].

Mission Rating: Unbelievable

You have received Unbelievable Mission Rating reward: Bonus 9,000,000,000 Experience, 2 Random Rewards

_____________________

“That’s quite a lot of Experience.” Han Xiao was delighted. All missions that involved Beyond Grade As had very rich rewards. It was the same back when he fought Heber.

The total Experience reward for this mission was close to thirty billion! It was plenty even at his level. It mainly came from the reward involving EsGod, which he could complete easily but was extremely difficult for the players.

Scanning through the notifications, Han Xiao smiled. He had made a huge fortune this time. The Contribution Points for the Crimson Dynasty had reached more than eight thousand, more than enough to exchange for an Ultimate Knowledge.

Han Xiao saved the two Random Rewards before looking at the EsGod Character Summon Card reward from the [Facing EsGod IV] mission.

_____________________

Character Summon Card – EsGod: [Esper Ability—Esper Silence]—Through physical contact, suppress the Esper Genes of the target and forbid the target from using Esper Ability. Only effective against Espers. The Judgement success rate and the duration depends on the difference between the user and target in terms of Level, Energy Level, and Luck.

Minimum duration if effective: 0.25s

Usages: 0/2

_____________________

“Esper Silence?” Han Xiao recalled that this was the Esper Ability that EsGod had used on Beyoni.

EsGod had many abilities, and the Character Summon Card could only draw one. Luckily, this Esper Ability was quite useful, thanks to him touching Feidin before the battle.

Han Xiao pondered. The ability of this Character Summon Card just so happened to counter EsGod, which was an unexpected surprise. However, the difference in the various attributes between him and EsGod was quite large, so it was almost impossible for the Judgement to succeed.

Maybe when his level caught up to EsGod, this Character Summon Card would be effective on him.

Han Xiao kept this Character Summon Card as a trump card.

“Now that I’ve drawn the line clearly with EsGod, the goal for this trip is achieved… I shall exchange for Ultimate Knowledge later on and rendezvous with the army, as well as make contact with the Constellation Corridor players.”

One of the two goals he had for this Central Galaxy trip was now completed, and Han Xiao had already planned for what to do next.

“One more thing…”

He was rather concerned with the wormhole EsGod mentioned and wanted to know what EsGod was planning.

“When I return to the Shattered Star Ring, I have to find the time to visit Harrofal’s civilization and see if I can get the data for that wormhole travel. I have to find out why EsGod was looking for that set of data…”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

He had an intuitive feeling that this was not simple. It might be a surprise…

…

In the other room, Beyoni opened his communicator and called Clotti’s number.

The communication was picked up very soon.

Du…

“Clotti, the battle here has ended.”

“How was it?” Clotti asked.

“We met EsGod’s main body…” Beyoni described the whole thing.

Clotti nodded and said, “This means that EsGod did indeed contact Black Star before, but Black Star did not agree, hmm… There is the possibility that they’re putting on a show. Anyhow, good work, I will report this to Her Excellency.”

“It didn’t look fake.” Beyoni spoke for Han Xiao. “I feel that Black Star knew that the dynasty had some doubts about him, and this was to express his stand to gain the dynasty’s trust. After all, he’s a new Beyond Grade A ally of the dynasty. Even if there are doubts, it won’t be publicized. It’s impossible to interrogate someone like him, so he needed to do this.”

Clotti did not comment about it. He was only responsible for reporting; the final judgment depended on Urranrell.

“By the way, Black Star asked me about the Mechanic Empire,” Beyoni suddenly said.

“That’s normal.” Clotti shook his head.

After a few more words, Beyoni hung up the communication and exhaled flame sparkles from his mouth.

Not only was he close to the military’s Youngsters Faction, but he was also a confidant of the Ruler. During this trip with Han Xiao, not only was he building a closer relationship with Han Xiao, but he was also secretly told by Urranrell to keep an eye on Black Star’s actions.

…

In the Central Galaxy’s desolate universe belt very far from the battlefield, another Fallen Ark fleet was hidden.

A space vortex shaped teleportation gate appeared above the fleet, and EsGod walked out of it.

The main ship opened its hatch and welcomed EsGod onboard.

As he returned to the main ship’s hall, the people on standby there stood up and greeted him.

“Your Excellency EsGod!”

“Boss!”

EsGod ignored them and walked to his throne. He sat down and glanced over the people below him. “How’s the research progress?”

“They’re still matching the data with the coordinates. We don’t know how long it will take to accurately locate the location in the data records. That set of data is too strange. It does not seem to be in the explored universe. Even if we have the data, without the matching coordinates on the star map, the workload is enormous.”

“Results are the only thing I want. Confirm the location as soon as possible,” EsGod said coldly. He then turned to look at his capable assistant beside him and said, “Help me to contact the Arcane Church’s men.”

“Oh? For what?”

This person licked his lips. His tongue was purple and covered in spikes, like a whip. A bright red mask was embedded into his face bone as if it was soldered into his face. The mask blocked the upper half of his face, not even showing his eyes. Only his mouth and chin could be seen. He was a being with an upright spine but not human, about 1.7 meters tall. His back was bent like an old man. His skin was thick, dark purple, and rough like sandpaper. He had two pairs of upper limbs and one pair of lower limbs. He looked emaciated, and his body was like a purple brunch of a dead tree. He had the EsGod-brand fashionable beggar hood on too. He emitted a sense of evil and creepiness from all over his body.

Fakisen, nicknamed the Purple Devil, one of the Beyond Grade A Seeds in the Central Galaxy many years ago. He was once a wanted criminal chased by universal civilizations, then he joined the Fallen Ark and had been an important officer under EsGod for around a hundred years.

“Tell the Arcane Church’s men, didn’t they want the data left by the Evolutionary Civilization? I can give it to them.”

“On what terms?” Fakisen tilted his head.

“To work together and snatch the Evolution Cube. Tell them, if that succeeds, the Evolution Cube is theirs. I only need to use it a few times,” EsGod said slowly.

In order not to make the same mistake, he decided to borrow Psyker’s ability to locate the Evolution Cube. As he had slaughtered many Star Pupil Holy Race members before, Psyker would not work with him, so EsGod planned to directly negotiate with the Arcane Church in secret. As long as the Arcane Church made a decision, he would be able to discreetly borrow Psyker’s ability.

The Arcane Church had an unusual passion for the Evolution Cube. Ever since EsGod stole the Evolution Cube from Psyker and made it known to the public that he possessed information about the Evolutionary Civilization, the Arcane Church had proposed many terms to him secretly in exchange for the Evolutionary Civilization’s information.

According to EsGod’s speculation, the Arcane Church’s feverish admiration for the Gods was one of the main reasons they wanted the Evolution Cube. EsGod did not know the details of it.

Although EsGod knew that he was the common enemy of the three civilizations. Since he shared a common goal with the Arcane Church, it was not impossible for them to work together in secret. Furthermore, the target of negotiation was the mysterious Arcane Church, which had the most ambiguous stand among the three civilizations. Compared to the Federation of Light and the Crimson Dynasty, the Arcane Church was the least keen to kill him.

“We’re going to make a deal with the Arcane Church? That’s really risky. If there’s a chance, they might eliminate you during the process,” Fakisen said with a mocking tone.

“Hehe.” EsGod smiled faintly and did not reply. He then said, “I’ll leave this matter to you. I need to sleep for some time.”

Pa!

Fakisen’s tongue whipped in midair and created a sound that had the same meaning as humans snapping their fingers, expressing that he would get it done.

EsGod grunted and lowered his head. His face turned back to a vortex shaped black fog and entered his slumber.

Fakisen was used to this. The various Esper Abilities of EsGod all existed in his body in the form of Genetic Chains, which had a very heavy load on his body. Continuously switching between his various Esper Abilities would cause his cells to age very quickly. When EsGod absorbed Esper Abilities from others, he was basically using his life span in exchange for power.

EsGod’s cell activity had already started to deteriorate, and his life span had entered the elderly stage. However, he also had Esper Abilities to suppress aging and temporarily return him to his youth, which had to be triggered through sleeping. This was the reason he often slept. Usually, after intense battles, EsGod always slept.

“Black Star…”

Fakisen licked his lips. He knew that EsGod had gone to negotiate with Black Star. It clearly did not go well, and EsGod had even gone back empty-handed, which was shocking to him.

…

After the battlefield was cleaned up, Murraky’s army returned to the border army base together with Han Xiao and the others.

There were millions of border army bases across the dynasty’s wide border line. The highest position in one base was colonel.

As this battle came to its end, Han Xiao and the others bade farewell to the colonel of the base and left.

Han Xiao and Beyoni said to meet again when they had the time before going their separate ways. Beyoni left alone, while Han Xiao took Ames and the others to head toward the location where the Black Star Army was going to build a new division.

While heading there, they took a detour, and Han Xiao retrieved the Evolution Cube and the other mechanical army. He felt much more assured when the Evolution Cube was on him.

As the portable base of the army had yet to arrive, they were not in a hurry, so Han Xiao slowed down the traveling time. This was the first time Hila and the others had gone to the Central Galaxy. They made stops here and there on the way, occasionally visiting the colonial planets of the Crimson Dynasty for sightseeing.

With Han Xiao’s identity, their journey was smooth.

Han Xiao had been paying attention to the Constellation Corridor page on the player forums all along and looking at the players’ reactions. Ever since more than half a month ago when he spread the word at the Shattered Star Ring that he was going to the Constellation Corridor, the players there had been in a state of excitement and anticipation. They could not wait for the Black Star Army to cross Star Fields and meet them.

The transportation in the Central Galaxy was very efficient. When Han Xiao was still on the way, the army’s main team finally reached its destination and arrived before the players.

Han Xiao had yet to arrive personally, but he could clearly feel the enormous impact of his army crossing servers on the Constellation Corridor page on the forums.

The passion of the players exploded!

Chapter 808 - Harvesting Wild Leeks

In Galaxy, Star Fields were like individual servers with different main storylines and events. The players all had different experiences, worked for different civilizations, met different characters, and saw different scenery.

While the events in the various Star Fields were different, the overall direction was the same.

In Version 1.0, the players were born on their respective novice planets and experienced events there. In Version 2.0, the players experienced upheavals on their novice planets. Then, under the guidance of different factions, the players officially stepped into the universe and started their adventure within the Star Systems. Now, in Version 3.0, the players’ stage started to gradually expand to the Star Clusters they were in. At the same time, they began to understand and become involved in more matters across Galaxy.

The professional clubs of the various countries chose different Star Fields as their base so that obtaining resources would be easier, and their local players would be more willing to start their character there. The Constellation Corridor mainly consisted of Russian and Australian professional players, as well as some clubs from smaller countries. Of course, the players could start in any Star Field they wanted, so there were players from other countries in the Constellation Corridor too.

The players there had experienced the Sodrian Rebellion on their novice planet. This planet was originally a rural territory of a Star System civilization, but it was a self-ruled area due to its history. The ruler of the planet was involved in a certain sensitive matter and was punished by the Star System civilization. Sodrian’s ruler was not willing to give in and rebelled.

In the mid to late stage of Version 2.0, the rebellion was resolved, and the Star System civilization regained Sodrian. The ruler led his fleet and escaped. The players entered the universe due to external factors. As they did not have guidance like the Shattered Star Ring players had, the players of the Constellation Corridor went many separate ways. Some were recruited by Star System civilizations, some escaped with Sodrian, and some traveled the universe. They were scattered around in various factions and civilizations in the Star Systems around, completely unlike those in the Shattered Star Ring.

In Version 3.0, as the Constellation Corridor was the Crimson Dynasty’s base, almost every civilization there was ruled by the dynasty, and none dared cause any trouble. Therefore, it was very peaceful there, unlike the other Star Fields. A few months after the start of the version, when the secret war main storyline in the Shattered Star Ring ended, the players in the Constellation Corridor triggered the main storyline.

As there were many factions and not much trouble, the players there looked for fun themselves. PVP became a norm, and guild wars were very frequent. As both Russia and Australia saw this place as their base, the normal players on these two sides took each other as the opposing faction. It was very boisterous.

To make communication more convenient, the players would always have public areas. The biggest safe area recognized by the Constellation Corridor areas was a trading planet called Gilman. It was a prosperous stargate transit station. Many players set up stores and looked for teams there.

The location that the Black Star Army had chosen was exactly Planet Gilman.

Just like the usual days, on this day, many players went to Planet Gilman by galactic flights and queued at the space dock of the planet. The spaceship queue extended like a river. It was quite crowded.

The guild Power and Glory’s vice president ‘Vodka’ was in one of the spaceships together with many guild members. This guild was the official guild of the most famous club in Russia. Its goal was to provide resources to the club’s professional team, ‘Glory’.

Vodka was doing missions with the rest in other civilizations and gathered some equipment. This visit to Planet Gilman was to rest and store this batch of equipment in the warehouse at the guild base on the planet.

A guild officer walked into the room and reported to Vodka. “The fleet captain sent a message saying that there were some problems with the identity inspection of a certain fleet in front of us, and it will take about ten minutes till it’s our turn.”

“Good work.” Vodka nodded.

Like the others, Vodka was browsing the forums while waiting. Many Black Star Army related posts entered his sights. He shook his head and said, “The Black Star Army topic has been trending for half a month. I wonder if they really are going to open a new division here at the Constellation Corridor.”

The others joined the conversation.

“We can’t even make contact with the Crimson Dynasty now. Who knows if the Black Star Army is already here?”

“Even if they’re indeed coming to start a division, we might not meet them. Who knows where they will appear?”

Currently, the players at the Constellation Corridor had yet to join the Crimson Dynasty, and Han Xiao had not taken any players with him. As no player witnessed the army, the players in the Constellation Corridor did not know the whereabouts of the Black Star Army.

As they were chatting, one of them casually glanced outside the porthole. His expression suddenly stiffened. Shocked, he stared right outside the window.

“What is that‽”

The others looked over and were shocked too.

A fleet was guarding an enormous portable satellite base out of the stargate from not far away and slowly approaching Planet Gilman. Not just Vodka and the players there, all the players and the galactic residents queueing at the dock saw this.

These spaceships were marked with the Black Star Army symbol, which the Constellation Corridor players recognized.

“Black Star Army‽”

“They’re here‽”

The Black Star Army’s satellite base slowly stopped outside Planet Gilman and communicated with the guard army of the planet.

Looking at this, Vodka was stunned. “Wow! Could it be that… the Black Star Army is going to build their division on Planet Gilman‽”

Realizing the possibility, the surrounding guild members’ expressions changed drastically, and they were overjoyed.

Not long after, news of the army’s arrival spread across the entire Planet Gilman.

Very soon, the negotiation between the army and Planet Gilman’s authorities was complete. Due to the identity of the army’s commander and the authority given by the Crimson Dynasty, Planet Gilman had no right to prevent the army from building a division here. They had no choice but to send people to help the Black Star Army build their base.

As the players were waiting with anticipation, the army finally announced to the entire planet that they were going to build a division there!

The news became a storm in the forums. All the players in the Constellation Corridor were overjoyed and filled with excitement.

After more than half a month, the Black Star Army had appeared. The players had speculated a lot about how they would come into contact with the Black Star Army, but no one thought that the Black Star Army would directly appear in their public area!

The responses of the players were clearly displayed on the forums. The topic of the army appearing on Planet Gilman instantly became the most discussed topic on the Constellation Corridor page!

The anticipation from the past half a month turned into flames of passion!

This was the first inter-Star Field faction that the players had contact with. Even the players from other pages on the forums were attracted.

Especially the Shattered Star Ring.

…

At the Black Star Army headquarters in the Shattered Star Ring, countless players stopped their footsteps simultaneously and opened the forums.

“The army has crossed a Star Field!”

“The forums over there have exploded!”

“Haha, let those foreigners experience what it’s like to be in our army.”

“Although we’re in different Star Fields, we might all belong to the same faction in the future.”

The players in the Shattered Star Ring were excited and visited the Constellation Corridor page on the forums. They made a post there with the title of ‘Welcome to the army, foreign friends’.

“Congratulations from the Black Star Army headquarters.”

“Congratulations from the Shattered Star Ring.”

“Welcome to the Black Star Army!”

“Remember, our slogan is ‘Captain is awesome’!”

Through the versions, the Black Star Army had become deeply rooted in the hearts of the players. Seeing that their own growing faction had developed to such heights, many Shattered Star Ring players felt proud. It almost felt like raising a child who had finally become successful.

The various players who met Black Star long ago including Frenzied Sword, Bun-Hit-Dog, and Maple Moon felt most deeply for this. They had experienced a lot of things with the Black Star Army, and those memories resurfaced in their minds.

We’ve come so far…

Their feelings were complicated.

To the players, this act of the Black Star Army was like the opening of a new era. Maybe this would be the beginning of the players being able to travel between Star Fields. Maybe, one day, all the Galaxy players might be able to gather in the same Star Field, and this might be its beginning.

…

The influence of officially building a subdivision on Planet Gilman could be seen immediately. Almost all the players doing missions elsewhere rushed right back from various Star Systems as soon as they heard this piece of news.

From Version 2.0 when the players entered the universe, never had the players all gathered in one place in the Constellation Corridor. This time, due to the popularity of the army itself and the impact of crossing Star Fields, almost everyone gathered there!

The army subdivision made an announcement on the quantum network saying that since the subdivision had just been built, they needed to recruit a lot of manpower. The details could be found on the main page of the army.

As the players in the Constellation Corridor did not have any sense of belonging to the army, what attracted them was purely the army’s fame and the potential profit. With the example of the Shattered Star Ring, almost all the older players knew how good the Black Star Army’s benefits were. With Han Xiao working things for three versions, the army’s brand among the players had a very high position.

Vodka finished reading the recruiting information on the communicator and sighed. “The benefits are too good…”

Be it salary, bonuses, internal services, missions, or resources, the benefits of the Black Star Army were miles better than all the factions that the Constellation Corridor had experienced!

The faction store was especially attractive. Han Xiao had tons of low-level blueprints and had mass-produced them throughout the years. Currently, the army sold more than ten thousand mechanical items and equipment of all kinds of uses and functions. There were also tailor-made options, repairs, enhancements, and other services. Other than that, there were many Dungeon Crystals, Genetic Medicines, materials, and many other items, as well as the products from other financial groups. The faction store of the army was like a trade transit station with plenty of products.

“Vice president, are we going to join the Black Star Army?”

“Come, let’s go to their subdivision.” Vodka was thrilled. Not mentioning how attractive the benefits of the army was, just the Black Star Army being the Crimson Dynasty’s ally would have made him not hesitate about it.

Vodka took the guild members along and headed to the army’s subdivision in their spaceship.

They flew into the dock, descended from their spaceship, and followed the robot receptionist to the hall. The hall was already crowded and filled with people at this time—almost all the players who were on Planet Gilman had rushed there.

There were many other big guilds there. Vodka saw many old rivals and familiar faces from guild wars.

They were all there to join the army. They had to submit their resume and participate in a test, which was mainly to test their combat capabilities. Other than the brand-new players, almost no player was still below Grade C, so this recruitment requirement was not a problem for them.

Vodka squeezed into the middle of the hall, and before him were gates leading to Combat Testing Rooms. Tons of players queued there and waited for their turn.

Vodka and the rest waited for a while before it was finally their turn. A mission popped up on their interfaces.

_____________________

Faction Mission: Black Star Army Test

Mission Introduction: The rise of the Black Star Army is filled with legends. It is now a gigantic organization of the Shattered Star Ring and an ally of the Crimson Dynasty. The Black Star Army has crossed Star Fields and built a subdivision in the Central Galaxy. You have received the chance to join the army. However, the army members have all been through strict selection processes. In order to join this faction with seemingly infinite potential, you must prove your strength…

_____________________

The same thing was happening to many other players.

…

At the same time, somewhere in the Constellation Corridor on a boisterous tourism planet…

This was a planet with close to no traces of artificial modification. Its scenery was marvelous, its water was clean, the seas were green, and the skies were blue. Its surface was covered with vegetation, and the plants emitted a faint light at night. It was dreamlike. All sorts of beautiful gentle creatures inhabited the surface. Tiny, silver creatures could be seen flying in groups between the forests, like fish swimming in the air.

“This planet is really beautiful…”

Han Xiao and the others had been passing this planet, so they stopped by to tour it. The spaceship was hovering in midair while the group of them slowly walked in the night forest. The scenery was beautiful everywhere they looked.

Aurora loved nature; it was filled with life. She walked at the front, Ames and Hila and the other Black Star Guards walked in the middle, and Han Xiao walked at the back. He was walking with his hands behind his back, looking at the backs of the others with a smile on his face.

Having lived with the smell of mechanical oil and metal for most of the time, the fresh air seemed to clear up his lungs and made him feel refreshed.

Hila slowed down and came to Han Xiao’s side. She glanced at him and said, “You seem to be in a very good mood today.”

Han Xiao chuckled. He would finally be harvesting the wild-grown leeks. How could he not be in a good mood?

Chapter 809 - Decision and Guilds“ Stand

_____________________

You have joined a new faction—[Black Star Army]!

You have received a new identity—[Black Star Army Member]!

[Black Star Army] Faction Interface activated.

[Black Star Army] Contribution System activated.

[Black Star Army] Faction Store activated.

According to the relationship between [Black Star Army] and other factions, some organizations now have a different attitude toward you.

_____________________

In the crowded Planet Gilman army subdivision hall, Vodka and the officers of his guild walked out of the Combat Testing Room with the crowd. They were all looking at the notification on the interface with joy.

Looking at the new unlocked faction store, they could not take their eyes away from the tons of items in it.

“Vice president, the club side just asked us how things are going.”

“Haha, tell them it’s great, and those professional players can join too. Almost all the knowledges up to Advanced Knowledges are sold here.” Vodka rubbed his hands with excitement.

At this time, a group of guild players approached them. The one at the front was Captain Old Henry, the vice president of the Kangaroo Guild, which was the official guild of the famous Australia professional guild, Kangaroo Boxing. He was also an old rival of Vodka’s; the two sides had fought quite a number of guild wars.

Captain Old Henry saw Vodka and the others and greeted them. “G’day mate, I see you guys have come earlier than us.”

“You guys are here too?” Vodka stopped his footsteps and chatted with them.

After having fought each other and played together for three versions, they were considered semi-friends. When they were not fighting guild wars, their relationship was quite good. Although they were competitors, there was no need to hate each other.

“You guys have already joined?”

“That’s right. There are quite a lot of people. Have fun queuing.”

After chatting for a while, Captain Old Henry led his people along to take the test. Vodka watched them leave and caressed his chin.

“All the guilds will send someone to join the army,” a guild officer said softly. “This means we will all be in the same faction in the future. Does that mean that competition will decrease?”

“Humph, not at all. Since the Black Star Army is planning to expand, there will definitely be a lot of missions in a short period. Among these missions, there will be good and bad ones. The large guilds will definitely fight for better missions and better resources. I think that not only will the competition between guilds not decrease, but it will be more frequent instead.” Vodka shook his head and was not very optimistic.

“Really? The Chinese in the Shattered Star Ring seem to rarely have guild wars to fight for resources.”

“Who said so? They’re doing the same, just not as intense. After all, most guilds there are from China, so they don’t fight as much with each other. Here, however, there are a lot of guilds from different countries, so we’re destined to be opponents. Furthermore, we’re used to opposing each other here.”

Then Vodka suddenly thought of something.

“By the way, speaking of the Shattered Star Ring… we’re now members of the Black Star Army. The army is an inter-Star Field faction, and its headquarters is at the Shattered Star Ring. I wonder if we can follow the army back to the Shattered Star Ring.”

This was a very important question and got everyone curious.

Vodka took out the communicator and downloaded the mini army assistant.

Phillip’s holographic projection appeared above the screen. He was about a finger’s size and very adorable. He bowed and said with a childish voice, “Welcome to the Black Star Army’s internal assistant. I’m the sub-program of the army’s artificial intelligence, Phillip. Glad to be of service to the brave Black Star warriors. If you want, you can give me a new look and even give me a new name, hum…”

“Ohhh, how cute…”

The adorable projection struck Vodka’s soft spot. His heart was almost melting. The originally tough and bearded muscular man was now smiling like a wrinkled flower. Traces of a Russian bear-fighting warrior were nowhere to be found.

“Ahem, vice president, maintain your image.” The guild officers at the side almost wanted to carve their own eyes out.

“I want to ask, for us the new members, can we follow the army back to the Shattered Star Ring?” Vodka hastily asked.

“According to the highest order from the army commander, the members recruited here will usually be stationed here to help with the army’s expansion. However, if you want to head toward the army’s headquarters, it is indeed possible. According to the army’s schedule, we will occasionally borrow the Crimson Dynasty’s military stargate and transport resources from the headquarters to the subdivision here in the Constellation Corridor. If you want to go to the Shattered Star Ring, you can submit a request to follow the transport team on their way back, hum…”

Vodka and the others’ bodies shivered as they exchanged looks of excitement—they really could go to another Star Field.

Vodka suppressed his excitement and asked, “Will the army have any teams that are heading back to the Shattered Star Ring soon?”

“Yes, hum…” Phillip said. “The Army Commander will be heading back after some time, in about one to two months. You can follow His Excellency Black Star back if you want, hum…”

Vodka nodded heavily and looked back at the others.

“We must have a chat with the president and the club…”

…

Those who happened to be on Planet Gilman joined the army one after another and shared the news about the army on the forums.

Players from all Star Fields were paying attention to the Constellation Corridor’s forums page. Most people came to know that the Constellation Corridor players could choose to cross Star Fields and were very jealous.

Those who were still rushing back to Planet Gilman discussed this topic passionately, arguing over whether to stay or leave.

The majority of people hesitated.

“We’ve played here in the Constellation Corridor for so long and are very familiar with it now. We’ve farmed so much Faction and Character Favorability. If we go to the Shattered Star Ring, won’t all that go to waste? We can still do the army’s missions here. Is there really a need to start from scratch in the Shattered Star Ring?”

“That’s right. We mainly joined the army for their benefits. Why would we go to the Shattered Star Ring? There are millions of players there, mostly Chinese, and they’ve been there since the start. We’ll have to compete with them once we’re there, and we have no advantages.”

“Exactly. We have yet to even explore the Constellation Corridor fully, so why should we go to another Star Field?”

“This is the Central Galaxy, the most prosperous place in the entire universe. What good will it do to go to a much more rural border Star Field?”

Many players were not willing to give up the results they had achieved with the time and effort over the past three versions.

If they could go and come back any time they wanted, they would not hesitate at all. However, they could only follow the army to cross Star Fields, and who knew when the army would send another transport team? Furthermore, they also did not know if their return would be approved. If things did not go well in the Shattered Star Ring, they would waste a lot of time before they could return.

Of course, there were players who supported going to the Shattered Star Ring.

“We’re the first batch of players to ever travel across Star Fields. Why give up such a great opportunity? The others can’t do it even if they want to.”

“I want to play with my Chinese friends over there in the Shattered Star Ring.”

“Don’t forget about the Flickering World mission that is pinned at the top of the army’s mission list. It’s clearly a new main storyline. Furthermore, according to the mission introduction, exploring the Flickering World is the Crimson Dynasty’s operation. The Black Star Army is just a participant. This main storyline looks more like the dynasty’s storyline! Therefore, us joining the army and exploring the Flickering World is actually doing things for the Crimson Dynasty!”

“That’s right. Maybe helping the dynasty to explore a new Star Field is one of the main storylines of the Constellation Corridor, and the hidden meaning behind the Black Star Army recruiting us is to take us there so that we can participate in it.”

In the past decade, the Crimson Dynasty’s desire for the Flickering World had become known to the world, and those players were no exceptions. Although they still did not know how important the Flickering World would be in the future, they were very interested in it.

After the Tyrant Party, Han Xiao had kept the Flickering World’s main storyline mission pinned at the top of the army’s mission list, and it was very effective. It attracted the Constellation Corridor players to explore the Flickering World with him, which basically made it easier for him to move the wild leeks back to his own field to grow them together.

Of course, there was no way he could bring all the Constellation Corridor players back. Meeting the Ruler and other official matters would only take a few days, but the Great Mechanic Han had already planned to stay in the Constellation Corridor for two to three months so that the players there would have enough time to make up their minds. From his perspective, the more players that were willing to follow him back to explore the Flickering World, the better.

…

As the arguments on the forums became more heated, the issue’s influence grew. After a few days had passed, more and more players rushed to Planet Gilman to join the army.

Very soon, the number of players on Planet Gilman exceeded two million and was still growing every day.

Almost all the big guilds had a stronghold on Planet Gilman. Very soon, the clubs of Russia, Australia, and the various smaller countries started to discuss this topic.

At the stronghold of the Power and Glory Guild, the presidents and vice presidents of the six large Russian guilds gathered. These six guilds were the biggest guilds in Russia, and they all had a club behind them. They basically represented the entire Russian professional player circle. They would occasionally have guild wars with each other, but when there was something crucial, they would also discuss the matter together.

“Guys, have your clubs decided? Will you stay or leave?” the president of the Power and Glory guild asked.

“The people above said that the professional players won’t be going but told us to send some of the guild’s people to the Shattered Star Ring and try to open a sub-guild.”

“Us too. Those people at the club feel that the opportunity to cross Star Fields is rare, and we can’t give it up. It might lead to greater benefits in the future.”

The rest replied one after another. Power and Glory’s president looked around the group and said, “Looks like our plans are all similar. For us, we decided to have the vice president take some people there and open the way for us.”

Vodka stepped out and nodded at everyone.

“I wonder what the Australians will do. Probably the same as us.”

“So, we still have to compete with them even at the Shattered Star Ring. Then we must take some normal players there, or we will be at a disadvantage in terms of manpower.”

As these six guilds were the recognized representatives of the professional circle, they had a certain amount of authority to the normal players. If they expressed their stand to the normal players, it would attract quite a number of people to do the same.

“Hey, not just the Australian guilds. That place is the Chinese’s territory.”

“Let’s communicate with the Chinese clubs first. They’ve been there for three versions. It’s better to notify them before going.”

At the same time, the Australian guilds also gathered and came to a similar conclusion.

…

The Russia and Australia clubs contacted the top Chinese guilds very soon. As they were all in the professional circle, they had the contact details of each other.

The various large Chinese guilds had a conference.

[Jade Green Sky entered the chat room.]

[Morning Snow Twilight Frost entered the chat room.]

[Jupiter entered the chat room.]

The presidents of the four biggest clubs—Temple of God, Long Sky, Dynasty, and Fried Eggplants With Fish—as well as Thunder Storm, Fanatics, Rivervale, and other known official guilds all joined the chat room.

“Those Europeans and Australian guilds are planning to come here? What are they trying to do?” Sky Territory president, Jade Green Sky, asked.

Drizzling Rivers president, Mountain Rain, sight. “The Shattered Star Ring is our base. We’ve worked here for three versions. What are the people at the club thinking to agree with this?”

“Whatever the club says, I’m okay with it,” Nine Gates president, Three Times Three Equals 9, said in his local dialect.

“… Type in Mandarin, I can’t understand!” Guild of Gods president, Jupiter, exclaimed.

Although they were the managers of the guilds under their clubs, they had no say in this matter and could only follow what the upper echelons of the guilds wanted them to do. The people above told them to prepare for the possible competition, so they could only obey.

Of course, the clubs were not willing to fight for resources with more competitors and wanted to have the army’s resources for themselves, but this was not for them to decide.

The actions of the Black Star Army were decided by the storyline. Since the army had decided to bring some people back, they could only accept the truth.

Of course, they were not worried. The Shattered Star Ring was their headquarters, so they were at a massive advantage. The players from the Constellation Corridor had no way to beat them.

If those foreign guilds were not going to cause trouble, there would be no problem. However, if they wanted to fight for profits with the Chinese clubs… the Chinese clubs would not mind starting a war to secure the resources of their professional players and show those foreign guilds who the real masters of the Shattered Star Ring were.

As this topic triggered discussion between both the Constellation Corridor and the Shattered Star Ring players, Han Xiao, who had been taking his time sightseeing on the way, finally arrived at Planet Gilman. This was the first time that the players of another Star Field had seen him in person.

Chapter 810 - Ultimate Knowledge—Mechanical Life Tinder!

Han Xiao did not arrive quietly but made it known to everyone. The army’s subdivision sent an announcement to all its members to welcome the arrival of their Army Commander. The many new faction members all went to watch. They had heard a lot about Black Star of the Shattered Star Ring, but never had they seen this big boss with their own eyes.

On Planet Gilman and in the army’s subdivision, countless players witnessed a spaceship flying out from the blue stargate and approaching the subdivision.

Whoosh!

The spaceship flew toward the entrance of the dock, then linked with the electromagnetic rails and entered the wide dock.

The dock was already filled with players. Countless people broadcast the event to the forums with excitement.

As the hatch opened, wearing a black robe, Han Xiao walked out with a few hovering guards behind his head. He smiled and connected to the quantum network with his mind.

The next moment, Han Xiao’s face appeared on the communicators of the countless people present.

“I’m Black Star. Welcome to the army.”

His voice emerged simultaneously throughout all the communicators and mixed into one sound with echoes. It felt grand.

The people were shocked. They had never seen a high-level Mechanic hack into so many communicators instantly, and it even looked easy. Unlike the old players in the Shattered Star Ring who had been alongside Han Xiao for three versions, the people there had only met Calamity Grades at most during their storylines. This was the first time that they had come in close contact with a Beyond Grade A.

Having heard so many rumors about Han Xiao on the forums, the Constellation Corridor players had a lot of thoughts about Han Xiao. Through seeing Han Xiao with their own eyes for the first time, the initial image that Han Xiao had given them was unfathomable.

Vodka was mixed in the crowd and used the [Detect] ability on Han Xiao. The players around all did the same.

_____________________

Based on your level, only the following information is available.

Han Xiao—Black Star Army Commander (Green)

Level: ?

Attributes: ?

Abilities: ?

Danger Scale: Fatally Dangerous

_____________________

“All question marks, as expected,” Vodka murmured softly.

Ames followed right after and stood alongside Han Xiao. Hila and the others followed them down as well.

Ames looked around at the countless people around. Then she glanced at Han Xiao and said with a faint smile, “Congratulations, your army has expanded again.”

“That doesn’t sound very sincere,” Han Xiao joked.

Suddenly, a change occurred!

Pa!

A strong light suddenly appeared in the crowd and blinded the people’s sights.

Boom!

Dozens of people dashed out from the crowd and suddenly attacked Han Xiao and the others together. All kinds of cannons, spells, and Esper Abilities were thrown toward them.

With an expressionless face, Hila took a step forward and tapped her fingers. Dark red energy beams shot out like lightning and penetrated all those people’s bodies in an instant, killing them with ease.

The next moment, those attackers turned into white light and disappeared—they were players.

Han Xiao’s lips twitched, but he was not surprised.

Although he had tons of players working for the army, he had never forgotten the fact that ‘players’ were the representation of anarchy. There would always be a group of people that would cause trouble for all sorts of reasons. Since a big boss like him had appeared, dozens of funny players decided to attack him without thinking of the consequences.

The Chinese players back in the Shattered Star Ring who had known him for three versions would never do something like this, but the army was new to the Constellation Corridor. Furthermore, the players there were daring foreigners who loved to try out all kinds of possibilities.

The players were startled before they exchanged looks after regaining focus.

Some people had actually attacked the Beyond Grade A boss, Black Star, knowing that they would never succeed. What a group of gamblers! The players there had just joined the army, so they were not angered by this.

The question marks on the character information did not give them too strong an image, but when the officers beside Black Star easily slaughtered dozens of Grade B players, the players realized the power difference. Some players who had initially harbored ulterior motives but had yet to make a move secretly gave up those thoughts.

This kind of boss was stronger than all the NPCs they had ever seen. They would probably die instantly if they tried to attack him.

Among the Constellation Corridor players who had joined the army, there were definitely some time bombs, which Han Xiao was not surprised about. He told Phillip a few words in his mind, and Phillip immediately issued a wanted status to those attackers through the army assistant program. The army subdivision was completely under Phillip’s surveillance, so finding out who those attackers were was a piece of cake.

Ding!

A notification popped up immediately on the players’ communicators. They were shocked to see the wanted order.

“The people earlier are wanted, and there’s a reward for killing them every time!”

“I seem to know a few of them. I even added them as friends.”

“Whoa, even their coordinates are on the communicator. They’ve revived right here on Planet Gilman.”

“Hehe…”

Most people gloated. Having seen the consequences of attacking the army’s officers, some people who had intended to do so gave up.

Being wanted by the army meant those attackers became red named players to the army members and would be chased by countless players. Their future… looked grim.

Han Xiao was already very familiar with this process. Not only did the attackers not anger him, but they made him feel delighted. They were basically handing him a pillow when he was sleepy—they were great friends who sacrificed themselves to help Han Xiao build a reputation!

How nice of them!

Through this, the players of the Constellation Corridor would know that there were consequences for causing trouble!

This small interlude did not stir up any storm. Han Xiao looked around at the players and crossed the crowd with Ames and the others.

The players all stepped back and gave way, watching Han Xiao leave, before gradually leaving the dock themselves.

Han Xiao pondered on the way.

“The Constellation Corridor players have no sense of belonging to the army, of course. Profit and benefits are the main reason they’ve joined. I will let people slowly teach them the army’s history to strengthen their unity…”

He was not planning to personally build relationships with these people like he did back in the Shattered Star Ring. There were a few reasons for that.

Firstly, through all these years, the Black Star Army had already built its appeal through its power, image, fame, brand, and many other factors. This was the main tool to attract the players. The faction store could basically satisfy all the needs of the players. As long as they spent in the faction store, they would bring him profit. He did not have to do things personally.

Secondly, too many players wanted to farm his Favorability to trigger missions or learn abilities. Hence, they always came to chat with him in groups and gave him gifts. Han Xiao did not want to be accepting gifts his every waking second.

The third reason was his identity. As the army commander, it should not be too easy for most people to contact him, as the level system in the army had to be maintained. Therefore, Han Xiao had long set a rule that only those who had accumulated a certain amount of Contribution Points and were at the middle level among all the members could request to see the army commander or the army’s high-level officers.

To the players, this was a chance to learn abilities from these characters. Han Xiao used this player mindset to increase their passion to farm the Contribution Points by doing missions, giving them chances to farm Favorability with the officers of the army. They would only be able to learn special abilities from characters when the Favorability was high enough. This basically made the Favorability of him and the officers a rare item to the players, so the players would put in more effort for them.

Having farmed leeks for more than a decade, Han Xiao was already a complete pro at these things.

“Currently, most of the Constellation Corridor players are still considering whether to stay or leave. I shall stay here for around a month before I leave so that they have enough time to consider. At the same time, I’ll wait for the Crimson Dynasty to prepare the troops to explore the Flickering World.”

…

Initially, Han Xiao thought him being attacked by the Constellation Corridor players was just a trivial matter. But to his surprise, it caused an impact beyond his expectations on the forums—it made the Chinese players in the Shattered Star Ring very displeased.

Throughout three versions, the Chinese players had the deepest emotional connection with the Black Star Army and saw it as their main faction. As the army commander, Han Xiao was their recognized faction leader.

However, when their army commander went to another Star Field to recruit more members, he was attacked by the players over there. It made the Chinese players feel that this was an insult to the army commander’s kind intentions.

Although they knew this would never cause any danger to the army commander, many Chinese players found it unacceptable. It was like something they loved being treated roughly by an outsider. This stimulated their unity, and the atmosphere on the forums changed very quickly, resulting in intense arguments between two sides.

However, this did not affect Han Xiao’s plan. He still stayed in the Planet Gilman subdivision with the others and waited for the players to gather and make up their minds.

Of course, he was not just waiting. While waiting, he spent his days in the mechanical workshop, expanding his mechanical army and inventing new high-level machinery blueprints.

After settling down for two days, Han Xiao contacted the Crimson Dynasty’s people and requested an Ultimate Knowledge. This time, the dynasty did not reject him. By spending 6,000 Contribution Points, he finally obtained the first Ultimate Knowledge that he had been wanting for a very long time.

Energy Branch—[Mechanical Life Tinder]!

This was the prerequisite knowledge to activate the core ability of Emperor Mechanic, [King’s Mentor].

The class knowledge tree of the Mechanic class was divided into five levels—Basic, Advanced, High-End, Cutting-Edge, and Ultimate. Their impact on a Mechanic increased as the levels increased. As the highest-level class knowledge, every single Ultimate Knowledge was able to provide completely over the top changes to a Mechanic in a certain field!

For example, this knowledge gave Mechanics the real ability to turn machinery into mechanical lives. It was basically the ability of a live-creating God!

This ability could turn machinery from lifeless objects into living units. To put it simply, they would no longer have Item Details on the interface but Character Information, like NPCs. They would have levels, attributes, abilities, and could keep leveling up with complete growth potential. They could even grow into elite models or even boss models!

Of course, good things were never cheap. Not mentioning the difficulty in learning any Ultimate Knowledge, just the Potential Point cost of learning one was very expensive.

The cost of learning knowledges originally increased by one at every level—one point for Basic, two points for Advanced, three points for High-End, and four points for Cutting-Edge. The cost to learn Ultimate Knowledges, however, instantly doubled and required eight Potential Points. This was just the cost of the main branch knowledges. If it was from another branch, it would triple just like before and become twenty-four Potential Points!

Han Xiao was a Virtual Mechanic, and [Mechanical Life Tinder] was the Ultimate Knowledge of the Energy Branch, so the cost to level it up was indeed twenty-four Potential Points every level.

It was extremely difficult for normal players to obtain twenty-four Potential Points. Other than leveling up, the way for Mechanic players to obtain Potential Points was basically to level up blueprint abilities to the max level one after another, which needed tons of Experience.

Therefore, to the Mechanic players in the later stages, they did missions and earned Experience to level up their abilities and get Potential Points. They would have to continue earning Experience even if they had reached the maximum level allowed in the version.

Usually, only extremely high skilled players or professional players had such high needs. However, professional players had their clubs to train their accounts for them, so it would not be too tiring. For casual players, however, they had no choice but to give and take. Most Mechanic players only learned the Ultimate Knowledge for their own branch.

Things were different for the Great Mechanic Han. The outrageously expensive Potential Point cost for Ultimate Knowledges of other branches was more than enough to make the players despair, but it was not unbearable for him.

He had leeks!

Due to the penalty from using the Evolution Cube, Han Xiao had not leveled up at all lately. He had stocked up on a ton of Experience, which had now come into use. He opened the interface, picked out many blueprint abilities, and spent Experience to level them up to max level one after another.

On the interface, his Potential Points kept growing little by little, finally reaching twenty-four. This cost him quite a lot of Experience.

As the total level of the character increased, the level up cost of the low-level abilities would also grow. The players could choose to slowly level up to reduce that cost, but it would cost a few problems. Firstly, there were too many blueprints, and the low-level blueprints would be obsolete as the players’ level increased. Secondly, they would only be able to do the corresponding level missions if they did not level up, so the speed of earning Experience would naturally be slower than higher level players. Once they were behind, it would be very difficult to catch up. Therefore, there were pros and cons to not leveling up, and it depended on the individual.

Usually, only those who made smurf accounts, such as account boosters like the Great Mechanic Han, would choose to earn more Potential Points and not level up.

Ever since the beginning, however, Han Xiao had been destined to never walk that path.

“Twenty-two, twenty-three… twenty-four!” Seeing that he had sufficient Potential Points, Han Xiao immediately used all of them to learn the Ultimate Knowledge.

_____________________

Learning…

Complete! You have learned [Mechanical Life Tinder]!

Prerequisite met. You have activated [King’s Mentor]!

You have received the talent [Ultimate Knowledge Possessor]!

[Ultimate Knowledge Possessor]: +15% attributes for the machinery you built, +150% Machinery Affinity. You now hold the understanding of a Mechanic class Ultimate Knowledge; you are a Mechanic master.

You have received the talent [Mechanical Life Creator]!

[Mechanical Life Creator]: Mechanical Lives created by you will see you as their god. Their faith and loyalty are deeply buried in their most fundamental logic. When accepting bonuses from your Mechanical Force, they will receive the [Encouragement] effect and have +10% Basic Stats.

You have acquired the ability [Tinder Awakening]!

[Tinder Awakening]: This ability can turn machinery into mechanical lives, igniting the mind tinder of mechanical lives.

Requirement: This can only be used on machinery enhanced by [King’s Mentor] and [Machinery Fusion]. It can be used on multiple targets at the same time. No cooldown.

Cost: 50% health, 50% energy, 80% Stamina.

Due to [Tinder Awakening], your [Emperor’s Gift] has received new effects.

Changes: When you use [Emperor’s Gift] on a mechanical life, there’s a chance to upgrade the target’s model and grant it higher growth potential. For example, a normal model can be upgraded to an elite model. Remarks: The higher the target’s model is, the smaller the chance of this effect being triggered.

Chapter 811 - Chapter 811

Every Ultimate Knowledge involved the territory of the gods. The prerequisite to learning them was an extremely high Intelligence.

Han Xiao did not choose the Energy Branch [Mechanical Life Tinder] just to activate [King’s Mentor]. It was also because this Ultimate Knowledge had a very wide application range.

Compared to the Virtual Technology Ultimate Knowledge, [Mechanical Life Tinder] was more useful for him now.

As the complex knowledge flew into his mind, images flashed before Han Xiao’s eyes.

On the desolate black earth, a man planted a mass of metal. As time passed, mechanical cities rose from the ground, and metal spread out on the surface extremely quickly and replaced the black soil. Countless blue, well-dressed beings kneeled on the ground. Their minds entered mechanical bodies through pipes one after another, leaving their physical bodies behind.

In a rift under the ground, countless scrap parts scattered around in the darkness. One day, a golden streak of lightning landed from outside the sky right onto the waste mechanical parts, and a golden energy wave expanded. The scrap mechanical parts were united into one by an invisible force, forming a rough mechanical life…”

“These are the origins of mechanical lives…” All kinds of images flashed past as Han Xiao’s understanding deepened.

Machines were initially just tools, tools that countless races learned to use and build as their civilizations grew. There were countless races in Galaxy, but mechanical lives born from nature were almost non-existent. Most of them were artificially built.

Some races built mechanical soldiers for war, which led to mechanical lives. Some left their weak body behind and became mechanical lives to get through a disaster. Some races lacked the ability to move themselves so they created mechanical lives as slaves.

Beyond Grade A Mechanics were the peak of creating mechanical lives.

As the knowledge learning was complete, Han Xiao took a deep breath and slowed down his mind.

He looked at the new abilities on the interface. [Ultimate Knowledge Possessor] was the talent rewarded when learning the first Ultimate Knowledge, and [Mechanical Life Creator] was the talent given by [Mechanical Life Tinder].

Han Xiao then looked at the new ability, [Tinder Awakening]. This was the most important one.

With a thought in his mind, the hovering guards behind him trembled and flew in front of him. They assembled with cracking sounds into a human-shaped mechanical soldier.

It had silver alloy armor and a streamlined body, and cannon barrels were embedded in its palms, knees, shoulders, and head. Psionic blue light emitted from within the armor’s gaps. It had a very heavy futuristic vibe.

This was one of the elite mechanical soldiers that Han Xiao could build. Its name was Hovering Fissionist. It could both act as his hovering guard and assemble into a mechanical soldier. It was an orange, high-level machine.

This Hovering Fissionist was controlled by the combat artificial intelligence, Sparta. It stood still before Han Xiao.

“Let’s see its effects…”

Buzz!

Han Xiao raised his palm, clenched his fist, and used [King’s Mentor].

A mass of blue and gold Mechanical Force appeared in his palm and made cracking sounds like a thunder cloud. The next moment, this mass of Mechanical Force dashed onto the Hovering Fissionist, turning into electric sparks on its mechanical surface. Then, they entered through the gaps between the Hovering Fissionist’s armor and fused into its energy furnace.

Han Xiao did not stop there. Another mass of Mechanical Force appeared in his palm and entered the Hovering Fissionist. It was [Machinery Fusion].

After that, Han Xiao activated [Tinder Awakening]. Gold light shot out from his eyes, a bright gold sphere of Mechanical Force appeared on his hand, it was blinding.

Although [Tinder Awakening] did not have a cooldown, it could only be used on targets already enhanced by [King’s Mentor] and [Machinery Fusion], and these two abilities had cooldowns.

These three abilities in addition to [Emperor’s Gift] were the complete set of abilities to create a mechanical life.

Han Xiao extended his hand forward, bright gold Mechanical Force flowed into the Hovering Fissionist.

His health, stamina, and energy immediately decreased a huge chunk.

Having lost half his health and energy instantly, he felt extremely weak.

This ability is really tiring to use… Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. Ever since I became a Beyond Grade A Super, this should be the most health I’ve ever lost in a single instance…

He exhaled and let his body slowly recover, staring at the Hovering Fissionist before him.

Ding!

Suddenly, the light from the energy of the Hovering Fissionist became much brighter!

The next second, the mechanical parts on it moved on their own. The armor plates on its surface opened and closed like scales.

Clank!

Han Xiao could feel that the Hovering Fissionist was going through a change on the microscopic level.

Countless nano-grade silica-based neural fibers grew extremely quickly in its body. The parts on its body gradually turned into an organic ‘whole’. The electrical sparks of a mind ignited in its chip, forming special thinking organs and fundamental logic. Energy flowed through its entire body and fueled this change.

Bang!

It was as if something in the Hovering Fissionist had awoken and ignited the tinder of life.

Hum…

This lasted quite a while before the light emitted from the Hovering Fissionist returned to normal.

Han Xiao sized it up and said, “Sparta, give me the inspection report.”

“… Inspection complete. A new consciousness has been born in this unit. It’s very young and is trying to communicate with me. I temporarily closed its network port. What should I do now? Please give the order, master.”

Sparta appeared in the quantum network and spoke with a serious and formal tone, completely different from how lively Phillip was.

“Hmm… Build a data firewall around its consciousness first, and check its fundamental logic to see if an order to never betray me is fixed. Open its network port and filter some information for it to download.”

Han Xiao gave the order and slapped Hovering Fissionist to deal some damage, triggering the combat information.

Hovering Fissionist’s attributes appeared on the interface—there was no longer the equipment introduction but the attributes of a character.

The race was shown to be [Mechanical Life] and its level was as high as Lv185. It could level up like normal creatures. Its armor value became its health, and its various parameters became its other attributes. Its weapons and parts became many talents and abilities that had growth potential.

It has become a living unit.

“Sparta, let it control its own body.”

Sparta responded and temporarily stopped controlling the Hovering Fissionist.

Hum!

Hovering Fissionist shivered. Its tensed body seemed to have relaxed. It then stretched his head around as if it was adapting to the vision provided by its senses. It raised its palm and touched its face.

It felt completely different.

When the combat artificial intelligence controlled all the mechanical soldiers at once, although their movements were not stiff, they did not make any unnecessary movements and were objects that only followed orders. When control was given back to the Hovering Fissionist, its movement felt immediately lively. It had become a living being that could think, doubt, and move on its own will.

Phillip and Sparta were artificial intelligence; their nature was different compared to mechanical lives. Mechanical lives’ individual consciousness was equivalent to their ‘freedom’ and ‘soul’; they had emotions and feelings.

However, that consciousness was born from the circuits in their chips, so they did not have the general ‘soul’. Hence, they were immune to normal psychic and mind attacks. To the mechanical lives, only the Virtual Mechanics’ attacks were considered ‘mind attacks’, as they could hack into the consciousness of mechanical lives and rewrite their fundamental logic.

Han Xiao had preset the ordering logic of Hovering Fissionist to be one level lower than his artificial intelligence, so orders from his artificial intelligence were like military orders that could not be disobeyed.

Hovering Fissionist looked around. It turned to look at Han Xiao and said in a wondering tone, “Mas… ter?”

It used the Universal Language.

Han Xiao nodded. He then walked around it once and sized it up from head to toe.

Hovering Fissionist stood still, but its head turned 360 degrees to keep looking at Han Xiao. It was filled with the ignorance and doubts of a newborn baby.

Why does it feel a little creepy? Han Xiao asked, “Is there anything you want to ask?”

“Want? To? Ask?” Hovering Fissionist said word by word as if its consciousness circuits were quickly working. After some thinking, it then asked, “Who… am I? Where… am I? What should I do?”

Okay, the ultimate three questions… Han Xiao thought it was funny. He then shook his head and said, “Sparta, open its network port and send it data.”

The next moment, Hovering Fissionist’s movements stopped. An enormous stream of data relating to the universe, life, and combat entered its consciousness and was quickly digested. It skipped the ignorant stage of a newborn instantly.

It stayed silent for a while before suddenly getting down on one knee and changing the way it spoke.

“Your Excellency Black Star, my creator.”

Its voice system simulated a respectful tone.

Han Xiao raised his brows, thought for a moment, and asked, “Now, do you know who you are?”

“My name is Psionic Prime.” It gave itself a name.

Psionic Prime? Why don’t you call yourself Optimus Prime? Han Xiao complained in his mind.

“You’re the first mechanical life I’ve created. Show me your strength.”

Ka ka ka!

Psionic Prime moved and tested weapons one after another. It disassembled into singular hovering guards and flew around like butterflies before assembling again. Its combat style was extremely swift and flashy—mechanical lives had a very high application level to their own bodies. They could acquire abilities on their own and fix them on their character information interfaces.

Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force bonus was effective on it as well. Psionic Prime was stronger than it was before Tinder Awakening.

“Come back.”

After some testing, Han Xiao gave an order, and Psionic Prime automatically disassembled into hovering guards and floated around him obediently.

“Not bad.” Han Xiao was satisfied and started planning in his head.

He could only create mechanical lives with self-growth potential using the set of abilities including [Tinder Awakening], [King’s Mentor], and others, so its efficiency was limited, only creating elite and mini-boss units over time.

As for the majority of mechanical soldiers, Han Xiao was not planning to turn them into mechanical lives. One reason for this was the efficiency limit; he had to turn the high-level machinery first. Another reason was that the casualties of those mechanical soldiers were too high, so its long-term effect would be inferior compared to high-level machinery.

“After turning into mechanical lives, their growth potential is increased tremendously, and they are even able to grow into mechanical civilizations. Manison has some mechanical civilizations under his command…”

Han Xiao pondered. He could imitate this and let his mechanical lives develop into civilizations.

If he had a mechanical civilization under his command, they would automatically operate, reproduce, and create offspring, which meant that they would provide him with a continuous source of soldiers. The only problem was that this was extremely time-consuming.

However, his life span and the time between version updates were both very long, so this was not a huge problem.

“Or can I take someone else’s mechanical civilization?” Han Xiao got rid of this thought as soon as it came up. He thought it was better not to create enemies everywhere.

Steady and firm, that was the Great Mechanic Han’s personality.

Having learned an Ultimate Knowledge, Han Xiao was content and had a smile on his face. He walked out of the workshop and saw a few people immediately. Hila and the Black Star Guards were all waiting at his door.

“What are you guys doing here?” Han Xiao looked around and then fixed his eyes on Hadavy. This guy stood at the front of everyone else and had a mysterious smile on his face.

Hadavy took out a deck of Wayne Cards and showed Han Xiao the top card. “Look, your card has been updated again.”

Han Xiao looked at it. This was the Strong Card with his image on it.

“Black Star—Han Xiao.”

It was finally updated to become a Beyond Grade A, as well as the ‘Crimson Dynasty Ally’ trait. Its description also included his fight with Heber and Psyker, and its card effects were greatly increased.

“Isn’t that just a matter of time? Did you guys come all the way just to show me this?”

Han Xiao was speechless. With his position, how could the Wayne Card company not update his card?

Hadavy chuckled and skillfully moved his fingers to fan the cards. Han Xiao looked through it and raised his brows. These cards were Hila, Feidin, and the others. They were now marked as ‘Black Star Guards’. Like the Bloodshed Land’s Vanguard Officials, they had their own cards.

One of the reasons he had formed the Black Star Guards was to make Hila and the others famous. Now, this goal was achieved. The Black Star Guards name became their identity, and they were now famous, so they came to share this piece of good news with Han Xiao.

“That’s not bad, congratulations on becoming known in the universe.” Han Xiao smiled and casually rubbed Feidin’s shoulders, which led to Chen Xing rolling her eyes.

This time, Aurora spoke with her crispy voice. “Uncle, one more thing, there’s someone special here to see you.”

“Who? Someone from the dynasty?”

“No, that guy calls himself the ruler of Sodrian. His name is Troy.”

Sodrian’s ruler?

Sodrian was the novice planet of the Constellation Corridor players in Version 1.0. Due to its ruler being involved in sensitive political matters, the ruler was treated as a traitor. The ruler then escaped with his fleet and hid from everyone, still not captured till today.

What is this guy doing here? Han Xiao was curious.

…

Troy was the only one in the conference room, and he seemed to have a lot on his mind.

He was a tall humanoid. His yellow hair was tied into a foreign-style braid. His eyes were sharp, and his nose was a pair of small holes in the middle of his eyes. He was not considered to be ugly looking, just quite old. He had two hands and two legs but no tail. He had a pair of large wings behind his back with yellow feathers on them.

“Will Black Star help me?” Troy’s eyes flashed.

He escaped with his fleet and had been chased by the Star System civilization till now. The situation was not looking very bright. If this continued, he would be captured by the Star System civilization sooner or later. Due to the political secrets that he was involved in, Troy knew that if he was captured, his fate would be worse than death.

Just as he was being extremely anxious about his future, he received the news about the Black Star Army building a subdivision and recruiting manpower on a large scale on Planet Gilman. Suddenly, he saw some hope and felt that Black Star Army might be able to help him.

He just had to join the Black Star Army and follow the army’s fleet to borrow the Crimson Dynasty’s stargate, leave the Central Galaxy, and take refuge in the Shattered Star Ring. That way, he would be safe.

Troy initially wanted to hide his identity while joining the army and secretly smuggle his way out of the Central Galaxy. However, he thought about it and felt that the risk of being discovered by a Beyond Grade A was too high, and he would very likely be discovered. By then, he would lose even this opportunity. Therefore, he felt that it was better to request to see Black Star, explain the situation, and sincerely make his proposal to convince Black Star to help them.

In his eyes, the only way he could rise again was to leave the Central Galaxy and return in the future to take revenge on his political enemies.

When he thought of how his political enemies had destroyed what he had been working on for so many years, Troy’s expression became more furious and full of hatred.

He was now a traitor and would never be able to return to his civilization. The only thing he could do was flee. If he ever got the chance, he would destroy his political enemy’s everything without hesitation and take revenge on the civilization that kept hunting him down.

Swoosh.

The sound of the door opening broke Troy’s train of thought. He hastily stood up and looked at Han Xiao with admiration.

“Your Excellency Black Star,” Troy hastily greeted respectfully and introduced himself, deliberately acting trepidatious.

“I’ve heard about you. You’re now a rebel. What do you want from me?” Han Xiao asked.

“Well…” Troy took a deep breath and used the sincere tone that he had practiced a hundred times to explain the situation in words he had prepared long beforehand.

Basically, he was saying that he was framed by his political enemy and misunderstood by his civilization. In order to protect himself, he could only resist and escape, which forced him to become a rebel. He wanted to join the Black Star Army and work for the army, in exchange for an opportunity to take refuge in the Shattered Star Ring.

“I see…” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and sized Troy up.

Suddenly, he seemed to have recalled something, and the look on his face became strange.

Chapter 812 - Stealing Leeks Makes Me Happy

Looking at Troy’s trepidatious and respectful expression, Han Xiao chuckled and asked, “So what you mean is, the reason you’re in this situation today is all because you were framed, and that you’re innocent?”

Troy swallowed his saliva and said, “I was tricked by my political enemy, they framed me for many crimes.”

Han Xiao gave a long “oh”, not expressing whether he believed Troy’s explanation and said, “So now you want to take refugee under my command and let me protect you?”

Troy said cautiously, “I won’t dare to ask for your protection, all I’m asking for is for you to allow me to follow the Black Star Army’s fleet and leave the Central Galaxy through the stargate. I’m wanted by a Star System civilization, I can’t use any stargates without anyone’s help.

Han Xiao laughed and shook his head. “All the civilizations in the Constellation Corridor are ruled by the dynasty, don’t you know I’m the dynasty’s ally? You’re now a wanted criminal of a civilization under the dynasty’s ruling, it’s already kind of me to not capture you right here, but you still want me to bear the risk and bring you to the Shattered Star Ring? All you have are words, yet you want me to help you for free… do I look like philanthropists to you?”

“No no, you’re mistaken.” Troy quickly waved his hands and said, “Although I do want to take refuge here, my intention to join the Black Star Army is sincere. Your rise in the Shattered Star Ring has spread across the universe, I’ve admired you for a very long time. If you don’t mind, I’m willing to work for you and be loyal to you in the future.”

“Oh?” Han Xiao placed his elbows on the table and his palms crossed before his nose, stared at Troy and said slowly, “You said you’re innocent, do you think I believe that? Your ambitions failed and you’re wanted to by a civilization, so you want me to back you up and use my name to pay the cost of your failure for you. Do you think there are such great things in the world?”

In fact, this guy was not innocent at all. In the years he ruled Sodrian, he secretly planned a lot of conspiracies to obtain more power. When these things got exposed, he became a rebel to the civilization. His political enemies did indeed exaggerate some of the things he did, but he was no saint either.

The situation Troy explained to Han Xiao was not completely untrue, he just changed some of the reasoning behind them and deliberately kept the factors regarding his own ambitions a secret, and did not tell the whole truth. He wanted to put the blame on others and make his crimes seem less severe, so he would look like he was forced and helpless, which he delusionally hoped would lower Han Xiao’s suspicion towards him.

However, this was completely ineffective to Han Xiao. Sodrian was the earliest novice planet in the Constellation Corridor, with so much information the players had dug up, Han Xiao knew what happened all too well. Troy could not hide it from him at all.

Furthermore, Han Xiao had searched through the forums and found a hidden mission in the Galaxy Chronicles recorded by the Constellation Corridor players — When Troy was retreating and fleeing, he arranged people to plant high energy explosives in the political building of Sodrian’s capital city that was more than enough to wipe out more than 10 streets. He completely ignored the civilian casualties and was extremely cruel. However, this triggered the players’ hidden mission and the trap was destroyed by the players. This was more than enough to prove that Troy was nothing but a cruel and heartless man who would have his revenge no matter the means and the unnecessary casualties.

Under the stare of Han Xiao’s eyes, Troy’s expression stiffened. He was anxious, if not because he had no other way out, he would not have taken such a desperate measure. He clenched his teeth, let go of all his pride and suddenly prone before Han Xiao — In the universally accepted cultural standards, this position represented complete obedience.

“With your position, who dares to lie to you! It’s my fault for not saying things clearly and causing your misunderstanding, I am sorry. Please save my life, I’m willing to forever work for you.”

Han Xiao curled his lips in his mind. He knew exactly what Troy was intending to do — it was nothing but an attempt to take refugee after making a huge mistake. Since the army was recruiting, he thought this was his opportunity so he intended to use sweet words to convince him.

If not because Troy had a special use to him, he would have let people capture Troy long ago to exchange for the bounty.

Han Xiao stood up, glanced at Troy’s back of the head and said, “I don’t need your loyalty, and I don’t need your appreciation even more. I’m too lazy to capture you, so I’ll take it as I’ve never seen you. Get out of my sights right now and don’t let me see you again, or else…”

Whoosh! The door opened and Hila walked in, she stared at Troy coldly and clearly signifying him to piss off.

Troy’s face was pressed onto the floor and his expression could not be seen. Only after two seconds did he stand up and patted his shirt as if he was patting away the non-existent dust. With his head down, his eyes were fixed onto the floor and he did not dare to look up at Han Xiao’s eyes. Under Hila’s sharp stare, he walked out of the room step by step silently with clenched fists and was escorted out of the subdivision.

After he left, Han Xiao’s expression relaxed and turned into an odd smile.

“I wonder if this will be of use in the future…”

The Great Technician Han had a motive to deliberately let Troy leave. As the main storyline NPC of one of the novice planets, Troy still had some storyline on him. According to how things out in the previous life, Troy would barely escape from the chase in the end.

Then, since he was a wanted man, he fled into the border of the Central Galaxy and survived there. Afterward, he was accepted by the Fallen Ark and became one of EsGod’s subordinates, but he did not even make it to the officer position. The players only noticed and recorded this because he was once the main storyline NPC of a novice planet.

The fact that an important NPC in the early stages became someone so insignificant in the later stages was like an easter egg to the players, which was why Han Xiao remembered Troy.

Therefore, before Han Xiao let Troy leave, he secretly planted a ward on him.

EsGod was immune to the Observer’s Mark, but Troy’s appearance gave Han Xiao a flash of insight — if Troy joined the Fallen Ark in the future like he did in the previous life, Han Xiao would be able to monitor EsGod’s movements.

Although he had no idea when and if this would work out, since it was not a significant plot, Han Xiao was casual about it. After all, he did not have any good way to deal with EsGod yet. It would be great if this ends up working, but it would not be a big deal even if it does not.

…

40 days passed very quickly.

Han Xiao stayed on Planet Gilman all along, waiting for the subdivision to recruit more people. During this time, he had been expanding his mechanical army every day, as well as using the new Ultimate Knowledge to slowly create mechanical lives. Starting with Psionic Prime, he now had 3,000 first-generation mechanical lives under his command…

There were a few reasons why he did not create more. Firstly, [King’s Mentor]’s cooldown used days as a unit, and this was the prerequisite ability of [Tinder Awakening].

Secondly, although [Tinder Awakening] could be used on multiple targets at the same time, its upper limit was not very high. Even at its maximum level, it could only be used on more than 10 targets at once. Furthermore, Han Xiao had discovered that if he used it on multiple targets at the same time, their initial level would not be as high compared to if he used it only on one target. The cost of this ability was the same be it single or multiple targets, so when his energy was spread amongst multiple targets, they naturally received lesser energy individually.

Thirdly… his body could not take it if he used it too frequently.

This had also made Han Xiao’s thoughts about developing a mechanical civilization more firm. The efficiency of creating mechanical lives was not high just with [Tinder Awakening]. His health and energy recovered fast, but stamina required rest to recover. In comparison, a fully developed mechanical civilization could provide him with a supply of soldiers at a much faster efficiency without him having to put in all these efforts on days on end.

In the past 40 days, the recruiting of the Planet Gilman subdivision had settled.

There were many Beyond Grade A organizations in the Central Galaxy, so Black Star Army’s appeal here was not as high as compared to back in the Shattered Star Ring. The Planet Gilman subdivision had only recruited a little more than 10 million new members and it was slowing down. Compared to the Beyond Grade A organizations in the Central Galaxy, this number was quite low. This was only the beginning for this subdivision.

Amongst the new members, about more than 4 million were players, which made up about 85% of all the players in the Constellation Corridor. Through the army’s benefits and the words of mouth on the forums, the majority of the Constellation Corridor players had rushed here to join.

In this more than 4 million players, most decided to become members of the mercenary department. There were two types of army members, one was the full member who obeyed the army’s orders, another was the semi-members who worked for the army but had generally complete freedom. Mercenaries were a typical example of the latter.

The mercenary system was lenient, and the mercenary department of the army did not violate the rules of galactic mercenaries. Most of the Constellation Corridor players were here for the benefits, so being mercenaries was a choice with more freedom. They basically had a very simple relationship with the army of doing things for the army in exchange for resources, this way their faction would not be locked.

Han Xiao was not surprised about this, the players in the other Star Field had just known his army, he knew that feelings needed time to develop.

He gave the Constellation Corridor players more than enough time to make their choices. Amongst the more than 4 million players, 700,000 accepted the Flickering World main storyline mission and requested to go to the Shattered Star Ring with the army.

The majority of the 700,000 players were normal players. The remaining millions of players decided to stay in their birth Star Field to continue exploring while watching how would things turn out for those that decided to go to the Shattered Star Ring.

Han Xiao was able to dig away 700,000 leeks just in the first batch, so he was quite satisfied with this.

Today was the day of departure. An enormous Black Star Army transport fleet was ready to leave, all the 700,000 players have already boarded the ships.

At this time, players from all the Star Fields were paying attention to this occasion from the broadcasts on the forums.

All the players were interested in the first time a player would cross a Star Field, this might be an example for them in the future when they get the chance to do the same. Therefore, this became the most-watched occasion ever since the Black Star Army’s creation, its popularity amongst the players had broken the record!

On the transport ships, the players chatted with excitement.

“I wonder what does it feel to travel across Star Fields, how will it be different from normal stargates?”

“Will the Shattered Star Ring players bully us?”

“Guys, do you think something fun will happen if we jump out of the ship in the stargate…”

“Guards! That’s the guy!”

Inside the command room of the main ship, Hila lead against the wall with her armed crossed, Aurora busily operated on the main pilot seat, and Feidin stood beside her and watched.

Hadavy sat on the sofa with a square-shaped blue crystal wine bottle in his hand, gulping down on the mercury colored wine inside that made him choke and his face blush. Wayne Cards were on the table, the rule was to drink if you lost. There was a pile of empty bottles beside his seat, opposite him was the speechless old man Aesop who was dragged here.

Ames stood behind the scenery window with hands behind her back and looked at the fleet around. With Han Xiao, Hila, and Aesop, these people she was close to accompanying her for the past more than a month holiday, she had quite a good time.

Han Xiao stood before the star map, the destination was set long ago. When everyone had boarded, he gave out an order to the entire fleet.

“Depart.”

Boom!

The thrusters shot out flames and the battleships took off.

“We’ve finally departed!” The many players on the ships were thrilled, the countless people watching on the forums were looking closely too.

The fleet slowly headed away from the Planet Gilman subdivision and accelerated. Carrying 700,000 leeks, it headed to the Shattered Star Ring.

Chapter 813 - Ames“ Reques

The Crimson Dynasty Military Shattered Star Ring Stargate Station, the Black Star Army transport ships rode out from the blue vortex stargate one after another, as the space energy covering their shields quickly dissipated.

"We're back." Inside the main ship's command room, Han Xiao exhaled.

Despite being prosperous and peaceful, the shadow of the universal civilizations always shrouded the Central Galaxy like a mountain, giving him an invisible sense of pressure. Although Shattered Star Ring was rural, he had been there for more than twenty years, and this was the army's headquarters; he felt calmer and secure there.

Ames walked to his side, looked out the universe outside the porthole, and said, "I've had quite a good time traveling with you guys for the past two months. Now we're home, I shall get going."

"What's the hurry? Come with us."

"Floating Dragon recently drifted to another Star Cluster. We're not on the way for you."

Han Xiao reluctantly nodded and said, "Alright then, I'll have my men prepare a spaceship for you. By the way, the preparations on the dynasty's side are almost complete, so I'll be departing very soon to explore the Flickering World. Do you want to come? There should be much new and interesting stuff there."

Ames waved and said, "That's the Crimson Dynasty's mission. I won't go."

Aesop rubbed his beard and interrupted them. "Yesterday, I had a new prophecy that's related to the Flickering World."

Another prophecy? Han Xiao's eyes sparkled and said with curiosity, "Old man, you've helped me with your prophecy ability again?"

"Er… let me explain. I did not help you particularly. It's just that those people who are close to me will have some kind of fate connection with me, and my ability can randomly sense what might happen to these people in the future. It's like a dream, very blurry, basically just a feeling.

"Yesterday, I sensed what might happen to you in the Flickering World…"

Then, Aesop paused and said in a very serious tone, "You'd better be careful about the Arcane Church."

The Arcane Church? Have they still not given up taking back the Evolution Cube? It does seem possible.

Han Xiao blinked and realized that Aesop did not continue. "Is that it? Don't you have any useful information like time and location or something?"

Aesop shrugged. "Things can change any time since the future is so far ahead. There's no accurate prophecy, just intuition."

"Got it. I'll keep a lookout and have people keep an eye on the movements of the Star Pupil Holy Race. If the Arcane Church wants to do something to me, Psyker will definitely be part of it."

Han Xiao nodded and patted Aesop's shoulder.

"Oh, by the way, one more thing." Aesop rubbed his beard. "I heard that some Ancient Ones members have been secretly asking around about you. A few of them seems to be interested in you."

Han Xiao looked at Aesop from head to toe and said with a doubtful tone, "Where did you hear that?"

"I used to be one of them. What's so weird about me having a few friends?" Aesop shrugged. "When I followed you to the dynasty's capital and met those dynasty allies, Ravenlaude told the other Ancient Ones about me. Now, those guys all know that a former member of the Ancient Ones is now with you and Ames, so some friends contacted me."

Han Xiao could not help but feel amazed. For someone this ancient like Aesop, both his connections and history were unfathomable. Somehow, Aesop could always obtain information that was extremely rare and inaccessible to most people.

"Who are the ones that are asking about me?"

"Manison, Sun Hunter, Void Overlord…" Aesop's voice suddenly got deeper and said with a soft voice, "And Thousand Shadows."

Other than Manison, Han Xiao did not have any contact with the first few Ancient Ones. Sun Hunter was a Cannon Master, and Void Overlord was a Void being, so Han Xiao had no idea why they were asking about him. However, when Aesop mentioned Thousand Shadows, Han Xiao's eyes narrowed immediately.

Back when they interrogated Thousand Shadows' Shadow Warriors, Aesop was the one who had helped. Aesop knew that Thousand Shadows had once had his eyes on Han Xiao, so he mentioned this to alert him.

"Maybe he still wants to capture me or something. He's in the Federation of Light's Star Field, so I can't do anything for the time being. I'll wait till I have the chance to deal with him." Han Xiao committed this matter to memory.

The mission [Prey] was still inactive. In the past, he did not know if Thousand Shadows had given up on him, but now, it seemed that this guy had yet to give up. However, he was no longer a Calamity Grade, so Thousand Shadows would not be able to capture him so easily.

This time, Ames suddenly said, "Black Star, I've been thinking about something recently, and I want to discuss it with you."

Han Xiao turned to look at Ames and captured a tint of hesitation on her face. This was very rare for Ames, so Han Xiao said curiously, "What do you want to discuss with me? Do you want to borrow money? Is fifty million Enaus enough?"

"Who's borrowing money from you? Do you think I'm that poor?" Ames's brow twitched slightly. "Actually… I've been thinking about Floating Dragon's development plan recently…"

Both Aesop and Han Xiao's eyes widened immediately. Their faces were filled with complete shock.

"What happened to you? Is that something you should be thinking about?"

"Am I this unreliable to you?" Ames said with resignation. "I'm Floating Dragon's leader. What's so strange about me thinking for my organization occasionally?"

"It wouldn't be strange for others, but for you… it is indeed strange! Who doesn't know how laz… ahem, carefree you are?"

Han Xiao changed his words at the last minute and hid his giggle. Ames had never thought about developing her faction, and her slacker image was already deeply rooted in everyone's heart. God only knew why she suddenly changed her mind.

"Stop kidding, I'm serious this time." Ames gave Han Xiao a glare.

She had never been passionate about growing her organization, but that had lasted for too long, and she felt like it was time to make a change—especially after how she witnessed Han Xiao leading the rise of the Black Star Army for the past ten or so years with her own eyes. With such a positive example, it made her feel a tiny bit interested in growing her own forces. She wanted to imitate Han Xiao and operate Floating Dragon Island better. It had nothing to do with her ambition or anything of that sort; Ames mainly saw it as an interesting thing to do.

However, Ames was never going to admit to Han Xiao that the things he did were what piqued her interest.

"Alright then, I'll pretend it's serious…" Seeing the not so friendly glint in Ames' eyes, Han Xiao tried his best not to laugh and waved his hands. "Okay, okay. It's serious. So, you want to develop Floating Dragon. What do you want to discuss with me?"

Ames stayed silent for a while before slowly saying, "Floating Dragon has been drifting in the universe for a very long time. I want to make it stay in one place."

Han Xiao pondered for a while before nodding.

"Yo, that's quite a good idea. With a fixed location for the headquarters, it'll be easier for people to feel confident about Floating Dragon. As a Beyond Grade A, you have an extraordinary amount of appeal. As long as you can turn the image that the Shattered Star Ring Supers have about you around and show that you're serious about expanding, the number of people who are willing to work for you will definitely be tens and hundreds of times more than now.

Han Xiao caressed his chin, sized Ames up, and joked, "Plus, you're pretty, so your appeal might be even stronger than mine."

Ames' expression became odd. She stared at Han Xiao and said in a shocked and doubtful tone, "You actually think I'm pretty‽"

"What's so strange about that?" Han Xiao was confused. He had no idea why Ames had such an exaggerated response.

Han Xiao shook his head and got back to the topic. "Have you decided on where Floating Dragon should stay?"

"That's what I wanted to discuss with you…" Ames calmed her emotions. She seemed to hesitate for half a second before slowly saying, "I'm planning to have Floating Dragon stay at Planet Aquamarine. What do you think?"

Han Xiao was stunned in place.

"No?" Ames raised her brows and gave a faint smile. "More than ten years ago, your mother planet faced a disaster. Through the galactic media channels, you announced that Floating Dragon was interested in Planet Aquamarine. Using Floating Dragon's name, Planet Aquamarine has received a lot of investments and funding from a ton of financial groups and has been developing very well. Even Godora allowed Floating Dragon's control over Planet Aquamarine… You're not going to go back on your word, are you?"

Han Xiao shook his head with resignation. During that time, the Black Star Mercenary Group had still been a tiny organization that belonged to Floating Dragon. Only through using Floating Dragon Island's name had he been able to give Planet Aquamarine the opportunity to so quickly step into the galaxy.

After he left Floating Dragon, the Black Star Army had taken over the management of Planet Aquamarine. Floating Dragon did not say anything about it, so he thought Ames did not mind. Unexpectedly, Ames suddenly brought it up.

"Since Planet Aquamarine is a planet ruled by my Floating Dragon on paper…" Ames' smiled brightly. Han Xiao's troubled expression made her very delighted. She smiled and said, "It should be justifiable for me to choose Planet Aquamarine as the location of my headquarters, shouldn't it?"

"Are you going to chase my people away from my mother planet?" Han Xiao was surprised. Planet Aquamarine was the foundation of his seat in the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference. There was no way he would give it to anyone else.

"Am I such a horrible person to you?" Ames said with a displeased tone. "Don't worry, just like your army's headquarters, Floating Dragon Island will just be parked outside the planet's atmosphere and will not interfere with Planet Aquamarine's government. That's why I'm discussing it with you."

Han Xiao's eyes spun around. If that was the case, not only would it not be a bad thing—it would be a great thing.

In the time that the army headquarters had stayed around Planet Golden Gate, it had brought Planet Golden Gate an almost unparalleled chance for development. Its economy, security, and many other aspects had improved tremendously since then, and it had become a beyond top tier colonial planet of Godora.

If Ames did the same, Planet Aquamarine's development speed would rocket instantly as well and indirectly receive tons of resources. Furthermore, with a Beyond Grade A as its neighbor, Planet Aquamarine would be massively safer, which would free Han Xiao of many worries.

With some thoughts flashing through Han Xiao's mind, he understood what Ames was thinking—the reason for her choosing Planet Aquamarine as the headquarters of the Floating Dragon was much more than it just being 'justifiable'. He sighed and said, "Looks like I'm going to owe you another favor."

"Good that you know." Ames smiled.

"Alright, I agree. I'll have the army subdivision at Planet Aquamarine work with you. Sylvia and the others will take care of the details…"

"Hmm, I'll let Jenny settle it…"

Speaking of Jenny, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something. "By the way, about this, have you told Jenny yet?"

"No."

The two of them stared at each other and stayed silent for a moment.

So, this is indeed a sudden idea… Han Xiao sighed. He really thought that Ames had seriously considered this, but as it turned out, this was exactly her style.

"Ahem, now that that's settle, I shall get going." Ames coughed with her fist covering her lips to hide her awkwardness before turning around and leaving.

Han Xiao watched as Ames and Aesop boarded the small spaceship and split off from the fleet, turning into a stream of light. He then ordered the fleet to continue advancing back to the army's headquarters.

The task of traveling across Star Fields was completed. Han Xiao opened the forums to see what the players' responses were.

When they just passed through the stargate, the more than seven hundred thousand players inside the fleet did not really react to it much, but instead, the Shattered Star Ring players had bigger responses. It was because the players from another Star Field had come to their territory, and they could not wait to meet them.

The first example of players crossing to another Star Field had extraordinary significance. The players from the various Star Fields recorded this moment in their Chronicle posts.

"Galaxy Calendar: Year 705, March 18th.

"Led by the Black Star Army, more than seven hundred thousand players left Constellation Corridor and arrived in the Shattered Star Ring. This was the first example of players successfully traveling to another Star Field in the entire Galaxy."

The recruitment of players in the Constellation Corridor this time went quite smoothly, and Han Xiao knew exactly why—there were not many factions that the players could choose in Version 3.0, and he knew what the players needed. Therefore, the Black Star Army was a top-notch faction in this stage and had excellent appeal.

As the players' level increased, the number of powerful factions they would be able to choose would increase, including the three universal civilizations and beyond Star Cluster civilizations. By then, the army would not be able to recruit players as easily. This was unavoidable; there would always be people who wanted to try out new factions for a new experience.

This was also one of the reasons Han Xiao kept expanding his army and increasing its competitiveness. From a certain perspective, it was a good thing to have chosen the rural Shattered Star Ring as his headquarters as there were fewer direct competitors there.

…

After traveling for more than ten days, the fleet finally returned to the army's headquarters.

Millions of Shattered Star Ring players were gathered in the army headquarters, looking forward to meeting the foreign Constellation Corridor players. The majority of them were there to rubberneck.

The seven hundred thousand Constellation Corridor players looked at the army headquarters satellite outside the porthole, their hearts filled with excitement.

After staying on the ships with anticipation for so many days, they had finally arrived.

Chapter 814 - Players: I Don“t Want To Socialize. Han Xiao: No, You Do.

The transport spaceships landed on the headquarters’ docks one after another.

As the more than 700,000 Constellation Corridor players stepped onto the headquarters’ grounds, the millions of army players quickly came. The harbor and the hall were all filled with players. Luckily, the army headquarters satellite was large enough to carry billions of members.

This was the first time players from different Star Fields met outside of professional competitions. Be it the Chinese, Russians, or the Australian players, they all sized each other up in this first meeting.

When comparing the two sides, the difference was obvious.

The equipment on the more than 700,000 Constellation Corridor players varied broadly in terms of color and models, it looked quite messy.

On the millions of army players’ side, the color of their equipment and weapons were mainly black and silver. Although their equipment models differed, they were not as messy as the Constellation Corridor players. Most of the army players used the few sets of widely recognized army combat armors with the best performances, they looked like an elite military force and looked neat. The individual tiny differences between them were not that obvious. Furthermore, their equipment all had the Black Star Army symbol on them.

After getting down from the ship, some of the more than 700,000 newcomers greeted and talked to the others, some curiously observed and looked around the headquarters, and some went to communicate with the army NPCs. Generally, they scattered around and familiarized themselves with the headquarters.

Vodka and Captain Old Henry brought along their guild officers and looked for the guild leaders of the large Chinese guilds.

While the Long Sky club was in their rented base in the Black Star Army headquarters, the leaders of Sky Territory and Ancient Dynasty, Jade Green Sky and Morning Snow Twilight Frost came to meet the Russian guild officers.

“It’s good to see you, my Chinese friends. I’m the vice-president of Power And Glory, Vodka.”

Vodka and his friends introduced themselves.

“Good to see you too,” Jade Green Sky smiled and said, the translation function relayed the meaning of his words to Vodka and the others.

They chatted casually for a while before getting down to business.

“The people above told us to build a guild branch here. Some time ago, the guilds on your side and our side have already contacted each other. The people above said that your guilds would provide us with some help in the early stages…”

Morning Snow Twilight Frost smiled and said, “That’s right. If I may ask, how many guild members did you bring here to build your guild branch?”

“I brought 12 guild officers, 150 official members, and 1,200 external members,” Vodka said.

The representatives of the other guilds said their numbers too, all were around 1,000. Being an officer or an official member of the large professional guilds was a proper job, they received salaries for playing the game. As for the external players, some of them were casual volunteers and some were similar to studios, they received bonuses from the clubs as well.

“For the thousands of you to start guild branches here, the road ahead is quite tough. You have to start from zero in every aspect. You will need to purchase all kinds of tools, items, carriers, which all require money; it’s the same for equipment repairs, enhancements, and renewals; building your bases is quite costly as well, and don’t forget about the traveling fees to do missions too. Furthermore, you need to search for channels that can provide stable streams of Experience, materials, and money. The earlier you turn losses into profit, the better, right?”

Vodka and the rest nodded continuously. To them, operating the guilds was a job, they were here on a mission. Their job performance depended on how well they operated the guild branch.

Morning Snow Twilight Frost secretly exchanged looks with Jade Green Sky, smiled and said slowly,

“Some time ago, we completed the Black Star Army’s main storyline mission [Secret War], many of us obtained the army exclusive honorable title [Secret Warrior]. Anyone with this title can enjoy a 10% off discount on any purchases within the army. Of course, you guys don’t have that treatment.”

Only the army players who took part in the secret war had such privileges, this was a limited time only title, the players who joined later had no chance to obtain it anymore.

These guilds who had just come from another Star Field knew about this long ago through the forums, of course, they were jealous.

“You mean…”

“Yes, we can provide a channel for you to enjoy that discount. We will purchase products from the army at 10% off, and we will sell them to your two guilds at 3% off. Large guilds like us have more than enough funds and Contribution Points to fulfill your mass purchase needs… Of course, you can also look for normal players and ask them to help, but there’s a risk of getting tricked.”

Vodka did not give a response. It was clear that Dynasty and Long Sky were planning to profit from the price difference. As the manager of this guild branch, he had to be calculative.

Compared to purchasing resources from these Chinese clubs, he was more willing to work with reliable normal Chineses players. He could lend their title to purchase at 10% off and give them some resources from time to time, which would be much cheaper than a mere 3% off.

However, Morning Snow Twilight Frost saw right through them and knew exactly what these Russian guild representatives were thinking. He smiled faintly and said, “If you purchase from us, we will provide help to you in other ways too.

“In what ways?”

“For example, quality mission resources, hidden NPC intel, if you accept some kind of high difficulty mission, we can provide manpower to help you, also… we can ensure your safety.”

“Safety?” Vodka’s expression changed. “What do you mean?”

“The Shattered Star Ring is the territory which us Chinese clubs have been operating in since many versions ago. The dozens of large guilds and many more medium to smaller guilds have split most of the quality resources here. As outsiders who suddenly arrived to build your guilds, I can’t guarantee no other guilds will have conflicts with you. And if it just so happens that you guys will have to fight guild wars with other local guilds, since you’re just a guild branch and have very limited manpower, you will be at quite a massive disadvantage.”

One of the goals those guilds which belonged to clubs had was to provide resources for their professional players, and the large guilds of the various nations were each others’ biggest competitors. There was no way the Chinese clubs here would watch other professional clubs peacefully operate their guild branches here. Their higher-ups have already informed these guilds to think of some ways to restraint the developments of those competitors.

No matter how rich these foreign clubs were, if there were always people disrupting their missions, robbing their resources, and chasing down and killing their members, they would not be able to grow and would always make losses.

What Morning Snow Twilight Frost said was a reminder to Vodka and the others, saying that if they did not pay some “protection fees” to them, there were more than enough people here that could find their troubles.

Of course, the Chinese clubs were not too excessive about it. After all, players from all around the world were watching the situation of these first batch of players who have traveled to another Star Field. As the host, they could not openly bully these newcomers who had absolutely no foundations here. Even though they were competitors, they had to care about how much attention this matter attracted. They did not want the other countries to have a horrible image of the Chinese professional circle, so they still gave a little bit of discount and help, so that it would look like the foreign clubs did not make too much loss on the surface.

The normal players, of course, would not be targeted. However, the clubs of the various nations were first and foremost, commercial businesses. In order for their business to bloom, they had to rely on the glory of their professional players. While they had to make profits, they also had the hopes of the players on their shoulders. Professional players fought in competitions, and they, the official guilds had to fight in the game as well. If the Chinese clubs went to another Star Field to start their guild branches, they would be treated very similarly as well, restricted in many aspects.

Vodka and the others exchanged looks then agreed with resignation. Deep down, however, they did not yield so easily. They secretly decided to look for chances to work with normal players without letting the Chinese clubs know, so they could pay lesser protection fees.

On the other side at the guild base of the Temple of God guild.

The guild president of the other two clubs, Jupiter and Cowherd Star were having a meeting with the Kangaroo Boxing guild branch president, Captain Old Henry, and the other Australian guild representatives. They were discussing the exact same thing as what Long Sky and Dynasty were…

The four largest clubs had already made agreements behind the curtains to do the same thing. Compared to their plans, this bit of protection fees were just minor profits.

…

To the more than 700,000 newcomers, the army headquarters was their new main city.

While they were familiarising themselves with the environment, Han Xiao had returned to the office of the Army Commander. The officers who had been managing the headquarters for the past two months were reporting to him.

Han Xiao leaned on his chair and looked at the group of officers in front of him.

“How’s the army doing while I wasn’t here?”

Sylvia took a step forward and reported, “We have digested the gains we made through the last expansions, as well as successfully linked with the business channels of the various allies in the Shattered Star Ring. The Black Star Army’s current business range covers more than 10 industries, forming a complete trading system, intelligence system, transportation system, and many others.”

Reynold said with a deep voice, “The Logistics Department has built 126 machinery workshop factories in various locations, making rushed orders of more satellite bases. According to the army’s future blueprint, we will continue to build more divisions in all the seven Star Clusters and expand our forces.”

Herlous nodded and said, “Due to the increase in the number of members and the size of our forces, the army’s fleet is expanding as well. The Logistics Departments already have a lot of things on their hands that are yet to be completed, so I made orders with the financial groups we’re working with and there’re new batches of battleships being built every day.”

Han Xiao nodded. These were all things he told them to do before he left. He then asked, “Anything else?”

Sylvia said a little awkwardly, “Erm… our funds are running out…”

Han Xiao’s eyes widened. “We have so many businesses, including the resource planet mining rights from many civilizations, how are we lacking money?”

“The cost of expansion was too high. The current maintenance fee of the army is extremely costly, plus the Logistics Department has been producing at full capacity all the time, which is reducing our funds at quite a terrifying speed. Furthermore, it’s the off-season for trading lately, many of the financial groups working with us have seen decreased sales, so the profit period of the mining of resource planets is extended. Hence, our capital flow is a little tight…”

“Did you not look for the Crimson Dynasty and the Purple Crystal Civilization’s men and asked them to send funds? Didn’t I tell you, that you can look for them whenever we’re lacking funds if it’s caused by normal operation?” Han Xiao asked.

“I did…” Sylvia replied with resignation, “They did not reject, they just said that they would only do so when you tell them personally. They only recognize you.”

“Alright then, I’ll contact them later.” Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. These two only recognized him as their ally, which was unavoidable. Although his army was enormous, its true core was still him.

“One more thing. You told me to gather the teams needed to explore the Flickering World, I’ve already done so. They’re split into many fleets and are now in standby at the various sub-bases in Colton, ready to depart anytime,” Sylvia said.

“Good, Zoel will be hurrying me to get going very soon.”

Han Xiao gave Sylvia a very satisfied look.

The three of them then reported some of the details. Seeing that Han Xiao had no other orders, they relaxed and started casually chatting.

“Why didn’t I see Lagi? I’ve returned and my vice-captain isn’t here to see me, what’s he been busy doing?” Han Xiao wondered.

“Hehe, he’s been busy every day, either busy playing cards or busy sleeping!”

Sylvia felt angry whenever Lagi’s name was brought up. He then gave Herlous a stare and said, “You too. He has been dragging you to play cards every day, why don’t you ever reject him?!”

“What do you know about fun between card-mates?” Herlous snorted.

“Don’t mention playing cards in front of me.” Han Xiao complained. “How has Lagi been teaching Tomar?”

Tomar was a protagonist character he brought back, and Han Xiao did not forget about him.

“I heard he’s learning very fast.”

Han Xiao nodded, then looked at Reynold and said with anticipation, “What about my godson? Has he shown any special talent in terms of machinery?”

“Err… no,” Reynold told the truth. “But he’s learning very fast too, he’s quite talented on the path of the machinery.”

Sigh, I wonder if this will help in getting [Perfect Mechanical Sense]… Han Xiao waved his hand with resignation.

“I’ll bring him out in a few days times, that’ll be all.”

The three of them nodded and left the room. Han Xiao took out his communicator and contacted the Purple Crystal Civilization and the Crimson Dynasty, successfully requested for funds.

Zoel also reminded him that the Crimson Dynasty was done preparing their exploration team, and told Han Xiao to lead his people to the Flickering World’s Dawn Star Cluster sometime soon and rendezvous with the dynasty’s army. By then, they would officially start to explore the Flickering World.

After settling the official matters, Han Xiao then looked at how the 700,000 new players were doing in the army’s headquarters.

These Constellation Corridor players were still familiarizing themselves with the headquarters’ structure and map. Han Xiao had noticed something — although these more than 700,000 players have already traveled to another Star Field, they were still posting on their Constellation Corridor forums page out of habit.

Although the players of both sides communicated quite a lot on the forums, only a minority of players interacted with each other in the army’s headquarters. Despite all of them being army members, there were still obvious differences between the players of the two Star Fields. They were not completely avoiding each other, but they were basically playing on their owns.

“This won’t do…” Han Xiao shook his head.

He pondered, then quickly wrote two Faction Missions and gave them out through the faction interface to all the army players.

_________________________________________________________________________________

[[Teach a Recruit] (Repeatable)]

Mission Introduction: The most recent expansion of the Black Star Army has brought back new warriors from another Star Field. The senior members of the army can choose to teach the new members, helping them to get familiar with the tasks in the army quickly.

Mission Requirements: Team up with one or more new warriors (players) from another Star Field and complete any one army mission.

Reward: 100 ~ 300 Black Star Army Contribution Points.

Remarks: Only players who have been in the army for more than a year can accept this mission.

[Consult A Veteran] (Repeatable)

Mission Introduction: As a new member of the Black Star Army, the veterans are the best people to learn from. Go and consult them, let them help you to know more about the army.

Mission Requirements: Team up with one or more senior warriors (players who have been in the army for more than a year) and complete any one army mission]

Reward: 100 ~ 300 Black Star Army Contribution Points.

Remarks: Only players who have been in the army for less than a year can accept this mission.

_________________________________________________________________________________

“Hehehe…” Looking at the two missions he had just distributed, Han Xiao giggled mischievously.

After existing for three versions, the army’s Contribution Point had already become a key resource that was just as important as Enaus, no amount was too much for anyone.

He did not want to players of the two Star Fields to form their own circles. Those club guilds were commercial competitors with each other so there was nothing he could do, but there was definitely something he could do for those normal players. Since they were all here at his headquarters, they were all leeks in the same field. He needed those new and old members to interact with each other and play together.

The social aspect of a game was a key factor in the players’ game experience!

Since players of both sides were so shy and did not interact with their foreign friends, Han Xiao decided to lure them to socialize.

This would be beneficial for the Constellation Corridor to embrace the army’s system. Not only would they be able to adapt to the new environment quicker, but the “Constellation Corridor” tag on those players would also slowly disappear and they would soon just think of themselves as “army players”.

This way, the personal connection between the players would become another reason for them to stay in the army. Using players to “attract” players, indirectly enhancing the appeal and sense of belonging of the faction!

Han Xiao suddenly patted his forehead and his expression became weird.

“Why does it feel similar to the oldest profession…”

Chapter 815 - Socializing Mad Genius

As Han Xiao distributed the two new missions, notifications popped up on the interfaces of all the army players.

“Doing missions with new members gives bonus Faction Contribution Points? That sounds like a great deal.”

“Any mission? Does running errands count?”

“For sure, even using the army Dungeon Crystals counts.”

“These can be repeated? Awesome!”

“Must team up with players who have been in the faction for less than a year, so only the new players born on Planet Deirdre in Version 3.0?”

“The Constellation Corridor players count too, right? Didn’t they just join the army?”

The two faction missions became a faction event and stirred up a wave among the players.

Han Xiao’s missions were not compulsory. He used the reward to lure them instead. Most of the players would not miss such a rare opportunity to farm Contribution Points. It was just teaming up with new players; they had nothing to lose and a lot to gain.

Maybe some players could not be bothered, but most players were willing to grab this opportunity.

As long as most people were deliberately teaming up with new members and not just with their inner circle friends, they would have taken the first step to socializing with players from other Star Fields, and Han Xiao’s goal would be achieved.

When playing together, they would build some kind of relationship in one way or another. At the very least, adding each other to their friend lists would be common.

The two missions were a set targeted at different groups. [Teach a Recruit]’s purpose was to make the older members willing to team up with the new members, and [Consult a Veteran]’s aim was to make the new members look for old members to help them.

The Constellation Corridor players were not the only ones considered as ‘recruits’. The players from the Version 3.0 novice planet, Planet Deirdre, were also new members of the army. The Shattered Star Ring old members would, of course, be more willing to play with them, so [Consult a Veteran] ensured that those foreign players would look for the senior army members as well.

Compared to those senior members of the army, these new members needed the Contribution Points more and were more passionate about this mission.

Secretly guided by Han Xiao, the situation in the army headquarters changed very quickly. The areas where players gathered became boisterous, and groups of people asked to team up in the public channel.

“LF1M[1] new army member above level 100, no Pugilists. All old army members here. Let’s do missions together to farm Contribution Points.”

“Level 88 Cannon Master, newbie here, need an old member to team up with to farm Contribution Points!”

“Thirty-man team here, planning to enter the [Secret War—Protection Warfare] dungeon. LF4M high-level Constellation Corridor players above Grade C+. Tank and disables needed, no damage dealers! Again, no damage dealers! Come quick!”

The interactions between players immediately became frequent.

The foreign players entered different army player teams and quickly mixed in with the environment. As the players were waiting for the Flickering World main storyline, they were mainly farming dungeons, which indirectly increased the sales of Dungeon Crystals.

The players had no suspicion of these two missions—to the players, it was very normal for the army to encourage the old members to teach the new members since a group of new members had just arrived from another Star Field.

“Hey, Chinese pal, do you know when this event will end?”

“Who cares? Just farm it as much as possible.”

“You guys don’t seem surprised at all. In our Star Field, group activities like this are very rare.”

“Haha, this happens very frequently in our army. I’ve already taken part in many large missions that had hundreds of thousands of participants. You’ll get used to it soon. This is a specialty of the Shattered Star Ring.”

As the normal players were teaming up, so were the club guilds. The four biggest Chinese guilds were overjoyed.

They had just made the price difference agreement with the foreign guilds, and this mission popped up right after. The Russian and Australian guild players were all recruits, so these guild representatives came back right after they had just left.

Even the faction was helping them!

After monitoring for a while, Han Xiao nodded and was rather satisfied with the impact he had made. This was a good start to make the players from different Star Fields mix together.

This would largely increase the efficiency of communication between the players from two sides and was beneficial for the faction.

He planned to keep these two missions active for some time.

They would have to explore the Flickering World very soon, which would have countless missions, so this mission would encourage the players from two sides to work together.

Closing the forums, Han Xiao left the office and returned to his bedroom.

His bedroom in the army had a very minimalist layout. The walls were metallic, and there was a window on the ceiling that looked right into the vast universe. A large black bed sat in the middle of the room, with a bookshelf, fridge, automatic cooker, waste bin, and other simple items beside the wall. The one plant pot in the corner of the wall grown by Han Xiao personally gave this cold and boring looking room a sense of liveliness.

Han Xiao took off his clothes and took a shower. He then took out a hand full of special grade nutrition pastes of different flavors and casually gulped them down. This thing recovered stamina extremely quickly, and it was not cheap.

Beyond Grade As basically did not need to sleep or eat at all, but he decided to retain his habit as a human. The increase in strength and change in the race would make beings look at the world in a different way. He did not need to rest, but he wanted to remind himself he was still human.

Due to the astonishing control that Beyond Grade As had over their bodies, there was no way for Han Xiao to fall asleep naturally. He could only control his brain to enter a rest state.

Since travelling to the Central Galaxy, this was the first time he had slept.

Han Xiao lay on the bed. Before sleeping, his consciousness entered the quantum network and told Phillip, “I’m sleeping. Call me up if anything. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, master, hum…” Phillip replied.

…

After sleeping for a night, Han Xiao’s eyes opened exactly on time. He came out from under the blanket, washed up, took off his pajamas, and donned his black robe, once again recovering to the image of Black Star.

The first thing he did was open the forums. Due to the team-up missions, more and more new members of the army had become active on the Shattered Star Ring page and interacted with the Chinese players.

Han Xiao noticed a new pinned post—it was the new episode of Galaxy Times.

“They should mention the Star Field migration…”

Han Xiao opened it up.

After the familiar opening, the two hosts shared what interesting things were happening around the various Star Fields. They soon mentioned the first batch of players to travel to another Star Field.

“Not long ago, the renowned NPC faction of the Shattered Star Ring, the Black Star Army, provided the Constellation Corridor players a way to go to the Shattered Star Ring. Based on statistics, there are a total of 713,000 players who chose to leave with the Black Star Army, completing the first known event of any player traveling to another Star Field.

“In Version 2.0, the Black Star Army was the guiding faction to lead the Shattered Star Ring players to the galaxy. Now, they have once again guided the players of another Star Field to cross Star Fields. Maybe this is a signal—in the next version, the players might be able to cross Star Fields on a large scale and go to different areas freely!

“So far, this is how the activity areas of the players have developed: Version 1.0, novice planet; Version 2.0, entering the galaxy; Version 3.0, exploring the Star Cluster… The activity range of the players has been expanding every version. Initially, we thought that the players would be exploring their birth Star Field mainly in the next version, but the Black Star Army has given us new ideas. Due to the theme of Galaxy, the players of the various Star Fields will interact sooner or later. Therefore, according to this trend, we can speculate that the next version will be the stage where players can freely cross Star Fields.”

Han Xiao shook his head and smiled as he finished watching the show. This speculation was very logical, but Galaxy Times was only half right.

In the next version, the players would indeed be able to cross to another Star Fields on a large scale. However, unlike what Galaxy Times had speculated, the players would gather in the Flickering World instead of freely going to different areas.

Galaxy Times misguided the players, which was unavoidable. Other than Han Xiao, no players knew that the Flickering World would be the main stage of the next version.

…

“The players who are following me to the Flickering World still don’t know how much of an advantage they’ve gained.”

After looking at the forums for half an hour, only then did Han Xiao start to do other things. He patrolled around the army headquarters before heading to the Logistics Department.

When he entered Reynold’s office, he saw Nero, who was buried in the mountain of books.

“Godfather!” As soon as Nero looked up, his deep and dark eye bags were clearly visible. Realizing that it was Han Xiao, joy bloomed on his exhausted face. He immediately threw away the theory book in his hands and dashed into Han Xiao’s arms.

Looking at the terrifying amount of homework Reynold had given, Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.

This is almost on the level of child abuse…

Scolding Reynold in his mind, Han Xiao patted Nero’s head and said, “Come, I’m taking you out.”

“Really‽” Nero was so overjoyed and surprised that his tears almost gushed out.

When he left Planet Aquamarine, Nero thought that he had followed his godfather out to play. To his absolute shock, there was an infinite amount of homework that he could never finish waiting for him!

Given Reynold’s personality, the thing he was best at was forceful education. In the past two months, Nero felt like he was in living hell, and seeing Han Xiao was like seeing an angel who had come to save him—he could finally escape this endless misery!

“I promised you, right?” Han Xiao smiled. Actually, the main goal was not to take Nero sightseeing but to go to the Tyla Civilization, which Harrofal had been part of, and search for the set of wormhole travel data back from when EsGod’s doppelganger entered it.

Other than Nero, Han Xiao only took Hila, Aurora, and Feidin along. They took the extremely quick Blacklight Stealth, so it would not take long for a return trip and would not delay the Flickering World mission.

As Harrofal had been killed by EsGod’s subordinate long ago, the chances of finding the wormhole data were very slim, which was why Han Xiao brought his two lucky mascots—Feidin and Nero—to offset his luck.

After all, those who believed in luck were… the unluckiest ones.

…

The Blacklight Stealth flew through the stargate and did not make any stops along the way. Not many days later, Han Xiao and the others arrived at one of the Tyla Civilization’s governance planets to visit the high-level mechanic school that Harrofal had been part of.

With Han Xiao’s identity, as long as his intentions were not hostile, he was welcomed as a guest by all the civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring… except the Klent Kingdom, who had been cursing him every day, and the Star Pupil Holy Race, who had been secretly sticking needles into his voodoo doll.

This mechanic school was government-based and raised many Mechanic talents for the Tyla Civilization. The school was vast and magnificent.

The principal was already waiting at the entrance of the school with others. Han Xiao was met with a warm welcome the moment he arrived.

“Your Excellency Black Star, it’s our honor to have you.” The principal smiled brightly.

“You’re too kind.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Please, follow me.” Mechanical hoverboards arrived as the principal raised his arm. These were all public carriers inside the school.

Han Xiao stepped onto the hoverboard and followed the principal to head to the guest room, chatting and laughing along the way.

They passed through the school, and to Han Xiao’s surprise, they attracted a lot of attention.

It seemed like some students had recognized him and spread the message out, leading to groups of students following behind them on mechanical hoverboards and watching them from afar.

Han Xiao looked behind him and said with surprise, “These are all students of this school, right? Why are they following behind us?”

The principal said with resignation, “Your Excellency Black Star, as you know, this is a mechanic school. All the students here are Mechanic class Supers…”

“And?”

“Ahem, you don’t seem to know your significance in the hearts of the Mechanic class students…”

Han Xiao suddenly understood. He then looked back and realized that the students behind him were all filled with excitement, surprise, and admiration as they looked at him. It was almost worshipping.

He was the one and only Beyond Grade A Mechanic in the Shattered Star Ring, so his position was even more special in the eyes of the Mechanic Supers. He was basically the top authority of the Mechanics in the Shattered Star Ring. His visit to this school caused a sensation among the students.

The principal smiled and said, “Your Excellency Black Star, why don’t you host a lecture here and teach them a tiny bit of your infinite wisdom on the path of the machinery. What do you think?”

“Hmm…” Han Xiao thought about it and did not reject it. He waved his hand and said, “I’ll see to it, if this trip goes smoothly.”

“Is there a goal for this visit?” the principal asked. Han Xiao only requested to visit and had yet to tell him his goal.

“Harrofal was my friend. I’m here to look for a set of data he had left behind.”

The principal was stunned for a moment. “Oh, him… alas, some time ago, the school was attacked, and he was killed by a group of kidnappers. He was an amazing researcher, and regretfully, we lost a crucial talent.”

“Those killers were EsGod’s subordinates. I’ve already avenged him.”

After a moment’s silence, the principal suddenly asked, “Did those EsGod subordinates you spoke of kidnap him because of that set of data you mentioned?”

This was not difficult to deduce, so Han Xiao was not surprised. He glanced at him and nodded.

“Yes. When Harrofal was doing wormhole research, I visited him many times. One time, we were attacked by the DarkStar leader, and I was forced to fight an EsGod doppelganger. However, back then, I was no match for it. Only thanks to Harrofal’s help was I able to lure the EsGod doppelganger into a wormhole and banish it. What I want is that set of location data for that wormhole.”

The wormhole cluster of the Taralam Star Cluster was the center of the Shattered Star Ring. The teleportation location of every unstable wormhole was random, unlike stargates, which had a fixed destination. Also, the chance of those random destinations repeating was infinitely close to zero, so finding that same wormhole would do nothing. Only the recorded coordinates data would be useful.

The principal shook his head. “When Harrofal was kidnapped, all the wormhole detectors in his lab were taken away, every single one of them.”

“He should’ve recorded the data into the internal database of your school. I hope that you can give me the authority to search for it.”

“Er… the database consisting of the research data is highly confidential. I can only allow outsiders to browse it when it’s approved by the upper echelons of the civilization… I’m not even sure if Harrofal backed up that data. Also, there are too many sets of wormhole data he recorded. If you don’t recall the date and time, we won’t know which set of data you’re looking for…”

“Then please notify the upper echelons of the Tyla Civilization for me,” Han Xiao said with a deep voice.

Internal databases that had something to do with the government definitely had extremely strong virtual defense measures. As there were still hopes of obtaining the data through a just method, he did not want to use Virtual Intrusion and make a Star Cluster his enemy.

As a Beyond Grade A, he could not always do things sneakily. Furthermore, he still had no idea what was so important about the set of wormhole data that EsGod mentioned.

[1] LFxM is a common term in MMOs meaning Looking For x More player(s).

Chapter 816 - Mechanic Class Top Mentor

The group of them entered the school’s central building. The Mechanic students were not allowed to enter, so they loitered around outside for a while and gradually left one after another.

Han Xiao and the others came to the principal’s guest room. A bionic mechanical assistant secretary brought them some drinks. The principal invited them to sit. “Your Excellency Black Star, please wait for a moment. I’ll relay your request to my superiors.”

Han Xiao nodded and watched the principal leave. The group waited in the room.

Nero leaned on the window and curiously looked at the scenery in the school. Small mechanical islands hovered in the sky, metal buildings in yellow and blue stood tall on the ground, students crossed between the buildings riding mechanical skateboards, and the red, yellow, and green forests waved with the wind. The alloy buildings coexisted with the artificial greenery, forming a harmonious color tone. It had a special sense of beauty.

“This place looks so different from Planet Aquamarine. It’s so beautiful.” Everything was fresh to Nero.

“This is nothing. The dynasty school at the Crimson Dynasty’s mother planet is much more magnificent than this.” Han Xiao chuckled. He had brought Nero out not just to rub some luck from him but also to broaden Nero’s knowledge.

“Really? I want to see that.” Nero was really interested.

“I’ll take you there if there’s a chance.” Han Xiao beckoned Nero over, pointed at the drink on the table, and said, “Come, try it. It’s good.”

On the table were a few cups of hot white liquid flickering with a tint of light gold, giving off a thick milky fragrance. This was some kind of milk product provided by the Tyla Civilization.

Nero picked up the cup and took a sip. His eyes widened, and he gulped down a mouthful. He exhaled in satisfaction, licked away the white stain on his mouth, and looked like he wanted more.

“How was it?”

“Godfather, what is this? I’ve never tasted such delicious milk before.”

Han Xiao smiled and explained, “When the Tyla Civilization was exploring a certain colonial planet, they discovered a galactic being that was on the verge of extinction. They were called the Herepoli Beasts, commonly known as the Giant Nebula Beasts. They are extremely large and can travel in the universe with their body. Some even call them the Mount of Giant Gods. However, the reproduction speed of the Giant Nebula Beasts is very long; they only mate every hundred years or so. After their cubs are born, they enter a three-month lactation period. The Giant Nebula Beasts only produce milk in those three short months. Their milk is rare, expensive, nourishing, and very unique. That’s what you drank.”

“I see.” Nero rubbed his stomach. “No wonder my body feels so warm after drinking it.”

“Do you want more? Drink mine too.” Han Xiao smiled.

Nero licked his lips and was very tempted. After some tough internal conflict, he shook his head and said, “This is so valuable and rare; I can’t drink it all. Godfather, you drink it too.”

The others all laughed.

“I’m fine.” Han Xiao shook his hand. Luxurious things that were extremely valuable to normal galactic residents were nothing much in his eyes. He could have plenty if he wanted.

However, he did not have much interest in luxurious consumables. He preferred to buy more special grade nutrition pastes with that money, which were much more convenient to consume and recovered his stamina very quickly, much higher quality-price ratio.

After chatting for a while, the principal had yet to return. Han Xiao turned around and looked at the mechanical assistant secretary that stood still beside the wall.

“How may I be of service to you?” The mechanical assistant secretary sensed his sights and responded immediately.

Han Xiao shook his hand and observed the bionic skin of this mechanical assistant secretary.

This principal looked respectable and reputable, but the bionic appearance given to this mechanical secretary was extremely seductive and sexy. It might really have the full set of functions of a ‘secretary’…

After waiting a while longer, the principal finally returned.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting, Your Excellency Black Star. The people above have agreed with your request and allowed me to use my authority to help you to find that data.”

“Okay, thank the upper echelons of the Tyla Civilization for me.” Han Xiao was relieved. Things were much easier now that it was settled with his face.

He was reminded of how even Star System civilizations did not give him face at all in the past, and he had to find someone to help him. Now that he was a Beyond Grade A, even the Star Cluster civilizations were willing to give him face.

The principal pressed a few times on the office desk. The color of it suddenly changed as it became the control screen of the internal database. He looked up and asked, “Your Excellency Black Star, do you remember the time and location of the data?”

Han Xiao nodded and told him. The principle then inputted the corresponding parameters and ran the search engine to look for related data.

Although they agreed to help, they were not going to let a Beyond Grade A operate their internal database, so the principal was assisting him.

Countless items flashed past the screen. After scrolling for a while, only one item was left that perfectly matched the parameters.

The principal exhaled deeply. “Found it. Looks like Harrofal uploaded the data; the time and location are both right. See if this is the data you wanted.”

Han Xiao walked over and browsed through it carefully. Although he did not professionally study wormholes like Harrofal, he had related professional knowledge of it and could understand the coordinates. However, this set of coordinates was outside the star map of the known universe and had a very complicated set of parameters. Without a star map, nothing could be discerned from just the data. He would only know where it led after studying it.

“EsGod was so concerned with this set of data. Which corner of the universe did his doppelganger get thrown to?” Han Xiao wondered.

Confirming that this set of data was from when Harrofal banished the EsGod doppelganger, Han Xiao blinked and took hundreds of photos instantly, which were transmitted to Phillip’s database. He then nodded at the principal.

“Looks like I’m in luck. I’ve already made a back up. Thank you for this.”

The principal shut down the screen, and the desk returned to normal. He then smiled and said, “I’m glad you’ve found what you came for. I have one thing I hope to ask from you.”

Han Xiao was not surprised at all—the Tyla Civilization would not help him for free if they did not want to obtain something from him in exchange.

“If it’s within my capabilities, I will help.”

“Haha, you’re mistaken. All we want to do is for you to become an honorary professor of the Tyla Official Mechanic School.”

That’s it? Han Xiao was a little surprised. After some thinking, he then understood their intention.

As the one and only Beyond Grade A Mechanic in the Shattered Star Ring, if he became a professor at the Tyla Civilization’s official mechanic school, the name of this school would be much more famous and would attract tons more students. Many Mechanic students would apply to study in this school, which would give the Tyla Civilization more talents. Furthermore, as a professor of the Tyla Civilization’s official school, it somewhat meant he was on their side. The Tyla Civilization would benefit a lot from this.

Since they had just helped him, Han Xiao was not going to reject such a small request. He nodded and said, “Sure.”

The principal was delighted. “Then I shall have my people settle it immediately. By the way, since you’re an honorary professor of the school, I hope you can host a lecture here. Either tomorrow or the day after is fine. It won’t take too much time. If you don’t mind, I’ll get my men to announce it within the school.”

“Alright, I shall stay here and trouble you for a few more days.”

Thinking about it, Han Xiao suddenly said, “By the way, since I’m now a professor of this school, why don’t you give me a copy of the basic and advanced lessons of your school?”

The lessons of official schools like this were all very carefully authored. The fundamental textbooks would be quite useful for factions, so he could take them back and train the Mechanic Supers of the army in a systematic way.

Some high-grade Supers might not be good at teaching despite their strength… for example, Rey ‘Forceful Education’ Nold…

Since Han Xiao was now an honorary professor of this school, he might as well gain something from it.

…

The next day, the Tyla Civilization immediately announced in a very high-profile way that they had successfully hired Black Star to be the honorary professor of their official mechanic school. They contacted a bunch of galactic media outlets to spread this news.

Currently, many of the civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring were the Black Star Army’s business allies, but being an honorary professor of a civilization’s official school signified an even closer relationship. The first ones to receive this news were the various Star Cluster civilizations of the Shattered Star Ring; they were all shocked and felt it was so sudden. Why did Black Star suddenly get mixed with the Tyla Civilization?

The Purple Crystal was even more shocked. Never mind you sneaking into the Crimson Dynasty’s bed, we can’t mess with them, so we’ll live with it, but how can you flirt with that shameless neighbor? You *sshole, did you forget I’m your origina… ahem, your earliest ally who has invested the most in you‽

Han Xiao’s communicator was almost exploding from Ralph’s calls, and he spent some time to finally calm him down.

This piece of news also shocked the many students in the Tyla Official Mechanic School.

Black Star is now our school’s honorary professor, and he’s going to do a lecture‽

How did that perverted principal convince Black Star‽

The students were exhilarated and honored.

Originally, the lecture was supposed to be carried out inside the building, but there were too many students attending, so the school decided to have Han Xiao give the lecture at the open central square.

As the day of the lecture arrived, the area was completely filled with people. There were absolutely no empty seats, and countless students even hovered in the air, riding mechanical skateboards. More than ninety percent of the people in the entire school came.

Most of the teachers and professors went to listen too—in front of a Beyond Grade A Mechanic, they were all students.

Han Xiao stood in the middle of the freshly built tall stage in the middle of the central square, looked around, and smiled bitterly in his mind.

He had thought that he would just be teaching a small group of students; never had he expected to create such a scene. Not only were there so many people here, but there were also even many recording devices around that videoed his every move. It was almost like a concert or even preaching.

Of course, he had no problem doing this. He did not even mind fist fighting with Heber in front of trillions of galactic residents back then, so this would not affect him at all. With his Beyond Grade A standard, he just had to casually share some experiences, and these students would be satisfied.

However, Han Xiao was not really used to this. Currently, the person who used lectures as core competitiveness was that old man Austin.

“Ahem, let’s get started…” Han Xiao cleared his throat and started speaking.

…

At the Bloodshed Land’s headquarters, Heber was confused. “Black Star went to give an open lecture to a Star Cluster civilization’s official school? He’s got to go to the Flickering World soon, yet he still has the time to do that‽”

Inside the Palace of Hidden Spells, Austin murmured with a strange expression, “This guy, is he trying to imitate me and form a Hidden Machinery Abbey or something?”

“Tsk, I hate Mechanics.” On the Star Pupil Holy Race Mother Planet, Psyker shut down the screen without hesitation. He did not want to see Han Xiao at all. Every time he saw the Evolution Cube on his neck, his heart would ache… every single time.

In the Crimson Dynasty Diplomatic Building, Zoel shook his head and laughed. “Yo, this guy is doing it again?”

From the way he looked at it, Han Xiao was not satisfied with his current position and went to form alliances with more Star Cluster civilizations.

He was happy to see this as long as it did not affect the main business. The more influence the dynasty’s ally had in a Star Field, the better it was for them.

As for the players who were at the Black Star Army headquarters, some also discovered the broadcast on the galactic channels. Word quickly spread among the players, and more and more players turned on their communicators to watch Han Xiao’s lecture curiously.

“Huh, I thought the Army Commander has been in the headquarters. Turns out he went to another civilization.”

“What’s he talking about? Why does it sound like complete gibberish?”

When the many players were watching curiously, the Mechanic players among them were suddenly startled—a notification popped up on their interfaces.

_____________________

You are listening to Black Star (Level ?) share his knowledge of the Mechanic class. Due to the wide level difference, judging Intelligence and Luck… Judgment complete. You are not sure if you understood. 1 random Mechanic class ability has received 50,000 Experience.

You are listening to Black Star (Level ?) share his knowledge of the Mechanic class. Due to the wide level difference, judging Intelligence and Luck… Judgment complete. You kind of understood. 2 random Mechanic class abilities have received 120,000 Experience.

…

You are listening to Black Star (Level ?) share his knowledge of the Mechanic class. Due to the wide level difference, judging Intelligence and Luck… Judgment complete. With a flash of insight, you suddenly figured it out. 4 random Mechanic class abilities have received 350,000 Experience.

_____________________

All the Mechanic class players who were watching the broadcast were shocked.

“This is… imparting ability experiences‽”

The Mechanic class players were overjoyed.

This was the notification that would pop up when NPCs shared abilities or their experiences with the players, but events that gave random ability Experience were very rare. The Mechanic class players did not expect this at all; they had only watched the broadcast out of curiosity and happened to trigger this amazing event.

Very soon, this piece of news spread on the forums like a typhoon. All the Mechanic class players came to know about it and all went to watch the broadcast with excitement.

“Holy, my Mechanic class ability leveled up!”

“Is this a random event?”

“This is so much quicker than doing missions… damn, my [Intermediate Machinery Affinity] is at Level9, one level from maximum!”

“The Army Commander is awesome, as always!”

Leveling up abilities was always a bottomless pit of Experience, so the Mechanic class players were euphoric.

The players of the other four classes could only watch the Mechanic class players with jealousy.

It had been a very long time since Han Xiao had personally taught the players any abilities. As his interaction with the players decreased, many players had gradually started to forget the things he did in the past. This accident coincidentally made countless players recall that he was once a mentor.

Because of this, he became the recognized Top Mechanic Class Mentor!

Chapter 817 - Pioneering

“Your Excellency Black Star, you’re welcome to come and visit the school any time.”

At the harbor, the principal brought his people along and sent Han Xiao and the others off. The lecture in the morning was very effective. The students were not the only ones who learned from it—he did too. So, his closeness and gratitude toward Han Xiao now were very sincere.

“Hmm, keep in touch.” Han Xiao nodded before leading the rest onto the Blacklight Stealth. It took off, turned into a stream of light, and disappeared in the dark, vast cosmic space.

Having obtained the data and completed the promised lecture, the goal of this trip was achieved. He did not stay any longer and left the Tyla Civilization.

As for the impact of this, he did not care about it much. The Tyla Civilization was considered a neutral and powerful civilization in the Shattered Star Ring. Other forces rarely messed with them, and they did not mess with others deliberately. The afterheat of the Black Star Army’s expansion had yet to vanish, so this bit of news would not cause too big a storm. At most, it might trigger some responses from the Star Cluster civilizations of the same grade.

Instead, the excited Mechanic players on the forums surprised him. Only through the forums did he know that his open lecture triggered a random ability Experience reward event.

There were many ways the players could obtain Experience, and this was one of them, but a very rare one. Other than their luck, it also depended on the knowledge difference between the players and what the NPCs were teaching. Pugilists and Mages were no strangers to this. Pugilists could secretly listen and learn abilities from some dojos. It was risky and did not guarantee success. The players mainly did this to avoid spending Contribution Points. It was the same for the Mages.

“What a surprise, this coincidentally strengthened my Mechanic class mentor image.” Han Xiao shook his head.

His consciousness entered the quantum network and poked at Phillip.

“How’s the study of that set of data?”

“It’s too complicated, hum… I can’t estimate the time needed to decipher it.”

The location data of the wormhole had been given to Phillip to analyze. It required a huge amount of experiments and tests, and even Han Xiao did not know how long it would take before there were any results.

However, Han Xiao was not in a hurry. Since the Tyla Civilization now knew that EsGod and he had their eyes on this set of data, they would definitely feel that this data had secrets. Therefore, they would have professional scientists secretly study this data. The efficiency of an entire Star Cluster civilization would definitely not be slower than him or EsGod, and this was one of the reasons he had befriended the Tyla Civilization. If the Tyla Civilization discovered any clues, he would have a chance to learn them as well, which would be quite nice.

He also planned to send the data to the dynasty when he had time and borrow the dynasty’s technology to decipher its secret.

…

After a smooth flight, the Blacklight Stealth returned to the army headquarters.

They rested for a few days, and the gathering order of the dynasty was officially announced. The dynasty had notified the Black Star Army, the Bloodshed Land, and Klent, the various Shattered Star Ring allies, to immediately head to the Flickering World through the dynasty stargate at the border of the Star Field.

After preparing for so long, the dynasty was finally about to start its first stage of exploration of the Flickering World!

Han Xiao immediately announced this as well.

When the departure date arrived, Phillip’s broadcast announcement echoed in the entire army headquarters.

“All army members participating in the developments of the Flickering World, please board the ships immediately. We will be leaving in thirty minutes! I repeat, all…”

The players moved with anticipation and entered the harbor, boarding the transport ships one after another.

After the secret war ended, the Flickering World had become the next main storyline in the eyes of the players.

Exploring a new Star Field… this was the largest main storyline they had ever seen!

The millions of players were exhilarated!

Furthermore, with the example of the limited title [Secret Warrior], most of the army players accepted the Flickering World’s main storyline mission. The players were excited just thinking about it.

Among which, the Constellation Corridor players were even more excited. The Shattered Star Ring players at least had similar experiences before, but the Constellation Corridor players had rarely had any large group missions like this, if any.

In the past, they had only heard about the benefits of being in the Black Star Army. Now, they had personally experienced it. The new recruits had an even higher rating for the army in their hearts.

The people at the army headquarters gathered and boarded the spaceships very quickly. With Han Xiao’s order, the fleet departed.

Sylvia had already prepared all the fleets a few months ago. While the main fleet departed from the army headquarters, the teams in standby at the various sub-bases in the Colton Star Cluster departed as well. According to the plan, these subdivisions would rendezvous with Han Xiao one after another along the way.

The number of fleets and people the army had dispatched this time was enormous. Almost all the members who could move freely went along. It was the largest-scale operation in the history of the army.

No amount of manpower would ever be enough in exploring an entire new Star Field, so this exploration team would be building strongholds in the Flickering World and not return for a very long time, including Han Xiao.

The Black Star Army had already stabilized itself in the Shattered Star Ring, and its business was consistent. Furthermore, with the support of its two allies, the dynasty and Purple Crystal, as well as the protection of being a member of the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference, there was basically nothing to worry about.

The Flickering World would be the central stage of the next version. Developing the Flickering World was a crucial part of the next stage of development for the army.

The dynasty allies in the Shattered Star Ring were the ones to start the exploration first. Han Xiao had gone through a lot of planning to obtain such an advantage, so he could not possibly miss it. In order to deal with the countless organizations that would be fighting for territory in the future, he had to gain bigger advantages and build firm foundations in the early stages.

…

Somewhere in the Shattered Star Ring drifted Floating Dragon Island.

“I see, so Black Star has departed…”

Han Xiao’s message appeared on the communicator. Ames looked away from the communicator and glanced at the floating dragon officers at the two sides of the throne.

“Let’s go, toward Planet Aquamarine.”

…

In the Central Galaxy, on the Federation of Light’s mother planet, the president of the Federation of Light, Bader Ohoside, put down the deck of intelligence in his hands, looked at the Elders in the room, slowly said, “The Crimson Dynasty is finally going to officially start to explore the Flickering World… The dynasty will be focusing on this in the future. The exploration of the Flickering World is estimated to take decades or even an entire century.”

The Chief Elder tapped the ground with his crutch and said with a hoarse voice, “It was our detectors that discovered the Flickering World. Back then, we transferred the ownership of the Flickering World to the Crimson Dynasty for a lot of profits. It will take a very long time for them to make a net profit from developing a new Star Field.”

Back when they compromised with the Crimson Dynasty, it was not just to exchange for profits and calm the Crimson Tide. They also had more secret plans.

“Hmm…” Bader said indifferently. “In order to develop a new Star Field, the dynasty will definitely put in a lot of manpower and resources. The Flickering World will become a pond of quicksand that keeps dragging the dynasty’s men down in the decades to come. The dynasty will have a very difficult time fighting for anything else during that time. This is highly beneficial to us.”

The Chief Elder caressed the crystal at the top of his crutch and said, “When the dynasty purchased the ownership of the Flickering World from us, we made an agreement that only the Crimson Dynasty is allowed to build stargates at the early stages of the exploration. Any unauthorized forces in the Flickering World will be seen as enemies of the dynasty… However, the agreement is just words.”

“Without us having to do anything, those ambitious beyond Star Cluster civilizations are smart enough to know the Arcane Church’s and our stand on this,” Bader said. “They know very well that this is a perfect chance for them. Almost none of them will be willing to give up on the resources of a new Star Field. Although these chess pieces only obey us on the surface usually, as soon as they see something with low risk and high reward, they will act according to our goals without needing us to do anything.”

After a pause, Bader continued. “With so much attention on them, the dynasty doesn’t have the ability to have the new Star Field to itself. Due to multiple factors, the dynasty will open the Flickering World to the entire universe around the time they complete creating a full star map of it. This way, they will be able to obtain an infinite amount of foreign labor and resources, and most of the dynasty’s military and manpower will be able to retreat.”

The Chief Elder nodded. “The dynasty has the ownership of the Star Field, but the larger the profit, the more pressure they will have to endure. Let them endure it. Something can only be said to be lost when it was once possessed. We can obtain larger profits by taking a step back here.”

Bader crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. “Since the dynasty is willing, let’s give them more pressure.”

…

On the Crimson Dynasty Mother Planet, the Dynasty Ruler, Urranrell, had just finished reading the intelligence of the Black Star Army and the Bloodshed Land departing. She put down the deck of data in her hands and looked up. Everyone there was a top-level official of the dynasty.

“Your Excellency Ruler, the Shattered Star Ring allies are the ones to carry out the earliest explorations. We will continue to put in more dynasty troops and allies in the future. The Federation of Light compromised on paper, but they will definitely violate the agreement secretly. The Federation of Light, the Arcane Church, and those beyond Star Cluster civilizations will undoubtedly move discreetly.”

“I know,” Urranrell said calmly. “Ever since the universe entered the Galaxy Calendar era, the Federation of Light lost their sharpness and are no longer willing to endure the pressure, so they don’t deserve the largest profits. I never expected them to obey the agreement anyway. In the coming decades, things might be tough for us, but history will eventually prove that those who have given up on the future will be abandoned by the future.”

Everyone nodded in silence.

“Those who cause trouble secretly will not expose their identity. Using this chance, we shall strike fear into those beyond Star Cluster civilizations who are getting more and more lawless.”

Urranrell’s eyes became focused as she spoke with a powerful and firm voice.

“Let’s remind them of the dynasty’s way of doing things!”

…

On the Fallen Ark, Harrison woke EsGod up from his sleep.

“The Arcane Church has responded.”

EsGod woke up, breathed, and said slowly, “What did they say?”

“They say that they’ve never heard about this.”

“That means they agreed.” EsGod narrowed his eyes. “Tell the fleet to turn around and go to the desolate universe belt near the Arcane Church. Let’s see where the temporary stargate they’ve prepared for me is.”

…

At the edge of the Shattered Star Ring, inside the endless darkness, a gigantic stargate stood in the cosmic space. The enormous Black Star Army was approaching slowly.

This was the Crimson Dynasty’s exclusive stargate connecting to the Flickering World, which was currently the only way to go to the Flickering World. A lot of dynasty’s battleships were stationed there to keep anyone from sneaking through.

After reporting their identity, the Black Star Army fleet entered the stargate one batch after another, disappearing into the blue space vortex.

“We’re going to do pioneering!”

“Brothers, I’m a little excited!”

The players on the transport ships were filled with anticipation.

As the main ship was about to enter the stargate, on the bridge, Hila and the Black Star Guards all turned around subconsciously to look at the bright stars behind them.

Han Xiao glanced behind him as well.

The next time I’ll be back here will be very far in the future…

Looks like I’m going to have to spend the ten-month Experience penalty period in the Flickering World.

When I am back in the known universe by then, my level should be far higher than the 240 I am at now.

And the Evolution Cube might not be the only Universal Treasure in my hands…

Turning his head back, Han Xiao looked at the blue stargate vortex ahead. The other side of this stargate was a wide world filled with opportunities.

Boom!

The next moment, the main ship entered the stargate and trembled.

In an instant, there was only a bright blue light in their sights.

Chapter 818 - Black-sheep-wall!

The main ship crossed the stargate and arrived at the Flickering World immediately from the Shattered Star Ring.

There were dynasty’s fleets stationed on this side of the stargate too.

Han Xiao looked outside the window at the masses of star lights distributed around.

Unlike that prosperous Star Field in his memories, the Flickering World was still very primal and desolate. It did not have any traces of being developed before. The quantum network was silent; the only quantum network signal that he could connect to was the dynasty’s military base station channel. This meant that this new Star Field was not open to the public.

“Beep beep…”

As soon as the main ship crossed the stargate, it received a communication request from the dynasty’s military.

After the communication request was accepted, a 3D projection appeared. It was an old dynasty officer and a familiar face.

Hila glanced at the dense number of badges on this person. She looked at the military ranking badge on the sleeve of his army uniform and concluded that this person was a dynasty admiral, a well-established upper echelon of the military.

This person’s eyes were locked onto Han Xiao. He slightly raised his head and smiled gently.

“I’m Tarrokov, the commander in chief of the development team of the Flickering World. Your Excellency Black Star, welcome to the Dawn Star Cluster.”

“Commander.” Han Xiao nodded.

Tarrokov was someone he was familiar with. In his previous life, when the players were active in the Flickering World, Tarrokov was also the commander in chief of the dynasty’s troops stationed in the Flickering World. Back then, many of the missions were distributed in the form of military documents, and they were all signed by Tarrokov. He was in charge of the dynasty’s troops in the Flickering World; all the dynasty missions came from him, so of course, the players were familiar with him.

Now that he had come to explore the Flickering World, Tarrokov would be considered as his semi-boss. Tarrokov would be contacting the dynasty’s many allies on behalf of the dynasty, relaying the dynasty’s orders to them. Han Xiao knew that he would be seeing this guy a lot for quite a long time.

Luckily, Tarrokov was a very senior military boss, and he was very gentle and steady, easy to get along with. This was also the reason the dynasty had sent him to take care of the matters in the Flickering World.

“Bloodshed Land and Klent arrived at the Flickering World two days ago. Come with your fleet as quickly as possible. When you’re here, we will discuss the field exploration plans.”

“Okay.”

Han Xiao nodded, and Tarrokov hung up the communication.

Han Xiao opened the 3D star map. The current map of the Flickering World appeared before everyone’s eyes. Only the Dawn Star Cluster was marked as green and completely explored, which had a rather complete star map. The other ninety percent or so of the area was all gray and had no details.

The dynasty had built many strongholds in the Dawn Star Cluster, among which the main stronghold was on a planet at the border of the Dawn Star Cluster that connected to the unexplored area. The planet was named Planet Lighthouse, signifying its place as the lighthouse that guided the explorers’ return.

The gathering location marked by Tarrokov was there.

“It will still take some time till all the fleets cross the stargate.” Aurora pressed here and pulled there on the operation table, bringing up the gathering countdown that was calculated by the artificial intelligence.

Officers with important jobs such as Sylvia, Herlous, Reynold, and Lagi had all remained in the Shattered Star Ring to maintain the army headquarters’ operations. Han Xiao had only brought some of the army’s officers along this time, such as the Black Star Guards. Most of them did not have any jobs to do usually, and they were now assigned to different posts to take care of different matters in the exploration team.

The tons of non-combat knowledge that Aurora had learned could now be of use. She became Han Xiao’s administrative officer and was responsible for the miscellaneous matters.

“Phillip, plan the route,” Han Xiao said.

“Roger that, hum…”

An illuminated line immediately appeared on the star map, marking the quickest route to Planet Lighthouse.

The dynasty knew the importance of transportation and had built many military stargates in the Dawn Star Cluster to allow frequent jumps, tremendously reducing the traveling time within the Star Cluster. These were all marked on the star map. However, this was only the case during the closed exploration period. Han Xiao knew that once the Flickering World was open to the public, the dynasty would recover some of those military channels.

Han Xiao thought for a moment and said, “Split a few engineering fleets out from the main fleet and build the quantum communication stations for our army in the Dawn Star Cluster. Let the dynasty know about it. Tell them that this is for us to interact with the people in the Shattered Star Ring headquarters more easily.”

It was the countless base stations and network nodes everywhere in the known universe that allowed the quantum network to exist in all places. However, as the Flickering World had no such stations, it had yet to connect with the quantum network of the known universe and could only redirect signals from the dynasty’s nodes and base stations. This move from Han Xiao was to plot out the army’s network base stations here. When the Star Field was open to the public in the future, they would become natural intelligence channels. Usually, this was an authority only high-level civilizations had.

However, now, this was one of the privileges given to the dynasty’s allied forces. The dynasty would not stop him.

The army’s battleships passed through the stargate one after another. Very soon, they all arrived at the Flickering World and immediately headed toward Planet Lighthouse in hyperdrive.

There were currently no outsiders in the Dawn Star Cluster, so the trip was smooth. After traveling for a few days and through dozens of military stargates linking the various strongholds, they crossed the entire Dawn Star Cluster, and Planet Lighthouse was within their sights.

A planet surrounded by countless battleships appeared outside the porthole.

On a tiny planet, the dynasty’s direct exploration team, the Bloodshed Land’s exploration team, the Klent Kingdom’s exploration team, and the late to the party Black Star Army’s exploration team gathered. The number of spaceships gathered there exceeded a hundred million!

It was marvelous!

Among which, the dynasty’s direct spaceships had the highest number. They made up to about seventy percent of all the spaceships.

Not far away from the planet, there were many stargate stations coexisting but were yet to be activated.

The surface of Planet Lighthouse was covered by machinery and metal, not showing even the slightest soil. The dynasty’s exploration team used the dynasty’s well known ‘Foolproof Planet Base Expansion Pack’ on Planet Lighthouse. It flattened the ground through high pressure, increased the planet density, changed its landscape, and modified its crust, directly turning this planet into a Planet Grade Military Base.

The fleet stopped outside the atmosphere. Han Xiao and the Black Star Guards took a small spaceship and landed on Planet Lighthouse’s dock.

Whoosh!

The hatch opened.

Han Xiao stepped onto the metal dock, looked across at the metal buildings, and fixed onto the most conspicuous building far away.

It was a few-thousand-meter-tall building. All the buildings around it looked like dwarfs under a giant. This was Planet Lighthouse’s stronghold headquarters.

There were already officers waiting at the dock. After they did their formal military greetings, they invited Han Xiao and the rest to board the ground carrier and head to Planet Lighthouse’s headquarters together.

Whoosh!

As they traveled across the buildings on the planet’s surface, the sound of wind howled outside their carrier.

Han Xiao observed around and realized that the buildings on the surface were mainly hangars and warehouses. Countless carriers and mechanical assistants were transporting trucks of resources like hard working ants.

Seeing that they were looking around, the officer explained, “Planet Lighthouse is the logistics base of the exploration team. A large amount of supplies and resources are stored here.”

Han Xiao nodded. The three Star Clusters that would be explored in the first stage were Renault, Garu, and Crown, all neighboring Star Clusters of the Dawn Star Cluster. Planet Lighthouse was located at a crucial junction and was the best transit station.

The ground distance was very short, and they arrived at the Planet Lighthouse headquarters very soon. Through the anti-gravity lift, they came all the way to the middle level at the headquarters, more than 1,400 meters above the ground.

Following the instructions, they walked into an enormous strategy conference room. There were already many people in the room. Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and immediately saw Heber—with his tiny-mountain-sized body, he was the most conspicuous.

Heber turned and looked over. Their eyes clashed in midair. Heber’s eyes had no emotions in them. He sat still on his seat and did not move before casually nodding in greeting.

Behind him were the Eight Vanguard Officials of the Bloodshed Land, who all looked at Han Xiao with hostility in their eyes.

That was especially so for the Chief Vanguard Official, Fosters, who looked like he wanted to turn his sight into knives and stab Han Xiao with them.

Although the Black Star Army and the Bloodshed Land had agreed to have a ceasefire, the hostility that the Bloodshed Land officers felt toward Han Xiao would not reduce because of it.

“Humph.”

Seeing this, Hila took a step forward, and the Black Star Guards behind her followed right after, staring at the Vanguard Officials of Heber.

Hila and Fosters’ sights met and almost created explosions in midair. The atmosphere became very tense.

In the past, when Han Xiao attended the Tyrant Party the second time, Fosters had challenged Han Xiao’s subordinates. As the captain of the Black Star Guards, Hila had accepted the challenge, but Heber had appeared and told Fosters to back off, so the two of them did not end up fighting in the end.

Now that they had met again, this history appeared in both of their heads.

One was the Bloodshed Land’s Chief Vanguard Official; the other was the Black Star Army’s captain of the Black Star Guards. Be it their position, identity, or strength, they were naturally opposed to each other. Whoever beat the other would prove that their faction was better than another. The two of them stared at each other coldly while adding each other’s name to the list of enemies they had to fight in the future.

Since Aurora had more than enough safety assurance, other than to repay Han Xiao, Hila continued to work for Han Xiao to become stronger. As she had the experience of being restrained by others, she had a very strong desire for power. Although she did not take the extreme path like she did in Han Xiao’s previous life, she did not give up on any opportunities to challenge someone strong.

Han Xiao was not bothered. He waved and told the Black Star Guards to take a step back.

There was no way they would end up fighting right under the dynasty’s nose, so there was no point in just staring at each other.

Seeing that the two sides had settled down, Han Xiao smiled at Heber.

“You’re quite early.”

“Unlike you, I don’t like to be late,” Heber replied indifferently.

He saw Han Xiao as someone on his level but had no intention of learning more about him or befriending him.

The two sides had a deep hatred for each other and only reluctantly became allies because of the dynasty. Although they were now at peace, they were still competitors in terms of the Flickering World exploration.

Since they were business competitors, Heber did not want to be friendly. His action of asking for a ceasefire with the Black Star Army in the past had already reduced his reputation within the Bloodshed Land. He could not let people mistakenly think that he was actually afraid of Black Star.

Han Xiao chuckled and knew exactly what Heber was thinking, but he did not mind.

Ty-Ty has been having a hard time. Let’s not make it worse.

Not bothering about Heber, Han Xiao turned and looked at Tarrokov, who was standing beside the strategic analysis board. He smiled and said, “Chief commander, we finally meet.”

“Your Excellency Black Star, Zoel might have already said this, but let me say it again. On behalf of the dynasty, we welcome your alliance.”

When Han Xiao was speaking with Heber, Tarrokov watched from the side and did not speak. Once Han Xiao spoke to him, only then did he give a formal reply.

“Looks like we’re going to be colleagues for a very long time in the future.” Han Xiao shook Tarrokov’s hands.

“Please, take a seat.” Tarrokov smiled and pointed at a seat.

Han Xiao nodded and led his people to sit down. His men and Heber’s men sat on opposite sides of the room, and the Klent Kingdom’s men were in the middle.

The leader of the Klent Kingdom was someone Han Xiao did not know. They did not show Han Xiao any politeness at all, not even a greeting.

Compared to Klent, Heber’s hatred was nothing. Klent’s decade-long plan had been completely shattered. The secret war had been ended by Han Xiao single-handedly, and the resources they invested had yielded zero profit.

The loss they made was uncountable!

Hate Purple Crystal? They basically won without doing anything.

Hate the Crimson Dynasty? As if we would dare!

Hate the Bloodshed Land?

… Wake up!

Therefore, their hatred could only land on Han Xiao, no one else.

If the Bloodshed Land’s hostility toward Han Xiao was two stars, Klent’s hostility was at least ten stars.

“Since everyone’s here, let’s get started.”

Tarrokov completely ignored the conflict between the three sides and turned on the strategic analysis board behind him. He brought up the unexplored star map of the Renault, Garu, and Crown Star Clusters.

“These three Star Clusters are the targets of the first stage of developments. The Bloodshed Land and Klent will explore Renault, the dynasty’s direct teams will explore Crown, and the Black Star Army will explore Garu. These are your choices, which were made long ago. Now, let me talk about the details… The task of exploration is very cumbersome, but in the end, it can be divided into a few key points.”

Tarrokov extended a few fingers.

“The drawing of the star map, the large-scale deployment of area observation buoys, the installation of a traffic network, the construction of transit stations and strongholds, the completion of the detailed information of the various planets… and the collection of resources.”

Han Xiao nodded. These were just the main goals. There were tons of tasks that had to be carried out in reality. They had to carry out construction at the same time as exploring the map. The reason they had brought so many people there was to split up and increase their efficiency.

This time, Tarrokov said, “The dynasty has the most manpower. In order to ensure progress, we will be sending some teams to follow the three of you and provide assistance.

The dynasty made up to seventy percent of all the forces there, so it was normal to give them some of their manpower. However, this was just one reason; surveillance was another reason.

The dynasty was willing to let its ally forces take part in the exploration and share the benefits, but it could not completely leave things to its allies. Sending out these surveillance teams would prevent its allies from not reporting the resources discovered or reporting the incorrect quantity deliberately, ensuring the accuracy of the results of the exploration.

The dynasty has invested a lot of this, so of course, they’re getting the largest portion of the resources in the new Star Field. Completely sensible…

However, there was still a lot of room in terms of how much extra profit the explorers would obtain.

The others had no idea what was on those unexplored planets and could only explore them one by one. It completely depended on their luck.

Han Xiao also did not know what was on most of the planets. He was an extremely experienced player in his previous life, but he was not as experienced as remembering the information about every single planet… However, he still knew full well about the famous and unique planets in the Flickering World.

This meant that he did not need to do field exploration to know which planets were extremely profitable and rich.

“Hmm…”

Han Xiao caressed his chin and contemplated.

Chapter 819 - Special Exploration Route

819 Special Exploration Route

Heber and the Klent commander knew that the dynasty would send out surveillance teams, so they were not surprised either.

Tarrokov explained the details as he pointed at the locations on the star map. The others listened silently.

When Tarrokov was finished, the Klent commander suddenly said, “We know what you’ve just said. What I want to know is, us Shattered Star Ring allies are the first teams to take part in the exploration, and the dynasty will be sending its allies from other Star Fields here too, so when will the next batch of dynasty allies arrive?”

Star Fields were too huge. Even all of them combined were just a leaf within a forest compared to a Star Field; they were very tiny. With just them, God only knew when the Flickering World would be fully explored. Therefore, the dynasty would be sending more manpower there in the future. Those dynasty allies who arrived later would be both allies and new competitors.

What Klent cared about was when the next batch of competitors would arrive, basically how much time they had ahead of others.

Tarrokov smiled.

“That depends on the arrangements of the dynasty’s upper echelons and the gathering speed of our allied forces, as well as the progress of our exploration. I have yet to receive any notification on the exact time. However, according to my estimation, the next batch of exploration teams will only arrive in half a year’s time at the earliest. Before that, the dynasty will have to rely on you guys. If the progress of the exploration is outstanding, the dynasty will not be petty in terms of rewards.”

The few of them nodded. If the exploration was smooth and the results were beyond expected, it would all become their contributions. The dynasty would take a large portion of the resources, so they would be given rewards based on the results of the pioneering. This was the key factor of their competition.

The one whose exploration went the smoothest and obtained the most profit would be merited the most.

Tarrokov paused and asked, “For the Star Clusters you’ve decided to explore, what direction are you guys planning to enter from?”

The Star Cluster could be divided into dozens of Star Systems. They were all exploring into the center from the edges of it.

The border line was extremely long, so the direction they were going to enter from was very important. If they started exploring from poor locations, they would make a huge loss since they would waste a lot of time not discovering many resources.

The only information they had to decide on this was the semi-complete star map drawn through astronomical observations. The most they could do was just avoid the obvious desolate universe belts, but the resources on the planets were still unknown.

Although Tarrokov had only just asked, the few of them had discussed and analyzed this privately long ago.

Heber and Klent were on the same side. They planned to split into twenty-three teams and enter one Star System of their choice from twenty-three different locations. The teams would not be far from each other and would advance together in a fan shape, gradually gathering at a certain point to build a large transit stronghold. They would then continue to split and explore, making sure the exploration range of every team would not be repeated as much as possible.

Han Xiao listened as the Klent commander described their plan and nodded in his mind.

Heber had made a good choice. The first area they were going to explain was called the Jeraton Star System, a rather rich Star System of the Renault Star Cluster in his previous life. It did indeed have rich resources.

If the Flickering World’s star map was 2D and linked with the known universe, the Dawn Star Cluster would be at the most west side of the Flickering World. As for the three Star Clusters right beside it, Garu was at its North, Renault was at its East, and Crown was at its South. The Jeraton Star System, which Heber and Klent were going to explore first, was the border Star System on the southwest side of Renault.

Tarrokov nodded, turned to look at Han Xiao, and asked, “What about you?”

Han Xiao pointed at the border Star System at the southernmost point of the Garu Star Cluster. He drew a route upward that penetrated more than ten Star Systems, connecting the southernmost part of the Garu Star Cluster to its easternmost part.

“What do you mean by this?” Tarrokov was surprised.

“Well…” Han Xiao smiled mysteriously. “I will have my main force explore from the border Star System at the southernmost side and send out a team carrying stargate devices. This team will only build stargates along the way and not make any other stops. I’m going to build a stargate route and connect these ten Star Systems together first.”

“You want to build the important long traffic route first?” Tarrokov raised his brows.

“Not only that, whenever this team connects to the next Star System, I will split up more men to explore other Star Systems.” Han Xiao shrugged.

Tarrokov frowned slightly. Heber and the Klent commander exchanged looks, too. They were a little speechless.

In their eyes, the problem with Black Star’s exploration plan was too obvious—insufficient manpower.

With only so many people, even exploring one Star System would take a lot of time, yet Black Star wanted to explore more than ten Star Systems at the same time. How would he have enough manpower? They all thought that his appetite was too large, and it had exceeded his capabilities.

Building an important long traffic route first was a good thing to the dynasty, so Tarrokov had no problem with that. However, this did not match the profit perspective of a dynasty ally, so Han Xiao’s decision surprised him.

This was not a horse race. There was no point in connecting all these Star Systems if he would not be able to finish exploring all of them. Since the exploration efficiency was limited, wasting manpower to build long-term stargate channels would only make traveling to other Star Systems much easier for the forces that would come later. This looked like it had many more cons than pros.

Klent and the Bloodshed Land wanted to finish exploring one Star System before going to the next. In comparison, they were exploring in areas while Han Xiao was exploring in lines.

To balance the profit between its allies, the dynasty’s plan was also to gradually move forward and slowly explore, not preparing to install complete stargate traffic networks in the unexplored areas immediately. The astronomical observations had already given them a semi-complete star map, so what they lacked was the completion of detailed information and field inspection. Therefore, the goal of the first stage of the exploration was just the three areas beside the Dawn Star Cluster.

During the slow process of exploration, the exploration team would always be building stargates. Therefore, the long-distance stargate channels would eventually appear, and there was no need to build it specifically.

This meant that the Black Star Army was wasting its own resources and time while reducing its results. This made Tarrokov, Heber, the Klent commander very confused.

“Do you want to reconsider?” Tarrokov asked out of good intentions.

Han Xiao waved and chuckled. “No need, I like to rely on my luck. Maybe I can discover some rich resource planets in advance.”

Seeing that Black Star remained stubborn, the Klent commander ridiculed him in his mind.

With such a poor exploration plan that clearly lacked consideration, their pioneering would definitely not go smoothly. This meant that they would most likely beat the Black Star Army this time.

“Okay then.” Tarrokov did not insist.

No matter what method its allies used to explore, the dynasty would not make any losses. After all, the entire Star Field belonged to them. The only one that would make losses was the Black Star Army itself, and since Black Star did not care, he did not care either.

Han Xiao had a smile on his face, and the others could not figure out what he was thinking.

This exploration plan that looked to be very desperate for merit suited his goals the most.

The reason that the fewest organizations decided to explore the Garu Star Cluster, as mentioned by Zoel, was that in the few Star Systems at the south of the Garu Star Cluster, there were obvious desolate universe belts. If he imitated Heber and the others and only explored one border Star System, he would definitely not produce many results.

He used this exploration plan to first develop those known rich planets in his memories.

On this traffic route stretching from the south of Garu to the east, there were a few Star Systems that were extremely prosperous areas with many renowned rich planets in the previous life, which only he knew about now.

Also, as he stretched the exploration line, the surveillance of the dynasty would likely be less intense, which would give him room to operate.

Han Xiao was not going to give up on such a good opportunity.

Another goal he had was to distract the others away from his true goal.

Han Xiao hoped to go to the south of the Garu Star Cluster as soon as possible without seeming too obvious.

This was because the ownerless Universal Treasure in his memories was located in the other Star Cluster connected to the south of the Garu Star Cluster!

He would only be able to obtain that Universal Treasure as soon as possible if he built this stargate route!

Tarrokov turned off the star map and said with a deep voice, “It’s all decided then. You guys, wait here for two days. I’ll dispatch teams to fuse into your teams as well as pass the stargate, buoys, and the other exploration devices to you. We shall depart officially in two days.”

“Okay,” the Klent commander replied.

Han Xiao and Heber nodded and did not speak.

They stood up and left the conference room.

Walking out of the door, Han Xiao and Heber glanced at each other at the same time, as if their clashing sights created flames in midair. They then turned around and left with their officers in opposite directions.

…

“Hey, what do you think Black Star is thinking?”

Heber and Klent’s men were walking together. On the way, a Vanguard Official could not help but ask the chief staff sergeant, Jorde, beside him.

“What are you trying to say?” Jorde glanced at him.

“Don’t you know what kind of person Black Star is? He’s never one to be willing to make losses. He clearly knows that there’s no benefit in building the long-distance stargate route in advance, so he definitely has other motives.”

Jorde’s eyes flickered. “Indeed, Black Star’s decision is strange…”

“Chief staff sergeant, what do you think his motive is?”

The people around all eavesdropped at the conversation.

“I’m not Black Star,” Jorde said with resignation. “The only reason I can think of is that Black Star is not willing to explore the poor border Star Systems of the Garu Star Cluster. But still, there’s no need for him to waste time and cross more than ten Star Systems. I can’t think of any other reasons… Maybe his appetite is too large, or maybe he really wants to rely on his luck.”

“Maybe he wants to first take over the planets that will be traffic stations in the future.”

“No way, the dynasty won’t allow it.”

As the Flickering World was an undeveloped Star Field, everyone subconsciously had one assumption—no one knew the detailed information of the Flickering World. Therefore, there was no way anyone could guess Han Xiao’s motives.

The Klent commander quickly walked to Heber’s side and said softly, “Your Excellency Tyrant, what do you say we…”

“Finish your sentence if you have something to say. Don’t make me guess.” Heber looked straight forward.

“… what do you say we send people to secretly head to the Garu Star Cluster and monitor Black Star’s movements?”

“What’s the point of that?” Heber glanced at him. “Do you dare disrupt the exploration right under the dynasty’s nose?”

The Klent commander was stunned for a moment. He pondered carefully and came to a realization.

Exploring the Flickering World was the dynasty’s key strategic goal, so even if they did know what the Black Star Army was planning to do, they could not do anything about it. If they disrupted the exploration progress for their own interest, the dynasty would definitely not show mercy and make them an example, to show the other allied organizations who would participate in the exploration in the future what the consequences of daring to disrupt the dynasty’s plans were.

Having realized that, the Klent commander backed off and did not mention this matter anymore.

It seemed like the only way to be above the Black Star Army was to compete fairly through their pioneering results.

Luckily, not only did Black Star choose the Garu, but he also chose to use a horrible plan. The Bloodshed Land and their victory were certain.

Chapter 820 - 820 The Star of the Main Storyline and Stowaways

820 The Star of the Main Storyline and Stowaways

The fleet stayed on Planet Lighthouse for two days receiving all kinds of exploration devices from Tarrokov. Huge alloy containers were loaded into the transport ships of the Black Star Army and neatly arranged.

These were all exploration supplies provided by the dynasty. There were stargate devices, Foolproof Planet Base Expansion Packs, universe surveillance buoys, and so on. These were all military devices that were unavailable to the general public and only occasionally appeared on the black markets.

Han Xiao told Phillip to do a count. They had received about five hundred sets of stargate devices, six thousand Foolproof Planet Base Expansion Packs, and fifteen billion universe surveillance buoys. These were not given but lent to him as mission items.

Also, Tarrokov had dispatched a dynasty fleet that temporarily joined the Black Star Army’s teams to assist him in exploring the Garu Star Cluster. The commander of this fleet was a major under Tarrokov. His name was Senico.

Tarrokov would be stationed on Planet Lighthouse as the chief commander, and the dynasty fleets he sent out all had their own commanders. Senico was Tarrokov’s direct subordinate, as well as one of the dynasty officers stationed in the Flickering World according to Han Xiao’s memories. Han Xiao had a faint image of him.

As they would be working alongside each other during the exploration, Han Xiao met and spoke with Senico. They came to a simple consensus; Senico expressed that he would not interfere with Black Star’s exploration plan and would only be assisting them mainly.

After preparing for two days, the chief commander finally announced the start of the operation. The fleets of various forces went in their separate ways to the Star Clusters of their choices.

The Renault Star Cluster would be explored by the Bloodshed Land and Klent, Garu by the Black Star Army, and the Crown Star Cluster by the dynasty’s remaining fleet. Comparatively, the Crown Star Cluster had the most people, and the Garu Star Cluster had the fewest.

The Black Star Army and Senico’s fleet headed to the most South Star System of the Garu Star Cluster.

Before departing, Han Xiao had already announced the army’s exploration plan to all the members, including the millions of players.

He had put up all kinds of tasks on the faction mission list, such as exploring planets and deploying buoys, which were also classified into different areas. There were plenty of missions, but each one of them had a maximum participant limit.

The many kinds of exploration missions sparked discussion on the forums. Different exploration missions gave different Exploration Points, and the Exploration Points relied on the actual results of those missions. The players would only know how many Exploration Points they would get when they completed them, so the players could only speculate and analyze for the moment, but they were still enjoying it.

On the forums, the players generally agreed that exploring planets theoretically would lead to the most results. As discovering resources and lives, digging up the planet’s history, mining the resources, and the other activities that would possibly happen during exploring planets all gave Exploration Points as a reward. At the same time, the process of it was filled with the joy of discovering the unknown.

In comparison, those missions to deploy buoys, build stargates, and construct strongholds were considered hard labor tasks. They were the least popular missions among the players.

Han Xiao knew that once the players were more familiar with the process of the exploration, the guilds would start fighting each other as the large guilds would want to make planets with rich resources their guild resource point. Although they would only be able to obtain a small portion of the total resources mined, that would still be considered a large reward to the players.

In his previous life, there were two reasons for the players of different nations to fight each other—faction wars and planets with rich resources. Now, however, all the millions of the players were in his faction, so there would be no faction conflicts. The only reason they would fight each other now would be for the ownership of resource points.

Although things had yet to reach the stage of intense guild wars, he knew that there would definitely be competition since there were club guilds from different nations in the army.

One reason he encouraged socializing between players was to reduce the impact of the guild conflicts on normal players as much as possible. The conflict between players was unavoidable, but he wanted to prevent the players from having direct hostility toward each other.

As long as the players in his army were not divided to such an extent, the competition between guilds would not affect his profit. After all, the players would still have to repair their equipment in the army after they damaged it during battle.

…

After some days, the various fleets arrived at their respective locations and officially started their exploration tasks.

The Black Star Army’s exploration team came to the southernmost Star System of Garu and built the first transit station according to the plan, connecting with the Dawn Star Cluster.

The engineering team used a Foolproof Planet Base Expansion Pack on a desolate planet at the border of the Star System. The transport ship opened its cabin, and hundreds of thousands of gigantic mechanical bases that looked like needles flew out—they were all base nodes.

The base nodes formed a large net and shrouded the entire planet.

Then, the thrusters of these nodes shot out orange flames and penetrated the planet’s atmosphere. Like hundreds of thousands of missiles, these nodes landed and plugged deep into the planet surface, stirring up endless dust.

The next moment, all the base nodes were activated. A red light appeared on the top of these nodes as they started to modify the planet’s environment and terrain. Every node was vibrating and emitting impact waves one after another, triggering earthquakes and tearing the ground open.

Gray and silver metal extended from these nodes and spread over the ground, turning the planet surface into a metal surface. According to the preset program, bases, fortresses, and warehouses would rise from the ground.

After dozens of hours, the initial modification was complete. The once desolate planet now looked completely different; it became a planet fortress in gray and silver. This was the first stronghold in the Garu Star Cluster.

The dynasty’s engineering ships were not just watching. They dragged along gigantic parts of the stargate and were assembling it beside this stronghold.

An unactivated stargate looked like a gigantic hollow mechanical ring. After it was activated, the inner circle of this mechanical ring emitted blue light and space energy, connecting to one of the stargates near Planet Lighthouse.

Then, the hollow part of the mechanical ring turned into a wormhole-like blue vortex, becoming a fully functional stargate.

Other than the team left behind to build the stronghold, the rest split up. Some went to deploy buoys nearby, and some went to explore the unknown planets nearby.

A Star System had about ten Star Zones. The main team of the Black Star Army was now exploring the first Star Zone.

According to the plan, Han Xiao sent out a special task force led by Hadavy to move alone with a hundred and fifty stargate devices. Its goal was to cross the many Star Systems and head to the east of the Garu Star Cluster, building a long distance stargate route on the way.

The spaceships given to this special task force were all high-grade transport ships that had a maximum speed of 14.1 warp speed. It would take about four months for them to reach the destination through nonstop hyperdrive.

After the special task force completed building the long distance stargate route, the four-month trip would be reduced to a mere few hours.

As countless army members were doing their part, Han Xiao led a group of army warriors and players to a planet at the center of this Star Zone on the main ship.

In his memories, this planet was a trade transfer station and one of the entrances into the Garu Star Cluster in his previous life. It was rather valuable. Furthermore, it did not have a harsh environment and was quite habitable. It also had a native civilization.

Currently, this planet did not have a name yet and only had a serial number. He wanted to head there in advance and start its exploration.

…

Outside the border of the Shattered Star Ring was the edge of the known universe, the desolate universe belt between the Shattered Star Ring and the Flickering World.

Fleets left from the border one after another from different locations, turning into hyperdrive streams of light and entering the desolate universe belt, heading in the Flickering World’s direction.

News of the Crimson Dynasty exploring the Flickering World had spread across the entire galaxy. Although the dynasty clearly stated that the other civilizations were not allowed to enter, the mere words on paper were not enough to scare those powerful forces away. They all wanted to enter the Flickering World in advance to grab the opportunities there.

These fleets were from different civilizations and organizations; they all hid their identities.

As they were unable to use the dynasty’s stargate, they could only sneak into the Flickering World, taking along stargate devices and planning to secretly build stargate routes without getting discovered by the dynasty.

Even though these fleets were all extremely quick. it would still take a very long time for them to cross the desolate universe belt and arrive at the Flickering World.

Among these smugglers, some were doing it for profits, and some had ulterior motives.

One of them was the group of people the Arcane Church secretly sent.

Chapter 821 - 821 Aesop“s Fully Automated Enemy Radar

821 Aesop's Fully Automated Enemy Radar

The blue colored planet, Planet Aquamarine, slowly rotated with spaceships constantly flying out from within the planet, leaving behind light trails as they departed.

The sun shone down on the tall buildings of the capital, and the windows reflected the blue sky and white clouds. Trains roared along the tracks, and anti-gravity suspension vehicles weaved within the city. There was a sense of liveliness within the city, a beautiful and prosperous sight.

At the terminal of Black Star City, Bennett stood there with a group of people in wait.

He stood by the window, observing the scenery of the vibrant capital outside. A sense of relief was seen on Bennett’s face.

With Han Xiao helping Planet Aquamarine break into the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference, many of the financial groups and organizations began to pay more attention to the development prospects of Planet Aquamarine. This brought about a new round of development opportunities, with the frequent trade circulation resulting in the increasing prosperity of the planet.

As for the citizens, after experiencing so many hardships, they finally began to smile at the thought of better days. The more the people enjoyed the happiness and fortune brought to Planet Aquamarine, the more they worshipped their guardian Black Star, who had brought all this to them.

A spaceship flew into the dock, and its hatch opened. Nero walked out, accompanied by a few soldiers, and the moment he saw Bennett, his expression softened. He ran as fast as his short legs could to Bennett.

“Dad!”

Bennett turned around, looking down toward him with a hint of suspicion on his face. “Why did you come back so soon? What did Black Star bring you into the universe for?”

Nero scratched his head, his tone downcast. “We only studied Mechanic theories most of the time. Godfather only took me out to play a few days before throwing me aside…”

Han Xiao had taken the majority of troops over to the Flickering World, and it was unknown when he could return, so he naturally left Nero behind, instructing Sylvia to send some people to accompany him back to Planet Aquamarine.

As he spoke, Nero seemed frustrated.

“Mr. Reynold said that this time was a vacation for me, and he even gave me homework to do during this time. He said that I can only come back for two months. Following that, he’ll send someone over to pick me up so that I can continue studying under him.”

Having received Han Xiao’s command, Reynold taught Nero whenever Han Xiao was not around. He seriously performed this duty, and he had already planned out the curriculum of the year in advance.

“It’s a rare chance that Black Star is willing to groom and nurture you. Don’t let him down.” Bennett laughed and squatted so that his eyes were level with Nero’s. Looking at his child kindly, he said, “Tell me what you experienced in the universe outside.”

Twisting his fingers, Nero recounted his experiences. He sounded excited because while the homework he got from Han Xiao was boring, it was still his first time outside exploring the universe. He had seen many strange and interesting things, and he was still quite satisfied overall with the trip.

Bennett listened and nodded, sighing secretly to himself.

He could feel that Han Xiao had taken an interest in Nero. It was not just because this kid was his child, but rather, he seemed to have a talent that Han Xiao appreciated, so Bennett was quite proud of this.

His child could actually display such talents. It seemed that he had some superior genes. Bennett began to seriously consider if he should go for a second child.

He was not willing to see this in a utilitarian manner, but if he put the future of Planet Aquamarine into consideration, if he had a few more talented children, with all of them studying under Han Xiao, Planet Aquamarine would have even stronger ties with Black Star himself.

While he might be old, his body that was forged with Pugilist skills was still lively, full of ‘ammunition’.

Among the list of most charming men, the Planet Aquamarine leader Bennett ranked second overall, which showed the love and support he received from the people. The hearts of the citizens were one thing; in addition, his status, age, and fit body formed the vibe of a stable and mature man, which was attractive to the women.

As for the number one on the list… it was without doubt Han Xiao. This position was something that no one could move or shake no matter what. With so many achievements, it did not matter what angle they looked at him from—they still found him handsome.

Before long, Nero spoke till his throat was parched, and he finally heaved a sigh. He was still excited over the happenings in the universe.

Bennett stopped him, rubbing his hair as he stood up. “Ok, that’s enough. When we have more time, I’ll talk in detail with you. You should return home to rest. I’m still waiting for someone here.”

A look of surprise crossed Nero’s face. “Aren’t you here to pick me up?”

Bennett shook his head in response, looking at the universe far above from the window.

“I’m waiting for someone even more important.”

…

At the same time, in the extreme end of Planet Aquamarine’s area of influence, a deep blue spaceship was shuttling through the universe in hyperdrive, quickly approaching Planet Aquamarine.

“So, this is Planet Aquamarine, Black Star’s mother planet…”

Within the cabin, a lifeform with deep blue skin stared at the screen, his tone pleasant. He was the captain of this spaceship, and he possessed four arms and three eyes, similar to the rest of the crew.

This entire spaceship consisted of members from the Star Pupil Holy Race.

The captain turned around to survey the crew before coldly remarking, “Black Star had stolen our national treasure, and this is a humiliation to our entire race. Our leaders are weak, not daring to do this nor that. But we, the Avitan Souls, dare!”

The captain’s voice was sonorous, and all the crew showed excited expressions, holding their weapons tightly.

“Because of the Evolution Cube, our Planet Avitan suffered an attack, and countless compatriots died. Our loved ones and friends are still trapped within this disaster. So many of them died, just so the Evolution Cube would not fall into the hands of others! Thus, this war crime is not just pinned on EsGod but also on Black Star!”

The captain pointed toward the direction of Planet Aquamarine before growling. “Only by spilling the fresh blood for revenge can we allow Black Star to regret his shameless behavior, allowing him to understand the humiliation he has submitted the Star Pupil Holy Race to. The despair he has left for us, we’ll take it from him!”

Many of the crew members roared with hatred.

Initially, in order to lure the tiger away from the mountains, they literally washed the entire Planet Avitan in blood. This disaster was the most painful memory of the Star Pupil Holy Race, and a few of the survivors had lost their minds because of hatred and turned into extremists. Thus, an extremist group was born, and they called themselves ‘Avitan Souls’. These extremists were basically almost made up of the survivors of the Avitan, especially those who had closed ones and friends who died within the disaster.

Because they had lost their national treasure, the Evolution Cube, Psyker’s prestige among the Star Pupil Holy Race had plummeted. The extremists who bore huge pain blamed Psyker for his incompetence and deeply hated the culprit, EsGod. Because the root of the disaster was due to the Evolution Cube, many of their comrades had sacrificed their lives. Thus, the Avitan Souls had developed a morbid obsession with the Evolution Cube, turning their hate toward Black Star, who had taken it.

The Evolution Cube was the treasure of their country in the eyes of the Star Pupil Holy Race. This impression had persisted for a long time, and now that the Evolution Cube had switched owners, the Star Pupil Holy Race treated Han Xiao with enmity. As for the Avitan Souls, they were even more extreme. Since Psyker was unable to retrieve the Evolution Cube, as though he was afraid of the dynasty retaliating, the Avitan Souls lost all faith in Psyker and decided to take matters into their own hands.

Upon hearing that Han Xiao would be taking his officers out for a trip for a long time, the Avitan Souls felt that their opportunity had arrived. Thus, they took the chance to plan an attack on Black Star’s mother planet, to execute their revenge, allowing Black Star to only be able to watch as his homeland was being destroyed.

Since Planet Aquamarine was part of the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference, even Psyker could not move rashly against them. Of course, these sorts of rules that bound the upper echelons were not considered at all by the extremists since they were outliers. They disregarded rules, as well as consequences, and only inflicted destruction as everything of theirs had been destroyed.

While Psyker was regarded as the best leader of the Star Pupil Holy Race thus far, he was not a god and could not control the thoughts of every one of his clansmen. Every race would always have a few people who were more inclined toward extreme measures, drowned by hatred. This was something that even the advanced civilization of the Star Pupil Holy Race could not avoid.

The captain turned to his first mate. “How are the weapons?”

The first mate nodded. “The five high-class psionic energy bombs are enough to annihilate the entire planet. They’re ready to be deployed at any time.”

“Very good. It is said that this sort of ammunition can destroy a continent with just one bomb. Three is enough to destroy the planet’s surface, and our objective is to ensure all five land on Planet Aquamarine, allowing this planet to accompany us in our demise. Let them feel our pain!” The captain’s tone was sinister; they did not plan to leave alive.

While those high-class Psionic Energy bombs could not compare to the Primordial Psionic Energy Bombs, they were still restricted weapons prohibited by the three major Universe Civilizations because they left terrible psionic pollution. Only Star Cluster Civilizations would possess such a thing generally.

The Avitan Souls were an organization that had only recently been established and did not possess any technological or scientific strength. The bomb was actually quietly funded by someone belonging to a civilization within the area where the Star Pupil Holy Race was located.

This civilization had always been wary of the rising Star Pupil Holy Race, and because they had the backing of the Arcane Church, no one could act against them. However, the Avitan Souls were an opportunity for them to frame the Star Pupil Holy Race. Thus, they used this borrowed knife to try and cause trouble in the Star Pupil Holy Race.

Just as the captain was about to strike, a blip appeared on their radar, and the artificial intelligence of the ship sent out a notification.

“Warning! A large, unidentified object is approaching!”

Everyone turned their heads toward the porthole to look, seeing a huge floating island swimming in the universe toward them.

“Floating Dragon Island?” The captain recognized this homeless floating island and was confused over why it had appeared there, as though it was proceeding toward Planet Aquamarine.

Floating Dragon Island slowly moved toward the deep blue spaceship. Comparing the two was just like comparing an elephant to a sesame seed.

“Let’s move away. Don’t obstruct Floating Dragon.”

The captain quickly gave the command. Floating Dragon was a neutral force and would not actively attack any passing spaceship. He planned to pause his operation for the time being, waiting for Floating Dragon to leave before continuing.

The spaceship was positioned below the entire island, and from the window, they could only see the rocks that made up the foundation of the island but not its entirety.

The pilot raised the spaceship and flew above the foundations of the island, level with the city line.

Everyone within the cabin got a rude shock at this time. They found out that in the most conspicuous position of the island, Ames stood there in a black dress, staring straight at them!

“She’s looking at us?”

Just as this thought passed by their minds, an unparalleled force field descended on them.

Hong!

Blood flowers blossomed!

The bodies of all the Star Pupil Holy Race members were squashed and turned into piles of meat. They died without warning on the spot.

On the harbor of Floating Dragon Island, Ames casually waved her hand, dispelling the field before speaking to Vilna by her side. “Search the spaceship. See if there are any dangerous weapons within.”

“Yes.” Vilna immediately deployed her people.

Ames then turned to look at Aesop by her side, her brows slightly furrowed.

“Are you sure that the people within this spaceship planned to harm Planet Aquamarine? I didn’t kill wrongly, right?”

Aesop only stroked his beard as he laughed. “When you spoke about moving Floating Dragon over, I did a divination a few days ago. These people are the natives of Psyker’s race, and it seems that because of the issue with the Evolution Cube, they wish to eradicate Planet Aquamarine as revenge against Black Star. They did not succeed in the end as they were destroyed by the anti-space defense of Black Star, but since we’re here, let’s just do him a favor.”

Ames shook her head helplessly. “I didn’t expect to have become a guard for his house.”

Aesop stared at her in surprise. “Didn’t you move Floating Dragon here to help him defend Planet Aquamarine?”

“Oh, this is to obtain the greatest benefits for Floating Dragon. Furthermore, I’m strengthening our alliance. How is this of his concern? Even if it’s for someone else, it would have to be for my two students.” Ames turned around to leave, her dress spiraling like a blooming black flower.

Aesop sent Ames off with his eyes before turning to Jenny.

“We’re almost here. Notify them.”

Jenny nodded without any change in her expression.

…

Bennett continued standing by the dock, his head raised as he observed the endless universe.

A huge shadow suddenly blotted out the sun. It spread quickly, covering the entire dock in an instant.

One only saw a humongous floating island appear in their vision, leisurely cruising toward Planet Aquamarine.

Bennett smiled.

“The VIP is finally here.”

Chapter 822 - 822 Handle

822 Handle

Floating Dragon floated beside Planet Aquamarine like a gigantic satellite, and the citizens on the ground could see a gigantic floating island in the sky if they looked up. Numerous individuals could not help but stop what they were doing and look up at the sky with shock on their faces.

“What’s that? Why does it seem so familiar?”

“Mummy! I have seen it in the encyclopedia before. That’s the legendary Floating Dragon Island. It drifts around in space! The palace of Dragon Emperor!” A young excited voice exclaimed while pointing at the sky.

“Oh! So, it’s Ames.”

After Planet Aquamarine broke free from Godora’s information lockdown, the knowledge of the citizens rose rapidly in the ten subsequent years. They all had basic understanding toward the famous characters in the Shattered Star Ring and were extremely familiar with Ames because of Han Xiao.

The citizens all knew that she was once Black Star’s superior and knew that they could only connect to the galaxy because of Floating Dragon’s protection. Thus, Ames and Floating Dragon had a special position in the hearts of the citizens.

Upon witnessing Floating Dragon Island approach Planet Aquamarine, many of the citizens could not help be both surprised and curious. They immediately called their friends to inform them of the news, and a huge commotion was created.

The various financial groups stationed on Planet Aquamarine had also noticed Floating Dragon’s presence and were extremely surprised. They approached the Planet Aquamarine government to find out what was going on.

At the same time, Ames and the others arrived at the dock in a small spaceship to meet Bennett.

“Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, Planet Aquamarine welcomes your arrival.” Bennett bowed and spoke with reverence in his voice.

He was extremely familiar with Han Xiao, and they had known each other for over twenty years. Thus, he could naturally behave more casually around Han Xiao. However, he was not familiar with Ames, and even though Bennett knew that Han Xiao had a good relationship with Ames, he would not dare overstep his bounds.

Ames waved her arm to indicate that Bennett did not need to be so polite. She then said with a smile, “Black Star should have informed you of my request, and you should have contacted Jenny as well.”

Bennett nodded. He had received news from Han Xiao a while ago and knew that Floating Dragon was about to be stationed near Planet Aquamarine. He had been truly shocked when he heard the news and was overjoyed shortly after. He knew that this was a rare opportunity and hurriedly mobilized manpower to work together with Floating Dragon.

He kept the matter a secret according to Ames’ wishes and only planned to announce the matter to the public after Floating Dragon’s arrival. The abruptness of the news would be beneficial to breaking everyone’s impression of Floating Dragon and also establishing a new image.

As such, Bennett did not announce the matter to the citizens of Planet Aquamarine beforehand.

“I will hold a press conference in the name of Planet Aquamarine and announce that Floating Dragon will be setting up their base here.”

“How long do you need to get it done?”

“I only need a couple of hours. Some of the galactic media groups have their reporters stationed here, and it won’t take too long for me to invite them. What do you think?”

Ames then nodded to indicate her approval. Floating Dragon would remain there for a long period of time, and the reason for her arrival today was to attend the press conference.

“Right, I met with some extremists from the Star Pupil Holy Race just now. They were roaming around the vicinity of Planet Aquamarine and had dangerous explosives loaded up on their spaceship. It seems as though they intended to ambush Planet Aquamarine, so I killed them out of convenience. A recording is present on their spaceship, and I shall hand them over to you.”

Bennett was taken aback.

The Star Pupil Holy Race… This should be because of Black Star right? They have transferred their hatred for Black Star to Planet Aquamarine.

“I will inform His Excellency Black Star,” Bennett said with a grave tone. This matter involved the race of another Beyond Grade A Super, so it was not appropriate for the leader of a civilization that had not even reached the Star System level to handle it. Thus, he was prepared to ask for Han Xiao’s opinion.

Although this matter was stopped in time, it could be said that the innocent Planet Aquamarine had been implicated because of Black Star. Planet Aquamarine had once suffered from a similar catastrophe before when Stephanie, who was under Thousand Shadows, had tried to cause chaos on the planet to deal with Black Star.

However, Bennett did not have any complaints. He was extremely clear that since they wanted to enjoy the benefits that Black Star brought to them, they would also be targeted by Black Star’s enemies. There was no such thing as a free lunch.

The battle between those high up above was like a raging storm, and the current Planet Aquamarine was just like a little boat in the ocean. They would be easily capsized if they were not careful, with all of them ending up dead. However, it would be extremely cowardly for them to throw away the opportunity for their civilization to rise and cut off all ties with their own protector. Perhaps the leaders of the Six Nations would have considered such a choice, but Bennett definitely would not waver.

With Floating Dragon’s arrival and a Beyond Grade A Super being stationed there, the safety of Planet Aquamarine would be increased by a few different levels, and no one would treat Planet Aquamarine as Black Star’s weakness anymore.

Bennett naturally did not know Ames’ intentions for coming to Planet Aquamarine. Thus, he felt that Han Xiao was definitely behind this matter. If not, Ames would not have shown Planet Aquamarine such a great deal of face. As such, he could not help but admire Han Xiao for his foresight.

…

Three hours later, many different galactic reporters were gathered in a hall, awaiting the start of the press conference.

“The Planet Aquamarine government called for a press conference shortly after Floating Dragon’s appearance. Their agenda today is probably related to Floating Dragon.”

“It is probably going to be big news.”

“It can’t be right? Floating Dragon is always drifting around in space and will never stay in a single place for long. It shouldn’t be anything special for them to arrive at Planet Aquamarine, right?”

The reporters then saw a couple of workers carry some equipment in and set up a live broadcast station in the room.

Everyone could not help but be startled when they saw that.

They wanted to have a live broadcast to the entire planet. Only a large matter would require a live broadcast.

Just when everyone was guessing what the announcement would be about, the doors to the hall opened wide. Upon turning around to take a look, everyone’s expression froze in place with a look of shock on their faces.

The individual walking in was not the usual media department of the Planet Aquamarine government but the leader of the government making a personal appearance. Beside him was a famous character whose name shook the entire Star Field—Dragon Emperor Ames.

All the reporters were truly shocked. Why would Ames appear in the Planet Aquamarine government’s press conference‽

They then watched as Bennett and Ames walked onto the stage.

“There is something that I must announce to the entire Star Field.” Bennett cleared his throat and said with a solemn tone, “From today on, Floating Dragon will remain outside of Planet Aquamarine’s atmosphere for the long run, and I represent the Planet Aquamarine government in welcoming our new neighbor.”

Before everyone could even react, Ames said, “Floating Dragon has been drifting for too long, and I have decided to stop it from drifting. From today on, this place shall be Floating Dragon’s main camp.”

Pin drop silence filled the place, and everyone was truly dumbfounded.

Boom!

The entire hall burst into an uproar!

All the reporters were trembling from excitement!

This was a huge scoop!

…

News of Floating Dragon setting up a base spread throughout the entire Shattered Star Ring like wildfire, and all the organizations were in shock.

For the Floating Dragon to stop drifting, it could only mean that Ames was going to set up a proper organization. However, this was not the piece of news that puzzled people the most. The most shocking piece of news was the fact that the address for her new base was on Black Star’s mother planet!

All the large organizations knew that the most eye-catching base of the Black Star Army was their headquarters, which was usually located at Planet Golden Gate. After Han Xiao obtained a seat in the Civilization Conference through the name of Planet Aquamarine, many individuals all felt that Planet Aquamarine would become Black Star’s second base.

Just what was Floating Dragon thinking, setting up their main camp in Black Star’s main camp?

Did this mean that both Beyond Grade A organizations were going to have an even closer relationship?

No, there was definitely something more to this!

Back when Heber challenged Black Star, Black Star had joined hands with the Dragon Emperor. Furthermore, the alliance between the Black Star Army and Floating Dragon was something that everyone in the Shattered Star Ring was aware about. But even if both parties were allies, their scope of operations were still clearly defined and did not clash with each other. Black Star Army had many branches while Floating Dragon drifted around without a fixed location.

But now, Floating Dragon had chosen to stay on Planet Aquamarine. They were not setting up a casual branch but their main base!

For an organization at the level of the Black Star Army and Floating Dragon, they would not set up their main base at the same location if there was not a special reason. They would only set up a branch in the territory of their ally at the very most. However, Dragon Emperor had shifted her base over to Black Star’s mother planet, and her intention obviously was not to fight over territory with Black Star.

This signified their absolute trust in each other!

They both believed that the other party would not betray them. If not, they would never expose their backs to each other. Such a level of trust was extremely rare among galactic organizations.

The relationship that both parties had displayed had already exceeded the realm of ordinary allies. They were close to the point that all the organizations could not help but think of another possibility. Could it be that there was a chance for both organizations to merge?

No Beyond Grade A Super would be willing to be a subordinate to another Beyond Grade A Super usually. Apart from submitting and working together, there was another relationship that was extremely common among normal beings but extremely rare among Beyond Grade A Supers…

The various organizations were not just letting their imaginations run wild but were making deductions based on the history between Black Star and the Dragon Emperor. Furthermore, Black Star had even taken Ames along with him to the Dynasty Ruler a while back!

This was a dangerous signal.

If both parties really merged together, an organization with unprecedented power would be born in the Shattered Star Ring, and the balance of the Shattered Star Ring would change greatly.

Back then, many organizations wished to drive a wedge between the Black Star Army and Floating Dragon, but they had failed. Now, many organizations still were not willing to see Floating Dragon and the Black Star Army become even closer.

Since this matter involved their interests, many organizations could not help but be alarmed.

…

On the contrary, many financial groups were extremely excited by this piece of news.

The development potential of Planet Aquamarine was pretty good before this, and with the addition of Floating Dragon’s presence, Planet Aquamarine’s potential had exploded.

All the financial groups that had cooperated with Planet Aquamarine early on injected another round of funds, and many other financial groups began to approach Planet Aquamarine to seek cooperation.

The citizens of Planet Aquamarine naturally would not reject it and were all filled with surprise.

…

In the Flickering World, rays of hyperdrive light sliced through the universe and stopped outside the atmosphere of a purple planet. This was the fleet that Han Xiao was in.

The majority of their manpower had already been sent out to explore other undiscovered planets, resulting in the small size of the fleet.

This purple planet was one of the transit stations in Han Xiao’s memories and was the target that he was prepared to explore. It was called Planet Pangurus in his previous life.

Because the unexplored regions did not have a stargate, the fleet took quite some time to arrive.

“We have arrived at our destination. Army Commander, please give us your next orders.”

Aurora stood up straight and pretended to mimic the voice of a soldier making a report, but before she could finish her sentence, she could not hold back her laughter.

“The engineering team should set up a stargate here, and the detection fleet should revolve around the planet to create a map. Make use of the detection devices to sense the presence of life and the resources on the planet. We will allow our exploratory squad to set off after the map is completed…”

Before Han Xiao could finish what he had to say, Phillip’s voice sounded in his head and interrupted him.

“Master, there is an emergency message from Planet Aquamarine, hum…”

The message then appeared in his quantum network. It was news that was sent by Bennett. Bennett had reported about successfully receiving Floating Dragon and also mentioned about the Avitan Souls incident together with a recording of what happened in the spaceship, asking him how the matter should be handled.

Han Xiao immediately frowned.

“Psyker didn’t provoke me, but there are people within his race who want to deal with me. Avitan Souls? There seems to be a small organization by that name. Don’t they hate EsGod? Why have I been dragged into this? They even want to commit suicide and destroy an entire planet? Is there really a need for such hatred? They are truly a ferocious bunch. Also, where did their psionic explosives come from?”

Han Xiao was a little helpless. This was one of the side effects of him obtaining the Evolution Cube. He was not too bothered by such an extremist organization. Everyone’s mental capacity was limited, and both war and calamities were the best way to cause the formation of an extremist group. Logic was not the only way for a living being to judge the things around them, and their emotions were usually more powerful than logic.

However, the vengeful actions of these extremists did Psyker a favor.

Han Xiao shook his head. He was not planning to pretend that nothing had happened.

Since Planet Aquamarine had a seat in the Civilization Conference, it was akin to them gaining the privileges of a Star System Civilization, and they would also be protected by the Peace Treaty. This was a good opportunity for him to exploit.

He then gave a reply to Bennett.

“Preserve the evidence and contact Purple Crystal on my behalf. Bring this matter to the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference and expose it to all the civilizations. I will take care of the rest.”

Although this matter would not do anything to Psyker, it would still disgust him for sure.

A small extremist group of his race personally delivering an excuse and the evidence to his hands. In the end, the entire Star Pupil Holy Race would have to take the blame for the matter. Who knew how Psyker would feel about this matter?

Chapter 823 - Natives

823 Natives

After giving instructions to Bennett, Han Xiao left the quantum network and returned to reality to monitor the work on Planet Pangurus.

The engineering fleet began constructing stargates outside the atmosphere, and the small detection squad revolved around the planet to scan the planet’s situation.

Very quickly, a holographic figure of Planet Pangurus was created with the details being perfected rapidly. Han Xiao and the other officers watched as the holographic planet became more and more detailed.

Not too long later, the detection fleet returned; they had completed their first round of exploration.

Detailed figures of the planet were shown on the maps including the gravity pull, atmosphere breakdowns, climate, size, and ocean ratio.

Apart from this, the 3D map was also demarcated into various regions by color to indicate the different resources located on the planet and the locations where lifeforms had gathered.

Aurora read the report.

“This planet is extremely rich in common resources, and apart from that, there are plenty of rare resources underground such as Dark Gold Mines, Purple Silver Mines, Origin Crystal Mines, and a dozen of different rare materials. These are the important materials for magical Star Systems, and its market price is 60 Enaus for 10,000 tons. This planet has billions of tons in the mines…

“At the extreme north of the planet, we also detected about 800,000 tons of the rare mountain essence. Every ton is priced around 6,000 Enaus. We also discovered some ingots that had spiritual energy stored within them. There isn’t much, and they should be worth about 1,200,000,000 Enaus…”

Han Xiao listened for a moment before nodding. “Give me an estimate of the planet’s value.”

“According to our initial scans, the value of this planet should be about 18,000,000,000 Enaus. If we can find more valuable resources when digging deeper, its value will go up.”

“It’s pretty valuable.” Han Xiao smiled.

This planet could be considered rather resource rich when compared to other mining planets.

However, despite the initial valuation of the planet being high, it would take more than a hundred years to fully reap all the benefits.

In the universe, resource rich planets would be tightly grasped in the hands of the various civilizations, and they would not sell them off like uninhabited planets.

The civilization would slowly excavate the resources of the planet and ensure that the excavation could be sustained for a long period.

Even an advanced civilization would not destroy the golden goose if they did not meet an emergency.

Resource rich planets were an important source of revenue for civilizations.

A civilian miner could only mine on the edges of a desolate planet to feed their family. Civilizations did not think much of a desolate planet and would usually sell these planets to civilian organizations. The Black Star Army obtaining the rights to mine on a resource rich planet was already the limits of a private organization.

Exploring the Flickering World was definitely a good opportunity for development. After the allies of the dynasty discovered a resource rich planet, although they needed to inform the dynasty and let the dynasty take the majority of the share, they would be able to gain the rights to mine for a short while and share a portion of the benefits.

Since the Black Star Army had discovered Planet Pangurus, they would have the rights to leave their forces behind to mine on the planet.

The sheer size of a Star Field represented countless planets and a huge benefit. To the organizations that did not belong to any civilizations, this was akin to obtaining the rights to mine on many resource rich planets.

Furthermore, they would be able to obtain a bonus reward from the dynasty if they reported a certain number of resource rich planets.

However, the advantage of Planet Pangurus did not lie only in its resources. It would become one of the doors to enter the Garu Star Cluster and thus became a trading station in the future. With this point alone, Planet Pangurus was not merely an ordinary resource rich planet but had huge potential.

Seeing Han Xiao remain silent, Aurora continued. “We detected a large number of living beings on the planet, with the majority of them being wild beasts. We aren’t clear how many different species there are, but only one of the species had traces of intelligence and the signs of a civilization.”

As Aurora explained, a projection appeared in front of everyone. It was the projection of the living being that Aurora was describing.

This living being was three to four meters tall and looked like a human. It looked like the elf clan in the universe, but there were many subtle differences between the two. It was clad in beast skin for clothes like a caveman.

“According to our observations, this sentient being is a native of the planet and they have reached the level of a tribal civilization,” Aurora said. “Their tribes are scattered all around the planet, and they rely on hunting to survive. Our detection fleet has not made contact with them yet.”

Han Xiao nodded.

He had long known that Planet Pangurus had a native civilization that called themselves ‘Children of the Forest’. In truth, such a title was extremely common in the galaxy, and there were at least a few thousand various native civilizations who call themselves ‘Children of the Forest’. Some other complementary names included Children of the Magma, Children of the Mountain, and Children of the Ocean.

In his previous life, the others were used to using the name of the planet as a prefix of the civilizations name. This race was called Pangurus Giant Elves.

“Send out our scouts to make contact with them,” Han Xiao said.

When pioneering in a new Star Field, there was a sensitive topic that was publicly acknowledged in the universe—how should they manage their relationship with the natives? There were far too many negative examples in history. Since the advanced civilizations wanted to mine for resources, it was extremely common for them to be treated as invaders and face the retaliation of the natives.

Maintaining biodiversity had always been the rule of the advanced civilizations, and a Universal Civilization like the Crimson Dynasty would not begin a needless massacre just to mine for resources. Thus, Tarrokov had explicitly stated that their priority should be to communicate with the natives, and they should not use violence senselessly.

Under such circumstances, it would be far easier to handle the weaker natives, and the discovery of natives could also earn them reward.

…

On Planet Pangurus, the Green Stream was a dense jungle with large trees that were over fifty meters tall. The leaves of the trees formed an ocean, and it swayed in the wind. The sunlight that managed to shine through the thick sea of leaves became spots of light that swayed together with the leaves.

A clear stream went through the jungle and cut the jungle in two. More than a hundred six- to seven-meter-tall beast skin tents were set up on both sides of the stream. Outside the tents, bunches of golden-red dried fruits were hanging as though they were decorations.

This was one of the tribes of the Pangurus Giant Elf race. There were some climbing up trees to pick fruits, others waving their sticks to chase their reared animals, and some who were holding onto spears and shields in preparation of a hunt.

At the entrance of the tribe, the chief said to the hunters who were about to leave, “Hunters, our tribe doesn’t have enough food. You guys must hunt for a little more food this time.”

“Haha, just wait for our bountiful return,” the captain of the hunter squad said with a loud laugh.

The chief then let out a sigh. “We were attacked by the other tribes half a year ago, and our youths have been severely wounded. We can only rely on you old hunters to hunt for some food. However, all of you are growing older by the day, and I really don’t know what we should do in the future.”

The hunting captain then patted the shoulders of a youth beside him. “Don’t worry, we are training a new batch of youths. Duki is the fastest learner, and he is already able to go hunting together with us. He may be the one to succeed us in the future.”

Duki puffed up his chest and had a look of pride on his face.

“What a good lad.”

“We shall rely on you in the future.”

All the villagers by the side praised him with a respectful tone.

Upon hearing the praise of the villagers, Duki had a face full of confidence.

All of a sudden, his gaze looked through the crowd and arrived at a small campfire. A youth was sitting beside the campfire and looking at him with a face full of envy. It was his good friend, Roseau.

Duki raised his arms and flexed his muscles to Roseau, who was sitting afar, and both of them broke out into laughter.

“Let’s go,” the hunter captain said before setting off with the other hunters.

Upon seeing that, Duki waved to Roseau and hurriedly followed behind the hunters. The groups of hunters then entered the forest and disappeared before the sights of the crowd.

Roseau looked at his good friend leaving and suddenly let out a sigh.

“Hunter… sigh.”

The hunters had the responsibility to hunt and fight, and they were the most highly respected within the tribe. Almost every youth aimed to become a hunter, but Roseau was an exception.

He did not have any interest in hunting and fighting, and he did not have any talent in that regard.

Roseau preferred to do other things that seemed meaningless to others, such as writing or thinking. However, this made plenty of people in the tribe dissatisfied with him and felt as though he was a sloth who did not want to do anything but get protected by others.

However, he also wanted to receive the respect of others like his good friend. Thus, he worked harder to pick fruits, sew clothes, and anything else within his abilities. However, these jobs were usually done by the old, young, and weak, and it was not enough to change the others’ impression of him.

Although Roseau cared about how others looked at him, he did not wish to go against his own heart and do something that he was not good at just to change the impression that others had of him. He wished to use another method to contribute to the tribe. However, it seemed as though every youth in the tribe should only have become a hunter as their sole goal.

Right at this moment, a huge gust of wind suddenly blew over.

Whoosh!

Ripples could be seen on the clear stream, and a huge cloud of sand was blown up by the winds.

“What is going on‽” Roseau raised his head and looked up with his eyes wide open in shock.

He had never seen something like this before!

A black, squarish box floated down from the skies and hovered right above their tents, covering their entire tribe with a huge shadow.

The Pangurus Giant Elves in the tribe were all shocked.

“Our god of the forest! What is this thing‽”

“Is it a monster that can fly‽”

“Run!”

Upon witnessing a scene that none of them could understand, many of them became anxious.

All of a sudden, a small hole could be seen on the belly of this black ‘beast’, and a bunch of strange looking beings covered in metal descended from the sky.

The ten or so warriors who had remained in the tribe charged forward, and their wooden spears struck these beings who descended from the skies.

Kacha kacha!

Their wooden spears snapped upon coming into contact with the surface of the armor.

Taking off their helmets, half of them were the warriors of the army while the other half were players with their IDs above their heads. The majority of the players present were the core members of clubs, such as Hao Tian and Frenzied Sword.

These players had accepted the mission to meet the natives without killing them.

Frenzied Sword pressed onto the galactic translator and tried to speak with sincerity.

“u0026$#@[email protected]…”

Just what are you saying‽ The Pangurus Giant Elves were completely puzzled.

It could not be helped. This was the first time that the Pangurus Giant Elf race had come into contact with the galaxy, and their language was not in the database yet.

“Monsters! Monsters!” Many ladies let out a shriek, and they began picking up stones to hurl at the ‘monsters’.

The stones landed on the armor of the warriors and were naturally useless.

All the players looked at each other with helpless looks on their faces. How were they supposed to console the agitated natives if they could not even communicate?

On the other side, the NPC captain raised his rifle up and fired at the forest by the side.

Xiu!

A blue laser shot out and penetrated a few dozen trees, leaving behind a hole.

Following which, a loud explosion could be heard from the forest, and a huge crater was blown up.

This scene frightened all the natives, and a look of disbelief and fear could be seen on their faces after witnessing the carnage of the attack. They all stopped attacking and began trembling with fear.

“Hu…” The captain then looked toward the players. “Brother, did you see that? The best way to deal with natives that you can’t communicate with is to scare them.”

Just when the atmosphere was tense and the Pangurus Giant Elf race was in fear, Roseau tried his best to maintain his cool and analyze the intentions of the strange creatures before them.

These living beings don’t seem to be hostile.

Although I can’t understand what they’re saying, they seem to be talking just now? Could it be that they have intelligence as well?

This shouldn’t be wrong. They also want to communicate with us!

Roseau hesitated for a moment before taking in a deep breath and walking forward.

His actions immediately attracted the attention of both parties, and everyone’s attention was focused on him.

After swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Roseau looked at his tribe mates and said, “Everyone don’t be afraid. They do not wish to kill us. Please do not provoke them.”

He then walked forward to Frenzied Sword and looked down at this ‘dwarf’ who was only up until his waist. Suppressing his fear, he half knelt so both of their heights were the same before pointing at his mouth and ears, hoping that the other party would understand what he was trying to say.

Frenzied Sword understood what the other party meant and threw a galactic translator over, gesturing to show the other party how to put it on.

Roseau understood what the other party meant and hurriedly put on the translator. The translator immediately read his mind and understood his thoughts.

“Can you understand me now?”

Roseau’s eyes lit up and he nodded.

The captain then chuckled. “He knows how to communicate with us. This fellow is pretty smart. He shall be the representative of this tribe.”

Chapter 824 - Homeland

The sudden descent of the battleship from the sky and the loud explosion that came from the tribe resulted in all the hunters who left not too long ago rushing back. Their eyes were glued on the mountain like flying beasts before them.

All the hunters hurriedly returned to the tribe, and although the members of the tribe were still trembling in fear, there were no casualties. Only then did the anxious hearts of the hunters ease up as they asked around to find out what had happened.

Duki looked around, and his heart immediately sank. He could not find the figure of his good friend Roseau among the crowd. He anxiously went around to ask the different members of his tribe.

“Those individuals said a few words to Roseau before taking him away. Before leaving, he asked us not to be afraid and said that they did not come with ill intentions…”

“In which direction did they go?” Duki was enraged. He could not be bothered with what Roseau had said and only knew that his good friend had been taken away by a bunch of aliens. He could not sit around and do nothing.

The villager pointed in a direction. The members of the army did not return to the spaceship but walked into the forest instead.

Duki raised his weapon and charged in that direction without saying another word. The hunters beside him shouted for him to stop, but he ignored them completely and only thought about saving his friend from the hands of those beasts.

Upon witnessing such a scene, the hunting captain immediately followed behind Duki, afraid that Duki would meet with some danger.

The gigantic elves weaved through the jungle nimbly, and Duki could recognize the footprints on the ground. After running for a while, he finally caught up to the members of the army.

All the players were currently swinging their weapons to clear out a piece of land. They were preparing to form a mini stronghold.

According to their mission requirements and the orders of the army, they were to come meet the natives and set up a stronghold near the tribe for future communication.

“Hmm? A life form is approaching.” Frenzied Sword waved his blade to slice down a tree, and his radar detected the presence of Duki.

Duki was currently squatting in the bushes, completely unaware that his whereabouts had already been exposed. He looked around and observed the ‘beasts’ who were clad in metal. He immediately spotted Roseau, who was currently surrounded, and his face broke out with a smile.

“Ha!” The next moment, Duki pounced into the air and landed not too far away from Roseau.

He then charged forward and aimed his spear at the lower body of the metal beast to launch a one hit ko attack.

Pa!

His wooden spear snapped into two instantly.

The member of the army gently sent out a kick, afraid that he may kill the native and fail the mission.

However, in Duki’s eyes, this kick was fast to the point he could not react. He raised his shield to block the kick, and an irresistible force smashed down on his shield.

Boom!

The wooden shield exploded and was shattered into wooden splinters.

Duki’s body was sent flying a few meters away, and a sharp pain could be felt in his arms. His chest had a dull aching pain, and he could not help but vomit out a stomach full of gastric juices. He lay flat on the ground and could not get up, staring at the attacker with a look of fear and disbelief.

“Don’t kill him! He’s my friend!” Roseau cried out and looked toward Duki. “What are you here for‽”

“Cough cough… I am here to save you,” Duki said with a weak voice. He was only an ordinary being but had been kicked by a Grade C warrior. The only reason he was alive was because the other party had only used one percent of his strength.

“Sigh… I don’t need you to save me. They didn’t come with ill intentions and are my friends. Hurry up and leave.”

Roseau then helplessly pleaded toward the warriors of the army. In that short period of time, he had already found out about the general situation. Although there were many words that he did not understand, it did not stop him from understanding that the other party did not have any ill intentions.

Upon hearing Roseau persuade him to return, Duki, who was on the ground, raised his head and saw Roseau talking to the unknown beings in some strange language. Roseau was not in any danger at all and did not need any saving.

Roseau received a reply and said with joy, “I have pleaded on your behalf, and they have agreed to let you go. Hurry up and return to the tribe. I am doing fine, and you just need to wait for news from me. Please do not make any rash moves again.”

“Let me go…” Duki repeated those words again, and he looked at Roseau with a complicated expression. It was as though he had a new understanding of this good friend of his who had never been welcomed since a young age.

A sense of defeat rose in his heart, and Duki clenched his fists tightly.

At this moment, the hunting captain finally arrived, and he looked at the members of the army warily. Upon seeing Duki lying on the ground, he was extremely surprised. Roseau then hurriedly called out to him and explained the situation. The hunting captain then supported Duki, who had temporarily lost the ability to move, and left.

Roseau looked at their departures and heaved a sigh of relief.

…

Many different troops landed from the sky and came into contact with the tribes scattered all around the planet. The gigantic battleship that descended from the sky was like the descent of a celestial being to the Pangurus Giant Elves.

The silence in their lives had been disturbed, and all the natives looked at the descending aliens with fear and wariness.

The members of the army set up a stronghold beside the tribes and chose one or a few representatives from each tribe. These representatives were taught how to use the translating device so that the army could communicate with them.

At the same time, Han Xiao did not let the others remain idle and sent out the mining squad to the various resource rich locations. They began to construct a new base and started their mining operations.

Large patches of forests were uprooted and replaced with cold metal.

With a large amount of manpower under his charge, Han Xiao did not need to take action personally. He only needed to command the operation from the flagship and was extremely idle.

“Your Excellency Black Star, you discovered a resource rich planet that has rare materials?”

Senico from the dynasty was overjoyed when he received the piece of news.

At this moment, the majority of the forces were still exploring the first Star Zone, and the majority of the resource rich planets that they had found only contained ordinary resources. There were extremely few planets that had a value of over six billion Enaus.

Planet Pangurus was the most valuable planet that they had discovered in the first Star Zone to date.

“Yes, I have already updated the information of the planet in the database. There are natives living on the planet, and my men are keeping in contact with them,” Han Xiao said.

Senico thought for a moment before saying, “I see. The mining operation for the planet shall be handed over to you then. I will send a team over to help you.”

According to the rules, Han Xiao would be able to temporarily enjoy mining rights to a planet that the Black Star Army discovered.

But if the planet was discovered by the dynasty’s forces, the allies of the dynasty would have limited rights over the planet. Thus, the only way to maximize their benefits would be to mine a planet that they discovered. Senico’s troops were both his comrades and competition.

After chatting for a while, Han Xiao hung up and opened the interface. A few notifications popped up from the Flickering World Main Storyline Mission. His discovery of a resource rich planet and native civilization awarded him with quite a few Exploration Points.

The players who followed him to Planet Pangurus were the ones who got the greatest rewards among the players.

On the forums, the players who explored the different planets began to show off their own Exploration Points. However, they were extremely envious of the Exploration Points that the players on Planet Pangurus got.

“We can earn the most from following our Army Commander.”

“Sigh… what a pity. Most of the slots to follow Black Star have been given to the large guilds. I didn’t manage to snatch the remaining slots because I was too ugly.”

Although the players went to explore the various planets, they could still communicate with each other through the forums and share information with each other.

Of the players that Han Xiao had taken along with him, a large number of them were players from the various clubs, and many professional players were included.

Closing the interface, Han Xiao looked at the dots of light on the map that indicated the presence of his troops and asked, “How is their contact with the natives going? Did anyone fight back?”

Aurora shook her head and said, “There are more than ten thousand tribes on the planet, and the population of the Pangurus Giant Elf race is about ten million. Our warriors used scare tactics to instill fear in them, and thus, we don’t have any injuries temporarily. Er… there seem to be some accidental deaths, but the numbers wouldn’t exceed a hundred.”

Han Xiao replied with a nod. The natives of this planet were still at the elementary stage, and their population was small. Under a hundred deaths on their first contact was still within an acceptable range.

“Let the ground troops console those tribes and slowly educate them. This is only the first day, and it will be a long process. Tell our men not to be eager for success. Even if the natives fight back, they won’t cause much harm to us. Try not to deal with them using violence.”

Even if no one fought back currently, it did not mean that no one would in the future. The natives had not understood just what they were facing. One day, some of them would fight back because of their love for the land.

Thankfully, the natives were far too weak, and their retaliation would be meaningless. This was also their saving grace.

Han Xiao knew that there were a few native civilizations who could barely reach the level of a Star System in the Renault Star Cluster, and it was far more difficult to deal with them. If the Bloodshed Land met those civilizations, they would have to suffer for a period.

It would take far too long to educate a bunch of natives. This was a job that would take a few decades or even centuries. Han Xiao naturally would not remain on a single planet for such a long time. He was only setting the foundation and would hand over the job of educating the natives to the dynasty when they arrived. He only needed to leave behind some forces for his mining operation, and he could go and explore another planet.

…

The representatives of the tribes returned to their tribes with the goodwill of the Black Star Army and conveyed the message that the Black Star Army had no intention of harming them. At the same time, they brought back with them the seeds of a few different crops suitable for the climate of the planet.

With the assurance of the representatives, the Pangurus Giant Elf race was no longer that fearful toward their guests from the sky. After overcoming their fear, they could not help but be curious toward these guests.

Every stronghold beside the tribe had the function of being a school. The school was opened to the natives, and because the translator had gathered enough information about the natives’ language, it was possible for them to communicate normally. There were a few bolder natives who had even attempted to study in the strongholds.

The stronghold taught them various different life skills, including farming and craftsmanship. They also gave out seeds and food for free, and some of the natives returned to set up their own plantation after learning from the stronghold.

Through this process, the various tribes understood the identities of these guests who had descended from the sky. They found out about the existence of the Black Star Army and the Crimson Dynasty.

The members of the army passed on some basic knowledge to the natives and the history of the army. The natives were not able to believe that there were such powerful organizations living in the sky, capable of easily traversing through the universe.

Everything had exceeded their knowledge, and the existence of the Black Star Army was like a miracle in their eyes.

In the Clear Stream Tribe, Roseau’s life was getting better.

After becoming the representative of the tribe to communicate with the guests from the sky, Roseau continued to learn new knowledge and brought all his knowledge back to the tribe. He was extremely talented in this regard, and the tribe began to learn new things from the Black Star Army, changing their lifestyle.

Roseau suddenly realized that the members of his tribe who had disdained him were finally treating him with respect. In his tribe, his status had exceeded the chief’s, and he became the most respected person within the tribe.

The culture of these natives had not been completely formed and did not have any concept of abandoning their own traditions. They were all immediately entranced by the new inflow of knowledge.

The most respected people in the past were the hunters who brought food back to feed the tribe. Now, the most respected ones were those who brought back knowledge from the stronghold. The seeds and food that they brought back allowed the tribe to feed themselves much more easily. The craftsmanship that they had obtained allowed clothes to be more comfortable and the tents to be warmer. Some of them even brought back a free weapon to the tribe called a crossbow. With this weapon, hunting became even easier.

The hunters were the warriors of the tribe, and they had the responsibility of protecting the tribe. However, these hunters were completely helpless before the members of the army, and the tribe gradually lost their reliance on the hunters. Although the hunters still received some form of respect, they were gradually being pushed to the periphery.

Duki looked at Roseau, who was being surrounded by the tribe, and had a complicated feeling in his heart.

This had once been his honor, and although he treated Roseau as his good friend, a sense of superiority had budded in his heart. He had felt that he was protecting Roseau at that time. But now, their statuses had been swapped. Roseau, who had not been popular in the tribe, was now a respected individual, and the young hunter who had been the hope of the tribe was now ignored.

Duki felt more and more depressed.

After talking to the members of his tribe, Roseau saw Duki and said with concern, “How are your injuries?”

Upon hearing Roseau’s words of concern, Duki found it to be extremely piercing for some reason.

“… I am fine,” he replied coldly and walked away.

Upon seeing Duki’s cold response, Roseau was completely puzzled. Duki had been extremely cheerful in the past and became depressed after being beaten up previously. Roseau could not understand why Duki seemed to be avoiding him.

…

On the other side, Duki walked out of the tribe and sprinted at top speed in the forest to vent his frustrations.

Feeling the wind blowing on his face, his mood immediately became better.

After running for a long while, Duki wanted to go to his own secret base. He had once happened upon a clear lake in the forest, and he liked going there to take a bath occasionally.

However, the scene stunned him upon his arrival.

The lake had disappeared, and in its place was a deep crater. A few metallic towers were beside the crater, and the members of the army were using some strange apparatus to dig up the soil.

“What are you guys doing‽”

Duki flew into a rage. He disliked these guests from the sky and was about to charge forward with his weapon in his hands. All of a sudden, a member of the army blocked him.

“The mining site is up ahead, and it isn’t open to outsiders. Please leave immediately.”

“Where is the lake over here? Where is the lake‽ What did you guys do‽” Duki roared angrily and wanted to barge his way into the mine.

Bang!

Duki was pushed down by a powerful force and clutched his stomach in pain.

“I am sorry. Please do not obstruct our mining operations. If you have any requests, you can go to the stronghold near your tribe. This place is not open to outsiders.”

“What right do you have to stop me? This is obviously a place that I discovered…”

Duki clenched his fists, and his face turned red from anger. At this moment, he saw the guests from the sky digging out a large pile of shiny crystal from the original position of the lake.

Upon witnessing that, he understood that this was their true intention.

Raising his head, he looked around at the trees that were chopped down and replaced with metal. Thinking back to his experiences over the past few days, he could not help but feel a sense of desolation but did not understand where it came from.

However, Duki slowly had a feeling in his heart.

All of those things should have belonged to them…

For the first time, he felt that this forest, land, and planet was their home.

…

In the flagship, Aurora hesitated for a moment before saying, “Uncle, is it alright for us to do this?”

Han Xiao raised his brows and asked, “What do you want to say?”

Hila, who was by the side, also looked over.

“We are actually invading the homes of the natives…” Aurora said softly.

“I know what you mean.” Han Xiao waved his hands. “However, we are educating the natives and bringing knowledge to them. This is different from just invading their homes.”

“However…” Aurora plucked up her courage. “This planet is their home, and the natives do not have the ability to protect themselves. They can only watch as their homes are being invaded by us and all their resources taken away. Aren’t we being too much of a bully?”

“They should be glad that they do not have the ability to fight back. If not, the fatalities would only increase.”

“But…”

“Sigh, you don’t need to continue.” Han Xiao interrupted Aurora and said helplessly, “Do you think that they have a choice?”

Aurora blinked and said, “Actually, we can avoid the planets with natives and explore other uninhabited planets.”

Han Xiao shook his head and looked out of the window at the universe.

“You are far too idealistic. This planet… no, when this Star Field was discovered by the three great civilizations, the destiny of all the living beings changed. They no longer have the right to develop with freedom.

“We can avoid the planets where there are natives, but when the Crimson Dynasty opens up the Flickering World to the outside world, do you think that other wolf-like civilizations will let go of them? They are destined to lose many things and let outsiders share their homeland. This is already a very good ending. The weak will never be able to achieve perfection.”

Aurora fell silent, and her heart was in turmoil. Because of her life Esper Ability, she was extremely sensitive toward the lives of others.

She empathized with the natives. Even if the Pangurus Giant Elf race still did not understand the meaning behind what was going on, she could not help but dislike the world where the strong preyed on the weak.

Hila had a calm look on her face. She was different from her sister, and she had always believed that it was a crime to be weak.

Han Xiao paused for a while before continuing. “You don’t have to think too much about this. Digging up their resources isn’t a classy action, but you have to know that nobody has the obligation to aid another race in their development. The dynasty will only educate the natives because of the rich resources on the planet, and this is a kind of exchange, an exchange that the natives are unable to reject.”

In his previous life, after many years of development, Planet Pangurus had become a transit station, and the natives were split into two factions. One faction was educated by the dynasty and turned into galactic residents. They learned various technological skills and began building their own skill trees. Their civilization rapidly skipped past the primal stage. As a result, Planet Pangurus had their own cities, and the inhabitants of the planet could even travel to other planets.

The other faction rejected the education and chose to maintain their original lifestyle. They tried to put up a resistance, but it was completely useless. Thus, they decided not to come into contact with the outside world and lived deep in the mountains. They continued to live with beasts as their companions, and no one bothered them.

The Pangurus Giant Elf race was split in two because of this reason. However, there would always be some from the primal faction leaving the forests and joining the bustling cities.

“Compared to the exploration era, this is pretty good,” Feidin said from the side.

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao nodded in agreement.

The exploration of the Flickering World was similar to the exploration era. The only difference being that the three Universal Civilizations had enough strength in the universe to suppress anyone who was dissatisfied. Thus, they had the confidence to employ some warmer means.

In the exploration era, the first thought after discovering another civilization would be to exterminate the other party. War broke out all around; it was a dark time.

Chapter 825 - 825 Unexpected Hidden Mission

825 Unexpected Hidden Mission

In front of absolute power, regardless of what the Pangurus Giant Elf race felt or wanted to do, they would not be able to stop the fleet from mining resources.

The efficiency of the galactic mining equipment was extremely high, and resources were rapidly unearthed from all around the planet, filling up the warehouses with batches of raw materials.

During the mining process, some of the exploratory troops discovered even more resources hidden underground, raising the value of the planet even further.

Han Xiao was extremely satisfied as he looked at the report in his hands.

Although the benefits of mining the various resource rich planets in the Shattered Star Ring were not small, he was still in the territory of others, and there was not enough freedom. However, he could do whatever he liked on a resource rich planet that he discovered in the Flickering World. As long as he did not engage in unsustainable mining practices, the dynasty would not interfere.

These materials could be sold back to the dynasty or brought back to the Shattered Star Ring to sell. Han Xiao temporarily stored all of them and got an experienced individual to oversee sales.

After the construction of the stargate, a small troop from the dynasty appeared. After greeting Han Xiao, they also joined in the mining operation and took over the job of educating the natives.

After a simple handing over, Han Xiao called back a portion of his forces.

They had completed the elementary phase of exploring Planet Pangurus, and the only thing left for him to do would be to begin mining. He decided to remain on the planet for another two days and allow the players to enjoy themselves for a bit before setting off to discover another planet.

All the players from the army had discovered their first planet and had a certain understanding of the Flickering World mission. Furthermore, all the players who discovered a resource rich planet could choose to stay behind and mine for resources.

The ordinary players would naturally reject such a proposal. Why would they give up the entire forest for a single tree? However, many of the first-rate guilds actually did the opposite. Because the majority of their core members followed Han Xiao’s main fleet, they could not bear to give up the precious resources on Planet Pangurus.

To the guilds, ten birds in the forest could not beat one in their hands. They needed a long-term supply of resources to provide benefits for the guild. As such, many of the guilds left behind a portion of their manpower to mine for resources.

Because the large mining equipment all belonged to the army, these guilds could only purchase a batch of Worker Bee Armor to issue to their members and allow them to mine freely. The resources that they obtained would be the long-term harvest of the guild.

The players had their own methods to harvest rewards, and Han Xiao would not stop them. After all, it was peanuts to him, and it would not be efficient for him to stop the players from freely doing as they wished. As long as he could satisfy the hunger of these guilds, their sense of belonging to the army would only be strengthened.

The various guilds that came from the Constellation Corridor had also managed to groom a batch of players and left some players behind to mine for resources. As the four large guilds saw that, they decided to work together with the other first-rate guilds and make trouble for these outsiders after the main fleet left. As long as the main fleet left, the outsiders would definitely be at their mercy.

In Version 4.0 of Han Xiao’s previous life, the various guilds were busy destroying each other’s mining locations when they were in the Flickering World. Now that players from the other countries were in the territory of the Chinese guilds, the Chinese guilds definitely would not let them develop in peace.

Because Han Xiao had allowed the players to cross Star Fields ahead of time, the competition between guilds appeared earlier.

…

A large storm was raging over some ocean on Planet Pangurus, and the waves were turbulent.

One of the mining bases was located on the ocean, and it remained steady despite the raging waves. A spherical shield covered the base from the waves, and droplets could be seen on the shield as the waves crashed into it.

At the edge of the base, many warriors could be seen diving down into the ocean with exploratory equipment on their backs. Underneath the base was a Fusion Crystal Vein, and these individuals were diving underwater to investigate the situation of the ocean.

Maple Moon had also accepted this mission. She put on her armor and very quickly dove down a few thousand meters.

Her field of vision was a deep dark blue, and the waters became black as she looked far ahead. The sense of the unknown filled her with fear, and she could only hear her radar beeping, her own breathing, and her heart beating.

This silent frightening atmosphere made Maple Moon shudder, and she wanted to curl up in a ball.

“I should probably return… I won’t do this mission at the very most.” Maple Moon was terrified in her heart. Although she had already reached Grade B, the attributes of her character would not help prevent her from feeling fear. She had a feeling that she had a slight phobia toward the deep ocean.

Just when she was prepared to swim upward, an alarm rang on her radar.

“Detecting a large living being! The target is currently approaching!”

The waters around her began to surge, and Maple Moon felt as though she could not control her body. She hurriedly activated her stabilizing device, and white light could be seen shooting out from her armor before her body was stabilized.

Before she could even observe her surroundings, her radar displayed a dot of light shooting toward her like a missile.

Maple Moon turned around in a fluster, and a gigantic beast suddenly appeared in her sights. It had countless claws, and its head seemed like a combination of a snake and a dragon. The mouth of the beast was wide open and approaching her rapidly.

Her sights then blacked out, and she was swallowed by the beast.

The beast slowed down after completing its hunt and was about to enjoy its meal. However, its body suddenly began contorting as though it was in immense pain.

The next moment, a brilliant blue light exploded forth from the body of the beast, and the beast exploded into pieces.

Boom!

Fresh, purple blood and meat fragments exploded in the ocean, and Maple Moon’s armor was covered in a sticky liquid. It was the mixture of the beast’s blood and digestive juices.

Upon witnessing this bloody scene, Maple Moon hurriedly turned off the mature content, and the scene became less gory.

She had previously been shocked by the sudden appearance of the beast and forgotten to fight back. She only managed to snap back to her senses after being swallowed by the beast and used her Grade B strength to easily eliminate it.

Maple Moon put her weapon away and was prepared to swim upward. All of a sudden, her radar detected an abnormal metal object that was inside the body of the beast.

“What did I discover?” Maple Moon’s eyes shone. As a player who enjoyed storylines, she was an extremely curious individual, and her instinct told her that she had found something important.

After hesitating for half a second, she stopped swimming upward and flipped through the corpse of the beast while bearing with her disgust.

Dang!

A one-meter metal object was sucked into her palms by the magnetic force given out by her palms.

It looked like some form of a detection device and was extremely tattered. It had signs of being corroded all around it, with many craters on the surface of the device as though it was bitten by living beings.

_____________________

You have discovered an unknown detection device

Unknown Detection Device: This seems to be the wreckage of some galactic detection device. It is badly damaged, but the technology of the device has far exceeded the range of the planet’s natives. It seems to be from another civilization and may have some hidden message within it. You can attempt to appraise it or give it to a special NPC in exchange for a reward. Or, you can attempt to repair it and activate the device. This will result in a special outcome. Please consider your choice carefully (Requires the ability of a Mechanic).

You have received 6 Exploration Points.

_____________________

“It really is a hidden mission!”

Maple Moon’s eyes lit up, and the fear that she had felt was thrown to the back of her mind. She then toyed around with the unknown detection device with curiosity. She loved digging up such unknown storylines the most.

Without any hesitation, she immediately took the item back to the base. Without removing her armor, she hurriedly appraised the detection device. Her Mechanic ability had reached the prerequisite requirements, and the outcome of her appraisal popped up on the interface.

_____________________

Appraisal complete!

You have obtained [Broken Coordinate Marker]. This item is used to mark a coordinate in space.

Current status: Severe damage, system malfunction and all functions disabled.

_____________________

“This is some high-level tech.” Maple Moon was surprised. This item had already reached the level of a Star System. Could this mean that Planet Pangurus had been discovered by some civilization before?

There was also the possibility that this marker had been destroyed in the universe and eventually drawn Planet Pangurus because of gravity. It then landed in the ocean and was swallowed by the oceanic beasts. If not, Planet Pangurus would have been visited by guests a long time ago.

Maple Moon fell into a dilemma. This marker was indeed valuable intelligence, and she would receive a reward if she handed it over to the army.

However, she could not reign in her curiosity, and she wanted to fix this marker to see what the ‘special effect’ was and what kind of people she would attract.

After hesitating for a moment, Maple Moon gritted her teeth, and her curiosity emerged victorious.

_____________________

You have used [Intermediate Repair] on the [Broken Coordinate Marker]!

Judging… Judgement success.

Your level, Intelligence, Class knowledge, and skills have reached the prerequisite requirements

Repair progress 2%… 14%… 35%…

Repair complete. You have obtained [Barely Fixed Coordinate Marker]!

_____________________

Maple Moon was overjoyed and immediately activated the marker without any hesitation.

Di di…

The marker lit up and began sending out coordinates toward an unknown organization.

_____________________

You have triggered [Coordinate Marker of Unknown Origin]!

Mission Introduction: You have discovered a pretty high-tech coordinate marker on a native planet. You do not know who sent out this marker but chose to activate it. After the coordinates are sent out, it may attract an unknown organization.

Mission Requirements: Come into contact with the unknown organization.

Reward: 3,000,000 Experience, 70 Exploration Point, x1 [Bold Explorer] skill fragment (Requires 2 fragments to be combined)

[Bold Explorer]: Special skill. When exploring an unknown location and appraising an unknown object, you can use this skill to obtain some information. It can be used repeatedly on the same target. Cooldown: 7 days. Every time the skill is used, you will fall into a [Rash] state. -60% Luck, lasts for 14 days.

Remark: As long as you are bold, the universe is your home.

This mission is connected to the Flickering World Main Storyline Mission. You can report the situation to your faction and obtain the aid of an NPC faction (Strongly Recommended).

_____________________

“The reward is a skill fragment? Such a reward is pretty rare. I can seek help from the faction as well. Does this mean that the outcome of activating the marker is extremely severe?” Maple Moon was shocked.

Upon thinking about handing the marker over, the figure of her Army Commander floated up in her head.

…

“You discovered a coordinate marker of an advanced civilization on this planet?”

Looking at the coordinate marker in Maple Moon’s hands, Han Xiao could not help but be surprised.

He had thought that Maple Moon was there to learn skills from him, not expecting her to bring him a hidden tool.

Only the dynasty was exploring this region, and this marker could only belong to one of the unknown native civilizations in the Flickering World. According to the technological skills within the marker, the origin of the marker should be a Star System level civilization.

Furthermore, this marker made use of an ordinary thruster technology to travel. Even if it traveled for a few hundred years, its speed would still be limited. This meant that the civilization that sent out this marker should be within the Star System.

However, Han Xiao could not remember any Star System civilizations around the southern region of the Garu Star Cluster in his previous life. The exploratory data of the Crimson Dynasty did not indicate any Star System civilization in the region. He also had not heard of such an incident from the NPCs in his previous life.

Could it be that the civilization that sent out this marker had already been destroyed and only their remains were left? That was a possibility as well.

However, the hidden mission also popped up on Han Xiao’s interface when he received the marker, and the mission requirement suggests that the unknown civilization was still around.

In his previous life, the initial exploratory phase of the Flickering World was during the version update period, and the players only managed to piece together information of the initial exploratory phase by finding various records and stories. Could it be that this hidden storyline had not been found by the dynasty in his previous life?

Maple Moon did not know that Han Xiao could also accept the mission and was thinking about how she should explain to Han Xiao that this marker was still useful.

“Let me study this thing for a while,” Han Xiao said at this moment. “I may be able to find something.”

Upon hearing that, Maple Moon thought that she was handing over the mission object and did not object.

Upon witnessing Maple Moon leave, Han Xiao began to study the marker in his hands with his eyes glowing.

“I never expected to make such a discovery on Planet Pangurus. The ability of the players to find hidden missions is truly reliable.” Han Xiao chuckled to himself.

The reward of the hidden mission had truly tempted him. [Bold Explorer] was an appraisal skill and reached the level of appraising the unknown. There were very few players who had such a skill in his previous life. Although it was not useful to combat, it was very useful to dig out hidden storylines.

However, he did not know how to obtain any additional skill fragments.

Although the skill was extremely limited, it was still useful to him. Not to mention anything else, he still did not have any progress on the strange data that EsGod had left behind. Aesop was not able to predict anything either. If he could obtain this skill, he may be able to find some clues.

“It is a pity that it isn’t a complete skill but only a skill fragment,” Han Xiao said with pity.

Shaking his head, Han Xiao entered the quantum network and began studying the marker. Since the marker also made use of quantum network technology, Han Xiao could use his Virtual Mechanic skill to trace the origin of the item.

The mission required him to come into contact with the unknown organization, and it seemed as though he had to wait for their appearance. However, there was a hidden trick within it.

The Flickering World was not like the explored universe, and there were no laws in place. The native civilizations were still in an era of darkness and did not know of each other’s existence. Thus, the moment they discovered that the marker was activated, this would mean war for the civilization who sent it out.

Coming into contact with the marker was akin to being attacked by the other party.

As such, rather than waiting for the other party to find him, Han Xiao would prefer to take the initiative by sending his forces over. Since the mission only required him to come into contact with the other party, it would not matter who took the initiative.

After backtracking the roots of the marker through the quantum network for a while, Han Xiao opened his eyes abruptly. He then opened a star map and pointed at a location a couple of Star Zones away from Planet Pangurus.

“I found you.”

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed. He remembered that there was no native civilization at this location in his previous life.

After thinking for a moment, Han Xiao snapped his fingers and Psionic Prime appeared before him.

“Master.”

“I have a mission for you.” Han Xiao said slowly, “Bring a few Mechanical lives and a mechanical army to find the fellows who sent out this coordinate marker. Subdue them if they attack you.”

“Yes master.”

Psionic Prime nodded and immediately left the room to organize his troops.

Because it was a few Star Zones away and would be a waste of time for him to go, Han Xiao did not plan to make a personal trip.

His Mechanical lives could now hold their own, and he could transmit his Mechanical Force to the mechanical soldiers not beside him through the [Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel]. Thus, his mechanical army had the ability to set off on a long-distance expedition, and he would still have the combat strength of a Beyond Grade A Super even if it was a few light years away.

This was one of the reasons Beyond Grade A Mechanics were feared in the galaxy! The range of their ability was the most frightening among all the Classes!

Chapter 826 - 826 Great Cosmos Corps

826 Great Cosmos Corps

At the same time, the location data sent out by the marker had reached a certain desolate planet a few Star Zones away through its quantum link.

A mountainous disc-shaped battleship was parked in a crater. It was completely metal gray colored, and its diameter was more than thirty miles. The material used was an ordinary alloy considered to be the most basic spaceship battleship material in the known universe. This disc-shaped battleship had anti-gravity suspension and highly condensed nuclear thrusters. Its hyperdrive technology was very elementary. If there were galactic residents there, they would know that the technology level of this battleship was somewhere between the level of a Star System civilization and a planet surface civilization.

The only technology worth mentioning was that it had quantum communication technology.

There were a large number of frozen sleeping capsules at the bottom of the cabin where countless ship members were sleeping in. Only a very few were awake and maintaining the functions of the spaceship from the bridge.

Dozens of creatures wearing simple battle suits were busy in front of the control desks. These creatures were rather short, with gray skin and six arms.

This time, an alert suddenly popped up on one of the control desks.

“Beep! Marker 0278 is activated. Location data received.”

All the people in the room suddenly turned around and swarmed toward this control desk, speaking among themselves. Then, a tall creature that was clearly of a different species pushed the crowd aside and squeezed to the front of this control desk.

“Out of my way, let me take a look… Hehehe… Have we discovered another new planet?”

This tall creature was clearly their leader. He was close to three meters tall; the others around him were only as tall as his knees. He was wearing full metal armor that made clanking sounds as he walked. He looked absolutely barbaric, even more ferocious than the Beastmen, and did not match the aesthetic of most human shaped beings.

“Great Chieftain Kikiga, we lost contact with this marker a long time ago. Now that it is activated, it means that our marker has been discovered by an unknown intelligent species! They have repaired the marker!” One of the operators was rather nervous.

“Isn’t that even better? We can even make them slaves and give them to the Great Emperor. The Great Emperor loves new species!” Kikiga laughed out loud.

“Gre—Great Chieftain, it’s not that simple. The target this time is different from the races we have invaded in the past. The fact that they can repair the marker means that their technological level is close to ours. There are only a few in the entire universe who have this kind of technology! The target this time isn’t going to be easy to deal with! The reason they repaired the marker might be to look for us.”

“What, they dare look for us‽”

Kikiga’s expression became fearsome. He said furiously, “What an ignorant bunch. Have they not heard of us, the Great Cosmos Corps? They want to track us? They must have a death wish!”

If Han Xiao was there, he would not be a stranger to the name ‘Great Cosmos Corps’. This was a native organization of the Flickering World. It was once a wandering civilization that had lost its mother ship to a disaster. It was originally wandering in the center of the Garu Star Cluster looking for resources to sustain life.

When they started wandering, they searched for planets around them through markers and gradually discovered some undeveloped civilizations. Due to the complete lack of trust and means of communication, they eliminated all the civilizations they had met and robbed a ton of resources and technology. Gradually, they got used to this method of development and turned from a wandering civilization into a galactic pirate organization.

As most of the native civilizations in the Garu Star Cluster were very weak and had no contact with each other, this organization became unstoppable in the central area of the Star Cluster. Through robbing others, they had accumulated a ton of resources and manpower, and there were no longer any civilizations nearby that could match them. Hence, these people thought that they were the kings of this universe and called themselves the Great Cosmos Corps.

It was obvious how arrogant these people were just from this name they gave themselves.

Afterward, the Great Cosmos Corps started to explore toward further areas. Of course, with their technology, they had no way of figuring out the overall structure of the Star Cluster, so they were completely ignorant of what was in the unknown areas and could only slowly explore.

Although they had taken over many planets as their territory, they did not do a complete exploration of this Star System and lacked all kinds of fundamental facilities. They thought that they ruled over this area just because they had some of the planets under their control. Compared to the control the civilizations in the known universe had over their territory, these people were a complete mess.

This was a lawless Star Field that had yet to be explored, which was why special organizations like this had appeared. They had control over an area much larger than Star System civilizations, but they were weaker than the weakest Star System civilizations. Due to the lack of opponents, they felt very good about themselves.

Being ‘strong’ in their mind was only based on the standard of the natives.

In the previous life, the dynasty left very little information of this organization throughout the exploration of the Garu Star Cluster, and Han Xiao had quite a good laugh from reading it.

However, the ‘hidden mission’ status was quite misleading when Han Xiao discovered the marker. It made Han Xiao form a preconceived idea that this was from some mysterious civilization. Furthermore, in the dynasty’s records in the previous life, it did not mention the Great Cosmos Corps appearing in the south border Star System of the Garu Star Cluster.

The dynasty only had very brief records of the Great Cosmos Corps, as this native organization was way too weak and made the most common and frequent mistake which natives made—being arrogant. There was nothing about this that was worth recording in the eyes of the dynasty. In his previous life, the dynasty carried out their exploration during the version update, and the players did not experience it. By the time they officially entered the Flickering World, the Great Cosmos Corps was long gone, and Han Xiao had only found out about them through the very brief record the dynasty had on them. It did not feel important, so Han Xiao did not have a deep impression of them.

Therefore, he did not think about it for the time being and did not know that this organization was the mission target. Nonetheless, even if he did know, it would not make a difference.

“I—I think it would still be better to report this to the Great Emperor,” the operator said while shivering. “We might not be able to win with the forces here…”

“What did you say‽” Kikiga slammed the table with rage. He was testy and prone to anger.

“Don’t be angry, Great Chieftain. The Great Emperor has made you responsible for this area. If we make our own move on something this significant, the Great Emperor will not be happy about it!”

Realizing that the Great Emperor might be angered by this, Kikiga shivered, and his rage disappeared. He then said with hesitation, “Then… let’s report this to the Great Emperor.”

The others hastily contacted the Great Emperor and held their breath. Very soon, the projection of a person appeared on the screen.

The person on the screen was a humanoid in dark purple armor and a bright-red half-shoulder cape, only showing his head. He had messy black long hair and pale skin, and the metal mask on the bottom half of his face covered his appearance. His eyes were filled with coldness. Thick, muscular, and enormous tentacles extended from behind him, covered in some armor as well, like multiple mechanical tails surrounding this person.

He sat on a metal throne of a battleship. Behind him was a metal wall with the logo of the Great Cosmos Corps and the skulls of many different beasts. This person was the leader of the Great Cosmos Corps, Atimo, who also called himself the Great Emperor of the Universe.

Kikiga immediately stood straight as he saw this person.

Atimo raised his eyelids and said with a cold tone, “You’d better have a reason for disturbing me.”

Kikiga shivered. He had become one of the chieftains because of his exceptional combat capability. Despite being bad-tempered, he was afraid of Atimo from the bottom of his heart. Under the constant reminder of the operators, he finally completed reporting what had just happened and cautiously waited for a response.

“So, you were discovered by an unknown force with advanced technology?”

“Yes, what should we do?”

“Invade their planet, rob their technology, snatch their resources, and eliminate and enslave them,” Atimo said with the same cold tone. “Do I still need to teach you these things?”

“Un—Understood.” Kikiga hastily nodded.

After the communication ended, Kikiga breathed a sigh of relief. He then stared at the operators around him with rage and loudly yelled, “You heard it! The Great Emperor has told us to eliminate the enemies. Wake up all those who are asleep; we have a war to fight!”

…

Two days passed in a flash. Han Xiao’s main fleet officially departed and left Planet Pangurus, only leaving some behind to mine the resources.

The next planet that Han Xiao was planning to personally explore was an average resource planet in the first Star Zone of the border Star System.

The famous planets in his memories were spread out in many areas. Compared to the entire Star Cluster, the first Star Zone was tiny. Other than Planet Pangurus, he had a rough image of about ten or so planets in the Star Zone, all of which he had personally visited before. Some of them were resource planets that he had visited to rob resources from other guilds, while others were functional planets such as stargate stations and supply stations of sorts.

The Black Star Army exploration team and the Senico exploration team’s millions of spaceships split up. According to the current progress, it would take about seventeen to eighteen days to finish exploring all the planets in the first Star Zone. This meant that it would take about half a year to finish exploring this Star System, and most of that time would be spent on travelling.

After all, not every planet had natives, and it was easy to explore normal planets.

As for the Special Task Force, as they would be travelling nonstop in high-speed spaceships, they would be able to build a long distance stargate route in just four months. In this time, Han Xiao felt that he should be able to visit all the planets that he had a memory of in this Star System.

On the other side, a few battleships deviated from the others, carrying the mechanical troops that Han Xiao dispatched, and headed to the location of Kikiga and the others.

Inside the spaceship, rows of mechanical soldiers were on standby under Sparta’s control. They were completely still.

Inside the cabin, however, there was a group that was completely different from the lifeless mechanical soldiers—they were the mechanical lives that Han Xiao had created.

“Guys, this is the first time the master has sent us out to a battle. We must not disappoint our master.”

In the wide room, dozens of mechanical lives were either seated or standing, looking at Psionic Prime, who was speaking with a formal tone.

As soon as his sentence ended, a silver mechanical life who was leaning back on the sofa spoke with a simulated impatient tone.

“Humph, we’re all first-generation children of the master. You were just born the earliest, yet you think of yourself as our leader?”

There were thousands of first-generation mechanical lives that Han Xiao created personally. Psionic Prime was their leader, but some mechanical lives were not satisfied with that.

Mechanical Lives had emotion modules. Due to different original models, they would shapeshift into a body shape of their own preference through nanotechnology.

“According to the bloodline relationship of flesh beings, I’m your older brother, Silver Flash,” Psionic Prime said.

The mechanical life who spoke was called Silver Flash. He had always been envious of how Psionic Prime would always be on Han Xiao’s side. Psionic Prime was just a Hovering Fissionist; the master’s favorite should be him—a thick, long, and manly Planetary Obliteration Cannon!

“Fight! Fight! The winner gets to be the older brother!” A black-red mechanical life who was clearly shorter than everyone else jumped left and right and cheered. Its original model was a dark energy hovering artillery. Its name was Scarlet Flame.

“Stop messing around.” Psionic Prime waved.

“No!” Silver Flash suddenly pounced at Psionic Prime, shattering the sofa below him.

Psionic Prime instantly split up from his human shape into multiple hovering guards, causing Silver Flash to go right through him and miss.

Pa!

With one hand pressed on the ground, Silver Flash’s body spun as he launched a kick toward Psionic Prime. He was a Planetary Obliteration Cannon, so he did not dare fire inside the ship and could only use close-range combat techniques.

Two hovering guards suddenly assembled and turned into a palm, grabbing Silver Flash’s leg. Then, Psionic Prime returned to his human form and threw Silver Flash right over his shoulder.

Bang!

The bulky mechanical body crashed onto the metal ground and made a dent.

“Still want to play?” Psionic Prime held tight onto Silver Flash’s hand and emitted a restraining force field from his palm, preventing Silver Flash from escaping by nano-shapeshifting.

Silver Flash fell onto the ground. One of his legs was caught, and the other kept kicking at Psionic Prime like a child fighting, but his attacks were all dodged by Psionic Prime.

As the two mechanical lives fought, the room became a mess. The mechanical lives around quickly backed off and gave them space.

Mechanical lives had been sparring all the time inside Han Xiao’s secondary dimension army base, so the others were all used to it.

“Are you guys not properly oiled? Come on!” Scarlet Flame cheered from the side.

“Don’t destroy the spaceship! Go to the combat room if you want to fight!” a ranger mechanical life yelled.

At this time, all the mechanical lives’ movement suddenly stopped. Sparta’s cold voice appeared out of nowhere.

“The master has finally given you guys missions, and you’re making such a mess‽ All of you, reflect on yourselves!”

Mechanical lives had free will, but Han Xiao’s artificial intelligence had a higher control priority in their fundamental logic that was only lower than Han Xiao.

Usually, Han Xiao would let the mechanical lives move freely to maximize their growth. However, Sparta did not want to let these mechanical lives keep making a mess, so he took away the control these mechanical lives had of their body and made them walk back to the cabin and stand still.

However, although these mechanical lives could not control their bodies, their minds were still active, and they were still arguing through their network link.

“If this was an open area, you’d already have become a pile of trash!” Silver Flash yelled.

Psionic Prime just chuckled. “Hehe.”

“It’s all your fault,” the ranger said. “None of us can move now!”

“Silver Flash… when we’re done with the mission, I’m going to dismantle you and send you back to the master to be rebuilt!” Oathkeeper growled.

“You think I’m afraid of you? Let me fire at you if you have the guts! Let’s see if you can even be rebuilt!”

Chapter 827 - Black Star Army? Never Heard of I

827 Black Star Army? Never Heard of I

After Han Xiao’s fleet left Planet Pangurus, the guild players who stayed behind could not wait to make their moves.

The four largest Chinese guilds pretended not to be involved while secretly gathering the members of the other guilds who had stayed behind, including the guilds of the Thunderstorm club, Fanatics club, Rivervale club, and many more.

The number of members in these guilds who had stayed behind was around sixty to seventy each; they were mostly studio players who took on manual labor jobs from guilds and charged them a fee. They were more organized compared to normal guild players, who were much larger in terms of numbers.

Hundreds of players gathered and discussed the plan.

“The Russians and Australians have insufficient manpower. They left fewer than twenty people per club. There’re a total of about a hundred people on each side.”

“However, they’re not splitting up, and the hundreds of them are mining together.”

Although the Russians and Australians had established an agreement with the four largest Chinese clubs, the guild players who had stayed behind all stayed together to do mining. The Russians were led by the Power and Glory guild, and the Australians were led by the Kangaroo Boxing guild. They each gathered in one place of their own and had close to about a hundred people on each side, which was close to the number of people the top tier Chinese guilds had. It seemed that this was safer and would prevent them from being attacked.

However, never would they have thought that the Chinese top tier guilds would work together against them.

The Chinese guilds discussed for a while and decided with a plan. They had the absolute upper hand in terms of number, so they decided to split into two groups and attack the Russians and the Australians’ resource points. The grouping was decided very soon, and they started the operation.

…

At the Kangaroo Boxing Guild’s resource point, dozens of Australian players were hard at work in the mines, wearing the Worker Bee Armor, placing the resources into their armor, and transporting them back to the mini guild warehouse on the ground time after time.

There were many warehouses that belonged to the various Australian guilds, and there were patrolling studio players around. Although they moved as a group for safety, this did not mean that they were sharing resources. These warehouses were bought by the various guilds from the army using their own funds, and they were quite expensive. They were equivalent to their stronghold at the resource point.

At this time, groups of well-equipped first-tier guild players appeared in the patrolling players’ sights and were charging right toward them from afar.

“Gather immediately! Our resource point is being attacked!”

These Australian club guilds hastily summoned those who were mining for resources, but it was too late. The close to three hundred first-tier guild players rushed right into this resource point.

The Australian players who rushed back from the mines clashed with those players instantly.

A scrimmage erupted in the blink of an eye!

Boom boom boom!

Pugilists blasted the backlines with energy flames, Espers threw out all sorts of colorful energy of different abilities, Mages constantly channeled spells, and Psychics nonstop used AOE psychic attacks…

The Mechanics made the greatest impact.

Version 3.0 was the version where Mechanics shone very brightly. This was because the Mechanic players would finally be able to learn the ability that would completely evolve their combat method in this version—Compression Technology.

Compressed orbs expanded on the battlefield one after another, turning into artilleries, mini mechanical soldiers, mechanical traps, and all kinds of equipment.

Be it financial power, combat capability, or manpower, the first-tier Chinese guilds had the complete upper hand and very quickly thrashed the Australian players. While they sent some people to the revive point to keep attacking, they started to attack the guild warehouses of the Australians and very soon destroyed all of them. The resources that the Australians had been collecting all this time were now robbed as loot.

The resource point became a mess. After they completely depleted the Australian players of their daily maximum revive count, the first-tier Chinese guild players retreated with the loot.

About a hundred souls hovered above the revive point and watched them leave with rage in their eyes.

Meanwhile, the Russians’ resource point was treated equally.

…

“Our resource points were destroyed‽”

Inside a certain transport ship of the main fleet, Vodka was shocked to receive this news from the member who had stayed behind.

After hearing that the first-tier Chinese guilds were the ones who did this, he was furious. He immediately sent messages to the guild presidents of Long Sky and Dynasty and questioned them, “Why did you attack our resource point‽”

Jade Green Sky pretended to be confused. “What are you talking about? When did we do such a thing? You’d better have proof, or I’m suing you for slander.”

“Just moments ago, the resource point we left on the planet was destroyed by your Chinese guilds members. The players were spawn-camped and finished their revive counts. They won’t be able to revive in the next six in-game days. Why did those Chinese guild members attack us‽”

“Well, ask them, not like we’re the ones who did it.” Jade Green Sky held back his laughter.

“We buy equipment from you guys, and in exchange, you promised to provide protection to us,” Vodka said furiously. “You’ve violated our agreement!”

Jade Green Sky knew exactly what tricks these foreign guilds had been pulling—these guilds bought equipment from them on the surface but secretly worked together with other Chinese players to secretly enjoy the full ten-percent discount.

Morning Snow Twilight Frost smiled faintly. “We did not know about this in advance. After all, those first-tier guilds have their own thoughts too. They’re not working under us. We’ll ask them about it. Don’t worry, I’ll try to convince these guilds.”

“That’d be for the best.” Vodka nodded.

As Vodka ended the communication, he was extremely displeased. These first-tier guilds working together against them was connected to the four largest Chinese clubs no matter how he looked at it. This might happen again in the future.

He contacted the captain of the people who stayed behind and said, “After you revive, I’ll send some funds to you guys for you to buy some alarm devices in the army, such as automatic artilleries, traps, and laser formations. Deploy these around the new resource point, buy as many as possible, don’t be afraid to spend… By the way, give up on your current location and look for a harsher location to mine resources.”

On the other side, Morning Snow Twilight Frost and Jade Green Sky were discussing the matter as well.

“This attack will make them cautious and cause them to spend more money on unnecessary defense measures. These first-tier guilds never planned to attack them frequently, so we can just say that this is because we convinced these guilds and kept our promise. When these people build a new resource point and have recovered for some time, we shall organize an attack again. By then, there will be a new batch of resources stored in their warehouses, and it will all be robbed. As this goes on, the profit they gain from their resource points will be extremely limited. All we have to do is force them to turn this into a large guild war so that we can completely obliterate their guilds’ core members with our numerical advantage.”

“Cunning as always.” Jade Green Sky gave him a thumbs up.

Morning Snow Twilight Frost shook his head. “Sadly, they did not send their professional players here, or we would have been able to help the club eliminate some opponents.”

Pro players were the pillars of clubs, so clubs took the safety of the pro players very seriously. Of course, they did not dare send the character of their pro players to someone else’s territory. One of the reasons the Chinese clubs were targeting the foreign guilds was also to protect their own pro players—if the foreign guilds built a stable foundation in their own territory, the chance of them causing the Chinese pro players trouble would not be negligible at all.

The others could come here from another Star Field, but they could not go to another Star Field, so the Chinese guilds were actually on the more passive side. This was why they had decided to work together to compete with the foreign guilds and guard their profit.

…

A few days later in another Star Zone, the Great Cosmos Corps fleet led by Kikiga was slowly heading toward the location of the marker. Other than the main ship, which was dozens of miles long, there were thirty or so guard battleships. All the warriors who were awoken were training. There were around a million people.

Inside the main ship, Kikiga rubbed his hands with anticipation—he loved plundering and was looking forward to the war.

“How long till we arrive at the marker’s location?” Kikiga asked this question many times every single day.

“Chieftain, the location of the marker has been moving for the past few days. I think that this is the enemy’s trick to confuse us, so we’re now heading toward the location where the marker was activated first. It’s not very far away,” the team leader of the operators said with resignation. He had to repeat this many times every day.

“The faster the better. I can’t wait,” Kikiga said with a wild tone.

This time, one of the operators yelled, “Chieftain, three unknown targets are approaching us!”

“It’s not meteoroids, right?” Kikiga was shocked.

In his mind, very few could travel in the universe like them, so his first thought was to assume that they were meteoroids.

“It doesn’t look like it. They’re flying toward us! Chieftain, I request to enter alert status!”

“Overreacting,” Kikiga murmured and waved. “Alert then.”

The fleet activated its various weapons very quickly and waited with focus.

Not long after, the three spaceships with Psionic Prime and the others on them slowly stopped before Kikiga and their fleet.

“Real spaceships?” Kikiga was shocked.

The operator quickly said, “Like I suspected, they can indeed track our marker and have very advanced technology. They can travel in the universe, too.”

Kikiga sized the three spaceships up for a while before suddenly laughing.

“What are you afraid of? Look at those three spaceships. How strong can they be when they’re so small?”

Indeed, the spaceships that Psionic Prime and the others were in looked tiny compared to the main ship of Kikiga’s fleet.

To Kikiga, the size of spaceships was directly proportionate to the spaceships’ power.

“Also, look, they only have three spaceships. We have more than ten times that number. We will be able to beat them with ease. What are you guys panicking for? Embarrassing.” Kikiga shook his head.

The rest thought that what Kikiga said made sense and felt relieved.

“Chieftain, what should we do now?”

“Looking at their spaceship, it’s clear they’re from a small civilization that has just started to travel the universe and don’t know what fear is,” Kikiga replied, “which is why they dared track our signal. Humph, as seniors, we have to teach them a lesson and make them understand the taste of fear.”

This time, an operator smiled and said, “Chieftain, they’ve sent us a message and said that they want to communicate with us.”

Hearing this, everyone laughed and agreed with Kikiga—only a civilization that had just started exploring the universe would be this naive.

“What did they say?”

“Let me see… They said that they belong to the Black Star Army and told us to immediately deactivate our weapons and not resist…” This person burst into laughter before he finished the sentence.

As if the others were infected by him, almost everyone on the bridge burst into laughter. The room’s atmosphere was filled with joy.

“Hahaha…” Kikiga could not stop laughing. “Quick, reply to them.”

“What do we say?”

“Ask them if they have heard of us, the Great Cosmos Corps. Hahaha…” Kikiga was almost tearing up from laughing.

The Black Star Army? What sh*t is that? Never even heard of it, yet they think they’re famous?

Don’t they know that the Great Cosmos Corps is the ruler of the universe? Wanting us to stop resisting and give up… I’ve never heard such a funny joke.

Kikiga gasped for air and suppressed his laughter. “These arrogant natives really are the fountain of joy, always makes me laugh…”

Before he could finish, he almost burst out laughing again.

“Chieftain, should we attack?”

“Hmm, eliminate them… no, don’t kill them. Capture them and give them to the Great Emperor. The Great Emperor will definitely think these guys are funny, too.” Kikiga guffawed.

As everyone was laughing nonstop, the team captain of the operators felt his heart skip a beat as he noticed something that they had previously overlooked.

When they came into contact with natives in the past, there was no way to communicate with them as they had different languages.

These natives, despite meeting us for the first time… why do they know our language? Why are they able to communicate with us‽

He trembled. As he was about to report this abnormality, those three spaceships changed.

The cabin of those three spaceships opened, and black machinery gushed out. Suddenly, blue-gold lightning appeared out of nowhere and landed on every machine, causing a blinding surge of light.

“What are those?”

The smile on the faces of Kikiga and the others disappeared as they watched this with confusion.

The next moment, a silver beam of light instantly penetrated the shield of their main ship and its body, leaving a huge hole!

The ‘tough’ spaceship armor could not have been more fragile in the face of this energy beam!

Everyone was stunned. Before they could react, the violent trembling shook them onto the ground.

The deafening alarm rang instantly, and the lights inside the spaceship all turned red.

Woo!

“Alert! Alert! Shield broken, hull damage increasing, 7.8%… 8.6%… 10.3%… Please take measures as soon as possible! Please take measures as soon as possible!”

With one attack, the main ship’s defense had been completely obliterated.

Kikiga did not even climb up. He sat on the ground, his eyes filled with disbelief, his face covered in despair.

What… just happened‽

Chapter 828 - 828 Player Military Operation

828 Player Military Operation

The battle between more than thirty battleships built with Star System grade technology and the mechanical lives that were receiving Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force bonuses through [Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel] ended with zero suspense.

The battle ended instantly—this Great Cosmos Corps fleet was wiped out without being able to fight back at all. The main ship became a firework in the universe.

Before the main ship exploded, having realized he was facing doom, Kikiga wanted to escape in an escape pod. However, the escape pod was blasted midway by Scarlet Flame. He initially wanted to flee from the enemies with his extraordinary combat capability but was completely destroyed by Psionic Prime in one kick and was captured.

Psionic Prime and the others obeyed the order with full loyalty, capturing more than a dozen upper echelons. As for the rest of the Great Cosmos Corps warriors, they became ash together with their spaceships.

Inside the spaceship, Kikiga and the group of operators were tied up by electromagnetic chains and lying on the ground. The shadow of the mechanical lives shrouded them and made them so nervous that they could hardly breath.

They looked at the tall and large mechanical lives around them and shivered. Mechanical Lives had no expressions, so they could not tell what these metal beings were thinking. They had no idea what would happen to them next.

Kikiga’s face was stiff; he was still in disbelief.

His powerful fleet had been eliminated by these strange creatures so easily!

Plus, he was no match for these monsters at all.

The Great Cosmos Corps respected the strong. Some of its members were Supers. However, these people did not have any properly classified Super knowledge, so every Super was extremely rare in the Great Cosmos Corps and took on important positions. Kikiga, being one of them, had become the Chieftain of a division because of his combat capability.

He initially had a lot of confidence in his own strength, but Psionic Prime had completely evaporated that confidence and made him start doubting the meaning of life.

What monsters were those metal beings? He had never seen such lives throughout the years he had been robbing.

“W-what the hell are you‽” Kikiga was shivering.

“I’m Psionic Prime, the leader of the Black Star Army’s machinery troops.” Psionic Prime spoke with his completely emotionless electronic voice.

“Black Star Army…” This was the second time that Kikiga had heard this name today.

He thought they were just a bunch of natives when he heard it for the first time. Now, however, that belittlement disappeared together with his fleet, leaving him only panic and fear.

Kikiga swallowed his saliva. What was this ‘Black Star Army’? How could they possibly be this strong? He had never heard of the name of this organization and felt that it was extremely mysterious.

Seeing that Kikiga was stunned and filled with terror, Psionic Prime tilted his head, raised his finger, and emitted a beam, forming a hologram in front of everyone.

On the screen, images and text descriptions displayed the history of the Black Star Army.

Phillip had invaded the enemy’s spaceship long before the battle even started. The language of the Great Cosmos Corps had been recorded into the database beforehand, which was what allowed them to communicate in the first place. Other than language, the information stored in this fleet had also been duplicated. Their virtual technology was basically as good as non-existent in front of Phillip; he could do whatever he wanted.

“This is…” As the curtain began to unfold on the Black Star Army, Kikiga and the others’ eyes and mouths were opened wide. The origin of the Black Star Army had shattered their world view.

Godora, DarkStar, Bloodshed Land, Purple Crystal Civilization, the Crimson Dynasty… There’re so many organizations in the universe? Why have we never heard of them‽

Beyond Grade A? In Kikiga’s impression, Atimo was the strongest person in this entire universe. He could not even imagine how anyone could possess strength far greater than Atimo.

Kikiga had initially fantasized that Atimo would lead his army and avenge them. However, having just seen the tip of the iceberg of the Black Star Army, he only had one thought toward Atimo.

Please don’t come!

…

“They’ve captured them?”

Han Xiao received Psionic Prime’s message while commanding his fleet in exploring another resource planet; he immediately browsed through the data copied by Phillip in the database.

After looking through, Han Xiao was surprised.

That’s what I thought. There is indeed no hidden Star System civilization in this area. So, it turns out that it’s those idiots from the Great Cosmos Corps. Apparently, they have a division here…

Han Xiao giggled in his mind.

So, the goal of this hidden mission is them. They did not meet the dynasty this time and met me instead… They’re still quite unlucky.

The Great Cosmos Corps’ territory was mainly located at the center of the Garu Star Cluster. According to the normal exploration progress, it would take a few years before anyone would arrive at that location. However, Han Xiao had now met them in advance.

After eliminating one of their fleets, they would definitely not let this end easily. Although these people would not be able to cause any problems for him or the dynasty, it was not his style to leave them be.

Han Xiao walked back and forth pondering with hands behind his back. Suddenly, his eyes sparkled.

That’s right, these people have robbed many planets. They definitely have the data of those planets. Even if they’ve destroyed some of those planets, there will still be ruins that give Exploration Points. This intel is very valuable to the dynasty and can be considered an achievement.

If he obtained this information, the total Exploration Points of his main storyline mission would grow quite a lot, most likely an entire grade. Plus, this would be considered quite an achievement, and the dynasty would reward him for it, making his exploration progress look more successful than the Bloodshed Land’s.

“This is quite a good opportunity.” Although the Great Cosmos Corps was weak, the intelligence they had was useful.

He turned his communicator on and contacted the chief commander, Tarrokov, through Senico.

“Black Star, what’s this about?” Tarrokov was a little shocked. Normal matters could all be discussed with Senico, yet Han Xiao had gone straight to him. Could he have met some kind of special situation?

“Chief commander, I have made a discovery,” Han Xiao said slowly. “A few days ago, my army warriors discovered a damaged marker on Planet Pangurus…”

He roughly explained the situation and then emphasized, “According to the data, this organization robs others for a living and has been active in the center area of the Garu Star Cluster. They seem to have quite a large territory. The way I see it, the planetary information in their hands will be very useful to our exploration.”

“I see…” Tarrokov contemplated a while before nodding. “If you’re not mistaken, this will indeed give us a lot of information on multiple planets at once. This is quite a significant achievement. Did you skip Senico and came to me because you wanted to ask me to allow you to start a war?”

Han Xiao did not deny it.

In the laws stated by the dynasty, they had to take the peaceful approach when contacting the natives. In order to start a war with a Star System level native force, the dynasty had to permit it. If anyone eliminated natives for no reason, the dynasty would be displeased. After all, the Star Field belonged to the dynasty; its allies were just people helping in the mining process.

Therefore, the chief commander’s approval was needed to eliminate the Great Cosmos Corps; only then would there be no negative effects.

Han Xiao did not feel any guilt over eliminating the Great Cosmos Corps. These people robbed others for a living and had enslaved dozens of native races. They were basically galactic pirates.

Tarrokov considered it for a while before speaking in a deep voice. “I will write an order and give it to the Black Star Army, representing that what you guys are doing is on my orders. I shall leave the task of gathering information to you. There’s no need to spare these people.”

“Okay.” Han Xiao nodded.

“I will report the fact that the Black Star Army was the one that discovered this piece of intelligence. This is your achievement, so the merit naturally belongs to you.” Tarrokov smiled and spoke in a friendly way.

After a pause, Tarrokov suddenly changed the topic and said with a meaningful tone, “Renault is in the middle of the three Star Clusters that will be explored in the first stage. Its geographical location is superior and looks like the richest. Therefore, the upper echelons of the dynasty are paying the most attention to the development of the Renault Star Cluster.”

Why mention another Star Cluster suddenly? Isn’t Renault the Bloodshed Land’s exploration area? Han Xiao was stunned for a moment.

“As for the Garu Star Cluster,” Tarrokov continued, “due to it having rather a large number of desolate universe belts, the upper echelons of the dynasty have the lowest expectations for it. This is also why fewer people chose to explore the Garu Star Cluster. However, if the exploration of Garu goes very well, it will be a pleasant surprise to the dynasty.”

Han Xiao figured out what Tarrokov was trying to convey. Tarrokov was leaking a tiny bit of internal information of the dynasty and giving him a reminder.

The dynasty paid the most attention to Renault and had the highest expectations for it, which meant that the Bloodshed Land had to achieve more to meet their expectations. However, it would be a pleasant surprise as long as his exploration of Garu was not too horrible, so earning merit for him would be comparatively easier. There were both pros and cons.

Seeing that Han Xiao was pondering, Tarrokov smiled and moved away from this topic. Other than wanting to build a good relationship with Han Xiao, he reminded Han Xiao also to encourage the Black Star Army—this was one of his jobs as the chief commander.

After chatting casually for a while, they ended the communication. This time, a notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

_____________________

[Coordinate Marker of Unknown Origin] complete!

You have received 3,000,000 Experience and 70 Individual Exploration Points.

You have received 1 [Bold Explorer] Ability Shard. 2 Shards are needed to fuse.

_____________________

“With one shard, there’s at least a start. I’ll have to try to obtain the second shard.”

Han Xiao was joyous. This was a very pleasant surprise. Maple Moon was really quite lucky.

This time, more notifications popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered Faction Mission [Wipe Out the Great Cosmos Corps]!

Mission Introduction: The Great Cosmos Corps is a pillaging organization in the Garu Star Cluster, evil and lawless. I hereby request the Black Star Army to eliminate this organization—Dynasty Exploration Army Chief Commander Tarrokov.

Tip: This is a sub-mission of the [Flickering World]. Exploration Points will be rewarded.

Tip: This is a faction series mission. You can complete the following requirements during this mission.

Eliminate Enemies I: Kill 10 normal Great Cosmos Corps warriors. Rewards: 750,000 Experience and 3 Exploration Points.

Eliminate Enemies II: Kill 10 elite Great Cosmos Corps warriors. Rewards: 1,500,000 Experience and 6 Exploration Points.

Eliminate Enemies III: Kill 10 spaceship operators. Rewards: 2,000,000 Experience and 9 Exploration Points.

Destroy Ships I: Destroy 1 enemy guard battleship. Rewards: 3,600,000 Experience and 12 Exploration Points.

…

King Before Men I: Kill 1 high level combatant. Reward: 5,500,000 Experience and 25 Exploration Points.

King Before Men II: Kill 1 chieftain. Reward: 7,000,000 Experience and 30 Exploration Points.

King Before Men III: Kill ‘Great Emperor’ Atimo. Reward: 22,000,000 Experience and 60 Exploration Points.

When the mission ends, based on the number of targets completed, the rating and bonus rewards will be given.

_____________________

Han Xiao figured that this Faction Mission was given to the entire Black Star Army, which meant that the other army players would be able to accept it as well.

Han Xiao was initially planning to send out his machinery troops to eliminate the Great Cosmos Corps, but he changed his mind.

Since the players were able to accept this mission, he would leave it to the players. Spending a little bit more time was not an issue. This Great Cosmos Corps was not especially powerful, so it was suitable for the players to deal with.

The average strength of the players had been gradually growing, so he planned to let just the players eliminate the Great Cosmos Corps. Other than providing spaceships, he was not planning to let any NPC take part in this operation.

This would be the first military operation with only players!

This way, the players would have a better experience in exploring the Flickering World. After all, compared to purely exploring, most players preferred fighting.

The Great Cosmos Corps people were all walking experience, so Han Xiao basically considered letting the players eliminate them as watering his leeks. It was still the early stage of Version 3.0, so there were no max level players yet.

Furthermore, after a war, the players would have to replenish their ammunition and repair their equipment, which would all cost money.

Han Xiao never ignored the ammunition business of the army, and he was going to make a fortune from this war.

I’ll have to make the enemies gather and attack first so that it’ll take less time…

Han Xiao contacted Phillip and spoke a few words to Psionic Prime.

…

Central area of the Garu Star Cluster, Great Cosmos Corps headquarters.

A deputy hastily came before Atimo’s throne and said with a shivering voice, “Gr—Great Emperor, we’ve lost contact with Chieftain Kikiga’s team!”

A glow of coldness flashed past Atimo’s eyes. He said with a low voice, “What happened?”

“They were planning to invade the location of the marker but met the enemy’s team midway and were eliminated…” this deputy said cautiously. “Those enemies call themselves the Black Star Army, and they’ve sent a message.”

“Black Star Army…” Atimo frowned. “What did they say?”

The deputy played this message on the screen while shivering.

Psionic Prime appeared on the screen, and Kikiga was trembling on the ground beside his feet.

“I’m the leader of the mechanical army of the Black Star Army, Psionic Prime. Listen carefully, people of the Great Cosmos Corps. The Black Star Army will seize all your territory, kill all your warriors, and take away your everything. Tell your leader, Atimo, our army commander will drink wine from his skull.”

The moment the sentence ended, Psionic Prime’s arm turned into a blade flickering with psionic energy and slashed through Kikiga’s neck.

Puchi!

Blood gushed out, Kikiga’s head rolled on the floor, and his headless body fell on to the ground, still shivering.

Psionic Prime said with an emotionless tone, “Get ready for war!”

Then, the screen turned black, and the message came to an end.

Atimo was initially watching this recording with an indifferent face, but when Kikiga’s head was chopped off right before his eyes, his eyes flickered a little.

“Great Emperor, this is a provocation… What should we do?”

Atimo stood up slowly.

“Gather all the fleets, combatants, and chieftains…” Atimo’s tone was cold. “I will lead the charge this time!

“If they want war, I shall give them war!”

…

_____________________

[Coordinate Marker of Unknown Origin] complete!

_____________________

Maple Moon was farming dungeons with Bun-Hit-Dog and others and was fighting a boss when the mission completion notification suddenly popped up on her interface. She was shocked, and her movements stiffened for a moment.

“It’s only been a few days, and the mission is already completed. I’ve not even done anything yet!”

Maple Moon was shocked.

She had turned over the marker to the army as suggested by the mission. It was clear that this was thanks to the faction.

Giving things to the army was indeed the right choice.

“Don’t just stand there. Control the field!” Bun-Hit-Dog was being thrown around by the boss as he yelled.

Maple Moon completely ignored him, deep in thought.

She had been thinking for the past few days. The requirement of this mission was just to make contact with the unknown force, which meant that there would definitely be more to it. She immediately opened the faction mission list.

As she expected, there were indeed more missions and even large side missions distributed by the dynasty!

“Great Cosmos Corps, such a lame name… it’s a pillaging organization. The mission requirement is to eliminate this organization. It seems like it’s going to be a group mission. There will definitely be a lot of people participating.”

Maple Moon pondered.

“He… lp… me…” The boss pressed Bun-Hit-Dog onto the ground and punched his face again and again. Bun-Hit-Dog could only yell out one syllable at a time during the gap of the punches. His call for help had a constant rhythm.

Finally, as his last bit of health disappeared, Bun-Hit-Dog turned into a white light and died.

Maple Moon finally regained her focus and looked up. She threw out a ton of compressed orbs, and machinery filled up the field.

The large number of machines drowned this boss. Not long after, the boss who had half health was defeated by Maple Moon alone.

After playing for three versions, she had realized that she was quite talented in this aspect, and her PVP skills had been becoming stronger and stronger. Furthermore, this version was the powerful period for the Mechanic class, so farming dungeons was much easier. Mechanics above level 100 were welcomed by most dungeon teams.

The group came out of the dungeon and returned to the army’s battleship.

“Why were you distracted?” Bun-Hit-Dog complained. “I didn’t actually have to use one revive count.”

“Look at the faction mission.”

Bun-Hit-Dog opened the faction interface and saw the [Wipe Out the Great Cosmos Corps] mission.

Surprised, he opened the forums and realized that the army’s players were already overjoyed.

Although the exploration of the main storyline mission was filled with uncertainties and was quite interesting, the players spent most of their time in spaceships and hardly had any opportunities to fight.

Most players were itching for a brawl and could only enter dungeons. Now that there was an opportunity to fight in the main storyline mission, all the army players were excited.

Wiping out an entire organization sounded like quite a large mission

Chapter 829 - Black Star Army, Not Bad

In the Jeraton Star System of the Renault Star Cluster, the alliance exploration team of the Bloodshed Land and the Klent Kingdom was executing their plan step by step, slowly painting the gray areas on the star map green. The internal stargate network of the first Star Zone was gradually being built. The exploration of planets was completed one after another. Detailed data was added to the database. Tons of space buoys were left wherever they passed.

The exploration of the Bloodshed Land was smooth and peaceful. There were quite many resource planets in the Jeraton Star System, but they had yet to meet any native civilizations.

Heber had been very free in the past ten days or so. The large fleet was operating according to plan and did not need his command. Therefore, he found a Fixed Star to train his energy.

At a hot red Fixed Star in this Star Zone, Heber walked on the Fixed Star’s surface. The energy of the Fixed Star within tens of miles from him formed a moving vortex, spinning around him. Under the stimulation of energy, his cells devoured the powerful radiation around him and turned it into his energy. White bright energy patches appeared on his skin.

“Hu…” Heber exhaled deeply.

He stomped the ground. The enormous strength turned into a rippling impact wave, and the energy vortex around him shattered instantly. Covered in thick energy flames, Heber broke away from the powerful gravitational pull of the Fixed Star and rocket up like a beam of light shooting into space. Very soon, he left the Fixed Star and returned to the waiting fleet.

Heber walked into the spaceship and casually wore his cape. He then took the communicator from his subordinate. It was a message from Klent.

“Your Excellency Tyrant, we have just received news that the chief commander has given an order to the Black Star Army to eliminate a native organization.”

“Attacking a native organization?” Heber’s footsteps paused. “The dynasty’s exploration laws forbid casual use of violence.”

“Our people on Planet Lighthouse have heard that the situation Black Star has met is special. That native organization is a pillager at the center of the Star Cluster. The Black Star Army’s men discovered them coincidentally. The dynasty wants the planetary information this native organization has, so the chief commander allowed the Black Star Army to eliminate them.”

Heber frowned slightly.

While they were progressing stably, the Black Star Army had already gone into the jungle‽

If the Black Star Army obtained the information the native organization had accumulated, it would be quite a significant achievement.

Initially, he had thought that the Star System they were exploring was richer and the results of their exploration would definitely exceed the Black Star Army’s. Sadly, Black Star was a very lucky person.

Heber shook his head.

He did not want to see the Black Star Army achieve that, yet there was nothing he could do but watch. He could not help but sigh.

This time, the person from Klent said, “Your Excellency Tyrant, our commander has a daring idea…”

“Attack Black Star again?”

“That’s right. We plan to…”

“Enough.” Heber interrupted before he could finish. “I have made a ceasefire agreement with the Black Star Army. I don’t want to mess with them now, and neither should you. This is meaningless.”

He then hung up the communication.

The Klent Kingdom had yet to give up; they did not want to see their enemy, the Black Star Army, successfully make such an achievement. Heber did not want to be dragged down by Klent.

The commander sent by Klent this time had once been a radical supporter of the secret war, so he harbored a lot of hatred for Han Xiao. What he wanted to do was basically snatch away the Black Star Army’s contributions and disrupt Black Star, which not only had a negligible chance of success in Heber’s eyes but would also bring the dissatisfaction of Black Star and the dynasty. Furthermore, it would not impact the Black Star Army much, if at all. It was not worth the risk.

In the Flickering World, Heber really was not willing to fight with Black Star. With such a huge cake, it would be best to just explore his own area. If he and the Black Star Army caused trouble for each other, it would only benefit the other dynasty allies who came to explore in the future.

…

In Han Xiao’s previous life, when the players entered the Flickering World in Version 4.0, the exploration was already complete for many Star Clusters. Tons of exterior forces entered and fought each other, so the players had plenty of opportunities to fight. The situation was different now.

It was now only Version 3.0. Because of Han Xiao, the players were able to get involved in the Flickering World storyline one version earlier, which also meant that the environment would be different. At the early stage of the exploration, there were only the dynasty and its allies, who were all on the same side. Therefore, the players lacked the fighting storyline and had few chances to battle.

Therefore, when the [Wipe Out the Great Cosmos Corps] appeared, all the players who were exploring the Flickering World with the Black Star Army took part in this group operation. This mission did not have a maximum participant limit, so most players decided to accept the mission.

Han Xiao was happy with this. As the players were currently in different exploration teams and were quite divided, he casually arranged thousands of spaceships to gather these players into an expedition fleet.

As it would take quite some time to reach the center area of the Garu Star Cluster, Han Xiao was not planning to have the players wait in the spaceships—that would be a waste of quality labor. He planned to let this expedition group explore the planets on the way to maximize efficiency.

To make the return of the players easier, they also had to build stargates on the way.

This way, the exploration plan of the Black Star Army shifted as well. The large team slowly explored the border Star System, the first Special Task Force led by Hadavy were building a route from the south of the Star Cluster to the east, and the expedition team were building the route from the south of the Star Cluster to the center.

As the army’s men were split into three groups, Han Xiao told Sylvia, who was in the Shattered Star Ring headquarters, to quickly dispatch the second fleet to make up for the manpower.

After growing for two versions, the players now had Grade B strength. Millions of army players were considered quite powerful. Han Xiao was not worried.

As versions updated, the players became stronger. They would gradually be noticed by the entire universe.

After sending out the player expedition team, Han Xiao left them alone. He explored resource planets one after another according to the plan while expanding his machinery while he had the time.

As two more Star Zones were completely explored, one month passed peacefully.

On this day, Han Xiao finally received Phillip’s report that the player expedition team had finally met with the Great Cosmos Corps’ reconnaissance troops.

…

The team that met the reconnaissance troops was a player team that was deploying space buoys. It was just a small recon ship with around three hundred players, while the opponent had three battleships.

The battle erupted instantly. The moment this reconnaissance team discovered these players, they rushed forward without a word, planning to capture the enemies and interrogate them for intel about the Black Star Army.

Shots landed on the shield of this mini recon ship, causing chain exploration, while the flickering shield was unaffected.

“Alert! The spaceship is being attacked. Remaining shield energy 97.1%… 99.7%… charge complete. Estimating threat level… estimation complete. the enemy’s firepower is unable to penetrate the shield. Threat level extremely low.”

The hundreds of players inside the spaceship exchanged looks.

The Black Star Army’s spaceships used the complete Star System technology, and some even had Star Cluster standards, such as the energy core, weapon, and shield. Comparatively, the Great Cosmos Corps’ spaceships were too behind. Without an enormous quantity difference, there was no way they would be of any threat to the Black Star Army’s spaceships.

Close range combat was exactly what the players wanted. As the three enemy recon ships approached and were about to connect their cabins, more than ten charge cabins shot out from the side of this mini recon ship, ‘biting’ into the three enemy spaceships.

The players inside the charge cabin swarmed out and started a slaughter inside the enemy ships. These players were mostly above level 100, while the people on the enemy ships were ordinary people.

Not long after, the hundreds of players wiped out the enemies inside these ships and seized the three spaceships.

On the other side, Atimo received this news as well.

However, he did not receive the video information that the recon group was supposed to send. The strength of the Black Star Army was still unknown to him.

“Before losing contact, the reconnaissance group only sent back the fact that they had met enemies, and the link was broken right after. We don’t know the process of them fighting their enemies,” the deputy said with confusion.

“Like with Kikiga…” Atimo narrowed his eyes, and a rare tint of concern flashed past his eyes. “The enemy’s quantum technology might far exceed ours.”

Before the battle erupted, Phillip had invaded the enemy’s artificial intelligence and forcefully blocked the opponent’s communication, like when Kikiga met Psionic Prime. Therefore, Atimo still did not know how many spaceships and men the Black Star Army had.

On the other hand, Phillip knew where the Atimo’s troops were and was ordering the expedition team to head directly toward that direction.

No matter the war, the importance of intelligence could never be ignored. The virtual technology of the army was far superior, and the Great Cosmos Corps was basically blind in comparison.

Ever since he began ruling the ‘universe’, Atimo had never met an enemy that had made him feel any sense of pressure. However, this Black Star Army that appeared out of nowhere had shaken his confidence.

This might be the strongest opponent he had ever met.

“Black Star Army, not bad,” Atimo said with a firm tone. “I can call you the strongest opponent. However, facing my fleet, your end will be no different from the others!”

Atimo was extremely confident. He had brought all his spaceships, a total of a hundred thousand battleships!

This was the fleet he had accumulated throughout the years, and this was what gave him confidence to rule over the ‘universe’.

From his perspective, such an enormous fleet could wipe out any enemy.

Chapter 830 - Surrounding Calamity Grade

After meeting the reconnaissance troops, the expedition force reorganized their troops and adjusted their direction toward Atimo’s fleet. At the same time, Atimo’s fleet also headed toward the reconnaissance troops, and both parties were approaching each other with the gap between them decreasing rapidly.

After spending two days in hyperdrive, both troops finally met in one of the regions of the universe.

“We finally found our enemy.” The players in the expedition troops looked out at the large fleet of battleships outside the window and all grew excited.

The players split up into parties, and the various large guilds were no exception. The various professional teams formed their own parties, and the core members of the guilds formed a protective layer around the professional players. This was not to protect them but to help their own team snatch for the boss.

[Wipe Out the Great Cosmos Corps] was a faction mission, and there were many mission requirements. The requirements that gave the best rewards included killing the combat troops of the enemy and their leaders. However, there was a limited number to go around to kill.

That was especially so for the ‘Great Emperor’ Atimo, of whom there was only one. It was not a single player mission but only allowed a single party to share the reward. Every club wanted to help their own professional players obtain the highest reward.

The players of Dynasty, Temple of God, Long Sky, and Fried Eggplants with Fish were in their respective teams, and the three pillars of Long Sky were currently discussing their strategy.

Sleepy Winter stroked his chin and said, “According to the levels of the rewards, the enemy leader Atimo should have the combat capability of a Grade A Super. We can only use numbers to crush him.”

“If this is the case,” Twinkle Fried Rice said, “the party that makes the first move will be in the greatest danger. If we want to snatch the kill, it would be better for us to deal damage silently by the side and let others attract the aggro of the boss. Only the party with the highest damage output will obtain the reward. If we end up getting killed by the boss, it would take far too much time to run back after reviving. We can only output damage if we are still alive.”

Hao Tian nodded and said, “That’s right.”

On another spaceship, Frenzied Sword also formed a party with his team and even brought Maple Moon along. They had a pretty good relationship.

Frenzied Sword looked outside the window at the rows of battleships lined up nicely. It was obvious that the guilds were all gathering together, and there was a stark difference between them and the ordinary players. Upon seeing that, Frenzied Sword shook his head and said, “With so many guilds trying to snatch the boss, I think that we don’t have much hope of succeeding.”

“As long as we don’t die,” said Rivervale’s vice captain, Evil Sword, “we may not lose out in terms of damage output. Such a boss will not only stand there for us to kill. The party that outputs the most damage will also face the largest threat and attract the most aggro from the boss. We may have a chance to survive until the very end if that is the case.”

All the players had some experience and knew that it was extremely difficult to deal with the bosses in ‘Galaxy’. To an ordinary player, the situation of the battle was changing every second, and it was rare for a single person to control the aggro of the boss. Instead, the person with the highest damage output would be the target of the boss, and the battle scene was extremely realistic.

Thus, it was extremely easy for the aggro to go out of control when fighting the boss, and they needed to react quickly whatever happened.

Maple Moon sat by the side with a smile on her face, and she felt a sense of satisfaction in her heart.

It could be said that this large-scale war had been started by her single handedly. She was the one who had triggered the storyline and caused this expedition mission. Thus, she had a strong sense of achievement and was feeling extremely satisfied in her heart.

Because she was the one who triggered this mission, she had an additional mission compared to the other players. She would be able to gain a bonus reward after the Great Cosmos Corps was wiped out, which included a large amount of experience, Exploration Points, 300 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points, and 1,000 Black Star Army Contribution Points.

This was probably the reward for handing the mission tool over to the dynasty.

The reward from this mission was extremely plentiful, and after some calculations, Maple Moon felt that it was possible for her to become the highest leveled player after the mission.

Among the Russian and Australian groups, Vodka and Captain Old Henry were also thinking of snatching the boss.

Although the professional players of their own club did not follow them over, if they could prevent the Chinese professional players from snatching the boss’ reward, it would be akin to helping their own professional players. Although the Russian and Australian players had suffered some losses on Planet Pangurus, their responsibility was still present, and they were not willing to let the Chinese players enjoy all the benefits before their eyes.

At the same time, Atimo was also observing the Black Star Army fleet.

“The enemy only has ten thousand battleships, and we have the absolute advantage in numbers,” the vice commander said.

Atimo nodded slowly. He had a hundred thousand battleships, a full ten times more than the enemy.

However, Atimo was still shocked that the Black Star Army could have a full ten thousand battleships. In his memory, every battleship required a large amount of resources and time to construct. The most powerful race that he had met only had a few hundred battleships.

He had originally thought that the quantum technology of the Black Star Army was the only advantage that they had, but never had he expected that the fleet of the Black Star Army would not be weak either.

“No wonder they locked down the news. They didn’t want me to find out that they had such a large fleet and wanted to catch me off guard.” Atimo felt a sense of lingering fear.

To gather a full ten thousand battleships, the other party must have sent out all their forces. Thankfully, he had also brought out his entire fleet. If he had only sent out a few divisions as usual, he would definitely have been in trouble.

Indeed, it was the right choice for him to take action personally.

Atimo’s eyes glowed, and he said slowly, “I want to talk to the other party’s leader.”

In his eyes, this was an all-out war between both parties. The commander of the Black Star Army was an extremely mysterious figure and had never shown himself. Atimo wanted to see what kind of a figure the leader of the Black Star Army was. He actually had ten thousand battleships under his command, and Atimo felt that such an individual had the right to talk to him.

After a moment, the vice commander stammered, “The other party rejected our request… they sa… said…”

“What did they say?” Atimo’s eyes narrowed.

“They said that you do not have the right to speak to their Army Commander.”

Atimo burst into laughter and was not angered at all.

I do not have the rights? Who else would have more rights than me‽

Forget it, since they are going to die in a short while, there isn’t a need to be so calculative.

Atimo shook his head and lost all interest in contacting the other party. He then said slowly, “Attack, wipe them all out!”

With the order being given, the hundred thousand battleships opened fire in unison.

Atimo thought that he would witness the scene of the enemy being severely crippled by the firepower of his fleet. However, the scene that unfolded had truly shocked him.

As the flames of the cannon fire receded, not a single one of the enemy’s ten thousand battleships was destroyed. Although the enemy was lower in numbers, they wanted to surround his fleet instead!

The next moment, the ten thousand enemy battleships sped up, and because their speed was far superior to his Great Cosmos Corps’ battleships, Atimo’s troops were unable to react in time. The ten thousand enemy battleships had broken through their formation and engaged in closed range battle with them. This was the battle method that players enjoyed the most, and they were not willing to use their battleships to wipe out the enemy since they would not be able to gain experience this way.

The players boarded the enemy battleships with the charge cabin and massacred the members of the enemy battleships.

The enemy’s fire was unable to break through the shields of the army, and the players charged into the encirclement of the enemy excitedly with a single thought in their mind.

My peerless blade shall dance within the enemy ranks!

The majority of the players had not enjoyed such a pleasure of their faction having absolute technological superiority and being able to freely slaughter the enemy.

Ten thousand battleships charged right into the core of the enemy fleet and were completely unstoppable as they ripped through the enemy’s formation.

In the flagship, Atimo stood up abruptly and ripped off the mask on his face. His expression had changed greatly, and a look of disbelief could be seen.

Their weapons were completely useless against the enemy!

One report after another was sent over, and he lost twenty thousand battleships in just a short moment. However, not even a single enemy battleship had been destroyed!

“This is impossible! How can there be such a large technological gap! How can they all be Supers‽”

Atimo no longer had his previous cool and confidence, having realized that he had struck a metal plate. The enemy was a civilization that was even more advanced than his and could easily wipe them out!

He had roamed unhindered in this region of the universe for far too long and had not met an opponent capable of posing him a threat for far too long. He had already forgotten what it meant to feel fear and respect. However, the scene of his battleships being destroyed one by one had once again triggered the sense of fear in his heart as he began to tremble uncontrollably.

He could see the future of his fleet being completely wiped out.

Atimo suddenly thought about the matters from a long time ago. At that time, the Great Cosmos Corps was only an ordinary drifting civilization with a few spaceships. They were extremely weak and could only explore the universe carefully. They overcame obstacles one after another and gradually became stronger and stronger. However, he had actually lost this sense of wariness that allowed him to survive in the universe for such a long time.

If he had not been so rash and made proper plans before the start of the battle…

If he had not been so arrogant and sent out scouts to find more information…

If he had not been so quick to anger and easily provoked by the Black Star Army…

Perhaps the outcome would have been different.

However, he didn’t know that this was his own wishful thinking. In front of absolute strength and intelligence advantage, it would be impossible for him to have the initiative in his hands. His fate was already sealed a long time ago.

Currently, it was useless for Atimo to regret. The excited players were killing to their heart’s content and destroying Atimo’s fleet.

The overwhelming strength of the enemy destroyed the morale of Atimo’s forces, and no one wanted to remain behind to be massacred. They all began to escape, and the huge fleet scattered in all directions.

“Retreat! Quickly retreat!” Atimo snapped back to reality and issued an order.

Very quickly, the flagship and surrounding frigates turned around and joined in the escaping army.

The Great Cosmos Corps came with valor but escaped with their tails between their legs. It had only been twenty minutes since their arrival on the battlefield.

The various large guilds abandoned the escaping battleships and chased after the enemy’s flagship. They all wanted to snatch the head of the boss, and the ordinary players went to chase after the escaping battleships.

Phillip had already locked onto the location of all the troops through the quantum network, and even if the enemies escaped, the players would still chase after them in the future.

Before the start of the battle, Phillip had infiltrated the database of the main flagship and made a copy of all the information within the Great Cosmos Corps’ database. This included information about all the planets that they had robbed over the past years. The information that the dynasty wanted was already in their hands, and the only thing left to do was to uproot the enemy. Phillip could only provide some help from the side, and the rest would be left to the players.

Very quickly, the players caught up to Atimo’s flagship, and he only had a few hundred frigates around him.

Phillip controlled Atimo’s flagship from afar and forced it to land on a desolate planet nearby. The players chased after Atimo and surrounded him.

…

In the center of a circular mountain range, the gigantic flagship stuck out of the ground with black smoke billowing from it.

This was Atimo’s spaceship, and Phillip had very considerately turned off the engine of the spaceship so that they could save some energy when landing.

Ka ka ka!

Many human figures then walked out from the wreckage of the battleships, and the armor that they were wearing helped them withstand the impact of the crash. However, the crash had still killed the majority of the ordinary crew, and less than ten percent of them were still alive.

Atimo also walked out from the wreckage, holding onto his head. Even with his strength, he was dazed after the crash, and his entire body was aching. Upon looking at the pathetic scene for his eyes, Atimo could not help but fall into a daze.

Right at this moment, the sound of gushing wind could be heard, and the battleships of the Black Star Army landed around the circular mountain range.

Atimo raised his head, and there were numerous human figures standing all around the mountain range. These were the players who were trying to kill him, and a greedy look could be seen in their eyes.

There were more than three hundred thousand players present, including the various large guilds.

“It’s impossible to escape…”

Atimo was a proud person, and he could not help but feel a sense of anger upon witnessing the scene before his eyes.

“Want to kill me? Come on!” The next moment, Atimo let out a crazed roar, and the ten or so mechanical arms behind him opened like a peacock’s plume. At the same time, yellow laser beams were shot out from the arms in all directions with a stunning firing rate. This was his personal equipment, which was used to aid his Esper Ability.

His Esper Ability was to shoot out laser beams from his body, and the attack would change depending on which part of his body the laser was shot out from. For example, the attack would be an energy blast if he used his palms and an accurate laser beam if he used his fingers.

When fighting in close combat, his fists could also be covered with energy blasts, and he could form a shield if he released energy from his entire body. This was truly a jack of all trades ability.

Atimo was the most powerful individual in the Great Cosmos Corps, and his Calamity Grade Esper Ability allowed his laser attacks to be more powerful than normal energy weapons. It could be said that he was a human artillery tower.

His arrogance also stemmed from the confidence that he had in his strength. Among the natives of the Flickering World, it was extremely rare to reach the Calamity Grade, and he had never met an opponent. He had once wiped out the race of an entire planet singlehandedly.

Although he was surrounded, Atimo did not fall into despair. He had a great deal of confidence in his own strength, and despite all the enemies before him being Supers, he did not treat them as his opponents at all.

He might be able to find a path to survival if he was able to kill all of them!

Thinking about that, Atimo burst forth with murderous intent and attacked crazily.

Pew pew pew!

The laser beams came flying toward the players, and the players all began avoiding the attacks. As the laser beams struck the ground, craters that were over ten meters in diameter exploded all around. If a level 100 paper player was struck by the laser beam, although it would not be able to one-shot the player, the player would only be left with a silver of health.

He was a Calamity Grade Super indeed! Many of the players felt nervous.

This was the first time that they had surrounded a Calamity Grade character without the aid of an NPC.

Everyone did not have much confidence in their hearts. They had met many elite Calamity Grade Supers in the secret war that were all capable of killing them in a single hit. The players did not know if their level was enough to kill a Calamity Grade Super with a human wave tactic.

“The battle has started!”

However, the players did not hesitate and jumped off from the cliffs to begin their attacks.

They would soon find out whether or not they could win.

Since they could not die anyway, they might as well just charge forward!

Chapter 831 - 831 First Kill

831 First Kill

When Atimo’s fleet was wiped out, Han Xiao, who was currently slacking off in the Garu Star Cluster, received a report from Phillip. The information collated by the Great Cosmos Corps had been sent over to him.

“Let me see my reward…” Han Xiao began to look through the information excitedly.

The Great Cosmos Corps had discovered many different planets over the past few years and a few Star Systems scattered all around the Garu Star Cluster.

A portion of these planets had natives living on them, but these natives were all enslaved by the Great Cosmos Corps. The information in the Great Cosmos Corps’ database was not just words but also included some videos of the entire process of capturing a new planet.

Shaking his head, Han Xiao contacted the chief commander, Tarrokov.

“The information from the Great Cosmos Corps is in my hands. I will send a copy to you.”

“Good job.” Tarrokov briefly looked through the document and said with a smile, “The dynasty will take note of your contribution.”

Before Han Xiao could say anything, a notification popped up on his interface.

_____________________

You have submitted [Great Cosmos Corps Exploratory Information]!

+1,500 the Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

+550 Exploration Points.

[Flickering World—The First Phase] rating increased

_____________________

The Flickering World mission was a faction mission, and the exploration of Garu was the first phase. All the players would share the mission rating, and the mission rating would be dependent on the Exploration Points.

After a month of exploration, everyone’s mission rating was originally D-, but everyone’s rating had increased to grade D.

Although it did not seem like much, this was a S+ grade mission, and every small increase in the rating would take a very long time. The increase would also become more difficult toward the end.

However, the 1,500 the Crimson Dynasty Contribution Point was the reward that he was the most excited about. He had spent 6,000 Contribution Points on the Ultimate Knowledge [Mechanical Life Tinder], and he still had just over 2,000 Contribution Points left.

Having obtained 1,500 Contribution Points in one go, he only needed slightly more than 2,000 points to exchange for a new Ultimate Knowledge. Because of his status, the price of an Ultimate Knowledge was discounted. In his previous life, players needed 12,000 Contribution Points to purchase one.

However, ordinary players could obtain a rank when they joined the Crimson Dynasty and do missions to increase their rank. The higher their rank, the greater the discount that they could enjoy. However, even the maximum discount that they could obtain did not reach his fifty percent discount.

The hidden mission that Maple Moon had discovered gave him great reward, and Han Xiao was truly overjoyed.

He definitely had to reward such a capable player greatly so that the other players would be encouraged to dig out other hidden missions.

As he was checking the interface, Tarrokov did not stop talking. “This report will save us a great deal of manpower. I will get people to enter the information into a star map. Since you have already sent people to wipe out the Great Cosmos Corps, you can temporarily take over their territory. You can also leave some manpower to mine for resources in the center of Garu.”

“Alright.” Han Xiao smiled. This was also his motive.

Compared to the Star Systems in the periphery, the center of a Star Cluster was the most prosperous region. In order to wipe out the Great Cosmos Corps, his expedition forces had the perfect excuse to set up a long-distance travel route, and he would be able to enter the center of the Star Cluster in the future directly. This way, he would be able to discover all the famous planets and fill up his warehouse secretly.

As long as he discovered a territory first, the other allies of the dynasty who joined in later would not be able to snatch it from him. If he could take the most prosperous region of the Star Cluster, he would be able to earn the most from this mission.

Furthermore, now that he had already made a long-distance trip once, the others would not be suspicious of him if he ran to the east secretly to find the Universal Treasure.

Tarrokov then said that he would report the matter to the dynasty and let the dynasty reward him with resources and manpower.

After chatting for a while more, they hung up.

Han Xiao then connected to Phillip’s view, and he could see the battle between the players and Atimo, which was a few Star Systems away.

…

Boom!

Explosions were never-ending!

The flood of players charged toward Atimo, who was in the center.

Atimo fought valiantly and weaved around the crowd to avoid all the attacks while launching laser beams from every part of his body. He was like a walking artillery tower, shooting at the crowd in all directions.

Beams of light shot through the crowded battlefield, and explosions could be seen all around, sending many human figures covered in shield lights flying.

The battle had already been going on for a long while, and the battlefield was covered in a myriad of colors from the various abilities of the players. Atimo had no less than thirty negative statuses on him. Although these statuses did not last long, the sheer number of players he faced meant that the statuses kept refreshing.

With the huge gap in their levels, Atimo had the advantage in speed, and the players were not able to lock onto him or stabilize the aggro. It was akin to the players of the different regions facing Atimo’s attacks at random. As long as they met Atimo, the players who had only just reached Grade B were not able to tank the damage.

Players were usually in parties that only consisted of a few dozen players at the very most in the dungeons, and this was the first time that they had fought a boss with so many players together. Every party wanted to output as much damage as they could, and they were not afraid of friendly fire. As such, the battlefield was extremely chaotic.

The difficulty of this battle was much higher than what the players had expected, and all the tactics that they had thought of beforehand were completely useless. They could only react to the situation on the spot.

However, the players did not know that the pressure that Atimo was enduring was many times greater than theirs.

Atimo weaved through the crowd and wanted to use the crowd as his human shield and make the players cautious about friendly fire, thus reducing the intensity of the attacks. However, he was shocked to realize that this bunch of people could not have cared less about the deaths of their comrades and would go all out even if it meant the death of their comrades.

Even the cold Atimo could not help but be startled by the players. Even though he did not have any way to escape and the other party already had the upper hand, they still engaged in such a cruel method, disregarding the number of casualties!

This was far too cold blooded. The Black Star Army was actually so unscrupulous in their means!

Since the players were not afraid of their deaths, his strategy was completely useless. Atimo could only endure the firepower coming from all directions and had to exhaust energy to maintain his shield.

The attacks of the players were only at the Grade B level, but Atimo did not dare use his body to tank the collective damage of all the players. After all, he did not have a powerful physique.

His shield was unable to block out all the damage, especially the Psychic attacks that came from time to time, which gave him a huge headache. Most of the negative statuses inflicted on him were from the Psychic attacks.

Atimo also had plenty of injuries all over his body, and his health was slowly decreasing. He did not have a powerful recovery capability, so his recovery speed could not keep up even if he used his energy to stimulate the recovery of his cells.

Furthermore, with his energy being depleted so quickly, Atimo felt that it was becoming more and more impossible for him to kill all the enemies.

Although Atimo felt this way, he would not surrender as long as he had the slightest bit of hope.

Even if I can’t escape, I have to deal the greatest amount of damage that I can! Atimo thought to himself.

Even if he died, he wanted to bite off a huge piece of flesh from the Black Star Army. Since these enemies were so crazy in their attacks, he would be able to cause the maximum amount of damage to his enemies.

Atimo’s body flashed, and he appeared in another region. All of a sudden, a cracking sound could be heard under his feet as he stepped into a series of mechanical traps. The powerful magnetic force tied his body down and slowed his movements greatly.

“Everyone, come over! I caught him!” one of the players cried out.

The players in the surroundings immediately unleashed all their firepower on Atimo.

Atimo let out a low growl, and his energy shield glowed brightly. The bullets rained down on his shield, and sparks could be seen bursting all around.

Boom!

Energy beams shot out in all directions, and the artillery towers that were near him exploded.

Following which, he stomped on the ground and destroyed the mechanical traps under his feet, obtaining freedom. Just when Atimo wanted to retreat, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness, and more than ten Psychics around him each greeted him with a mental attack.

In the momentary delay, a large group of Pugilists took the opportunity to charge forward, and their flaming fists crashed down on Atimo’s shield.

Boom boom boom!

The shield began flickering, and Atimo gritted his teeth. He then waved his arm, and an energy whip shot out and swept all the incoming Pugilists away.

Fighting on the ground was extremely disadvantageous to him, so Atimo tried to take flight again. However, he had only flown a few meters into the air before feeling a powerful sense of obstruction, which slowed his movements down greatly.

Raising his head to look up, there were countless magical formations floating in the sky to prevent him from flying.

It was impossible for Grade B Mages to stop him even if they stacked their formations, but it would take a long time for Atimo to weave through the anti-flying region. He did not dare do that as it would turn him into a live target.

Furthermore, even if he was able to fly, the enemy could still chase after him if he did not wipe them out. He did not think that his own flying speed was faster than a spaceship, and he would not be able to escape since he was stuck on the planet.

Both parties were locked in a long battle, and Atimo could feel a sense of fatigue.

He could not remember how many he had killed already. It could be tens of thousands, and the friendly fire among the enemy had probably killed even more people than him.

“A bunch of maniacs!” Atimo spat out a mouthful of spittle and dragged his heavy body to continue fighting.

His energy was already running out, and his body felt heavier and heavier by the second.

“It seems I don’t stand a chance…” Atimo’s heart sank, and he became even more ferocious.

At least the enemy suffered more casualties! He had to drag as many people to die with him as possible!

At this moment, Atimo avoided another wave of fire and looked around to observe the densely packed enemy around him. All of a sudden, he felt something extremely strange about the battle.

After fighting for such a long time, he should have killed many enemies, and the enemies obviously did not have any reinforcements. Why did it seem that the number of enemies had not changed at all‽

Atimo was stunned.

In his world view, death was certain, and there was no such thing as revival. Thus, he did not pay close attention to the number of enemies that he had to face. Furthermore, the battlefield was extremely chaotic, and there were thousands and thousands of enemies. He did not have the time to recognize the faces of every individual. Together with the fact that he was trapped in a dangerous situation, he only managed to notice that something was wrong.

After realizing this, Atimo began to observe the people around him carefully, and his expression changed greatly.

“This bunch of people… are actually undying‽”

Atimo’s expression changed drastically, and he had a look of disbelief on his face. A deep sense of despair filled his heart and spread out to his entire body.

No wonder… No wonder they don’t care about the fatalities. It turns out that this group of people don’t even know the concept of death…

He had thought that he was causing severe damage to the enemy, but it turned out that it was only a naïve thought. His own retaliation was a pointless struggle.

If it was only because he had to face a large number of enemies, Atimo would still have had the desire to fight them to the death. But after discovering that the enemy could still revive, Atimo’s mental state completely collapsed. He fell into complete despair, and his will to fight completely disappeared.

“Argh!” Atimo’s final trace of hope was destroyed, and he let out a roar to the heavens. He then burst forth with all his remaining strength without reserving the slightest bit of energy.

Boom!

More than ten thick pillars of lights swept throughout the battlefield, and all those who came into contact with one were instantly killed. Just this attack alone had wiped out more than ten thousand players.

“Take note! Everyone drop! This should be the final phase of the boss. We are going to enter the final struggle!”

All the parties hurriedly dropped to the ground, and the pillar of light floated past their heads. However, the burning energy source still caused some damage to them.

The light pillars disappeared quickly, and Atimo’s body shook unsteadily from side to side as though he would fall over at any moment.

Bang!

A cannonball sent Atimo crashing to the ground. As all the players witnessed this scene, they hurriedly got up and began spamming all their attacks at Atimo.

Atimo, who had lost his will to fight back, was like a doll for everyone to snatch. His limbs were quickly torn apart, and his body was tortured by the players. His eyes gradually became unfocused, and the players around him were like demons in his eyes.

Before his death, Atimo suddenly imagined the faces of all the players becoming his face.

He suddenly thought about his many years of robbing and pillaging.

Could this be his retribution?

Puchi!

The next moment, his head was ripped off by someone, and his sight turned gray.

“Hahaha! The reward for killing him is ours!” a player from Dynasty cheered.

Second Prince then waved Atimo’s head excitedly, and King Admiral shook his head by the side.

“Tsk, it actually belongs to Dynasty.”

“I died three times but didn’t even manage to touch a single hair on his body. What a loss.”

“Why don’t we get rid of some over here?”

The professional players of the other teams looked at Dynasty greedily.

Vodka and Captain Old Henry were disappointed that the reward of the boss had been snatched by the large clubs. Dynasty would probably be a powerful enemy again during the upcoming Pro League.

During the battle previously, they had aimed their attacks at the Chinese players and wanted to pretend that it was accidental friendly fire. However, they also realized that they had suffered from an unusually large amount of friendly fire, and each of them had died an average of three times. They were probably the targets of the Chinese players as well.

Although the ordinary players did not receive the reward, they were still extremely excited.

Atimo was the first Calamity Grade Super that had died by their hands!

This was the first Calamity Grade kill for the players!

On the other side, Han Xiao had also received a report from Phillip and heaved a sigh of relief.

“They finally killed a Calamity Grade…”

If it was a Calamity Grade like Ember, it would have been impossible for the players to kill him regardless of how many times they revived.

However, Atimo did not have such a perverse ability and was only an ordinary Calamity Grade Super. Phillip had caused the spaceship to crash, but the players had their spaceships to chase after him. Thus, Atimo did not have any route of retreat and had no choice but to face the players. Since the players had the strength of a Grade B Super, their strength had achieved a qualitative change, and Atimo could only die with regrets.

In Han Xiao’s eyes, this event would be a milestone that belonged to the players, and it was also the turning point for the players’ thoughts.

In his previous life, the players had only managed to get rid of a Calamity Grade Super during Version 4.0. After that, the players knew that they could have the strength of an ordinary Calamity Grade Super, and their mental state had a subtle change. They became even more confident in themselves… and more death seeking.

This was something that could not be avoided as the players were extremely opinionated. However, this influence was limited at the moment. Han Xiao’s personal combat strength and organization were sufficient to suppress the little demons in all the players.

He had intentionally allowed the players to deal with Atimo so that they could get rid of a Calamity Grade Super as members of the Black Star Army. If they did not have Phillip’s help, they would not have been able to stop Atimo from escaping, and it would have been impossible for them to kill the first Calamity Grade boss.

As such, this first kill was the fruit of the players’ effort and also the strength of the faction. As long as the players understood this, their sense of belonging to the faction would only increase.

Furthermore, this first kill was a milestone event and a combined activity of the army. Through this incident, this would tie even more players to the army.

Chapter 832 - 832 Merit Seeker

832 Merit Seeker

After getting rid of Atimo, the [Wipe Out the Great Cosmos Corps] mission did not end immediately, and there were still other players chasing after the other members of the Great Cosmos Corps who had escaped.

With the battle ending, the hundreds of thousands of players checked their interface and saw a notification.

_____________________

The Black Star Army has submitted [Great Cosmos Corps Exploratory Information]!

[Flickering World—The First Phase] rating increased.

_____________________

Through the Flickering World Main Storyline Mission, Han Xiao was not the only one who received this notification, and the players also received it.

This was the army helping them to increase their benefits.

The players were all overjoyed, and the accumulated Exploration Points should be enough to let their Mission Rating increase from D to C after this mission.

Apart from the players, no living beings were left behind on the battlefield. The players then entered the wreckage of the different battleships in search of their spoils of war. Although the technological standard of the Great Cosmos Corps was far from that of the Black Star Army, the players would never leave empty handed and swept across the battlefield like a swarm of locusts, taking everything that was valuable away.

The circular mountain range was left with craters all around and the wreckages of the different battleships sticking out from the ground. The players boarded the spaceships and left the planet, leaving behind the mess of their battle and a ground full of corpses that none of them could be bothered to deal with.

…

On the forums, the players who participated in the battle to kill Atimo began to show off their achievement. As the first Calamity Grade Super that they had killed, it was an extremely memorable event. There were some who had immediately recorded the event in the Galaxy Chronicles.

‘In year 705 of the Galaxy Calendar, we completed the first kill of Atimo.’

All of them were naturally proud of their achievement. It has already been three versions, and they had first seen a Calamity Grade Super in Version 2.0. During Version 3.0, they had personally participated in battles with Calamity Grade Supers, and the strength of the Calamity Grade had already been imprinted into their hearts. At this moment, they had finally gotten rid of one by themselves.

Even though they had surrounded their enemy with well over a hundred thousand people, their enemy was a native, and they had only succeeded because the army blocked their enemy’s escape route—the players were still extremely excited.

Since a long time ago, many had analyzed that as long as there were no major changes to the various grades, the players would become more and more important in the galaxy as their levels increased. This first kill was evidence that supported this theory.

As such, many players looked forward to the next version.

Perhaps we can also have a fist fight with Heber and kick Psyker around some day.

It was a pity Han Xiao did not know of the dreams of these players. If he did, he would definitely not allow them to continue enjoying their dreams and show them that their dreams were completely empty.

The one who took the reward for the kill was Dynasty. As a famous Chinese guild, the players were not too surprised that they were able to get the kill. In fact, the Chinese players would not be surprised if it was anyone of the four great guilds that got the kill. However, if it was any other guild or an ordinary player who got the kill, the players would then think that it was dog-sh*t luck.

Looking at Dynasty showing off their reward for the kill, all the players could only watch with envy with the other guilds being the ones who were the most envious.

This was the first kill for a Calamity Grade Super. The reward aside, the fame brought about by this first kill was what the guilds sought the most. This would be the glory of the guild that they could use to attract other members. Even if the other guilds could kill a few Calamity Grade Supers after this, the meaning would be completely different from a first kill.

Second Prince was the one who completed the final attack, and he posted the pictures of the kill happily on the forums. He could not help but boast about his achievement.

Although he was a professional player, he had never bothered about his own personal image. As the number two player in Dynasty, he had always wanted to overthrow King Admiral and gave off the impression of someone both mischievous and arrogant.

However, after Maple Moon revealed her own mission under the urging of Frenzied Sword, all the players’ attention was immediately drawn over to her.

Maple Moon revealed how she had discovered the coordinate marker and her own personal mission.

All the players had assumed that attacking the Great Cosmos Corps was an order from the dynasty; they only realized that this entire mission was a storyline created by a single player after seeing her thread!

To them, this was the largest influence that the players had on the army!

“Oh my goodness, this was actually a player-triggered hidden mission‽”

“Maple Moon? This name sounds pretty familiar… Eh? Isn’t she the one who followed our Army Commander since very early on in the first version?”

“To think that she was actually able to discover such a hidden mission. What good luck she has.”

Many players became extremely envious of Maple Moon. She had remained extremely quiet throughout the past two versions, and she had stunned the entire world with her actions in one fell swoop.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, Maple Moon had been extremely famous for digging out hidden storylines. She had gradually become famous in Version 3.0 and emerged as a black horse in the third Pro League. This was not too strange as there were black horses every year, with the third Pro League having the most. Version 3.0 was the time for the Mechanics to rise and, almost 80% of the black horses were the Mechanics who had an extremely awkward position in the first two seasons.

The rewards of her solo mission were extremely plentiful, and it was even more than the reward to kill Atimo. Thus, the players on the forums all had their eyes turn green with envy. She did not even need to kill the boss and could get a reward even greater than killing the boss just by slacking off by the side! This was too good a deal!

Second Prince also stopped boasting and joined the envious army. Compared to the other aloof professional players, he was extremely active and enjoyed playing together with the ordinary players.

However, Maple Moon’s thread also contained the reward that Black Star gave to her through the faction interface.

_____________________

You have triggered Faction Mission [Black Star’s Generosity]

Mission complete!

Due to your contribution, your faction [Black Star Army] has rewarded you for your exploration.

+10 Favorability with Black Star

You have received 25,000,000 Experience, 200,000 Enaus, and 2,000 Black Star Army Contribution Points.

Your army rank increased by one grade.

You have received a new title: [Merit Seeker]

Merit Seeker: A glorious title in the Black Star Army. You can receive materials, resources, or equipment of no more than 500 Enaus daily for free and 1,000 army Contribution Points every month. Any member of the army who provides special information can receive this title (Only limited to the Flickering World mission).

_____________________

Looking at the reward that the army gave to Maple Moon, the players could not help but drool.

My goodness, the army’s reward is even more fantastic.

Two hundred thousand Enaus was no small sum, and there was the unique army title. The effect of this title was just too tempting. Five hundred Enaus of resources for free every day. This was 10,500 in a month and 180,000 in a year! The long-term benefits of such a title were truly amazing, and it was akin to earning money just by sitting at home!

It had always been them spending money in the army, and this was the first time that they had seen someone taking money from the army.

Han Xiao’s objective of issuing such a mission was very obvious.

Do you see that? That is the treatment of a meritorious subject!

Even though both were army titles, [Secret Warrior] and [Merit Seeker] were extremely different. The former was given to everyone who participated in the secret war whereas Maple Moon was the only one who had the latter.

This also verified one of the players’ guesses. As long as the method was right, they could directly affect the actions of the entire faction. Many people could not help but be excited at this revelation.

Through Maple Moon’s thread, many players understood how they could replicate this incident. The only way for them to do so would be to search for hidden missions and hand them over to the army!

“Since the army is exploring the Flickering World, we should be able to gain the [Merit Seeker] title as long as we find some hidden information similar to the Great Cosmos Corps, right?”

“This is definitely the case! The army has such a title to encourage us to dig out hidden missions for sure!”

With Maple Moon as an example, all the players became excited, and their passion to search for hidden missions was ignited.

…

Looking at the drooling players on the forums, Han Xiao could not help but chuckle to himself.

He had given Maple Moon a title that had both glory and benefits so that the other players would be encouraged to find more hidden missions and hand them over to him.

After all, it was the player’s specialty to find hidden missions, and they might be able to find the second fragment of the [Bold Explorer] skill.

Apart from this, he also intended to groom Maple Moon. This lady was a character who had risen to prominence in Version 3.0 in his previous life. As the trainer of the Mechanic class, if the Mechanics were able to obtain a good result during the upcoming Pro League, it would give him more opportunities to bluff… ahem… attract new players to choose the Mechanic Class. This way, he would have more crops to harvest.

Maple Moon was the black horse in this Pro League, and Han Xiao did not mind letting this black horse become blacker. With so many rewards, Maple Moon would probably be the first player to reach the maximum level.

The other players were still chasing the remnants of the Great Cosmos Corps and taking over the territories of the Great Cosmos Corps according to the data. Since nothing else would go wrong, Han Xiao left the rest to the players, and he no longer paid attention to it.

Looking around, apart from the various operators, the only two Officers in the room were Feidin and Aurora.

Aurora was currently seated in front of a control panel with her head crooked as though she was about to fall asleep. She did not need to manage the autopilot, and she was already drifting off to dreamland. On the other side, Feidin sat on the sofa and had his eyes shut in meditation. Who knew if he was training his mental force or bickering with Chen Xing in his head?

The other Black Star Guards spent most of their time in the combat room under the lead of Hila. The exploration had already been going on for more than a month, and after the initial excitement during the starting phase, the others could not be bothered to monitor the progress carefully every day. Hila truly could not stand slacking off beside Han Xiao every day and thus dragged the other Black Star Guards to train bitterly with her.

“A woman with the motivation to improve is still pretty attractive.” Han Xiao shook his head and entered the quantum network to contact Planet Aquamarine.

The Black Star Army had already set up a quantum network in the Dawn Star Cluster, and he was able to communicate with the Shattered Star Ring through his army’s channel. He did not have to go through the Crimson Dynasty as a middleman anymore.

Floating Dragon had remained at Planet Aquamarine for more than a month, and Han Xiao’s main purpose of contacting Planet Aquamarine was to ask them about Floating Dragon’s situation.

Not too long later, Bennett came online. After a period of not contacting Bennett, his voice suddenly seemed full of energy.

Bennett reported the recent situation. Floating Dragon had begun their expansion over the past month, and a large number of people and financial groups had flooded over because of Floating Dragon’s name. Because of this, Planet Aquamarine had received new opportunities for growth.

With Planet Aquamarine’s current development speed, Bennett felt that he would be able to move his plan of having colonial planets forward by a few decades. While this was not an easy task to a native civilization like theirs, it would be much easier for them to do so with the aid of so many galactic organizations.

With Floating Dragon’s protection, the immigrants of the colonial planets would be protected, and Bennett planned to use five years to digest the benefits brought about by Floating Dragon before officially starting his plan to expand outward. He called it the five-year plan, and Han Xiao was truly shocked when he heard it.

After reporting the development of Planet Aquamarine, Bennett suddenly mentioned something else.

“With regards to the extremist group of the Star Pupil Holy Race attacking Planet Aquamarine, I have already gathered the necessary evidence and am planning to mention it during the upcoming Civilization Conference…”

“Not bad. We must make good use of our status.” Han Xiao nodded. Since Psyker’s race had made a mistake, there was nothing wrong with making the leader take the blame for it.

“I will join in the meeting through a holographic projection. Black Star, would it be convenient for you to join in the meeting as well?”

Psyker was a Beyond Grade A figure after all, and Bennett felt that his status was not sufficient to deal with Psyker. Since Black Star was the representative of Planet Aquamarine, it was normal for him to participate in the meeting too.

“Me? Haha, of course it’s convenient. I have been extremely free recently.” Han Xiao chuckled.

Joining the meeting personally did not sound too bad. He would be able to personally witness Psyker’s expression.

Chapter 833 - Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference

Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference was the Civilization Conference that was set up by the seven large Star Cluster civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring. The motive of the conference was to make it easier to manage the Star Field. The three Universal Civilizations usually would not interfere with the everyday affairs of the Star Field, and the Star Cluster civilizations were usually the ones to deal with the day to day issues.

The managers of the Shattered Star Ring were the seven Star Cluster civilizations and they were in charge of mediating the conflicts of the various Star System civilizations. Although their motive was to help everyone resolve their conflicts, the Civilization Conference was usually just a debate session where all the civilizations would make use of this opportunity to argue about almost everything and anything. However, they had rarely solved any problems.

During the secret war that had occurred not too long ago, even Purple Crystal and Klent, who were supposed to be the judges, had personally fought each other, and the usefulness of the Civilization Conference could easily be seen.

After all, the Shattered Star Ring was the border of the discovered universe, and chaos lingered in the region. A very long time ago, the various civilizations would send their envoys to participate in the conference personally, but after the seven Star Cluster civilizations could not stand the brawls that were happening during the conference, they changed the meeting method to using holographic projections.

Since everyone was only a projection, it was impossible for them to break out into a fight.

In any case, the Civilization Conference was a few days away, and this would be the first time that Planet Aquamarine had joined the conference.

Usually, only Star System level civilizations would have the right to enter the conference, but Han Xiao had made a deal with the various Star Cluster civilizations to let Planet Aquamarine have the rights to enter the conference. Planet Aquamarine was also the only civilization to enter the conference at the level of a surface civilization.

…

A few days later, the meeting was held as per usual, and Han Xiao received a notice from Purple Crystal. He then logged in to his own holographic projection account and joined the meeting.

Buzz…

An electrical buzzing sound could be heard, and Han Xiao felt a blinding light flash in his face. The next moment, he could share the view of his holographic projection, and the scene of the conference was in his eyes.

A circular meeting venue appeared before his eyes, and it looked a little like the structure of a colosseum. The black colored chairs were arranged neatly in a circular formation with the chairs in the middle being the lowest. The chairs gradually increased in height as it got to the outside like a staircase.

Surrounding the meeting venue was the starry sky of the universe, and the shrunken down star map of the Shattered Star Ring formed the backdrop of the room.

Han Xiao lowered his head and realized that his projection was already seated down on his own seat with Bennett being seated next to him. A golden ‘Planet Aquamarine’ sign was placed on the table in front of them, and both of their seats were located at quite a high point. They could see the entire venue, and the various representatives from the other civilizations were slowly coming online. The representatives from the different civilizations were seated a distance away from each other, and they were not squeezed together.

“This is the venue for the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference…” Bennett let out a sigh of admiration, and he turned around to greet Han Xiao. “Black Star, you are finally online.”

“The meeting hadn’t started yet. I came too early.”

Han Xiao then looked down, and his gaze swept past the center of the venue. The representatives of the seven Star Cluster civilizations were already online, and they were waiting for the representatives of the other civilizations to appear.

Han Xiao then turned around and asked, “How long have you been here?”

“I was the earliest batch to be here,” Bennett said. “This is my first time joining a meeting of such a level, and I am a little nervous, so I came earlier to take a look.”

He naturally would not be nervous because of the majestic setting but only felt the pressure of having the responsibilities of Planet Aquamarine on his shoulders.

Han Xiao smiled. This is my first time witnessing the Civilization Conference as well.

All the famous civilizations in the Star Field were gathered in a single hall, and most of the players did not have the opportunity to join such a meeting in his previous life, including him.

“Black Star, thank you,” Bennett suddenly said with a solemn tone. “If not for you, it’d probably take a few centuries or millenniums for Planet Aquamarine to have a seat in this place.”

“You don’t need to stand on ceremony. We are only each taking our own needs.” Han Xiao blatantly pointed out that he was only doing so for benefits. He then patted Bennett on the shoulder instinctively, but his palm passed through Bennett’s shoulders. He had forgotten that both of them were only holographic projections at this moment.

Bennett nodded and did not say anything else. He would not reduce his gratitude toward Han Xiao just because of Han Xiao’s words. He had been through many things in life and understood this simple logic—an individual’s motive was not as important as their actions.

While both of them were chatting, many representatives from the other civilizations also noticed Han Xiao’s presence and looked over with complicated gazes.

In the venue, Planet Aquamarine was an oddball, and Han Xiao had a cooperative relationship with many of the civilizations present. All the civilizations were aware of how Han Xiao had helped Planet Aquamarine join the Civilization Conference, and they could not help but be envious of Planet Aquamarine’s natural advantage.

They had the protection of the Beyond Grade A Black Star and were now the main camp of Floating Dragon. Just why did such a small planet have such good luck?

But despite their envy and jealousy, it was undeniable that Planet Aquamarine only managed to gain a seat there because of their own abilities. The civilizations present would not look down on Planet Aquamarine at all.

Not too long later, everyone finally arrived, and the chattering subsided.

At this moment, the representative from one of the Star Clusters stood up, and his voice was projected through the amplifiers.

“I am very happy to meet so many familiar friends today. Hmm, compared to the previous meeting, the number of people present hasn’t decreased. It seems like the security of the Shattered Star Ring has improved…”

Everyone had a cold expression on their face. This joke was truly too cold and not funny at all.

“Perhaps everyone has noticed that we have a new member in our midst.” The representative then looked toward Han Xiao and briefly introduced him. “Planet Aquamarine civilization, Aquamarine Federation, representative of his civilization… His Excellency Black Star.”

Everyone then looked over and nodded respectfully.

Han Xiao waved his hands and looked around. As he saw Psyker who was seated in the seat for the Star Pupil Holy Race, he raised his hand to wave.

Psyker pretended not to see a thing and remained expressionless.

“His Excellency Black Star is someone that we are all familiar with, so there’s no need for me to give an introduction. Since everyone is present, let’s start the meeting and discuss the first matter…”

Following which, the various delegates began to raise the issues that they had already prepared. The majority of these issues were trade conflicts, border conflicts, foreign affairs conflicts, and other problems that were nothing new.

The representatives chosen by the civilizations were all extremely eloquent, and every single proposal could be argued for over half a day before coming to a conclusion that the matter had to be delayed to a later date.

The process was long and cumbersome, but Bennett sat up straight to study every detail of the meeting to gain experience.

Han Xiao had already begun daydreaming a long time ago.

After waiting for a long time, the ones queuing in front of them had finally said their piece, and it was now their turn.

“Proposal number CL7984D66 from the Planet Aquamarine. Please give a brief description of the proposal,” the Purple Crystal representative said with a smile.

Bennett stood up slowly and began reading the material that he had prepared beforehand. He briefly explained the actions of the Avitan Souls extremists, and his voice reverberated in the meeting venue.

Following which, he looked at Psyker and said with a deep voice, “We discovered psionic explosives in the spaceship of these extremists, and the strength of these explosives was sufficient to destroy Planet Aquamarine. For such high-grade military weapons to appear in the hands of the extremists, we have reason to believe that these weapons came from the hands of the Star Pupil Holy Race, and the actions of these extremists were instructed by the Star Pupil Holy Race. Planet Aquamarine feels that the Star Pupil Holy Race wishes to go against the [Treaty of Cosmic Civilizations (Seventh Revision)] and wipe out a civilization protected by the treaty…”

The sponsor of Avitan Souls was actually an opponent of the Star Pupil Holy Race, a Star Cluster civilization called Talos. However, Bennett had insisted that the sponsor was the Star Pupil Holy Race so that Psyker would take the blame for the matter.

An odd look could be seen on the faces of everyone present. They were all experienced individuals and knew that it was impossible for Psyker to have done something like this.

A surface civilization that was accepted into the conference by exception actually pouring dirty water on a Beyond Grade A during their first meeting? They were far too bold. If only they could also have a Beyond Grade A Super as their backer. That way, they would be able to do whatever they wished.

The seven Star Cluster civilizations then exchanged glances, and six of them looked at the one of the representatives. He was the representative of the Talos Civilization.

The representative of Talos then looked at Psyker and asked with a smile that did not seem like a smile, “Representative of the Star Pupil Holy Race, what do you have to say?”

“They are maligning me.” Psyker had a calm look on his face and replied slowly. “I would never go against the treaty and have no reason to attack Planet Aquamarine. Those extremists weren’t following my orders.”

“How do you explain this incident?”

“If I were to make a conjecture, this should be the actual reason. Planet Avitan suffered from an ambush recently, and the Evolution Cube was lost during the process. Black Star then managed to snatch the Evolution Cube in the end…”

As he said that, Psyker glared at Han Xiao coldly before continuing. “Because of the ambush, a portion of the survivors of Planet Avitan became extremists who wanted to take revenge. In the eyes of the Star Pupil Holy Race, the Evolution Cube is our national treasure, and Black Star snatched our national treasure away. Thus, the extremist group blamed the matter on him, and this matter is their personal action. It has nothing to do with the officials of the Star Pupil Holy Race. If Planet Aquamarine insists that I am the culprit behind this matter, please provide proper evidence.”

Han Xiao chuckled and said, “Dead men tell no tales. Do you wish to absolve yourself from guilt with just a few words?”

“Ah, likewise to you. Since dead men tell no tales, you are also trying to frame me with a few illogical arguments,” Psyker said coldly.

The Talos representative then said, “Let us place this matter aside for now. Regardless of whether the Star Pupil Holy Race ordered the assault, the attackers were indeed from your race. Am I right?”

Psyker took a deep breath and nodded. “Although they are from our race, we…”

The Talos representative interrupted Psyker. “You don’t need to say anything else. The Star Pupil Holy Race is extremely different from other races. Your race should be a highly united one, and the presence of an extremist group is a result of your mismanagement.”

“… This is my internal affair, and I will personally disband the extremist group called Avitan Souls. None of you have the right to intervene in anything else,” Psyker said with a frosty tone.

“If you need, we can send some forces to help you wipe out the extremist force as a friendly neighbor.”

“… That’s not necessary.” Psyker was shocked. Who would not know what your intention is? You dare mention such a matter in front of so many people? Don’t you feel any shame?

The Talos representative then chuckled and got back to the main topic. “Let’s talk about your measures to rectify your mistake in the future. We are now discussing your responsibility. This extremist group is from your race, and they were using their identities as citizens of the Star Pupil Holy Race when carrying out the attack. I believe that the Star Pupil Holy Race should take responsibility for this incident.”

In truth, regardless of whether they were from the same race or citizens of the race, these were not important factors at all. However, the Talos representative wanted to target the Star Pupil Holy Race by harping on about this matter.

He was not the only one who did so in fact.

“I think so too,” the Purple Crystal representative said.

“I agree.” The representatives from a few other Star Clusters also nodded.

Purple Crystal was speaking on behalf of Planet Aquamarine because of Han Xiao, and the other Star Cluster civilizations only wanted to deal a blow to the Star Pupil Holy Race.

Because the Star Pupil Holy Race had the support of the Arcane Church, their development was extremely rapid, and they had a chance to become the eighth Star Cluster civilization. The others were not willing to allow someone else to share benefits with them.

As such, all of them stood on the same side and made use of this opportunity to create trouble for the Star Pupil Holy Race.

The other representatives remained silent at this moment as they understood what was going on.

Who asked the members of your race to try and destroy another planet and even leave evidence behind?

If someone wanted to blow up their mother planet, they would also blame the masters for not reining in the crazy dogs properly.

All of a sudden, Psyker became the target of everyone’s criticism, and even Bennett was shocked by the scene. He had originally thought that he would just engage in a small squabble with Psyker but never expected so many people to speak on his behalf. He could not help but look at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao smiled, having expected such a scene. He knew that exposing this matter would give the other Star Cluster Civilizations an opportunity to exploit. The Shattered Star Ring had already been split up by the seven Star Cluster Civilizations, and they were not willing to allow a new member to share the pie with them. As such, even if he did not have any evidence, they would side with him.

Psyker’s face was extremely ugly. Psyker naturally understood the logic of ‘giving a dog a bad name then hanging him’, but he truly did not have sufficient grounds to fight back. The other party was the victim, and he was indeed in the wrong.

He could not help but curse the Avitan Souls. Those brats did not think about the trouble that their actions would cause to the civilization and had dragged him down to take the rap for them. It was truly a waste to allow them to evolve back then.

“How do you guys want to deal with this matter?” Psyker said with frustration.

The Talos representative then said, “I think that you need to make a public apology to Planet Aquamarine and provide them with some compensation.”

“Compensation and an apology? Impossible,” Psyker said with a deep voice. “I can make a donation at most.”

A donation and compensation had completely different meanings.

As the leader of a civilization, he was the image of the Star Pupil Holy Race, and he had to consider many different things. It was impossible for him to make a public apology just because of the actions of an extremist group. It was just like how Godora would never apologize because of DarkStar’s actions. Furthermore, Psyker was a Beyond Grade A Super, and doing so would harm his prestige. Thus, he could not lower his head so easily.

Bennett then snapped back to his senses and said under Han Xiao’s instructions, “Planet Aquamarine strongly condemns the Star Pupil Holy Race for their actions and does not accept such an insincere conclusion.”

“Then there isn’t a need to continue talking about this.”

Psyker looked at Han Xiao coldly and suddenly went offline.

The Star Pupil Holy Race had the backing of the Arcane Church, and the Civilization Conference had a limited restriction on them. It was impossible for the Civilization Conference to force him to lower his head. At the same time, Psyker could not do as he wished and would also suffer some losses.

After this incident, it would be far more difficult for the Star Pupil Holy Race to seek cooperation. He had lost the Evolution Cube, and the support of the Arcane Church would also decrease. As such, this storm was extremely disadvantageous to their development.

Furthermore, Talos would make use of this opportunity to publicize this matter and sway public opinion against the Star Pupil Holy Race.

In Psyker’s eyes, the culprit of all this was Han Xiao. If not for Han Xiao being insistent on making him take the blame, the situation would not have progressed like that.

Psyker’s enmity toward Han Xiao increased to the next level.

On Han Xiao’s side, his interface gave him a notification. His favorability with the Star Pupil Holy Race had fallen by 800 points and was now -1,250 points. Their relationship went from [Hostile] to [Enemies].

Psyker was indeed infuriated. Han Xiao shook his head. Planet Aquamarine was his ‘mother planet’, and it was impossible for him to swallow such a grievance without doing anything. Since Psyker and the Arcane Church would not let go of the Evolution Cube, they were destined to be enemies, and he would not mind their enmity being deeper.

If Planet Aquamarine was really destroyed, Psyker still would not apologize or pay any compensation. He might even gloat at his demise. However, there was no right or wrong to him, and Han Xiao did not think that Psyker’s actions were wrong.

“I wonder how he will retaliate…” Han Xiao pondered to himself.

Planet Aquamarine was protected by the Peace Treaty, and Psyker would not take action against anyone else. If Psyker wanted to fight back, Psyker would definitely have his sights set on Han Xiao.

Aesop said that the Arcane Church would send people after him, and Psyker would definitely be a member of the party since he was able to lock onto his position.

Han Xiao decided to let the main camp keep a look out for Psyker’s movements as it was akin to monitoring the Arcane Church’s actions.

…

At the same time, on the mother planet of the Star Pupil Holy Race. Psyker disconnected from the meeting venue, and his expression was extremely ugly.

After thinking for a while, Psyker sent a message to the Arcane Church.

“I will agree to that matter.”

The Arcane Church had given him a mission recently, and Psyker had been thinking about it. He had only made a decision at that moment.

Psyker’s cold expression could be seen on the screen of the communicator.

“Black Star, you should stay in the Flickering World and never return.”

Chapter 834 - Arcane Church“s Trace

Leaving the conference halfway was obviously extremely disrespectful to the other members present, but the seven Star Cluster civilizations and the other members weren’t too bothered. The Star Pupil Holy Race had become the public enemy, and Psyker was only using his actions to show his dissatisfaction. He would still come online obediently during the next meeting.

Since their target was gone, this proposal could only be postponed to a later date, and Bennett sat back down.

The meeting continued, and the next proposal was raised. The atmosphere of the meeting had become more peaceful.

All the other proposals after this did not have anything to do with him anymore, so Han Xiao temporarily cut off from the viewpoint of the projection and began browsing the forums.

After another long wait, the meeting on the first day was finally over. Every time a Civilization Conference was held, they would have to meet for a few days before being able to discuss all the accumulated proposals. Han Xiao only intended to show his face for the first day, and he would not need to be present for all the other meetings. Bennett alone would be enough.

Disconnecting from the long-range holographic projection, Han Xiao closed the forums and thought to himself, The Star Pupil Holy Race was criticized by Planet Aquamarine, but the future matters will have nothing to do with Planet Aquamarine.

Since nothing had actually happened, it would be impossible for them to actually do anything to Psyker. Han Xiao was not counting on the Star Pupil Holy Race providing compensation or a donation. The influence of Planet Aquamarine was still too weak, and even after criticizing them, Psyker would not be too affected by it.

After this matter was mentioned, the ones who would cause trouble for Psyker would not be Planet Aquamarine but the Talos Civilization.

The Talos Civilization secretly sponsored Avitan Souls so that those extremists would create trouble for the Star Pupil Holy Race. Although they did not instruct Avitan Souls to attack Planet Aquamarine, this unexpected situation was to their advantage, and they could make use of this matter to create trouble.

Han Xiao got Bennett to criticize Psyker to give the Talos Civilization an excuse, and the Talos Civilization understood his intentions. They had wanted to deal with the Star Pupil Holy Race a long time ago, and standing up for Planet Aquamarine could also win them Han Xiao’s favor.

Thus, Planet Aquamarine did not have to do anything after the first day and only had to watch from the side.

Han Xiao then contacted Ames and asked her about Floating Dragon’s situation.

Both of them talked for half an hour before hanging up.

Walking to the 3D star map, Han Xiao looked at the map of the Garu Star Cluster. The explored green region was still extremely small, and it looked like two toothpicks sticking out from a green blob. These two ‘toothpicks’ were the two long distance routes that were currently under construction.

“Hadavy’s Special Task Force needs another three months before they can complete the long distance stargate…” Han Xiao stroked his chin and pondered to himself.

According to his plan, the Special Task Force arriving at the east of the Garu Star Cluster would be the first phase.

According to his understanding of the Garu Star Cluster, there should not be another huge storm like the Great Cosmos Corps again, and they would have a calm exploration until they had explored about eighty percent of the Star Systems.

…

Time flew by.

Three months later, in the Crimson Dynasty Ruler’s office, Urranrell currently had a report in her hands, and she was reprimanding one of the upper echelons with a stern voice.

“The Federation of Light is moving sneakily and has entered our territory. How are you going to take care of this matter? Just watch from the side and let them do as they please? I asked you to keep guard, not retreat all the way! Come up with a plan immediately!”

“Let me think, let me think…”

Urranrell’s eyes were extremely stern. The exploration of the Flickering World had only been going on for a few months, and the Federation of Light could no longer sit still. They had begun applying pressure on the dynasty from the economic, political, and military side. They were prepared to snatch benefits from the dynasty while the dynasty’s attention was fixed on exploring the new Star Field.

This was only the beginning. The dynasty would definitely invest even more manpower and resources in the exploration, and the Federation of Light would increase the intensity of their operations to make things difficult for the dynasty.

Although this situation was within Urranrell’s expectations, it was something avoidable. Both the Federation of Light and the Crimson Dynasty were at the same level, and their strength was equal. It was extremely difficult for everything to go smoothly and perfectly. If the dynasty wanted to have some reward, they needed to pay the appropriate price. Urranrell had already prepared herself mentally for this.

Beep beep.

The internal comms line rang.

“Your Excellency, the Chief Commander of the exploration army Tarrokov is on the line.”

Urranrell then waved her hand and got the official in front of her to leave. The official felt as though he was pardoned of his crime and hurriedly left the office. Only Urranrell remained in the room.

“Patch it through.” Urranrell nodded.

The next moment, Tarrokov’s figure appeared inside the room, and he gave a military salute to Urranrell.

“Tarrokov, how is the progress for the exploration of the Flickering World?”

The exploration of the Flickering World was of strategic importance to the Crimson Dynasty, and Urranrell was extremely concerned about the situation.

“The information has already been sent to you, and I am here to give you a brief report…”

Tarrokov then began explaining.

Urranrell glanced at the report while looking at the information and nodded.

“In summary, Renault and Crown are being explored by the forces of the dynasty and Klent. Our progress is only average. On the contrary, the Black Star Army, which chose the Garu Star Cluster, has discovered a large number of resource rich planets over the past four months and even took over the territory of a local organization, saving us a great deal of effort. Furthermore, the Black Star Army didn’t bother about their own losses and are constructing a long distance stargate for the convenience of future exploration squads,” Tarrokov said.

Urranrell placed down the information in her hands and said with a satisfied look, “Not bad. He is a reliable ally.”

With a basis of comparison, she was extremely satisfied with Han Xiao’s efficiency.

“The Black Star Army is an ally worthy of grooming. We should increase our support for them in all aspects.”

Although Tarrokov seemed to have received some benefits from the Black Star Army and always spoke highly of them, Urranrell was not bothered about the details as long as the Black Star Army produced results.

“Apart from this, I have something else to report,” Tarrokov suddenly said with a deep voice. “We’ve noticed traces of stowaways.”

The stowaways that he referred to were those who secretly entered the Flickering World without approval from the dynasty.

Urranrell’s eyes narrowed. “Are you sure they aren’t natives?”

Tarrokov shook his head and said, “Although I do not have much evidence, our troops stationed in the universe belt between the Shattered Star Ring and Flickering World discovered traces of warp speed hyperdrive by an unknown force. Their technological capabilities have obviously reached the level of a Star Cluster, and they should be arriving in the Flickering World very soon. Some others may have already arrived at the Flickering World before this but weren’t discovered by us.”

“The Federation of Light and Arcane Church have indeed taken action,” Urranrell said.

“I think that they will avoid the first three Star Clusters that we have chosen and explore the Star Clusters located deep within the Star Field,” Tarrokov said. “They want to swallow our Star Field on the sly and avoid coming into contact with us.”

“You’re right,” Urranrell said slowly. “Send out our forces to patrol the universe belt between the Shattered Star Ring and Flickering World. Destroy any stargates built by the enemy that you can find.”

Those stowaways were probably planning to create their own secret stargate to connect the Flickering World to the outside so that they could send a large troop quickly in the future. The hidden stargates would usually be hidden within the universe belt between the two Star Fields.

The Crimson Dynasty had publicly forbidden other organizations from privately setting up their own stargate because of such a consideration. The most effective way to deal with stowaways would be to destroy their stargates and ensure that the control of the stargates remained firmly in the dynasty’s hands.

The only way to maximize the dynasty’s benefits was to ensure a monopoly on transportation.

Tarrokov shook his head in response. “We will need more manpower.”

“I know.” Urranrell nodded. “I will deploy more troops to head to the Flickering World. It is also time for our second batch of allies to move out.”

…

At the same time, an Arcane Church fleet had secretly arrived at the border of the Flickering World.

“We’ve finally arrived! Contact the branch division. Have they chosen a location in the desolate universe belt?”

“Reporting to the captain, the location has been decided, and they are only waiting for us.”

They required two stargates to form a new path, and stowaway troops would usually split up into two groups. One group would choose a location for their secret stargate, and this would be the ‘entrance’.

The troops that arrived at the Flickering World would then build the ‘exit’.

“Very good. Make sure that we avoid all the detectors of the Crimson Dynasty. Go around the Dawn Star Cluster and head to the desolate universe belt near the Garu Star Cluster to construct a stargate. We will also build a temporary base.”

The Arcane Church also wanted to set their sights on the Flickering World, but this was a long-term job. At the same time, the Arcane Church was even more interested in the Evolution Cube.

They had chosen to set up a stargate near the Garu Star Cluster so that it would be easy for them to store their army.

It would only be convenient for them to send out Beyond Grade A Supers after constructing their stargates. After all, an expert of such a level would not be willing to spend a few months slowly crossing the desolate universe belt.

Black Star had already proven himself to be someone extremely difficult to deal with. In order to guarantee their success, the Arcane Church had sent out more than one or two Beyond Grade A Supers.

Of course, the three Universal Civilizations kept an eye on each other’s Beyond Grade A combatants, and the moment any one of them displayed any strange movements, the other two parties would be alerted.

If they wanted to allow their Beyond Grade A Supers to move sneakily, they needed to find a reason to fool others.

Chapter 835 - Four Months

Ever since the players took over the remaining territories of the Great Cosmos Corps and set up a long distance stargate, Han Xiao had led his forces to the middle region of the star map. The famous planets within the center region of the Star Cluster were much greater, and their quality was higher.

One of these planets was called Planet Shining Gold, which had been extremely prosperous in Han Xiao’s previous life. It was one of the first-rate planets that the dynasty had in the Garu Star Cluster and was an iconic planet of the Flickering World. There was also Planet Auspicious Forest, which was a transit station within the Garu Star Cluster. During its most prosperous time, it had over five hundred stargate entrances and was the heart of the Star Cluster.

Apart from this, Han Xiao had also occupied many resource rich planets that were famous for producing various valuable resources.

In his previous life, these famous planets had an important status in the Garu Star Cluster, and the dynasty might take back these planets after opening up the Flickering World to the public. But during the exploration period, these planets were all the territory of the Black Star Army, and the Black Star Army had the right to enjoy the special produce of these planets.

The exploration had already been going on for four months, and the progress of the various exploration squads was similar. The Bloodshed Land had taken a steady approach in their exploration and had almost completed the exploration of the Jeraton Star System. Although they had pretty decent rewards, the outcome was within the dynasty’s expectations, and it would not cause too big a storm. In comparison, even though Han Xiao’s exploration squad had taken the approach of spreading out their forces, which resulted in taking a longer time to explore a single Star System, Han Xiao had managed to provide the dynasty with quite a number of surprises because he had managed to find a large number of famous planets from his previous life.

Because of this, the dynasty increased their support for him as well.

Han Xiao had heard rumors about the Klent exploration team mimicking his method and sending out troops to the planets of the other regions. However, it was a pity that they were not familiar with the situation on the other planets and did not have good results.

Over the past four months, the benefits of the Flickering World had begun to show. The rewards that the Black Star Army received from the Flickering World almost rivaled the combined total of the other armies.

As more and more planets were explored, their rewards continued to snowball.

Countless uninhabited planets were waiting to be excavated. If not, why would they say that the Flickering World was a huge opportunity?

The gains of the army soared rapidly, and after the exploration team sent these earnings back to the main camp in the Shattered Star Ring, Sylvia began to expand the army even further under Han Xiao’s instructions. They attracted more new members and increased the scale of their training camp.

On the players’ side, as the resource rich planets increased in numbers, the guilds also ran out of manpower and could only selectively choose the planets to mine on. The best resource rich planets were naturally taken by the four great guilds and the others by the first-rate guilds. The Australian and Russian guilds were bullied badly and no longer wished to play on the same planet as any of the powerful Chinese guilds. Thus, they chose a few lousier resource rich planets and competed with the second-rate Chinese guilds instead.

Over the past four months, the average level of the players had gone up a great deal, and Maple Moon, who had received bountiful rewards from the hidden mission, was the highest leveled player. She was already at level 113 and only needed seven more levels to reach the max level.

With Maple Moon as an example, all the players searched for hidden missions like crazy, and there were a few who had indeed managed to find some. However, it was a pity that there was no reward for the second [Bold Explorer] skill fragment.

Han Xiao had not remained idle over the past four months either. The experience punishment of the Evolution Cube would end in eight months, so he was not in a rush to level up.

Apart from monitoring the progress of the exploration and scrolling through the forums, Han Xiao spent most of his time in his workshop, expanding his mechanical army.

Currently, his mechanical army had already exceeded ten million soldiers in number, and their attributes were extremely powerful. Under the boost of his mechanical force, this army of his had the strength to wipe out a weaker Star System Civilization.

Among the five main classes, the destructiveness of a Mechanic was the greatest toward a civilization. The other four classes were more suitable to fight a single target, and only a powerful Beyond Grade A Mechanic had the ability to fight a large-scale galactic war.

Han Xiao was currently standing in front of the 3D star map, waiting for a special piece of news.

Today was a special day as the Special Task Force that Hadavy was leading would complete the construction of the long distance stargate. He was waiting for Hadavy’s word.

But before news from Hadavy could arrive, Tarrokov contacted him.

Beep beep!

Han Xiao looked at his communicator and could only pick up the call with resignation.

“Chief commander, what’s the matter?”

“I need to inform you about something. We found traces of stowaways.”

“Stowaways? They should be from the organizations who ignored the dynasty’s warning and want to have a share of the Flickering World, right?”

This was something that the players found out from the background description in his previous life. This matter happened during the version update period, and the players did not participate in the event. When the players joined in, the Flickering World had already opened to the outside world, and the other organizations were allowed to enter the Flickering World.

In the dynasty’s records, they had fought a long battle with the stowaways. The Star Field was far too big, and there were too many regions to explore. As such, the dynasty was not able to completely uproot the stowaways. Even if they could get rid of one batch, another batch would arrive very quickly.

Tarrokov nodded and said, “It should be the forces of some super Star Cluster civilizations. You should keep an eye out for them and report to me if you find any stowaways. We must find their secret stargates, and we will request aid from your troops if necessary.”

“Okay.”

A new mission immediately popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

_____________________

You have triggered [Stowaways’ Clue] (Repeatable)!

Mission Introduction: A new Star Field is a treasure trove, and every organization wants a share of it. No one is willing to see the Crimson Dynasty swallow all the benefits alone, and even if the Flickering World is the Crimson Dynasty’s territory in name, it is impossible to stop their greed. As one of the dynasty’s allies, the stowaways’ infiltration is also an opportunity for you. The dynasty needs your help.

Mission Requirements: Hand in all information related to stowaways, kill a batch of stowaways, or destroy the secret stargates.

Reward: 2,000,000 – 50,000,000 Experience and 50 – 700 the Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points

Remark: This is a branch mission of the [Flickering World].

_____________________

This was a repeatable mission, and he would receive a reward every time he dealt with stowaways. The rewards were only so-so, but Han Xiao was the most interested in the dynasty Contribution Points.

However, stowaways were stealthy in their actions and extremely difficult to find. Han Xiao can only try his luck. Furthermore, the stowaways were not natives, and if they set up a secret stargate, it would only be possible to destroy the stargate with a battle.

Han Xiao only intended to provide the clues and was not planning to pick a fight with the super Star Cluster civilizations. However, the dynasty were not afraid of offending them and would be the most suitable party to do so.

“The Arcane Church should also be included among the stowaways…”

Aesop had prophesied that the Arcane Church would bring him danger in the Flickering World, and Han Xiao was concerned about it.

If the Arcane Church wanted to deal with me, they would definitely have to send a large force. Because they’ll need to build up their forces, they won’t take action soon. However, I’d better remain vigilant during this period, Han Xiao thought to himself.

Psyker was able to locate him, and the Arcane Church would definitely get Psyker to join them. Thus, observing Psyker’s whereabouts would be the most direct way to find out when the Arcane Church was planning to attack.

It was a pity that the [Observer’s Mark] that he had placed on Psyker’s body had already been removed. If not, things would have been much easier for him. Although Psyker was not able to remove it on his own, he could feel that he was being spied on. Psyker had already found out that he was the culprit, and it was impossible for Psyker to ignore the matter after a good half a year. Psyker must have gotten someone from the Arcane Church to get rid of the [Observer’s Mark] for him. After all, Austin was not the only Beyond Grade A Mage.

Han Xiao conveyed his worries to Tarrokov, and Tarrokov replied with a smile as though he had already expected it.

“The dynasty has also considered the possibility that the Arcane Church will try to snatch the Evolution Cube when you are in the Flickering World. Thus, the dynasty will keep a close eye on the movements of the Beyond Grade A Supers of the Arcane Church. Furthermore, Her Excellency has already sent out a second wave of troops to the Flickering World, which includes many of the dynasty’s allies. We will also send out a Beyond Grade A Super that is a direct subordinate of the dynasty to follow you and protect you temporarily.”

The second batch of allies… it seems like the competition is here.

On account of the Evolution Cube, the dynasty sent manpower to protect him. However, Han Xiao knew that the dynasty would prefer him to not run around with the Evolution Cube.

After retrieving that ownerless Universal Treasure, I shall return to Planet Lighthouse for a period of time…

Since he knew that the enemy wanted to deal with him, Han Xiao decided to be on the safer side. After all, the Arcane Church was not that easy to deal with.

Thus, it would be best for him to remain on the dynasty’s outpost, Planet Lighthouse, rather than running all around. Furthermore, he would still be present in the Flickering World and could continue to monitor the progress of the exploration.

“Please thank Ruler Urranrell for me.” Han Xiao was caught up in his thoughts but did not forget to be polite.

“Haha, the Ruler recently checked on our progress, and she is extremely satisfied with you,” Tarrokov said with a smile.

After having a casual chat for a while, Han Xiao hung up.

Right at this moment, Hadavy finally sent news.

After waiting for four months, the stargate was finally complete!

“Good job!”

Han Xiao was overjoyed. With this passageway, Han Xiao could finally obtain the ownerless Universal Treasure.

Hadavy had also displayed his dissatisfaction in his message. He had not sparred with Han Xiao for four months and was extremely dissatisfied. He wanted to immediately return to Han Xiao’s side so that he could be beaten up by Han Xiao. Being in a good mood, Han Xiao immediately promised to beat Hadavy up three times a day and fulfil his wishes.

Han Xiao immediately ordered the fleet to change direction and head toward the stargate.

This news was quickly spread to Senico. However, he was already used to Black Star moving around without any set pattern and did not have any suspicions.

Chapter 836 - Spacetime Amber

Some of the universal social studies scholars believed that there were three factors of building a lawful galactic society from nothing. First, communication in the form of a galactic war where part of the civilizations survived and obtained knowledge of each other. Second, one or more powerful rulers that had the strength to forcefully decide rules for other civilizations, forming laws. Third, the reduction of distance achieved through hyperdrive, stargate, and quantum communication technology.

In the eyes of some scholars, these three technologies were the greatest inventions of the universe era. They allowed civilizations to communicate with each other while being countless light years apart. These were what formed the stable galactic societal structure of the entire known universe.

After pioneering in the Flickering World for four months, including Han Xiao, the Black Star Army started to agree more and more with this statement.

The Special Task Force led by Hadavy took four whole months to arrive at the east of the Garu Star Cluster from the south, while Han Xiao’s main ship fleet crossed that distance through the stargates built by the Special Task Force in less than two days.

At the eastern border Star System, two fleets rendezvoused in space. The Special Task Force spaceships returned to the main ship.

Han Xiao waited for a while in the command room, and very soon, Hadavy and his subordinates came from the dock.

“Army Commander!” Hadavy opened his arms wide and pounced over with excitement on his face.

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. He hesitated for a moment but decided not to back away and gave Hadavy a hug.

“It’s been four whole months,” Hadavy said with an overjoyed tone.

“Do you have to be so excited?” Feeling Hadavy’s arms tightly wrapped around his waist, Han Xiao casually patted his shoulder and dragged him off with one hand.

What he did not know was that these four months had been extremely tough for Hadavy. His Harden Esper Ability could only be improved through powerful external stimulation. As a Beyond Grade A seed, he had become Han Xiao’s subordinate for the opportunity to spar with a Beyond Grade A. After he came under Han Xiao’s command, he had felt his Esper Ability grow again after being stagnant for an exceptionally long time. This made him overjoyed.

However, the sign of becoming stronger disappeared once again in these four months away. Furthermore, there was not even a Calamity Grade officer in the Special Task Force, so he could not even find a sparring opponent. To a battle maniac like him, this was unbearable.

When he saw Han Xiao again, in Hadavy’s eyes, it was as if a halo was hovering above Han Xiao’s head. He realized just how much he missed Han Xiao… ‘s fists.

Hadavy was in a particularly good mood. He looked at Hila, who was beside them, grinned, and opened his arms, attempting to give her a hug too.

“Try touching me.” Death energy appeared in Hila’s eyes as she glared at Hadavy.

Hadavy’s expression became stiff, and he awkwardly lowered his arms, thinking, There’s no way I, a Beyond Grade A seed, would treat you this kindly if not for the army commander.

“Come on, Hadavy is at least a Beyond Grade A seed. Don’t be so harsh with your words.” Han Xiao, however, was the one who felt that Hila’s attitude toward a member of the Black Star Guards needed improvement. He patted her shoulder and pressed her shoulder bone.

Hmm, quite nice.

Hila’s expression tensed up. She glanced at Han Xiao’s palm, and the overflowing red energy in her eyes vanished.

“Okay,” she said reluctantly.

Hadavy greeted Feidin and the other Black Star Guards. He then looked at Han Xiao and asked, “Following your orders, the Special Task Force has already set up the long distance stargates—what do we do next?”

Han Xiao did not reply directly but snapped his fingers and summoned the 3D star map in front of everyone. He carefully searched through the star map and finally confirmed the planet with the ownerless Universal Treasure that was in the desolate universe belt outside the Garu Star Cluster.

In his previous life, this planet was called Planet Amber. Now, it was still a planet with just a serial number and no name.

“Are we going to this planet?” Aurora asked curiously. “Is there anything special about it?”

Han Xiao nodded and randomly made up some reasons. “Some time ago, when a group of army members were exploring desolate planets, they discovered some information left by aliens. It seemed to be the travelling records of a certain explorer, and it had information about this planet, which stated that there was a civilization on it. Since we’re here, we shall go and take a look.”

This reason was completely logical. Since Han Xiao was the one who said it, despite the others being somewhat puzzled, they had no doubts. After all, given what had happened with the Great Cosmos Corps, the existence of natives in the Flickering World was no longer shocking to them.

Han Xiao did not exactly lie—Planet Amber was indeed the ruins of an extinct native civilization, and that Universal Treasure was in those ruins.

[Spacetime Amber] was the name of this Universal Treasure. It was not built by this native civilization but an extraterrestrial object that landed on the planet accidentally. This civilization had once viewed it as their holy relic.

In his previous life, as the dynasty’s allies steadily developed forward, the Spacetime Amber ended up in the hands of one of the dynasty’s allies who took part in the exploration. That person was Ravenlaude, one of the Beyond Grade As whom Han Xiao had met on the Crimson Dynasty’s mother planet, the member of the Ancient Ones who had a bad relationship with Aesop.

After that, Ravenlaude was defeated by another Beyond Grade A in the Calamity of the Supers version, and the Spacetime Amber was taken away. After many incidents, the owner of the Spacetime Amber changed many times, one of them even being someone from the World Tree Civilization. In the end, it landed in the hands of the Federation of Light.

The origin of the Spacetime Amber was very mysterious. The players in his previous life only found out about its origin at the late stages through special intelligence channels. It was not some shocking secret but involved the Primordial Ones and had a story to it.

As for the effects of the Spacetime Amber, only one word could describe it—’unique’.

It basically would not increase one’s strength at all, but its effects… were terrifying even for Beyond Grade As!

According to Han Xiao’s memories of the storyline in his previous life, after the Spacetime Amber was discovered, more than five Beyond Grade As were ‘defeated’ by it!

Since this thing had no owner, other than him, no one else even knew about the existence of the Spacetime Amber. He would be able to obtain it easily.

…

A few days later, the fleet arrived at Planet Amber and entered its atmosphere.

The Fixed Star was relatively close to this planet, and the burning sun shone from the sky. The surface of Planet Amber was mainly desert with everlasting dull gray sandstorms roaming across the land. No signs of any civilizations could be seen.

Han Xiao was just about to send out detection ships when Aurora closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head.

“There are no vital signs on this planet.”

“Your vital sign detection range can now cover an entire planet?” Shock flashed across Hila’s face.

Seeing that everyone was looking, Aurora gave a shy smile but said with somewhat a proud tone, “I’ve grown too.”

“Not bad, not bad.” Han Xiao smiled with satisfaction.

Every time Aurora became stronger, he would always be quite happy.

After all, this meant that Aurora’s healing power had become stronger.

The Aurora Character Summon Card’s effect was full recovery, but that came from the interface, and Aurora’s healing power was limited. The cost of her ability was her own life force. With the astronomical amount of energy in his cells as a Beyond Grade A, Aurora would most likely be drained just from fully healing him one or two times.

“Since there are no vital signs, the civilization you mentioned might have gone extinct, only leaving ruins,” Feidin said.

Han Xiao nodded. He looked at the yellow desert and sent out detection ships to collect information of the planet’s underground environment.

In the dynasty’s records, the civilization ruins that the Spacetime Amber was in were buried under the sand. As for the details of discovering the Spacetime Amber, there were no records. Therefore, he did not know its exact location. However, with the galactic grade detection devices he had, finding the civilization’s ruins was just a matter of time.

As expected, before Han Xiao finished spectating a match of Wayne Card between Hadavy and another Black Star Guard, he received a message from the detection ships—many city-like ruins had been discovered under the desert.

However, no special energy source was detected.

No abnormal energy signal detected? Hmm, the Spacetime Amber should be on this planet. Maybe it’s because it hasn’t been charged for a very long time.

Han Xiao looked at the ruins marked on the planet map and shook his head with resignation.

Looks like I have to search all of them… Tsk, why didn’t the dynasty record the details of discovering the Spacetime Amber? Now I have to spend time searching for it slowly.

Han Xiao told the fleet to standby outside the atmosphere.

Looking down at the ground under his feet, Han Xiao waved his hand. An enormous mass of Mechanical Force gushed out, stirring up energy ripples. A gigantic light gate opened behind him, and inside were countless mechanical soldiers. This was the secondary dimensional army base that he had with him at all times.

Clank!

Countless mechanical soldiers swarmed out, with Psionic Prime and the thousands of mechanical lives at the front. They all looked at Han Xiao.

After releasing millions of machines, Han Xiao then closed the secondary dimensional army base. The mechanical army aligned neatly in front of him, covering the sky.

“You guys, search through the ruins, report any special discovery to me, and also look for this thing.” Han Xiao drew out the appearance of the Spacetime Amber in the quantum network and sent out this order to all the machines through Phillip.

Hu!

The next moment, the mechanical army before him split up and dug into the desert to explore the ruins.

With so many helpful machinery assistants, Han Xiao did not want to waste time personally searching through so many ruins.

“Master, we’ve discovered something special.”

Not long after, Psionic Prime sent back some good news together with images.

Han Xiao glanced at it. On the image was a huge room like some sort of a hall. The walls and the pillars were covered in drawings. In the middle of the room was a gigantic black disc with circuit-like patterns on it. It might be a product of mixing magic and technology.

On the ground around the disc, there were many translucent spherical crystals, each about 1.5 meters tall with creatures of a certain species in them. Their bodies had no signs of rotting, but their expressions and movements were all completely still. They had no vital signs, like beings solidified by amber.

This phenomenon is the effect of the Spacetime Amber…

Han Xiao was surprised. He had visited Planet Amber in his previous life, but there were only ruins at that time, and these amber creatures were not there. These creatures must be the race that had once lived there.

Maybe when Ravenlaude discovered the Spacetime Amber, he took away those specimens.

However, this was good news. It meant that he was near the Spacetime Amber.

Han Xiao called the fleet down. The spaceships used their traction beams and sucked this area of the desert dry, exposing the ruins where Psionic Prime was.

The group of them quickly descended and landed in the ruins, following Psionic Prime’s signal deep into the heart of the ruins while observing the city on the way.

Although the ruins seemed to be ancient, the original look of this civilization could still somewhat be seen.

The patterns could still display their sense of beauty. This civilization seemed to be quite good at art.

“They must’ve been quite a beautiful civilization,” Feidin said.

“Maybe.”

Han Xiao did not deny it. Very soon, they came to the center of the ruins. This was an enormous fortress, like it was a gigantic safehouse or sanctuary assembled from tons of tough materials.

Psionic Prime’s team was in this fortress. Han Xiao and the others entered the hall in the image very soon. With a rough look, they realized that there were at least twenty thousand ambers.

“What are these? It looks like amber.” Hadavy touched a piece of amber beside him with curiosity. The texture was very strange. He could not feel any temperature on the amber, but his hand could not move an inch further.

Han Xiao causally came before a piece of amber and looked at the creature inside it. These creatures should be carbon-based mammals. They looked hairy and somewhat similar to sloths. It was about one meter tall, its eyes were wide open, and it had this constant anxious and uneasy expression on its face.

Han Xiao turned around and glanced at Hila. He then signaled with his lips and said, “Try attacking it.”

Swoosh!

Without hesitation, a wave of energy gushed out from Hila’s eyes and landed on one piece of amber.

The next moment, something strange happened. Although the amber was blown away, it was completely undamaged. The energy Hila released dissipated on the smooth surface of the amber completely.

“Hmm?” Hila frowned. Unconvinced, energy concentrated once again as she planned to launch a much more powerful attack.

Seeing this, Han Xiao hastily stopped her. “Enough, you don’t have to try again, or you’re going to destroy this entire room.”

Hila had no choice but to stop then wondered, “This thing is immune to my attacks. Even my spiritual attack could not penetrate it.”

“Not just that.”

Han Xiao pressed on one piece of amber, and Mechanical Force gushed out from his palm. However, the lightning only swam on the surface of the amber; the amber itself was not damaged at all.

“More accurately, this thing should be immune to all kinds of energy. It can’t be destroyed or damaged.”

Han Xiao raised one piece of amber up and weighed it; it was not heavy. He put it down, shook his head, and said, “Beyond Grade As, or even the strongest Planetary Obliteration weapons of universal civilizations, can’t damage this amber.”

Everyone was shocked.

“How can there be such powerful material in the world?”

“Even Beyond Grade As can’t destroy it? Impossible!”

“Could it be…” Hila had a flash of insight. “Is this another Space Wonder?”

Han Xiao caressed his chin and pretended to be thinking. “Hmm, possibly. It feels like the Evolution Cube, like a manmade product.”

He was not very clear on how this kind of amber formed, but Space Wonders were always difficult to explain. According to the data in his previous life, this amber seemed to have solidified the time and space of a small area.

Objects inside the amber would be isolated from reality, as if existing in another dimension that had no factor of time.

According to that logic, the bodies of beings covered in this amber should not change; they should have a long or even infinite life span, like sleeping in a capsule, and their mind should be frozen as well…

However, according to the NPCs who fought against it in his previous life, when they were trapped by the Spacetime Amber, they were indeed unable to control their bodies, and their energy could not escape it as well, but their mind was active. They could even see and hear what was happening outside the amber. They could even feel the passage of time in the outside world. It was like their minds were trapped in their bodies. This was what contradicted the logic and one of the important reasons this was one of the Space Wonders.

Only the minds of individuals trapped too long by the Spacetime Amber would enter stagnation and vanish in the end, giving up on maintaining thoughts. Stronger individuals would be able to last longer.

Therefore, this thing could create a cell that could trap any beings and not worry about the prisoner running away, while at the same time being a terrible torture.

Even if the target was a Beyond Grade A!

The only problem was that the process of activating the Spacetime Amber was quite long. It would be extremely difficult to trap a Beyond Grade A with it.

If this falls into the hands of an enemy, it’s very threatening to me. I will have one less thing to worry about if it’s in my hands.

All kinds of thoughts flashed past Han Xiao’s mind. He turned around and looked at the roughly ten-meter-wide black disc in the middle of the room. He observed the patterns on the disc for a while and roughly confirmed that this was some kind of pattern to transmit energy.

“Looks like this thing needs energy to be activated.”

Han Xiao waved. Psionic Prime obediently turned into many hovering guards and shot out beams at the disc, transferring energy.

Hum!

The disc suddenly shivered. As if some kind of device had been activated, the patterns lit up, and the dust on it fell off.

The next moment, this disc lit up entirely and displayed its real function… it was a screen.

A video started playing on the screen. A creature of this civilization appeared and slowly spoke.

At the time, their translators had yet to record this language, so they had no idea what it was saying. However, this did not prevent them from understanding the images. The images of this civilization before it went extinct appeared on the screen, as if it was displaying its entire history from the beginning. They started as primal beings, gradually learned to use tools. They invented airplanes and hovering cars, and they were trying to build galactic spaceships. The cities were beautiful, and the people were living peacefully.

However, due to the abnormal activity of their Fixed Star, the environment of this planet changed drastically. A disaster that was more than enough to wipe out all lives on the planet occurred. In order to preserve their civilization, they used their ‘holy relic’ to seal their people and saved all the information of their civilization in the database. There were databases in every ruin to make sure whoever discovered this would receive this information.

The appearance of that ‘holy relic’ was indeed the Spacetime Amber in Han Xiao’s memories. Realizing that he had come to the right place, Han Xiao was secretly relieved and continued watching.

A large amount of energy was needed in order to use the Spacetime Amber. This civilization had almost depleted all their energy sources just to charge it so that they could use it multiple times. There were ambers not just in this city’s ruins but in every ruin. While they were watching this recording, the teams that were exploring the other ruins discovered more and more amber as well.

At the end of the recording, the whereabouts of the Spacetime Amber was finally mentioned. It seemed to be placed in a huge city, but that was before the civilization went extinct, so they did not know which ruin it was.

I’ll have Phillip copy their database first. If their language is deciphered, I will be able to understand what this recording was talking about and find the ruins the Spacetime Amber is at.

Han Xiao was just about to act when a notification popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered the hidden mission [Traces of Existence]!

Mission Introduction: Due to the abnormal activity of the Fixed Star, a world ending disaster engulfed the Yasre Civilization. Before their doom, the Yasreans selected two paths at the same time. They wanted to preserve a small part of their race with their holy relic so that they could survive this disaster and rebuild their civilization in the future. So, they were waiting for someone to use the holy relic to release them in the future. However, if no one came, the Yasreans were willing to become eternal specimens and preserve all the information about their civilization, leaving the traces of their existence in the wide and endless universe. You are the visitor they have waited many years for. Sadly, time has already decided their final fate.

Mission Requirements: Using the Yasre Civilization’s ‘holy relic’, released all the Yasreans from the effect of their ‘holy relic’.

Rewards: 1,500,000,000 Experience, 1 Legendary Point, 1 Random Reward, 780 Exploration Points, and 1 [Bold Explorer] Ability Shard.

Chapter 837 - The Last Witness

837 The Last Witness

Hidden mission… Han Xiao was stunned for a moment. When he then saw the mission reward, surprise appeared on his face. The second [Bold Explorer] Ability Shard‽

Han Xiao immediately turned to look at Feidin, who had all his attention on the Yasre Civilization recording. He gripped his shoulders and shook him vigorously.

“Wha… what are you doing?” Feidin stared at the overjoyed Han Xiao with a puzzled look on his face.

“You, amazing!”

Han Xiao was ecstatic. In his eyes, it was as if Feidin was emitting holy light from all over his body.

There was a slim chance that hidden missions would reward [Bold Explorer] Ability Shards. Over the past few months, the players had discovered quite a number of hidden missions and shared them with him. However, he had never triggered this reward—the goddess of luck loathed him as usual.

With Feidin along with him, the goddess of luck basically deliberately lifted her dress to show Feidin the holy light.

Han Xiao could not help but sigh in his mind. Overflowing charm, exceptional luck, a wife who he could sleep with in his mind, and the goddess of luck willing to be his mistress. Feidin was probably the biggest winner in life throughout the Black Star Army.

Although Nero also had the Advanced Luck Glow…

He was not handsome enough!

“You’re still the most reliable.” Han Xiao patted Feidin’s shoulder heavily with satisfaction on his face.

Feidin’s face was filled with question marks.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him with confusion, Han Xiao calmed himself down, coughed, and explained, “This civilization used its holy relic to build this kind of special amber. No one else other than us has visited this planet ever since. This means that this holy relic will be ours. I’m guessing that this is going to be another Universal Treasure.”

The others did not know that Han Xiao had come to this planet with a clear goal. They nodded and suspected nothing.

Han Xiao told the machines to search and found the database. Phillip copied all the data inside and finally deciphered the language of the Yasre Civilization.

Having updated the language packs of the translator, they returned to the black disc again and rewatched the recording. This time, they understood what it was about.

“I’m the leader of the Yasreans. Lucky visitors, when you see this recording, we might have already gone extinct. No matter who you are, please watch this recording till the end…”

The mission introduction on the interface had already explained the rough situation, so Han Xiao just filled in the details by watching it again.

The recording talked about the situation of the Yasre Civilization, which was within their expectations. At the end of the recording, the Yasrean hoped that the visitor could complete two things. One was to undo the effects of the Spacetime Amber, and the Yasreans shared their knowledge of the Spacetime Amber to make things easier. However, they had very limited knowledge about this extraterrestrial object that exceeded their understanding.

The second thing was for the visitor to preserve the information about the Yasre Civilization if the Yasreans were extinct so that the traces of their existence would remain.

The group of them had been traveling the universe for many years and were used to the end of civilizations long ago. This was what the universe was; new species were born, and old species went extinct every second. If they would easily be affected every time, they would have no time to do anything else.

However, every civilization was a miracle of life, so they would still respect the final wishes of a civilization when necessary.

Before that, Han Xiao had to first do what he had gone there to do.

With the translation, he knew the location of the Spacetime Amber. Han Xiao told the machines to bring out all of the ambers from every ruins and gather at the location of the Spacetime Amber.

…

Not long after, they landed at the ruins where the Spacetime Amber was.

Following the images, Han Xiao came to an empty room in the middle of this ruins’ central sanctuary. A mural entered his sights. It was about eight meters tall and thirty meters wide. The drawings were about the history of the Yasreans.

One of the images was a meteor-like black stone falling down from the clouds, with a group of tiny people below looking up. Han Xiao hovered up and came before this painting. He extended his hand and touched the meteor on this drawing.

His palm pressed onto the wall, and energy blew away the thick accumulated layer of dust.

Hu!

The dust was blown away.

Han Xiao pressed down heavily and cracked the meteor drawing open. Stones fell onto the ground.

Ka!

He dug out a dim white crystal from behind the wall, which had the same shape as the meteor in the painting.

Looking at the white crystal in his hands, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

This ordinary looking crystal was the core of the Spacetime Amber. The Yasreans had hidden it in this mural.

_____________________

You have received [Spacetime Amber].

Spacetime Amber: A Space Wonder object with an unknown origin. It can freeze spacetime and form a solid layer with the appearance of amber around all kinds of things. Energy cost depends on the size of the amber formed. Current Energy Value: 0

_____________________

“I got it.” Han Xiao was thrilled.

This was the easiest to obtain Universal Treasure for him. After all, no one else knew about this thing’s existence other than him.

As he landed on the ground, the others surrounded him and sized the Spacetime Amber up with curiosity.

“This is the holy relic that can create amber that can block all kinds of attacks?” Hila sized the Spacetime Amber up. “Why does it not have any energy reaction at all?”

“This thing needs to be charged to be used,” Han Xiao explained. He then shot out a powerful flow of energy into the Spacetime Amber in his hands.

Boom!

An invisible impact wave exploded from Han Xiao’s body like a tornado. This was the aura that Han Xiao emitted when he released his energy at the maximum capacity.

The Mechanical Force flew into the Spacetime Amber as the dim Spacetime Amber started to gradually light up.

In the past four months, Han Xiao had completed the [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation] training. Having spent 3.9 billion Experience, his maximum energy had increased by more than 17,000, which was quite worth it for him.

The Spacetime Amber was like a bottomless pit that could devour an infinite amount of energy. Its energy value slowly grew.

Using the Spacetime Amber required a large amount of energy, but to a Mechanic who had mastered the psionic energy, there was more than enough energy.

Han Xiao thought about it and stopped using his own energy. He took out a few psionic reactors as batteries and linked them with the Spacetime Amber to keep charging it. It seemed like there was no limit to the amount of energy the Spacetime Amber could contain, so he did not worry about overcharging it.

After charging it, the Spacetime Amber finally showed an energy reaction.

With the Spacetime Amber in his hands, Han Xiao could feel the energy inside it. The method to use the Spacetime Amber was very simple; he just had to guide energy within it.

The way the Yasre Civilization used it was quite rough and did not have much to learn from, but Han Xiao recalled the better ways to use it, which the owners of the Spacetime Amber in his previous life had used. He could build a device that had the same frequency as the Spacetime Amber and put the Spacetime Amber in it. He could then connect to the device with Nerves Connection, so he would be able to control the Spacetime Amber with his mind and with greater accuracy.

Han Xiao would be able to easily build such a device, but now was not the time. He was not in a hurry to test the Spacetime Amber’s powers, so he decided to complete the hidden mission first.

The group of them walked out of the central sanctuary of the ruins. All of the Yasreans’ ambers were moved into those ruins. There were so many of them that they could not see the end of it.

Han Xiao came before a Yasrean and slashed the amber’s surface with the Spacetime Amber. The Spacetime Amber cut the translucent amber open with ease.

The Spacetime Amber could freely penetrate the amber created from itself and would not be affected by the frozen spacetime.

Pa!

Like a bubble, this piece of amber dissipated in the air. The Yasrean inside collapsed onto the ground.

Aurora hastily helped him up and said with joy, “There are vital signs. He’s still alive.”

“His soul has died. Although his body is still alive, he’s a living dead man.” Hila shook her head.

Unlike Aurora, she could sense the soul of lives, and she knew that the body of this Yasrean was just an empty shell despite it being still alive.

Han Xiao scanned through it. Due to the Spacetime Amber, the body of this Yasrean was maintained at the state it was in before being frozen. Although its brain had stopped working, it did not show any signs of deterioration and was still very much alive like his body. This meant that this person’s brain was frozen as well. However, if one’s brain was frozen too, there should not be any brain activity at all.

He made a speculation. Since one’s body energy would not be used in the amber, maybe it was their soul energy that supported their brain activity. This meant that soul energy being depleted was what caused their mind to die off. The stronger the individual, the more soul energy they had, so they could last longer.

That’s not impossible.

Having thought of the origin of the Spacetime Amber, Han Xiao did not think that this was a strange phenomenon.

The effect of the Spacetime Amber came from the Esper Ability of one of the Primordial Ones, whose Esper Ability was ‘Spacetime Freeze’, which was on the Super High Risk Esper Ability List.

Most of the abilities on the Super High Risk Esper Ability List had existed before, and this Primordial One was the first Esper who was discovered to be able to freeze space and time.

Such abilities were exceedingly rare. It was also a high-level forbidden technique in the Mage class.

Back then, this Primordial One was under the command of an advanced civilization and was killed in action. He had a Primordial One friend whose ability was to modify the properties of objects. That person turned his body into a crystal that would never rot and let it wander the universe as a form of burial. However, somehow, while wandering the universe, this crystal underwent a change that no one knew the cause of. It not only preserved the Primordial One’s ability to freeze spacetime, but its ability mutated too and became a Space Wonder. This was the origin of the Spacetime Amber, which the players only found out about in the later versions.

Pulling his thoughts back, Han Xiao used the Spacetime Amber to release all the Yasreans.

After checking through, none of their souls were still alive.

“Sigh, they’re all dead.” Feidin shook his head.

Han Xiao initially had a little bit of hope, thinking that maybe there would be a protagonist type character among the Yasreans who would make it. Sadly, there were none. In the face of time, it seemed like no one could escape death.

Seeing this, although they were used to seeing the ends of civilizations, they all had no mood to chat and kept silent.

_____________________

You have released all the Yasreans from the effects of the Spacetime Amber!

[Traces of Existence] Completed!

You have received 1,500,000,000 Experience and 780 Exploration Points.

You have received 1 Random Reward.

You have received 1 Legendary Point.

[Planet Legendary Point (Yasreans)—The Last Witness]: You witnessed the last moment of Yasreans with your own eyes. A civilization’s last sign of life vanished right before your eyes. Maybe, in the end, everything vanishes with time, but at least they existed.

_____________________

Han Xiao sighed. “Phillip, move these bodies onto the ship. Cremate them and release them in the universe.”

Feidin looked over. “Are you not preserving specimens using the Spacetime Amber?”

“Their souls dissipated with their civilization. Their bodies should be released too.”

Han Xiao had already scanned the bodies of the Yasreans, and there was nothing special. Furthermore, the Spacetime Amber had yet to be shown to the world, so he wanted to keep it as a trump card and not leave any clues behind.

He still remembered that he was a member of the Spacetime Research Council, which preserved the data of all the civilizations that had disappeared throughout history and shared this knowledge with others, so more people would know about these civilizations that had once existed in the universe.

Giving the data to the Spacetime Research Council was probably the best ending for this civilization.

“Master, hum… Do you want me to upload the data of the Yasre Civilization to the Spacetime Research Council database?”

“Upload it.”

Han Xiao nodded. He temporarily hid away the data regarding the Spacetime Amber.

With the Spacetime Amber in his hands, they returned to the fleet and headed back.

Inside different spaceships, the bodies of the Yasreans were cremated one after another and then poured into the universe. The fleet dragged along a tail of ash as it departed.

…

As the fleet entered hyperdrive, Han Xiao rejected Hadavy’s request to spar for the time being and locked himself up in the machinery modification room. He planned to first build the portable device of the Spacetime Amber.

As the devices were connected to the Spacetime Amber and detecting its perimeters, Han Xiao stood aside and looked at it.

“This is the second Universal Treasure I have obtained, which means it’s a new trump card. The Evolution Cube can make genes evolve, and the Spacetime Amber can freeze spacetime…”

The Evolution Cube could be used for networking, and the Spacetime Amber… could perhaps be used as a tool of intimidation.

This time, Han Xiao suddenly had a flash of insight.

Since the Spacetime Amber could block the transmit of energy, if he covered the Evolution Cube with amber… did that mean Psyker would not be able to sense it?

“Makes sense. Anyway, I don’t use the Evolution Cube all the time, and I can unseal it when I need to. But I’m not sure if this will stop Psyker from wanting to take it back… I know the Arcane Church most likely won’t give up.”

He planned to first give the Spacetime Amber a portable device and then test if this idea would work. After all, building a small device would only take him a few minutes.

Han Xiao temporarily placed this matter aside. He opened the interface and looked at his ability list.

With the two Ability Shards of the [Bold Explorer], this ability was activated. He could activate it when exploring the unknown or studying objects, which would give him partial information of these things.

Cooldown is seven days, and the side effect is decreased Luck for fourteen days. Hehe, not like that makes a difference.

Any side effects that were related to Luck were meaningless to him!

Han Xiao smiled with pride.

Wait a minute, this isn’t something to be proud of!

Han Xiao looked at the side.

He decided to use the effect of this ability on the Spacetime Amber.

He knew the origin of the Spacetime Amber, so he could use it to see the accuracy of this ability.

Chapter 838 - Inheritance of a Primordial One and Tes

_____________________

You have used ability [Bold Explorer] on [Spacetime Amber]!

You have received the following information…

_____________________

Everything in his sights suddenly shattered into pieces. His vision was pulled away, and he flew out of the Star System and the Star Field. As if he rode the river of time on an amber boat, he started seeing images of the past.

The next moment, his vision suddenly pulled in like he was falling from the sky. The pieces reformed into an image in front of him—it was a person.

A video started playing before his eyes. This person was on a planet. Beside him were countless enemies, and above him were fleets that shrouded the entire sky. With every movement this person made, an impact wave of energy emitted from his body and froze spacetime, freezing countless spaceships and Supers.

The images were as if Han Xiao was there when it happened. He knew that the person in the image was the Primordial One who became the Spacetime Amber, and these images were the past of the Spacetime Amber.

“I see. So, this ability’s method of relaying information is to let me see some images directly. That’s quite similar to the Destiny’s Child Character Summon Card I once had.”

Very soon, this Primordial One met a strong opponent. This time, the image of the battle fast forwarded and skipped the details of the battle, arriving at the results—the consciousness of this Primordial One was heavily damaged, his soul was shattering, and he was at the doorstep of death.

Another Beyond Grade A friend of his arrived and guarded him while retreating.

This time, this Primordial One whose consciousness was already blurry suddenly grabbed onto the shoulder of his friend.

“I’m done for. Don’t let my body fall into the hands of the enemies.”

“Okay.”

The expression of his friend was hidden behind his armor as he pressed onto the body of this Primordial One without hesitation and activated his ability.

This Primordial One lowered all his defenses and did not resist at all. His body crystalized at a visible rate, gradually shrinking into a palm-sized crystal, and was thrown into the cosmic space by his friend.

At this time, the images stopped, and Han Xiao regained his focus.

“Hmm, although I knew about this long ago, if I didn’t know, this would basically have uncovered the origin of the Spacetime Amber. That’s quite an important piece of information. The ability’s effect is quite good.”

Han Xiao nodded. This effect was suitable for finding out hidden factors and could even be used multiple times on the same target, each time supposedly getting different pieces of information. If used enough times, there would be a high chance of finding out all the information about an unknown object or matter.

As for the sixty-percent Luck decrease for fourteen days, Han Xiao ignored it completely. His Luck was only one to start with, and it would never become negative, so it made absolutely no difference.

Since the test results were accurate, Han Xiao planned to use this on that set of wormhole data EsGod wanted after the cooldown ended. If he was not able to figure it out the first time, he would use it multiple times until he did.

At this time, a notification popped up on the interface and broke Han Xiao’s train of thought.

_____________________

You have triggered the Hidden Chain Mission [Inheritance of a Primordial One—Spacetime Freezer].

Mission Introduction: Through some means, you came to know that it turns out the Spacetime Amber is the remnant of a Beyond Grade A. He is one of the Primordial Ones—Spacetime Freezer. You have received his inheritance. If you can fulfil his wishes, you will have a deeper understanding of the Spacetime Amber.

Round One Mission Requirements: Find out the wishes of the Spacetime Freezer.

Reward: +1 Soul Connection with the Spacetime Amber

_____________________

Han Xiao was puzzled.

What the hell is this mission? I have never even heard of it before!

How was this hidden mission triggered? Oh, I get it.

Han Xiao figured out very soon after being surprised for a while.

Although he had known about the origin of the Spacetime Amber since long ago, personal memories had zero influence on the interface. Only when he obtained information through his actions would the interface recognize that as him fulfilling the prerequisite of the hidden mission.

By using [Bold Explorer] and seeing the images about the origin of the Spacetime Amber, he had triggered the mission.

In his previous life, no player had ever obtained the Spacetime Amber, so of course, no one knew that this mission existed. He was the first person to ever trigger this mission.

As for the Soul Connection, Han Xiao knew what it was. It was more common among Mages and Psychics, and it could be understood as the affinity with a certain object. For example, the higher the Soul Connection one had with a certain item, the more powerful that item would be when that person used it, and the easier it would be for that person to control that item.

There was an example right under his nose—Psyker and the Evolution Cube. Having controlled the Evolution Cube for such a long time, Psyker had planted a deep psychic mark on the Evolution Cube long ago and could receive benefits from the Evolution Cube that strengthened his psychic power. This was because Psyker’s Soul Connection with the Evolution Cube was very high.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, this function only became available in the later versions, and only some special equipment or items had Soul Connections. However, this was not absolute. If a player had a normal object on them all the time, they might still be able to create a Soul Connection with that item.

“I’m not a Psychic nor Mage, so god knows when I would have formed a Soul Connection with this thing. This mission skipped the hardest part for me. From a certain perspective, the Spacetime Amber is basically the body of that Primordial One. The fact that completing his wishes increases my Soul Connection with the Spacetime Amber might mean that I’m more accepted by his body. Hahaha.”

Han Xiao grinned and opened the interface. There was now also a new field under the item description of the Spacetime Amber.

_____________________

Spacetime Amber Soul Connection: 0/5

_____________________

With such a reward, Han Xiao was more willing to complete this mission.

Although the Primordial Ones were from a very long time ago, as the first batch of Beyond Grade As, information about them was quite rich. Many institutions were passionate about studying them. Spacetime Freezer was not someone unknown, so it was easy to obtain information about him.

As for the wishes of Spacetime Freezer, Han Xiao was not worried about not being able to find out. According to the way the interface worked, he did not really have to study the life of Spacetime Freezer. As long as he had actions of browsing through data about Spacetime Freezer, the interface should treat it as him completing the requirement and give him the next round’s mission requirements.

While he told Phillip to research online, Han Xiao also started to build a simple control device for the Spacetime Amber.

As long as he could establish a Soul Connection with the Spacetime Amber, not only would he be able to receive benefits from this Universal Treasure, but he would also most likely be able to control the Spacetime Amber with his mind. However, he had yet to receive the reward, so he needed a mechanical device to use the Spacetime Amber.

Han Xiao finished building it very quickly.

The Spacetime Amber was covered in a black, spherical device. This device could activate the energy of the Spacetime Amber and allow Han Xiao to control it with his mind. At the same time, it also had functions of a hovering guard such as flight, shield, and others.

With a thought in Han Xiao’s mind, he controlled the Spacetime Amber to hover and activated the device.

Clank!

A small hole cracked open on the spherical device. The next moment, invisible energy shot out from the hole and started to change the properties of an area of space. The area of influence slowly expanded. When Han Xiao stopped the energy output of the Spacetime Amber, only then was this area solidified into amber.

“The output of the Spacetime Amber seems to be fixed, and the speed of creating amber is quite slow. At this speed, it would take many minutes to create the amount of amber needed to cover a two-meter-tall creature. Plus, the area only turns into amber when the energy output is cut off.”

After some thought, Han Xiao called Psionic Prime out to do tests and very soon received multiple test results.

When Psionic Prime was completely covered, he was unable to move, his signals were cut off, he could not communicate with the outside world, and Phillip could not send him orders.

Han Xiao also tried to only cover a part of Psionic Prime’s body to see if he could cut off Psionic Prime’s control of those parts. However, this failed. Apparently, during the process of solidifying spacetime, the edge had to be unobstructed. If it was obstructed by a physical object, the amber would not form. This was really similar to blowing bubbles.

“Therefore, in order to freeze a target, the only way is to completely cover it…”

Han Xiao caressed his chin and had an idea. Since the Spacetime Amber could block all kinds of energy and redirect them away, it could be used as a special kind of external armor.

The only problem was that he could not shape the amber to his will for the time being. The amber he created would only be spherical.

Furthermore, the Spacetime Amber would only cause the energy to slip away but not block it. In order to make it useful on his armor, he had to use it over large areas. Since he could not manipulate its shape, he could not achieve something like that yet. Maybe he would only be able to after establishing a Soul Connection with the Spacetime Amber.

Nonetheless, Han Xiao still had a way. He planned to create some amber spheres larger than himself. Then he would use devices with nano-shapeshifting functions to cover these amber spheres. When attacked, he could use those amber spheres as a barrier, which might be even stronger than his tank talents.

“That can be considered a special means of defense.”

No wonder so many people had fought for this Universal Treasure in his previous life.

Although the Spacetime Amber was not originally a combat tool, as long as he used it properly, it could still have astonishing effects. Its impact on battles was even larger than the Evolution Cube.

After he finished testing the Spacetime Amber’s effects, he then used it to seal the Evolution Cube.

…

At the same time, on the Star Pupil Holy Race Mother Planet…

“Black Star!”

Outside the room, two guards were startled by the sudden furious yell of their leader and exchanged looks.

Inside the room, Psyker’s face was filled with rage and shock.

All along, despite having lost the Evolution Cube, Psyker did not look anxious. This was because of his deep connection with the Evolution Cube. Even though the Evolution Cube was not in his hands, the marker that he had on the Evolution Cube still strengthened his psychic power all the time.

It was like Black Star had only stolen the Evolution Cube’s body but not its heart, and Psyker knew the Evolution Cube still loved him.

As he could always locate the Evolution Cube, Psyker felt like the situation was still in his control.

However, moments earlier, Psyker had shockingly discovered that his senses for the Evolution Cube had vanished without a trace!

To him, this was as if his wife who had only been enduring the enemy in order to survive had suddenly developed feelings for the enemy and lost feelings for him.

All Psyker could feel was rage in all five of his hearts and a greener than ever emotion.

Chapter 839 - Change and Superstition

“How did Black Star block my psychic senses of the Evolution Cube?”

Beep beep!

While Psyker was shocked and bewildered, his communicator suddenly rang. As he took it out and looked at it. His pupils constricted, and he clenched his teeth.

It was a call from Black Star!

“Hello, hello, is this Psyker?” Han Xiao appeared on the screen.

“Black Star! What did you do‽” Psyker yelled.

Seeing this, Han Xiao pretended to be shocked and replied, “Yo, I haven’t seen you in some time. When did your skin become so green?”

After some mocking, seeing that Psyker’s face was filled with rage, Han Xiao chuckled and immediately hung up the communication without waiting for Psyker’s reply.

In order to test out the effect, Han Xiao had made a call to Psyker. Having heard Psyker’s tone, he knew that it had worked. Therefore, he had nothing more to say to Old Psy and hung up immediately.

Originally, Psyker’s link to the Evolution Cube had been a hidden threat. Now, he had finally gotten rid of this advantage Psyker had on him. Han Xiao felt much more secured.

The Arcane Church had no intelligence network in the Flickering World, so they would have to rely on Psyker’s link to the Evolution Cube to track him if they wanted to attack him. And now, the Arcane Church no longer had that.

Part of the Arcane Church’s strong desire for the Evolution Cube came from how Psyker was able to locate the Evolution Cube, as they thought they had a good chance to snatch it back. Once they lost that, they would have to carefully reconsider if they wanted to take the Evolution Cube back.

Although he had decided to stay in Planet Lighthouse and lie low for some time, there was no way for him to keep hiding. Furthermore, the Arcane Church definitely would not think that the dynasty did not speculate their intentions. If there were really no chances of sneak attacking, it was not impossible for them to directly attack Planet Lighthouse.

Due to the exploration of a new Star Field, the dynasty was currently in a weaker state among the three civilizations, and the other two had always been looking for opportunities. It was totally possible for the Arcane Church to start a direct conflict with the dynasty. Although the chances of the Arcane Church using such an aggressive plan were not high given their style, Han Xiao did not completely exclude this possibility.

After all, he had changed the storyline. Compared to the same time period in his previous life, the relationship between organizations had changed subtly. Even he did not know how far the Arcane Church would go to obtain the Evolution Cube.

If he could make the Arcane Church give up this time, he would not have to be on the passive side in the future.

As for whether Psyker would still follow the Arcane Church to make a move on him, Han Xiao was not worried. Even just to find out why his senses were blocked, Psyker would certainly come. Evolution Cube had belonged to Psyker, so the Arcane Church would not leave its formal owner out of it. Therefore, he could still indirectly find out about the Arcane Church’s movements through paying attention to Psyker’s whereabouts.

“You…” Psyker was just about to question when he realized the call had ended. The anger was stuck in his throat and made his blood boil.

Psyker paused. He then contacted the upper echelons of the Arcane Church with a long face.

“There’s been a change. I can no longer locate Black Star.”

“What?” The upper echelons of the Arcane Church were shocked. “The operation plan has already been decided. For such an accident to happen now… Since we no longer know Black Star’s accurate location, we will have to change our operation plan.”

The Arcane Church’s original plan was to discreetly gather an overwhelming Beyond Grade A force and have them secretly go to the Flickering World, sneak up on Black Star when he was out exploring, and kill him at once. The crux for this plan to work was the fact that Psyker could locate Han Xiao.

Psyker had never had a problem locating Black Star, but Black Star had managed to suddenly cut Psyker’s senses off at such a crucial moment, and this disrupted the Arcane Church’s plan.

Originally, they planned to have a group of Beyond Grade As attack Black Star when he was alone, so they could eliminate Black Star in a short time and immediately return to the Shattered Star Ring afterward through their secret stargate.

Since they could not directly locate Black Star, they might have to give up on killing Black Star and capture Black Star instead so that they could interrogate him about the location of the Evolution Cube. This meant that their Beyond Grade As would need to spend a very long time in the Flickering World.

In that new Star Field, the Arcane Church basically had no backup at all. Every second those Beyond Grade As remained there, their risks would increase. If their secret stargate was discovered and destroyed by the dynasty during their operation, those Beyond Grade As would have no way to leave the Flickering World and would be trapped there till their doom.

“I need to report this to the Pope and the Bishops to let them decide,” this upper echelon said.

Due to this change, the risk of this operation had increased tremendously, so it was no longer a decision he could make.

Nonetheless, he was secretly glad that this had happened before the operation started. For the time being, their team was still secretly on the way to the Garu Star Cluster and had yet to build the exit of the stargate, and the Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church were still standing by. There was still room to make changes to the plan.

“Okay,” Psyker replied with resignation. Despite being more impatient than ever, he knew that there was no way he would be able to order the Arcane Church around.

…

Through the stargates, it only took Han Xiao a few days of beating up Hadavy for his fleet to return to Planet Lighthouse in the Dawn Star Cluster.

Tarrokov had already spoken to Han Xiao and knew that Han Xiao would be lying low on Planet Lighthouse for a while. He welcomed Han Xiao personally with his people at the dock.

The fleet landed, and Han Xiao disembarked from his spaceship with his officers, meeting Tarrokov.

“Chief commander.”

“Your Excellency Black Star.”

After a handshake and a greeting, the two of them headed toward the base of the Planet Lighthouse in a vehicle and started chatting.

“Who’s in the second batch that will be taking part in the exploration?” Han Xiao asked casually.

Tarrokov gave him a knowing expression before pressing on his bracelet, which projected the information of eleven organizations.

Han Xiao glanced through and nodded in his mind. He knew these organizations. They were all renowned organizations of the different Star Fields. There were Beyond Grade A allied organizations. There were also Star Cluster civilizations like Klent, and they all were on the dynasty’s side.

“Constellation Corridor’s Arcane Institute, Primeval Star River’s Pyre Demon Tribe, Blackhole Edge’s Dragonblood Nation, Sea of Star Spirits’ City of the Giant Fleet… A total of four Beyond Grade A organizations. Yo, three of them are familiar faces.”

During his trip to the dynasty’s mother planet a few months ago, Han Xiao had come to know seven Beyond Grade A Dynasty allies—three of whom had joined this exploration.

The leader of the Arcane Institute was a member of the universe-renowned elderly celebrity group—a member of the Ancient Ones, Ravenlaude.

The leader of the Pyre Demon Tribe was an old friend, Beyoni, who had fought EsGod alongside him. The leader of the City of the Giant Fleet was also someone he had met before. He was a Beyond Grade A Mechanic.

The only person he had never met before was the leader of the Dragonblood Nation, Milizaus. This guy was one of the three strongest National Pillars, someone on the same level as ‘Dark Lord’ Clotti, and the strongest individual in this exploration team.

Among the four of them, Han Xiao paid more attention to Ravenlaude—the area this guy would be exploring was the same as him, the Garu Star Cluster. He was a direct competitor. Also, Ravenlaude was the first owner of the Spacetime Amber in his previous life.

Of course, this time, Han Xiao had gotten it first, and Ravenlaude had missed the opportunity.

Han Xiao thought for a while and asked, “The dynasty said they will send one Beyond Grade A directly under them to protect me from the Arcane Church’s possible sudden attack. Who will that be?”

Tarrokov waved and said, “The plan has changed. Milizaus and Beyoni have personally requested to protect you. This is a better option.”

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment. Then it occurred to him, and he smiled.

“They must have said their terms.”

“Yes.” Tarrokov smiled too. “They want to exchange this for a chance at using the Evolution Cube.”

Han Xiao had expressed his stand long ago—he would not let the other dynasty allies use the Evolution Cube for free. If they wanted to use it, they had to give something in exchange. Therefore, Milizaus and Beyoni both wanted to make a deal with Han Xiao.

“What do you think? Do you agree with their terms?”

Han Xiao considered for a while before nodding. “Sure.”

This meant that he would have one more person to help him than previously planned and a much stronger one. Therefore, he had no objections. He could even use this opportunity to network a little.

He recalled that the Dragonblood Nation’s faction specialty was all kinds of dragonblood potions that would increase one’s attributes permanently. He was thinking that he might be able to obtain some of it this time. Han Xiao’s goal was not high at all; a mere few hundred tons would be enough.

The second batch of the exploration team took different routes. The quicker ones would only take around ten days to arrive, and the slower ones might need a month. However, they had already gathered their teams, so that would not cause any unnecessary delays.

Having travelled all the way to the base, Han Xiao and his officers settled down in their residence that had been arranged for them long ago.

For the time he would be staying there, he would temporarily stop going out and only remotely command the Black Star Army to do their exploration. There was no need for him to be there personally for the usual exploration.

…

In a desolate universe belt of the Central Galaxy, the enormous Fallen Ark fleet was slowly moving in the cosmic space like a sea made of battleships.

“The Arcane Church said the operation is going to be delayed?”

Having been awoken, EsGod narrowed his eyes as he heard Fakisen’s report.

“Reason?”

“The Arcane Church said there was a problem with the building of the secret stargate, and the Crimson Dynasty has sent out a second batch of the exploration team. Therefore, the risk of the operation has increased, and they need to adjust the plan. They told us to be patient and continue waiting,” Fakisen reported.

EsGod slowly nodded.

“Then let’s do as they asked.”

“One more thing,” Fakisen said. “The Arcane Church said that there might be a possibility of directly attacking, so they hope that we can send out more fleets if that happens.”

“So, they want us to send out more men to reduce their losses due to higher risks… Their style is becoming more and more similar to that of the Federation of Light.” EsGod’s tone was cold and indifferent. “Agree to it.”

As long as he could obtain the Evolution Cube, the casualties of his subordinates did not matter to him at all.

As he had been tricked by Black Star using a fake Evolution Cube the last time, EsGod wanted to work with the Arcane Church by using the Arcane Church as the middleman to borrow Psyker’s psychic locating ability, so he would not make the same mistake again.

This was an important factor in their cooperation.

However, Psyker could no longer use his psychic power to locate the Evolution Cube, and if EsGod came to know about this, he would most likely reconsider their partnership.

Although the Arcane Church had yet to make a new plan, they did not want EsGod to back away from this operation. Therefore, they purposely kept the information about Psyker no longer being able to locate the Evolution Cube a secret from EsGod and found another logical reason to explain the delay of the operation.

Due to the deep hatred Psyker had for EsGod for what happened to Planet Avitan, of course, the Arcane Church did not tell Psyker that EsGod was part of this operation too.

Therefore, EsGod did not know about what had happened with Psyker and waited for the operation to start.

…

After staying for two days on Planet Lighthouse, Han Xiao had already finished looking through all the information about Spacetime Freezer that had been collected by Phillip.

As expected, when he was done, a notification popped up on the interface. The first round of the mission was an easy one.

Having received the reward, his Soul Connection with the Spacetime Amber increased by one. Han Xiao could immediately feel the difference.

Somehow, he could feel that his soul had established a link with the Spacetime Amber. He no longer needed any supportive device and could now directly control the Spacetime Amber with his mind.

At the same time, a special energy flowed into his body through the Soul Connection that made him feel warm all over. Han Xiao exhaled with comfort.

This energy only disappeared after a while. Han Xiao instantly felt that this energy had enhanced his body to a certain extent. He opened the interface to look at the notification.

_____________________

You have established a Soul Connection with [Spacetime Amber].

Current Soul Connection Level: 1/5

[Spacetime Amber]

Grade: Gold

Item Type: Universal Treasure

You have received the buff [Blessing of the Spacetime Amber].

[Blessing of the Spacetime Amber (Level1)]: +10% Maximum Energy, +50 Strength, +50 Dexterity, +50 Endurance, +100 Intelligence, +25 Mystery, +25 Charisma, +50% Basic Space Resistance, +20% Basic Psychological Resistance. The effect of all your spacetime related abilities are increased by 12% – 24%.

Buff Duration: Fixed

_____________________

“It’s just level one, and the effect is already this good.” Han Xiao’s eyes lit up.

Just like how the Evolution Cube strengthened Psyker’s psychic power, when he made a Soul Connection with the Spacetime Amber, he became stronger.

Han Xiao took out the Spacetime Amber and tried to use it. He realized that the energy output was higher, and the speed of creating amber increased significantly for about twenty to thirty percent.

“Looks like the stronger the Soul Connection, the faster I’m able to create amber with this thing.”

Han Xiao looked at the second round of the mission, which also increased the Soul Connection. The mission requirement was to find the whereabouts of Spacetime Freezer’s race and make contact with his descendants who had carried on his legacy.

“Er… this requirement…”

Han Xiao had a strange expression on his face.

It was not that he could not find the descendants of Spacetime Freezer, but they were too easy to find.

He had already finished reading all the data regarding Spacetime Freezer. He knew that this guy’s race still existed and had always been under the civilization that Spacetime Freezer had once belonged to.

The only problem was… basically every descendant race of a Beyond Grade A had extraordinary talents and a very high percentage of Supers. They were always seen as an important resource by the civilizations and were protected heavily to produce warriors.

Spacetime Freezer’s descendant race was also protected by the civilization that they belonged to and were practically not allowed to make any contact with outsiders.

This civilization had survived in the exploration era and had become an astronomical force.

It was one of the three universal civilizations—the Federation of Light!

If I, a Beyond Grade A on the Dynasty’s side suddenly, run to the Federation of Light’s territory…

Do I have to sneak in again? If I get found out this time, I’m probably going to be surrounded and beaten to death in the Federation of Light’s territory…

Han Xiao’s lips twitched. He was in the Flickering World and did not have time to leave, so it was clear that he would not be able to complete the second round of the mission any time soon. Therefore, he put it aside for the time being.

Anyway, he had the treasure in his hands, so he was in no hurry. He had something else to do.

Seven days had already passed since the last time he used [Bold Explorer]. The cooldown had ended.

This ability was like some sort of crystal ball magic, superstitious in every way. However, after testing it out, its effect was exceptional.

Han Xiao brought up the set of wormhole data that EsGod wanted and grinned slightly.

“I can finally uncover the secret in this set of data!”

Although he had already shared this set of data with the dynasty, and the dynasty’s Science Institute would most likely decipher it in the future to obtain accurate clues…

Today, he decided to believe in superstition.

Chapter 840 - 840 The Biggest Butterfly Effect!

840 The Biggest Butterfly Effect!

With the notification of [Bold Explorer] being activated popping up on the interface, Han Xiao’s sights were filled with another illusion. Knowing how this ability worked, he focused on what he was seeing.

Two people appeared in the illusions, surrounded by messy black and blue space energy, like they were inside a wormhole path.

These two people were familiar. One was his past self, and the other was the EsGod doppelganger.

This set of wormhole data came from the wormhole that EsGod doppelganger had entered back when the two of them first fought. These were the images from that time.

As the scene played on, his past self fled from the wormhole following the original event, while Han Xiao’s vision was locked onto the EsGod doppelganger, watching it flow between the streams of space energy.

“Come on.” Han Xiao was excited.

When he banished the EsGod doppelganger, he had no idea what happened to it. Now, it seemed like he would finally learn about what happened to the EsGod doppelganger on the other side of the wormhole that made EsGod care so much about this set of data.

The next moment, EsGod finally passed through the tunnel and was spat out by the wormhole, appearing in a pitch black cosmic space.

Having realized that Han Xiao was not going there either, the EsGod doppelganger in the images looked a little angry, knowing that it had been tricked. It stopped for a while but then suddenly continuously teleported in one direction. Han Xiao’s vision followed it throughout.

Not long after, the EsGod suddenly stopped. A strange planet appeared in front of it. Above the atmosphere of this planet, there were multiple wormholes. Roots of enormous plants extended from within and connected to the planet surface. Waves of energy were flowing up the roots from the surface, like it was absorbing the nutrients of this planet.

“This is…” Han Xiao’s pupils instantly constricted as he was astounded.

He had never expected to see this thing here!

Before he had time to think, a sudden change happened!

Out of nowhere, multiple black space cracks opened beside the EsGod doppelganger. More than ten thin, long roots launched out from within like vines and wrapped around the EsGod doppelganger completely.

At this time, the illusions disappeared, and the images stopped. Han Xiao’s vision returned to normal.

“Sh*t, why did it stop there?”

Han Xiao almost cussed. He was just paying full attention to what would happen to the EsGod doppelganger next, and it ended there‽

So upsetting!

Han Xiao took a deep breath and recalled what he had just seen. His expression was grave.

If this piece of information was shown to anyone other than him, people would only feel it was weird and had no value. In fact, in this entire universe, he was probably the only one that knew what this information signified.

He might very well be the only person that knew what these roots were. They came from the universal civilization that carried out a large-scale invasion in the later versions in his previous life—the World Tree Civilization!

“There are still many versions till the World Tree Civilization version. Why is it appearing at this stage?” Han Xiao subconsciously bit his fingernails. His expression was extremely grave.

He finally understood. It turned out that this set of wormhole data connected to the World Tree Civilization’s territory, and the EsGod doppelganger went there out of pure coincidence!

The World Tree Civilization was located in the unexplored universe that was extremely far from the known universe. The three civilizations and the World Tree Civilization were both unaware of each other’s existence. To a powerful civilization, exploring unknown areas was a must, so their meeting would happen sooner or later. In the later versions in his previous life, the World Tree Civilization discovered the existence of the three civilizations and decided to invade in the end. Just like that, an astronomically huge universal war erupted.

However, at this stage, the two sides should not have had any contact at all!

“Without me, the DarkStar leader would not have brought along an EsGod doppelganger to attack me, and EsGod would not have met the World Tree Civilization. Sh*t, this might be the biggest butterfly effect I have ever caused…”

Han Xiao’s expression was grave.

The footage he had just watched contained a lot of information.

He knew that the World Tree Civilization was a civilization with a very special structure. The World Tree was equivalent to their Universal Treasure, and a Universal Treasure of the highest grade at that. It was worshipped and nourished by the entire civilization, at the same time bringing incomparable benefits to the civilization.

The World Tree’s roots were in another dimension and had very sharp senses for energy, which was what led to it discovering the EsGod doppelganger. Although he did not know what happened to the EsGod doppelganger next, it was clear that he did something, given how persistent he was about this set of wormhole data. The two of them must have made contact!

“EsGod probably wants this set of data so he can find out the exact location of the World Tree Civilization. He said that’s the hope for his evolution. Was this *sshole deluded by the World Tree Civilization and now wants to be their guide‽”

Having thought of this possibility, Han Xiao’s expression changed.

If the World Tree Civilization discovered the location of the three civilizations because of the EsGod doppelganger’s visit, the World Tree Civilization’s invasion might erupt in advance. That would be a disaster to the entire known universe!

If the war with the World Tree Civilization happened before it should, the storyline he was familiar with would be completely gone. The advantage he had of knowing things before others would be almost useless, and at the same time, he would lose the precious time to increase his strength.

Although he was already Beyond Grade A, in such a gigantic galactical war that matched the exploration era war, even Beyond Grade As would not be able to ensure their own survival.

After all, there were way too many Beyond Grade As who died in this war in his previous life.

“Luckily, that’s just one of EsGod’s doppelgangers. With his personality, he might not have told anyone about it at all…”

This guy wanted to find the location of the World Tree Civilization and not wait for their arrival, which meant that EsGod might not have exposed any information of the known universe.

With the current situation, the only thing Han Xiao could do was pray that EsGod did not tell the World Tree Civilization about the existence of the three civilizations.

However, if EsGod was allowed to keep studying this set of data, he would have results sooner or later and drag everyone into the flames of war. No one would be able to exclude themselves.

This was a ticking time bomb that could not be ignored!

“I can’t let him keep studying it…” Han Xiao clenched his teeth.

To this moment, he had only fought EsGod twice. Although they were enemies, he knew that he would not be able to do anything to EsGod for the time being.

Today, however, for the first time, a clear and straightforward murderous intent for EsGod was born in Han Xiao’s mind. He wanted to kill him as soon as possible!

“Given the fact that EsGod can survive between the gaps of the three civilizations, looking for the dynasty’s help would most likely be useless. I also don’t have any way to prove the existence of the World Tree Civilization, so the dynasty will not insist on getting rid of EsGod…”

The information obtained through [Bold Explorer] could not be displayed to anyone else but him. Even if he told the dynasty what he had seen, there was no way the dynasty would believe the existence of the World Tree Civilization. The only way to make the dynasty believe it was to interrogate EsGod, the witness.

However, in order to interrogate, they had to at least capture him; he would not deliberately share this information otherwise.

Han Xiao frowned. He realized that there was not much exterior help he could obtain on this matter.

Unless… the dynasty had also completed studying this set of data and somehow discovered the World Tree Civilization without being discovered themselves. In that case, in order to keep the existence of their known universe a secret, the dynasty would have a strong reason to eliminate EsGod.

“Tough, the requirements are too difficult. Although the dynasty have the experience of the exploration era and know to hide themselves from unfamiliar entities, with the currently existing laws, the dynasty might actively make contact.” Han Xiao shook his head in resignation. If he had known that this set of wormhole data led to the World Tree Civilization, he would have never given it to the dynasty to study. There were too many uncontrollable factors. If anything went wrong, the universal war that should only happen in the later versions would have a very high chance of erupting in advance.

“I’m the only one that knows about this now, and it’s too difficult to solve this problem properly just by myself…”

Han Xiao was feeling low.

“Dealing with EsGod has to be done much sooner than I planned to. I’m not strong enough yet to fight EsGod alone… Sigh, the Experience penalty period is so long…”

…

After staying for more than half a month on Planet Lighthouse, the new exploration teams finally arrived at the Flickering World from afar.

Tarrokov met with the leaders of those new exploration teams in the base. Han Xiao came to meet with the members of this second batch of the exploration teams, planning to show his face and make new friends.

Inside the meeting room, the people swarmed in and instantly saw Tarrokov, who was waiting there. They then looked to the side and saw Han Xiao.

“Greetings, Chief Commander Tarrokov, Your Excellency Black Star.”

The commanders of these Star Cluster civilization exploration teams there were all familiar with this new dynasty ally who possessed the Evolution Cube. They looked at Han Xiao with curiosity, and Han Xiao nodded back at them.

“Haha, we meet again.” Beyoni laughed. “I heard the Arcane Church is planning to attack you. Looks like you need my help.”

Suddenly, someone beside cut in and said, “Our help.”

Han Xiao turned and sized this person up. The voice came from an illuminating energy body with a human shape. Bright red energy flowed through this person like liquid flames. He had no mouth or nose, only a pair of bright golden dragon eyes.

“You are…” Han Xiao was stunned about the fact that he did not recognize this person.

“Milizaus,” this energy body said with a calm tone. “Don’t be surprised. This is just an energy apparition. My main body did not land here.”

Having his confusion resolved, Han Xiao shook hands with this energy apparition. “It’s an honor to meet you, king of the Dragonblood Nation, leader of the Starry Spiritual Dragon Race.”

At the same time, he secretly entered the quantum network vision and looked at the exterior atmosphere of Planet Lighthouse through the surveillance devices of the base.

A gigantic dragon with the size of almost a main ship was floating in the upper atmosphere. A long beard hung from its head, and diamond shaped dragon scales covered its body. Even the smallest scale was a few meters long. The body of the dragon had a mixed color of silver, purple, and green, as if bright star light was flowing between the gaps of the dragon scales. Although it was huge, it still looked agile with its streamlined body.

This was a Starry Spiritual Dragon. Even within the same race, this size was still impressive. This was indeed Milizaus’ main body—he was a non-humanoid intelligent species.

The Starry Spiritual Dragon Race was a descendant race of a Beyond Grade A Magic Azure Dragon. They were born with a talent for magic. Although their reproduction capabilities were not high, an adult Starry Spiritual Dragon would have the power of a Grade B at least. The percentage of Calamity Grades in their race was exceptionally high.

Milizaus was the second Beyond Grade A in this descendant race. He was a unique giant dragon Mage. He had both the specialties of a normal Mage and a circuit mage and could learn all kinds of spells. However, when using the legacy spells of the dragon race, its power would be greatly enhanced. Currently, Milizaus was the leader of this entire descendant race; his position was somewhat similar to Manison, who led the Mechanical Race.

Furthermore, as dragons were long-lived, Milizaus was also a member of the Ancient Ones. He indeed was the Ancient One Dynasty ally other than Ravenlaude.

The Ancient Ones were a very loose group, so his standpoint with Ravenlaude was different. To some extent, one could even say their relationship was not exactly good. Ravenlaude was a Mage too, but their beliefs in magic conflicted.

Obviously, Milizaus had already become a new species and was no longer a pure Starry Spiritual Dragon. Due to how large his main body was, he usually used an energy apparition to communicate with others.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, the undying Black Star.” Milizaus’ voice was ancient and husky, but his personality was quite cheerful and not as cold as Clotti’s. This was mainly because they were both Beyond Grade As, so they could communicate on equal grounds.

“With me here, you don’t have to worry about the Arcane Church. They might not dare to act anymore seeing that I’m here.”

“Haha, then I will have to prepare the Evolution Cube for you.” Han Xiao chuckled. “By the way, are you interested in making another deal with me? It’s also related to the Evolution Cube.”

“Oh?” Milizaus was interested. “You know me well. Sure, when we’re done with the meeting, let’s have a proper chat.”

Ravenlaude glanced at Han Xiao with a faint sneer. He then nodded at him as a form of greeting and sat down with the others without saying anything.

Due to Aesop, Ravenlaude did not want to be too close to Black Star. As a Mage, he was not too interested in the Evolution Cube. Furthermore, both of them were exploring the Garu Star Cluster, so they were competitors. Factoring all that in, Ravenlaude did not want the relationship between the two of them to go any further—he was not someone who liked to do networking.

Chapter 841 - The Approaching Storm

Once everyone was seated, the meeting started. Tarrokov explained the current exploration situation.

After listening for a while, Ravenlaude was overjoyed. He was going to explore the Garu Star Cluster, and the long distance stargates built by the Black Star Army gave him many more choices, which was beneficial for him.

Who knows what Black Star was thinking? Ravenlaude gloated in his mind.

For someone like Heber who explored the Renault Star Cluster step by step, the exploration teams that came after would have no choice but to slowly hyperdrive over the already explored areas. The Black Star Army, however, did not seem to care about their own gains at all. They were basically setting themselves aflame to warm the ones who came after. How selfless of them!

The mockery in Ravenlaude’s eyes increased even more as he glanced at Han Xiao.

Having noticed Ravenlaude’s gaze, Han Xiao turned and smiled at him, also with mockery in his eyes.

Although the long distance stargates would undoubtedly make Ravenlaude’s exploration easier, the biggest reward, the Spacetime Amber, was already in his hands.

Furthermore, Han Xiao had already occupied all the known rich planets from his previous life, and there were very few quality planets left for Ravenlaude. Of course, Ravenlaude had no idea.

As their eyes clashed, it was as if they made a silent exchange, both having deep meaning in their eyes.

Hehe, you’ve made such a loss, Ravenlaude seemed to say.

Tsk tsk, you have no idea what you’ve lost, Han Xiao mocked back.

…

The meeting ended very quickly, and the people left one after another. As the first batch of the exploration teams including Han Xiao and Heber had already built the stargates, the second batch of the exploration could reach their respective Star Clusters immediately and had no reason to waste time on Planet Lighthouse. They departed very soon.

Milizaus and Beyoni’s teams left as well, while they themselves stayed and accompanied Han Xiao as temporary guards of the Evolution Cube.

As Beyond Grade As of the dynasty, neither of them minded bonding with their colleague, Black Star.

Inside a wide room, the three of them sat opposite each other. Three glasses of hot and red liquid were on the table. This was a specialty that Beyoni had brought from his home. It was said to be a special drink that the Pyre Demon Tribe loved.

Han Xiao took a large sip. It had a thick and dense texture, extremely hot and spicy, and rolled down his throat like flames. His stomach felt warm, and a bunch of ‘-0’s popped up on his head.

“Not bad, what is this?” Han Xiao asked.

“Hehe, this is lava from the Land of the Fire Core, mixed with condensed alcohol. It tastes quite good, right?”

Damn it, you actually gave me lava to drink… Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.

Land of the Fire Core was the only Universal Treasure the Pyre Demon Tribe had. It seemed to be something that could speed up the growth of young Pyre Demons. Han Xiao recalled that the Extinguish Army always wanted to destroy it.

After some hesitation, Han Xiao did not put the glass down in the end and took another sip.

“… Another round.”

It really tasted quite good.

He had already stayed in a Fixed Star before, so drinking some lava was nothing.

Milizaus looked at the cup in front of him and wondered if he should drink it since this was just his energy apparition. He shook his head and asked, “Black Star, what was the deal you spoke of earlier?”

Han Xiao put the glass down and said with a smile, “The Dragonblood Nation’s many kinds of Dragonblood Potions are renowned across the universe. I want to exchange the allocation of the Evolution Cube for Dragonblood Potions. You’re the leader of the Starry Spiritual Dragon Race, so I suppose you want some of your exceptional people to evolve, right?”

Milizaus pondered for a while and nodded. “Sure, how are we exchanging specifically?”

The Dragonblood Potions were a specialty meant for selling to start with, so of course, Milizaus was not going to reject it. The Dragonblood Nation consisted of hybrid dragons that he created with Dragonblood. It was merely an armed force under his race. The Starry Spiritual Dragon Race was what was important to him.

“Two tons of common Dragonblood Potions plus a hundred kilograms of Condensed Dragonblood Potions in exchange for a hundred Evolution Cube allocations.”

Milizaus was stunned in place.

Tons?

The Dragonblood Potions are usually sold in bottles you *sshole!

“It takes more than ten tons of Dragonblood from Grade C individuals to produce one ton of Dragonblood Potions, and the Condensed Dragonblood Potion requires much more,” Milizaus said with a displeased tone. “Why don’t I just give you a few dragons and you can drain blood from them yourself, huh?”

Han Xiao pondered with a serious face. “That’s not unacceptable…”

“You’re way too greedy!” Milizaus said angrily.

“I’m not asking you to purchase all the allocations at once. You can do it slowly.” Han Xiao chuckled. Friendship was one thing, and greed in business was another.

Of course, he would not be able to finish such a large amount of Dragonblood Potions. They were mainly going to be used to strengthen capable officers and sold to players at high prices.

Selling specialties from other factions to expand the Black Star Army’s range of products and indirectly increase the faction’s appeal had already become Han Xiao’s habit.

Milizaus was speechless. Although we have large sizes and a lot of blood, you can’t just drain the hell out of our blood!

“If you have worries, I can let your people experience the actual effect of the Evolution Cube once for free,” said Han Xiao.

“Sure, let’s find an empty space. I’ll call a dragon here.” Milizaus nodded.

Han Xiao looked at Beyoni, and Beyoni said that he had no objections—he wanted to see its effects as well.

The three of them left the room and came to a wide metal field.

Han Xiao looked up and saw an enormous dragon descending.

Whoosh!

With its wings stirring up howling winds, this Starry Spiritual Dragon landed on the field with a loud bang, and the ground slightly trembled.

Han Xiao sized it up. This enormous dragon’s body was long and streamlined. It was about a thousand meters long. It had two pairs of broad wings on its back and a pair of dragon claws below its body at the front, middle, and back, three pairs in total. It stared at the three of them with its cold golden dragon eyes.

This was a normal Starry Spiritual Dragon. Compared to Milizaus, its size was not as big. This Starry Spiritual Dragon did not have a habit of running around naked. Most of its body was covered in specially made black heavy metal armor.

Its armor was even equipped with mechanical weapons, such as artilleries and battleship shields. It was basically fully armed. Such a heavily-armed enormous dragon could basically be seen as a battleship. The machinery and its body formed a bulky sense of beauty.

Its armor and its body also had a lot of magic circuits on them that were illuminated. They were clearly Enchants.

“This is one of my Armed Dragon Guards. Let him try the effects of the Evolution Cube first,” Milizaus said. As a Beyond Grade A, he also had his own elite team. The Armed Dragon Guards were just like Austin’s Forbidden Sorcerers.

Wow, this guy looks really cool… Han Xiao’s eyes were flashing. This style of large creature armed completely with machinery was perfect for his taste.

Temporarily unsealing the Evolution Cube, Han Xiao activated it. Black Evolution Energy poured out and covered this Armed Dragon Guard, forming a black cocoon.

Ka ka…

Not long after, the black cocoon shattered like a newborn coming out of its shell. Under the sharp senses of three Beyond Grade As, the aura of this Armed Dragon Guard became considerably stronger. Its size was visibly larger, and its heavy armor became a little tight on its body.

Roar!

This Armed Dragon Guard looked up and roared, emitting bright silvery-purple dragon breath that expanded like a sea of light and shattered like fireworks in the sky.

“Looks quite effective.” Beyoni was a little jealous. If he could let the females of the Pyre Demon Tribe receive such enhancements, they would be able to endure more of his hot essence, which would definitely be beneficial in the reproduction of his descendant race.

Milizaus was also satisfied.

“Alright then, I accept this price. I shall first buy… two thousand allocations.”

“How is two thousand enough? The population of the Starry Spiritual Dragon is not high, sure, but there should at least be a million dragons. Come on, buy more.” Han Xiao tried tempting him.

Milizaus snorted. “I’ll think about it in the future.”

If he bought tens of thousands of allocations at once, his Starry Spiritual Dragon Race would have to change their name to the Anemic Dragon Race.

“I have another request.” Han Xiao chuckled. He sized the Armed Dragon Guard up and said, “I think that you Starry Spiritual Dragons are quite magnificent…”

“What do you want now?” Milizaus was alarmed.

“Do you mind if I recruit a few Starry Spiritual Dragons as my allies…”

“Don’t even think about it!” Milizaus was so angry that he could barely maintain his energy apparition.

Allies? You think I did not see the overflowing desire in your eyes? You want my people to be your mount, don’t you‽ Outrageous, you might as well mount me!

Milizaus had read about Han Xiao before coming and knew about how thick skinned he was. However, after actual contact, the thickness of Han Xiao’s skin still exceeded his expectations. Never mind him raising the price so directly, he even wanted to mount his dragon offspring right in front of him. How could there be such a shameless Beyond Grade A!

However, Milizaus did not dislike it and somewhat liked Black Star’s style. Most of the Beyond Grade As in the universe took their image very seriously and always maintained a cold attitude as if they were afraid others did not know how important they were. He was quite happy to meet someone with a different demeanor.

Having lived for so long, one would either become careless about everything or develop more interests in new and fresh things. In this respect, Milizaus shared quite a lot of common traits with Aesop.

…

On the Arcane Church’s mother planet, inside a large temple, the Bishops sat around the round table, discussing the Evolution Cube.

Dispatching so many Beyond Grade As at once was no small matter. It required decisions from the highest members of the Arcane Church. However, due to what had happened with Psyker, the opinions of the Main Church were divided.

“We should give up this plan!” a bishop said calmly. “We have lost the ability to locate the Evolution Cube and now are stuck. According to the latest intel, the dynasty has noticed our intentions. Black Star has returned to Planet Lighthouse and is hiding behind multiple layers of protection. The dynasty even gave him two bodyguards, ‘Incineration’ Beyoni and ‘Dragon King’ Milizaus. If we continue with the plan, we will be facing three of the Crimson Dynasty high level combatants, and that’s considered direct conflict, which goes against our original intentions.

“The security around Planet Lighthouse is tight. As soon as our secret fleet appears near it, it will be discovered by the dynasty. By then, we will have to face the garrison of Planet Lighthouse, who are fully war-prepared. The risk is too high.”

The others looked at him silently.

“More importantly, without the ability to locate the Evolution Cube, if Black Star hides it, we will have no way of finding it. Capturing Black Star is an extremely difficult task. The reward is not worth the risk. We…” After a pause, this bishop sighed and said, “We should give up the Evolution Cube.”

The others could not object. They subconsciously looked at the main seat. That was supposed to be the seat of the pope. It was not occupied now, but they knew that the pope had been listening to the discussions.

The discussion had come to a stalemate. It was all up to the pope’s decision.

After waiting for a while, a 3D projection suddenly appeared above the round table. There were a few sentences. It was the pope’s reply.

“First, God has said that the Evolution Cube is still with Black Star.

“Second, change the plan and directly attack Planet Lighthouse.

“Third, new mission target, Milizaus. The [Ten Thousand Deity Scepter] can be used to kill him.

“Fourth, the Federation of Light has agreed to provide assistance.”

Chapter 842 - 842 Enemy Whereabouts

842 Enemy Whereabouts

Within a certain desolate universe belt in the Flickering World, a secret stargate station was hidden behind a desolate planet. It was the stronghold of the stowaways from the Arcane Church. This stargate station was equipped with all sorts of stealth devices to conceal its own energy reaction and prevent it from being detected by any kind of radar.

The Arcane Church’s technology was on par with the dynasty’s, only they had different focuses. The dynasty had been searching for the whereabouts of some Super Star Cluster civilizations lately but never found the secret stargate of the Arcane Church and the Federation of Light.

In order to remain stealthy, the Arcane Church would not frequently use the secret stargate, so this stargate station was silent most of the time.

That day, however, this stargate station was activated. The blue space energy inside the stargate suddenly accelerated its spinning, and battleships appeared from within.

These battleships were not the standard disc-shaped spaceships of the Arcane Church but quadrangular cone-shaped ships with red light swirling at the edges and black exterior armor.

This type of quadrangular cone battleship was one of the dozens of common high-level battleships in the galaxy. It circulated in the market on a large scale, so the owner’s identity could not be identified from its model. The surface of the ships did not have any symbols that represented any identity.

Battleships came out of the stargate continuously. It was an enormous fleet of up to more than a million battleships.

The Arcane Church officer at the stronghold watched this silently. He did not know who this fleet was. All he knew was that his superiors had given him a direct order not to do anything and to let this fleet leave.

This mysterious fleet had no intention of communicating either. The stronghold officer watched as this fleet turned into streams of light and disappeared.

“What are the people above planning? A million battleships… Are we going to war with the dynasty?” the stronghold officer murmured.

…

As the stargate station disappeared from the sights of this mysterious fleet, inside the command room of its main ship, a hooded man looked up—it was an EsGod doppelganger.

“Humph, Arcane Church.” The EsGod doppelganger snorted. EsGod’s consciousness was on this doppelganger.

This fleet was a division of the Fallen Ark.

EsGod’s forces were between the gaps of the Central Galaxy. In order to quickly come to the Flickering World through multiple Star Fields, they could only use stargates. The Arcane Church had secretly built stargates in the desolate universe belt of the Central Galaxy long ago to provide services to EsGod’s troops so that EsGod could travel this long distance. Of course, this was only temporary.

Using the stargate of the Arcane Church, this division secretly arrived at the Flickering World. However, despite them temporarily working together, EsGod did not trust the Arcane Church.

To prevent the Arcane Church from ambushing him, he only sent a doppelganger and a division fleet. The mission of this division was to build his own secret stargate in the Flickering World so that his means of retreating would be in his own hands if things went wrong.

Stargates were a Star Cluster civilization technology, but the black market allowed people to buy things that they would never be able to buy through ordinary means. EsGod’s stargate device had been bought from the black market at an extremely high price. In the entire universe, there were more than a few Star Cluster civilizations, so the stargate devices could not be kept completely exclusive.

EsGod’s main body would only go to the Flickering World personally once he had a certain way of retreating.

“Open the star map.”

His subordinate opened the 3D star map of the Flickering World that they had received from the Arcane Church.

Although this was the dynasty’s star map, the Arcane Church had a way to obtain it since the universal civilizations all had a certain degree of infiltration of each other. However, this star map did not display the dynasty’s lines of defense in the Flickering World. This was a top secret that even the Arcane Church could not easily obtain.

Nonetheless, the defensive force of Planet Lighthouse was highlighted. The planet’s garrison consisted of about three million battleships, with more than one million battleships patrolling nearby.

The dynasty had dispatched hundreds of millions of battleships to the Flickering World, but most of them were exploring. With four million battleships defending it at all times, Planet Lighthouse was already the most heavily guarded planet in the entire Flickering World.

“Four million… looks like I need to bring some more people here.” The EsGod doppelganger’s tone was calm. The Fallen Ark was said to have sixty million battleships, and the actual number might exceed that. There was a reason he was feared by the three civilizations. He could easily dispatch this amount of manpower.

After a pause, the EsGod doppelganger took out the communicator and contacted the Arcane Church’s special agent liaison officer. The upper echelons of the Arcane Church would not contact a criminal like him personally, so the Arcane Church’s secret agent was the middleman between them. The Arcane Church could thus claim that there was no such person in their organization if things went south.

“Our troops are in position. When will you guys act?”

“In twenty days. I will notify you of the exact time in advance. We need you to work together with our troops.”

The EsGod doppelganger replied with a mocking tone, “Work together how exactly?”

“According to the upper echelons, we will not appear at the same time. Therefore, we will have to split up. You shall be responsible for the direct attack to attract the garrison of Planet Lighthouse, and we will surprise attack.”

The EsGod doppelganger nodded. He understood the Arcane Church’s intentions. He knew that the Arcane Church would not send their Beyond Grade As to act together with him, so their strategy was within his expectations.

However, Planet Lighthouse’s security forces filled up the entire sector. His troops would not be able to avoid the dynasty’s eyes, nor could the Arcane Church’s troops. There was no such thing as an actual surprise attack. EsGod felt that this was just so that he could attract more firepower so that the Arcane Church could enter the battlefield from another direction.

EsGod was not worried about the Arcane Church making him take on the brunt of the defense, as the dynasty would send reinforcements his way as soon as his troops triggered the alarm of Planet Lighthouse, and he felt that the Arcane Church would not miss this opportunity.

However, EsGod had no idea that the Arcane Church’s plan was very different to what he expected.

…

In a dark room, a round table was surrounded by more than ten seats. At this moment, six were occupied by someone.

The term ‘someone’ would not be too accurate. All of them were remote projections, and one of them was Psyker.

Every seat there belonged to a Beyond Grade A combatant in the Arcane Church.

For this operation, the Arcane Church had sent out a total of six Beyond Grade As!

These six people were more than half of what the Arcane Church could gather in such a short period. The other Beyond Grade As all had their own tasks and would not be able to secretly move without being noticed.

The Arcane Church had six Beyond Grade As as well as external reinforcements. The opponents were only Black Star, Milizaus, and Beyoni. The difference in strength was extremely one-sided—the Arcane Church was planning to launch a thunderous strike!

Currently, the six of them were casually chatting.

“It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen such a large operation like this.”

“Hmm, Milizaus… that dragon is not easy to deal with. I’ve fought him before. We could not kill each other, and it ended in a draw. However, this time, even the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter will be used, so his chances of surviving are very slim.”

“The Arcane Church is out of their minds. Are they planning to start a war? After killing three Beyond Grade As of the Crimson Dynasty at once, things might escalate into a full out war.”

“Isn’t that exactly what the Federation of Light wants? That’s why they agreed to help and even allowed us to borrow their Universal Treasure.”

The Beyond Grade As shook their heads—the Arcane Church was clearly going to make the headlines.

They had no worries for the result of this operation at all. With such a wide strength difference, there was basically zero possibility they would fail. What they were worried about was what impact this operation would have after they succeed.

They could see that after killing three Beyond Grade As of the dynasty, if the conflict between the Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty turned into an all-out war, as the participants of this event, they would be targeted by the dynasty.

Although they were not afraid of the Crimson Dynasty, some of their territories were in other Star Fields. If they were targeted by the dynasty, they would be caught in a whole lot of trouble. Therefore, some of them were not keen on taking part in this operation.

However, as allies who had received so many benefits over time, they could only answer to the Arcane Church’s summons with resignation even if they were reluctant.

“If not because Psyker lost the Evolution Cube, there would be no need for this operation.” Someone grunted and blamed Psyker.

Psyker glanced at him, confirmed that it was someone he could not beat, and chose not to say anything.

“Since the Arcane Church has made such a large-scale operation, even if we retrieve the Evolution Cube, there’s no way it will be returned to you,” someone else said with a deep voice.

“I know.” Psyker’s expression remained the same. “It’s acceptable to me as long as it’s not in someone else’s hands.”

“Tsk, if Black Star returned the Evolution Cube back to you back then, he would not have gotten himself into this mess. Apparently, Black Star took the shortest time to reach Beyond Grade A in all of history. Sadly, he’s too greedy,” someone else said with a pitiful tone.

“He took something he shouldn’t have. He deserves it,” Psyker said coldly.

He knew that the Evolution Cube would not go back to him after the Arcane Church succeeded. However, as the Evolution Cube was sealed by Han Xiao, his Soul Connection with the Evolution Cube was severed. Hence, he lost the enhancement of his psychic power. Therefore, his requirement lowered.

Even if the Arcane Church took the Evolution Cube, as long as his Soul Connection was maintained, Psyker could accept it. Han Xiao was the cause of all of this, and Psyker had immense hatred for him. He would not let this opportunity to eliminate Han Xiao slip through his fingers.

Personal hatred was one thing, but Black Star’s organization was in the Shattered Star Ring just like his. Due to the fact that they were enemies, Black Star had become an obstacle of the Star Pupil Holy Race’s growth, and the previous Civilization Conference was an example of that. For the growth and development of his civilization, Psyker also wanted to eliminate Black Star.

A Beyond Grade A beside Psyker seemed to know what Psyker was thinking. He patted Psyker’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll eliminate Black Star for you.”

“Thanks, Dylan.” Although Psyker was not in a good mood, he still forced a smile for this person. “Let’s fight him together then.”

Dylan nodded. His long, dark-green hair swayed like seaweed.

His skin was blue, and his face was covered in tiny scales and had similarities to fish. He had a pair of large, bright eyes that occasionally blinked and another conspicuous third eye on his forehead. There was webbing on his hands and feet and one eyeball in both of his palms. It was quite strange. His back was crouched as if he had a hunchback, and there were fins on it. He looked like a marine creature. Who knew what his ancestors did to fish… or what the fish did to his ancestors?

With such a look, his ability was clearly related to water. Dylan was an Esper, nicknamed ‘Sea Spirit’ and ‘Ruler of the Sea’. His Esper Ability was controlling water. It sounded ordinary and seemed weak in space, but no Beyond Grade A Super was weak.

Dylan could compress water to an extreme extent that could easily slash through battleships. Not only that, he could even turn water into a powerful energy beam that had the destructive power on par with battleship weapons. At the same time, his body could store a huge amount of water that was more than enough to flood the surface of an entire planet.

This type of Esper Ability was not suitable for duels, but it was quite good in group battles.

Having been part of the Arcane Church for many years, Psyker had friends, and Dylan was one of them. He was the closest friend Psyker had among the Beyond Grade A allies. It might be because both of them had many eyes, so they shared common interests.

…

On the Federation of Light’s mother planet, the Federation of Light president, Bader, was also paying attention to the Arcane Church’s movements. It was his decision to provide help to the Arcane Church.

“With our help, as long as the Arcane Church doesn’t underestimate them, the chance of this operation succeeding is higher than ninety-five percent. At least one Beyond Grade A will die on the Crimson Dynasty’s side.” Bader’s tone was confident.

The Chief Elder nodded with approval. “Hmm, the death of a Beyond Grade A is more than enough to trigger conflict between the Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty, which is very beneficial to us.

The Federation of Light aided the Arcane Church in order to watch them fight. If the Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty battled with each other, they would be the ones who benefitted from it.

The Arcane Church knew this but still decided to continue the plan as they had their own goals. Furthermore, working with EsGod was never something justifiable, so they did not tell the Federation of Light. Since the Federation of Light had provided help, they would be dragged down as well and would not be able to use this against the Arcane Church.

Although both sides had their own goals, they also shared a goal—to apply pressure to the Crimson Dynasty and test the dynasty’s attitude to see if they could eat them up.

As for whether Milizaus or Black Star would be killed, it made no difference to Bader, and he did not care at all.

Chapter 843 - 843 Showing themselves!

843 Showing themselves!

In Base No. 4 of Planet Lighthouse, within the real-life war training room, a spar was being carried out.

Bang!

A mechanical fist slammed against a hardened fist, and a shock wave burst out from the point of contact.

Hadavy braced himself, catching Psionic Prime’s fist, before viciously swinging forward with a right hook, knocking him backward onto the defense line formed by the mechanical soldiers.

Behind his line of defense, Han Xiao slightly shifted, waving his hand and shooting a beam of Mechanical Force to stabilize the body of Psionic Prime.

His eyes immediately flashed with an electrical glow, and the next instant, along the route Hadavy was taking toward him, a psionic barrier appeared.

Because the barrier appeared too suddenly and was too close, Hadavy rammed straight into it.

Boom!

“Good sound. You have a good head.”

The corners of Han Xiao’s mouth curled up, and he suddenly clenched his fist. The wall-like barrier shrank instantly into a minute dot before imploding directly on Hadavy’s face. With a thunderous noise, it shot out a blue beam, knocking Hadavy into the wall of the training room.

Boom!

The metal plates of the room were bent and broken, and a human-shaped hole appeared in the wall.

The mechanical soldiers forming the line of defense began to concentrate their fire, their ammunition blanketing the entire area, shooting straight into the human shaped pit.

Boom!

A dazzling explosion of light turned the entire room a pure white for a moment.

During this time, a red-colored light suddenly rushed toward Han Xiao’s back, piercing through ten or so mechanical soldiers, before aiming toward the back of his head.

Psionic Prime immediately disassembled and reassembled as a floating cannon model, activating a psionic shield to cover Han Xiao’s back. The red light hit the blue shield, shattering into fine shards.

As Han Xiao leisurely turned his head back, Hila shot backward, creating distance between them while firing her death rays. Against him, she did not dare go close range and could only resort to this long distance style of attacking.

This spar was a challenge for all the Black Star Guards to fight against Han Xiao. In order to achieve the effect of training them, Han Xiao naturally would not activate all his troops and only utilized a thousand mechanical soldiers. Without his Human Wave Tactic, he made up for it with a variety of mechanical equipment.

The training room was reduced to a mess. Most of the Black Star Guards had collapsed at this time, and only Hadavy and Hila were still going, looking extremely bedraggled.

“Come over here, darling.” Han Xiao stretched out his hands toward Hila, and the mechanical components assembled around his arm. Mechanical Force flashed, and a strong gravitational force was released from the arm of his mechanical suit, producing the sound of wind being sucked into it.

The mechanical soldiers instantly dodged, and the gaps appeared in the line of defense wherever Hila moved.

She immediately felt a strong pulling force dragging her toward Han Xiao’s side. Her pupils flared red, and the energy in her body burst out, resisting the pull of the gravitation, but her speed was inevitably slower.

Seeing that the gravitational machine had limited success, Han Xiao frowned before his body moved. He started up five strong suction traction beams behind him before activating them all at once.

Hum!

A huge attraction force suddenly superimposed on the original gravitational force, and Hila could no longer resist, being yanked over. She simply gave up resistance, and her flight speed soared. Approaching Han Xiao, she concentrated her energy within her legs, and a strong force was whipped about, powerful enough to destroy a mountain.

Han Xiao remained unmoved, and his latest generation of the Battle Tiger mechanical suit simply unfolded.

Clank clank!

The black mechanical suit covered his entire body, only revealing his head. Han Xiao bent his arms and used his forearm to meet Hila’s leg whip.

Boom!

Her legs, wrapped in energy, collided with his forearms covered in mechanical parts. The nanoparticles within the suit surface undulated and transferred the force to the legs and body.

Peng!

The next moment, a shock wave was emitted from Han Xiao’s sole, and the metal flooring all warped and broke apart. The excess strength was converted into a shockwave that blew away the surrounding smoke.

Han Xiao was still in his previous position. While Hila’s melee skills were not bad, she was not a Pugilist, and thus, her attributes were far lower than Han Xiao’s, unable to cause any threat.

Han Xiao did not pause in his motions. He immediately stretched out his hand used to block and latched on to Hila’s neck before applying strength to slam her against the ground with a sickening crunch.

“Ugh!” Being heavily slammed, Hila groaned and gritted her teeth in resistance. Her explosive figure twisted under Han Xiao like a slippery snake, yet she was unable to escape his grasp.

Suddenly, Hila’s vision darkened, and she looked to see Han Xiao leaning over, his face almost sticking toward hers with a smug expression.

“Stop twisting, the battle has already ended since you were caught by me. Based on your physique, you cannot possibly escape.”

Only upon hearing this did Hila finally stop her resistance. She bit her lips, locking eyes with Han Xiao.

The distance between their eyes was not even ten centimeters, and they could feel the warmth of each other’s breath on their faces.

Han Xiao’s nose twitched as a fragrance entered his nose. His face suddenly turned strange.

“Strange, why is there a fragrance? Did you put on perfume, or is that your natural fragrance?”

“… Let go.”

“Sure, of course.”

Han Xiao released his hands and straightened his waist, ready to help Hila up, but she ignored his offered hand, climbing back up by herself and dusting her clothes.

Seeing her impassive expression, Han Xiao helplessly shook his head. Having sparred so many times, he understood Hila’s attitude too well. Even with the gap in strength, Hila would not feel good every time she lost in a spar.

The mechanical troops also ceased firing, revealing many pits in the walls. There was a sound of stirring metal debris coming from within. The debris clanked, and Hadavy, covered in soot, crawled out from the hole. As he walked toward Han Xiao, he started to peel off the burnt skin over his body.

The mechanical devices imprisoning the various Black Star Guards were also put away, and they got up, rubbing their bruises. Among them, the one with the most decent appearance was probably Feidin. This was because Han Xiao was mainly reluctant to hit him, afraid to ruin his handsome face.

Since they were both handsome people, giving some privileges was only natural.

“This is great!” Hadavy grinned, his blackened face showing an expression of comfort.

Han Xiao ignored him, instead looking at the time. “You guys lasted thirty-seven seconds longer than the previous spar. Good improvement.”

Since the worst of these guards were also elite Calamity Grades, it was difficult for them to even take another step forward. Only Hila and Feidin showed the most improvements. After all, they had heaven defying gifts in the first place. In another twenty years, they would probably achieve the level of a Beyond Grade A seed.

As for breaking through to the Beyond Grade A realm, only Hila who had proven her strength in his previous life had a chance, but since she did not slaughter an entire planet like in the past, her rate of improvement would not be so perverted.

“The training room is too small and limits my range of movement. It will place me in the range of the traction beam sooner or later. If we had unlimited space for movement, I could have lasted longer. Next time, we need to take this into consideration…” Hila frowned as she summarized her experience.

Just as Han Xiao was about to say something, his communicator beeped as it received a message.

Glancing at it, Han Xiao laughed before saying, “You guys continue training. Tarrokov and the others are looking for me for a chat.”

After staying on Planet Lighthouse for more than half a month, Han Xiao was already familiar with Milizaus. Since he also had nothing to do, the chief commander holding the fort, Tarrokov, would typically invite the Beyond Grade As to his room for tea and some conversion to pass the time.

Hearing this, Hila stopped talking. She seemed to want Han Xiao to continue teaching, but she nodded in the end, calling the rest of the Black Star Guards to gather and continue practicing whilst she looked at the exiting Han Xiao from the corner of her eyes.

…

While he was walking over, Han Xiao entered his quantum network.

“Phillip, any news from the long-range patrol today?”

“Reporting to master, there is nothing, hum…”

Seems like the Arcane Church still hasn’t taken action yet… Han Xiao nodded.

Even under the protection of the dynasty, Han Xiao did not lower his vigilance. This period when he stayed at Planet Lighthouse was not spent idly. Other than building more machinery and training his Black Star Guards, he had also sent out remotely controlled troops to form a security perimeter around Planet Lighthouse. Under their surveillance, he would receive intelligence reports every day. The moment they discovered traces of the Arcane Church, he would get the news immediately.

Staying on Planet Lighthouse was not just for Han Xiao to receive protection from the strong security but also because it was the dynasty outpost and had many stargates. If the enemy was too strong, he had enough time to use the stargates to escape. Han Xiao would not send himself off to die for no reason, and staying on Planet Lighthouse left him enough time to escape.

While the past half a month had been peaceful, Han Xiao had a feeling that it was the calm before the storm. He did not think that the Arcane Church would give up on the Evolution Cube just like that.

Occasionally, he would also use the Evolution Cube on Milizaus’ Armed Dragon Guards. During the usage, he would naturally unseal the Spacetime Amber, and thus, Psyker would be able to detect where the Evolution Cube was, like an intermittent signal.

“The enemy is in the shadows while I’m in the open. If the Arcane Church wants to make a move, they can only do so through sending troops.”

Han Xiao shook his head before opening the forums to take a look.

During this period, the exploration had been very smooth. Although Ravenlaude had obtained some profits by using the stargate that he built, the majority of resource rich planets along the way had been seized by the members of the Black Star Army. Ravenlaude could not forcibly snatch the territory of others under the dynasty’s eye. Thus, he could only search for other territories.

The players had been working hard at the exploration and had accumulated a great number of mission points. Those from China, Russia, and even Australia had all put their hands together to perform missions, building more harmonious relationships. However, the friction between the three parties was also becoming more intense.

One reason was because of the competition for resources. During this time, the Black Star Army had sent out another batch of troops to supplement the exploration. It was the second batch of players that had migrated from the Constellation Corridor. The guilds of Russia and Australia had decided to ally together temporarily and sent a group of new guild players to support their branches, attempting to break away from China’s suppression.

With an increase in numbers, they also gained more strength and were no longer willing to reside on third-rate resource planets. Thus, they began to try and fight for better quality resource areas, increasing friction with the Chinese.

“If this carries on, I’m afraid it will devolve into a full-scale guild war. If these clubs even instigate players from their country, it will be on a national scale,” Han Xiao speculated.

However, this was an internal affair of the player group. He could not nor did he wish to obstruct them. Previously, they made friends with each other to prevent any hostile behavior directed toward them.

There was still a certain measure of success in this plan. The relationships between the ordinary players were harmonious, and even if they were dragged to fight in a national war, they would still be good friends after the fight, with no obvious separation into factions. After all, this was something unique to the players—they could be on opposing sides and still be friends.

Upon reaching the chief commander’s office, Han Xiao saw Beyoni, Tarrokov, and Milizaus all seated on the sofa. The reception table in front of them was filled with special drinks from the dynasty, as well as… the evil Wayne Cards.

Because of the popularity of the Wayne Cards, even Beyond Grade As would also turn to it for entertainment.

Hearing the door open, the trio immediately looked over. Beyoni even waved.

“Black Star, you’re here at last. Come, sit.”

Nodding, Han Xiao sat down next to Milizaus, picking up his glass and taking a sip.

“Why did you drink mine?” Milizaus had an unsatisfied tone.

“As a mana incarnation, you don’t have taste buds. Don’t waste such a good thing.” Han Xiao remained unfazed.

After more than half a month of getting along, their relationship had improved, and he was more aware of Milizaus’ personality. Although he was very strong, he did not put on any airs, much better than the cold faced ‘Dark Lord’ Clotti. Compared to the first time they met, Han Xiao was more casual toward him now… almost bordering on disrespect.

“Sigh, you guys have been at Planet Lighthouse for almost a month. If not for you guys, I wouldn’t be so lazy.”

Tarrokov sighed. He originally did not have people of similar status to converse with, and now that Han Xiao and company had camped there for so long, this chief commander began to show his lazy side.

“Actually, there’s something that I’m curious about. What sort of relationship do Clotti and Urranrell share? I don’t think it’s so simple as just a guard.” Milizaus was curious. “As an Imperial Ruler, one must have a family, but Urranrell is a widow, and Clotti is that sort of cold-blooded head of state. Could it be…”

While the dynasty’s marriage laws emphasized monogamy, Beyoni seemed to think that it had nothing to do with him.

“Tsk tsk, while I’m a very mild person, I’m still one of the top officers of the Dynasty. To say such things in front of me, is that really good?” Tarrokov was helpless. “I don’t know anything about this, and even if I knew, I wouldn’t say.”

Milizaus snorted and threw out a Wayne Card, saying, “Then you lose.”

Tarrokov froze, looking at his cards, before narrowing his eyes in suspicion. “Did you use magic to change my cards again?”

“Don’t try to wiggle your way out. Would I do such a meaningless thing‽” Milizaus got angry.

In actual fact, you would… because I didn’t see that darned card in your hand just now…

Han Xiao could not help but think of Lagi. Whenever he played cards, he had a signature catchphrase, ‘Only trash utilizes magic when playing cards!’

From then on, he knew that if one wished to stop a mage from cheating, one had to counter with an even stronger magic…

And among the three of them, one was lazy, one played with fire, and one touched machines all day. There was simply no one who could stop the mage.

Looking at these big shots grumbling and boasting without dignity, Han Xiao could not help but relax.

This is the life…

But before he could even finish his internal monologue, an abrupt change happened.

Woo!

Piercing alarms sounded, and the four of them jumped up as one.

Tarrokov’s expression turned solemn, and he opened the real-time monitoring star map, checking the situation.

At the same time, Han Xiao also received an intelligence report from Phillip.

“Master, master, squad 025 has spotted the trail of a large fleet that is moving toward Planet Lighthouse, hum…”

The image was sent over and showed a mysterious fleet entering the warning sector of Planet Lighthouse, triggering the alarm.

This fleet consisted of quadrangular pyramid spaceships, and at a glance, there were over a million of them!

The mysterious fleet engaged the dynasty patrol fleet in that direction, breaking through the defense line, showcasing their intention to attack Planet Lighthouse.

Han Xiao knew that something was wrong.

“The Arcane Church? They really came!”

Chapter 844 - 844 Shocking Change!

844 Shocking Change!

The instant that the alarms went off in Planet Lighthouse, more than three million Fallen Ark battleships appeared near the security perimeter in a long, stretched-out formation.

In the flagship, EsGod’s subordinate Fakisen was looking at the star map, and the distance between them and Planet Lighthouse was rapidly shrinking.

“Boss, we have already entered the security perimeter of Planet Lighthouse. The radar shows that the nearby dynasty fleet is heading our way and will exchange fire with us soon.”

Fakisen used his long tongue to scratch the back of his neck as he spoke.

“Try to speed up. Do not get tied down by them,” EsGod said calmly. This time, his main body had made an appearance.

Fakisen swung his tongue around and said, “Even though we are working together, the Arcane Church still has their guard up against us. Not only did they not reveal their exact plans, they even changed the location of their secret stargate. They are obviously guarding against us, and who knows when they will take action and from which direction?”

EsGod was not too bothered; it was perfectly normal for them to guard against each other. It was just like how he would not inform the Arcane Church of where his secret stargate was located.

With Planet Lighthouse at the center, the security perimeter around the planet was extremely large, and the dynasty had sufficient time to mobilize their troops the moment an enemy was spotted. Thus, EsGod could guess what the Arcane Church’s intention was even if they kept it confidential.

They obviously wanted him to be the vanguard, and the size of his troops was not sufficient to get the dynasty to abandon their Planet Lighthouse outpost. By the time he fought his way to Planet Lighthouse and tied down Black Star and the two other Beyond Grade A Supers, the Arcane Church would take action.

EsGod felt that his guess was definitely not too far from the truth, and the only thing that he was not sure about was how many high level combatants the Arcane Church had sent out this time.

The dynasty had three Beyond Grade A, and Milizaus’ strength could almost equal his own. If that was the case, the Arcane Church only needed to send out manpower to deal with Black Star and Beyoni.

Black Star and Beyoni were still a distance away from a top notch Beyond Grade A Super, and it should be sufficient for the Arcane Church to send out four Beyond Grade A Supers.

I wonder who the Arcane Church will send out this time…

EsGod narrowed his eyes. If the Arcane Church sent out too powerful a line up, he would have to be careful as well.

Right at this moment, the dynasty’s fleet arrived and appeared on their radar.

Fakisen looked at EsGod, and upon seeing that his boss did not have any intentions of saying anything, he ordered on behalf of EsGod, “All weapons free! Destroy all the battleships in our way!”

…

Planet Lighthouse had already entered high alert, and the three Beyond Grade A Supers entered the command room together with Tarrokov.

A large number of military personnel were gathered in the room with plenty of messages being sent back from the battlefield. Tarrokov stood in front of the 3D battlefield model with a solemn expression.

The scene being shown on the battlefield was the battle between the Fallen Ark fleet and the dynasty’s fleet. The battleships of both parties had been shrunk down many times to completely simulate the battlefield environment. It was as though two mini fleets were battling it out in front of everyone’s eyes.

“The enemy fleet has about 3,200,000 battleships. An organization capable of sending a fleet of such a size to the Flickering World is definitely a powerful one. We cannot see the origins of the fleet from the models of the spaceships,” a staff sergeant said. “The highest possibility is the Arcane Church.”

As he said that, Tarrokov turned around to look at Han Xiao and said, “However, they may also belong to other organizations.”

Han Xiao noticed his gaze and said without any hesitation, “They are from the Arcane Church.”

Tarrokov nodded slowly and said, “I understand.”

Although Han Xiao’s expression seemed calm, his mood was low.

His words were not completely baseless as a notification popped up after the appearance of the fleet.

_____________________

You have triggered an Urgent Mission [Cause and Effect]

Mission Introduction: You have snatched the Evolution Cube and attracted the enmity of the Arcane Church. They have finally taken today and decided to deal a lightning fast blow to you to snatch the Evolution Cube back!

Mission Requirements: Defeat the enemy or escape successfully.

Failure Condition(s): Death or lose the Evolution Cube

Reward: 24,000,000,000 – 45,000,000,000 Experience, 1 Legendary Point, 3 Random Rewards, 3 Unknown Character Summon Cards

_____________________

Han Xiao was shocked upon seeing the reward.

Twenty-four billion experience at the very least‽ The highest reward when he was fighting Heber was only 8.5 billion experience!

Even he felt that this was a huge sum of experience!

However, Han Xiao just could not find it in himself to be happy. The reward would correspond to the difficulty of the mission. With such a large reward, this meant that the strength of the Arcane Church would be extremely frightening! The reward of over forty-five billion meant that he had to face at least five Beyond Grade A Supers!

Just who would be able to survive‽

Although Han Xiao had already secretly hired help just to be safe, he could not help but have thoughts of retreating. At the same time, however, he was also extremely wary.

If he escaped through the stargate right now, he should be extremely safe. However, would it be so simple to complete a mission with a reward of twenty-four billion experience?

Perhaps the Arcane Church had some other means that would make it easier for them to catch him if he escaped alone.

He was currently being surrounded by many layers of defense and was still considered safe. Furthermore, the dynasty would not think too highly of him if he escaped the moment he met an enemy. After pondering for a moment, Han Xiao did not make any rash moves but arrived at the command room together with Tarrokov.

Since they had a sufficiently large buffer zone, it would not be too late for him to decide to run after observing the battle.

The name of the mission is [Cause and Effect]. Heh, a Universal Treasure truly isn’t that easy to take.

However, all those present did not know what he was thinking about.

Tarrokov observed the changes in the battlefield and issued a command.

“Inform all our Beyond Grade A allies to return immediately.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he nodded.

Tarrokov had obviously noticed something, and this chief commander truly had foresight.

There were still another three Beyond Grade A Supers in the Flickering World: Heber, Ravenlaude and another Mechanic who was called Maximiler. If they all returned, there would be six Beyond Grade A present, and they would not have to be afraid of the enemy.

Without knowing how many high-level combatants the Arcane Church had, Tarrokov did not mind being on the safe side. Even if his actions were deemed unnecessary after this battle, it would be better than regretting his inaction.

“Our fleet has sent a message for reinforcements. They won’t be able to hold the enemy back. Chief commander, are we going to send the security fleet from the other regions to support them?”

Tarrokov observed the battle for a moment before saying, “Only mobilize the security fleet in that direction. Do not move the other fleets in the other directions. The remaining reinforcement troops shall be sent from Planet Lighthouse.”

Beyoni could not help but be surprised by the order. “It will take quite some time to send out troops from our base. The enemy fleet will then be able to close the gap quickly. Why don’t you mobilize the troops on the outside instead?”

“The enemy doesn’t have any insignia and chose to attack our security perimeter alone,” Tarrokov replied with a deep voice. “I think that this isn’t the Arcane Church’s main force but a vanguard force. Their objective is to tie down our defense force on the security perimeter and create a gap in our formation. Their main force will then break through our defenses, and we will have to face a pincer attack. This should be the Arcane Church’s tactic.”

Upon hearing the explanation of the chief commander and looking at the battlefield, everyone had to admit that it was likely for the enemy to employ such a strategy. Since Tarrokov had seen through their plans, his method of dealing with it was not too bad.

“However, this is only a temporary measure. We need intelligence on how many Beyond Grade A combatants this fleet has.”

Tarrokov then looked at the three people with his intentions obvious. Only someone at the same level would be able to force the enemy out.

“Hand it over to my long-distance troops.”

Han Xiao nodded. Since he was the enemy’s target and a key character of this battle, it would not be good for the three of them to split up at such a time.

The long-distance troops that he had sent out would also show their use.

…

“What? Planet Lighthouse was attacked‽”

The Bloodshed Land troops that were currently in Renault received news from Jorde and could not help but be surprised.

“The enemy is the Arcane Church, and their target is Black Star. Chief commander Tarrokov asked us to return to reinforce them… Your Excellency Tyrant, what should we do?” Jorde asked carefully.

Heber began to frown. He did not wish to help Black Star. However, he suddenly thought about something, and his brows relaxed.

“Since it is the dynasty’s orders, we shall return to reinforce them. Inform my troops to head to the nearest stargate at full speed!”

Heber’s fleet then turned around and headed to Planet Lighthouse at full speed.

Although Han Xiao and he had some conflicts, this matter concerned the pride of the dynasty. As a member of the dynasty, defending the dynasty was compatible with his own benefits.

In the Garu Star Cluster, Ravenlaude also received Tarrokov’s request for reinforcements.

Black Star’s death had nothing to do with him, and he would rather have one less competitor.

However, it was a pity that his organization was located in the Central Galaxy, and he needed to rely on the dynasty.

Such a small matter was not worth disobeying the dynasty’s orders, so he could only lead his troops over.

Very quickly, he realized a very frustrating matter. Black Star had constructed a stargate in the Garu Star Cluster, which meant that he could arrive at Planet Lighthouse rapidly and did not have any excuse to delay.

Right at this moment, Ravenlaude suddenly realized something.

Could it be that Black Star had constructed the long distance stargate because he knew that something like this would happen‽

That’s right. This must definitely be the case. If not, I can’t think of another reason why Black Star would sacrifice his own benefits to construct a long distance stargate.

Ravenlaude finally understood Black Star’s ‘true goal’. To think that he was still laughing at the other party’s thoughts before this. Even if his skin was not too thick, he could not help but feel a little embarrassed at this moment.

…

EsGod’s fleet gradually entered the core of the security perimeter and battled the dynasty’s fleet along the way with the battle line being dragged out.

The dynasty’s fleet stabilized the space along the way, and neither party could enter hyperdrive. EsGod’s fleet was slowed down inevitably and continued to be harassed along the way.

Millions of battleships exchanged fire, and a large intergalactic war exploded.

Laser beams of different colors flew in all directions and lit up the pitch-black space. The explosions of the battleships became fireworks in the universe.

There was a special fleet in the battlefield that was the long-distance force that Han Xiao had sent out. The fleet weaved around the formation of the Fallen Ark fleet like a flock of crows.

This mechanical fleet had more than a hundred thousand mechanical soldiers, and they were all boosted by his Mechanical Force. Their attributes were boosted and could achieve the strength of a Beyond Grade A Super.

Energy explosion!

Another three enemy spaceships were destroyed, and the mechanical army was about to find their next target. Right at this moment, a dark red energy pillar swept past the explosion and smashed right into the mechanical army, swallowing almost half of the troops.

After the pillar of light disappeared, the mechanical soldiers that were hit by it had been reduced to scrap.

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed upon witnessing such a scene.

“An enemy Beyond Grade A Super has taken action! This isn’t an ordinary individual…”

Han Xiao looked in the direction of the attack through the viewpoint of his army. He wanted to see who the enemy was, and EsGod’s figure appeared in his sights.

The next moment, Tarrokov, Milizaus, and Beyoni saw Han Xiao’s expression change greatly.

“Did you see who the enemy is?” Tarrokov asked.

Han Xiao let out a deep breath and said with a solemn expression, “It’s actually… EsGod! It’s his main body!”

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

“Isn’t the enemy the Arcane Church? Why would EsGod be here‽”

Beyoni was truly shaken. Because he had personally fought EsGod before, he was extremely clear about his strength.

Tarrokov’s expression grew solemn. “The Arcane Church must have provided aid to EsGod and gotten him to leave the Central Galaxy. Dammit! To think that they would work together with such a character for the Evolution Cube!”

EsGod’s combat strength was famous throughout the universe, but this time, they also had a top-notch Beyond Grade A Super on their side.

Milizaus shook his head and said, “I’ve fought EsGod many times before, and holding him back won’t be a problem. However, I won’t be able to be distracted when fighting him, and I won’t be able to do anything else.

“Apart from EsGod, the Arcane Church will definitely send out other high-level combatants, and the situation is not to our advantage. Chief commander, what are your thoughts?”

Upon hearing that, Tarrokov fell into deep thought.

The enemy had a single EsGod and a few million battleships on the surface, and they would definitely have three Beyond Grade A Supers and even more battleships being hidden for sure.

On his side, they had three Beyond Grade A Supers and around four million battleships guarding Planet Lighthouse. Their strength was definitely on the losing side, but they would be able to stall for time with the huge buffer zone for their security perimeter. Furthermore, the dynasty had more troops in this Star Field, and they were currently rushing over from various regions.

Tarrokov was currently considering whether he should retreat immediately or wait for reinforcements to arrive.

The enemy’s target was Black Star, and if they chose to retreat, they should be able to protect Black Star. However, the dynasty’s outpost would definitely be destroyed by the enemy if it was not guarded. Losing the resources was secondary, but they would definitely have to close up their stargate if they did not want to let it fall into enemy hands. If that was the case, the dynasty would temporarily lose the core of their transportation network, and their mobility would be greatly affected.

Upon thinking about that, he then took a look at the battlefield again. Apart from the dynasty’s troops that were facing EsGod, the other troops were currently awaiting their orders and keeping their guard up in their respective regions.

He had even sent out a portion of the fleet stationed on Planet Lighthouse as a quick response force to prevent another enemy force from launching an ambush.

After thinking for a moment, Tarrokov let out a long sigh and said with a deep voice, “Although the situation isn’t good, we have the ability to hold on. Let’s try to stall for time. When the reinforcements arrive, we will be…”

Woo!

Before he could even finish, an ear-piercing alarm went off in the command room.

“Alert! Alert! Detecting an odd spacetime disturbance outside the planet! Spacetime is being shifted to form a wormhole!”

“Wormhole? Transportation gate?”

Tarrokov had a face full of shock; the appearance of a wormhole was truly out of his expectations. It was not because he did not have any preparations. With the Crimson Dynasty’s technological skills, they would definitely install appropriate equipment to cut off any long-distance transportation, and it was impossible for the Arcane Church not to know about this.

He did not understand why the Arcane Church would make such a pointless attempt!

Right outside the atmosphere of Planet Lighthouse, space seemed to have been folded. This was the sign of a wormhole appearing. The forces stationed on Planet Lighthouse also made an appropriate response. They immediately triggered the space stabilizing equipment to disrupt the formation of the wormhole. This would work regardless of whether the other party was using magic or technology.

However, the scene that followed truly shocked everyone. Their infallible anti-wormhole equipment was useless. Space continued to fold, but the wormhole did not appear immediately, and a strange scene occurred.

A hazy appearance of battleships appeared outside the atmosphere like an illusion.

Just when everyone was still in a daze, the next moment, the folds in space suddenly flattened out, and these hazy figures became solid. In the blink of an eye, the illusion became reality!

This fleet contained a few million Arcane Church spaceships with the famous Butterfly Flagship!

In that instant, a few million spaceships descended upon Planet Lighthouse!

They had ignored the security perimeter of Planet Lighthouse, and the defenses of Planet Lighthouse had weakened because they had sent out a portion of their fleet. This was the Arcane Church’s true strategy.

Tarrokov suddenly seemed to have thought about something, and his expression changed abruptly.

“This isn’t wormhole transportation. Only the strategic Universal Treasure of the Federation of Light, [Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device], has such an effect!”

“The Arcane Church actually joined hands with the Federation of Light‽”

Chapter 845 - The Battle Begins!

[Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device].

Han Xiao felt his heart shake. He was no stranger to this Universal Treasure. This was the Universal Treasure that the Federation of Light had spent a vast amount of resources to forge. It was technology that belonged solely to them. Just like how the Evolutionary Civilization created the Evolution Cube, all civilizations that had reached the level of a Universal Civilization had more or less crafted their own Universal Treasure.

The principles of this item were related to the principles of multi-dimensional projections and appearance. It upgraded an entire fleet to a higher dimension and transported them to their destination before restoring the original dimension of the troops.

In essence, it was like transforming the universe into a flat 2D plane and transforming the troops to be transported into a 3D object. Because the obstructions within a 2D plane were not able to affect a 3D object, the transported object could move about freely on the surface of the 2D plane.

It was extremely difficult for a normal wormhole to emulate the effect of the [Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device], and this technological skill had always been a strategic trump card of the Federation of Light during the exploration era. All their troops had extremely high mobility, and it was frightening in times of war.

By relying on this technology, the Federation of Light fleet had been able to defeat numerous enemies during the exploration era and survive until the new generation.

It naturally had a flaw as well. First, the amount of resources consumed every time it was activated was extremely frightening and increased with the distance of the transportation. Second, it required a long time to charge up. Third, it required extremely precise coordinates for a long-distance transfer. Fourth, [Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device] was large equipment similar to a stargate and would not be transported together with the fleet. Thus, the fleet being sent out would not be able to return via the same method unless they brought another [Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device].

The Federation of Light naturally would not lend their specialty Universal Treasure to the Arcane Church, and they did not have any obligation to help the Arcane Church retreat.

“My goodness, even the Federation of Light had intervened…”

Looking at the descending Arcane Church fleet, everyone in the command room was shocked, and their mood sunk.

Han Xiao had never expected the enemy to work together with the Federation of Light and appear on Planet Lighthouse with special equipment.

The cooperation between the Federation of Light and the Arcane Church was something that was impossible for him to predict, and both parties kept their plans confidential. As such, the dynasty’s intelligence net had not been able to gather any news about it.

Tarrokov forecast that the enemy would attack from the outside and thus sent out a large number of battleships, which resulted in the defenses of Planet Lighthouse being empty. Currently, they only had little more than a million battleships. However, the enemy had a few million battleships, and they were right outside the atmosphere.

The situation had immediately swung against their favor, and Planet Lighthouse was now in danger.

The entire control room became silent, and everyone was shocked by the sudden change in the situation.

Tarrokov broke the silence and maintained his cool. “Apart from the fleet blocking EsGod’s troops, all other troops are to return immediately. There’s no need to keep guard anymore. Inform the forces stationed at the stargates to destroy all stargates. We mustn’t let them fall into enemy hands.”

“Destroy all the stargates? Are you crazy‽ That is our only route to retreat!” Beyoni burst out with rage.

“The stargates are too close to Planet Lighthouse, and the Arcane Church will definitely send their troops to capture them,” Tarrokov replied expressionlessly. “Our troops are on the losing side, and our defenses will be weakened if we try to defend them. The combined forces of EsGod and the Arcane Church are more than twice ours, and it will be impossible for us to fight on two separate lines. We cannot separate our troops any further at such a moment.”

“But without the stargates, our route of retreat…”

“We are already in a desperate situation without any routes of retreat,” Tarrokov said with a solemn voice. “Our only hope is to gather all our forces and defend Planet Lighthouse while waiting for our reinforcements to arrive. Even though we don’t have the stargates, our warehouse still has plenty of stargate equipment, and we can create another stargate channel on the spot when our reinforcements arrive at the entrance on the other side. However, our reinforcements haven’t arrived yet, and we will only hasten our demise if we spread out our army.”

Tarrokov tried to sound extremely confident, but everyone there knew that actually carrying out such a plan would definitely be difficult. Setting up a new stargate required some time, and the enemy would not watch by the side quietly!

When their reinforcements reach the entrance, they would have to set up a stargate in front of their enemy, and a bitter battle will break out. The problem was, they might not even be able to survive until the reinforcements arrived.

Six figures suddenly appeared in front of the Arcane Church fleet.

After seeing their appearance, Tarrokov could not help reeling in shock.

‘Child of Light’ Sagman, ‘Desolate Beast’ Mercer, ‘Divine Spell’ Ninjia, ‘World Gate’ Taylor, ‘Star Pupil’ Psyker, and ‘Sea Spirit’ Dylan.

Six Beyond Grade As‽

That was twice the number that they had!

Together with EsGod, who was on the outside reinforcing them…

Tarrokov, Milizaus, and Beyoni felt their hearts sink. The Arcane Church was truly resolute and was not afraid of starting a war with the dynasty.

Milizaus and Beyoni already felt some regret. They had volunteered to be Black Star’s bodyguards because of the Evolution Cube, and their lives might be sacrificed this time.

We really shouldn’t have interfered this time…

They could not help but look toward Han Xiao, but they realized that Han Xiao already had his eyes shut.

“What are you…”

Before they could finish their question, a powerful surge of Mechanical Force burst forth from Han Xiao’s body, and the energy level in Han Xiao’s body increased rapidly.

Upon witnessing the descending Arcane Church troops, Han Xiao could not be bothered with the others in the room and immediately put all his experience into leveling up.

During such an urgent situation, he could no longer be bothered about the waste because of the penalty! Every little bit of strength would count!

It has been seven to eight months since he entered the Beyond Grade A level, and Han Xiao had accumulated a huge reserve of experience during this period.

Even with the forty percent penalty, the experience that he had was enough to increase his level from 240 to 260!

His cells oozed out with energy, and his entire body erupted with power!

A series of notifications popped up on the interface.

…

_____________________

[Emperor Mechanic] leveled up to Level35 (Max).

+1000 Energy, +5 Strength, +5 Dexterity, +8 Endurance, +12 Intelligence.

You have received 10 Free Attribute Points.

You have received 1 Potential Point.

Main Class level limit achieved.

You have triggered Class Advancement Mission: [All Rivers Run into the Sea]

[All Rivers Run into the Sea]: Pay a visit to 100 Grade A and above Mechanics and have a Mechanic skill exchange with them. A powerful Mechanic will never close the doors of his workshop but knows how to increase his strength through learning.

You have reached Level260.

You have triggered the Promotion Mission [Never-ending Challenger].

[Never-ending Challenger]: Personally challenge a Beyond Grade A Super and survive (Summoning Creatures and Long Distance troops are disallowed). The battle cannot be less than thirty seconds, and you cannot leave the battle during the period. After completing the requirement, leaving the battle will complete the mission.

_____________________

Upon reaching the level 260 bottleneck, his Class Advancement and Promotion mission arrived at the same time.

All the Random Rewards that he had accumulated during this period did not give him a Mission Completion Card. Instead, he drew two blank Character Summon Cards and a skill level up card. He only had a single Mission Completion Card left, which was the one left from his previous missions. Thus, he can only choose to skip a single mission.

Upon seeing these two missions, Han Xiao was overjoyed. The heavens had left him a way out!

[All Rivers Run into the Sea] was a Class Advancement Mission that required a lot of time. In the entire universe, finding a hundred Calamity Grade Mechanics was definitely possible, but they would be spread out in all the different regions. This mission would definitely require him to spend a long time travelling and farming favorability points for the other party to be interested in having an exchange with him.

Despite it being extremely troublesome, the advantage was that it was not difficult at all.

In comparison, his Promotion Mission was much harder for ordinary players. Facing a Beyond Grade A Super head on for thirty seconds was a Promotion Mission that would only appear in the later stages. Not losing thirty seconds was not a problem, but the ‘surviving’ requirement was the difficult one.

There were two common ways for players to complete such a mission. First, go all out and try their luck to see if they died.

The second method was much safer. Join a Beyond Grade A Super faction and farm for favorability points to exchange for a chance to spar. Since it was a spar, the Beyond Grade A Super would not kill them even if they lost. Although it required a lot of time, the second method had a higher chance of success, and the interface would not allow all the players to get stuck on such a Promotion Mission.

However, this mission had no difficulty for Han Xiao. Not to mention a single Beyond Grade A, there were six in front of him, and together with EsGod, the number of Beyond Grade A Supers were as many as Psyker’s eyes!

Without any hesitation, Han Xiao used the Mission Completion Card on [All Rivers Run into the Sea].

In comparison, he would be able to complete the Promotion Mission without a short amount of time.

The only problem was that the mission would only be complete after he exited the battle. However, it would not be so easy for him to exit the battle if the enemy wanted to tangle with him. Perhaps he could try to fight his teammates.

Han Xiao turned around abruptly and said, “Beyoni, fight me right now!”

“Huh?”

Everyone was confused.

With the enemy in front of you, has your brain short circuited?

Are you going to betray us for the Arcane Church in order to survive‽

Boom!

Right at that moment, the room suddenly shook, and a series of explosions came from the sky above.

The Arcane Church fleet outside the atmosphere began their attack and shot out psionic cannons while fighting the defensive troops. The huge protective shield around the planet began to flicker under the continuous explosions, and the ground shook.

Just as Tarrokov had predicted, the enemy had indeed sent out another fleet toward the stargate located not too far away and tried to snatch it.

The enemy’s fleet began their assault, and the various fleets located on Planet Lighthouse fought back.

With cannon fire being exchanged between both parties, the sky above Planet Lighthouse was colored with a myriad of different colors, and the radioactive explosions were both deadly and beautiful.

On the other side, the most powerful Beyond Grade As ‘Child of Light’ Sagman and ‘Divine Spell’ Ninjia began tangling with Milizaus’ main body, which was outside the atmosphere.

Milizaus tried to use a transportation spell, but it was disrupted by Ninjia, who was also a Beyond Grade A mage.

Meanwhile, Psyker and the other Beyond Grade A Supers began to charge at the defensive line of the dynasty and rapidly approached the ground. Their target was obviously to destroy Planet Lighthouse’s base and force Han Xiao and Beyoni out!

“All ground troops are to block the enemy’s attack!” Tarrokov ordered. “Black Star and Beyoni, the four Beyond Grade A shall be left to the both of you. We don’t have any other choice.”

Although he knew that Black Star was the other party’s target, he could not allow a Beyond Grade A Super to avoid battle at such a moment. They would only have a chance to survive if they fought back.

“I understand,” Han Xiao said with a solemn expression.

Han Xiao knew that he did not have the time to waste on a spar with Beyoni. He could only complete the Promotion Mission on the enemy.

Swoo!

The next moment, two figures flew out from the base and entered the sky like a black and red ray of light.

Han Xiao opened his secondary dimensional army box and let out his mechanical army. A black current followed behind him as he charged into the sky.

Very quickly, both parties clashed in midair, and the battle began.

Hu!

The six experts froze in midair and glared at each other, their gazes filled with killing intent.

The energy wave of the four enemies was like a large ocean, and Beyoni felt immense pressure.

He knew that he did not have a physique like Han Xiao, and the chances of him dying were even higher than Black Star.

After both parties glared at each other for a few seconds, Psyker said, “I warned you before. Did you not think that this day would arrive when you stole the Evolution Cube?”

Han Xiao completely ignored those words. This was not the time to trash talk Psyker, and he observed the enemies carefully. There was a Pugilist, a Psychic, a Mage, and an Esper.

Four Beyond Grade A Supers… I won’t be able to tank their attacks even with my recovery speed. It seems like I will have to use Aurora’s Character Summon Card and medicine. I hope that those fellows will be able to arrive quickly to share the burden.

Han Xiao gritted his teeth and threw all his Free Attribute Points into Endurance. His Health then increased by about 200,000.

Since the disparity in their strength was too large, he could only choose to be as tanky as possible.

The six of them then moved at the same instant.

The battle had erupted!

…

On the other side, EsGod was still leading his troops to fight the troops on the security perimeter.

EsGod got Fakisen to ask the Arcane Church when they were going to take action, and the response shocked him.

“The Arcane Church received help from the Federation of Light and killed their way to Planet Lighthouse directly? They even sent out six Beyond Grade A Supers‽”

EsGod’s expression changed, and he immediately issued an order.

“All forces, speed up immediately!”

Since the Arcane Church had sent out six Beyond Grade A Supers, EsGod did not know how long Planet Lighthouse could last under such a frightening attack.

If the Arcane Church snatched the Evolution Cube back before he arrived at the battlefield, EsGod did not think that they would fulfil their promise and lend him the Evolution Cube. Furthermore, he would not be able to snatch it from the six Beyond Grade A Supers.

Thus, EsGod was a little anxious and planned to enter the battlefield to take a share of the loot.

Chapter 846 - External Reinforcements!

Outside the atmosphere of Planet Lighthouse, a gigantic dragon that looked like a flagship flew around the battlefield with the colorful formation covering its body deflecting all the cannon fire and leaving a series of explosions in its trail.

Milizaus flapped his wings, and his gigantic body shot forward. The magical force in his body surged, and he threw out an endless wave of magical spells to create a huge magical storm on the battlefield.

Two small figures were following beside Milizaus; they were Sagman and Ninjia. ‘Child of Light’ Sagman’s body shone with a golden light, and he tried his best to shatter Milizaus’ protective formations. Meanwhile, ‘Divine Spell’ Ninjia shot out his own spells, and the both of them tied Milizaus down.

Because of his huge size, Milizaus’ dodging capability was extremely poor, and he was almost like a living target. However, the strength of his flesh could almost ignore all Mages. His energy was also extremely robust as a result and could strengthen his own spells. Although Sagman and Ninjia could tie him down, the battle between both parties would be a stalemate in the short run.

As the three Beyond Grade A Supers roamed the battlefield, all the battleships in the surroundings were caught up in their battle with plenty of battleships being destroyed.

“Two troublesome fellows…” Milizaus had a grave look in his eyes. Sagman was the strongest among the six, and together with another Beyond Grade A Mage, it was extremely difficult to deal with them.

Although he could face them alone, he would not be able to aid Black Star.

“The objective of these two fellows is to tie me down, but it can also be said that I have tied two of their combatants down. However, Black Star must deal with four people, and even if I attempt to help him, these two will also follow along, so it would be equally dangerous for Black Star… Sigh, it can’t be helped. I can only hope that Beyoni and Black Star will be able to hang in there. I won’t be able to help them…”

Milizaus was helpless. Even though he was extremely powerful and one of the three pillars of the dynasty, the two Beyond Grade A Supers that he was facing should not be underestimated. He had no choice but to focus all his attention on them.

If he did not choose to step into this mess from the beginning, he would not be facing such danger.

His frustration at his own choice, anger toward the enemy, and worry for his current situation filled his head. Milizaus got more enraged the more he thought about it and let out destructive golden dragon breath toward the sky. It collided with the light pulse that Sagman sent out, and a huge fiery explosion occurred.

Ninjia used a spell to transmit his voice to Milizaus. “Ah, our four comrades are dealing with two of your comrades, and Black Star won’t be able to last long. The battle over there will end very quickly, so there’s no point in you fighting back. Why not give up now and join our Arcane Church? This is the only way for you to leave alive. You aren’t a direct subordinate of the dynasty, so there’s no need for you to die for them.”

The only reply he received was a shot of dragon’s breath.

“Humph, I knew that you wouldn’t give in.” Ninjia snorted and conjured a magical shield to block the attack.

“Then, let’s continue according to our plan,” Sagman calmly said. “He thinks that we are only trying to tie him down, and we can create an opportunity to use the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.”

“Sure!”

At this moment, Milizaus was unaware that he was also one of the Arcane Church’s targets!

…

Han Xiao and Beyoni had also begun fighting the four opposing enemies.

The instant the battle erupted, Han Xiao activated the Reynold Character Summon Card without any hesitation, and his Mechanical Force expanded rapidly.

Perfect Mechanical Sense!

This Character Summon Card could only be used three times, and this was the last time!

The 1.4 times Machinery Affinity immediately increased the strength of his mechanical army to the next level. The densely packed mechanical army around him opened, fire and their firepower engulfed the entire sky.

The four instantly moved. A blue light flashed in Dylan’s eyes, and sea water shot out from his body to form a gigantic water dragon. The water dragon curled around his comrades and formed a barrier. Under his control, the water barrier was greatly pressurized and transformed into a solid shield.

Psyker did not remain idle either and released his psychic force to cover the water barrier and increase its defenses.

Boom!

One wave of fire after another crashed down on the water barrier and psychic shield. The shield was broken many times, but it was quickly repaired by Dylan and Psyker each time. Under their combined strength, Han Xiao’s mechanical army needed to break through the defenses of two Beyond Grade As.

The four enemies would not stand still and receive the attacks, so they began to move at high speed as well.

‘Desolate Beast’ Mercer was a gray beastman over seven meters tall, and his appearance looked like a beast that was standing up straight. He was covered in a thick layer of fur from head to toe and was extremely muscular. He had simple custom-made armor on and was currently covered in green Pugilist flames.

Han Xiao was already covered with his mechanical suit, and he was extremely experienced in dealing with Pugilists after fighting Heber. He kept changing his location and operated his mechanical troops to block the other party while maintaining a gap with Mercer.

Facing four powerful enemies, Beyoni, who was by the side, did not dare remain idle and activated his Esper Ability. His main target was Dylan, and he lit up Dylan’s sea water to form a blazing ocean. The water barrier instantly transformed into a large ball of mist after coming into contact with the sea of flames.

Right at this moment, Han Xiao and Beyoni felt a strange fluctuation in space and turned around to look up. They then saw ‘World Gate’ Taylor holding on to a staff and chanting an incantation. A gigantic magical formation then appeared behind him.

Boom!

Palace doors being pushed open sounded in Han Xiao’s ears, and the formation behind Taylor revealed a crack in the middle and transformed into a gigantic door of light.

Inside the door of light was a pitch-black world with red light dots like fireflies as though they were the eyes of a living creature.

“This is… a summoning formation!” Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed.

Ra!

The next moment, countless blood red creatures let out a roar and charged out from the door of light like a flood of blood!

These creatures looked like mutated bats. They had sharp claws, bone spikes, a long horn on their head, and blood red eyes that glowed in the dark. Their appearance looked no different from the relatives of demons.

The moment these summoned creatures appeared, they immediately charged at the mechanical army, and both parties began fighting in midair.

Flesh collided with metal, with blood and oil being spilled. Chunks of flesh and destroyed spare parts rained down from the sky.

Taylor was also a Mage but specialized in summoning spells. This was how he got the nickname ‘World Gate’.

“A Summoner is extremely disadvantageous to me…” Han Xiao gritted his teeth.

Army Style Mechanics and Summoner Mages were the two gangster classes who made use of a Human Wave Tactic. The difference between the two was that a Mechanic burned money and could construct an army before the battle to appear instantly, but a Summoner could only slowly summon their babies during battle by burning mana.

Currently, Han Xiao’s mechanical army had over ten million soldiers, and it would take a very long time for Taylor to summon the same number of creatures. As such, the first batch of summoned creatures would not be able to deal too much damage to the mechanical army. But if he allowed Taylor to continue casting his spell and summon more creatures, Han Xiao’s Human Wave Tactic would be greatly weakened.

If they were fighting a one-on-one battle, Han Xiao had a dozen different ways to disrupt the other party’s summoning. However, they were currently in a group battle, and he had a numerical disadvantage. Thus, it was many times more difficult to stop Taylor from summoning creatures.

“The Pugilist is taking up a forward position to apply pressure to me while the Psychic and Esper control the battlefield from the side. Thus, the Summoner won’t have to face any pressure at all. This is truly a good combination.”

Han Xiao felt his head ache. The enemy had obviously come prepared.

Beyoni understood this point, and he immediately included the summoned creatures as part of his target.

Whoosh!

His area of effect ability was equally powerful, and waves of summoned creatures were burnt up without any ability to fight back.

“I will deal with him,” Dylan said and controlled the sea water to rush toward Beyoni.

He then stepped on top of the wave and shot toward Beyoni like a cannonball.

Beyoni’s body was covered in flames, and his Pyre Demon Tribe blood began surging. He spat out a mouthful of flames and evaporated a large wave of sea water in an instant, clashing head on with Dylan in midair.

Fire and water. Red and blue. Both parties refused to back down, and a large amount of steam was created by the clash.

A thick fog gushed out, and both their fields of vision were blocked. However, this was not a big deal to a Beyond Grade A Super.

Han Xiao could not afford to be distracted. The other party only needed to use a single person to tie Beyoni down, and Psyker, Mercer, and Taylor surrounded him together.

The casualties of his mechanical army increased rapidly, and if not for the boost from Perfect Mechanical Sense, the damage would only have been greater.

Han Xiao was in an extremely bad state as well and was continuously avoiding magic, psychic, and pugilist attacks, without even a second to catch his breath.

With his current strength, it was a stretch for him to deal with three Beyond Grade A Supers at the same time. Beyond Grade A Supers all had vast combat experience and worked together extremely well. Their combined strength was not simply an additive one. Thus, Han Xiao could only spend ninety percent of his time dodging and was in an extremely passive position.

As the three of them chased after Han Xiao, they also destroyed all his mechanical soldiers. They had read through Han Xiao’s file before and knew of his ‘Undying’ title.

Although they believed that Black Star would definitely lose the title of ‘Undying’ under their joint assault, they would only be able to output damage safely after getting rid of Black Star’s mechanical army. After all, the mechanical army did pose a threat to them. The boost from the Perfect Mechanical Sense and [Legendary Battle Technique] True Damage could severely injure them if they were not careful.

As such, Psyker and the other two gave Han Xiao’s mechanical army special attention.

As his mechanical soldiers were destroyed by the enemy, Han Xiao brought them back with [Waste Modification], and it seemed to be like a back and forth tussle.

“Things will be bad if it continues this way…” Han Xiao muttered to himself bitterly as he avoided the attacks.

Although he was able to repair the mechanical army, there was a limit. In the face of four Beyond Grade A Supers, his mechanical army definitely would not be the one surviving to the end.

If all of his mechanical troops were destroyed, he would be like a toothless tiger and would not be able to fight back regardless of how tanky he was.

…

The defensive troops of Planet Lighthouse had also begun their battle with the Arcane Church’s forces.

Milizaus’ Armed Dragon Guards had long joined the battle, and the gigantic dragons clad in heavy armor clashed together with the battleships of the Arcane Church.

Hila, Hadavy, Feidin, and all the Black Star Guards had joined the battle outside the atmosphere to help the dynasty fight against the Arcane Church fleet.

All the Calamity Grade officers weaved through the battleships and used their various abilities to destroy one battleship after another.

Although they wished to help Han Xiao, they knew that the battle between the six Beyond Grade A was not one that they could intervene in. They would only drag Han Xiao down if they attempted to do so, and the only thing they could do was battle together with the dynasty’s forces.

The Black Star Guards were made up of Calamity Grade elites, and they could display their strength in the battlefield.

Apart from sending out Beyond Grade A experts, the Arcane Church had also sent out a group of Calamity Grade combatants, but the numbers could not be compared to the dynasty.

The Calamity Grades from both parties very quickly found each other, and the killing began.

Hadavy endured the pressure of attacks coming in all directions as he chased after the enemy.

Feidin controlled his psychic force, and his psychic attacks accurately found its mark every time.

In such a large-scale battlefield, an endless supply of souls were present to allow her strength to grow rapidly.

Without holding anything back, the dark red energy of death flooded out like a tsunami.

She then looked up at the battle up in the sky. The six Beyond Grade As were fighting, and the energy waves being sent out were too frightening.

“You’d better not die…”

Hila gritted her teeth and went to search for her next enemy.

…

The battlefield between the six shifted continuously, and the summoned creatures grew larger and larger. On the contrary, the mechanical army dwindled.

Han Xiao and Beyoni became more and more passive.

Han Xiao had also suffered from many attacks, but his recovery rate was powerful, and it would not affect him much.

However, Beyoni was different. He did not have a powerful physique and also did not have any defensive means to deal with Psyker’s psychic attacks. As such, his situation got worse and worse.

“This fellow is not going to make it…” Looking at the injured Beyoni, Han Xiao felt his heart sink.

This teammate was his only aid at this moment, and if his only teammate ended up dying, Han Xiao would have to face four Beyond Grade As alone. If that happened, he would be as good as dead.

Right at that moment, Psyker’s group of four exchanged glances and suddenly intensified their attacks.

Xiu!

A white jade beast statue that was over a hundred meters tall suddenly spat out gray light toward Han Xiao. This was Taylor’s elite summoned creature.

Han Xiao immediately tried to avoid the attack. Information about his void bloodline had already been recorded, and his Void Hyperdrive was being restricted by the enemy.

As a Beyond Grade A Mage, Taylor naturally had many means to control dimensional energy. This was the basic skill of a Summoner. As long as Han Xiao entered the Void Dimension, he would be forced out by the other party not too long later. It would be impossible for him to maintain a Void Dimension Jump for long and thus impossible for him to escape.

In truth, from the moment the Arcane Church’s fleet appeared, it was impossible for Han Xiao to escape with the Void Dimension Jump. Even if he abandoned everyone else to escape alone, the Arcane Church’s hyperdrive speed would not be slower than him. They would catch up to him very quickly, and he would have to face them alone.

Avoiding the gray light, psychic energy and a water dragon immediately assaulted him. Han Xiao had no choice but to activate his psionic energy and block the attack while trying to evade them.

Right at this moment, a figure appeared in front of him almost instantaneously. This figure was Mercer, and a flaming fist crashed down on him.

“Isn’t this the instantaneous movement skill that Heber used before?” Han Xiao was shocked and immediately tried to block the attack.

However, the fist seemed to have passed through Han Xiao’s body like an illusion, which proved that the figure in front of him was an illusion.

“Sh*t!” Han Xiao immediately realized what was going on and turned around to look at Beyoni.

Taylor waved his staff, and Mercer appeared beside Beyoni and unleashed a flurry of punches.

Dong! Dong!

Seeing Beyoni being hit, the three others immediately changed their target and unleashed all their firepower on Beyoni!

If he was hit by this wave of attacks in his current state, Beyoni would probably be dead.

Whoosh!

Han Xiao did not consider anything else and made use of his Void Hyperdrive, which was restricted, appearing in front of Beyoni. This short distance was something that he could still manage.

Han Xiao then pushed Beyoni behind him, and he personally endured the combined attacks of the four Beyond Grade As.

Boom!

His mechanical suit was shattered, and his health fell greatly.

Han Xiao felt his entire body ache, and he was sent flying like a ball.

His mechanical army blocked Psyker’s group of four without any consideration for their losses, which gave him some time to stabilize his body.

Bearing with the intense pain, Han Xiao took a look at his health.

“This wave of damage is too frightening. If not for me enduring the attack, Beyoni would probably be dead…”

Han Xiao laughed bitterly in his heart. He was truly a meat shield this time.

Beyoni then supported Han Xiao from the side and asked, “Are you alright?”

“I am still fine. I won’t die so easily. Don’t forget what my nickname is.”

Han Xiao then took a deep breath and activated the recovery ability of his cells to let his frightening injuries recover.

“Thank you. If not for you, I would have died…” Beyoni said with gratitude, but his voice suddenly turned depressed. “No, we are still dead for sure, and it is only a matter of time.”

“Aren’t you stating the obvious? Everyone will die eventually.” Han Xiao could not help but roll his eyes.

“…” Beyoni was truly speechless. You still have the time to joke at this moment…

After which, Han Xiao shook his head and said resolutely, “However, today is not the day!”

Just when Psyker’s group of four were about to give chase, Taylor said with shock, “Wait a moment. I detect a powerful surge of magical energy approaching us through the secondary dimension. It is extremely powerful!”

Space suddenly began to contort, and a gigantic transportation door appeared.

The dynasty’s anti-wormhole apparatus had already been shut down, and Taylor attempted to use his own spacetime magic to restrict the transportation door but realized that the magical fluctuations had exceeded all the Mages that he had ever seen before!

Taylor was shocked. He actually was not able to stop a transportation door with his strength!

The next moment, a gigantic castle appeared from within the transportation door.

“What is he doing here‽” Psyker’s eyes widened with shock. As a Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring, he was too familiar with this castle.

It was the Palace of Hidden Spells!

Austin floated at the top of the Palace of Hidden Spells with his Forbidden Sorcerers behind him.

“Ah, I’m not late, right?”

Chapter 847 - 847 Ten Thousand Deity Scepter

847 Ten Thousand Deity Scepter

The four Beyond Grade As looked at the magical aura being emanated from the Palace of Hidden Spells. Austin’s sudden arrival had truly shocked them.

Psyker had a belly full of doubts.

Isn’t this darn old man always neutral?

Why would he appear here! Furthermore, it seems like he was here to help Black Star!

Psyker was enraged. “Austin, did you join the Crimson Dynasty‽”

“Nope.” Austin smiled.

“Then what are you doing here? This matter has nothing to do with you. Go and continue maintaining your neutrality and not causing trouble here,” Psyker said with a deep voice.

“My apologies, I had a deal with Black Star. This matter has nothing to do with the Crimson Dynasty and is a personal matter.” Austin chuckled.

In order to borrow the Evolution Cube, he had promised Han Xiao a few conditions during the Tyrant Party. One of them was to help Han Xiao with a single matter that did not go against his principles. This was why he was there.

As soon as Han Xiao noticed the strange actions of the Arcane Church, he had requested Austin’s aid in order to be safe. To fulfil his promise, Austin had piloted his Palace of Hidden Spells and secretly arrived at the Flickering World through long distance teleportations.

He did not make use of the Crimson Dynasty’s stargate and declared that he was finding other secondary dimensional magical materials to the public.

Because it was extremely common for a Beyond Grade A Mage to find secondary dimensional materials together with the fact that Austin had always maintained neutrality, the outside world did not pay close attention to the movements of the Palace of Hidden Spells. None of them had expected a neutral party like Austin to secretly arrive in the Flickering World without seeking approval from the dynasty.

As gold grade equipment and a Universal Treasure, the value of the Palace of Hidden Spells was definitely astronomical. It was capable of long-distance teleportation and only required little over ten days to arrive at the Flickering World from the Shattered Star Ring. It was far faster than the spaceships of the stowaways. He then found a place to wait and activated the concealment formation of the Palace of Hidden Spells. It would not be easy for ordinary detection equipment to see through the concealment ability of a Universal Treasure.

However, Austin did not know that there were so many enemies at the start. He originally thought that the Arcane Church would not take action, and he would only have to stay there for a period of time to easily complete his promise. Even if he was discovered by the dynasty, the dynasty would not do anything to him with Black Star’s testimony.

However, he never imagined the Arcane Church to create such a huge scene!

After being caught in a dilemma for a while, he decided not to watch by the side and led his Palace of Hidden Spells to reinforce Black Star!

As someone who maintained neutrality, he naturally understood that doing so was not to his advantage. But since he had made a promise with Black Star already, Austin would not go back on his word.

Although Austin looked as though he was chuckling and relaxed on the surface, he was cursing in his heart.

He had truly been scammed!

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief, and his lips curled up slightly. “Darn old man, you’ve finally arrived. With you around, you can help us share the pressure.”

Austin rolled his eyes at Han Xiao and snorted, “I must really be crazy to enter such a battle. I suffered a huge loss from using your Evolution Cube!”

Upon hearing that, Beyoni agreed with those sentiments whole heartedly.

Looking at Han Xiao, who was currently recovering, Beyoni could not help but grumble in his heart.

I shall just keep all my grievances in my heart.

Upon noticing Beyoni’s expression, Han Xiao took out a syringe and indicated to Beyoni to lower his defenses.

“What do you want to do?”

“Treat you.”

“Sigh, the life force of a Beyond Grade A is incredibly large. What can that little syringe of yours do. I… oh? What did you inject me with‽”

Before he could even finish, Han Xiao injected Beyoni with Aurora’s life potion.

Beyoni’s face then changed abruptly, and a look of shock could be seen on his face.

He could feel a powerful surge of life filling his entire body. The cells of his body all cheered with joy and became extremely active. The recovery of his wounds had also sped up many times over.

Although he was not fully recovered, he was no longer severely injured.

“Just what is this medicine? To think that the effect would be so great on a Beyond Grade A!” Beyoni was shocked.

“You still have time to be curious? First deal with the situation before us.”

Although Psyker’s group of four had stopped their attacks, the mechanical army was still fighting the summoned creatures. Since the mechanical soldiers that had received Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force boost were still in combat, it was akin to Han Xiao being in combat. Furthermore, he would need to leave the battle for five minutes, and it was far from enough.

Despite the enemy being shocked, they would not remain idle for such a long time. Upon seeing Austin determined to interfere, they all accepted the reality and also treated Austin as their target.

Austin activated the Palace of Hidden Spells and triggered all the formations to absorb dark energy. With a humming sound, the Palace of Hidden Spells began glowing with magical radiance, and rays of magical energy were shot out.

On the other side, Mercer who was extremely close to Han Xiao appeared right in front of Han Xiao, and his fists smashed down on Han Xiao’s head.

With such a short distance together with the fact that he had just used the Void Hyperdrive and had the paper Beyoni behind him, Han Xiao activated the Heber Character Summon Card, and his Strength increased by four thousand points!

A powerful force exploded from his muscles, and Han Xiao also threw a punch in response.

Bang!

The fists collided with each other, and a shockwave was sent in all directions, clearing out the fog in the area.

Mercer could feel a strength no weaker than his own colliding with his fist, and his body was sent flying uncontrollably. Upon stabilizing his body, he realized that Han Xiao had also been sent flying.

Both parties were sent flying, and their strengths were equal!

“Why do you have such strength?” Mercer had a face full of shock.

His most powerful attribute was his strength, but a Mechanic was actually able to compete with his strength‽

Are you kidding me? Do you deserve to be called a Mechanic‽

Waving his arm, Han Xiao gritted his teeth. Heber’s Character Summon Card could allow his attributes to match up to the enemy, but the Pugilist’s flames had an extremely destructive capability that destroyed plenty of his cells.

By borrowing the force of the collision, Han Xiao retreated together with Beyoni and hid within the defensive line of his mechanical army. At the same time, he began to analyze the situation.

“Milizaus is able to tie two people down, and the battle on my side is now three against four. Although the opponents have one more person, Austin has the Palace of Hidden Spells and can endure more pressure. We will no longer be on the losing end and can barely hang in there…

“However, the enemy still has powerful reinforcements. If EsGod arrives on the battlefield, the balance would be broken.

“Austin’s Palace of Hidden Spells can bring me along to escape, and a single Mage shouldn’t be able to stop him. However, the enemy has two Mages, and they will definitely be able to restrict the transportation of the Palace of Hidden Spells if they work together. If I want to run, I can only bring Beyoni along. If I want to bring Milizaus along as well, the enemy Mages will end up working together, and we won’t be able to escape…

“There is still another problem. The Palace of Hidden Spells needs some time to charge up, and the other Mage definitely won’t let their target escape so easily. He would abandon Milizaus and attempt to stop us. If Milizaus sees us abandoning him to escape, he won’t remain behind to risk his life and tie Ninjia down. When Ninjia turns around to deal with us, Milizaus will probably use his teleportation spell to run away. At that time, the Palace of Hidden Spells will still be left behind, but we will lose a powerful ally like Milizaus.”

Han Xiao’s expression was solemn. If they wanted to rely on the Palace of Hidden Spells to escape, they would only be able to abandon Milizaus. However, the chances of success were too low, and it was likely that Milizaus would choose to seize the opportunity to escape. If that happened, they would lose a combatant, and their situation would be even more dire.

If he really chose to escape, the dynasty’s troops would definitely be wiped out. Regardless of whether it was the Armed Dragon Guards or his Black Star Guards, none of them would be able to survive.

It would also be difficult to get the Palace of Hidden Spells to send reinforcements. Even the [Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device] had an upper limit to the transportation distance, and the Palace of Hidden Spells was the same. Furthermore, Heber and the two other reinforcements were in different Star Clusters, trying to rush toward Planet Lighthouse through stargates. Thus, the Palace of Hidden Spells would not be able to bring their reinforcements to them either.

“Tarrokov was right. We don’t have much of a choice. We can only choose to hold on until our reinforcements arrive at the entrance of the stargate.” Han Xiao gritted his teeth.

The more powerful he was, the greater his hope. He only needed to leave the battle for his mission to be completed, and he had to find an opportunity…

It would not be too realistic to wait for the enemy to stop, so he had to try another method.

…

After Austin joined the battle, the intensity of the battle went up a notch, and it was impossible for anyone under Beyond Grade A to intervene.

The Palace of Hidden Spells was Austin’s combat equipment, and it boosted his magical force to a large extent. It was like a magical artillery tower firing without stopping.

Despite the battle being a three-on-four situation, the battle was no longer one-sided, and neither party could do anything to the other in the short run.

Han Xiao had someone to share the pressure with him, and his mechanical army now posed a greater threat to Psyker’s group of four. The enemy had no choice but to be more wary and decrease the intensity of their attacks.

Taylor also could not summon creatures without any pressure anymore, and his summoning was interrupted time and time again.

The four Beyond Grade As had intentionally separated the Palace of Hidden Spells from Han Xiao, and they discussed their battle strategy while fighting.

Psyker used his Psychic force to connect his comrades and said with a grave voice, “Austin has the aid of the Palace of Hidden Spells, and his combat capability has been increased to the next level. It is extremely difficult to deal with him.”

“Tsk, I wouldn’t be afraid of him if I could bring my own Mage Pagoda along.” Taylor was a little frustrated with his summoning spells being disrupted.

All Beyond Grade A Mages had their own Mage Pagoda, but not all of them were able to craft a Universal Treasure like the Palace of Hidden Spells.

Taylor and Ninjia did not bring their own Mage Pagodas because they were extremely bulky. After being sent over by the Federation of Light, they would have to leave on their own, and they would definitely be chased by the Crimson Dynasty fleet. As such, bringing such a bulky Mage Pagoda would only hinder their mobility. Furthermore, they had felt that they would have the absolute advantage, and there should have been no mishaps during the battle. Finally, it was to maintain the secrecy of their operation.

“Take note, Black Star may make use of the Palace of Hidden Spells to escape,” Dylan reminded.

“If he has such intentions, I will immediately inform Ninjia to work together with me. I won’t be able to stop the Palace of Hidden Spells alone, but both of us should be able to do so if we work together,” Taylor said.

“Then Milizaus may make use of the opportunity to escape…”

“Then tell Sagman and Ninjia to hurry up and use the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. If not, force Milizaus over as well. If we really must choose between both of them, we can ignore Milizaus. Black Star is our main target,” Psyker said.

Mercer could not be bothered to join the conversation, and he continued to give chase to Han Xiao. He wanted to test Han Xiao’s strength again.

…

When the Palace of Hidden Spells appeared, the three battling outside the atmosphere also noticed the situation.

Milizaus was overjoyed at the powerful support that Han Xiao had, but both Sagman and Ninjia’s expression became grave.

“Psyker said that the other party is Austin from the Shattered Star Ring. He is here to help Black Star. With one more Beyond Grade A joining in, our advantage has decreased,” Sagman said with a frown.

“Four versus six. It will be difficult for us to settle the battle before EsGod arrives.” Ninjia shook his head.

The Arcane Church instructed them to finish the mission as quickly as possible and try not to let EsGod join in the battle. It seemed like this objective would not be so easily fulfilled. Han Xiao’s trump card was something that they had not expected.

“Don’t be in a rush to come to a conclusion.”

Sagman suddenly unleashed a light screen that was like the surging waves.

The wave like light energy shattered Milizaus’ dragon breath, and the blinding light lit up the dark space.

Milizaus’ vision and senses were also affected by the blinding light, and he suddenly felt a sense of fear in his heart that came from his intuition as a Beyond Grade A.

He unleashed his defensive spells without any hesitation and covered himself in layers of colorful magical shields like a tortoise.

Following which, Milizaus flapped his dragon wings and attempted to charge out from the light. Turning around to take a look, he saw Ninjia holding onto a strange looking black staff. With Milizaus’ sense of sight, he could clearly see the thousands of small figures engraved on the black staff.

“This is… the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter‽”

The alarm bells went off in Milizaus’ head. He was extremely knowledgeable, and it was impossible for him not to recognize this Arcane Church Universal Treasure.

The Arcane Church specialized in the soul, the mind, illusions, and beliefs. They had an unbelievable skill that turned fake ‘deities’ into a real existence and created artificial ‘deities’.

The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was a Universal Treasure that the Arcane Church created by ‘coincidence’ using such a skill, and it was impossible to replicate. It was a medium that borrowed the strength of these artificial deities.

Describing it simply, the Arcane Church’s ‘deities’ were like gunpowder and bullets while the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was like a rifle.

If the Federation of Light’s Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device was a strategic weapon, then the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was a singular killing weapon!

The might of the attack was not stunning, but it had an unbelievably lethal force toward living beings that had a soul. Furthermore, the more powerful the user, the more frightening the damage. During the exploration era, there were at least three powerful Primordial Ones who had died to this weapon!

The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter needed to use ‘deities’ as weapons, and the user would experience a backlash. The same person would not be able to use it continuously in a short time, and the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter would receive some damage every time it was used. This was the reason that the Arcane Church rarely used this Universal Treasure and kept it as a deterrent.

Milizaus had not imagined that he would be able to personally witness this infamous weapon in his life!

Just what kind of darn luck do I have? Did Black Star spread his bad luck to me‽

Did I steal your Arcane Church’s rice? Is there a need to go so far‽

Just when he was still in a state of shock, Ninjia snapped his fingers, and the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter floated in front of him, aimed straight at Milizaus.

Ninjia’s energy was then sucked into the black scepter, and the engravings on it lit up.

The engravings of the deities lit up and seemed to have become alive. Ten thousand partially transparent projections suddenly appeared and combined into an illusory energy pillar that shot toward Milizaus.

If it was anyone else, they might have been able to avoid this attack. However, Milizaus was not able to do so with his gigantic body. He could only madly release various forbidden defensive spells.

However, the energy pillar went through the shields, which were sufficient to defend against a psionic cannon, as though they did not exist.

Milizaus could only watch as the energy pillar shot through his numerous shields without the slightest restriction and smashed right into his chest.

“Black Star, you @$*%u0026!#*…”

Before he could even complete his string of curses, his gigantic dragon body trembled, and he lost control of his body as though he was a bird being shot down by an arrow.

His gigantic body was caught up by the gravitational pull of Planet Lighthouse and rapidly crashed down to the planet like a meteor.

Kacha!

The instant the attack landed, a few cracks could be seen on the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

“Urgh!” Ninjia let out a mellow grunt.

Sagman, who was by the side, shot out a light hand and grabbed the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. He knew that this attack was not enough to kill the thick skinned Milizaus. Ninjia would not be able to use the weapon again, so it was now his turn.

Chapter 848 - 848 Appearance of the Spacetime Amber!

848 Appearance of the Spacetime Amber!

A few minutes earlier…

In the skies of Planet Lighthouse, the seven Beyond Grade As were tangled up in an intense battle. Fire and water collided, magic and psychic energy tangled with each other, and machines collided with flesh.

With a three-on-four situation, the enemy had no choice but to slow their attacks. With the pressure on Han Xiao easing significantly, Han Xiao gradually gained his footing with his powerful recovery ability.

Han Xiao’s mechanical army, Austin’s Palace of Hidden Spells, Taylor’s summoned creatures, Psyker’s psychic energy, Dylan’s control of water, Beyoni’s flames… Various attacks filled the entire battlefield.

The most powerful area of effect abilities still came from the mechanical army. With over ten million soldiers, the psionic cannon fire covered almost every inch of sky. The boost from [Perfect Mechanical Sense] and True Damage from [Legendary Battle Technique] made it such that Psyker’s group of four did not dare lower their guard.

Even a Beyond Grade A would not be able to emerge unscathed from such a battle. The summoned creatures and mechanical army that adopted Human Wave Tactics suffered huge casualties.

The mechanical army could be repaired, and the summoned creatures could be summoned without end. Both parties had their own advantages.

If they were fighting a one-on-one battle, Han Xiao would probably have been able to defeat Taylor without using [Perfect Mechanical Sense]. With the boost from the Perfect Mechanical Sense, he would be able to stably defeat the enemy.

However, Taylor had his teammates to tie down Han Xiao’s mechanical army and to allow him to summon his summoned creatures more easily to call upon a never-ending supply of helpers.

There were many different summoned creatures of various shapes and forms. There were demonic bats, turquoise statues, plasma snakes, spirit hunters, ghost scepters, and so on. Their combat abilities varied, and they were the beasts that had been groomed by Taylor after signing a contract with him. A powerful Summoner would definitely have a large variety of summoned creatures.

Han Xiao split up three million mechanical soldiers for his AI to control just to deal with these summoned creatures.

The battle between the mechanical army and summoned creatures was like a war between two armies. The mechanical army had extremely good teamwork and could accurately snipe wave after wave of summoned creatures. Thus, their casualties were lower than the summoned creatures.

In the chaotic battlefield, a Mechanical Life squad under Psionic Prime’s lead weaved throughout the heavy fire.

The combat artificial intelligence, Sparta, did not take over the body of the Mechanical Lives but was only in charge of issuing strategic commands.

A powerful data processing speed together with the battlefield module displayed the gaps in the rain of bullets and showed the best way to avoid all the bullets. Psionic Prime then followed the predetermined path with his entire team behind him and avoided all the incoming energy beams, blocking all those that could not be dodged with a psionic shield.

The destination of the squad was a group of elite summoned creatures.

Their target was a team of powerful leader-grade demonic bats that were guarding a group of turquoise statues that were firing laser beams. They were all being boosted by the Summoner and had their attributes increased greatly. Plenty of ordinary mechanical soldiers had already been destroyed by them.

“All forces, take note. Our mission is to wipe out the enemy’s elites.”

Psionic Prime’s emotionless voice sounded in the communication channel.

These demonic bats discovered the rapidly approaching Mechanical Life squad and immediately went forward to intercept them.

“The distance between the target is shrinking. Get ready for battle!”

“Target locked on. Open fire!”

The Mechanical Life that belonged to the long-distance attacking squad reverted to their original forms. There were dark energy artillery towers, psionic jet cannons, firepower forts, high energy short range guided missiles, and many other models. They let out a series of long-range attacks.

Boom boom boom!

The leader grade demonic bats opened their demonic shields and charged forward while enduring fire. From time to time, some of their shields would be broken, and they would succumb to the firepower of the mechanical soldiers.

Facing a wave of attacks, the gigantic turquoise statues also turned around with their eyes charging up with white energy. The next moment, a thick magical beam shot out of their eyes and destroyed all the mechanical soldiers and summoned creatures in the way of their target.

“Giant King Kong, attack!”

Behind Psionic Prime, a gigantic shadow descended, and a Giant Soldier that was a few hundred meters tall appeared. It was called Giant King Kong.

Giant King Kong held up a huge psionic shield to protect the members of the team and block all the magical beams.

Bang!

A huge explosion erupted by Giant King Kong only suffered from some external damage.

The thrusters behind Giant King Kong then blasted out at full power, and the gigantic figure crashed into the incoming summoned creatures before landing beside the turquoise statues. Both gigantic figures clashed with each other!

Boom!

It was as though the mountains were shaking!

The turquoise statues suffered from a flurry of punches and turquoise fragments flew in all directions. With both the gigantic creatures engaging in battle, the smaller troops had also begun an intense battle.

These Mechanical Lives were all elites and had grown for a long period of time. There were some of them who were like mini bosses, and their combat capabilities were exceptional. This was Han Xiao’s most powerful elite troop.

The armed cavalry, Oathkeeper, beastman warriors, and various other different models of Mechanical Life charged forward in unison. It was a complete one-sided massacre of the summoned creatures.

The spirit hunters that joined the battle were also easily taken care of by the Mechanical Life squad.

Psionic Prime’s body was reconstructed many times, and he had easily reduced the demonic bats into piles of meat. He then looked around and realized that his teammates had all finished their battles.

“Humph, easy.” Silver Flash released the corpse of a demonic bat. “It’s a pity that we are fighting a defensive war. If I could attack, I would be able to unleash all my firepower, and the battle would have been over already.”

“Stop bragging!” Scarlet Flame said.

Silver Flash ignored him and looked toward the battlefield of the seven Beyond Grade As. “It’s a pity we aren’t strong enough. I really wish to help father.”

“Father is protecting us,” Giant King Kong replied.

“We are the weapons that father created, but he is protecting us. Is this the fatherly love that those living creatures possess?” Silver Flash asked curiously.

Psionic Prime was about to reply, but a large whooshing sound could suddenly be heard from the sky.

Swoosh!

All the Mechanical Lives looked up.

A gigantic dragon was descending rapidly from outside the atmosphere with dragon blood raining down like a thunderstorm. The dragon’s body was burning like a meteor, and it crashed through a wave of mechanical soldiers and summoned creatures.

Boom!

The gigantic dragon crash landed on the planet like an atomic bomb with a loud mushroom-shaped dust cloud being formed in the sky!

…

“Was that Milizaus who fell from the sky? He is severely wounded‽”

Han Xiao, Beyoni, and Austin were shocked upon witnessing such a scene.

This shouldn’t be the case! Milizaus’ strength is sufficient to deal with Sagman and Ninjia, and he shouldn’t have been defeated so quickly and with such severe injuries!

The three of them were full of shock and edged toward Milizaus’ position, dragging the battle to the ground. Psyker’s group of four followed closely behind.

The next moment, Han Xiao and Beyoni landed beside the gigantic crater, and Austin controlled the Palace of Hidden Spells to float in midair. Upon looking at Milizaus’ present state, the three of them were shocked.

Milizaus’ gigantic dragon body was in an extremely pathetic state. A huge hole had opened up in his chest, and his fractured bones and innards could be seen.

This frightening injury seemed to have been inflicted in a single attack, and Beyoni was truly shocked. He could not imagine just what kind of a frightening attack would be able to cause such damage to Milizaus’ robust body.

These were not his only injuries. New cracks can be seen on Milizaus’ body as though there was a sort of energy continuing to cause damage to his body and destroying his cells.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao took out a syringe from his mechanical suit and injected Milizaus with Aurora’s life potion. However, it only slowed down the worsening of Milizaus’ injuries; he still showed no signs of recovery.

Because Han Xiao injected the wound, a notification popped up on his interface.

The interface showed Milizaus’ present situation. His health was currently at sixty-three, and it was still falling. There were a few negative statuses on Milizaus, with two of them being the most frightening.

_____________________

[Cell Activity Inhibition – High]: All recovery methods will have their effects reduced by 70% (From Ninjia).

[Double Corrosion]: Suffer 12,582 physical damage and 15,733 mental damage every second (From Ninjia).

_____________________

“Ooh…” Milizaus let out a groan and said to Han Xiao’s group of three weakly, “Be careful. They brought the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.”

Before he could finish, Sagman and Ninjia descended, and the six enemies Beyond Grade As were gathered!

Han Xiao raised his head and immediately saw the weapon that had injured Milizaus. It was the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter that was floating beside Sagman.

To think that it would be this infamous Universal Treasure… Han Xiao’s expression sank.

The Arcane Church had truly gone all out this time!

“They’ve even brought this item out?” Austin’s expression changed greatly and immediately thought of escaping.

He had already fulfilled his promise and felt that he had done all he could. He did not want to die there because of a promise. It was because of his Palace of Hidden Spells’ defense and mobility that he dared participate in such an imbalanced battle. However, the attack of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was extremely queer, and it was capable of ignoring most physical defenses and shields. The attack could only be avoided but not blocked, which meant that the Palace of Hidden Spells would not be able to help him block the attack.

Austin’s thoughts were extremely clear. The Arcane Church’s targets were Black Star and the dynasty. Since he was not the enemy’s target, the enemy definitely would not waste their Beyond Grade A combatants to chase him if he wanted to escape.

He did not want to experience the feeling of a weapon that could threaten a Beyond Grade A.

This darn old man is thinking of escaping…

Although he did not know how to read minds, Han Xiao knew what Austin was thinking upon seeing his look of hesitation.

The appearance of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was out of his expectations. If he had known that the enemy had such a trump card, he would not have allowed Milizaus to separate from them.

Han Xiao had a solemn expression and injected Milizaus a few more times. Only then did his injuries stop worsening with signs of recovery.

[Cell Activity Inhibition – High] only weakened the effect of Aurora’s life potion, but with a large stock in his possession, Han Xiao only needed to give a few more injections for the same effect. It was just that the recovery time needed would be longer.

However, the six Beyond Grade A enemies definitely would not give them so much time.

Whoosh!

The six of them floated in midair and looked down at Milizaus, Beyoni, and Han Xiao. A shocking pressure descended from the sky, but Austin was actually blocked out by their pressure.

Psyker looked at Austin and said, “Stop interfering with us. This is the final warning.”

“…” Austin looked at Han Xiao and twitched his lips, not daring to make another move.

The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter then floated in front of Sagman and aimed at the immobilized Milizaus.

A look of despair could be seen in Milizaus’ eyes. He was extremely clear about his current situation. Although Han Xiao had managed to help him recover with some magical potion, he would definitely be driven to the brink of death if he took another attack.

Just as Sagman was about to activate the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, Han Xiao took a deep breath and said loudly, “Do you guys want the Evolution Cube‽”

Sagman stopped moving and narrowed his eyes.

“You want to hand it over in exchange for a chance to survive?”

“That’s right.” Han Xiao let out a deep breath and deactivated the Spacetime Amber sealing effect.

The six of them then looked at the silver cube in Han Xiao’s hands.

Right then, Psyker’s psychic connection to the Evolution Cube was restored, and he said with confirmation, “It’s the real deal.”

Sagman nodded upon hearing that and said to Han Xiao.

“Do you even have the right to negotiate? We can still get the Evolution Cube if we kill you. Why do we have to agree to your demands? The choice to kill or capture you is in our hands. Do you even have the right to choose?”

“No, you are wrong.” Han Xiao tightened his grip on the Evolution Cube. “If I destroy the outer covering of the Evolution Cube and release its gigantic main body… Haha, do you think that you can take it away before the dynasty’s reinforcements arrive?”

Sagman’s eyes narrowed, but he was not too surprised by those words.

Before they took action, the Arcane Church had already guessed that Black Star may choose to destroy the outer covering of the Evolution Cube and had already made preparations.

EsGod’s chips for negotiating with the Arcane Church were information on the Evolutionary Civilization and the apparatus to allow the Evolution Cube to be carried around. However, EsGod would only provide information on the apparatus after their deal was completed.

Thus, it would save them a great deal of trouble if Black Star was willing to hand over the portable Evolution Cube.

With the authority to determine Han Xiao’s life and death, Sagman said with an aloof attitude, “Alright, I won’t kill all of you if you hand over the Evolution Cube and surrender. The upper echelons will definitely be interested in seeing the dynasty pay a hefty price in exchange for all of you.”

He was the representative among the six and had the authority to make decisions on the ground. Capturing them was better than killing them. Although it would still anger the dynasty, they would have more chips to bargain with the dynasty.

Although Milizaus was frustrated about the crisis that Han Xiao had brought to him, he could not help but feel a sense of desolation in his heart upon seeing Han Xiao take out the Evolution Cube to save their lives.

At this moment, he suddenly felt Han Xiao stepping on him secretly and knew that Han Xiao had a plan. Thus, he connected the three of their minds with magic.

Han Xiao then heaved a sigh of relief and said, “As proof of my sincerity, I shall tell you the secret password to activate the portable Evolution Cube.”

As he said those words, he didn’t wait for Sagman’s response and quickly activated the sequence.

There was indeed a special method required to activate the Evolution Cube, and Han Xiao’s words were not wrong. Showing it to them on the spot would prevent them from being fooled by EsGod’s information.

“Hmm? You’ll have more than enough time to show us after you become a captive…” Sagman did not realize anything at the start and only frowned. However, he immediately noticed something and roared, “No! Stop!”

Han Xiao ignored those words and completed the sequence.

Hu!

The next moment, he activated the evolution energy within the cube and sent it toward the six in the sky.

The six of them immediately raised their shields. If they were struck by the evolution energy, they would become a black cocoon and start the evolution process. Although they could forcefully stop the process and recover their movement, they would still be restricted for some time.

Sagman’s murderous intent toward Han Xiao immediately exploded.

You don’t know how to treasure the opportunity that I have given you and tried to ambush us!

Without any hesitation, Sagman activated the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter and aimed it at Milizaus. After killing Milizaus, they would have more than enough time to slowly torture Black Star!

Ohm!

The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter shot out an energy pillar.

Milizaus thought about Han Xiao’s words and could only choose to trust Han Xiao. He then ignored the attack from the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter and unleashed his magical attacks at Sagman’s group of six.

Beyoni also did the same thing and unleashed his attacks to restrain them.

The mechanical army also received the order to open fire!

On the other side, Han Xiao released a few machinery balls, which floated in the path of the energy pillar. The machinery balls formed two layers of barriers in front of him.

Following which, these machinery balls underwent nano transformation and revealed a half transparent amber ball within them.

After spending half a month on Planet Lighthouse, Han Xiao had already made use of the Spacetime Amber to craft plenty of amber balls!

The six from the Arcane Church retreated to avoid the evolution energy while dealing with the attacks from Han Xiao’s group of three.

Looking at this scene, a mocking look could be seen on Sagman’s face.

“A shield? A shield is completely useless… what‽”

Before he could finish his sentence, the scene before their eyes shocked the six of them.

The energy pillar of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter did not go through the half transparent spherical shaped shield but shot in all other directions like a pillar of water landing on a lotus leaf. Not a single bit went through!

Milizaus and Beyoni also had looks of disbelief on their faces. Han Xiao had previously said that he would be able to block the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, and they could only choose to believe him. Upon seeing Han Xiao’s success, they could not help but be stunned.

The reason Han Xiao was so certain was not because of blind confidence in the Spacetime Amber. In his previous life, during the World Tree Civilization war, the Arcane Church had used the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, which failed because of the Spacetime Amber!

Boom!

Just when the enemy was in shock, Han Xiao, who already knew that the Spacetime Amber would be able to stop the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, scattered the amber ball shields and shot them toward the enemy.

Sagman’s group of six had already snapped out of their shock and wanted to retrieve the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

However, the scattered amber balls disrupted all the enemy’s psychic, magic, and light attacks!

The six of them could not imagine that these half transparent shields were capable of blocking all their attacks without being damaged in the slightest.

“Just what is this strange item? It is actually able to stop all attacks‽”

Just when they discovered that, despite physical attacks being useless against these amber balls, they were still able to send the amber balls flying through the force of their attacks, it was far too late!

Han Xiao activated his Void Hyperdrive and held onto the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter before charging into the air!

With the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter being snatched, Sagman’s group of six abandoned the others without any hesitation and gave chase to Han Xiao.

With one running and six chasing, the six of them caught up in less than a minute.

The combined attacks of six Beyond Grade A was not something that he could block, and he was sent flying helplessly.

His health fell rapidly, and Han Xiao threw the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter away.

Sagman immediately stretched his hands out to catch the scepter and snatch it back.

But before he could even heave a sigh of relief, he realized that the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was sealed into a half transparent spherical ball.

Energy was not capable of passing through the ball, and the shape of the ball was the same as those shields that blocked the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter!

Sagman’s expression changed greatly!

“Just what did you do‽”

Chapter 849 - The Scheme Deepens as EsGod Appears!

Light energy impact, magic energy rays, pugilist fluctuations, psychic bombs, and more Beyond Grade A attacks were concentrated. Han Xiao’s psionic shield collapsed, his mechanical suit shattered, and he flew backward uncontrollably.

His gaze spun, and the stars in the universe seemed to all turn into shooting stars. It took him a lot of effort to finally stabilize, hovering in outer space. His entire body was wracked in pain, and his cells were constantly annihilating yet regenerating.

Not far behind him was the huge interstellar battlefield where the fleets were fighting. Beneath him was the outline of a gray planet. Sagman retrieved the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, and upon noticing Han Xiao’s tweaking to it, his expression contorted.

Upon seeing his opponents’ expressions, Han Xiao smiled even though his body was convulsing in pain.

This was worth it!

Due to the threat the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter posed, even if one could only fire off a single shot in a short period of time, having six of them meant that the scepter would be fired six times. If he had left them alone, his side would not even have had the opportunity for a comeback. The only method was to freeze the enemy’s Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

And the core of this plan lay in the Spacetime Amber, which could lock up the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter!

What occurred previously was truly a desperate situation for him. He had first pretended to surrender, taking out the Evolution Cube under their supervision, before causing trouble. Then, his teammates as well as his mechanical army added on to the chaos. From his experience in his previous life, by allowing his barrier formed from amber to ward off the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, the opponents would reveal flaws due to their surprise and shock. Then he used the Spacetime Amber to prevent the Arcane Church from retrieving the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

For the first time, the Spacetime Amber showed its prowess in the universe. The enemy was unaware of its effects and was rendered speechless. Only then did he get the opportunity to brief grab the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

Because of the soul link, the production efficiency of Spacetime Amber was accelerated. The scepter was not a large object, so the delay was enough to seal it!

Now that the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter has been sealed in amber, it has been cut from their energy. They are not able to open the amber, and thus, for this battle, they will not have such an overpowered killing weapon!

Han Xiao clenched his fists in excitement. Having disabled the enemies’ ultimate, they could still make a comeback!

Sagman grabbed hold of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter sealed in amber. His hands shone with a bright light as he pressed it on the amber, but it was useless as the amber would not budge. The light particles flowed around the surface of the amber, turning it into a golden egg.

The other five by the side could not sit still and joined hands, but even then, the amber remained intact. They could only stare at the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter encased within.

“What sort of nonsense is this thing? How could it not break‽” Sagman stared at Han Xiao, and relying on Psyker’s mental waves, he bellowed, “B*stard, what have you done‽”

There was no mention of such a skill on Black Star’s intelligence. They had been caught unprepared. To think that Black Star still had such a trick up his sleeves!

Han Xiao chuckled in his heart.

Having only obtained the Spacetime Amber in the Flickering World, he had yet to reveal it, and thus, the intelligence from the universe was naturally behind.

Han Xiao chuckled to himself before speaking in a jovial manner. “What have I done? This Ten Thousand Deity Scepter of yours is such a precious thing. I even added another layer of locks so that it will be completely safe. No need to thank me. It’s free! Are you satisfied with the service provided?”

His sarcastic tone infuriated Sagman, causing the flames in his heart to soar.

He had originally thought that Black Star and the rest had no way to resist, that their victory was set in stone. But to think that they got fooled!

Even after using all their methods, they were unable to unlock the amber. Sagman gritted his teeth, passing the scepter to Ninjia.

“Keep it. We can’t break through Black Star’s methods now. But at least the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is still in our hands. When we return, we’ll let the Arcane Church research how to get it out.”

Ninjia could only helplessly follow.

The Arcane Church had passed this Universal Treasure to them in order to allow them to handle Milizaus quickly, but right now, not only were he and Sagman sapped of the majority of their strength, the situation had gone downhill. They did not even manage to get rid of one of the three pillars of the dynasty. What a loss!

Not only that, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was sealed through some unknown means by Black Star, and their hidden ace had been rendered temporarily unavailable. It was impossible to quickly resolve this battle now, and their best form of deterrence against EsGod was also gone. This was like going to steal a chicken but not even getting rice!

Seeing Ninjia stow away the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, a mocking expression appeared on Han Xiao’s face. He knew that this bunch would definitely think that the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was only temporarily rendered unusable. They thought that by returning, the Arcane Church would be able to find out a method to remove the Spacetime Amber.

Heh, they still do not understand the severity of this matter…

The corners of his mouth rose up. The Spacetime Amber was the remnant of Spacetime Freezer, and its ability was derived from that Esper’s own ability to freeze spacetime. However, because of it drifting through the universe, it had absorbed all sorts of strange cosmic radiation, which had allowed it to evolve into a Space Wonder.

To be classified as a Space Wonder, they had to be unidentifiable by current theories. Thus, if the Spacetime Amber could be broken apart so easily, there would not have been so many Beyond Grade As fighting over this thing in his previous life.

These thoughts flitted through his mind, and Han Xiao kept his smile as he focused on the six opponents.

While he had sealed the trump card of his opponents, six Beyond Grade As were still a force to be reckoned with.

He had only completed a staged counterattack, and the battle had far from ended.

The several people confronted each other for more than a minute in outer space. Beyoni, Austin, and Milizaus quickly caught up.

Seeing that this plan had succeeded and Han Xiao had restricted the opponents’ scepter, a praising glow could be seen in Milizaus’ eyes.

You’re really reliable, brother!

While you might be the source of this dangerous situation, causing me great injury, seeing that you saved my life, I shall no longer be angry with you!

The gathering of Beyond Grade As had already broken past single digits. The energy fluctuations given off by them clashed with each other, displaying their zone as a region with the highest energy. Just like the scene of countless supernovas, the energy response kept soaring.

“Do it!”

Sagman and others did not wish to procrastinate and attacked. Han Xiao originally wished to trash talk and waste more time, but seeing this situation, he could only retaliate as well.

The ten Beyond Grade As clashed together, moving through the interstellar battlefield and crushing all warships in their way, leaving behind a wake of explosions.

…

At the same time, in the Constellation Corridor, Ruler Urranrell suddenly received the urgent report from Tarrokov and burst into anger when she discovered that the Arcane Church was attacking Planet Lighthouse.

“Arcane Church, Federation of Light…” Urranrell’s expression was grim.

It was not that she did not know that these two old enemies of hers would make things difficult when they explored the Flickering World, but she had thought that it would stop at the level of tricks. To think that they really tried to invade the outpost of the dynasty, attempting to kill off three of their Beyond Grade As!

Did they think the Crimson Dynasty was so easy to bully‽

If it was a conspiracy, there was nothing to say, but in a frontal battle, the dynasty would never be afraid!

Urranrell immediately issued dozens of orders to mobilize the dynasty’s army. She did not think that there was a chance of survival on the side of Planet Lighthouse, and thus, she began to prepare for the counterattack instead.

The style of the dynasty was always to repay a tooth with a tooth and blood with blood. This was their tradition. If they were not vicious enough, their position would not be stable.

Now that they had been taken advantage of, if they did not produce a reaction similar to that of a rabid dog retaliating, others would think that the dynasty was strong on the outside but weak within.

…

Originally, the players were all exploring outside, but because Han Xiao was situated on Planet Lighthouse, a portion of the players would occasionally head over to check it out. When the battle broke out, there were a few players present on the planet, and one of them was Bun-Hit-Dog. He immediately issued a post on the forums.

“Big event! Planet Lighthouse has been assaulted by an unknown force! There are ten Beyond Grade A NPCs fighting!”

The moment he posted, the players exploring outside were all stunned.

Ten Beyond Grade As, my god, what sort of grand event was this‽

It’s only been a while. Why would there be such a big event!

…

On the battlefield, the ten Beyond Grade As exchanged blows. Because of the arrival of Austin as well as the sealing of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, the Arcane Church’s strength had been reduced quite a bit. While Han Xiao and the rest were having a bad time, they would not be defeated in such a short period.

“Do you have any other plans?”

Milizaus was thoroughly convinced by Han Xiao’s strategies, and while battling, they were conversing on their mental network.

“There are six of them, and we are still at a disadvantage. Our objective has not changed. We can only wait for reinforcements.”

Dodging an energy ray, Han Xiao controlled his army to return fire to repel Sagman.

“The enemies also know of this point… so they want to end this battle quickly. Milizaus might be injured, but he can put up a strong fight. Austin has the shelter of the Palace of Hidden Spells and will not fall easily. As for me, there’s no need to talk. The term ‘Indestructible Body’ is not just empty words. Thus, the enemies are likely to focus on Beyoni. With him being so brittle, he’ll probably be the first to die.”

“…” Beyoni.

How vicious, to actually leave him with no way to retaliate!

I’m not like you guys, you perverted meat shields. I’m a true Beyond Grade A!

Milizaus was helpless. “Then let him stay behind me. I’ll help him to divert the majority of the blows. Do you have any other plans?”

“How about you guys all stay and I escape?”

The three of them had nasty expressions. Brother, the f*ck are you talking about?

“Cough cough, slip of the tongue.” Han Xiao dryly coughed before sighing. “There’s nothing much I can come out with. We can only fight it out. EsGod is still en route, and if he arrives, the situation will get even more unfavorable…”

Everyone went silent. Upon thinking that there was still EsGod to come, everyone felt their mood darken.

At this moment, Han Xiao made up his mind and solemnly spoke. “Everyone, I have a request. Please protect me for five minutes. I will withdraw from this battle for the next five minutes.”

“What are you going to do?” Milizaus stared at him.

“I have an ability to draw out and improve my combat power, but during this period of preparation, I cannot be disturbed. I need you to hold them off for five minutes.” Han Xiao naturally would not reveal the presence of his promotion missions and had to come up with an excuse.

Milizaus was helpless. You just said that the situation was grim, but you suddenly chose to withdraw? Also, what kind of ability requires a Beyond Grade A to prepare for five minutes?

“How much combat power can you raise?” Austin suddenly asked.

“It should be quite a bit.” Han Xiao did not know exactly.

“Are you sure?” Milizaus spoke in a deep voice. “Even if you do this, you can’t become overpowered. Your strength will definitely still be below mine, and this will not affect the current scenario. Without your strength for the next five minutes, we’ll be in grave danger. You also know that EsGod has not arrived, and we cannot be inflicted with heavy injuries at this point…”

“It’s because the EsGod is not here. That’s why I chose to give it a shot! If we wait for EsGod to arrive, the five minutes will be even more dangerous. Before he arrives, I’ll increase my combat strength and see if it can give us a chance.” Han Xiao gritted his teeth.

This was one of the reasons. The other unspoken reason was that this advancement was no small matter!

Not only was it a Class Advancement, he also had a chance to undergo another Race Evolution, which could bring him new abilities! Furthermore, as long as he broke past this barrier, he would be able to continue levelling up.

His improvement was definitely not small!

At this time, Austin suddenly nodded. “Good, then you enter my Palace of Hidden Spells. I’ll protect you for five minutes.”

“Can you?”

Han Xiao had an unsure tone. Not too long ago, Austin had still thought of retreating. Now that the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter had been sealed by Han Xiao and there was no immediate danger to him, why did he choose not to escape? To think that someone like him would volunteer to take on such a difficult mission. This was totally different from his impression of the old man that avoided danger.

Could it be that, over time, their relationship had become so good? Or did this old man value credibility?

As though reading Han Xiao’s thoughts, Austin revealed a smile.

“The moment that you sealed the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, I suddenly thought that keeping you alive might be a good thing.”

Han Xiao paused, thought for a bit, and said, “If I survive this, then I’ll give you a bit of Spacetime Amber… I used that previously to trap the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.”

“I was waiting for that!”

Austin burst into laughter. While he wanted to appear magnificent, his soft laugh made him appear more like a newborn than a man.

He was indeed moved by the Spacetime Amber and wished to research what sort of thing it was. But that was not the whole reason.

The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was defeated against his expectations. The situation now was clear. If he stayed, they could still fight, but if he chose to run, the strength of the dynasty’s side would flag, and the rest would be defeated.

Since he had already stepped into this dump, if he ran halfway, he would offend both the Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty. However, if he chose to stay and assist Black Star, he would only offend one side. The most important factor was that Austin wished for Han Xiao to continue living. He found this fellow more and more likeable, with all sorts of surprises.

“Isn’t it just five minutes?” Austin’s eyes glowed. “I’m not so weak that I can’t even hold on for that amount of time!”

Han Xiao opened his secondary dimensional army box and collected all his troops. After that, he flew over to the Palace of Hidden Spells, where an opening appeared in its barriers, granting him entry.

No further words were needed. Han Xiao rushed into the palace, summoning a mechanical troop before sealing himself in Spacetime Amber. Since obtaining the amber, he had done a few experiments, which included sealing himself to discover the effect of freezing the Spacetime Amber gave.

His status would appear as [Frozen], and while he could think and sense the outside world, he was unable to communicate or even connect to the Quantum network.

Phillip followed the commands Han Xiao gave and controlled the troops to surround Han Xiao, ready to utilize the Spacetime Amber to unseal him.

Sealing himself was insurance to prevent any disturbances from affecting him.

With only three people left in the battle against the Arcane Church, the pressure increased.

Seeing that Han Xiao had stopped attacking, Sagman and the others did not know what he was planning, but with the example of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, they were not about to let Han Xiao’s actions continue. They concentrated fire on the Palace of Hidden Spells.

Under the intense assault, the shields on the Palace of Hidden Spells were broken one after another in just three minutes, bursting in a splendid display of fireworks.

The entire palace was shaking nonstop, with all sorts of cracks, and many functions were destroyed.

While Austin continuously utilized his Forbidden Sorcerer arts to repair the arrays, the rate of repair was far below that of its destruction. After all, the enemies outnumbered them two to one, and on their side, Milizaus’ injuries were steadily accumulating.

The situation was getting more dangerous, but the trio continued to give it their all, dragging out as much time as possible.

Austin’s Palace of Hidden Spells was worth its weight in gold and was extremely sturdy. Although its durability kept plummeting, it had indeed blocked out all the enemy attacks.

…

On the other side, the dynasty and Arcane Church’s fleets were still fighting fiercely. High energy beams were exchanged rapidly and exploded on the shields of the spaceships in dazzling arcs one after the other.

Tarrokov had long taken control of commanding the battlefield and was strongly resisting the crazed invasion of the Arcane Church.

The Arcane Church’s troops outnumbered the dynasty’s by a few times, and their dark energy furnace expanded and contracted as though it were breathing, consistently releasing red beams of dark energy rays to batter at the dynasty’s barriers.

Their butterfly-model main flagship had already finished combining into a single entity, and its hundreds of pairs of highly ductile ‘butterfly wings’ opened up, giving the flagship the appearance of a rising sun. On the edge of each pair of wings, faint red light was shining, and a series of light blades were continuously fired, akin to slashing attacks. If one looked closely, the edges of the wings were filled with dense cannons, and they all fired together, like a light blade being activated.

The Crimson Dynasty’s reloaded main flagship instead sported a neat formation and orderly artillery fire. It seemed to be able to tear into the universe with an energy beam. All three Universal Civilizations had many different types of warships, and the Crimson Dynasty’s were famous for their strong firepower and tough armor.

“How much longer before the troops outside return?” Tarrokov asked while still staring at the star map.

“The first batch should be back via hyperdrive in around four minutes,” the Vice commander immediately replied.

Tarrokov nodded. With Planet Lighthouse besieged, he had decided to recall all troops outside, which amounted to another three million warships. With their support, their numbers would be even with the Arcane Church, and their pressure would lessen.

If not for him leading the fleet to withstand the Arcane Church’s offensive, they would not even have had the opportunity to wait for reinforcements. He had no extra energy to pay attention to the Beyond Grade A battles and only prayed that Black Star would not fall too quickly.

“Where’s the army of the Fallen Ark?”

“Commander, the fleet we sent out is still tangling with the Fallen Ark fleet. I estimate another twenty minutes before they enter.”

As Tarrokov nodded, a piercing alarm blared from the radar.

“Warning! Unknown high-energy response source detected! Comparing with database… Comparison completed, target identity: EsGod!”

Tarrokov jumped up and cast his eyes over. On the outskirts of the battlefield, a humanoid silhouette appeared, floating in the vast universe.

EsGod!

“Didn’t you say twenty minutes? Why is he…” Tarrokov was about to shout, but he abruptly realized that EsGod had shown up alone, and he immediately understood.

This guy had abandoned his troops and arrived at the battlefield ahead of them!

…

The EsGod turned around, his gaze fixed on the battlefield of the Beyond Grade As.

He was totally unsatisfied with the speed of his fleet and decided to just ditch them, utilizing his Esper Ability to warp large distances, teleporting straight to Planet Lighthouse.

Surveying the entire battlefield, EsGod suddenly narrowed his eyes.

Where did Black Star go‽

Chapter 850 - The Key to Victory!

The next moment, EsGod teleported right into the battlefield of the ten Beyond Grade As. As soon as he appeared, everyone’s expression changed drastically.

Milizaus’ side felt much more pressure. EsGod had arrived so quickly; it had not even been five minutes yet.

The Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church were also alarmed except one—Psyker who was bombarding the Palace of Hidden Spells with his psychic energy. All seven of his eyes opened wide; he was stunned.

“Why are you here‽”

Due to the hatred born from what happened on Planet Avitan, the Arcane Church had hidden EsGod’s involvement in this from him. Seeing that his mortal enemy had appeared, Psyker was furious.

EsGod turned to look at him and smiled faintly, which equated to provocation in Psyker’s eyes.

“Calm down,” Sagman said with a deep voice in their psychic communication channel. “EsGod is our temporary ally.”

Psyker was shocked. His tone became cold. “So, you guys all knew about this?”

The other five kept silent. This was an order from the Arcane Church, but it was indeed not honorable to hide this information together from their ally.

“Dylan, you knew about this too?” Psyker snorted.

“Sorry, I only knew moments before departure…”

Dylan did not want to face the questioning from his good friend, so he vented his unhappiness in his attacks. He closed his palms and aimed at the Palace of Hidden Spells. Water streams flowed around his arm, turning into high energy beams under the effect of his Esper Ability and shot out at the Palace of Hidden Spells.

“Psyker,” Sagman said, “the mission is more important.”

With gloomy eyes, Psyker decided not to even look at EsGod and focused on attacking.

The middle of a battle was no time to look for revenge. He had to think of his race, so he could not mess up the Arcane Church’s plan at such a crucial moment. Therefore, he had no choice but to endure it.

Seeing this, EsGod took his eyes off Psyker, too. Truth to be told, although Psyker was someone significant in the entire universe, he was nothing worth noting to him—those Beyond Grade As he had killed in the past were no weaker than Psyker.

Among all the Beyond Grade As here, only Milizaus and Sagman were worth paying attention to in his eyes. As for Austin, he had only heard of his name but never had any contact with him.

Milizaus was the only one who had killed a Beyond Grade A before like him. EsGod had fought with this old dragon many times and knew how strong he was. Therefore, when he saw Milizaus’ wounds, shock flashed through his eyes.

“That wound came from just one attack. The Arcane Church definitely used some kind of special weapon, or he would not have been wounded this heavily so quickly.” EsGod narrowed his eyes and increased his caution of the Arcane Church.

However, at the moment, he was still on the same side as the Arcane Church. He observed the battlefield and could not find Black Star and his army. Confused, he connected with Sagman’s mind and asked, “Black Star isn’t here. Have you guys let him escape?”

Sagman shot out a pale gold impact wave that penetrated Milizaus’ magic defenses and exploded on his back, tearing off a huge portion of his flesh and scales. He then replied with a deep voice, “Black Star has exited the battle and hidden in the Palace of Hidden Spells. No idea what he’s trying to pull.”

“He’s hiding?” EsGod paused and asked, “Has the Evolution Cube been confirmed to be on him?”

“Yes, he took it out and used it earlier.”

“Okay.” EsGod nodded. The next moment, he teleported right above the Palace of Hidden Spells and stepped on the surface of the defense spell. The flow of magic from the spell did not affect him at all.

Austin, who was sitting atop the Palace of Hidden Spells, looked up and saw EsGod. The two of them were separated by thick layers of defense magic arrays.

Austin’s eyes became focused. He opened his arms, and the dozens of magic books around him started flipping their own pages.

Swoosh!

As the pages of those books turned, colorful magic runes appeared from within and quickly landed on the Palace of Hidden Spells. They then teleported into the control core of the Palace of Hidden Spells—this was how the Palace of Hidden Spells was operated.

The next moment, the arrays within a thousand meters under EsGod’s feet suddenly changed color. Magic energy turned violent, and a magic impact wave shot up from below EsGod like a fountain and devoured him.

As Austin looked up to observe the result of this attack, a stranger’s voice appeared behind his ears. The voice was like a thunder in his mind.

“The Magus, Austin. I see, you’re not too bad.”

Out of nowhere, EsGod suddenly stood behind him. Using Energy Reflection, Plasma Body, Dimension Crack, and Teleportation simultaneously, he directly passed through the defense array of the Palace of Hidden Spells, which the six of the Arcane Church Beyond Grade As had failed to penetrate for a long time! EsGod’s strength did not just come from his raw power. What was more horrifying was the variety of Esper abilities he had.

“Sh*t!” Austin was shocked. Although there were also tons of defense measures inside the Palace of Hidden Spells, they were not as strong as the exterior defense array. Now that EsGod had slipped in, he would not be able to stop him from destroying the Palace of Hidden Spells from the inside!

Boom!

Austin’s defense spell was shattered by EsGod with just one kick enhanced by [Strength Esper Ability—Star Toss], and his tiny body was blasted away like a cannon.

The red robe Mages around Austin hastily cast spells, trying to stop EsGod. However, the next moment, their bodies started crumbling and turned to dust one after another.

Seeing the strange way their comrades had died, the Mages further away were all stunned. They backed away in a panic having seen their own body started showing signs of turning into dust too and did not dare get close to EsGod.

EsGod lowered his hand and looked satisfied. The Esper Ability he used indeed came from Ember. It was a god-tier area-of-effect Esper Ability when used on targets weaker than himself.

Then, EsGod activated a sensing Esper Ability and scanned the entire Palace of Hidden Spells in an instant.

To his shock, he did not sense the energy presence of Han Xiao. His senses were blocked by the Spacetime Amber.

This made him frown.

“Where did he go… hmm?”

Austin regained his balance far away. He would not be so easily wounded by EsGod. Remembering his mission of stalling for the time, he instantly struck back and disrupted EsGod.

Bang bang bang!

The two of them fought within the Palace of Hidden Spells, and the aftershock shattered the buildings around them.

Although Austin was no match for EsGod, he could go all out to stall him for some time at the very least. However, the wounds on his body grew rapidly, and he had no time to even control the Palace of Hidden Spells.

Without Austin’s control, the Palace of Hidden Spells’ responses became slow and faced even more intense focus fire. Although the surviving red robe Mages were doing their very best to control it, they had no chance of hanging on against the attacks of so many Beyond Grade As.

Kaching!

The defense array was broken one layer after another and finally reached its limits, shattering into pieces. A huge hole appeared on the defense barrier of the Palace of Hidden Spells and emitted a strong suction force. The space inside the Palace of Hidden Spells was a sealed space, and the air inside was all sucked out.

“Finally!”

Sagman rushed in hastily, worrying that EsGod might snatch the Evolution Cube before him.

At this time, before everyone could observe the situation, a familiar energy impact gushed out from within the Palace of Hidden Spells!

A tower inside the Palace of Hidden Spells suddenly exploded. A man dashed out, and a fist expanded rapidly in EsGod’s sights!

Bang!

The fist crashed into EsGod’s arm. The enormous impact penetrated his body and formed an air cannon behind him, which exploded on the inside of the defense array, stirring up a violent tornado.

This man was indeed Han Xiao. As his fist pressed against EsGod’s arm, their energy clashed time after time.

Feeling the astonishing amount of power from his arms, EsGod’s brows raised slightly.

“Compared to the last time we fought, you’ve become much stronger.”

The last time he fought with Black Star in the Central Galaxy, he had an overwhelming upper hand. However, the energy level that Black Star was now showing made him uncontrollably shocked—Black Star’s improvement was too obvious.

What he did not know was, the last time they fought, Han Xiao had only been level 240 and was just on the doorstep of Beyond Grade A. Now, Han Xiao was level 260 and much stronger. Han Xiao had yet to go through Promotion at this moment.

However, he had completed the Promotion Mission, and he could claim the reward anytime!

“That was close.”

As Han Xiao clashed with EsGod, he felt relieved in his heart. EsGod’s early arrival had caused the situation to worsen tremendously, but luckily, this guy had spent some time observing the situation and then was stalled by Austin with everything he had. Because of all that, he was able to stay out of battle for enough time.

At a close distance with EsGod, Han Xiao had hesitated for a moment and suppressed his impulse to use [EsGod Character Summon Card—Esper Silence].

Although he could carry out his Promotion at any time, the level difference between him and EsGod was still there. The effect of Esper Silence relied on the two sides’ levels, energy, and Luck. If the duration was too short, the damage he could deal to EsGod would be limited.

The six Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church were not scarecrows. Although EsGod and the Arcane Church were both cautious of each other, Sagman and the others would not be so shortsighted as to watch their external helper get heavily wounded. They would protect EsGod even if they were reluctant. In this situation, using this Character Summon Card would only waste it.

Knowing that, Han Xiao once again opened his secondary dimensional army box and released his mechanical army once more.

As Mechanical Force gushed out like lightning to enhance his mechanical army, Han Xiao directly opened the interface while still battling with EsGod.

Promotion!

_____________________

Lv260 Promotion Mission completed!

+45 Endurance Bonus!

1 Endurance = 355 Health = 365 Stamina

_____________________

In an instant, his cells underwent a drastic change. Immense agony exploded in his body and shocked every single one of his nerves.

Every Promotion required time to complete; they were not instant. Luckily, Han Xiao had gotten used to such pain by now. Furthermore, as a Mechanic, most of the time, he relied on his machinery to battle, so he could endure it.

EsGod’s sharp senses noticed Han Xiao’s change, and his pupils constricted.

This guy’s energy is increasing during battle‽

The other Beyond Grade As noticed the strange situation and were equally shocked—they were not strangers to this situation. This was the ascension in life hierarchy!

“This is what this guy meant?”

Austin was stunned. He did not expect Han Xiao to mean the ascension in life hierarchy when he said that he could increase his strength.

Every Beyond Grade As had experienced this type of ascension in life hierarchy multiple times in their lives, but the process was slow and ongoing for them. Some even required decades to complete. However, ascending amid battle and compressing the evolution process of many years into such a short period was something that they had never ever seen in their lives!

“Could this be the reason Black Star broke the record of becoming a Beyond Grade A in the shortest time? Is this his special talent?”

They were bewildered and made their guesses.

As a notification popped up, Han Xiao quickly selected the options of Race Evolution and added some talents into the Black Star Race traits.

He was only able to hastily scan through the new talents and abilities during battle. He was already distracted by the pain and had no room to be distracted even more. He barely maintained his focus and continued to fight.

As the strength of Han Xiao’s mechanical army increased visibly, the pressure he felt was reduced. He felt a little less worried.

Han Xiao was not hoping to turn the situation entirely around with just this Promotion, as they were fighting four against seven, including EsGod, who made the situation much worse.

He wanted to do the Promotion to increase the combined strength on their side so that they could stall for as long as possible. With such a wide strength difference, if the enemy did not show any flaws, there was absolutely no way to kill any one of the enemies head-on.

Han Xiao knew this very well and would not lose his cool due to his sudden surge of strength. Arrogance did not exist in his books.

In such a dangerous situation, there was no room to mess around.

Austin’s Palace of Hidden Spells was heavily damaged, and Milizaus was not in a good state either. When Han Xiao returned to the battlefield, he had no choice but to take on the task of being the tank and guard against attacks for his teammates.

The Promotion made him visibly stronger. Together with the Aurora Character Summon Card that he had saved for many years, Han Xiao was able to take on about half of all the enemy attacks.

Although the situation was passive, they could hang on for the time being.

…

Compared to the main battlefield, the battlefield between the Beyond Grade As was tiny. While they were fighting, the situation on the main battlefield changed as well. Planet Lighthouse’s exterior fleets returned one after another, and the situation became stable.

However, with the entrance of the Fallen Ark fleet, Tarrokov’s fleet was surrounded, and they were in a passive situation again.

The garrison of Planet Lighthouse were being slowly chipped away bit by bit. With a grave expression, Tarrokov never took off his eyes from the 3D mini-map of the battlefield. He quickly gave out orders one after another, doing everything he could to slow down the rate of his troops’ death.

He took a moment and glanced at the situation of the Beyond Grade A battle. That made him somewhat relieved. Luckily, Black Star and the others were holding their own against the enemy Beyond Grade As, otherwise things would have been tremendously worse.

Despite the fact that the battle between the Beyond Grade As were the enemies’ focus and had the highest possibility of suffering an overwhelming loss, they somehow barely held on. Although Tarrokov was not a Beyond Grade A, he could imagine how much pressure Black Star and the others were under.

Tarrokov clenched his teeth and yelled, “Where are the reinforcements? When will they arrive at the stargate entrance?”

The deputy hastily looked at the messages, covered in sweat. He suddenly yelled, “Chief commander, the reinforcements sent by the two closest strongholds have already arrived at the stargate entrance. The border stronghold reinforcements of the Garu, Renault, and Crown Star Clusters have already gathered a total force of more than three million battleships. Also, Their Excellencies Maximiler, Heber, and Ravenlaude are almost in position!”

The reinforcements were finally arriving!

Tarrokov’s eyes became bright. “Engineering team, assemble the stargate immediately! Reactivate the tunnel and let the reinforcements in!”

The dynasty’s fleet changed formation immediately, using the fleet as the line of defense to assemble the portable stargate in the middle of the formation.

The commander of the Arcane Church saw this and was not happy. The resistance the dynasty’s fleet had shown was much stronger than expected. Under the command of Tarrokov, an experienced commander, the defense army of Planet Lighthouse had fought extremely hard and rebounded time after time. Many times, the Arcane Church thought the dynasty’s fleet was about to collapse, yet they still hung on.

The situation was the same on the Beyond Grade A battlefield; the four Dynasty Beyond Grade As were too tenacious.

He immediately contacted Sagman. “We can’t let the dynasty’s fleet assemble the stargate. You guys restrain the enemy Beyond Grade As and send one or two of you to cut into the dynasty’s formation and destroy their stargate!”

Sagman looked at Black Star, who was very much alive even after receiving a ton of attacks. Unwilling, he clenched his teeth and made the decision.

“Mercer, you and Dylan go to destroy the dynasty’s stargate. The rest of us will stay here to restrain the four of them!”

The two Mages had to deal with the Palace of Hidden Spells and could not be separated. Psyker had to sense the Evolution Cube and had to be here. Sagman had to stay there to restrain Milizaus and EsGod. Therefore, he could only send Mercer and Dylan.

Sagman had originally wanted to quickly eliminate the three of them, but Austin had suddenly appeared, and even the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter had been sealed. At this moment, he no longer had the confidence to quickly defeat the opponents.

Since the battle would not be ending soon, destroying the dynasty’s stargate became a more important mission.

Mercer and Dylan nodded and immediately left the battlefield to head to the dynasty’s fleet.

With two opponents leaving, Han Xiao and the others faced much less pressure. However, they were not relieved at all. Only the reinforcements would be able to turn the situation around. They could not let the enemies destroy the stargate no matter what.

“This is the key to winning…”

This thought appeared on everyone’s mind.

Han Xiao’s energy clashed with EsGod another time. His mechanical suit shattered, and he instantly donned his seventh backup mechanical suit. He then turned to look at Mercer and Dylan, who were getting further away. A sharp glint flashed through his eyes.

“Someone finally split off!”

Chapter 851 - New Talent!

The fleets were the absolute main forces of the civilizations. The efficiency of a Beyond Grade A could not compare with millions of official military battleships. However, individual power and collective power were different concepts. The individuals with great power possessed irreplaceable special effects on the battlefield.

Compared to whole fleets, Beyond Grade As were smaller and more mobile. They could both fight fleets head-on and easily penetrate the defenses of the fleets to achieve their goal, such as eliminating the enemy’s leader.

During battle, Han Xiao had already analyzed how the situation would play out. As long as the dynasty could hang on to the stage where they had to build stargates, the Arcane Church would undoubtedly attack the stargate.

At that time, the six enemy Beyond Grade As would very likely change their strategy from aggressively attacking to holding the four of them back while sending a few to attack the stargate.

This was the exact opportunity he was waiting for!

After fighting for so long, the agony of Promotion had gradually diminished, and Han Xiao had gotten used to the changes in his body.

He was given five Race Evolution options to choose two from and then one Racial Talent each from these two races from all their talents to add into the talents of the Black Star Race.

Compared to the previous Race Evolutions, the Race Evolution at the Beyond Grade A level was less random and gave more choices.

The two races Han Xiao chose this time were [Void Saint] and [Void Juggler].

Other than giving him the forty-five Endurance bonus, these also gave him bonus attributes of 266 Strength, 310 Dexterity, 454 Endurance, 537 Intelligence, 372 Mystery, 177 Charm, and 1,600 Energy!

With the Grade S Bonus, [Advanced Strengthened Life], [Eternal Body], and [Extraordinary Physique], Han Xiao’s health was now more than three million!

Other than the help of his teammates, the ten-percent bonus to all attributes given by [Advanced Strengthened Life] was an important factor that allowed him to hold on under the violent attacks of the enemies.

Things were the most dangerous at the start, and he had to use the Aurora Character Summon Card two times to get through it. When his attributes stacked higher, only then was he able to hang on.

His main class turned from [Emperor Mechanic] to [Lord Mechanic], and his Machinery Affinity increased once again. With the bonus of the [Perfect Mechanical Sense] Character Summon Card, the strength of his mechanical army increased visibly.

From the various talents of the two new races, Han Xiao chose two talents that would provide the most help to the current situation. From the way he looked at it, if he could snatch the opportunity, these two abilities were more than enough to turn the tables… And that opportunity was the moment when the enemy Beyond Grade As split up.

Dylan and Mercer penetrated the dynasty fleet’s formation like a drill and headed right to the stargates that were being built, while Sagman and the other three stayed to restrain Han Xiao and the others.

Milizaus could only watch the enemies split up. He tried to back up the dynasty fleet but was stopped by Sagman and the others.

Only Han Xiao was able to send a part of his mechanical army to chase after Dylan and Mercer.

The quantity of the mechanical army was too high; even Sagman and the others were not able to stop all of them. However, they were not too worried as two Beyond Grade As would definitely be able to deal with that.

Seeing Dylan and Mercer heading his way, Tarrokov immediately adjusted the fleet’s formation to continuously block the path of the two of them.

Although this was able to slow the two of them down, it was not able to prevent the fact that the distance between the two of them and the stargates was slowly decreasing.

“Black Star, this won’t last. Austin and my magic energy is still decreasing. We won’t be able to last forever. We can’t let the Arcane Church stop our reinforcements.” Milizaus was anxious.

“The enemies have the numerical advantage and are forcing us to be on the defensive side,” Han Xiao said with a deep voice. “The only way to reduce the pressure we’re facing to the largest extent is to make them lose one Beyond Grade A.”

“They have been maintaining their cooperation; we have no chance.”

“No, I have a way to deal with those two who have split up from the rest. Maybe it’s worth the risk.” Han Xiao’s tone was serious. “However, EsGod is only chasing after me alone. His ability can stop my plan.”

“What’s the success rate?”

“If EsGod interferes, maybe there’s only a twenty-percent chance of succeeding. However, if I’m willing to give it all, there’s more than seventy-percent chance to succeed!”

“What do you mean?”

“EsGod’s goal is evolution, and his alliance with the Arcane Church is definitely based on that. I know what he wants, and if I give that to him…”

“Got it. Do that then. This isn’t the time to hesitate. It’s better than dying a slow death.” Milizaus expressed his approval.

“Okay!”

Han Xiao clenched his teeth and made up his mind. He glanced at EsGod and suddenly opened his arms, using one of his new talents.

“Void Prison!”

All four Mages present noticed the large amount of Void Energy released from Han Xiao’s body that quickly filled the battlefield everyone was in.

The next moment, everyone felt that this part of cosmic space became viscous, and their movements became slower.

After sensing around, the four Mages all discovered that this was not just an ability that reduced their speed. The Void Dimension had descended on this part of the cosmic space and temporarily changed the space attribute of this area, forming a strange territory that slowed everyone down.

“He changed this space with the power of the Void Dimension?” Ninjia frowned and tried to get rid of Void Prison, only to realize that his magic energy flowed slower, too.

This type of ability was not rare, but the difficulty of getting rid of it differed based on the ability’s properties. The [Void Prison] talent from [Void Saint] formed a special territory using the power of the Void Dimension, which could last quite some time.

Beyond Grade A Mages could break this territory, but it was very troublesome. Even if Ninjia and Taylor worked together, they would need some time.

This ability even affected Milizaus and the others, as well as the mechanical army. There were only two people that could move freely—Han Xiao, who was very comfortable in this territory due to his Void talents, and EsGod, who had the Dimension Crack Esper Ability.

With another teleportation, EsGod appeared right behind Han Xiao with a mocking smile. His strength Esper Ability enhanced fist headed for Han Xiao’s back.

“This isn’t our first fight. You didn’t think that this kind of ability would work on me, did you?”

“Is that so? Then what about this?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

EsGod’s fist was closing in on his back, but Han Xiao did not even look behind. Instead, he looked at the fleet battlefield faraway and focused on Mercer.

EsGod noticed a subtle space ripple on Han Xiao’s body. The next moment, with a flash, Han Xiao switched places with Mercer.

Before Mercer could react to how he suddenly appeared there, he was blown away by EsGod’s punch.

After being stunned for a second, EsGod immediately realized what had happened. He quickly looked at the fleet battlefield faraway. Mercer, who had previously been there, had been switched for Han Xiao—the location of the two of them had swapped instantly.

[Void Swap], a talent from [Void Juggler], used fifteen percent of his health and energy. It would forcefully swap his location with the target and had a 320-second cooldown.

[Void Prison] and [Void Swap] were two abilities Han Xiao deliberately selected to create this situation.

“Space swapping type ability…” EsGod was a little surprised. It was not that he had never seen an ability like this. In fact, he even had one. However, his Esper Ability could only swap him with objects and not someone who had the same Grade as him. It was not even as good as his teleportation.

Sagman and the others were shocked too—when did Black Star obtain this ability? There was no information about this anywhere!

They looked far away, and their expression changed slightly. The fact that Mercer had been swapped over meant that Dylan was now alone against Han Xiao!

The two of them were deep into the dynasty fleet’s formation and were very far from the others. With the restriction of the Void Prison, they could not assist Dylan immediately.

“Black Star has been hiding this ability all along.” Ninjia was shocked.

“We have to quickly break this ability and send people to assist Dylan,” Sagman said with a deep voice.

If Dylan was held back, the dynasty would be able to successfully assemble the stargates—in their eyes, this was Han Xiao’s goal.

However, none of them had guessed that Han Xiao’s true shocking goal was to reduce the Arcane Church’s numbers.

In their eyes, Black Star did not have the ability to defeat Dylan in a short time. Therefore, not a single one of them thought that Han Xiao had done this to defeat Dylan. Even if they did know Han Xiao’s goal, they would not think that Han Xiao would be able to do it. After all, Dylan was a Beyond Grade A who excelled at defense and control; he would not be defeated so easily.

…

Han Xiao’s vision flashed as he swapped with Mercer and appeared not far from Dylan.

Although Dylan was surprised by Han Xiao’s sudden appearance, he did not panic. In his eyes, Black Star would not be able to do much to him alone.

However, Dylan had no idea how terrifying Han Xiao was if he did not hold back.

“This is the only opportunity!” Han Xiao’s eyes focused. Without the interference of other enemies, only now did he have an opportunity to go all out.

The next moment, Han Xiao aimed his hand at Dylan, who was covered in his water barrier, and activated his Ames Character Summon Card.

A powerful force field appeared and shattered the water barrier. To Dylan’s shock, he realized that he was restrained by the force field.

Ames Character Summon Card—Gaze of the Dragon!

Han Xiao had used Ames’ Character Summon Card once when he was at the Calamity Grade. He had obtained a new Blank Character Summon Card later and used it on Ames again. He had never met a situation where he needed to use it, until now.

This powerful control ability could not restrain someone at the same Grade as him for too long; Dylan could escape anytime.

Han Xiao was just about to continue his plan when EsGod arrived using teleportation again.

His Dimension Crack and Teleportation ignored the Void Prison. He was the only one who could break Han Xiao’s plan. However, he did not come to protect Dylan; Han Xiao’s Evolution Cube was the only thing that mattered.

“This guy…” Han Xiao expected this from EsGod. Having made up his mind, he activated the Evolution Cube and instantly shot out a beam of Evolution Energy at EsGod.

“Hmm‽” EsGod’s expression changed as he stopped midair.

However, his response was completely different from Sagman’s and the others.

Not only did EsGod not dodge it, he instead deliberately headed right toward the beam of Evolution Energy. The black Evolution Energy flowed into his body, and a black cocoon started growing on his skin.

The terms of him working with the Arcane Church were to help the Arcane Church obtain the Evolution Cube in exchange for one chance to use the Evolution Cube. Now, however, Han Xiao had directly sent him the Evolution Energy that he had been dreaming of. He immediately stopped bothering about everything else and directly took it in.

This was Han Xiao’s plan.

Isn’t this Evolution Energy the reason you’re targeting me? I’ll give it to you then. Will you continue to fight me or achieve your goal first?

EsGod was controlled by Han Xiao with this immediately and did not continue to stop Han Xiao.

While Dylan was still controlled by the Ames Character Summon Card, Han Xiao instantly arrived right in front of him using Void Hyperdrive. He threw a Luck Curse, grabbed onto Dylan’s shoulder, and activated the EsGod Character Summon Card!

Esper Silence!

This time, the force field had just disappeared. Dylan was just about to push Han Xiao away using his Esper Ability, but to his absolute shock, he realized that he could not sense the existence of his Esper Ability anymore. His expression changed drastically.

“You…”

Han Xiao activated all his explosive abilities including [Gene Liberation] immediately and yelled in the quantum network, “Fire!”

The next moment, the mechanical army around them fired right at the two of them, and beams of psionic attacks landed on their bodies.

Dylan was an Esper. Without his Esper Ability, he was nothing but a target that could not resist.

Furthermore, he was not immune to True Damage!

The blue cluster of light expanded and exploded!

As the light dissipated, Dylan became covered in blood and on his last breath. Nanoparticle tentacles extended from the mechanical soldiers around, forming a few enormous chains that locked onto Dylan’s arms and legs, controlling his body tightly.

All kinds of mechanical traps circled around Dylan and restricted his movements, while the barrels of all the mechanical soldiers aimed at him and were ready to fire anytime.

Han Xiao was right behind Dylan. His arms locked around Dylan’s neck tightly, and his eyes were coldly staring in the direction of Sagman. It was clear that he was threatening them with Dylan’s life!

Sagman and the others’ expressions changed dramatically!

This was beyond all their expectations!

Dylan had been captured by Black Star so quickly!

How could Black Star possibly have such combat capability‽

“Im—Impossible!” Psyker’s eyes widened with disbelief.

Sagman was shocked. Only now did he understand that Black Star’s goal was not to stall Dylan but to eliminate him to reduce their numbers!

This time, the two Mages of the Arcane Church finally broke the Void Prison. Be it friend or foe, everyone looked at Han Xiao with shock.

How did he capture a Beyond Grade A in such a short time‽

Sagman and the others did not dare continue attacking Milizaus and the others; they were afraid that Han Xiao would kill Dylan instantly.

Milizaus and the other two were also shocked and did not move.

“Sh*t…” Sagman was troubled. Dylan was clearly heavily injured, and his life was in Black Star’s hands. If they continued fighting, not mentioning whether they would still be able to complete the mission after losing one Beyond Grade A, Dylan would definitely die.

Dylan was a Beyond Grade A, not someone they could just give up.

Afraid of the repercussions of their actions, both sides stopped fighting, and the situation seemed to have come to a stalemate.

Sagman clenched his teeth. He secretly gave Ninjia a look. Ninjia understood his meaning and sent a psychic message to EsGod.

“EsGod, continue moving and destroy the dynasty’s stargate!”

It was not that Sagman did not want to save Dylan, but Dylan had already been captured, and if they wanted to break this stalemate and have a chance at completing the mission, the only way was to let go of Dylan.

However, he did not want to express his decision of giving up his teammate, so it was best to let EsGod do the work. EsGod did not belong to the Arcane Church. If Black Star killed Dylan because of that, they would have nothing to do with it. This was the only solution.

However, EsGod ignored him completely and left the battlefield via teleportation, returning to the main ship of the Fallen Ark fleet where Fakisen was waiting.

Hearing movement, Fakisen turned around but was shocked by EsGod’s appearance. Black lines were swimming on EsGod’s body like snakes under his skin. It was somewhat horrifying.

“Your Excellency EsGod, are you injured‽”

“Injured? No, no… I feel amazing!”

EsGod forced out a smile. He had temporarily suppressed the Evolution Energy in his body, which was why he did not turn into a cocoon on the spot.

“Send my order, retreat immediately!”

“Ah? Are we not continuing the battle?” Fakisen wondered.

“The goal is achieved. Let the Arcane Church restrain the dynasty’s fleet. We’ll retreat!”

Having received the Evolution Energy, EsGod had already achieved his goal. There was no longer a need for him to continue working together with the Arcane Church.

Right now, he could not wait to find a peaceful place to complete his evolution and did not care about helping the Arcane Church at all.

EsGod knew that this was Han Xiao’s plot, but he did not mind falling for it if he could achieve his goal.

His combat capability would be affected while suppressing the Evolution Energy. To him, completing the evolution was much more important than dealing with Black Star.

As for trustworthiness… when did he have that?

The Fallen Ark fleet stopped firing immediately. Now matter how much the Arcane Church commander roared, their retreat out of the battlefield could not be prevented.

Seeing this, Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.

EsGod’s reputation did not disappoint him.

Han Xiao had no choice but to satisfy EsGod’s need. EsGod was the strongest of everyone present. As long as he was there, Han Xiao would always be at a disadvantage. EsGod’s teleportation was too great a threat to the stargates; he had to find a way to make him retreat from the battlefield.

“Get through this danger first, find a way to deal with EsGod later… He participated in this attack and worked with the Arcane Church. The dynasty won’t let him get away with it easily.” Han Xiao did not dwell on it.

On the other side, EsGod’s retreat shocked the people of the Arcane Church.

“EsGod!” Sagman was furious.

In such a short period, the upper hand that they had firmly held disappeared completely. One of them was captured, and another fled. The seven Beyond Grade As that they originally had become five in the blink of an eye!

And the root of all of this was Han Xiao!

Sagman gritted his teeth so hard to the point his teeth almost cracked.

Chapter 852 - Forced Retrea

As the Fallen Ark fleet stopped firing, their millions of spaceships turned into streams of light and left Planet Lighthouse, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye. It was clear that they were familiar with betraying their teammates and were experts at it.

As the EsGod’s fleet departed, the situation of the battle changed instantly.

Without the powerful exterior help, the number of battleships on the Arcane Church’s side reduced by almost half. By this point, the Planet Lighthouse army had already recalled all its fleet. The number of battleships on both sides was even; the Arcane Church could no longer obtain the upper hand.

“Damn it…” Sagman looked at this with clenched teeth, but his heart was filled with helplessness. He was not in the mood to even blame EsGod for breaking their alliance.

He knew that although they were working together, the Arcane Church upper echelons did not have much hope in EsGod. It was indeed because these upper echelons were confident about EsGod’s negative reputation that they gathered six Beyond Grade As to attack with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. They planned to be done with the battle before EsGod arrived all along.

In fact, according to the Arcane Church’s calculations, the success rate of this operation was indeed exceptionally high. It was a battle of six versus three to begin with, and if they had rendered Milizaus incapable of fighting with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, the plan would have already been eighty percent complete. It was not impossible to capture three Beyond Grade As of the dynasty at that point.

However, what they did not expect was Austin’s appearance, which turned the six against three situation into six versus four.

Although it was just one more person, it greatly reduced the strength advantage of the six Arcane Church Beyond Grade As.

More importantly, the powerful destructive weapon, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, was countered by Black Star using a strange method and was even sealed!

If not for that, we would have already captured Black Star, obtained the Evolution Cube, and retreated with the fleet by now… This thought flashed through the minds of Sagman and the four others, making them frustrated.

Observing the disadvantageous situation, Sagman could only feel a strong headache.

If it was just EsGod retreating, the six of them would actually still have had a chance at completing the mission.

After fighting for so long, Milizaus was heavily injured, Austin’s Palace of Hidden Spells was damaged, and Beyoni was not in a good state. Black Star was the only one still hanging on strong… but his mechanical army had also suffered enormous damage.

Comparatively, the six of them were in good states. If they continued to fight, they would still have a high chance at winning.

However, now that Dylan had been captured by Black Star, Sagman’s plan completely went to waste.

In this battle, Black Star had once again showcased new abilities that no one knew of. Sagman had no choice but to admit that he did indeed fear Black Star for the fact that he did not know what other trump cards this guy was hiding.

Ninjia frowned and asked in the psychic communication network, “What now?”

Sagman looked at the enormous battlefield and saw that the Arcane Church’s fleet was now at a stalemate with the enemies, not able to prevent the dynasty fleet from assembling their stargates.

“Inform the commander, we’re retreating!” He squeezed out the words from between his tightly clenched teeth.

“You’re giving up Dylan?” Psyker’s eyes looked hostile.

“Sagman is right.” Ninjia nodded. “Dylan has been captured, and EsGod has retreated. It’s now five against four, and they have a hostage. The plan of quick attack has failed. There are only two paths ahead of us—continue fighting or retreat.

“They’re not in a good state. We will no doubt win if we continue to fight. However, time is a problem. Having lost two combatants, we won’t be able to settle the battle quickly. Don’t forget, the Flickering World is the dynasty’s territory. We have no base here, and the secret stargate is our only way of retreating. The longer we fight, the higher the risk.”

“Also, EsGod wants to use us to secure his retreat,” Taylor added. “We can’t let him have his way.”

“Dylan…”

“The risk of saving him is too high and will very likely make Black Star kill him. We have no choice but to leave him behind. That way, at least he can stay alive. The only way is to have the Arcane Church negotiate with the Crimson Dynasty afterward.” Ninjia shook his head. Even if the dynasty was willing to exchange the hostage, the Arcane Church would definitely bleed for it. Furthermore, the dynasty might not even be willing to.

Psyker was in an extremely bad mood. His good friend was in Black Star’s hands. God only knew what the dynasty would do to him, but there was nothing he could do.

“While the dynasty is still building the stargate, we’re retreating.” Sagman paused before saying with resignation, “Inform the upper echelons that this plan… has failed.”

Everyone’s mood was down after hearing this.

Six versus four, yet one of them was captured. This was beyond embarrassing!

They had failed an almost infallible mission, and the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was sealed. How would the Arcane Church upper echelons see them?

Almost every step that led to the tables turning had been caused by Han Xiao.

Although they did not want to admit it, they knew that they were forced to retreat by Black Star!

Psyker exchanged looks with the heavily injured Dylan faraway. His eyes were filled with apology.

Seeing Psyker’s eyes, Dylan knew that he had been abandoned. He felt a sting in his heart; it did not feel good to be abandoned. Thinking of how he would be treated as a captive, his heart kept sinking.

The effect of Esper Silence had already worn off, and Dylan’s Esper Ability had recovered. However, a round of attacks including True Damage had all landed on him earlier. Without the defense barrier from his Esper Ability, he had been critically injured. If not because Han Xiao wanted to capture him alive, he felt that he would have been killed directly. Fear still lingered in his heart.

At this time, Han Xiao was right behind him. Han Xiao’s arms that were wrapped around his neck had explosive power. Dylan was no Pugilist. Although his body was much stronger than Calamity Grades, it was nothing worth noting at the Beyond Grade A level. With all kinds of mechanical traps, Dylan could not escape at all. Resisting was playing with his own life.

Sagman and the other four retreated to the Arcane Church’s fleet and entered the spaceships. The Arcane Church fleet then started to retreat orderly.

Relying on superior mobility, the Arcane Church’s fleet gradually distanced themselves from the dynasty’s fleet.

Milizaus and the other two came to Black Star. Beyoni had a feeling that he had just evaded death.

“Luckily, you captured one of the enemy Beyond Grade As, or they would not have retreated this easily… This guy is the Arcane Church’s ‘Sea Spirit’ Dylan. He’s not weak. What did you do to capture him so quickly?”

Han Xiao gave Beyoni a strange look. “Trust me. You’re no stranger to this ability.”

Back when they fought EsGod alongside each other, Beyoni had been hit with the authentic ‘Esper Silence’ and still remembered that feeling vividly. Only, he did not know that Han Xiao was talking about that.

Esper Silence was the nemesis of Espers. There were probably not many Espers in the entire universe who could beat EsGod one on one. Han Xiao’s EsGod Character Summon Card had two usages.

He had used one on Dylan, and he planned to use the next one on EsGod.

Before the start of the battle, he obtained two Blank Character Summon Cards from the Random Reward. However, he did not use them on EsGod. After all, EsGod had way too many Esper Abilities; the chance of getting Esper Silence again was too slim, and the other random abilities were not too useful to him. He needed to use them to obtain Reynold’s Perfect Mechanical Sense.

On the other side, Milizaus watched as Sagman and the others retreated. He then asked with a deep voice, “They’re fleeing—should we chase?”

“Don’t count me in on the chase,” Austin said calmly. “Black Star, I’ve returned the favor. You now owe me a big favor.”

“Got it.” Honestly, if not because Austin maintained his moral principles and kept his promise, someone on the dynasty’s side would definitely have died.

Austin nodded with satisfaction. He then turned to look at his Forbidden Sorcerers, who had suffered heavy casualties, and felt a heartache. These were all his elites and were very tiring to train.

As for the heavily damaged Palace of Hidden Spells, Austin did not care at all. He just had to spend some time to repair it, and the material fees for that were nothing to him. To a Mage at his level, earning money was as easy as breathing.

Austin was not a dynasty ally, so Milizaus could not ask him to do anything. He then looked at Beyoni and asked, “What about you?”

“Don’t come to me again for something this risky.” Beyoni rejected him on the spot.

After finally surviving this lethal threat, he was not planning to throw himself into danger again. He much preferred to stay there and wait for reinforcements.

“You really are a wimp.” Milizaus despised him.

“I’m the most vulnerable, and I’m afraid of dying, okay?” Beyoni snorted before turning to look at Han Xiao. “Are you chasing?”

“What do you think?” Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. Neither you nor Austin are not going, so why the hell would I go? Do you think I’m tired of living?

“Since you’re all not going…” Milizaus’ tone suddenly changed as if he was relieved. “I feel much better.”

The other three looked at him simultaneously.

“What, see this hole in my chest? I’m the most heavily injured. Are you guys going to force me to chase them and take more beatings? Show some care for an elderly dragon, will you?”

Han Xiao was speechless.

You’re not going yourself, so why the hell did you even ask the others?

However, it was true that other than him, the other three were not in good states. The risk of chasing was too high; no one could blame them for not wanting to.

This time, Tarrokov contacted them, and his tone was surprised.

“Black Star, you’ve captured an Arcane Church Beyond Grade A?”

“As you can see.” Han Xiao turned to look in the direction of the main fleet and casually grabbed Dylan’s head. It was wet, slippery, and quite smooth.

“Great! You’ve made the Arcane Church pay the price! This way, we will have chips to negotiate with!” Tarrokov’s tone was excited for a moment. He then paused and became serious again. “The Arcane Church is retreating. I’ll send out troops to track them. You guys stay here on standby. Do not chase after the enemies on your own accord.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t even if you beg us to.” Han Xiao sighed.

“That’s for the best.” Tarrokov nodded.

The Arcane Church’s surprise attack was resolved. Not only did they not lose any high-level combatants on their side, but Black Star even captured an enemy Beyond Grade A.

Tarrokov did not want them to chase. The stargates were being built near Planet Lighthouse and could not be built while moving. If the Arcane Church suddenly attacked back after they left Planet Lighthouse, the upper hand that Black Star had fought so hard to obtain might be lost.

Tarrokov was not in a hurry to chase the Arcane Church and maximize the results. As an experienced commander, he preferred to take one step at a time.

Therefore, he only sent out troops to track the Arcane Church and lock down their escape route. Black Star and the others would wait at Planet Lighthouse for the reinforcements. This was the safest strategy and would not give the enemies any chances.

The Arcane Church’s fleet left the battlefield and turned into streams of light, disappearing from their sights.

Tarrokov sent out a small team to track them, leaving the rest to guard the engineering team as they assembled the stargates.

The enemies had retreated, and the battle had finally ended. Han Xiao and the others were all relieved. They flew toward their own battleships and counted their losses.

At the same time, Tarrokov contacted the dynasty’s upper echelons to report the situation there.

…

After the news of Planet Lighthouse being attacked by the Arcane Church reached the dynasty’s mother planet, it caused a storm among the military’s upper echelons.

Urranrell immediately summoned all the military heads in the conference room; those not present attended the meeting via remote projections.

The first battlefield status Tarrokov sent back showed that they were facing the attacks of seven Beyond Grade As, the Arcane Church, and the Fallen Ark. The difference in strength was too large, and the situation was dire.

The military upper echelons in the room had already analyzed the situation. Most people, including Urranrell, were sure that Planet Lighthouse had no hope and would most likely be wiped out by the Arcane Church. The three dynasty Beyond Grade As would end up either dead or captured alive by the enemies.

Currently, they were discussing how the dynasty would respond to this matter.

“Her Excellency is right. The Arcane Church and the Federation of Light attacked our troops together and killed three of our Beyond Grade As and Marshal Tarrokov. We have to take revenge.”

Many military upper echelons expressed their approval. Tarrokov was very reputable among the military and would likely be killed this time. Flames of revenge lit up in the hearts of many of his old comrades.

Urranrell nodded expressionlessly as well.

The moment Urranrell received this news, she had already decided to enact revenge on the Arcane Church.

The dignity of the dynasty had been challenged, and they had suffered a heavy loss. They absolutely could not let this go, or the dynasty’s dignity would be shattered, and their allies would lose all trust.

Most of the dynasty’s military personnel were direct; the majority of them agreed with taking revenge.

However, even in such a powerful civilization like the dynasty, there were still different opinions. A small part of the people present objected to overly violent revenge. They were not against taking revenge, but they felt that the dynasty’s military power was restrained by the Flickering World, and their counterattack should not be too violent. If they really triggered a universal war, the dynasty’s situation would only worsen.

Just when they were discussing intensely, a new remote projection appeared in the conference room. It was Tarrokov.

The military upper echelons present all shut up immediately and looked at him.

“Your Excellency, we have successfully guarded Planet Lighthouse. We have forced the Arcane Church and the Fallen Ark to retreat. The battle has ended. The casualties and damages are still being calculated. Milizaus, Beyoni, and Black Star are safe.” Tarrokov nodded at the people present.

All the upper echelons present were shocked.

“You forced all the enemies to retreat?” Urranrell raised her brows, and a slight tint of surprise flashed passed her eyes. “Tell me the details.”

Tarrokov nodded and simply explained the battle without exaggerating anything.

While listening, everyone’s expression changed multiple times. They all noticed how much Black Star had contributed in this battle—secretly calling for Austin’s help, stopping the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, capturing Dylan… Almost every step of the Arcane Church’s plan was countered by Black Star.

It could be said that if Black Star did not do the things he did, the three Beyond Grade As of the dynasty would probably not have survived, and the enemies would have succeeded.

The dynasty’s upper echelons exchanged glances.

Han Xiao could even turn the tables in such a hopeless situation. This new ally… seemed a little too strong.

Urranrell narrowed her eyes. This battle had been caused by Black Star, which she had not originally been happy about. It was clearly not worth losing two Beyond Grade As for Black Star.

However, Black Star’s results left her with nothing to say. He had even captured one of the enemy Beyond Grade As and given chips to the dynasty.

This battle result was flawless and wiped away the unhappiness she had. She could not help but praise Han Xiao in her mind.

However, Urranrell would not express that on her face. She slowly nodded without changing her expression.

“Send my orders. Have all the fleets in the Flickering World chase after the enemies. Also, move the troops in the Shattered Star Ring to attack the stargate stronghold of the Arcane Church in the Shattered Star Ring when needed. Try to eliminate them before they return to the Central Galaxy.”

Urranrell paused. “Also, tell Black Star to talk with me directly later.”

At the same time, the Arcane Church upper echelons also received a report from their fleet…

Chapter 853 - Repor

A few minutes earlier, on Silver Arm, the Arcane Church’s mother planet…

The Bishops once again gathered in the hall, sitting in their respective seats and resting with their eyes closed.

The Arcane Church’s religion and authority were united; their faith and politics were inseparable. The Bishops controlled enormous power. The robe of every Bishop was luxurious, and their styles differed drastically in color and pattern, which represented the faction each of these Bishops oversaw.

The influence of this operation was enormous, so the Bishops were directly in charge.

Quite some time had passed since they sent the fleet over with the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device. The Arcane Church did not have a quantum communication network in the Flickering World, so messages could only be sent back through special methods. Therefore, the Bishops were still waiting for the good news from Sagman and the others.

One Bishop looked at the time and nodded. “They should have already succeeded.”

“The time fits, but why haven’t we received any messages?” another Bishop wondered.

“Maybe they’re counting the gains.”

With someone starting the topic, they discussed softly. They were patient and did not think any accident would happen to this operation.

In their perspective, the forces on their side had an overwhelming upper hand. There was really no reason to fail.

The door of the room suddenly opened.

The ceiling of the round table conference hall was very high, and the door was also ten meters tall. It was pure white and did not look like it was made of metal but of white jade. There was no groove marking the door; it was perfectly smooth like a wall when closed. At this time, this white gate started to turn into a bubble from the middle and shrunk to the sides, like boiling liquid, but did not open completely and only showed a two-meter-wide gap. A person walked into the room, and the gap closed behind him.

The Bishops stopped talking and all stood up and greeted with their heads lowered with respect.

“Your Excellency, Pope.”

This was the highest leader of the Arcane Church, the Pope.

The Pope grunted a greeting and walked up to the main seat. The seat was a hovering white sphere. As he sat down, part of this sphere was pushed down like it was soft and adjusted to his body shape, forming the most suitable seat according to his body structure.

Only then did the Bishops sit down. Seeing that the Pope had only come to wait for the news and did not plan on speaking, they did not continue discussing.

After waiting for a while, the remote projection of the fleet’s commander suddenly appeared in the middle of the round table—he had finally come to report.

The fleet commander did a military greeting and said with a stiff face, “Your Excellency, respected Bishops… the battle has ended. We’re now retreating.”

“Hmm, bring the Evolution Cube back quickly. We will send out troops to assist you,” a rather impatient Bishop said directly.

The fleet commander opened his mouth and had an awkward expression like he did not know what to say.

Seeing this, everyone was puzzled. The commander whom they had sent this time was an elite. Why was he acting this way?

“Is there an issue?” someone asked.

“…Yes. We could not complete the mission. This operation has failed,” the fleet commander replied with a stiff tone.

The upper echelons used so many resources and gave them so many advantages. However, even with all that, they could not complete a single mission they were given. Not only that, they even lost a Beyond Grade A. The commander felt truly ashamed, and he knew that his future would likely end there.

“Failed‽” The Bishops were stunned and furious. Having used so many resources, how could he fail with such a large advantage‽

“Go through the details. How exactly did you fail? We gave you two missions—obtain the Evolution Cube and kill Milizaus and the dynasty’s Beyond Grade As. Don’t tell me you did not complete any of them.”

“…Yes. We could not defeat Black Star and the others, did not snatch the Evolution Cube, and did not kill or capture any of the Dynasty Beyond Grade As…”

The Bishops’ faces were twitched.

Did not snatch the Evolution Cube? Fine, after all, Black Star stopped Psyker’s psychic senses, so it was not impossible to fail. But you must’ve killed at least one Beyond Grade A, right? How could you not even achieve this basic goal? Do you think that we worked with the Federation of Light and paid a huge price to borrow the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device just to send you lot there for a tour‽

A Bishop could not help but asked, “You guys even took the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter this time, so how could you have not even killed a Beyond Grade A? Did Sagman and the others not use it?”

“No, they did…”

“Then what happened?”

“It’s Black Star. Sagman and the others used the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to heavily injure Milizaus, but Black Star used an unknown method to block the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter’s attack directly!”

The Bishops frowned. The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was not impossible to block; it was just that most of the methods would be useless. They had read about Black Star before and knew Black Star’s abilities. He did not seem to possess means to block the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter’s attacks. Furthermore, this was the first time that they had used the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter on him, so Black Star did not know what the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter’s attacks were like before this, nor did he know that they would use this weapon. Therefore, it was very unlikely for Black Star to have made preparations for it.

“One more thing… the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was sealed by Black Star using an unknown method. Sagman and the others said they can’t break it. This is what it’s like…” Then, the fleet commander showed the current state of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to them.

The Bishops’ expressions changed. The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was their destructive weapon against Beyond Grade As, but it had been sealed by some kind of material. Even Beyond Grade A Mages could not get rid of it. What kind of strange material was that?

A Bishop endured his rage and said with a deep voice, “Useless… Bring the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter back to be studied.”

This time, another person knocked the table. “Even if you couldn’t use the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, there were still seven Beyond Grade As, and that’s plenty to eliminate the enemies. Why retreat before the mission is complete?”

The fleet commander clenched his teeth and said, “There were more than three Beyond Grade As on the enemies’ side. We did not know that Black Star partnered up with Austin, and Austin was waiting near Planet Lighthouse. He interfered in this battle, and then EsGod was bribed by Black Star and fled, leading his troops away. Dylan was captured by Black Star too. If we continued to fight, the dynasty’s reinforcements would have arrived. We were forced to retreat…”

After hearing the brief description of the battle and results, the Bishops were enraged.

It was infuriating enough that the operation had failed, but not only did you not complete the mission, you did not kill a single enemy with the numbers advantage and even lost a Beyond Grade A‽

A bunch of incompetent fools!

If not because they had to give face to the Beyond Grade As, a few Bishops might have lashed out.

This time, the Pope, who had been quietly listening, spoke with an expressionless face.

“Dispatch troops to assist the Shattered Star Ring to prevent the dynasty from destroying our local stargate stations. You must bring Sagman and the others back to the Central Galaxy. Send reinforcements to prevent the dynasty from intercepting them. At the same time, strengthen Silver Arm’s defenses to prepare for the dynasty’s possible revenge. Inform the garrisons of the various Star Fields to enter full alert state.”

Then, the Pope stood up and left. Although he did not show any emotion, the Bishops knew the Pope’s personality and were certain that he was furious to the extreme.

…

At the same time, the Federation of Light received the message as well.

“The Arcane Church failed?”

President Bader was shocked. He browsed through the information and narrowed his eyes.

“How unexpected…” the Chief Elder said with a weird tone. “The Arcane Church was defeated by Planet Lighthouse even in this situation. Aren’t they too useless?”

Bader did not immediately reply. His fingers swiped a few times on the virtual screen, bringing up Black Star’s information. “Instead of saying that the Arcane Church was forced to retreat by Planet Lighthouse, the Arcane Church basically lost to Black Star. Tarrokov is famous as a Crimson Dynasty commander who excels at defenses. It’s not weird for him to last a period of time with a fleet less than half of the size of the enemy. The real breakthrough is at the Beyond Grade A battlefield. Black Star turned the situation around on the Beyond Grade A battlefield, which was what caused the entire situation to change.”

“The Arcane Church lost a Beyond Grade A, tsk tsk…” The Chief Elder grinned. “They really suffered a huge loss this time.”

Bader smiled faintly too. Although they had worked together with the Arcane Church, he was more than happy to see both sides suffering losses. No matter how much the Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church fought, the Federation of Light would definitely gain from it.

After all, they did not send out any troops and only lent their Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device once. Even if the dynasty wanted revenge, they would mainly focus on the Arcane Church and would not do too much to the Federation of Light.

“Your Excellency, what are you planning to do next?”

Bader pondered for a moment before saying, “The Crimson Dynasty will not easily let go of this Arcane Church team… Dispatch our troops and allies in the Shattered Star Ring to interfere.”

“Are you planning to help the Arcane Church to escape?”

“No, the partnership between us and the Arcane Church is only limited to lending them the transportation device. That was just a deal, and now the deal has ended, so there’s no need to continue the partnership… Help the dynasty intercept the Arcane Church’s fleet!”

The Chief Elder shook his head with resignation.

How horrible, selling their partner right afterward… However, they were never allies to begin with; they only targeted the dynasty together while the dynasty was exploring the Flickering World. The three universal civilizations were all competitors to each other. They would work together if there was something to profit from and fight each other the rest of the time. They were all used to it.

The Chief Elder suddenly thought of something and chuckled. “By the way, the biggest winner this time seems to be EsGod.”

“I don’t really think so. It’s just one chance to use the Evolution Cube.” Bader looked at Han Xiao’s data again. “The Arcane Church have the moral low ground, so the dynasty will definitely make announcements regarding this matter. This means that Black Star’s achievements in this battle will be spread across the entire universe. A Beyond Grade A who has killed or captured another Beyond Grade A is very different from one who has not.

“Furthermore, he was the main target of the Arcane Church this time, but he forced them to retreat. He basically made the Arcane Church his steppingstone. His influence will see explosive growth. Not only that, having achieved so much in this battle, his position in the dynasty will increase tremendously.

“Black Star is the biggest winner this time.”

…

The battle had just ended. When the three civilizations’ upper echelons were receiving the news, Han Xiao flew into a Black Star Army battleship and told Phillip to count the losses as well as gather the officers.

The Black Star Army did not leave many ships on Planet Lighthouse. During the battle, the dynasty’s fleet was the main force, so the battleship damage incurred was not much. However, the Calamity Grade Black Star Guards all took part, and he wanted to know if there were any casualties.

Aurora waiting in the cabin. The moment she saw Han Xiao, she immediately dashed to him.

Aurora hugged him on her tiptoes around his waist.

“It’s great you’re okay. I was so worried!” Aurora buried her head in Han Xiao’s arms.

Smelling the refreshing aroma from Aurora, Han Xiao’s tensed nerves finally relaxed.

Facing seven Beyond Grade As was extremely dangerous. Not only was he getting beaten up, but he had also been enduring the pain from his Promotion. Now that he was relaxed, only then did he feel tired and pain all over his body. The pain from the Promotion had yet to fully disappear.

Han Xiao looked down at Aurora. Sensing the softness in his arms, he felt much better. He patted Aurora’s head and asked, “Where’s your sister? Is she okay?”

“Hmm, I sent her life force a few times; she’s still alive.”

At this time, the hatch opened again. Hila and the other Black Star Guards all walked in. Everyone was wounded, but no one had died. This was all thanks to the potions that Aurora had made. Every Black Star Guard had some of Aurora’s potion with them. They were extremely effective and more than enough to guarantee the lives of these Calamity Grades.

Aurora turned around and looked through the gap between Han Xiao’s arms. Having realized that Hila was wounded and bleeding, she quickly left Han Xiao’s embrace and ran over.

“Sis, you’re wounded. Let me heal you.”

Hila waved her hands and rejected her. “The battle has ended. Such a small wound will recover in no time. Don’t waste your life force.”

Then, she turned around and looked at the Black Star Guards behind her. “You guys aren’t allowed to do that either… Hmm, except Feidin.”

Hadavy and the others were originally hoping for Aurora to heal them, but hearing what Hila said, they had no choice but to let go of that thought.

“Why except me?” Feidin pointed at his head with resignation. “Don’t misunderstand, Chen Xing told me to ask.”

“Black Star said that you’re lucky and told us to benefit from your luck from time to time.” Hila told the truth.

Then, Hila turned and looked at Han Xiao. She sized him up and saw that he had not lost an arm or a leg; she was relieved. Her lips moved slightly like she wanted to say something, but in the end, she only nodded.

This time, Hadavy suddenly said, “I just heard you captured a Beyond Grade A. Where is he?”

With that brought up, everyone was curious. This was the first time their Army Commander had defeated a Beyond Grade A head-on, so they all wanted to see the Beyond Grade A captive.

Han Xiao smiled and told his mechanical army to bring Dylan in. Dylan was restrained by machinery all over his body like a metal mummy, only showing his face.

Such restraints could not limit the movements of a Beyond Grade A, but Dylan knew that he had been abandoned and that it was meaningless to resist deep behind enemy lines. He had no choice but to accept the fact that he was now a captive.

The Black Star Guards all approached and sized him up, talking about him right under his nose.

“Defeated in just one blow? You’re so weak.”

“What are you talking about? The Army Commander is just too strong!” Hadavy said with anger.

“Right, right, right!”

Dylan was furious. As a powerful Beyond Grade A, he was now being observed like a zoo animal. He almost wanted to use his Esper Ability to teach these Calamity Grades a lesson.

Even in this state, he could not endure being shamed by these people!

Having noticed energy flowing, Han Xiao said with a hostile tone, “You want to resist?”

“Tell your subordinates to piss off!” Dylan roared. “Don’t think that you can humiliate me just because you captured me. Even in this state, I can still kill them easily.”

“Oh, you reminded me. Tying you up like this doesn’t seem safe enough.”

Han Xiao smiled faintly. He took out the Spacetime Amber and made Dylan hover in midair.

The Black Star Guards knew the effect of this thing. They all backed away, sneering.

Seeing their expressions, Dylan suddenly had a bad feeling and asked, “What are you doing?”

“Don’t worry, you’re already a captive. Not only will I not hurt you, but I will also guarantee your safety.” Han Xiao chuckled. “Trust me, I will absolutely not let you get hurt.”

Han Xiao activated the Spacetime Amber. After some time, it finally surrounded Dylan entirely, and Han Xiao immediately cut off the energy supply. Dylan was a captive, so he had more than enough time to create plenty of amber.

The next moment, the spacetime solidified and formed an amber ball, freezing Dylan within. His puzzled expression was fixed on his face.

“This way, there’s no need to waste manpower watching him.” Han Xiao chuckled.

Hadavy knocked on the amber ball and giggled. “Can you kill me easily now?”

Dylan was frozen but could still sense the outside world. Realizing that he could not move his body at all, he was stupefied.

So, this is the ability that sealed the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. This isn’t Black Star’s ability!

Other than the Evolution Cube, Black Star has another Universal Treasure‽

After teasing the immobile Dylan for a while, the Black Star Guards left one after another. After a huge battle, they were all tired and went to rest.

Having watched everyone leave, Han Xiao opened the interface.

He finally had some time to check the losses and gains of this battle.

Chapter 854 - Lord Mechanic

“The Arcane Church forced quite a number of trump cards out of me this time…”

The most dangerous stage had passed, but Han Xiao knew that the battle had yet to end. The Arcane Church had appeared out of nowhere using the Federation of Light’s Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, but they would have to cross the universe in their spaceships when returning. With the dynasty’s way of doing things, there was no way they would let the six Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church leave just like that…

Oh, it’s five Beyond Grade As now.

Therefore, when Ty-Ty and the others arrive, it will be their turn to chase after Sagman and the others. There are billions of dynasty troops in the Flickering World, so this group of Arcane Church people will not be able to easily retreat.

Even if they were able to flee the Flickering World, the Shattered Star Ring was still waiting for them. The Shattered Star Ring was the base of the Klent Kingdom, the Bloodshed Land, and the Black Star Army. Having received such a huge gift, Han Xiao had to return a gift; he was not a petty person. He had already decided to use all of the Black Star Army’s forces and his complex network in the Shattered Star Ring to do so.

While planning in his mind, Han Xiao looked at the interface at the same time to calculate the losses the Arcane Church had given him.

Rushing levels during the Experience penalty period cost him a ton of Experience. Even for Han Xiao, he felt a heartache thinking about this number. He did not like wasting. If the extra Experience had been used to level up blueprints, he would have gotten so many Potential Points.

In terms of Character Summon Cards, the usages of Reynold, Aurora, and Ames’ Character Summon Cards had all been depleted. The EsGod and Heber Character Summon Cards each had one use left. They were both powerful trump cards. That was especially so for EsGod’s [Esper Silence] Character Summon Card. It would be extremely powerful against EsGod. With one remaining use, this meant that he had fewer ways to fight EsGod.

Furthermore, EsGod was the winner of this attack. He had no choice but to satisfy EsGod’s needs due to the Arcane Church’s attack to force EsGod off the battlefield. With the Evolution Energy, EsGod would be more difficult to deal with and might even touch the doorstep of the ‘higher level’ that he sought. All things considered, his plan to deal with EsGod had been disrupted, and he was quite unhappy.

“Nonetheless, the mission rewarded three unknown Character Summon Cards. Together with the two Blank Character Summon Cards from the Random Reward and an Ability Upgrade Card, at least it somewhat made up for the losses.” Han Xiao shook his head.

The damage incurred to his machinery was also quite large. A lot of mechanical soldiers had been destroyed. The mechanical lives were still alright, as Han Xiao purposely did not let them take part in the direct battle against the Beyond Grade As, so they did not suffer many casualties.

Compared to other machinery, the mechanical lives with the capability to grow had higher potential. It would be a pity for them to be destroyed in such a one-sided battle. The other machines were more than enough as pawns.

In some respects, Han Xiao was the cause of this battle. If any Beyond Grade As had died because of it, the dynasty would definitely not have been happy about it. However, luckily, with the help of Austin, they had just been wounded, which made things easier for Han Xiao.

This way, he owed Austin a huge favor, which was not a completely bad thing. Sometimes, owing someone a favor would lead to a better relationship.

Austin was originally neutral, but after he messed with the Arcane Church after this battle, it would be very difficult for him to continue to exclude himself from everything. Although he would not go so far as to immediately join the dynasty, all the forces in the universe would mark him as being on the side of the dynasty. He would no longer be able to keep a low profile like before.

Han Xiao then thought of Psyker, and his expression became weird.

“If that’s the case… Austin is now close to the dynasty; Ames is my ally, so she’s considered an indirect ally of the dynasty; Heber also belongs to the dynasty. Including me, four of the five Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring are related to the dynasty. Psyker will probably have to keep quiet in the Shattered Star Ring in the future.”

With this thought, Han Xiao opened the mission list and claimed the [Completed] missions. He was only confident about claiming the reward after touching Feidin earlier.

_____________________

[Cause and Effect] completed!

According to your performance, you have received 45,000,000,000 Experience, 3 Random Reward, [Character Summon Card—’Child of Light’ Sagman], [Character Summon Card—’Star Pupil’ Psyker], and [Character Summon Card—EsGod].

[Character Summon Card—’Child of Light’ Sagman]: [Light Particle Stream—Infiltration]—Releases a powerful light energy particle beam that has high Penetrating, Explosive, and Burning Damage. The light energy will continue to deal damage and give the target [Energy Disruption] and [Energy Suppression] statuses. When the enemy uses energy attacks, the power would decrease, the cost will increase, and their accuracy will decrease. Uses: 0/5.

[Character Summon Card—’Star Pupil’ Psyker]: [Psychic Energy—Heart Wall]—In 4.7 seconds, the actual damage taken from psychic attacks will be reduced by 85% after Psychological Resistance reductions. It grants immunity to all kinds of psychic control abilities. If the attacker is a Psychic, the Intelligence and Mystery of both sides will be calculated. If one of your attributes is higher than the attacker, 45% of theoretical damage will be reflected. If both of your attributes are higher than the attacker, 90% of theoretical damage will be reflected. If both of your attributes are lower than the attacker, damage will not be reflected. Uses: 0/3.

[Character Summon Card—EsGod]: [Esper Ability—Copy]—Through close contact, copy the target’s Esper Gene and receive a one-time Character Summon Card of the target. Only effective on Espers. Uses: 0/3.

_____________________

Receiving the maximum Experience reward was within Han Xiao’s expectations. The effects of all three Character Summon Cards were decent, but he was not lucky enough to get EsGod’s [Esper Silence] again. However, [Esper Ability—Copy] was not bad; it was basically three Blank Character Summon Cards for Espers. EsGod had a ton of random abilities, so being able to obtain this was already thanks to Feidin’s blessing.

_____________________

You have received 1 Legendary Point.

Universe Legendary Point: Enemy of the Arcane Church—Facing a despairing situation, you fought back and turned the situation around, forcing the Arcane Church to retreat and even capturing an enemy Beyond Grade A. Your name will spread through the entire universe with this battle and become a legend!

_____________________

Enemy of the Arcane Church, the highest-grade Legendary Point, a Universe Legendary Point… Looks like this will become a new nickname.

Every Beyond Grade A had many nicknames that represented the legendary things that they had done. Han Xiao now had ‘Indestructible Body’, ‘Indestructible Black Star’, ‘the Black Star Army Commander’, and other nicknames. When word about this battle spread, he would probably also gain the nickname ‘Enemy of the Arcane Church’.

The Arcane Church wanted to kill him, and he sealed their Universal Treasure as well as captured their Beyond Grade A. At this moment, the beef between the two sides was irresolvable.

Capturing a Beyond Grade A alive had extraordinary meanings. Back then, this was the reason Heber wanted to duel with him, but he sadly failed to do so, and now Han Xiao achieved this before Heber. This way, his reputation in the universe would become completely different, and his position would be much higher… He felt that Ty-Ty would be quite jealous.

Speaking of which, Heber was right on his way back to back him up. Having thought of the possible expression Heber might have, Han Xiao could not help but chuckle a bit.

The interface also showed that he could now create the Dungeon [Flickering World—Planet Lighthouse Battle]. A total of eleven Beyond Grade As had taken part in this conflict, which rarely happened other than in full blown wars. This would shock the entire universe. Although it happened in the Flickering World and had yet to be publicized, it was clear that news of this would stir up a violent storm.

With so much influence, being able to create the Dungeon was no surprise. Sadly, given the standard of this battle, the effect of this Dungeon would only be to widen the players’ horizon and make them suffer.

Han Xiao opened the attributes interface and carefully read through his attributes after the level 260 Promotion.

_____________________

Level: 260

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Black Star Race

Attributes: 3,247 Strength, 3,980 Dexterity, 5,889 Endurance, 8,489 Intelligence, 2,950 Mystery, 1,163 Charisma, 1 Luck

Free Attribute Points: 0

Potential Point: 33

Health: 3,854,550

Stamina: 3,521,025

Energy: 82,120 [Level17]

Level17 Energy bonus stats: +1,206 Strength, +1,488 Dexterity, +1,890 Endurance, +2,345 Intelligence, +1,123 Mystery, +311,520 Stamina Limit, +1,632% Machinery Affinity

Energy Rank: 49,975

Grade: S (Beyond A)

Grade S Bonuses: +50 Endurance, +25 All Resistances. +25% Highest Attribute, +15% Other Attributes, +750 Free Attribute Points, +50 Potential Points

Remark: This seems to be a Beyond Grade A Mechanic who persists on the path of a tank.

_____________________

“Almost 50,000 Energy Rank…” Han Xiao touched his chin. He could still remember that when he first reached Beyond Grade A, his Energy Rank had been about 43,000. Afterward, he had completed [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation] and [Mechanical Life Tinder], which gave him quite a lot of Energy Rank.

Heber’s cultivation technique had given him more than 16,000 maximum energy. His maximum energy was only a little more than 50,000 when he first reached Beyond Grade A, but it was now more than 80,000. His Energy Level had increased from 15 to 17, which had given him two new layers of bonus attributes.

He did not forget about [Radiation Absorption], which gave him some attributes here and there.

“The next Race Evolution Promotion is at level 300, and the level limit of Lord Mechanic is also level 40, so the Class Advancement is at level 300 too. Therefore, there’s only the level 280 Promotion in between.”

Han Xiao pondered.

[Emperor Mechanic]’s limit was level 35, and the new [Lord Mechanic] was five more than that.

At the [Lord Mechanic] stage, the pros of Apostle and Emperor Mechanic were enhanced.

Same as the two previous Class Advancements, the abilities and talents of Virtual Technology were enhanced too, this time by sixty percent

There were four new abilities.

Talent [Mechanic Lord] gave +300% Machinery Affinity, +200% Virtual Intrusion and virtual defense efficiency, and some changes to the properties of Mechanical Force, which granted the so-called ‘Lord Power’. The introduction was brief and blurry, only saying that this was the prerequisite of some new Lord Mechanic abilities.

Ability [Lord Machinery Affinity] gave +190% Machinery Affinity at max level.

Ability [Apostle Life Creation] was similar to [Emperor’s Gift], also giving special enhancement to an individual machine. However, the effect was quite different. [Emperor’s Gift] could only be used three times on the same target and did not limit the number of targets. While [Apostle Life Creation]’s effect was to use the so-called ‘Power of the Lord’s Dominance’ Mechanical Force to turn a mechanical soldier into an ‘Apostle Weapon’.

The enhancement was much stronger. It could basically turn a normal unit into a mini boss unit and a unit with better fundamentals into a big boss unit.

With such powerful enhancement effects, [Apostle Life Creation] restricted the number of Apostle Weapons. At max level, he could have twelve Apostle Weapons at the same time. The Power of Lord’s Dominance in their body could be retrieved anytime and given to another machine. This ability also enjoyed enhancement from the various other enhancement abilities. Every level increased the maximum Apostle Weapon number by one.

The last ability, [Lord’s Descent], was an ability to fight with a remote army. Through the special Mechanical Force of a Lord Mechanic, he could project his consciousness, mind, and power onto a mechanical soldier and turn this mechanical soldier into some sort of avatar. It would share a large portion of the main body’s attributes, abilities, and talents and have Beyond Grade A strength.

This meant that, not only could Han Xiao provide Mechanical Force bonuses to the remote troops using Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel when he was at home, he could also use this on one of them and fight personally. The restriction was that this could only be used on one target at a time.

The ability introduction also said that if [Lord’s Descent] was used frequently on the same target, there was a chance to form a Soul Connection.

“These four abilities are all quite good, especially [Lord’s Descent]…

“After this battle today, there should be very few who come to make trouble for me in the future. My combat method shall start to be focused on remote combat. This ability will be very useful to me.”

After concluding the losses and gains, Han Xiao received a call from Tarrokov saying that Urranrell wanted to speak with him personally.

Even for Beyond Grade As, Urranrell was not someone they could see whenever they wanted to. It was clear that his achievements in the battle had surprised Urranrell, which was why she wanted to talk to him.

Furthermore, there were still some problems that needed to be discussed and solved regarding this matter, as well as the mission to chase after Sagman and the others.

“Got it, I’ll wait for her online.”

Han Xiao took out the communicator and made a lot of speculations while quietly waiting for the call to connect.

After achieving so much this time, if he requested new Ultimate Knowledges, Urranrell would not reject him, would she?

Chapter 855 - 855 Time to Counterattack!

855 Time to Counterattack!

Very soon, a cone-shaped projection beam shot out from the communicator and quickly scanned through the room. The environment of the room quickly changed into the conference room where Urranrell and the group of upper echelons were in as if Han Xiao was there.

Han Xiao looked around and realized that everyone was staring at him with different emotions such as curiosity, respect, and surprise. One thing those military upper echelons shared in common was they all looked very interested in him.

Urranrell looked at Han Xiao and said, “Black Star, you’ve made a huge achievement in this incident. The dynasty will reward you generously.”

“I was just saving myself.” Han Xiao could not help but be humble on such an occasion, and it sure felt good.

“You deserve the credit nonetheless.” Urranrell then returned to the topic. “Tarrokov has already described this battle earlier, but I want to hear your version. Some questions need you to answer.”

Han Xiao knew that explaining the battle from the perspective of a Beyond Grade A would bring new information to the table, so he described it from the start to the end.

Urranrell nodded and asked, “I want to know, was what you used to stop and seal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter a new Universal Treasure?”

“Hmm, it’s what I happened to discover while exploring the Flickering World. It’s a Space Wonder.”

“I see.” Urranrell did not continue to ask about the name and uses of the Spacetime Amber. If Black Star wanted to tell her, he would, and if he was not willing to, she was not going to force someone who had just made such a huge contribution. Beyond Grade As had the right to keep their abilities a secret; all she had to know was that Black Star was on her side.

“I’ve sealed the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, and it will be very difficult for the Arcane Church to break that seal. Only, they don’t know that yet… The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is a Universal Treasure that’s very important to them; they might look to negotiate with the dynasty privately.”

Urranrell’s eyes moved slightly, and she asked, “Are you sure it’ll be very difficult for them to break the seal?”

“There are no absolutes. The Arcane Church might come up with something. However, in all likelihood, their odds of success are extremely low. It’s very likely that I’m the only one that can help them break the seal of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.”

“Understood. If what you said is true, we might have underestimated your contributions. Without the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, the deterrence they have on Beyond Grade As will be much lower. I’ve already decided to counterattack the Arcane Church, so what you’ve done has lowered the chances of the Beyond Grade As of the dynasty suffering from accidental casualties. Good.” Urranrell paused. “However, what happened at Planet Lighthouse has made things tense between them and us. The Arcane Church will probably not negotiate with us privately but act as if they have already broken the seal.”

“Hmm, you’re right.” Han Xiao thought about it. Indeed, since the dynasty was going to counterattack, the Arcane Church would definitely not easily take a step back. It was very likely for them to act confident on the surface while being extremely troubled by not being able to break the seal in private.

“Also, about EsGod. It’s unexpected for the Arcane Church to actually work with the notorious Fallen Ark. The dynasty will make an announcement to the entire universe condemning the Arcane Church’s actions…” Urranrell then changed the topic. “Don’t worry, the dynasty has no problems with how you used the Evolution Cube on EsGod this time.”

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment then understood—his plan against EsGod had worked, but technically, he had still made a deal with EsGod. However, the dynasty was very sensible about this. They understood that he had no choice in that situation. Therefore, Urranrell expressed that they would not hold him responsible, which represented what the dynasty’s stand was on this matter. They were not going to allow anyone to use this matter to besmirch Black Star’s name.

From this sentence, Han Xiao noticed that Urranrell was trying to woo him into becoming a member of the Ruler’s faction. Complimenting and rewarding him were not the only reasons he was called to this meeting. It was more to express her intention on wooing him. Given how enormous the dynasty was, internal conflicts between the many factions were inevitable. Han Xiao had just earned a huge achievement, so there would not be any problems in the near future. However, after some time passed, some factions might bring this matter back up as leverage.

If one of the dynasty’s Grade As was killed in action this time or I did not capture Dylan, someone might have used this to try and force me to give up the Evolution Cube… Han Xiao was secretly shocked. The battle had just ended for him, and he did not think too much about it. Since Urranrell had given him a subtle hint, he understood her kind intentions.

“Thank you, Your Excellency.” Han Xiao bowed.

Urranrell then asked, “What do you plan to do with Dylan?”

“I’ve decided to hand him over to the dynasty,” Han Xiao said slowly. “Now that the Arcane Church have failed once, they won’t easily try to obtain the Evolution Cube again. However, If I keep Dylan as my captive, the Arcane Church, having to consider the opinions of their allies, will not sit by idly. They will definitely carry out rescuing measures. I don’t want this incident to happen again, and if it does, I might not be as lucky as I was today. Therefore, I might as well give him to the dynasty to be used as leverage to negotiate with the Arcane Church.”

Although he had forced the Arcane Church to retreat this time, it would be much more than just a slap on their faces if he imprisoned Dylan personally. They were a universal civilization no matter what, and making them completely furious was not a wise decision. Dylan was a hot potato; there were far more cons than pros if he kept him himself. Instead, if he gave Dylan to the dynasty in exchange for more merits and a ton of Faction Contribution Points, he could obtain Ultimate Knowledges.

“You’ve made the right choice; that’s what I had in mind. I wanted to convince you to do it, but since you’re already willing to, that’s even better.”

A very rare slight smile appeared on Urranrell’s cold face, knowing that Han Xiao had accepted her kind intentions. “You’ve done well this time. Other than the support and generous reward the dynasty will give to you and your Black Star Army, if you have any other needs, do tell.”

The dynasty would provide even more resources to the Black Star Army after this, which was a given. Therefore, Han Xiao requested what he wanted the most.

“I hope to obtain more Ultimate Knowledges.”

“Hmm, no problem.” Urranrell approved. “I will tell the officer of the dynasty’s logistics department to contact you directly. Just request it from him.”

There was no way the Ruler would be personally in charge of trivial matters such as exchanging knowledge.

Han Xiao nodded with a smile and pondered in his mind. His contributions this time would definitely give him more than one Ultimate Knowledges, and every single knowledge at this level would bring a huge boost to the combat capabilities of a Mechanic.

However, it was impossible to obtain all the Ultimate Knowledges at once. He did indeed make a huge contribution, but there were rules to follow when giving out rewards. Ultimate Knowledges were one of the important methods to attract Beyond Grade As to begin with. Even the Beyond Grade As directly under the dynasty had to slowly earn them with merits and contributions.

“The impact of this incident will affect the situation of the entire universe.” Urranrell was back to her formal and serious tone. “The dynasty must retaliate against the Arcane Church’s provocation. However, the Federation of Light has always liked to put bets on both sides, so the effort we put in exploring the Flickering World will definitely be restrained. While the three civilizations try to mess with each other, those Super Star Cluster civilizations will definitely make use of this opportunity to further infiltrate the Federation of Light. The dynasty will be forced to deal with multiple problems at once, which is exactly what the Arcane Church and the Federation of Light want to see.”

Han Xiao knew that Urranrell had a motive for saying something like this, so he followed it up and asked, “So, what do you think we should do?”

“We need to intimidate the Super Star Cluster Civilizations, so we will call back some of the Beyond Grade As and troops stationed in the Flickering World. Of course, their forces will still be exploring in the Flickering World.”

Han Xiao did not speak; he knew what Urranrell meant. There was no way the dynasty would let so many Beyond Grade As stay in the Flickering World for the long term, and this thought would have occurred long ago. However, he did not mind. Heber and his territory were both in the Shattered Star Ring, which was nearby, so he was not likely to be called back.

Urranrell changed the topic and asked, “Black Star, what do you think of the situation the dynasty is currently in?”

“As you know, the conflicts are mainly around the Flickering World, and not just anyone can take part in it. The aftershock of the Crimson Tide is slowly cooling down, so those Star Cluster and Star System civilizations will stay low for some time.” Han Xiao shrugged.

“Maybe.” Urranrell nodded slowly then suddenly asked, “Do you have any suggestions about the dynasty’s counterattack plan?”

Han Xiao knew that although the Ruler was discussing the dynasty’s plan with him, she might not take his suggestions. However, this was a gesture that represented the fact that his position within the dynasty had risen.

After some thinking, Han Xiao coughed and said, “Counterattacking is a must, but the focus can be readjusted. The Arcane Church is also a Universal Civilization, so retaliating against them is just a necessary reaction. I’m sure that you know this will not achieve great results, Your Excellency.”

“Go on.”

“In my opinion, we should focus on taking action against EsGod. EsGod took part in the Planet Lighthouse battle as well, and he is much easier to deal with compared to the Arcane Church. It just so happens that the desolate universe belt in the middle of the Central Galaxy is known to be the default battlefield to settle friction between the three civilizations, so dealing with EsGod will not require us to make any detours. If the Fallen Ark is eliminated, the dynasty will successfully showcase its thunderous retaliation and achieve even greater intimidation levels.”

This incident was a great opportunity to convince the dynasty to deal with EsGod. If he could obtain help from the dynasty, the chances of eliminating EsGod would be much higher.

Urranrell, however, did not express if she accepted or rejected the suggestion. “I will have someone analyze your suggestion. The urgent matter at hand is to chase after the Arcane Church and EsGod’s fleets. When the reinforcements arrive, you guys shall follow Tarrokov’s orders and act with the dynasty’s fleet… We’re not going to let them escape this easily!”

Urranrell then nodded at Han Xiao and said, “Go rest. You’ll need to continue fighting during the pursuit.”

“Okay.”

As the call ended, the projection in the room disappeared.

Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and was delighted. The contributions he had made during this battle brought him some sense of presence among the upper echelons of the dynasty. His position in those people’s mind turned from a new ally to a dependable Beyond Grade A of the dynasty. He was even wooed by the Ruler, which also increased his position and influence.

After putting away the communicator, Han Xiao noticed a new notification on the interface.

_____________________

You have received 1 Political Asset.

Political Asset (1): the Crimson Dynasty

You have made huge contributions to the Crimson Dynasty and received a certain amount of political influence. You can make suggestions to the Crimson Dynasty directly, according to the rationality of the suggestion, there’s a slight chance the Crimson Dynasty will listen to it.

Your position in the Crimson Dynasty is higher. When interacting with certain organizations or characters, +30% Favorability gained.

You have valuable experience. +30% Experience gained from all sources.

Remarks: The above effects will only take place when the Faction Relationship with the Crimson Dynasty is maintained at [Reverence].

_____________________

“Yo, I thought there would only be Legendary Point but no Political Asset.” Han Xiao was surprised but then understood why—this was probably a bonus reward given because of the fact that Urranrell valued him.

However, maintaining the effect of this Political Asset was not easy, as he had to spend Faction Contribution Points in exchange for Ultimate Knowledges. He had to maintain the Contribution Points he had above 6,000, which was the cost of one Ultimate Knowledge.

Han Xiao looked at the following notification, which raised his brows.

_____________________

You have received 10,000 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

You have received a bonus 5,000 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

_____________________

“I only received the Contribution Points after I finished talking to Urranrell…” Han Xiao rubbed his chin. He had the NPC interface, so he could reward the Black Star Army members Contribution Points any way he wanted to. As a Faction leader, the way this worked for her was the same, just that Urranrell rewarded Contribution Points unconsciously.

Ten thousand Contribution Points was the reward for this battle, and the bonus five thousand Contribution Points was probably from him handing Dylan in. Including the more than three thousand Contribution Points he had saved up previously, he now had more than eighteen thousand Contribution Points.

“Three Ultimate Knowledges, just nice.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Unlike Cutting-Edge Knowledges, the dynasty would not give Ultimate Knowledges for free. The kind intentions Urranrell had for him seemed to have been displayed in the way of receiving more Contribution Points.

“This way, I can buy two knowledges and keep the remaining six thousand to maintain the effect of the Political Asset. I’m not in a hurry to spend them all anyway.”

Han Xiao closed the interface with satisfaction.

At this time, a blue light illuminated from outside the porthole, shining on his young and edgy face.

He turned to look outside the porthole and saw that not far from Planet Lighthouse, the stargate was finally assembled and activated. A dark blue space energy vortex formed inside the stargate and quickly started spinning.

“They’re finally here.”

…

As time passed, reinforcement fleets flew out from the stargate one after another from the various Beyond Grade A organizations.

These were mostly troops stationed around the strongholds at the edge of the three Star Clusters. If the Arcane Church wanted to attack Planet Lighthouse now, them being completely obliterated would be the only outcome.

“The battle has already ended‽”

Inside Tarrokov’s main ship, Heber, who had left his main fleet behind and returned as soon as possible; Ravenlaude, who had rushed there through teleportation; and the remote projection of Maximiler had gathered and sat across from Han Xiao and the others.

Upon knowing the fact that Planet Lighthouse’s troops had forced the enemies away without any reinforcements, Heber and the other two were all shocked.

They actually managed to defend Planet Lighthouse?

Not only did Black Star turn the tables on the Beyond Grade A battlefield, he even captured one of the enemies alive.

Heber and Ravenlaude felt conflicted. They had initially thought that they were saviors, but to their surprise, before they even arrived, Han Xiao had already forced the enemies to retreat. It was almost as if they were not even needed at all…

However, this thought did not linger too long in their minds. Although they came late, they knew that the Arcane Church had only retreated because of the pressure from their arrival. Thinking this way made them feel much better—at least they had contributed in some way.

Ravenlaude was getting a little fidgety and said, “Black Star, I heard you got a new Universal Treasure in the Flickering World and used it to stop the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.”

“That’s right.” Han Xiao chuckled.

Hearing Han Xiao confirming the matter, Ravenlaude was filled with regret. He was exploring the same Star Cluster as Black Star, which meant that this unknown Universal Treasure had been found in the Garu Star Cluster. If there was no Black Star, maybe this Universal Treasure would have become his.

Heber turned to Austin, frowned, and said, “Why are you here? Have you joined the dynasty too?”

“I came to help Black Star.” Austin smiled faintly.

Heber’s eyes circled around Han Xiao and Austin; he was not feeling great. When did the two of them form such a good relationship?

Both Ames and Austin had become Black Star’s friends; now Heber felt like he was alone in the Shattered Star Ring.

However, when he remembered what situation Psyker was in, he felt much better.

Nonetheless, Heber could not be glad. The achievement of capturing a Beyond Grade A alive was something he had been chasing after for many years, but it had now been obtained by Black Star, who had only stepped into the Beyond Grade A level around a year earlier.

This time, Tarrokov spoke. “I have already dispatched the troops in various locations to lock down the escape route of Sagman and EsGod’s fleets. His Excellency Maximiler has yet to arrive, but we won’t wait any longer. We have already gathered six Beyond Grade As here, which is enough to start the pursuit.”

What he meant by ‘pursuit’ was not simply chasing after them but dispatching all the troops the dynasty had in the Flickering World to stop the enemies from escaping.

On the star map, the fleets of the Arcane Church and EsGod were shown to be masses of red quickly getting further away, fleeing in different directions, while blue dots representing the dynasty’s troops blocked their paths.

With the arrival of the reinforcements, Milizaus and Beyoni no longer had any issues with chasing after them.

Austin expressed his intention to go home to repair his Palace of Hidden Spells and not take part in the dynasty’s operation, and Tarrokov did not force an outsider invited by Han Xiao.

Heber sorted out his feelings and suddenly realized that this was an opportunity—he might be able to fulfil his wish of eliminating one Beyond Grade A.

Having that thought in his mind, Heber was very motivated. He clenched his fists so powerfully that it broke the sound barrier with a loud bang. “Humph, Mercer, is it? I’ve heard of this guy before. Leave him to me.”

“The dynasty’s dignity is not to be challenged. Milizaus’ wounds have yet to heal; leave Ninjia to me.” Magical light appeared in Ravenlaude’s eyes.

Exterior enemies were always great solutions to internal conflicts. As members of the dynasty, after temporarily putting aside their competitive relationship with each other, they now shared a common enemy.

“I shall use my remote mechanical army to support you guys.” The only Beyond Grade A who was not there, Mechanic Maximiler, looked at Han Xiao and said, “Black Star, your mechanical army has suffered heavy losses. If you need, I can lend my army to you for the time being.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Han Xiao nodded, stood up, and looked around at all the Beyond Grade As present. A cold tint flashed in his eyes as he said with a sharp and penetrative tone, “Let’s get moving. See if they can make it back to the Central Galaxy!”

The tables had turned.

The hunters had become the hunted.

The time to counterattack had arrived!

Chapter 856 - Fakisen“s Plan

As hyperdrive streams of light dashed across the dark cosmic space, the traces left by the Arcane Church fleet in retreat awoke the dynasty’s surveillance buoys one after another, not hiding their movements even a little bit.

Inside the Glorious Sun Grade main ship, the five Beyond Grade As including Sagman and Psyker gathered and looked at the fleet commander, Rogue, whose eyes never shifted away from the star map.

“Planet Lighthouse is at the edge of the Dawn Star Cluster and very close to the desolate universe belt. If we continue to retreat at full speed, we will get out of this security perimeter very soon,” Rogue said with a deep voice.

The transmission of energy and light took time; given the sheer size of the universe, plenty of remote detection methods had delays. Transmitting real-time information through quantum communication technology was one of the more common methods used. However, the universe was way too large. There was no way the dynasty would be able to deploy surveillance buoys in every corner of the cosmic space. The security perimeter usually spread out from the stronghold planet as its center with diminishing density of surveillance buoys as the distance increased.

At this time, the Arcane Church had already escaped to the exterior security perimeter of Planet Lighthouse and was entering deep into the desolate universe belt. With absolutely no time to spare, clearing out the buoys was meaningless; they would be located in the end anyway. Therefore, Rogue did not mind the fact that their route was exposed to the dynasty. After all, he was not going to go straight to the secret stargate.

The plan was to enter stealth mode in an area with little to no buoys in the desolate universe belt so that they could get rid of the dynasty’s direct surveillance. They would then split into hundreds of groups to make detours before heading to the secret stargate.

This way, a large number of the groups would be considered as abandoned. The moment their fleet departed, the location of the secret stargate had shifted. The original secret stargate location was abandoned, but this information was not updated on the star map. The only people who knew about this were the core members such as Rogue and the Beyond Grade As. This was to prevent the other groups from leaking the location of the secret stargate if they were captured by the dynasty.

Of course, these other groups were not completely abandoned; they were smoke screens. When Rogue, the Beyond Grade As, and the core groups successfully escaped, only then would these other groups be told the real location. That way, even if the location of the secret stargate was exposed, the impact would be much smaller. After all, they could destroy the stargate anytime to prevent further damage or even make those groups return from the desolate universe belt—their time was not precious at all.

“Quickly, the risks we’re taking increase every minute we spend in the Flickering World,” Sagman said.

“If all you can say are useless and meaningless things that everyone knows, you’d better stop speaking. Thanks to you, the risks we’re taking now are completely meaningless!” Rogue did not hold back at all. His tone had traces of rage.

He had just reported the battle results to the Bishops, which had earned him a massive scolding. With the thought of his future not being the brightest in mind, he could not help but feel a rage boiling inside him. Hence, he was not in the mood to hold his emotions back toward these Beyond Grade As who had caused this operation to fail.

Getting so bluntly yelled at, Sagman’s skin tightened. He thought about it for a second but did not say anything. It was true that the Beyond Grade A battlefield was what had decided the outcome and led to this failure, so he was indeed somewhat to blame.

The other four did not say anything either. They were now all on the same boat fleeing in the dynasty’s territory, so no one had time to mind Rogue’s disrespect.

Psyker’s face looked the worst. Thinking of the fact that his friend, Dylan, was now in the dynasty’s hands made his mood extremely horrible. He could not be bothered with anything else.

Seeing that no one spoke, Rogue snorted and said, “The dynasty is definitely dispatching troops to block our escape route. However, you need not worry too much; this is just a fake route. Also, most of the dynasty’s fleet nearby went to support Planet Lighthouse, and it will take some time for the more distant strongholds to send out fleets. Therefore, even if we happen to be blocked, we can easily eliminate whoever’s on the way. The only thing we need to worry about is the dynasty’s Beyond Grade As chasing after us. According to the current situation, Tarrokov will wait for the reinforcements to arrive before making moves. Pity, I almost thought we could lure them in and set up a trap…”

While Rogue analyzed the situation, Sagman and the others were discussing the situation privately through psychic communication.

“Given the size of the fleet, we’ll still be just as conspicuous even if we split up. Maybe we should leave the fleet and take mini spaceships. That’s stealthier,” Taylor said.

“We can consider that, but let’s talk about this after the main fleet splits up.”

When fleeing, the survivability and stealth of a Beyond Grade A acting alone far exceeded moving together with the fleet. As individuals with great powers who were not affected by the harsh environment of space, if they randomly hid on a desolate planet, no one would be able to find them.

This was especially true for Ninjia and Taylor, who had mastered forbidden spells. Without the enemies’ interference, their teleportation spells were among the best abilities for escaping.

Rogue was worried that they might be chased by the dynasty’s Beyond Grade As, so he wanted to keep Sagman and the others around. What he did not know was, Sagman and the others were also thinking about using the main fleet as bait to draw the dynasty’s attention.

…

In another direction, the Fallen Ark’s fleet was also retreating at full speed.

Due to the sudden rupture, EsGod’s fleet had cut off contact with the Arcane Church. Without any communication channel, the two of them did not know each other’s whereabouts at all and only focused on escaping on their own.

However, EsGod had one advantage. They had forced their way in from the exterior security perimeter, so they had deliberately destroyed quite a number of surveillance buoys on the way. This had caused some areas to be blind spots, which assisted in their escape.

Inside the main ship’s command room, Fakisen looked away from the star map and turned to the EsGod doppelganger beside him.

EsGod’s main body had already found an enclosed room to undergo evolution, and no one knew how long that would take. Before EsGod started his evolution, he had created some doppelgangers to protect himself and monitor the movement of the fleet.

EsGod was wary of everyone. Even his helpful assistant who had accompanied him for a hundred years, Fakisen was no exception. In times when his main body was the weakest, the only person he really trusted was himself.

“He still doesn’t trust me…”

Fakisen’s spike-filled tongue licked the blood-red metal mask that covered the upper half of his face, making an annoying scratching noise. Air pumped out from his nose like he was sneering.

Right in front of EsGod’s doppelganger, Fakisen lifted his dry brunch-looking four arms. Purple fog flew out from his dark purple skin, forming a sphere in midair.

Then, he summoned a subordinate and gave the orb to him. “Empty an ordinary battleship, remove its energy core and AI system, and leave it as an empty shell. Put this orb inside that spaceship, then abandon it and let it drift around on the path we passed by. The dynasty troops chasing us will discover this spaceship.”

The EsGod doppelganger turned to him and said coldly, “What are you trying to do?”

“Hehe…” Fakisen’s laughter was eerie. “I’m planning to contact the dynasty…”

Bang!

The moment he said that, the EsGod doppelganger immediately grabbed him by his neck and lifted him up, pressing him against the wall.

“Are you selling me out?”

Although his throat was grabbed by EsGod, Fakisen was not afraid at all. Instead, he laughed even louder. “Hahaha, I’m planning to work together with the dynasty. If they can give us information about the Arcane Church, we can send some of our people to intercept them. They’re pawns anyway. We’re the closest to the Arcane Church. With our help, the dynasty will be able to drag the Arcane Church back more efficiently.”

“There’s no need for that,” the EsGod doppelganger said coldly.

“No, there definitely is a need. The dynasty surely wants to fight the Arcane Church more than us. There are many Beyond Grade As over there, which makes them much more valuable. If the dynasty can capture them, the Arcane Church will lose close to half of their Beyond Grade As. The dynasty will not give up such an amazing opportunity to cause damage to the Arcane Church. And when the dynasty puts their focus on the Arcane Church, Your Excellency EsGod, the pressure you face will be much smaller. Hehehe.”

Fakisen’s tone was filled with mockery as he continued, “After fleeing at such a crucial moment, the Arcane Church is definitely going to hold a grudge against us for it. When we return to the Central Galaxy, we’re going to face both the Crimson dynasty and the Arcane Church. If we do this, not only will the dynasty be less furious at us, the Arcane Church will be weakened too. This means that the Beyond Grade As you’ll have to face will be much fewer. Furthermore, if the Arcane Church do suffer such an enormous loss, they probably won’t have chance to come make trouble for us any time soon.”

The EsGod doppelganger asked, “How do I know you’re not going to sell out my location?”

“Hee, if Your Excellency is not assured, please leave an EsGod doppelganger in that empty spaceship all you like, to monitor the communication between me and the dynasty. If you think I sold out your location… Hehe, I’m right here. You can kill me anytime.”

The EsGod doppelganger stayed silent for a while before suddenly saying, “I’ll leave a doppelganger behind to negotiate with the dynasty. You don’t have to participate in it.”

Although this idea Fakisen had was strange and sudden to him, he thought it did indeed make sense. After all, even if the negotiation went south, it would just be a doppelganger getting eliminated.

“Hehe, that’ll do too.”

As the EsGod doppelganger let Fakisen go, he landed on the ground, rubbed his neck, and called a subordinate over. He broke the fog orb that he had just made apart and absorbed the fog back into his body. Then, he acted as if nothing had happened and continued to observe the star map.

No one could see Fakisen’s eyes under the blood-red mask that covered the upper half of his face, and no one knew what he was thinking… Speaking of which, no one actually knew how he saw with his eyes covered.

…

The intense battle at Planet Lighthouse had ended, but this whole thing was far from over. Under Tarrokov’s command, the dynasty’s fleets started their pursuit of the Arcane Church and the Fallen Ark’s fleets.

Before the shock, confusion, and curiosity of the army players who flocked to Bun-Hit-Dog’s posts broadcasting about the battlefield’s turn of events dissipated, a new mission popped up on everyone’s interface.

Before this, the Black Star Army players only knew that Planet Lighthouse was attacked, there were around ten Beyond Grade As fighting, and their army commander Black Star was one of them. As for the identity of the attackers, the cause of this incident, or anything else, they had no idea at all.

This mission, however, explained all this and brought even more shock to the players.

_____________________

The Crimson dynasty Order: All Out Pursuit

Mission Introduction: In order to obtain the Evolution Cube and cause conflicts, the Arcane Church worked together with the Fallen Ark and attacked the dynasty’s outpost in the Flickering World. There were seven enemy Beyond Grade As. However, with the help of the dynasty’s ally Black Star, Milizaus, Beyoni, and the friend invited by Black Star, Austin, we successfully defeated the enemies! Currently, these two fleets are now fleeing in the Flickering World. All forces are hereby dispatched to pursue the enemies and uphold the dynasty’s dignity—Crimson Dynasty Exploration Army Chief Commander, Tarrokov.

Mission Requirements: Chase after the Arcane Church and the Fallen Ark’s fleets, find out their whereabouts, and eliminate their men to the best of your ability.

Rewards will be given after the mission ends depending on your performance.

_____________________

Knowing what had happened, the Shattered Star Ring page on the forums exploded.

“The Arcane Church attacked the Crimson Dynasty? Are the Universal Civilizations going to start a war with each other‽”

“No wonder as many as eleven Beyond Grade As appeared in one huge fight. That’s the reason behind it. Is the Army Commander okay? Is he still alive?”

“Their target is the army commander’s Evolution Cube, so this was actually caused by the army commander, huh?”

“Damn, targeted by a Universal Civilization yet managed to force them away, awesome!”

“The Black Star Army is the Crimson dynasty’s ally. Does that mean that the army is now also the Arcane Church’s enemy?”

“I’ve got a feeling that something huge is going to happen!”

This time, Bun-Hit-Dog snatched up the first-hand information. Under his post, countless players came to comment. Dozens of new comments were appearing every second, which made him extremely excited…

Following Black Star was indeed the right choice. There was explosive news every now and then!

After the initial shock, many players were thrilled. After experiencing three versions, they had discovered some patterns—the things happening in Galaxy were connected, and they influenced each other. This was an extremely orderly system. One could actually use logic to predict some of the possible incidents that might happen in the future through the intelligence and news of the various areas.

This incident involved the three largest civilizations, so it was not a small matter by any means. If the two sides went at each other, the storyline would definitely be huge.

Some people speculated that this attack might have been an early sign of a future main storyline.

Or it might even be the main storyline of the next version.

It was not impossible.

As this kind of speculation spread on the forums, some people made different speculations saying that this might be connected to what would happen during the version update period and would only appear in the next version in the form of a background introduction. Many also agreed with this.

Due to Han Xiao’s past actions, the Chinese players in the Shattered Star Ring had developed a habit of guessing the large-scale storyline of the versions. The Australians and Russians from the Constellation Corridor joined in on the discussion, too, mixing into this atmosphere filled with excitement.

While all kinds of speculations circulated the forums, the Black Star Army were not just occupied with arguing on the forums but also took part in the pursuit.

Although most people were too far away and could not make any contributions, the army players were used to participating in large-scale Faction Missions together as a whole. Furthermore, this mission did not have a failure condition, so they would probably receive the minimum reward as long as they made an effort to chase after the enemies.

The Flickering World was still in a state of information lockdown; its network was not fully connected with the known universe yet. Other than the ones involved in the matter, the other forces in the outside world still did not know what had happened in the Flickering World.

The players were the first group of outsiders that knew about these secret pieces of information. This time, the forums displayed its unique information advantage—while the outside world did not have a clue about this matter, almost all the players knew about what had happened on Planet Lighthouse!

The forces of the three civilizations were spread across the entire explored universe. Their influence was incomparable. No matter which Star Field the players were in, they could all feel the intense and uptight atmosphere. They all looked forward to seeing what kind of tremendous impact this incident would cause after the outside world knew about it!

…

On the other side, Tarrokov’s main fleet took off from Planet Lighthouse to chase after the Arcane Church. The five Beyond Grade As—Han Xiao, Milizaus, Beyoni, Heber, and Ravenlaude—were working together on this very rare occasion.

Not long after departure, the high-level official who was responsible for the dynasty’s logistics contacted Han Xiao upon Urranrell’s request, giving him more than enough face by asking him personally about what Ultimate Knowledges he wanted.

Chapter 857 - Apostle Weapon and Ultimate Knowledge

“Alright, we will send these two knowledges to you as soon as possible. Remember to receive it.” The Logistics officer then hung up.

Han Xiao left the quantum network and played with the black handgun in his hands while waiting for the arrival of the knowledge.

The handgun in his hands looked like a backward firearm, but it actually made use of dark energy with a mini energy furnace within it. It was mainly sold to the players as a long-ranged weapon but was no more than a toy gun to Han Xiao. It was pretty useless and was mainly made into such an appearance for old times’ sake.

As his strength grew greater, Han Xiao’s memories of the time when he was weak grew deeper. The many scenes of him fighting back on Planet Aquamarine flashed through his head. He was already a powerful character in the universe and had come a long way from the time when he found it difficult to kill even an ordinary warrior. He now had the ability to even destroy planets, and the number of things capable of killing him was decreasing.

“It has already been more than twenty years…” Han Xiao had a complicated expression on his face.

Psionic Prime stood beside Han Xiao and asked, “Master, what are you thinking about?”

“I only taught about the past.” Han Xiao then turned around to look at Psionic Prime.

“I realized that you are becoming more and more curious.”

Psionic Prime nodded his metal head. “Although I can obtain knowledge from the web, the emotions of a living being are boundless, and I am only able to understand some things after experiencing it personally. Thus, I enjoy communicating.”

“This is a good thing. I’ll need you to help me manage a Mechanical Life civilization in the future. You are the first Mechanical Life that I created, and if nothing goes wrong, you will be the leader in the future. As the leader of a civilization, you must learn to understand others and understand the thoughts of other Mechanical Lives.”

Han Xiao then paused for a moment, and a helpless look could be seen on his face. “Enjoying communication is a good thing, but you should change your habits when talking on the web…”

Han Xiao used his Virtual Technology skills to keep a record of the Mechanical Life’s web data. He realized that many Mechanical Lives including Psionic Prime enjoyed having side accounts to chat with the citizens of the various civilizations.

It would not matter if it was just a normal conversation, but most of the Mechanical Lives would have a few hundred or thousand accounts to chat with others at the same time with the contents of the conversation being extremely explosive. The most common one would be having dirty talk by mimicking the opposite gender.

In his eyes, the majority of the Mechanical Lives were like problematic children. They were like sponges absorbing the evil and kindness of numerous living beings, forming various different personalities.

Sizing Psionic Prime up, Han Xiao thought for a moment before saying, “Stand in front of me.”

Psionic Prime obeyed obediently.

Han Xiao sat on the sofa, and a bluish gold Mechanical Force appeared on his palm.

“You are my first child, and after a long period of observation, I am satisfied in your potential. Are you willing to become my Apostle Weapon and obtain even greater strength?”

“I am willing to accept everything of yours, master.” Psionic Prime knelt before him.

“Then accept this bestowment. Also, do not call me master in the future…”

Han Xiao’s lips curled up slightly.

“Call me Lord.”

The next moment, the special Mechanical Force in his palms, which contained the ‘Power of Lord’s Dominance’, entered Psionic Prime’s body. This was the skill of the Lord Mechanic, [Apostle Life Creation].

Hum!

Psionic Prime’s energy furnace began surging and bolts of bluish-gold Mechanical Force extended out from within the mechanical body as though the bolts of electricity were alive.

The magnetic field that contained a strange aura enveloped Psionic Prime’s body, and the mechanical structures and parts within Psionic Prime’s body began to change. The surrounding alloy began to shake as though they were about to be sucked into Psionic Prime’s body.

Han Xiao then stretched out his arms and sent a large number of nanoparticles toward Psionic Prime. These nanoparticles revolved around Psionic Prime like a star ring. The revolution gradually picked up speed, and the nanoparticles transformed into a metal sea that entered Psionic Prime’s body to provide raw materials for the upgrade.

Han Xiao then sat down on the couch by the side and played with the dark energy handgun while admiring the scene before him. The special effects of [Apostle Life Creation] were much more dazzling than [Emperor’s Gift].

There was a limited number of slots for his Apostle Weapons, a mere ten or so.

After a while, Psionic Prime’s transformation had finally ended, and his appearance had transformed greatly.

Psionic Prime was even taller than before, about four meters tall. He had many new components, and his armor had many complicated but beautiful engravings on it.

With a round crown like metal on his head, Psionic Prime held onto a long, staff-like mechanical spear in his hands.

“How do you feel?” Han Xiao asked with a smile.

“I thank the Lord for your bestowment. I can feel my new strength,” Psionic Prime said with a deep voice and held up the spear in his hands. Psionic energy then gushed out from his energy furnace, and he burst forth with energy.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and suddenly lifted his handgun, opening fire at Psionic Prime.

Boom boom boom!

A couple of dark energy laser beams struck Psionic Prime but were blocked by a layer of psionic energy. At the same time, the battle notification was triggered.

Han Xiao then looked at Psionic Prime’s attributes, which were displayed on the interface, and nodded with satisfaction.

Psionic Prime was currently at level 215, and his various attributes were strengthened. He was now at a boss level, and his strength had exceeded all his other Mechanical Lives.

Without Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force boost, Psionic Prime still had the strength of a Calamity Grade, and with the boost from his Mechanical Force, Psionic Prime would be able to exchange blows with a Beyond Grade A and would no longer be cannon fodder. His strength was similar to EsGod’s doppelganger.

The spear in Psionic Prime’s hand was a special Apostle Weapon from [Apostle Life Creation] and was called ‘Psionic Prime Spear’. It could also split into a floating state and even enlarge or shrink. It had many different forms and could even be transformed into a psionic energy form. It could be used for both long- and close-range battle, and both a Mechanical Pugilist and Cannon Master was able to use it. The level of the weapon was above 200, and it was of the silver orange grade. The strength of the weapon would be increased when being used by Psionic Prime.

Apart from this, Psionic Prime also obtained a special ‘Apostle Characteristic’ and ‘Apostle Authority’. His Apostle Characteristics were ‘Stable’ and ‘Leader’, which could strengthen the Mechanical Life around him during battle. His Apostle Authorities were ‘Psionic Control’ and ‘Battle Boost’, which gave him better control over psionic energy and higher combat power.

A satisfied smile could be seen on Han Xiao’s face.

The strength of an Apostle Weapon was extremely impressive, but it was a pity that [Apostle Life Creation] had a long cooldown of a month. It meant that he would only be able to create twelve Apostle Weapons in a year. Of course, because of his talents like [Machinery Emperor] and [Elementary Grade Mechanical Sense], he could create more than twelve Apostle Weapons.

“Familiarize yourself with your new energy, my new Apostle,” Han Xiao said with joy.

“I will not let the Lord down.” Psionic Prime said.

Beep beep.

Han Xiao’s communicator rang at this moment; the Crimson Dynasty had finally sent the two Ultimate Knowledges over.

Han Xiao spent twelve thousand Contribution Points to choose two Ultimate Knowledge.

Armed Branch: [Endless Material Science]

Control Branch: [Virtual Creator]

One of them belonged to his Virtual Mechanic branch, and he only needed eight Potential Points. The other was an important knowledge to Mechanics, and the Mechanic from any branch would try to learn it.

Resources and energy had always been the two largest bottlenecks to a Mechanic’s technological skills, and the Armed Branch had a material-related knowledge at all levels. This allowed a Mechanic to combine more powerful materials and increase the basic attributes of a Mechanic. This was a core knowledge of the Mechanic Class.

Learning these two knowledges required thirty-two Potential Points and Han Xiao had thirty-three Potential Points on him.

Han Xiao smiled and immediately learned the two knowledge.

_____________________

Learning…

Successfully learned! You have learned [Endless Material Science]!

Learning…

Successfully learned! You have learned [Virtual Creator]!

You have received the talent [Material Pioneer]!

[Material Pioneer]: The probability of success for merging new materials is increased, and the abilities obtained from special materials have been increased. For example, the self-recovery ability of machines when using memory alloy will be increased.

You have received talent [Virtual Lord]!

[Virtual Lord]: Your various Virtual Technology skills have been strengthened greatly. The total bonus is 2.5. When you enter the quantum network vision, your consciousness can jump to different quantum network nodes and increase your range greatly. You can let Virtual Life Forms submit to you. You have mastered all the various Virtual Technology skills, and the quantum network is your fortress.

You have acquired [Ultimate Material Refinement]!

You have acquired [Endless Material Combination]!

[Endless Material Combination]: You can combine the specialties of any materials and attempt to create new material recipes. The higher the grade of the material and the more complicated the recipe, the lower the success rate. The basic success rate is determined by Intelligence and Machinery Affinity. When you craft a new recipe, the strength of the new material will be increased.

You have acquired [Virtual Life Evolution]!

[Virtual Life Evolution]: You can transform an AI into a Virtual Life Form. A Virtual Life Form has more powerful infiltrative and defensive abilities.

You have acquired [Virtual Soul]!

[Virtual Soul]: You soul can transform into a Virtual Life Form and live within the quantum network. Total level, Intelligence, and Virtual Technology skills will determine the strength after transformation in the quantum network. This effect can be cancelled.

When you use your Mechanical Force to connect to a target, you can temporarily virtualize your target’s soul and pull it into the quantum network. Success rate is determined by total level, Intelligence, Mystery, and Luck. If successful, the target won’t be able to control their body temporarily, and attacking the target in the quantum network will cause mental damage.

Cooldown: 15 min.

_____________________

Han Xiao looked through the notifications and nodded with satisfaction.

“The effects of these talents are extremely powerful. Endless Material Science allowed me to improve the quality of my machines and create new materials. Virtual knowledge allowed me to have new battle tactics.”

With the two Ultimate Knowledge in his hands, Han Xiao was extremely satisfied. He did not make use of his remaining six thousand Contribution Points to exchange for new knowledge but kept them for the Political Asset effect.

Just when he was about to go to the battle room to test Psionic Prime’s new strength, his communicator rang. Tarrokov was calling him, revealing some information which truly baffled him.

Han Xiao replied with an odd expression.

“You’re saying that EsGod wants to work with the dynasty temporarily and send some manpower to help us stop the Arcane Church?”

“That’s right. Our forces that chased after the Fallen Ark troops captured an empty battleship with EsGod’s doppelganger inside. He didn’t fight back and allowed himself to be captured, saying that he wanted to talk to us.”

Tarrokov was truly surprised.

Han Xiao frowned and felt that this matter was truly suspicious. There was no need for EsGod to do this. EsGod was extremely mobile, and he was not one to bother about his subordinates. Thus, he would be able to escape even without the help of the dynasty. Furthermore, the dynasty’s main target was not him. Why would EsGod bother making such an unnecessary move to anger the Arcane Church? Could it be that he thought that he would be able to make the dynasty happy by doing so?

After thinking for a moment, Han Xiao asked, “Chief commander, what are you planning to do?”

“Er… EsGod wants information about the Arcane Church’s coordinates, and it won’t really matter if we give it to him. The Arcane Church’s fleet will leave our security perimeter very soon, and we will lose track of them very quickly. This piece of news isn’t secret, and it won’t matter who we tell.

“Even if EsGod isn’t truly sincere, we wouldn’t suffer any losses. But if he really wants to let Sagman and the others be his scapegoat, we will definitely earn big. As for him working together with the Arcane Church to ambush us, we can always settle the score in the future.”

“Then let us go according to your plan.”

Although Han Xiao felt that EsGod’s decision was extremely strange, Tarrokov was the commander. Since Han Xiao could not think of a problem, he would not interfere in Tarrokov’s decision.

Right at this moment, Tarrokov said, “There is something else. EsGod’s doppelganger would like to meet you.”

“Meet me? Alright. Since the dynasty fleet that is giving chase to EsGod doesn’t have any Beyond Grade As, I will split out a portion of my mechanical army to meet him and also monitor his doppelganger in the process.”

Han Xiao was certain that EsGod probably wanted to ‘thank’ him for the evolution energy.

After pausing for a while, he continued.

“As for the Arcane Church fleet… even if they leave the security perimeter, I have some means to locate them…”

As a Virtual Mechanic, how can he not leave something behind for the Arcane Church fleet during the battle. Although the firewall of the Arcane Church fleet was strong, he still had the ability to leave a little something behind.

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

Choosing to learn the [Virtual Creator] knowledge at this moment was to chase after them!

Chapter 858 - Ames“ Actions

After giving chase for a while, the star map showed that the Arcane Church fleet had left the security perimeter and begun to split up. Tarrokov had temporarily lost contact with the Arcane Church fleet. Because of his previous conversation with Han Xiao, he invited Han Xiao to the main flagship so that Han Xiao could lock onto the locations of the enemy vessels through his Virtual Technology.

Han Xiao walked through the corridors of the main flagship, straight to the command room, with Hila and the others following behind him.

All of the dynasty’s commanders who he met along the way gave him a respectful salute. Han Xiao’s achievements in this battle had earned him the respect of all the participants in the battle. It could be said that their lives had been saved by Black Star, and they were naturally grateful to him.

Han Xiao responded with a smile and turned around to see Hila frowning. He then looked down at her neck only to see a bandage on her neck, which extended down her collarbone. He then asked with concern, “Are your injuries alright?”

Hila shook her head. “Such light injuries will recover in no time at all. You do not need to worry.”

After the battle, she did not allow Aurora to waste her life force to treat them and chose to recover naturally.

“Does it still hurt?”

“A little bit. The painkillers aren’t too effective.” Hila frowned. Although she had a stubborn personality, there was no need to act tough for such a small matter.

“Then I need to congratulate you for being alive.” Han Xiao chuckled.

Their group then arrived at the command room, where Tarrokov was waiting for them. Upon seeing Han Xiao’s arrival, he immediately came forward to welcome him. He then pointed at a location on the star map and said, “This is the last position where the Arcane Church was seen. We have currently lost track of them. Black Star, we shall rely on you.”

Han Xiao nodded and closed his eyes to enter the quantum network viewpoint.

In the darkness, nodes began to light up in the quantum network with some near and others far. An endless stream of information was being transmitted by the nodes, and an illusory wave of information floated toward him.

The star map appeared in the quantum network in the form of nodes, and Han Xiao could easily zoom in or out. In the quantum network, distance was completely negligible since he could jump from node to node easily. The improvement from [Virtual Creator] strengthened him in all aspects and greatly increased the range of his abilities.

The quantum network viewpoint seems more detailed than before.

Han Xiao immersed himself in this new feeling for a while before getting to work. He then slowly connected to the nodes to feel the subtle traces that the Arcane Church had left behind in the quantum network.

His brain rapidly processed a large amount of information, and Han Xiao opened his eyes abruptly.

Pa!

A few hundred red dots suddenly lit up on the star map before them. These were the Arcane Church battleships that had concealed themselves.

The locations of all the divisions were marked, and nothing could hide from him!

Tarrokov was overjoyed. “Good job!”

“Haha, I didn’t do much.” Han Xiao backed out from the quantum network viewpoint and chuckled.

If it was before he learned [Virtual Creator], the traces of his infiltration would probably have alerted the Arcane Church’s artificial intelligence, and they would have cleared it up.

But after learning the Ultimate Knowledge of the Virtual Mechanic class, he had received a huge upgrade and could easily create a backdoor into the Arcane Church’s system without being detected. This was why he had chosen to learn [Virtual Creator].

Tarrokov stroked his chin and said, “Now that we have their coordinates, the enemy’s movements will be transparent to us, and we don’t need to worry about losing them. Hmm, the enemy has split up their forces, and a portion of them are probably going to be sacrificed. If this is the case, it is very likely that these pawns being sacrificed have fake information about the location of the stargates and wish to distract us. The true location of the stargate should be in the fleet that contains those Beyond Grade As. Black Star, are you able to lock onto the enemy commander and Beyond Grade As’ positions? I suspect that they are not on the main flagship.”

“I can, but I need to infiltrate the enemy’s surveillance equipment. The risk of being exposed will be increased, and we may lose their locations. Are you sure you want to take the risk?” Han Xiao replied. The security of a Universal Civilization naturally should not be underestimated.

After thinking for a while, Tarrokov shook his head. “We should continue to maintain our current state. As long as we have their coordinates, we can try to capture their entire fleet in one fell swoop. Give EsGod a portion of the intelligence first.”

Han Xiao nodded and did not say another word. His consciousness then entered his mechanical army. The mechanical army that he had sent out was almost going to come into contact with EsGod’s doppelganger.

…

A small fleet was currently approaching the meeting point together with an empty spaceship. They had been waiting for a long while, and beams of light suddenly appeared from the darkness of space and stopped before them.

Both fleets came into contact with each other and verified their identities. The Black Star Army then approached the empty spaceship.

A large number of dynasty soldiers were currently pointing their weapons at the exit of the spaceship, waiting for the Beyond Grade A envoy to take over from them.

For a bunch of ordinary soldiers to monitor EsGod’s doppelganger, even if EsGod did not fight back, they would still have an immense sense of pressure. It was as though they were facing a beast that could kill them at any moment. Thankfully, their helpers had finally arrived.

Whoosh!

The hatch to the spaceship opened, and Psionic Prime walked in with his spear. Behind him was a group of Mechanical Lives and a large number of mechanical soldiers.

Psionic Prime then looked down at the dynasty’s soldiers and said, “I am the first Apostle of Lord Black Star, Psionic Prime. I am here to take over the mission from all of you and shall watch over EsGod’s doppelganger.”

“We shall hand him over to you.” The group of soldiers heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly handed over the mission before leaving the empty spaceship hastily.

Psionic Prime then brought his troops along to the empty spaceship. EsGod’s doppelganger was currently present.

Behind him, Silver Flash looked at the gigantic Psionic Prime and said angrily, “The Lord is too biased. Why does he get to be the first Apostle Weapon?”

“Stop complaining. Psionic Prime is the first child, so this can’t be helped,” a Mechanical Life Protector called ‘Gold Sovereign’ said. He belonged to the first batch of Mechanical Life and had a cold personality.

In front of them was a beastman-type mechanical soldier called ‘Mad Sky Hunter’. He turned around and said, “The Lord has his own considerations, and we only have to give our absolute loyalty. Since the Lord bestowed Psionic Prime with such strength, it means that there is a limited number of Apostle Weapon slots. Perhaps only a small portion of us will be able to transform into Apostle Weapons.”

Psionic Prime listened to the discussion behind him without saying a word and arrived at their destination in the spaceship.

The energy core in this empty spaceship had already been removed, and the spaceship was currently short on power. EsGod’s doppelganger was leaning on the couch, and he faced Psionic Prime’s mechanical army.

“Black Star, you’re here,” EsGod’s doppelganger said with a smile.

“I am Psionic Prime. The Lord does not want to meet you now. You can just let me know what you want to tell him.”

EsGod’s doppelganger sized Psionic Prime up and said with a teasing tone, “Apostle Weapon? Black Star didn’t have such an ability the last time we fought. It seems like he received a great reward from the current battle. Alright, I do not have any interest in talking to you. Get Black Star out to see me.”

Psionic Prime then held his spear up and pretended that he did not hear anything.

Upon seeing that, EsGod raised his arm out, and his arm stretched out like rubber, sending out a punch that was too fast to follow with the naked eye!

Clank!

His fists were imbued with Esper energy and crashed onto Psionic Prime’s spear, generating a small shockwave.

Without saying anything, Psionic Prime channeled his energy into his spear, and the spear entered its released mode.

A psionic energy wave then shot out from the spear!

Swoosh!

EsGod’s doppelganger had a stunning speed, and he avoided the attack nimbly. However, the couch that he was sitting on was sliced in two, and the entire wall of the spaceship was also sliced cleanly in two.

The mechanical troops and EsGod’s doppelganger thus drifted into space and faced each other in a standoff. The dynasty’s spaceships by the side immediately aimed their cannons at EsGod’s doppelganger.

Psionic Prime stood at the very front, and a surge of Mechanical Force descended on his body from afar. Psionic Prime’s body exploded forth with a blinding light. The other mechanical troops did not receive the boost from the Mechanical Force and retreated under Psionic Prime’s orders.

EsGod’s doppelganger looked at the surge of Mechanical Force and knew that Han Xiao was definitely paying attention to the situation. He knew what Han Xiao’s intention was and could not help but sneer.

Han Xiao wanted him to fight the Apostle Weapon to test the strength of the weapon.

“Humph, on account of the fact that you allowed me to evolve, I shall play with your Apostle Weapon for a while.”

The next moment, EsGod’s doppelganger made his move, and his arms stretched out toward Psionic Prime like a cannonball. He launched ferocious attacks, leaving behind a series of afterimages.

This doppelganger did not have any powerful Esper Abilities and only had a few abilities to strengthen and modify the physique. However, this EsGod doppelganger still had the strength of a Beyond Grade A and the ability to suppress all Calamity Grades.

Psionic Prime then brandished his spear to fight EsGod, and both their figures weaved around in space.

Psionic Prime and EsGod’s doppelganger were evenly matched with each other in the head-on confrontation!

Psionic Prime’s spear was imbued with blue psionic energy, and EsGod was like a lump of clay, capable of changing his form to avoid various different attacks. At the same time, EsGod’s attacks were also avoided by Psionic Prime by splitting his body up and transforming into various mobile floating guards.

The mechanical troops watching by the side could not help but be surprised.

They were originally no more than cannon fodder in the face of a Beyond Grade A, but Psionic Prime had the strength to fight a Beyond Grade A head on.

“Is this the strength of an Apostle Weapon?”

Silver Flash and all the other Mechanical Life earnestly yearned for such strength.

Both parties clashed time and time again, and both of their figures retreated together.

At this moment, the Mechanical Force on Psionic Prime dissipated, indicating that it was the end of their spar.

EsGod’s doppelganger then stopped fighting after noticing that since he was there to talk.

All of them returned to a Black Star Army spaceship that was by the side. EsGod sat down, and Han Xiao’s long distance projection appeared before him.

Upon seeing that, EsGod’s doppelganger said with a smile, “Black Star, it is all thanks to you that I’ve been able to evolve this time.”

Han Xiao then snorted. “You wanted to see me just to say something like this?”

“Of course not.” EsGod’s doppelganger waved his hands and chuckled. “I wanted to ask you if you managed to come up with any results after researching that set of wormhole data.”

This fellow indeed chose to expose the data on purpose so that he could borrow my connections to help him research the data… Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed.

However, EsGod still thought that he was the only one who knew about the existence of the World Tree Civilization and felt that he had an upper hand in intelligence.

Up until now, EsGod still thought that Han Xiao only researched the wormhole data to be careful but did not know that Han Xiao was also aware of the World Tree Civilization’s existence.

Han Xiao naturally would not destroy EsGod’s illusion as this was the only way to prevent EsGod from being wary.

“Long story short. These are the coordinates that the dynasty wants me to pass to you.” Han Xiao then got Phillip to show a portion of the data. “If you really want to help the dynasty stop the Arcane Church, the dynasty may reconsider how they should deal with you.”

EsGod’s doppelganger did not bother responding and started to view the intelligence report.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao said, “However, I cannot understand why you suddenly chose to work with the dynasty. Angering the Arcane Church has no benefits to you.”

“You don’t need to worry about this.” EsGod did not even bother raising his head.

Han Xiao stroked his chin and fell into thought.

He had always felt that this was not EsGod’s intention but he was fooled by someone else.

Although EsGod would be able to curry favor with the dynasty by doing so, Han Xiao felt that his intention was to make use of this opportunity to increase the Arcane Church’s losses. It was as though his targets were Sagman and the other Beyond Grade As.

“If they manage to succeed, who will benefit the most? The Crimson Dynasty? The Federation of Light? Or maybe those Super Star Cluster Civilizations?”

Han Xiao let out a deep sigh.

…

After the Arcane Church fleet split up to escape, Rogue, Sagman, and the others changed their spaceships and abandoned the main flagship. They then disguised themselves as a small fleet and were currently making their way to the true position of the secret stargate.

Rogue felt that such a method would be able to confuse the dynasty’s forces, but the following event had shocked him.

A portion of their escaping fleet suffered from an ambush. However, the ones ambushing them were not just the dynasty’s fleet but also the Fallen Ark fleet!

“Is EsGod mad? Why is he attacking us‽”

Rogue panted heavily with an ashen expression and bloodshot eyes.

“That darn EsGod actually arrived at an agreement with the dynasty. This fellow really wants us to help restrain the dynasty for him!”

Sagman was also extremely frustrated. It was one thing for EsGod to go back on his word, but he had even gone a step further to attack them. Although he did not have any expectations in EsGod, he could not help but be enraged by EsGod’s actions.

Psyker then looked at the star map and suddenly said, “The situation is strange. They are accurately ambushing our divisions. Is it because that division was unlucky to run into the dynasty’s defensive line, or has the dynasty grasped our coordinates?”

Everyone’s expression changed greatly the moment these words were said.

Psyker gritted his teeth. “Black Star is a Virtual Mechanic, so he may have done something.”

Mercer also gritted his teeth and thought to himself, What kind of bullsh*t Mechanic is he?

Upon hearing that, Rogue immediately activated the automatic artificial intelligence scan on the spaceship, but there were no traces of Han Xiao’s infiltration.

“Black Star’s infiltration can’t be detected…” Sagman felt his head ache. He was extremely knowledgeable, and he knew that a Virtual Mechanic capable of bypassing a Universal Civilization’s firewall was not easy to deal with.

Although none of them were certain that Han Xiao had managed to lock onto their positions, they decided to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

“The dynasty’s encirclement isn’t complete yet, so this is our only chance to escape,” Rogue said. “Inform our forces to split up again. I want to see a million divisions. Also, cut off half of the fleet’s quantum network connection!”

He wanted to seize the opportunity before the encirclement was formed to use even more divisions to confuse the dynasty. Forming a million divisions meant that each division would only have a few battleships, and it would be impossible for them to fight back. This was akin to sacrificing even more people.

Cutting off half of the fleet’s quantum network connection meant that these divisions would become deaf and blind. It would be impossible for them to communicate with the other fleets, so they could only escape according to the star map. The only advantage of doing so was that they would be able to prevent their locations from being spotted. Rogue was prepared to cut off his own quantum network connection, and it was akin to giving up command.

Because of Han Xiao’s methods, Rogue had no choice but to make such a decision. It was akin to abandoning everyone in exchange for their survival.

Ninjia looked at him coldly and said, “Sir, you will definitely have to face court martial if you do so.”

“Hahaha…” Rogue laughed. “After the failure of this mission, what kind of a future will I have?

“If not for Black Star turning the tables on all of you, would I have failed?

“Do I hate all of you? Of course I do!

“But all of you are still the high-level combatants of the Arcane Church.

“These soldiers and troops can be easily drafted and hired again, but all of you are different. It is impossible to easily replicate the existence of a Beyond Grade A, and you still have the Universal Treasure Ten Thousand Deity Scepter in your hands…

“My top priority is to cover your escape. Your lives are more important than any of ours!

“When I was in command school, my lecturer told me that I shouldn’t be a commander if I can’t be merciless. Having perfection in all aspects is an impossible dream, so we have to make sacrifices in order to complete our objective. Everything that isn’t important can be abandoned…

“I have already thought things through! Who cares about the court martial? My only mission is to protect the strength of the Arcane Church!”

Rogue panted heavily after saying such a ‘moving’ speech.

Sagman and the others all narrowed their eyes.

As Beyond Grade As, they would not be easily taken in by the words of others, and Rogue’s intention was not able to escape their eyes.

The five of them looked at each other before looking at Rogue.

“Then let’s go according to your plan,” Sagman said slowly.

…

Above Planet Aquamarine, Floating Dragon Island had a lot more facilities a few months ago. There were plenty of spaceships flying in and out, and it was extremely prosperous.

In order to set up their main camp, Floating Dragon no longer allowed scavengers and galactic pirates to land on the island and chased away all the gray organizations on the island. Of course, there was a portion who did not dare approach the stronghold of the Black Star Army and took the initiative to escape.

The organizations entering Floating Dragon were mainly proper financial groups, and under Floating Dragon’s influence, Planet Aquamarine also gained support from quite a few financial groups.

In Floating Dragon Palace, Ames was currently seated on her throne.

Ames looked down at the representatives who had come to visit, and her face remained completely expressionless; no one was able to tell what she was thinking. In truth, however, she was just daydreaming.

Sigh, all these troublesome matters will be taken care of by Jenny anyway.

Ames’ mind had already drifted elsewhere.

I wonder how Hila and Aurora are doing. Tsk, Black Star is truly annoying. You took both my students away and don’t even send some news back.

Beep beep.

At that moment, her communicator, which was floating nearby, rang. Ames then grabbed it with her force field and was a little surprised upon seeing who the caller was.

Curious, Ames picked up the call and Austin’s figure appeared. “Austin? Didn’t this fellow go and search for materials? Why have you called me?”

Austin smiled and said, “Ames, I have a piece of information that may be of use to you.”

Ames raised her brows. “Interesting. When did you start selling information? Isn’t that Black Star’s hobby?”

Austin smiled profoundly and informed Ames about the battle at Planet Lighthouse.

Ames was seated lazily at the start, but she began to gradually sit up straight with unstable force field energy floating around beside her, bringing about a huge pressure to the financial group representatives below.

“… that’s about everything.” Austin finished his description and added, “I am only informing you about this because you are Black Star’s ally. Just as I expected, you aren’t aware of this matter, and Black Star hid it from you. Haha, I think he doesn’t want you to be dragged into this storm.”

“Stop nagging. I know what you mean. Humph, in any case, thanks for the information.”

Ames hung up and shut her eyes as though she was in deep thought.

Aesop, who was by the side, had heard the conversation and shook his head. “The prophecy was real. Thankfully, I reminded Black Star. If not, he might not have been able to escape this time. Black Star hid this matter from you because he doesn’t want you to be involved in the matters of the Universal Civilizations. However, Austin intentionally informed you about this because he wants to muddy the waters. Ah, he is truly a little brat who wants the world to fall into chaos.”

Upon hearing that, Ames opened her eyes and said, “I am his ally, not his subordinate. What rights does he have to stop me from participating?”

Aesop had a knowing look on his face. He then shook his head and asked, “What do you plan to do?”

“Contact the Crimson Dynasty envoy Zoel. The Crimson Dynasty is probably going to mobilize their forces in the Shattered Star Ring to attack the Arcane Church’s forces and stargate…”

Ames then stood up.

“Black Star, Psyker, Heber, and Austin, everyone is in the Flickering World…

“Thus, I am the only Beyond Grade A in the Shattered Star Ring now!

“I can go wherever I like!”

Chapter 859 - 859 Return Gift!

859 Return Gift!

More and more dynasty fleets were being gathered, and the desolate universe belt outside of the Dawn Star Cluster was starting to be locked down. The encirclement was forming, and the gaps for the Arcane Church fleet were slowly closing.

With the aid of Han Xiao’s coordinates, the dynasty managed to capture even more battleships. After Rogue ordered for a million divisions to be formed, these divisions no longer had the ability to break through after being discovered by the dynasty and could only be wiped out or captured.

Not too long later, tens of thousands of battleships fell into the hands of the dynasty, and the Arcane Church members on board the battleships could only become captives.

However, Rogue’s method had indeed slowed down the dynasty’s speed greatly.

If they wanted to hide something, the best method was not to lock it up in a safe but to hide it within a sea of bait. This was the situation that the dynasty was facing.

In the main flagship, Tarrokov was having a virtual meeting with Han Xiao and the others to analyze the situation.

“According to the statements of the captives, the enemy commander Rogue adopted the method of abandoning their forces to confuse us. Furthermore, half of their battleships have disconnected from the network and escaped from our surveillance. They are now lone armies trying to escape in the dark. We have managed to capture the Glorious Sun Grade flagship but were unable to find Rogue and the others. They should be hiding within the fleet that’s cut off from the network.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and said, “It seems like they noticed my infiltration and chose to cut off their tails to escape. Heh, this commander is somewhat capable.”

“Black Star, do you have any ideas?”

“As long as those troops connect to the quantum network for even an instant, their locations will be exposed.” Han Xiao shrugged his shoulders.

When he left behind the infiltration software, he had not learned [Virtual Creator] yet and was restricted by the firewall. If he had his current standard back then, it would not be as simple as infiltrating their system. He would have been able to bypass their defenses and use a virus to control the artificial intelligence of the enemy’s battleship. Even if the enemy cut off connection from the network, he would have been able to force the enemy’s artificial intelligence to reactivate it.

“I can try to tell their fortunes,” Ravenlaude said. “However, the Arcane Church has two Mages, and they have definitely set up a force field to block their destiny lines and prevent others from spying on them.”

“Just give it a try since it doesn’t require money.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

Ravenlaude snorted, and a purple light appeared within his palms. A light blue crystal appeared in his palm with a gray cloud within it.

The crystal then floated in front of him, and Ravenlaude tapped his forehead. Indigo light then flashed in the crystal, and an image gradually appeared in the gray cloud.

Everyone then stretched their necks to take a look, and Ninjia’s face appeared within the crystal. He then looked at Ravenlaude as though he had noticed something.

Ka-cha!

The next moment, the crystal, which was not cheap, split in two.

“It was blocked indeed,” Ravenlaude said with resignation.

Everyone then looked at him as if him being a disappointment was expected.

Ravenlaude had thick skin and even asked if he could claim his losses.

Tarrokov decided to ignore him temporarily.

“The enemy has chosen to split up their forces with every division being much smaller than before,” Heber said with a deep voice. “Rogue’s fleet is probably the only one capable of breaking through our obstruction. The moment a Beyond Grade A takes action, they will be discovered by our people. However, we have not had any such reports, which means that they have not met our troops.”

“They are truly lucky.” Beyoni snorted.

Eh? Luck… Han Xiao then blinked, and an idea came to his head. He then turned around to look at Feidin with a burning gaze.

“Feidin, if I asked you to choose, which direction do you think Rogue would escape in? You are pretty lucky, and your guess may be right.”

Feidin did not know whether to laugh or cry.

“Black Star, it is one thing for you to tease me usually, but how can you do so in front of outsiders? You shouldn’t joke about this, right?”

“What are you talking about? I am not joking at all,” Han Xiao said seriously. “You can also see that we are facing a huge problem that cannot be solved. Why don’t you give it a try? Who knows what will happen?”

Seeing Han Xiao’s insistence, Feidin could only helplessly point at a few spots on the star map casually.

“Hey, don’t blame me if I am wrong.”

Han Xiao chuckled and said, “Chief commander, why don’t you search the few directions that he pointed out? We may really be able to find Rogue.”

“This is too childish!” Aurora could not help commenting.

However, she looked up and realized that Tarrokov and the other Beyond Grade As had calm expressions on their faces as though they did not find it strange.

“I see,” Tarrokov said. “Relying on instincts isn’t a bad choice right now.”

Milizaus and the others nodded in agreement.

They were all experts with a great deal of experience and believed in intuition as well.

Luck was a part of strength!

…

Rogue’s fleet only had ten or so small spaceships, and after cutting themselves off from the network, they had lost contact with the other divisions. They did not know how many of their divisions had been captured and could only choose to escape.

“We aren’t too far from the secret stargate, and we haven’t met with any dynasty fleets,” Rogue said, looking at the star map. “As long as we go past the barricade set up by the dynasty, we will be able to arrive at the stargate.”

“Looks like our luck isn’t bad,” Taylor said.

“It isn’t entirely luck,” Rogue replied. “We intentionally misled the dynasty’s fleet about our direction, and thus, the lockdown in this direction is thinner.”

Sagman nodded slowly and replied, “According to our current speed, we will be able to…”

Whoo!

Before he could finish, the alarm suddenly went off.

“Alert! Radar scan detected. Our disguise has been seen through. Please prepare for battle!”

Everyone nodded and saw a dynasty fleet approaching them from the radar.

“Dammit!” Rogue slammed the control panel.

Their concealment mode could hide their location, but the enemy radar would still be able to pick them up at close proximity. A dynasty fleet that was in detection mode had just gone past them and thus detected their presence.

Rogue then turned around and shouted at Sagman and the others, “The enemy has fifty battleships. Please get rid of them quickly!”

Although the battleships of the Arcane Church were slightly faster, the Crimson Dynasty’s technological skills also belonged to the Universal Civilization grade and would not be thrown off so easily.

If they tried to continue their escape, the surrounding dynasty fleets would also detect their location. Therefore, they had no choice but to wipe out this fleet that had spotted them.

Sagman and the others nodded solemnly.

Aided by the five Beyond Grade As, Rogue’s fleet easily wiped out their enemy but also revealed the existence of Sagman and the others.

“The dynasty already knows that we are in this direction and will definitely attempt to prevent us from escaping. We must escape before the enemy Beyond Grade As arrive…” Rogue clenched his fists tightly.

…

Because their location had been exposed, Rogue’s fleet had to endure many layers of restrictions and could no longer attempt to escape stealthily. They could only forge a bloody path out and were extremely pathetic.

They originally wanted to speed up but ended up being slowed down by the layers of battleships.

Tarrokov, Han Xiao, and the others received news and immediately changed direction to give chase.

The distance between both parties was decreasing as they approached the stargate.

This time, Rogue and the others were charging straight toward the location of the secret stargate, and the dynasty’s fleet had finally discovered the secret stargate. Thus, an intense battle broke out with the Arcane Church fleet that was stationed at the stargate.

Rogue and the others eventually managed to arrive at the stargate by relying on the strength of the five Beyond Grade As.

The Arcane Church fleet was currently engaged in an intense battle with the dynasty fleet, and reinforcements were coming from the other side of the stargate endlessly.

From afar, Rogue and the others witnessed the battle. Hope of their escape was right before their eyes, and they could not help but grow excited.

Rogue connected to the quantum network again and contacted the fleet stationed by the stargate. Following which, they then charged straight into the rear of the dynasty’s fleet and joined the battle to kill their way to the stargate.

However, Tarrokov led the main fleet and arrived at this moment. Han Xiao and the others immediately spotted Sagman’s group of five, who were trying to use their strength to break through the dynasty’s formation.

“Do it!”

Without any hesitation, Han Xiao’s group of five left the spaceship and charged straight toward Sagman.

Rogue was the first to notice this, and his face turned ashen.

The Beyond Grade As still had a chance to escape into the stargate with their strength, but he had no way of escaping!

He had even abandoned his fleet mercilessly, but he still was not able to escape‽

The powerful energy reaction attracted the attention of Sagman and the others, and their expressions changed greatly.

“They caught up!”

“We cannot be tied down by them!”

Sagman’s group of five did not even dare turn around to fight back and sped up toward the stargate. They only wanted to arrive at the stargate before Han Xiao and the others could catch up to them.

They knew that it would be impossible for them to escape from the Flickering World once they were tied down by experts of the same level.

Five brilliant rays of lights were escaping with five chasing behind them.

“Attack the stargate!”

All those who had long-range attacks in Han Xiao’s party began opening fire at the stargate.

Various Beyond Grade A attacks bombarded the stargate, and cracks appeared on the protective shield covering the planet. It would not last for long.

Sagman and the others gritted their teeth and took the initiative to block the long-range attacks. They would rather get injured to reduce the damage of the stargate and borrow the strength of the attack to speed up their escape.

It was now the Arcane Church group’s turn to protect the stargate, and they were in an extremely pathetic state.

The mechanical army caused the greatest damage, and Mercer was the most pathetic. He was not like the others and did not have any long-range energy shields. He could only use his own body to endure the attacks, and his speed was gradually slowing down.

Sagman and the two Mages were the fastest and charged straight into the stargate first. Psyker followed close behind them, and he used his psychic energy to receive a wave of attacks from the mechanical army, spitting out blood as he entered the stargate.

Four of them escaped through the stargate, and only Mercer was left on the battlefield. Han Xiao and the others finally caught up when he was not too far away from the stargate.

Heber charged forward and held onto Mercer. They then tangled with each other, and Mercer’s flying trajectory was thrown off course by Heber’s intervention. He smashed into the weakened protective shield and crashed into a corner of the stargate.

Han Xiao then waved his hands, and a portion of his mechanical army charged into the stargate as scouts.

The next moment, he lost contact with the mechanical army, and it was destroyed.

The whirlpool in the stargate then disappeared, and it was shut from the other side.

Upon seeing that, Milizaus snorted. “The four who escaped destroyed the other end of the stargate. Humph, it seems like they have abandoned Mercer.”

“At least we caught one,” Ravenlaude said with a smirk.

Everyone then turned around to look at Mercer. He was currently surrounded in all directions and had no way to escape.

Heber was currently locked in a fierce battle with the crazed Mercer.

Upon noticing their gazes, Heber said with a deep voice, “This is my prey. Don’t intervene.”

Since it was impossible for Mercer to escape, they did not mind watching a one-on-one fight to observe both of their strengths.

Han Xiao then cheered, “How energetic, Little Ty-Ty.”

“Stop calling me that!”

Heber decided to just ignore Han Xiao and focus his attention on dealing with Mercer.

After finally getting a chance to capture a Beyond Grade A, he would not give it up.

The stargate had already been destroyed, and the enemy did not have any way out. This battle was already as good as over.

At this moment, Tarrokov joined in the conversation and announced with a satisfied look, “Four escaped with one left behind. Rogue has also been captured, and our results aren’t too bad. Even if Sagman’s group of four can escape from the Flickering World, they will still have to face another wave of attacks.”

Escaping from the Flickering World did not mean that they would be safe.

The Crimson Dynasty arranged for troops to block them in the Shattered Star Ring. The Black Star Army, Bloodshed Land, Klent, and all the other allies of the dynasty had also made their move, not to mention the restless Federation of Light.

Their life of escaping had not come to an end, and they would still have to go through the vast Shattered Star Ring.

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao said, “I just infiltrated the database of the stargate and obtained coordinates of the stargate on the other side.”

Tarrokov’s eyes lit up.

“This way, we will be able to uproot this secret stargate for good, and it will be much easier for us to lock onto their location. Black Star, good job!”

Han Xiao smiled and turned around to look at the battle between Heber and Mercer.

Capturing Mercer was only a matter of time.

Heaving a sigh of relief, a cold light flashed past Han Xiao’s eyes.

This was the second Beyond Grade A captive that they had caught!

Would the Arcane Church be satisfied with his return gift?

…

At the same time, in some part of the desolate universe belt was the exit of the Arcane Church’s secret stargate.

Sagman’s group of four looked at the stargate that had been destroyed by them and fell silent.

“Mercer… wasn’t able to escape…”

Sagman gritted his teeth so hard to the point his teeth almost cracked.

If they had succeeded with their mission and gotten rid of Milizaus, Beyoni, and Black Star, the dynasty would only have had three Beyond Grade As left, and they would have been able to escape easily.

But now…

They had lost the entire battle because of a moment of carelessness!

“We can’t stop here,” Ninjia said. “Black Star will definitely be able to find this location. Hurry up and leave.”

Sagman then snapped back to his senses and said with a dark expression, “Let’s go. We must take the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter back.”

It had been a long time since they were reduced to such a pathetic state!

Chapter 860 - Invitation and Announcemen

The remaining soldiers of the Arcane Church were all captured by the dynasty.

The stubborn Mercer and Heber were locked in an intense battle with their fists raining down on each other and Pugilist flames shooting out in all directions like the sparks from the clash of weapons.

A Beyond Grade A Pugilist had grasped the true essence of speed and strength, and their movements were like lightning, which came with numerous afterimages behind them. Milizaus and the others rarely fought in close range, and they admired the battle from the side.

Both of them fought until they were tired and riddled with injuries all over. Heber’s situation was slightly better, and he held onto Mercer tightly, bringing him onto the spaceship.

Bang!

Mercer’s dense body was thrown onto the ground, and the half unconscious Mercer could not get up again.

Heber then took a deep breath to stabilize his surging blood. He then pointed at Mercer, who was by his feet, and said, “I took care of him.”

Clapping could then be heard in the room, and Tarrokov gave him a round of applause with a polite smile on his face.

With Black Star one-shotting Dylan during their most desperate moment right before this, none of them thought highly of Heber defeating an opponent who was already defeated before this in a carefully engineered one-on-one fight. In fact, they all felt that it was truly too slow. However, none of them dared say it, afraid that they would offend Heber.

Han Xiao was different, and he was not afraid of Heber. With his drink in his hand, he said while sucking on the straw, “How slow, Little Ty-Ty. Why did you take so long?”

The Pugilists had spent quite some time fighting each other, and the battlefield had already been cleared up. The spectators had already gone to find some drinks and snacks while watching the battle between the two Pugilists.

“Humph.” Heber could not be bothered with him.

No matter what, the achievement of defeating Mercer belonged to him, and no one would remember the details of how it happened. They would only know that he defeated another Beyond Grade A, and having the title was sufficient.

Tarrokov then got everyone to come over and said, “Now that Heber is here, let me repeat myself again. I have already informed Her Excellency Urranrell about the battle results, and Her Excellency is extremely satisfied with our results. The Arcane Church fleet has been wiped out, and the dynasty has two Beyond Grade As in their hands.

“With such chips in our hands, the dynasty will have the upper hand, and Her Excellency will announce this matter to the universe and inform all the large and small organizations about the Arcane Church’s actions and also the price that they had to pay.”

The battle in the Flickering World did not last too long, and the dynasty was still locking down news about it. The outside world was clueless about it, but announcing it to the entire world was only a matter of time.

If the Arcane Church managed to escape safely after the ambush, the dynasty’s prestige would be heavily hit. However, things were different now, and not only was the Arcane Church’s fleet completely wiped out, two of the six Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church had been captured. The dynasty’s prestige had gone up another level, and the upper echelons were extremely satisfied with the actions of Han Xiao and the others.

The dynasty would not miss such an opportunity to promote their own Beyond Grade As. Han Xiao would be the main focus of the promotion, and the dynasty was prepared to spread news about how he single-handedly turned the situation around.

Increasing the prestige of their allies was akin to increasing the dynasty’s prestige. This was a win-win situation.

When they were watching Mercer and the Tyrant have a wrestling match, Tarrokov had already informed Han Xiao about the matter. As such, Han Xiao only nodded slightly to indicate that he acknowledged those words.

The chief commander then said, “On the other side, there are still four Beyond Grade As who escaped into the Shattered Star Ring, and the dynasty will chase after them. However, the situation in the Shattered Star Ring is different from the Flickering World. The dynasty hopes that all of you will temporarily head to the Shattered Star Ring to hold the fort so that you will be able to respond quickly.”

The Flickering World was currently the dynasty’s territory, and the other organizations did not have any foundation in this place. Thus, the dynasty was able to cast a large net to chase the enemy down without any interference.

However, the situation in the Shattered Star Ring was different, and the various organizations had complicated relationships. The Arcane Church also had various spies in the Shattered Star Ring, and the four Beyond Grade As no longer only had a single escape route. They could easily choose to split up and disguise themselves as ordinary galactic residents.

Furthermore, with the sheer size of a Star Field, searching for the enemy was akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

Of course, as the ones being hunted, Sagman and the others would face danger at every turn, and they would be experiencing much more pressure.

Because the enemy opened the gap with the stargate, the dynasty’s Beyond Grade As were unable to continue giving chase and could only choose to hold down the fort in the Shattered Star Ring. After all, the enemy would definitely try to hide themselves, and they would only be able to fight back after discovering the enemy’s tracks. If not, they would just be wasting their time.

Han Xiao then smiled and said, “The Shattered Star Ring is the Black Star Army’s main camp, so I sincerely welcome all of you to be guests in the Black Star Army. All of your food and accommodation shall be taken care of by me during this period.”

Heber immediately said after hearing that, “The Shattered Star Ring is also my territory. The Black Star Army has only been around for a few years, and there is nothing fantastic about them. All of you can come to my Bloodshed Land instead.”

Everyone present was a Beyond Grade A Super and had incredible influence. As locals, both Han Xiao and Heber wanted to pull them into their own territory as guests and increase their prestige.

Milizaus then chuckled. “Since Black Star has invited me, I shall go over to his place.”

Beyoni also nodded, “Alright, you promised to host me back when we were in the Central Galaxy. Let’s make use of this opportunity.”

They had spent one month with Han Xiao on Planet Lighthouse and also fought together in a desperate battle a while ago. They were naturally much closer to each other.

“Black Star, I shall also go over to your place,” Maximiler, who only had his projection around, said. “We can make use of this opportunity to have an exchange in Mechanic skills.”

“Sounds good.” Han Xiao agreed.

Maximiler was a Mechanic and would naturally be more interested in someone of his own Class rather than a muscular man.

Everyone ignored Heber’s invitation, and Heber felt a little embarrassed. He then turned around to look at the remaining Ravenlaude.

Ravenlaude’s mouth cramped up, and he said helplessly, “Then… I shall go to Bloodshed Land.”

Since everyone was going to the Black Star Army, he also wanted to join in the fun and see if he could find an opportunity to borrow the Evolution Cube. However, he felt his head ache upon seeing Heber stare at him and could only go against his own wishes.

Heber’s expression became slightly better. At least not everyone had ignored him.

He then looked at the three people beside Han Xiao and felt a little defeated.

He had held the Tyrant Party in the Shattered Star Ring for many years and felt that his network was pretty large. However, the experts of the same level in the other Star Fields did not think too highly of him, and he felt that he lost out to Han Xiao in this respect.

Tarrokov then coughed and interrupted the conversation.

“Because of the increased difficulty in searching for the enemy, the dynasty has decided to cut off the enemy’s path of retreat and ambush the Arcane Church’s stargate stationed in the Shattered Star Ring.

“The Shattered Star Ring envoy Zoel is already mobilizing our forces, and he will launch an attack after the dynasty makes an announcement regarding this matter.”

“It seems like we won’t be able to arrive in time for this.” Han Xiao nodded. “Neither party has any Beyond Grade As to help. Can the dynasty deal with the Arcane Church’s forces?”

“You’re wrong. We have a Beyond Grade A combatant.” Han Xiao was stunned for a moment. “Could it be that the dynasty invited Beyond Grade A allies from the other Star Fields? Wouldn’t it take too much time? The Arcane Church will also be able to send out Beyond Grade A combatants if this is the case.”

“No, our Beyond Grade A combatant is a local in the Shattered Star Ring.”

“Local? Heber and I are in the Flickering World. Austin is still rushing back and won’t be able to make it in time. There’s no need to talk about Psyker…”

As he said that, Han Xiao suddenly realized something, and his face darkened.

“Did you guys seek help from Ames by using my name‽”

“Black Star, don’t misunderstand us. We didn’t do that. The Dragon Emperor took the initiative to approach Zoel and requested to participate in the operation,” Tarrokov said. “I only found out recently, and Zoel has already agreed to it. With all of you absent, she is the only Beyond Grade A in the Shattered Star Ring and will be able to aid us greatly.”

“How did she find out about the matters over here?”

“This… I don’t know about that.” Tarrokov shook his head.

Han Xiao frowned and walked to the side to contact Ames.

Ames’ figure floated up on his communicator, and she sized Han Xiao up upon seeing him before saying with a smile, “Eh, the busy man is finally willing to call me.”

Han Xiao did not bother beating about the bush and asked, “Let me ask you, did you contact the dynasty to enter this storm?”

“Why? Do you have an issue?” Ames smirked.

Han Xiao nodded and said, “You shouldn’t have. This isn’t a good thing for you.”

“How long have you known me?” Ames asked with a calm voice. “To me, there are only things that I wish to do and those that I don’t wish to do. You are my ally, and since you were ambushed, what kind of ally would I be if I don’t help? Humph, you still tried to hide the matter from me. If not for Austin informing me about the matter, I wouldn’t have known that you encountered such danger in the Flickering World.”

So, it was that darn old man Austin… Han Xiao then said helplessly, “It isn’t that I am hiding the matter from you. I just haven’t told you yet. I don’t need to inform you at the very first moment, right?”

Ames snorted. “… I really wish to beat you up sometimes. It is a pity that you are much stronger than before, and I’m not confident that I can beat the current you.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and said helplessly, “Don’t change the topic. The dynasty will be able to attack the stargate even if you don’t participate. There’s no need for you to do so. You are not a member of the dynasty and do not have the dynasty’s protections. Your situation will be tough if you anger the Arcane Church.”

“Really? What about Austin? You don’t seem to think about him,” Ames said with a mocking tone.

“Is that even the same?” Han Xiao shook his head. “Austin owed me a favor, but you don’t. Instead, I am the one who owes you a favor. Besides, both of us are allies, and I have to think on your behalf.”

“Tsk, it turns out that you still know how to speak like a human.” Ames teased him a little before getting serious. “Alright, you don’t need to continue. You should know that even Aesop wouldn’t be able to convince me otherwise if I make a decision.”

“Alright then…”

Han Xiao was a little helpless but also touched. When he was weak, Ames had also stood up for him like this. Now that they were already on the same level, she still chose to do so, and those memories surfaced in his head.

“Then take care of yourself.”

After hanging up, Han Xiao contacted Zoel.

Zoel’s face appeared, and he said with a friendly expression, “Haha, Your Excellency Black Star. It has been quite some time. I have heard about your merits in the Flickering World. Good job!”

Zoel was the one who had introduced Han Xiao to join the dynasty. Now that Han Xiao had rendered merits to the dynasty, he would also receive some reward and was in a good mood.

“Zoel, I have something to ask of you…” Han Xiao then said his request.

“It’s nothing much. Don’t worry, I will inform the garrison commander to prevent the Dragon Emperor from fighting at the most dangerous location.”

“Alright, I will return to the Shattered Star Ring soon, and we can have a gathering at the headquarters of the Black Star Army. Milizaus, Beyoni, and Maximiler will also be around.”

“They are all bigshots.” Zoel’s eyes lit up. With his current position, he would only be able to meet the Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring, and there was no chance for him to meet the Beyond Grade As of the other Star Fields. This was a good opportunity for him to get to know them.

After ending the call, Han Xiao returned to Tarrokov’s side and used the Spacetime Amber to seal the struggling Mercer with the aid of the others.

Following that, the fleet changed directions and headed toward the stargate located in the Dawn Star Cluster. It would take them a few days to return to the Shattered Star Ring.

Han Xiao had originally thought that he would have to remain in the Flickering World, but never had he thought that he would be able to return to his main camp because of this interlude.

In truth, his physical location did not matter as the Black Star Army would continue their exploration of the Flickering World.

Opening the forums to take a look, the player’s [The Crimson Dynasty Order: All Out Pursuit] had not ended yet. There were still many Arcane Church troops scattered all around and also plenty of Fallen Ark troops that had not escaped.

Compared to Sagman’s group of four, Han Xiao would rather deal with EsGod. However, the dynasty’s attention was currently on the Arcane Church.

Without aid from his teammates, Han Xiao was not confident about killing EsGod.

I can only wait for the Crimson Dynasty to announce this matter to the universe and carry out a large scale counterattack before trying to persuade them about my previous suggestion, Han Xiao thought to himself. The Political Asset should have some influence on this, right?

…

The day after catching Mercer, the dynasty called for a press conference, and Ruler Urranrell personally revealed the entire incident to the universe.

Countless galactic media groups broadcast the press conference, and the scene of the press conference spread throughout every Star Field.

Regardless of whether it was a variety channel or family channel, every channel showed the press conference of the dynasty.

The captains of various spaceships, customers of bars, travelers in transit stations, and many others all had their eyes glued to the press conference.

Many galactic residents were listening to the Crimson Dynasty’s announcement at the same time.

The galactic residents only knew that the Flickering World was a new Star Field that was currently being explored and did not know anything else. However, a battle between eleven Beyond Grade As had actually broken out in this unexplored Star Field with the Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty fighting each other head on! Both Universal Civilizations also simultaneously announced that they were entering war time alert!

This announcement was like the explosion of a psionic bomb!

Chapter 861 - Changes and Spies

A Universal Civilization that wanted to make use of public opinion as their weapon had sufficient rights to borrow the galactic media groups to spread their voice. The influence of a Universal Civilization covered the various Star Fields, and their influence could not be matched by the Star Cluster civilizations, which were restricted to their own region.

Ruler Urranrell then described the entire process in detail before releasing an official document that recorded the entire event in detail to the public.

The document emphasized how the Arcane Church was blinded by their greed for the Evolution Cube and ignored the fact that the Flickering World was under the control of the dynasty. They had even worked together with the infamous Fallen Ark and ambushed the dynasty’s troops, which caused massive losses to the dynasty. The dynasty strongly criticized such an action and reserved the right to pursue the matter. They announced that they were going to stop all activities with the Arcane Church and enter war-time alert.

The dynasty’s announcement was extremely solemn and strict, making the galactic residents feel that the dynasty had suffered astronomical loss. But after viewing the document and understanding the exact process of the matter, they were shocked to realize that the dynasty did not suffer too much of a loss but managed to repel the enemy instead. They had even captured two of the enemy’s Beyond Grade As in the Flickering World.

Black Star’s contributions were greatly emphasized within the document, and his battle results were being promoted. The dynasty wanted to help Han Xiao raise his prestige and deal a heavy blow to the Arcane Church. The Arcane Church was the background for Black Star’s contributions, and Black Star was obtaining his prestige by standing on top of the Arcane Church. The greater the spread of this incident, the heavier the blow dealt to the Arcane Church.

News of Black Star capturing Dylan created a huge commotion after spreading out. Han Xiao was a new Beyond Grade A who had created a sensation just a while back, and most of the galactic residents were somewhat familiar with him.

Who would have thought that in less than a year, the newly ascended Black Star would be able to capture an expert of the same level as him?

Killing or capturing a Beyond Grade A alive had significant meaning in the universe. The Beyond Grade A level was already the peak, and if an individual was capable of subduing this peak, their fame would be propelled up to the next level.

Han Xiao had previously fought Psyker and Heber, and the result of the battle was only a draw. Although it could be considered a Beyond Grade A incident, it was not too shocking.

But this time, he had personally defeated a combatant at his level, and it could be said that Han Xiao’s status in the universe had stabilized after this battle.

The document also pointed out that Heber had captured a Beyond Grade A Super, but before Black Star’s merits, it seemed extremely ordinary. After all, the galactic residents were able to understand the difference. One managed to capture the enemy while being at the absolute disadvantage while the other fought the enemy in a one-on-one battle when the enemy was surrounded. The two events could not be compared.

Apart from the shock of the event, many were worried about the influence of this matter. If the Crimson Dynasty and Arcane Church broke out into open war, the situation in the galaxy would become tense again.

For the past ten years, the Crimson Dynasty and the Federation of Light had been at a standoff. Now that the Federation of Light had become low profile, the Arcane Church decided to walk up the stage.

Ever since the Flickering World was discovered, the galaxy had been unstable.

Regardless of how slow witted the galactic residents were, they were able to see that the three Universal Civilizations were having conflicts around this new Star Field.

…

After the dynasty made their announcement, the various Super Star Cluster and Star Cluster Civilizations immediately activated their intelligence net to gather information.

Black Star had become the focus of all these organizations, and many organizations became wary of him.

The Beyond Grade A allies of the three Universal Civilizations had always been the target for research of the various organizations. However, Han Xiao was different from the other Beyond Grade As that had joined for a few decades. He had joined the dynasty less than a year prior, and information was limited. However, many organizations had no choice but to adjust his threat to the level of the three pillars of the dynasty and label him as a target to pay close attention to.

The Arcane Church then revealed the various methods that Han Xiao had displayed in the battle through their various hidden intelligence agencies, and all the organizations now knew that Black Star had two Universal Treasures in his hands. There was no need to talk about the Evolution Cube since it was the reason for the battle.

However, the other Universal Treasure was actually able to block the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter and seal a Beyond Grade A. With such methods up his sleeves, Black Star had a special strategic position and could not be considered an ordinary Beyond Grade A combatant.

There were naturally those with greed as well. The Arcane Church intentionally revealed such information so that many organizations would eye the Universal Treasure in Han Xiao’s hands. They had indeed succeeded, but the other organizations did not dare to take any reckless actions since even the Arcane Church had failed.

Black Star’s battle merits were a true deterrent to many organizations.

…

A few days later, the dynasty began their counterattack, and Arcane Church’s stargate located in the Shattered Star Ring suffered from an ambush. An intense battle broke out, and it was said that the energy reactions of the battle could be felt from a Star Zone away.

After Sagman’s ambush failed, the Arcane Church had guessed that the Crimson Dynasty would attempt to destroy their stargate located in the Shattered Star Ring. Thus, they had already begun mobilizing their reinforcements and had even mobilized other Beyond Grade A combatants.

However, in order to secretly send out six Beyond Grade As, the Arcane Church had gotten their other Beyond Grade As to attract the attention of the public in various locations. As such, it would require some time to mobilize them, and the dynasty managed to seize that window.

Ames was the only Beyond Grade A present in the Shattered Star Ring, and she participated in the attack before the Arcane Church’s reinforcements could arrive. Her Force Field was a sharp weapon in galactic warfare and could easily disrupt and penetrate the formation of the army stationed at the stargate. Furthermore, she was also able to use her Force Field to destroy the stargate and cut off the enemy’s route of retreat.

Following which, the dynasty began monitoring all the public stargates and sent out their spies to monitor the Arcane Church’s movements.

However, as a Universal Civilization, the Arcane Church had many other ways to deal with that.

…

Old Medal Bar was located in the seventh junkyard of some galactic transit station in the Shattered Star Ring. Although it seemed like a public bar that was a little tattered on the surface, it was actually the gathering point of a black-market merchant with the nickname of ‘Night Bat’.

There was no absolute order in the universe, and there would always be shadows when light existed. The galactic black market was the biggest shadow in the galactic society.

There would always be needs when there were people, and there would always be smugglers when there were needs. Every region in the universe had their own black markets. Some were businesses that the government chose to look away from, and others were gray regions that were not controlled by any civilizations.

In the black markets of the Shattered Star Ring, Night Bat was not a bigshot. On the contrary, he was an unknown character who mainly collected scrap. He made use of such a disguise to smuggle some military machines.

There was no need for him to behave sneakily. Almost all the locals knew that Old Medal Bar was his black market gathering point, but because of its small size and the items being sold being relatively safe, no organization paid close attention to him. In this galactic transit station, there were hundreds of such black merchants.

Today, a freight captain arrived at the Old Medal Bar, and this captain had been working together with Night Bat for a long time. He would sell some scraps to Night Bat with some smuggled goods hidden within the scraps. Night Bat personally invited him to the underground chamber under his bar to be a guest today.

Only Night Bat and this freight captain were left in the office.

The freight captain then lit a cigarette and blew out a mouthful of smoke. He took out a sheet of paper and pushed it toward Night Bat.

“This is the list of scraps.”

“Thanks.”

Night Bat was a skinny man with a fawning smile on his face. Everyone would think that he was a crafty merchant upon seeing his face.

“The goods have been delivered. I’ll make a move now.” The freight captain stood up.

“Aren’t you going to have some fun? I heard that Red Widow on Gray Shed Street has some new mixed-blood elves…”

“Mixed blood elves… forget it. Have you heard? The Crimson Dynasty and Arcane Church have begun fighting in the Shattered Star Ring. The situation in the outside world is far too unstable. I will return home after this trip and wait for them to finish their battle before coming out to do business.”

The freight captain seemed a little tempted but decided otherwise and left the room.

Night Bat followed behind him and called for his subordinates to shift the scraps on the cargo ship.

With everyone being busy, no one would notice subtle changes. No one noticed that Night Bat had suddenly grown a few centimeters taller with his body shape changing slightly. One of the workers of the freight captain had also experienced such a subtle change.

After half a day, the goods were finally unloaded, and the cargo ship left the planet.

The cargo ship was set to autopilot, and the captain received news of iron eating bugs being spotted in the warehouse.

This was an extremely common bug that would destroy the internal structure of a spaceship. It had to be cleaned up immediately the moment it was spotted.

The captain went to the warehouse, and more than thirty workers had flamethrowers in their hands to burn the ten or so centimeters bugs into ashes.

“Captain, we have already stabilized the situation and are checking the damage. Some goods show signs of being bitten,” a worker reported.

Upon hearing that, the freight captain became anxious. All the goods in the warehouse were his customers’ orders, and he would have to pay for them if they were damaged.

He was only an ordinary individual in the universe and was not able to afford such goods.

“Bring me to take a look!”

They entered the depths of the warehouse.

Right at that moment, the worker suddenly took out a silenced handgun and aimed it at the captain’s head.

“You…” The captain was shocked.

The worker then opened fire decisively

Pap pap pap!

Three bullets shot through the skull of the freight captain. This was definitely a fatal injury to an ordinary individual.

The freight captain landed on the ground with blood flowing out from his body.

This worker wiped his face and took off a mask-like item to reveal Night Bat’s appearance.

Night Bat had a cold expression on his face without any trace of his ‘cunning merchant’ aura.

He took out the access card and communicator from the captain’s body and carried the captain’s body back to the region where they had been burning bugs.

When Night Bat walked out from the darkness, the situation was already completely different. Only five of the thirty plus workers were left, and they all had silenced handguns in their hands. There were more than twenty corpses on the ground, and they had all been shot dead.

They looked toward Night Bat and greeted him. “Captain.”

They were all spies trained by the Arcane Church. Night Bat had disguised himself as a black market merchant for many years to manage an insignificant smuggling business. A portion of his team had been disguised as workers and worked for this freight captain.

After smuggling for so many years, they had secretly gathered sufficient parts to build a new stargate. These workers had secretly loaded up the stargate equipment onto these spaceships when they were unloading the goods previously.

After remaining hidden for such a long time, they had always been waiting for their organization to summon them. The Arcane Church activated these spies at such a moment, and their mission was to obtain an insignificant looking spaceship and meet up with the Beyond Grade As to help them escape with the stargate equipment.

Night Bat’s team was not the only one with such a mission; similar scenes were playing out all around the Shattered Star Ring.

These usually insignificant characters had begun to take action.

Beyond Grade A was the peak of individual strength, but no one would be able to call themselves the protagonist of the universe. The universe was far too big, and every character had their own role to play. Even an insignificant individual could influence the bigger picture.

Chapter 862 - A Devastating Number

The dynasty’s Beyond Grade As returned to the Shattered Star Ring from the Flickering World through the stargate located in the Dawn Star Cluster. After another period of flying, Han Xiao returned to the Colton Star Cluster together with Milizaus and the others.

During the period that they were travelling, the Crimson Dynasty and Arcane Church were in a confrontation in the Central Galaxy, and the situation was extremely tense.

On the Shattered Star Ring’s side, the dynasty’s forces located at the borders of the Flickering World had thoroughly investigated the secret stargate exit coordinates provided by Han Xiao, but it was already empty.

When they heard this news along the way, everyone knew that the following job belonged mainly to the intelligence personnel, and they would not be able to do much.

In the spaceship, Han Xiao, Milizaus’ avatar, Beyoni, and Maximiler were gathered together, looking out at the Black Star Army headquarters outside the window.

Gigantic battleships were taking off and landing on the gigantic planetary grade fortress, and metal buildings loomed everywhere.

The officers present at headquarters had also received news of their arrival and came forward to receive them.

As the hatch opened, Han Xiao and the others disembarked from the spaceship and were greeted with a sea of people. The warriors of the army were lined up neatly and gave a salute in unison.

“Army Commander!”

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao was stunned for a moment and slightly confused.

Why did they arrange for such a grand ceremony? While it was a spectacular scene, he did not remember giving such an order.

In front of the soldiers, Sylvia pushed Lagi forward.

As the vice commander, Lagi had no choice but to step forward. He then cleared his throat and said with a less monotonous voice, “Cough cough, we welcome the Army Commander’s return.”

Han Xiao’s face contorted slightly, and he asked, “What are you guys doing? It has only been a few months since we last met each other. Why bother with such a solemn ceremony?”

“Sylvia said that the entire universe now knows that you have defeated a Beyond Grade A head on, and we can make use of this opportunity to foster the cohesiveness within the army,” Herlous said softly.

There was another reason that he did not mention. Sylvia knew that Han Xiao was inviting the allies of the dynasty over as guests and thus created such a scene to build up Han Xiao’s image.

Of course, Lagi felt that this was completely pointless but couldn’t convince Sylvia otherwise.

Han Xiao did not really like such a display and did not feel that it was necessary for the army to boost his image. However, he would not nitpick something so small. Since he had given his subordinates authority, he would allow them to have their own thoughts. He then instructed, “Arrange a room for these three Excellencies.”

“It has already been arranged,” Sylvia said.

Right at this moment, Lagi sighed. “I heard that Austin joined in the battle, and this resulted in huge losses for the Forbidden Sorcerers. Is this true?”

“Yes.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Sigh, another few familiar faces have disappeared. Thankfully, I switched sides…” Lagi shook his head weakly. “However, it is meaningless to talk about this. In a few more years, all our bodies will rot, and we will become…”

“Alright, I know that we will all become dust. You can keep quiet now,” Han Xiao interrupted.

After stopping Lagi from embarrassing himself, Han Xiao turned around to look at Milizaus and the others.

“I have some matters to handle. You guys can go and rest. You can inform my men if you have any needs. I will go and find you guys later.”

“Okay.”

Milizaus’ group of three had no issues with that. Since they were in the territory of another, they would listen to Black Star’s arrangements.

Watching the three enter the headquarters, Han Xiao walked toward his office to meet all his officers and asked them about the recent situation.

The army was already on track, and together with him having sufficient prestige, no one in the Shattered Star Ring would dare provoke them.

Furthermore, the galactic pirates and scavengers had begun avoiding the territories of the Black Star Army, which improved the security of many regions.

It was time for the logistics report, and Reynold gave his report calmly. After listening to his report, Han Xiao did not ask about the matters of the army but about Nero’s studies.

“He is extremely talented, and his learning speed is extremely fast. He finished reading all the theory books that I gave him.”

He was probably forced to read them by you, right?

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly, and he asked, “Where is he?”

“Right outside.” Reynold then brought Nero in.

After not meeting him for a while, Nero had already grown up. He now had thick eyebags around his eyes and looked extremely sleepy.

Nero was no longer as energetic as before, and he greeted Han Xiao weakly.

“Hello godfather.”

“You…”

Seeing his pathetic appearance, Han Xiao felt a tinge of pity.

Reynold, you are truly a demon! Look at how you tortured this kid.

It seemed like he must hide Nero well from the players. If not, those darn players might end up triggering an ‘assassinate Reynold’ type mission.

Shaking his head, Han Xiao got Nero to stand in front of him. He then pricked Nero slightly to activate the battle notification and viewed Nero’s attributes.

Wait a moment, this…

Looking at the interface, a look of surprise could be seen on Han Xiao’s face.

In Nero’s talent section, a new talent that had not been there before appeared. It was [Middle Grade Mechanical Sense]!

My guess was correct! Nero has an Advanced Luck Glow and has the right to obtain a Molding Talent. He can even learn a talent like Mechanical Sense!

Although it was only [Middle Grade Mechanical Sense] at the moment, he had a chance of learning Reynold’s [Perfect Mechanical Sense] if he continued!

There was finally a new point to break through to Reynold, and Han Xiao was truly excited!

Thinking about that, Han Xiao stroked Nero’s head and said with concern, “Your appearance looks extremely poor. Are you too tired from studying?”

Nero then glanced at Reynold, and his body trembled slightly. “No… not tired at all…”

“Don’t need to be afraid. You can just tell the truth with me around.”

Looking at Han Xiao’s compassionate eyes, Nero felt a sense of courage welling up in his heart. He then began to openly complain about Reynold’s crimes.

“Godfather, he doesn’t even treat me as a human. The sheer amount of homework that he gives isn’t even meant for a human! I have less than three hours of sleep every day, and it is interfering with my development. I… I am still a kid!”

Han Xiao then looked at Reynold and snorted. “Is this the truth?”

“Since the Army Commander handed Nero over to me, I will not let you down,” Reynold said with a strict appearance. “I will definitely groom him to become a great Mechanic!”

“Sigh, I know that your intentions are good, but you must pay attention to your method.” Han Xiao shook his head.

Upon hearing that, a glimmer could be seen in Nero’s eyes, and he felt a trace of hope in his heart.

Godfather is speaking on my behalf!

Does this mean that my hellish life will end today‽

His body trembled with excitement, and he was like a man dying from thirst in the desert who saw an oasis.

At this moment, Nero suddenly felt as though a sacred halo could be seen on Han Xiao’s body.

Han Xiao took out a bottle filled with dragon’s blood. This was Milizaus’ blood that he had gathered from the battlefield. He then said to Reynold, “Give this dragon blood to Emerald Grass and get her to research a body strengthening medicine.”

The next moment, Han Xiao turned around and looked at Nero with a smile.

“Reynold didn’t think things through. How can you learn properly without a strong body? Medicine developed from dragon’s blood will be able to replenish your energy, and your development won’t be affected no matter how late you sleep. Don’t worry and follow Reynold. You must learn properly.”

Nero’s smile froze in place, and his eyes widened.

In his eyes, the sacred glow on Han Xiao’s body seemed to have become a demonic aura, and his godfather’s smile was like a demon’s grin.

Tears welled up in his eyes and were about to burst forth.

Nero cried his heart and lungs out.

Godfather is also a demon!

Wuwuwu… father, mother, I don’t want to live in space anymore. I want to return home!

As Reynold heard that, his eyes lit up, and he nodded with praise.

You are indeed the Army Commander that I respect. You are also a demon.

Han Xiao then got Sylvia to comfort Nero. It was a pity that Rossellin had gone to become a revolutionary. If not, she would have been able to easily fix this mental damage.

Following which, he then used a blank Character Summon Card on Reynold to replenish the number of times he can use Perfect Mechanical Sense. The blank Character Summon Card was slightly different to the previous reward, and he only had a single chance to use it.

Who knew how long it would take for Nero to learn the [Perfect Mechanical Sense]? Han Xiao had always kept his guard up ever since the Planet Lighthouse battle and was worried that the Arcane Church might become desperate. As such, he had to keep a trump card prepared.

…

After settling his internal affairs, Han Xiao went to find Milizaus and the others and led them on a tour of his headquarters. He also contacted Tarrokov to discuss the dynasty’s pursuit mission.

The dynasty’s forces present in the desolate universe belt near the Shattered Star Ring were smaller than their forces in the Flickering World. Together with the fact that the enemy had made use of a secret stargate, the dynasty was not able to set up a defensive line in time. By making use of that small opening, Sagman’s group had successfully avoided the dynasty’s surveillance and escaped into the Shattered Star Ring.

“According to the spatial fluctuations left behind, we believe that Sagman’s group of four have decided to split up. This has increased the difficulty of our search.” Tarrokov’s projection floated beside them and walked together.

“It will be akin to a drop of water entering the ocean when they enter the Shattered Star Ring. It will be incredibly difficult to find them,” Beyoni said.

“That’s right. Her Excellency also thinks so.” Tarrokov nodded. “According to reliable intelligence, the Arcane Church has activated many of their spies in the Shattered Star Ring to save these four Beyond Grade As. Every Universal Civilization has many spies located in the various Star Fields disguised as workers from various occupations, and it is incredibly difficult to see through them. It is an important source of information, and it will be much easier for Sagman and the others to escape with their help.”

“Hidden spies… If we can get a list of the spies, we will be able to track them.” Han Xiao stroked his chin.

“That’s impossible.” Tarrokov shook his head. “Such a list will be stored in the main database of the Universal Civilization and protected by a Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic. The firewall will be extremely powerful, and it will be impossible to infiltrate them.”

“Will those spies contact the higher ups?”

“The spies of a Universal Civilization will report directly to the intelligence agency, and a single encrypted command can allow them to willingly remain hidden for ten years. They do not have any higher ups.”

“I see. Then forget it.” Han Xiao shook his head and decided to forget about this matter.

Tarrokov then said, “Although it is incredibly difficult to capture them, we cannot give up halfway. We may have some unexpected rewards as well and uproot some of the Arcane Church’s spies. We can attempt to completely wipe out all the hidden pieces that the Arcane Church has in the Shattered Star Ring! If they want to plant new spies, it will take them a few decades for sure.”

“Hmm, this is fine as well. Rather than attempt to chase after four extremely nimble Beyond Grade As, we might as well uproot the Arcane Church’s spies,” Maximiler said.

Capturing two Beyond Grade A captives was already a satisfactory battle result.

They were worried that the Arcane Church might truly become desperate after losing even more Beyond Grade As and end up in a large-scale assassination attempt toward each other’s Beyond Grade As.

There was an example of such an incident. During the exploration era a thousand years earlier, there was a historical incident called the Saint Menason Incident.

At that time, the leaders from the three Universal Civilizations were not the present ones, and an important Beyond Grade A called ‘Saint Menason’ from the Federation of Light was ambushed by two Beyond Grade As from the dynasty. Their target was to snatch the Universal Treasure in Saint Menason’s hands. However, the Federation of Light called even more Beyond Grade A combatants to counter-ambush the two Beyond Grade As and snatch the Universal Treasure back.

The two dead Beyond Grade As had many friends, and a huge chain reaction was created.

Because of this, the Federation of Light and the Crimson Dynasty began to push the blame onto each other politically.

Nine months later, the dynasty’s Beyond Grade As worked together and washed the organizations that belonged to three Beyond Grade As from the Federation of Light with blood. They also got rid of two of the Federation of Light’s Beyond Grade As, and only one managed to escape. During this period, the biological brother of an Arcane Church Beyond Grade A also died in the battle because he was a guest at the ambush site.

Because of this, the Arcane Church was dragged into the matter, and another series of assassinations unfolded. The three Universal Civilizations began to assassinate each other’s Beyond Grade As, and more and more people died. In the eyes of a civilization, a Beyond Grade A combatant was a strategic weapon, and they would not allow other Beyond Grade As to live if their own had died. As such, the conflict between the civilizations grew deeper and deeper.

During this incident, the three Universal Civilizations sacrificed many Beyond Grade A Supers, and the turning point of the incident was what the civilizations called the Saint Menason Incident. There was actually a mastermind behind the scene, and it was a Super Star Cluster civilization at that time. The three Universal Civilizations then claimed that they found solid evidence to believe that these Super Star Cluster civilizations were fanning the flames from behind the scenes and wanted to make them lose some Beyond Grade As.

Following which, the three Universal Cis then wiped out all the Beyond Grade As of that Super Star Cluster civilization and their allies before the entire incident came to an end.

At that time, around half of the Beyond Grade As in the known universe were killed. A few neutral Beyond Grade As were unable to avoid the matter and were forced to join the three Universal Civilizations.

As for whether the mastermind behind the matter was truly the Super Star Cluster civilization, only the three Universal Civilizations knew. In any case, that was how it was written in history.

Although their Beyond Grade As were dead, the civilization was still around. While the three Universal Civilizations were much more peaceful in the Galaxy Calendar era, the majority did not wish to see history repeat itself. After that incident, the number of Beyond Grade As being sacrificed was reduced greatly.

“Don’t worry, even if we can’t catch Sagman and the others, there is a target that won’t be able to escape,” Tarrokov said with a smile.

“Psyker right?” Han Xiao also smiled.

The Star Pupil Holy Race was in the Shattered Star Ring, and it was impossible for Psyker to escape. Even if the dynasty adhered to the Peace Treaty and did not attack the Star Pupil Holy Race, it would be impossible for Psyker not to return forever.

If he had killed Han Xiao successfully and snatched the Evolution Cube back, Psyker would have had the protection of the Arcane Church and would not have been in such a passive state.

For now, however, Psyker was truly in a pathetic state.

Han Xiao only had a single thought toward Psyker’s current situation.

There’s no hope. Let’s move house.

Chapter 863 - Red-Named Monster, Please Stop!

The dynasty’s search mission in the Shattered Star Ring lasted longer than anyone expected. Three months went by in a flash, and the Beyond Grade As of the dynasty were still waiting there.

However, the dynasty’s pursuit mission did not yield many results as a Beyond Grade A in disguise was far too nimble. Over the past three months, the dynasty had only caught many of the Arcane Church’s spies and a few suspected traces of Sagman and the others. The Beyond Grade As were unable to find any of the Arcane Church’s Beyond Grade As when they took action.

These Arcane Church’s spies were naturally interrogated and were unable to keep any secrets under the various methods of the Universal Civilizations. However, the Arcane Church had various preventive measures up their sleeves, and these spies did not know the exact locations of Sagman and the others. They only headed to a certain location at a certain time, and some of these messages were there as a smokescreen for the dynasty. The amount of useful information was extremely little.

When the Arcane Church decided to make use of their spies in the Shattered Star Ring, they were prepared to lose them.

Apart from the Shattered Star Ring, the Crimson Dynasty and Arcane Church were not idle in the other Star Fields. Plenty of skirmishes had broken out between the two over the past three months, and the relationship between the two was extremely tense.

In summary, the Crimson Dynasty ferociously sought an explanation, but the Arcane Church refused to give in. The way the outside world saw it, war was about to break out.

But as upper echelons of the dynasty, Han Xiao and the others received inside news from Tarrokov. The Arcane Church had privately contacted the Crimson Dynasty, and both parties were already discussing how to settle this matter. The two parties were only putting on a show for the outside world and would not actually end up fighting.

The Arcane Church also had no choice but to give in. Two of their Beyond Grade As had been captured by the dynasty, and they had to find a way to get them back. If not, none of their allies would be willing to fight for them in the future. The party that the Arcane Church hated the most was not the Crimson Dynasty but the Federation of Light.

The actions of the Federation of Light in the Shattered Star Ring couldn’t be hidden from the Arcane Church. The Federation of Light tried to hit them when they were down and even aided the dynasty in searching for Sagman and the others. Although the cooperation between both parties was only limited to the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, the Arcane Church was still furious.

The Shattered Star Ring was the Federation of Light’s territory, and they had deep foundations. Their intervention had resulted in many of the Arcane Church’s spies being exposed.

The conflicts between the civilizations were mainly for benefits, and supporting Beyond Grade As was also for this reason. The Arcane Church hoped to use diplomacy to resolve this problem and pay a ransom for Dylan and Mercer.

The army and various weapons were the basic strength of a civilization, and a Beyond Grade A was like a special weapon that served as a powerful deterrent. In the exploration era, the Beyond Grade As that were captured would either be converted to their own use or executed.

However, the Galaxy Calendar era was more peaceful than before, and the galactic civilizations were currently in a state of peace. No one was capable of shaking the position of the three Universal Civilizations, and the military activities of the past gradually became diplomacy.

Thus, it was not impossible to pay a ransom. As long as one was willing to pay a sufficient price, everything could be discussed. The three Universal Civilizations would see their Beyond Grade As fall into enemy hands from time to time, and there was thus a tacit agreement between the three civilizations and also an unspoken rule. However, this unspoken rule was only restricted to the three Universal Civilizations. The Super Star Cluster Civilizations did not have such a privilege.

Han Xiao could not be bothered with that. He had already received his Contribution Points, and since he handed the captive over, the dynasty could choose to do whatever they wanted.

He had remained within the headquarters of the Black Star Army during the past three months, and even if he was summoned by the dynasty, he would only send Psionic Prime and his mechanical army out.

Maximiler was the same as him and also sent out his long-distance troops. The best advantage of this was that he could slack at home.

Maximiler was a Mechanic that belonged to the Energy Branch, and he chose to stay at the Black Star Army so that he can have an exchange with Han Xiao. Both parties had a good conversation with each other over the past three months and became much closer.

Han Xiao originally thought that Ames would come and look for him, but Ames returned to Floating Dragon Island after destroying the stargate and did not mention the matter again. She had a carefree attitude.

What a reliable ally.

Over the past few months, Han Xiao had spent most of his time crafting new machines. With his new [Endless Material Combination] knowledge, he was able to create many baffling materials to increase the attributes of his machines. The strength of his mechanical army would be increased this way, and he would also pose a greater threat to Beyond Grade A Supers.

Manison was able to deal with Beyond Grade As even with his long-distance troops, and he could fight many different Beyond Grade As at different locations. That was the true battle tactic of a Mechanic, and Han Xiao was still lacking in this respect. However, he still had a long time to accumulate his strength. After all, he had only been a Beyond Grade A Super for around a year.

After the Planet Lighthouse battle, the damage to his mechanical army was not small. If not for his mechanical army restraining the enemy, they would all have been in danger for sure. Thus, Han Xiao made use of this opportunity to create a new batch of machines.

The endless stream of Enaus from exploring the Flickering World came into Han Xiao’s pockets, so Han Xiao was extremely wealthy. One of the reasons he had created such a large organization was so that he would not need to worry about the cost of constructing machines.

The three new Apostle Weapon slots were given to Silver Flash, Giant King Kong, and Mad Sky Hunter, who each had their own weapons and special attributes.

Silver Flash’s long-distance attack was improved, and his weapon was a transformable Planetary Obliteration Cannon called [Spreader of Destruction].

Giant King Kong was like a main tank meat shield with his weapon being strengthened armor. It could be taken off like ordinary armor and could even be transformed into a gigantic shield. It also had the ability to repair itself and was called [Divine Giant Armor].

Mad Sky Hunter was a beast-shaped Mechanical Life, and his body structure was different compared to the others. He had a pair of wings stuck on his back, which had a length of ten meters when fully opened, and he looked like the combination of a leopard, wolf, eagle, and dragon. His weapon was a strengthened hyperdrive module which gave him the ability to flicker and was called [Hunting Module].

Han Xiao gave the slots of the Apostle Weapon to the Mechanical Lives that were created earlier on. They had grown for a period of time already and were more reliable. Furthermore, he tried to give the slots to the different models of Mechanical Lives so that his Apostle Weapons would have a greater variety.

Over the past three months, Han Xiao had released a faction mission that got many of the players to look around the Shattered Star Ring.

An unexplored Star Field would not have as much activity as the discovered universe. After staying in the Flickering World for such a long time, the players could truly feel the silence of the vast universe. They would usually travel for a few Star Zones without seeing anybody, and it was easy for them to feel just how small they were in the universe. They could have a change of pace after returning to the Shattered Star Ring, and many of the players gradually became energetic again.

Exploring a new Star Field naturally had its own benefits, and the players knew that the Flickering World was definitely a huge event. However, after exploring the Flickering World for some time, the sense of novelty was gone, and a portion of them preferred to remain in the Shattered Star Ring. There were numerous NPCs in the Shattered Star Ring with plenty of different things to do.

Han Xiao would not force the players to do anything. Although he always joked that the players were laborers, he was extremely clear about the players’ personality. Sometimes, their benefits would have to give way to their interests, and this was what the majority of players chased after.

He would not restrict the players’ freedom and would only issue a mission and the relevant reward. As for whether or not the players wanted to complete the mission, it did not have anything to do with him. After all, they players still did not know that the Flickering World would become the most exciting place in the universe during the next version.

On the forums, Bun-Hit-Dog transformed the battle on Planet Lighthouse into a video to let all the players who were not present watch it to their heart’s content.

All the players were extremely curious and shocked after watching the video. This was the battle between eleven Beyond Grade As, and it was the first time the players had witnessed such a scene.

Something worth mentioning was that Han Xiao began selling the Dungeon Crystal in the faction store after the battle. Although the dungeon was not one that the players could complete at their current level, he was certain that the players’ curiosity would overcome them, and this was a good business opportunity.

Indeed, the sales of the Dungeon Crystal were extremely high, and the average survival time of the players was about forty-seven seconds.

The players were all curious about the strength of a Beyond Grade A and wanted to know the true strength of their captain. The players now had a deep understanding of this.

The ordinary cannon fodder mechanical soldiers that had the boost of the Mechanical Force was like a boss-level monster to the players. They could easily dice the players up like vegetables, and the players did not even have the ability to fight back.

Looking at the battlefield, there were millions of such mechanical soldiers…

After going through this bitter journey, the players were clear about Han Xiao’s strength.

Ever since Version 1.0, Black Star’s danger level had always been ‘Fatally Dangerous’ because the highest danger level had been limited to ‘Fatally Dangerous’.

…

Knock! Knock!

Someone knocked on the door of the machinery modification room, and Han Xiao, who was currently adjusting his assembly line, stopped working.

Phillip opened the door, and Lagi and a Forbidden Sorcerer clad in red robes walked in.

“Paying my respects to Your Excellency Black Star.” The Forbidden Sorcerer bowed. “Master Austin sent me to collect the materials.”

“Alright, I have already prepared them. Wait a moment. I will get some men to help you carry it onto your spaceship.”

Han Xiao then waved his hands and got Phillip to contact the logistics department to prepare a few cartons of amber balls for the other party.

This was one of the conditions that he and Austin had agreed upon. Since the darn old man had kept his promise, he would not go back on his word.

The Forbidden Sorcerer then bowed and took his leave.

Han Xiao was about to get back to work but realized that Lagi was still standing by the side without the intention to leave.

“Why are you still here?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“You despise me?” Upon hearing that, Lagi spoke with a bitter expression. “Indeed, someone like me will never be liked no matter where I go. Even my boss doesn’t like me. I’d better jump ship…”

“Nonsense. Since when did I despise you?”

Han Xiao felt his head ache and said with exasperation, “Just what do you have to tell me? Go back to slacking off if you don’t have anything and stop disturbing me.”

“Sigh, you didn’t use to have such an attitude. You were so respectful back when you asked me for an enchantment,” Lagi said with sorrow. “Indeed, you no longer think highly of me…”

Just what is with this insecure attitude of his today‽

Han Xiao restrained the urge to punch Lagi and said, “Say whatever’s on your mind. Don’t disturb me if there’s nothing!”

Lagi then shook his head and said, “I am actually here to make a suggestion.”

Han Xiao’s eyes immediately widened in shock the moment these words were said.

Just what is going on? Wasn’t my vice commander just for show‽

Since when did he learn how to give suggestions?

Did the sun rise from the wrong side today? Wait, an artificial sun can rise from any direction.

“What suggestions do you have?” Han Xiao asked carefully. He was like a hunter that had met a deer in the forest, afraid that he may scare his prey away.

“I heard from His Excellency Milizaus that all of you failed to find anything over the last few months.”

“And then?” Han Xiao nodded. Milizaus was a Mage and seemed to like Lagi for some reason.

As the vice commander of the army, Lagi was also an individual with status. He had encountered Milizaus frequently in recent times and sought advice from Milizaus. Even if it was for Han Xiao’s sake, Milizaus would not reject Lagi.

“With the Shattered Star Ring being so large, it will be impossible for us to find a Beyond Grade A if he wants to hide. I think that we should give up the search and let the Crimson Dynasty find them on their own. There’s no need to waste our manpower and resources,” Lagi said.

“How strange. Why do you suddenly care about such a matter? Did you eat Emerald Grass’ medicine by accident?” Han Xiao asked with doubt.

“As the vice commander of the army, it is only normal for me to bother about the development of the army,” Lagi said with a bitter expression. “In your heart, it seems like…”

“Stop!”

Han Xiao felt his head ache upon hearing Lagi’s words.

In fact, most people would have such a reaction after spending enough time with Lagi, and Han Xiao decided to call this symptom ‘Lagi Syndrome’.

Han Xiao smiled and tried to say with patience, “Alright, I heard your advice and will make a decision based on the circumstances. Can you leave now?”

“… You indeed despise me.”

“Scram!”

…

In some large, neutral space harbor, Taylor and Sagman were hiding within the crowd on the street. Both of them had currently disguised themselves with magic into two ordinary looking civilians of the Aso Clan. This was a type of human-shaped living being with blue skin, purple eyes, and three fingers on their hands.

They walked into the harbor and had their identities checked. Their status as galactic residents was verified with a card, and they successfully passed through the checks.

Their current disguise came from the Arcane Church’s spies that they had met not too long ago, and their identities had truly existed. They had also obtained tens of other identities that they could easily switch into.

Entering the harbor, they looked around and noticed a few suspicious individuals at the corners. They were sizing up the passersby and had an extraordinary aura.

Upon seeing that, they communicated with their consciousness.

“Spies who are here to search for us.”

“There are even spies over here. The dynasty has truly exhausted a great deal of resources in order to find us.”

“Who knows how Ninjia is doing…”

After escaping from the Flickering World, the four of them split up into three groups. Ninjia escaped alone with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, Sagman and Taylor travelled together, and Psyker travelled alone by borrowing the strength of the Star Pupil Holy Race.

During this period, the Crimson Dynasty and Federation of Light spies were scattered all around the Shattered Star Ring. Sagman and Taylor felt every step of the way to be extremely precarious, but thankfully, they received aid from the Arcane Church’s spies.

They were both extremely frustrated in their hearts. As Beyond Grade A Supers, they would be respected wherever they went. Despite having such strength, they had to avoid these weak spies and hide like mice. It was truly too frustrating!

They had switched between plenty of spaceships. They had arrived at this harbor not too long ago, and a new spaceship was waiting for them in the harbor.

As they walked, some commotion could be heard from the pier, and this little commotion did not escape their senses.

Turning around to take a look, they saw a group of galactic warriors walking in their direction with the Black Star Army insignia on their chest.

The crowd immediately let out a path for them and stared at the Black Star Army warriors with awe.

As a new Beyond Grade A organization, the members of the Black Star Army had such special privileges.

Sagman frowned. “They are from the Black Star Army.”

“The subordinates of Black Star are all extremely queer. Avoid them.”

They changed directions.

At the same time, the group of Black Star Army warriors casually looked around.

Right at that moment, a member of the group looked in the direction of Sagman and Taylor and nudged his teammate.

“Strange, I saw two red names just now, and they disappeared in a flash. I wonder if I saw wrongly.”

“This is a neutral harbor, so could they be galactic pirates?”

“Shall we go over to take a look?”

“Er, alright. Since we are here to hand in the mission, we can fight some pirates and earn a quick buck.”

Chapter 864 - Whereabouts Exposed

Amid the bustle of the neutral space harbor, the duo headed toward the storehouse while planning their route of escape.

“We have a few plans. Two of the most stable plans are to borrow the aid of the spies and escape through the stargate or continue hiding out identity and slowly travel through the Shattered Star Ring.”

“Both plans have their risks. If we want to travel through the Star Field, the Seoul Star Cluster and Colton Star Cluster are regions that we must avoid.”

“There is another method that would be to try our luck. There is a wormhole cluster in the middle of the Shattered Star Ring, and we can make use of the unstable wormholes to escape into another Star Field.”

Just when they were discussing the matter, they suddenly felt people following them from behind. Their footsteps paused, and they turned around to take a look, only to see the few Black Star Army members that they had spotted earlier following behind them.

Taylor was stunned for a moment. “Why are the members of the Black Star Army eyeing us?”

“Don’t make a commotion and see what they want to do. It may just be a misunderstanding…” Sagman frowned and pretended that he did not spot anything.

After going down a few split paths, the number of people in the surroundings decreased, but the Black Star Army members were still following them. Only then did they confirm that these Black Star Army members had their eyes on them. It seemed as though they wanted to find where their spaceship was docked.

The duo looked at each other.

“What should we do? Did they recognize us?”

“Doesn’t seem that way… but we should get rid of them just to be safe. We can then change into another disguise.”

“This is a neutral harbor. Don’t make too big a commotion or let others notice that we are the culprits.”

“Alright. I will make them disappear without a trace.”

On the other side, the players were following behind and chatting in their party chat.

“Both of the red names are Fatally Dangerous. Will we be able to win?”

“It’s alright. The army will give us the bounty for catching the pirates, but we can also request aid from the nearby members of the army.”

These players had already used their detection skill on Sagman and Taylor, but their names were not revealed. Instead, their disguised names appeared. However, the other party were red names from a hostile faction.

It was not too strange for them to meet a red-named monster out in the galaxy. The majority of them were galactic pirates or scavengers. Thus, these players only thought that they were galactic pirates. It was not that they could not talk to the red-named characters, but it would be extremely easy for them to be attacked since the other party was hostile toward them.

The Black Star Army was in the same camp as the Crimson Dynasty. With the Crimson Dynasty being in open confrontation with the Arcane Church, all members of the Arcane Church became red names for the players in the Black Star Army.

Just when the players wanted to continue tailing the two, their bodies disappeared, and they were suddenly waiting to be revived.

“Eh? Why did I die?”

“Me too. Why didn’t we even see the attack?”

The players were all taken aback and hurriedly opened the interface to see the battle notification. Although they were not able to see how the enemy attacked, the interface would show the damage that they took and the attacker’s name. It was one of the two red named characters, and he seemed to have used a mental attack to one-shot all the players.

It would not be much if this was the case. However, what truly shocked the players was that they suffered 84,000 damage points!

They almost thought that they had read an additional zero!

Just what kind of strength was this?

Just what was the level of the red-named character who attacked them? Was he a Calamity Grade‽

The players were all extremely curious.

“We seem to have met a fantastic character.”

“This is a large fish. Coming into contact with them will definitely trigger a hidden storyline, right?”

Just as they were discussing, one of the players suddenly asked, “For them to easily deal 84,000 damage… do you remember the Planet Lighthouse dungeon we fought yesterday?”

“Wait… I think I understand something!”

The players came to a realization. This party did not join in the Flickering World exploration mission and had been performing missions for the Mercenary League in the Shattered Star Ring. Thus, they had immediately seized the chance to experience the battle the moment the dungeon was released. They still had a vivid memory of how they died an unknown death at the hands of a Beyond Grade A.

Furthermore, damage of such a level seemed to be at the Beyond Grade A level in the dungeon!

This meant that the two Fatally Dangerous red-named characters might not be just Calamity Grade Supers but Beyond Grade A!

Thinking about the mission recently issued by the army to find the Arcane Church’s Beyond Grade As…

The players suddenly realized that they might have met the targets.

After using a spell to get rid of the Black Star Army members, Sagman and Taylor found the warehouse and flew out from one of the docks.

They purchased an extremely common model that could be found anywhere.

Following that, they looked toward the neutral harbor and heaved a sigh of relief when they saw that there were no Black Star Army fleets pursuing them.

Taylor began to relax.

With the large difference in strength between both parties, they had been able to get rid of the few Black Star Army warriors without anyone noticing. It seemed like their identities would not be exposed.

In order to be safe, they decided to change into their next set of identity and purchased a new spaceship again.

However, they just could not understand why the Black Star Army members would suddenly follow them.

Indeed, all the subordinates of Black Star were extremely strange.

…

Ka ka ka!

In Han Xiao’s workshop, a few mechanical arms were currently assembling a human-shaped machine, and it was gradually being formed.

The robot that left the furnace was burning hot, and it was quickly cooled down by the coolants being sprayed on it from the sides.

This step was completed extremely quickly, and the next step would be to apply a coat of paint.

Han Xiao waved his hands and said, “Phillip, conduct a test.”

“Understood, hum… RX001 generation mechanical body. Nickname ‘mammoth’. Conducting the first test…”

The nanoparticles then flowed around the body of the robot.

The test was very quickly concluded, and the data from the test was presented to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao looked through the numbers of the test and nodded with satisfaction.

He was not creating a mechanical soldier this time but a host for his [Lord’s Descent] skill.

Han Xiao had already tested the effect of the [Lord’s Descent] skill. During his tests, he realized that there was a difference when he used the different mechanical soldiers as a host. The difference was largely due to the attributes of the mechanical soldier and the materials used to craft it.

He realized that mechanical soldiers were not the best hosts, and using [Lord’s Descent] on Mechanical Life was not ideal. A Mechanical Life had its own consciousness, and it would be counterproductive to have two consciousnesses in a single body. Furthermore, the consciousness of the body might be damaged if he sent out too much energy.

Thus, after a series of calculations, Han Xiao decided to create a special mechanical container to serve as the host of the [Lord’s Descent] skill to fully maximize the effect of this skill.

At the same time, if he used [Lord’s Descent] on the same target multiple times, there was a chance to have a soul connection, which would probably strengthen the effect of the skill. He was not prepared to treat this container as a disposable product but a long-term host.

This host was created from many precious materials, including a new material that he had forged with [Endless Material Combination] called ‘First Generation Black Star Alloy’. It was able to endure high energy, temperature, and pressure and also had the ability to repair itself. It was able to absorb various types of materials and could take a heavy load. These were the conditions required to endure [Lord’s Descent].

Han Xiao then knocked on the outer armor of the ‘Mammoth’ host, but not a single sound was given out as though all the vibrations had been absorbed by the alloy.

“Not bad. It has the ability to absorb energy and repair itself. Only then will it be able to enjoy my energy conversion and cell regrowth talents during Lord’s Descent.”

Just as he was about to test the actual effect, Phillip’s voice rang in his head.

“Master, hum… a member of the army would like to report to you their whereabouts of the Arcane Church Beyond Grade As. According to the priority system that you set, I skipped past Sylvia and reported the matter directly to you.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled and said, “Oh? Someone actually managed to find a clue? Quickly let me take a look.”

The next moment, a report from the players could be seen in front of his eyes.

Although they were not able to reveal information like ‘red-named characters’ and were only able to give a vague description about them being killed, Han Xiao was extremely clear about the players’ characters and did not doubt the player’s advantage when it came to information.

“There is a large chance that they are the Arcane Church’s Beyond Grade As. Since there are only two of them, it means that they must have split up. Hmm, these two fellows have changed their identities, and this will not be their only identity. Now that the players have alerted them, they will probably switch to another identity. However, this information can also help us achieve a breakthrough.”

Han Xiao was extremely excited. The biggest difficulty of the dynasty was that they were unable to lock onto the whereabouts of the four and could only search blindly.

Although the players had alerted the two and were unable to tail them, it had at least narrowed their location down to a specific region and would be extremely helpful to the dynasty. They dynasty would not have to search blindly and could narrow their search.

“In this respect, the players seem to have an advantage. Hmm, I know…”

After thinking for a while, Han Xiao opened the interface and issued a mission to the players.

_____________________

The Crimson Dynasty Search Operation: Region Investigation

Mission Introduction: The Black Star Army has received clues that the Arcane Church’s Beyond Grade As have appeared in the Fleur Star Cluster, Three Wood Star System, Star Zone 9, Furnace Neutral Harbor. The members of the army should head over to the region and report any new clues to the Army Commander, Black Star.

Mission Requirements: Search the region and find the target.

Tip: The target is in disguise, so you should pay close attention to Red Named characters that are Fatally Dangerous. If they are moving as a pair, it is very likely for them to be the targets.

This will be a Prize-Pool Mission. Accepting the mission will require 200 Experience, and those who discover clues can split the Prize Pool.

Prize Pool: 10,000,000 Experience, 3,000,000 Enaus.

Accumulated Reward: 0

_____________________

After checking that there was nothing wrong with the mission, Han Xiao issued it to the players.

He was currently a wealthy tycoon. In the past, he needed to risk his life for a few hundred thousand Enaus, but he could now give out a few million Enaus without even batting an eye.

The Black Star Army had extremely deep pockets. There were many financial groups who wanted to help the Black Star Army become listed on the market, but he had rejected them all temporarily.

As for the players who provided the intelligence, Han Xiao was not stingy and gave them rich rewards through the interface.

“Right, duplicate a copy of this intelligence and send it to Tarrokov.”

“Roger, hum…”

Following which, Han Xiao asked, “Is the battleship of those members still present in that neutral harbor?”

“Yes, hum…”

Han Xiao raised his brows and entered the quantum network.

“Alright. Phillip, infiltrate the database of the harbor.”

Phillip was able to easily access the database of many different locations.

Asking the players to help him was only one approach. Han Xiao was also prepared to use his Virtual Intrusion to check the records of the harbor and find information about the disguises that the two had on. He would then dig through the history of those two individuals, and he might be able to find more useful information.

The galaxy was in the quantum network era, and every galactic resident would leave some traces on the net—where they were born, where they worked, where they went, and so on. Everything was recorded, and there was no such thing as privacy before a Virtual Mechanic.

Although the four from the Arcane Church were Beyond Grade As, there was no Mechanic among them, and it would be impossible for them to use Virtual Technology skills to clean up their traces in the quantum network.

This gave Han Xiao a chance.

“Perhaps they will change their identities, but I doubt they will switch spaceships halfway during the flight. I should be able to locate them based on the records of the spaceship.”

Han Xiao nodded in his head.

As long as the targets exposed themselves, it would not be so simple to escape from the hands of a Virtual Mechanic like him.

Thinking about the advice that Lagi had given not too long ago, Han Xiao had a strange look on his face.

That was truly some sh*tty advice…

Chapter 865 - Falling into the Trap

Following the data link channel that was built by Phillip, Han Xiao’s consciousness warped through the quantum network, and the nodes appeared in front of him.

Sweeping through, Han Xiao confirmed his target and entered one of the databases.

The defenses of the artificial intelligence within such interstellar nodes were practically nonexistent before one who had grasped the Beyond Grade A Mechanic knowledge [Virtual Creator].

Under his control, Phillip easily entered the back door of the harbor’s database, copied the relevant data, and quickly found the disguised identities of Sagman and Taylor. He found the two in the wide area quantum network, as well as the record of all activities of the identity so far.

“The two of them are unassuming galactic residents, and the last time they appeared on the log was…”

Browsing through the information, he saw that their record was seamless and estimated that they should indeed be real people. The actual owners should have died in outer space, and their identity was then collected by the Arcane Church’s spies.

Since there were countless interstellar travelers who died within the universe each year, it provided the gray forces with a large number of fake identities. Han Xiao remembered that there were large-scale sales of this identity by intelligence organizations on the black market.

“If not for the fact that the players had noticed it, no one would notice two ordinary people with such innocuous resumes in the vast universe.” Han Xiao shook his head as he smiled.

Upon checking the ID of the spaceship that the two people used, he discovered that it was still docked within one of the lots, which meant that the spaceship should have been abandoned. The two of them had probably gotten on a new one after reaching this central port, and Han Xiao had to trace the new ID of the spaceship they used.

“Since they bought a new spaceship, then there has to be transaction records of them within the port… but the accounts of the people they impersonated did not show any movement of funds, so it is likely that they used a different account… Phillip, check which supplier the spaceship originated from. They could have made a transaction there. From there, we can trace it to their secret account.”

“Master, hum… there’s no information about the origin of the spacecraft in the port database. This information is generally stored separately in the shipyard’s independent database.”

“Oh… then mark all the network nodes of the shipyard, ship market, and black market in this port.”

“Marking complete. There are 1,374 nodes, hum…”

“Hack into all of them.” Han Xiao waved carelessly.

The moment the command was given, Phillip immediately mobilized huge computing power, and the more than a thousand quantum network nodes were invaded one by one. The colors changed from a peaceful white to green with control authority, akin to a virus infection. Han Xiao’s control range within the port expanded rapidly.

Before long, Han Xiao had gained control of the more than a thousand databases. and all the backdoors were opened by him while the other party knew nothing about it.

With his current Virtual Technology expertise, so long as he could establish a link, he could easily spread his control over a whole planet’s network, taking over the entire planet remotely.

Phillip’s processing system had been strengthened countless times by Han Xiao, and his computing power was now extremely strong. In a few moments, he had completed the data search and discovered the origin of the spaceship as well as Sagman’s purchase history, together with his spending accounts.

In this way, they gained an additional tracking clue. If this secret account was utilized elsewhere, even if they changed their disguise, they would be exposed.

However, Han Xiao was still unsatisfied. He wanted to trace the early transfer records of this anonymous account, as he was sure that the money had been sent through the Arcane Church. From this, he would be able to latch onto their other spies and secret accounts. As long as he continued to follow the trail, there would be more clues.

From this small breakthrough, he might be able to lock onto a portion of the Arcane Church’s identities.

…

The moment the mission [The Crimson Dynasty Search Operation: Region Investigation] was released, it received the attention of the enthusiastic players. Millions of them accepted this prize pool task and gathered from all directions to move toward this area.

Initially, they were akin to headless flies and could only blindly search due to the lack of knowledge. Thus, some people went off to perform other missions.

But the situation had changed. With a mission area demarcated, the chance of completion would be greatly increased, so countless players flocked over.

The prize pool of ten million experience was no small sum, but what drove the players was the prize money of three million Enaus. When they took one normal mission, the amount received would not be more than a hundred thousand Enaus.

To have such a big sum of money in front of them, three million, they could not resist the temptation!

There were even players fantasizing. If they completed the objective alone, would they not gain the whole reward?

The requirement to enter this mission was only two hundred experience. With such low investments and high potential returns, the players did not think too much, and the crazy accumulation of experience in the prize-pool became the factor that pulled in even more players.

For a period of time, the players poured into the area, and the probability of interstellar citizens meeting members of the Black Star Army increased significantly.

…

Within the interrogation room of a dynasty battleship, a group of captured Arcane Church spies were firmly tied to a chair, and the dynasty soldiers guarded the entrance to the room with guns.

This group had been captured based on the intelligence of Black Star. He had dug out some information from the secret accounts of Sagman, and the dynasty had been able to select new targets.

Shua!

The door to the interrogation room opened, and a man with a smile on his face strolled in. He wore the trench coat of a dynasty officer and black gloves.

Standing in front of the captives, he softly laughed.

“Let me introduce myself. I’m a psychic, one of the Senior Officers of the Crimson Dynasty’s Intelligence Department. My name is… heh heh, there’s no need to tell you guys. Anyways, we’d better hurry up. I’ll be digging some information from your brains today. Please cooperate, else you will burn out your brains, and I won’t be responsible for that.”

As he spoke, he walked up to one of the captives, placing his palm on the head of said captive.

Boom!

The captive began to struggle violently, as though suffering from epilepsy.

A few seconds passed, and trails of blood leaked out from all seven orifices on his head. The captive’s mouth was slack, and tears, snot, and saliva mixed with the fresh blood dripped onto the ground. He looked miserable as he continued to convulse.

“Thank you for your cooperation.” The smile of the Intelligence officer got even wider, and he walked toward the next person.

Looking at him approach, the rest had expressions of horror, as though saying, Don’t come over!

Screams of misery sounded out. “Argh!”

Looking at this scene, the guards at the door subconsciously tightened their grips on their weapons.

Very quickly, the intelligence officer’s job was completed. He took off his gloves, placing them in his pocket before leaving.

As he was walking out, he tapped one of the soldiers’ shoulders and jerked his head toward one of the captive spies who was foaming at the mouth.

“Don’t clean up the scene. There’s still some use for them. I require their genetic code to verify their identities as spies.”

“Un… understood.” The guard swallowed with difficulty.

The officer then took out his communicator, reporting to Tarrokov.

“There’re a few of them who have come into contact with Beyond Grade As, and we have confirmed that they were Taylor and Sagman. I’ve confirmed that all of them match with the identities of spies from the Arcane Church, as well as the tasks entrusted to them.

Tarrokov shook his head. “Are there any you suspect to be true personnel that personally received the instructions?”

“Yes.”

The espionage was based off the command from the Arcane Church, and the missions they received were all different. A large portion of them were giving misleading or false information, and only a small portion were really in contact with Sagman.

Because Han Xiao had locked onto the area where the two of them were, the dynasty could rule out many of the misleading locations, and the spy with a mission location around where the two of them were located was thus the suspected actual personnel, so they could also narrow down their scope of operations even further.

Only when they discovered the actual personnel involved could Tarrokov then implement a plan, which was to impersonate the espionage agent of the Arcane Church. Because Sagman was in contact with the Arcane Church, they would not trust anyone other than the person who was actually in charge of this mission.

Impersonating was difficult but not impossible, as long as they caught the person in charge. Even if the Arcane Church were to discover it later, it would be too late.

…

Following the search of the Black Star Army, Sagman and Taylor found many irregularities, as though they had been grasped in the palm of someone.

They immediately took all sorts of measures, but it was as though a large net had been spread toward them, trapping them before being slowly tightened.

Their every move seemed to be monitored, as if an assassin was hiding behind them.

While they did not know where the problem lay, but when they thought about it carefully, they realised it was most likely the fact that Black Star was following them through the quantum network, and their spaceship and purchases had likely been tracked.

Thus, the two of them decided to abandon their spaceship, float around in the universe with their fleshly bodies for a period of time. When they had left their spaceship at a distance, they then transferred to another spaceship operated by their spies, and donned on a new disguise.

The situation improved for a period of time, and Sagman as well as Taylor both thought that they had shaken Black Star off.

But they were unaware that the dynasty had already completely locked their position and quietly started to tighten the circle, following them. When the Beyond Grade As of the dynasty arrived, that would be the time to reel in the net.

…

Within the wormholes of the Shattered Star Ring, the Fallen Ark fleet led by EsGod was roaming about.

On the flagship, Fakisen spoke to the main body of EsGod. “Your Excellency EsGod, are you sure we are leaving the Shattered Star Ring through this method?”

“And if we don’t?” EsGod laughed. “Who will lend us their stargate?”

At this moment, EsGod had already completed his evolution and was full of vitality. Fakisen could feel a deeper level of pressure from him, coming from a higher life form.

EsGod, who possessed information from the Evolutionary Civilization, had gained a lot from the evolutionary energy, and no one could tell how much he had improved.

Fallen Ark had only established a temporary stargate between the desolate universe belt and the Flickering World, and there were also no stargates present in the Shattered Star Ring. Furthermore, they had borrowed the Arcane Church’s stargate to travel from the Central Galaxy to the Flickering World, and they naturally could not use the same gate when returning.

From the beginning, EsGod had been prepared to leave the star field through the wormhole group of the Shattered Star Ring, one of the reasons being that it was where he had first discovered a certain fortuitous encounter.

“The transmission locations of these unstable wormholes are completely randomized, and we don’t know where we’ll be thrown. The risk is too great. We can just slowly proceed along the desolate universe belt, avoiding the crowd for a period of them.” Fakisen tried to dissuade him.

EsGod turned a deaf ear, looking at the unstable wormholes constantly emerging and disappearing outside the porthole. “Just look at how disorderly and chaotic this scene is. This is the true meaning of the universe, and only in this disorderly state can it contain endless possibilities.”

EsGod then turned to Fakisen, casually asking, “Any intelligence on the remaining Beyond Grade As from the Arcane Church?”

Fakisen nodded. “The dynasty is pursuing the remaining four with all their might and did not put much energy into chasing us. The Black Star Army, Bloodshed Land, and Klent Kingdom are also the heads of the Shattered Star Ring, so the dynasty will probably catch one of two of them.”

“It seems like the Arcane Church will suffer great losses this time.” EsGod blandly eyed Fakisen. “Are you happy?”

“Of course.” Fakisen laughed. “The moment they contacted me, I was already picturing this scene.”

“Ah, I’m afraid it is not just this reason…” EsGod laughed but did not pursue the exact reason. He then turned back to face the wormhole, leisurely commanding, “Let’s enter.”

The Fallen Ark fleet slowly traversed into the wormhole and vanished.

…

A stream of light shot through the universe. It was Sagman and Taylor’s spaceship.

“There are only seven more hours before we reach the next public stargate. We’re nearing the border of Shattered Star Ring. The dynasty has little control over the next star cluster. The spies are also already in place and are waiting to assemble the stargate. The moment we move to a different area, the dynasty will not be able to find us so easily anymore,” Sagman said.

Taylor nodded, his expression finally easing a little.

They had hidden high and low for almost three months, and this sort of life was stifling for them. Finally, they had hope of escaping unscathed.

Sagman sighed. “It’s a pity that Mercer and Dylan were captured. Out of six of us, only four of us can return… no, maybe only three. Psyker’s base is within the Shattered Star Ring, and sooner or later, he will have to come back and face the pressure from Black Star and Heber.”

At this point, neither was in the mood to talk further. Their mission that they were so confident in had actually put them in such a sorry situation.

At this point, the artificial intelligence of the spaceship suddenly sounded, and it was a familiar voice.

“If you have the time to be concerned about others, you’d be better off using that time to worry about yourselves.”

The duo jumped, their expressions changing.

This voice… Black Star‽

The next moment, the spaceship suddenly shuddered, and the artificial intelligence of the spaceship killed the hyperdrive function, causing the spaceship to come out from hyperdrive.

Even the ordinary engine was turned off, so the spaceship simply floated in the universe.

The magic interference traps that Milizaus and Ravenlaude had placed in the void in advance completely enveloped this area. All spacetime abilities were blocked.

Streams of light shot out from eight directions, wrapping around Sagman and Taylor’s spaceship.

Milizaus as well as the Beyond Grade As from the dynasty were all on the scene, and each occupied a position, staring at them like tigers toward prey.

“We’re surrounded!” Taylor’s face drained of color.

Sagman’s face twitched violently, his expression mixed with incredulity and fury. He suddenly noticed a mechanical army blocking their path ahead.

Standing at the front were the four Apostle Weapons lined up in a row—Psionic Prime with a crown and a spear, Giant King Kong with its hulking body, Silver Flash with its gleaming hand-cannons, and Mad Sky Hunter with its arrogant bearing.

Standing in front of them was a figure, but it was not Han Xiao. It was the mechanical host, codenamed ‘Mammoth’. At this moment, Han Xiao was utilizing [Lord’s Descent] to project his consciousness and will into this mechanical host. Its tough mechanical body looked dazzling with the blue-gold Mechanical Force arcing around it.

This mechanical host had seemingly transformed into Han Xiao’s avatar, sharing his attributes, skills, and expertise. It practically possessed a Beyond Grade A combat power at this moment.

“Surrender.” Two dark streams of energy flowed from Milizaus’ nostrils, who was in his dragon form.

While he was unwilling to chase and fight so hard, the dynasty had already locked onto the enemy, and he and the rest of the Beyond Grade As could not openly defy the dynasty’s orders.

Sagman’s eyeballs darted around before finally landing on Han Xiao’s machinery.

After being played by Han Xiao a few times, he had already gone beyond the point of anger.

Seeing this, Han Xiao leisurely replied, “In this situation, your odds of escape are close to none. We just want to capture you guys alive. How about surrendering?”

Sagman breathed out loudly before suddenly smiling. However, his smile was full of viciousness.

“When did you hear that a Beyond Grade A does not fight and just surrenders?”

“Maybe today?” Han Xiao’s brows rose.

While he said that, his posture slightly lowered, preparing for battle. Several other Beyond Grade As were also prepared to move, ready to follow Han Xiao’s lead at any time.

With his gaze fixed to the front, Sagman suddenly spoke to Taylor. “I’ll try to hold all of them back; you look for an opportunity to escape. They only want to capture one of us. If one more of us can escape, that will be a bonus.”

“Don’t be stupid. They came prepared. I can’t run.” Taylor let out a bitter laugh before taking out his staff. “I’m better off staying and fighting with you. Even if we can’t change the result, I can’t let myself be caught without dignity.”

Sagman nodded before murmuring, “After this battle, I don’t know when we’ll next be free.”

They then looked at each other.

Boom!

The next instant, the spaceship shattered, and the duo rushed out toward the Supers of the dynasty.

…

_____________________

Galaxy Chronicles (Official Revised Edition)

In the Year 705, on the 27th Day of the 9th Month on the Galaxy Calendar, the Arcane Church and Fallen Ark teamed up to launch a surprise attack on Planet Lighthouse within the Flickering World. Their goal was to snatch the Evolution Cube and kill the Beyond Grade A allies of the Crimson Dynasty—Beyoni, Black Star, and Milizaus.

‘Magus’ Austin intervened in this battle, and the Arcane Church used the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to hit Milizaus, but it was later countered with some special sealing means by Black Star.

Black Star later captured the Beyond Grade A Super of the Arcane Church, Dylan, netting great achievements. The Arcane Church was forced to retreat and entered an escape phase, where the dynasty began hunting them down.

In the same year, on the 3rd Day of the 10th Month, just as the Arcane Church’s fleet left the Flickering World, fleet commander Rogue and Mercer were captured.

In the Year 706, on the 21st Day of the 1st Month, with the assistance of the Federation of Light, the Bloodshed Land, Black Star Army, Klent Kingdom, Purple Crystal, and more, the Crimson Dynasty finally successfully intercepted the Beyond Grade As Sagman and Taylor in the Shattered Star Ring. After a bloody battle, they were both captured by the Crimson Dynasty.

At this point, the pursuit from the dynasty came to an end, and the fleet of Arcane Church was completely annihilated. Four Beyond Grade As were captured, and only two escaped. This became known in history as ‘The Battle of Planet Lighthouse’ and ‘The Attack of the Arcane Church’.

_____________________

Chapter 866 - The Curtains Close

The Arcane Church had a foreign embassy on the mother planet of the Crimson Dynasty, and its ambassador paid a visit to the political core of the dynasty, Tarunamir Palace, to discuss the remuneration regarding Mercer and Dylan.

The negotiations had already been going for several months. Before this, the officials of the dynasty were initially adamant on not releasing them, but now they were becoming more open to certain conditions.

“With regard to Article 53 of the remuneration, my side still has something to add…”

As the ambassador continued to talk, the officials of the dynasty nodded, occasionally interrupting. Regarding this matter, they did not have any veto power, and they were actually just the spokespersons for the upper echelons. Their attitudes were the attitudes of the upper echelons themselves.

After a while, the communicator of one of the dynasty officials rang, indicating that there was a message. The ambassador paused and waved to the official to read the message before he continued.

The official in question opened the communicator, but after glancing at the news, they immediately put the communicator down.

Seeing this, the ambassador was about to continue but was suddenly halted by a hand from that official.

“Let’s stop here for today. As for the previous terms and conditions, please return and make a new set.”

The ambassador jumped up. “Didn’t we already discuss the terms? Why the sudden…”

He was cut by the official’s wave. The official stood up, looking down at the ambassador with a smile that revealed some complacency and superiority to the ambassador.

“Go back and wait for the news from your upper echelons, or you can take a look at today’s news. You’ll naturally understand.”

…

After three months, the Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church had some new developments.

On this day, the dynasty issued a new piece of news to the entire universe, announcing that they had succeeded in capturing the two Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church, which meant that they now had four captives.

The counterattack of the dynasty was as fast as lightning, causing many of the organizations in the universe to feel awed. Seeing the heavy bleeding of the Arcane Church this time, some people felt schadenfreude, some rejoiced, and some felt the bitter hatred against common enemies.

This news caused a sensation in over a dozen star fields. In the eyes of countless interstellar citizens, the Beyond Grade A Supers were akin to deities that were only spoken of in legends. However, there were actually four of them who were knocked down to the earth and turned into prisoners.

This sort of capturing of Beyond Grade A had not happened for a long time. Countless citizens felt that they were observing a piece of history that would be passed down in time.

But on the forums, the players were focused on another matter.

Now that the search and capture mission had ended, the players received their reward. Within the army communications system, Phillip issued a general message, praising their contribution, which proved that their contribution was not small in allowing the dynasty to capture the Beyond Grade As.

The few players that first discovered Sagman and Taylor publicized their reward on the forums, and this allowed the other players to understand that the trend of this big event plot was inadvertently changed by them participating.

From Version 1.0 to Version 3.0, the players gradually found that they were having more and more influence on events, and they were becoming more involved in Galaxy. Generally, the players only felt their existence when challenging the storyline during the time when they were on the beginner planets.

However, this time, what they had re-written was a galactic war between two Universal Civilizations, of which the scale was much larger and grander.

The feeling of involvement was more memorable and rewarding compared to just purely receiving the mission reward.

This event was also recorded by the players into the Shattered Star Ring chronicles.

Every player was given the right to edit the chronicle, which caused no small headache for the officials. Thus, the officials would filter the events and organize them, and the trivial matters would be placed within the appendix. Only events that were worth mentioning would be placed within the main post. The players who wrote entries could sign their names on it and receive rewards in return, which was a glorious accomplishment.

…

Within another star cluster in the Shattered Star Ring, spaceships that snaked like a serpent were lined up in front of a stargate. Among them was an ordinary, unassuming spaceship.

Within that spaceship, the virtual screen was showing the news—the dynasty announcing the results of the pursuit operation, in which two Beyond Grade As were captured alive.

Beep!

The virtual screen was switched off.

Ninjia put down the remote, holding his forehead with one hand. His expression was complicated.

“Sagman and the rest have all been captured by the dynasty…”

Among the four that escaped from the Flickering World, two of them had already been caught. Psyker’s situation was also terrible, so he was technically the only one who could safely make it out of the Shattered Star Ring. A sense of sorrow permeated Ninjia.

When he thought back to their departure, the six of them had been full of confidence. To think that in the blink of an eye, their entire force had collapsed, and the majority had even been captured. What a tragic end.

He had heard that the upper echelons of the Arcane Church were originally discussing the ransom payment with the Crimson Dynasty, but now that the latter had two more chips in hand, the price offered by the church would have to be increased. Furthermore, the Crimson Dynasty would definitely not allow the Arcane Church to redeem all of them, so there would be someone who experienced a long period of time within the prison.

“At least… I managed to bring the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter back…”

Ninjia slightly shook his head. Now that things had come to such a point, he could only use this to comfort himself and the church.

…

“Thank goodness it was Ninjia who held onto the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. He did not let the dynasty take that away as well…”

In the Arcane Church’s meeting of Bishops, many of them sat there with bitter expressions. One of them tried to comfort the rest, but he only received looks of helplessness.

One of the bishops spoke up. “We activated our espionage network in the Shattered Star Ring, yet they failed to bring all of them back. The price we paid this time far outweighs the benefits obtained. Even Sagman and Taylor have fallen into the dynasty’s hands, adding to their chips. We need to offer a large ransom payment now because the dynasty will definitely not be polite to us.”

The ransom payments demanded between universal civilizations would not just simply be money but included political, military, and economic conditions.

The bishops were enveloped in sorrows during this meeting. None of them had any time to feel anger.

Dylan, Mercer, Sagman, and Taylor did not just represent themselves, for they had their own Beyond Grade A organizations with immense influence. The strong were plenty there, and with their leaders being captured, these Beyond Grade A organizations would definitely go into turmoil and panic. In order to stabilize their allies, the church had to withstand no small pressure.

In addition, because of the attention paid by the other Beyond Grade As, the Arcane Church not only had to redeem them but had to redeem them quickly, before their Beyond Grade A allies lost faith in them. If their allies lost faith, it would cause their recruitment of Beyond Grade As in the future to be much more difficult.

After all, the older Beyond Grade As would die, and new Beyond Grade As would always be born. Because of the long period of time that a civilization could exist, the Beyond Grade As under them would constantly undergo a shuffle. From a long-term perspective, the reputation and credibility of a civilization was important.

As for the newer generation of Beyond Grade As, the Crimson Dynasty had an overwhelming advantage…

As the record holder for the fastest time taken to reach the Beyond Grade A stage, Black Star undoubtedly had potential to go further. Furthermore, in the last battle, he had shown off his edge, much sooner than the observing forces had expected.

One could see that the strength shown by Black Star would definitely become one of the strengths relied on by the dynasty in the near future. The most frightening part was his age. Among all the Beyond Grade As, he was the youngest, which was enough for him to serve the dynasty for hundreds or even thousands of years.

In other words, for a few hundred years, they probably would have to constantly see this wretched guy’s face.

The moment they thought of how the Crimson Dynasty had gotten their hands on such valuable stocks, the envy of the Arcane Church rose so high they seemed to have reached the heavens.

They also wanted to kill Black Star, but their attempt this time had left them with tragic losses, and thus, the Arcane Church had decided to temporarily give up on the Evolution Cube.

Before eliminating the impact that this storm caused, the Arcane Church did not intend to make trouble for Black Star. In fact, they did not even wish to see him.

The Arcane Church admitted that they had flopped this time.

This debt would be written down and remembered by them to be collected later.

There was still time!

…

“Sagman and the rest were caught.”

In a dimly lit room, the Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church were gathered through remote projection. Around the table were six empty spots.

Because of the matter this time, the Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church had gathered to discuss the resultant waves caused by the news.

“Initially, when the Arcane Church came to me to take on this task, they only saw the disparity of combat power and thought that it was impossible to fail. However, I felt that there was some danger, so I rejected it, and they had Mercer take my place. Now that I look at it, it was good I did not accept the mission.” One of them could not help but attempt to be wise after the incident.

“It’s a pity that I’m being watched by too many organizations and am unable to even move in secret. If I had taken part in this mission, the results would not have been the same,” another said blandly.

The Arcane Church also had Beyond Grade As on the level of the three pillars of the Crimson Dynasty, but their strongest Supers did not participate in the operation this time. Because they were too strong, the surveillance on them was naturally higher, and any movement from them would have attracted the attention of many eyes. Furthermore, the Arcane Church had thought that the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter would be enough to handle them and only approached Sagman and rest, whose strength was lower compared to the strongest few.

“However, no matter how we put it, Sagman had the numerical advantage, yet they were still unable to snatch the Evolution Cube. Black Star’s ability could be considered an unexpected factor this time, and it seems like we have yet another strong opponent.”

“Hmm… in another decade or so, the three pillars of the dynasty might just turn into the four pillars…”

With his allies in the same camp having suffered at Black Star’s hands, the impressions of the Beyond Grade As present toward Black Star had become even stronger than before.

“How about it? What ideas do we have? Are we going to wait for the Arcane Church to redeem them, or do we try to save them?”

“Let’s maintain silence and wait. If the Arcane Church can solve the problem, there’s no need for us to complicate matters. Furthermore, from the intelligence provided by the Arcane Church, Black Star seems to be able to seal up Beyond Grade As. Although I don’t know what sort of Universal Treasure that is, it is something that cannot be broken so easily.”

Everyone nodded. They were still feeling trepidation toward Han Xiao’s second mysterious Universal Treasure.

Based on normal procedures, the dynasty would bring the four captives back, and to save them, the most important thing would be coordination.

However, intelligence from Arcane Church said that Black Star was able to seal up Beyond Grade As. With the intelligence capabilities of the church, this would not be an unfounded rumor.

Without coordination to break out the prisoners from both inside and outside, the operation would become a lot more difficult.

While the Beyond Grade As were friends with Sagman and the rest, they were not so close that they would willingly brave hell and high seas for them.

…

A pale blue vortex appeared, and a huge fleet of spaceships slowly appeared from within the vortex, emblazoned with the logo of the dynasty. They slowly left the stargate, leaving behind traces of flames from their tail as they flew, and within them, there was a battleship shaped like a huge dragon.

The light from the stargate illuminated the bodies of the battleships, leaving mottled spots of light and shadow on their angular hulls. They revealed a series of armor cracks and depressions, as well as varying degrees of damage to the outer armor.

Several spaceships from the Black Star Army were suspended near the stargate and slowly faced the heavily armed main flagship of the fleet. The damage suffered by the main flagship was particularly terrible, with a large portion of its armored plates torn out. The holes filled with nano-repair materials showcased the intensity of the battle.

The spaceships docked with the main flagship, and the mechanical structures around their doors locked with each other to complete the link.

Whoosh!

The cabin door slid open, and Han Xiao walked into the flagship. Escorted by the dynasty soldiers, he arrived at the heavily guarded imprisonment zone, where two restraint cabins were placed.

The inner wall of the restraint cabin was made up of an extremely tough alloy, which made it difficult to escape from the inside. The internal structure also automatically adjusted to the prisoner’s body shape before fixing in that position. In the middle layer were devices to provide high voltage and electromagnetic fields to restrain the captive and weaken transmission of energy. Right now, they were holding Sagman and Taylor.

While the restraint cabin could not totally restrict the Beyond Grade As, the duo were suffering from heavy injuries and had no strength to struggle free. Furthermore, Heber and Beyoni were on watch.

Han Xiao went there in person because he wanted to utilize the Spacetime Amber, sealing both parties up.

“Lord.” The Apostle Weapons walked over.

“You did well.” Han Xiao nodded before recalling the mechanical host.

Because he had utilized [Lord’s Descent] on the mechanical host to engage Sagman and Taylor, it had suffered quite a bit of damage and would require some degree of repair.

The duo had nowhere to run and gave it their all. This was especially so for Sagman, as the destruction he wrought while going all out dealt some degree of damage to almost everyone there. He was eventually pinned down by the Beyond Grade A Supers of the dynasty.

Tarrokov’s long distance projection came up and greeted him. “You’ve come. We were waiting.”

“Let them out.” Han Xiao commanded the dynasty soldiers to unlock the restraint cabin, and taking out the Spacetime Amber, he sealed Sagman and Taylor.

“This is a lot safer, with no risk of getting into trouble.” Tarrokov tapped the amber ball in satisfaction.

Ravenlaude could not help but look at Han Xiao. He realized that the Spacetime Amber was effective, and his expression sank in envy.

Tarrokov then commanded the two soldiers to take the amber balls away while he led Han Xiao and the rest to the conference room.

After they had taken their seats, he looked toward Han Xiao. “Her Excellency is extremely pleased with our progress. Upon learning of Black Star’s accomplishments this time round, she arranged a special award.”

Han Xiao nodded. He had spent quite the bit of effort during this pursuit operation and provided a lot of intelligence. After capturing the two, he had received a notification saying that he had obtained 4,500 Dynasty Contribution Points.

It did not end there. Tarrokov had told him in private that his accomplishments would allow the dynasty to be biased toward him when dividing the territory of the Flickering World, allowing him to claim bigger swathes of land.

This emergency was not only neutralized but turned from danger into an opportunity, so the upper echelons had an extremely good impression of Han Xiao.

“The operation has ended, and the spies of the Arcane Church will also be hunted down, but this job will be taken over by the Intelligence Bureau as the dynasty has another task for you,” Tarrokov said. “Next, the dynasty requires all of you to escort the four captives back to the Constellation Corridor, to prevent the Arcane Church from intercepting them along the way.”

Everyone nodded. They had to be cautious and not lose these chips because of their carelessness.

“However, that does not include Black Star and the Tyrant.”

Everyone turned over, and even Han Xiao and Heber looked surprised.

“What do you need us for?” Heber asked in a deep voice.

Tarrokov opened the star map, magnifying it, before stopping at the territory of the Star Pupil Holy Race.

“I need you two to take a portion of the dynasty fleet and head toward the Star Pupil Holy Race.”

“Capture Psyker?” Heber frowned.

“No, you guys are going there to demonstrate dominance and pressure them.” Tarrokov shook his head in response. “Psyker’s situation is different because he is the leader of a civilization, and his camp is based in the Shattered Star Ring. Initially, the dynasty planned to deal with him, but now that we’ve caught Sagman and Taylor, the Ruler cancelled this plan. Just treat it as leaving some face for them.”

“Oh, that’s not too bad,” Maximiler said. “We already have four captives, and Psyker has nowhere to run. If we continue to hammer at them, this might backfire on the dynasty.”

The rest of the Beyond Grade As captured did not have any roots in the Shattered Star Ring, so they could only blame their bad luck. But Psyker could run but not hide since his base was in that area. If the dynasty forcefully tried to drag away a civilization’s leader, this would result in a backfire, and the Arcane Church would also not watch blindly as that happened, or else they would lose the trust of their allies.

The dynasty was originally not afraid of such a consequence, but now that they had new captives, there was no need to poke the hornet’s nest. Thus, they decided to wrap up while the going was good.

Of course, not capturing Psyker did not mean that they would condone his actions. There was still a need to suppress the development of the Star Pupil Holy Race, and if they could even chase this Arcane Church allied force out of the Star Field, that would be best.

The Crimson Dynasty had mobilized millions of battleships to pioneer the Flickering World, and now they were transferring part of its fleet to the Shattered Star Ring. The armed forces available in this Shattered Star Ring long exceed that of the other two universal civilizations, and even if the Federation of Light was the nominal ruling power here, all was useless before strength.

A pity. Han Xiao’s brows furrowed. He felt it a regret not to be able to capture the other party, as he was interested in Psyker’s body structure. However, every time he saw Psyker, he just wanted to poke the guy’s eyes.

However, since he had taken away the national treasure of the Star Pupil Holy Race, both parties were like fire and water. Now that he still had to go over to the other party’s territory and swagger, this attitude seemed to be bordering on arrogance.

Seems like I’d better bring more people, in case I get beaten up…

Chapter 867 - Demonstration

The action plan was finalized. The dynasty troops would split into three sections; Milizaus and his group would take the captives back, Tarrokov would remain to command the fleet, and Han Xiao and Heber would clean up any loose ends by going to the Star Pupil Holy Race together.

Watching the dynasty’s fleet leave, Han Xiao turned to look at Heber on the virtual screen of his spaceship and smiled.

“We’re going to be partners again this time. When we arrive at the Star Pupil Holy Race, I hope you can live up to your namesake and be more tyrannical.”

“Humph.”

The virtual screen turned dark as Heber cut the connection, not deigning to speak with him. From the porthole, one could see the Bloodshed Land’s troops turn and leave, morphing into rays of light.

Han Xiao clicked his tongue before calling Sylvia.

“Get Herlous to send a fleet to this meeting point. I’ve gotten Phillip to transfer the coordinates over to you.”

“Roger that.”

With this simple conversation over, Han Xiao cut the call. He realized that Sylvia was getting more and more capable, with him practically not needing to worry any longer.

“It feels as though I’m becoming more and more like Ames, turning into a arm-flinging shopkeeper[1]…”

As he played with his communicator, he could not resist bursting into laughter. He realized that if he were to turn into Ames, then Sylvia would become his Jenny.

To think that the heroic Mechanical Lady Knight of his past life had turned into an army affairs officer and head secretary. He did not know which the players would find more attractive, though he knew that Sylvia’s favorability within the players was currently quite high.

This moment, Mad Sky Hunter took the initiative to lean over to Han Xiao, nudging him with its head. Han Xiao’s mouth curled, and he proceeded to stroke the brain portion of Mad Sky Hunter, causing it to let out happy noises as it lowered its head, just like an actual pet getting petted.

Mad Sky Hunter would only behave like this in front of Han Xiao, its creator. As a beast-type Mechanical Life, its mannerisms had deviated a little from the norm. Upon accessing its web records, Han Xiao discovered that other than the combat resources, it had also downloaded dozens of pet videos from the internet. Most likely, it was attempting to learn how to behave like a pet, but its actions coupled with its sleek, glossy demeanor only served to give Han Xiao goosebumps.

If he really did pet it, the feeling he would get from his hands would be just plain weird. However, if he did not pet it, it would seem like he was not showing respect to its hard work.

Silver Flash stood coldly by the side, secretly showing disdain.

Humph, boot-licker!

Thinking about it, Han Xiao dialed Ames, and her elegant face soon appeared in front of his eyes.

“What do you want?”

“I have a mission here, which is to go to the Star Pupil Holy Race to bully Psyker. Are you interested?”

Ames supported her chin with her right hand, and her sleeves dropped down, revealing dazzling white skin. She blinked.

“I’ve realized that you seldom chat with me these days unless you have some business.”

“Are you coming or not?”

“Let me check my schedule.” Ames lifted her eyes, gazing past the screen toward someone by the side. She slowly asked, “Jenny, is there anything on Floating Dragon that I need to do?”

It took a long while before a brittle voice coupled with grinding teeth sounded.

“There is… but have you ever done it?”

Hearing this, Ames directly waved her hand. Han Xiao could not see what happened, but Jenny’s voice seemed to have disappeared. Maybe… she got attacked by Ames’ force field.

“Looks like I’m free. I’ll head over.” Ames looked like she was smiling yet not smiling, as though nothing had happened on her side.

“Sure.” Han Xiao nodded his hand, choosing to ignore whatever had just happened.

“This is the mission assigned by the dynasty, so I believe it won’t be just you.”

“Yeah, Heber is involved this time, together with a few dynasty fleets.”

“Heber is going too?” Ames narrowed her eyes. “Humph, I don’t want to even see him. I’m not going. You can have fun with him.”

Ames immediately cut the call off.

Han Xiao blinked in surprise, staring at the black screen in confusion.

Does she have that great a misgiving toward Heber, to just go back on her word like that‽

It seemed like he had underestimated how badly Heber failed in his attempt to use an iron-blooded man’s method of courtship.

…

While the Crimson Dynasty was ferrying the four captives back, and their prestige was sweeping across the universe, the Star Pupil Holy Race within the Eternal Night Star System greeted an unexpected visitor.

Psyker held the highest authority here, and the Cabinet of ministers assisted him in managing government affairs. Some of the key personnel were high-levelled officials who held real power. This system obviously had drawbacks, but this was not a problem for Psyker. His strength and prestige granted him the right to speak, and because of his psychic ability, he was able to differentiate between thoughts and emotions, so no one could override him.

During this time, Psyker was not within the government, so the cabinet was in charge of daily matters. However, the two parties did not completely cut off their connection. While Psyker was on the run, he kept monitoring the affairs of his race. It was just that he was not at home, nor was he able to reveal his face openly. However, the public opinion surrounding him recently let many of the citizens in the Star Pupil Holy Race feel trepidation.

In particular, the dynasty catching Sagman and Taylor had attracted the worry of the Star Pupil Holy Race. They were afraid that their leader would also be snatched away and frightened that the Crimson Dynasty would turn toward the Star Pupil Holy Race for revenge.

Filled with all kinds of worries, a minority of people were secretly cursing Psyker.

Were you so free that you had to go and muddy the waters, making it so messy now!

This public opinion had been widely circulated among the Star Pupil Holy Race. A small group of people faced threats to their own security, so they were dissatisfied with their leader, Psyker. As for Psyker’s past credits, it did not make a difference in their judgement because people tended to take things that were given to them for granted. It was a pity that Psyker did not succeed, or else the direction of public opinion would have been the opposite, praising him.

However, the extreme views of the minority would not be able to affect the stability of the civilization. Psyker’s control over his race was not just made up of glue, and even if the future was unknown, the government was still operating.

The cabinet set down instructions to let people preach online that Psyker was in this situation in order to recapture their clan treasure, in order to shape Psyker’s image of taking risks personally for the dignity of their race. This severely suppressed a batch of dissatisfied remarks.

At this moment, in the main hall of the cabinet, many key officials were discussing whether to enter a higher level of wartime emergency, inviting Psyker back and using troops to protect him.

A great number of senior military officials were participating in this meeting, each holding their own opinions and arguing fiercely.

At this moment, one of the officials received an intelligence report and suddenly had a change in expression, slamming the table as he read out the report.

“Border Post 17 has detected a large dynasty fleet with tens of millions of battleships, including Black Star Army and Bloodshed Land troops.

“What‽”

All the members present were shocked and horrified.

Did the worst situation happen, and the dynasty troops had really chosen to kill their way over?

Before they could react, the second report arrived.

“The other party has stopped at the border and did not forcibly intrude. They are now negotiating with the border officer. Black Star and Tyrant are commanding this fleet, and their intentions are unknown.”

The hearts that were in the cabinet members’ throats slowly fell back down. They stared at the officer with grudging eyes.

Could you not speak in such an emotional tone? You nearly scared us to death!

After their shock subsided, everyone’s senses came back online.

“That’s right. With such tens of millions of battleships, it doesn’t seem like they came here to declare war.”

“What’s their intentions? Could it be that they’re going to force us to hand over our leader?”

“This… What do we do then? Won’t we still clash with them that way?”

All the people present had on difficult expressions.

Very quickly, the third report was sent over.

“Black Star and the Tyrant have said that they came over to visit the Star Pupil Holy Race, and they wish to talk to Psyker.”

The cabinet members looked at each other.

With such a mighty army, they’re saying that they’ve come here for a visit. Do they think we’re fools?

The fleet clearly did not come with good intentions.

“If we reject their request, do you think they will wait outside the border, or will they resort to violence?” one of the cabinet members asked.

Everyone simply stared at the person wordlessly.

Do you think that the troops and Beyond Grade As sent out by the dynasty are here for sightseeing? Giving them the cold shoulder is akin to refusing a toast and choosing the forfeit instead. How could they possibly take it lying down?

Brother, how did you get into the cabinet? Did you pull strings?

“This matter is already out of our scope of authority. Report to Leader Psyker and let him decide.”

The cabinet then contacted the escaping Psyker.

Not long after, the communication was linked.

Surveying the scene, Psyker noticed their heavy expressions and asked, “What’s happened?”

“Leader, the Crimson Dynasty has come to pressure us…” One of the officers explained the matter once more.

After he finished, the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone was waiting for his response.

Psyker took a deep breath, closing his eyes. After a while, he slowly opened them.

“Receive them. I’ll rush back right now.”

“But they are targeting you!”

A few of the people had panicked expressions, but they secretly heaved sighs of relief.

If Psyker had chosen to run and not come out to take responsibility for this matter, there would have been no way for them to clear up this mess.

“Their method of doing so is just to force me to return. Black Star and Heber understand me. They know that I would not leave my race and escape.” Psyker’s expression turned calm. “There’s no point in running, and I have to face them sooner or later. This is the price of failure.”

Those present all revealed faces of indignation.

“Don’t worry, the dynasty already has four captives. Them visiting the Star Pupil Holy Race might not be to capture me.” Psyker shook his head.

He did not dare return, other than to observe the situation, because he expected the dynasty not to take the risk to violate the Peace Treaty. While his base was situated there, the dynasty would definitely not go head to head against him just to capture him. He just did not wish to put his race in danger, so he was not willing to accept the protection of his civilization’s troops. However, to prevent any problems, he did not move too far away and had always been hovering near his territory.

“Understood. We’ll open the border and escort them to one of the planets,” one of the commanders solemnly replied.

The security of one’s territory was important, but they also had to take the initiative to open the border and meet with more aggressive guests. The dynasty’s faction was undoubtedly exerting pressure, and everyone was placed in a state of unease.

…

Before long, the Star Pupil Holy Race sent troops over to the border to welcome them, and other than a large portion of the Crimson Dynasty troops remaining at the border, Han Xiao and Heber brought some troops and followed the Star Pupil Holy Race troops to a colonial planet.

The Star Pupil Holy Race evidently did not want to let too many people discover this matter, so the spaceships stopped directly within the inner administrative area of the planet. Before the emissary that was qualified to receive the two arrived, the local lord of the colonial planet performed the reception work himself.

After disembarking from the spaceship, Han Xiao and Heber were led to the reception room. Following from behind, Han Xiao could see that they were on edge, and beads of sweat could be seen trickling down his neck.

The surrounding soldiers were also nervous and alert, staring at Han Xiao and Heber with a death gaze while gripping their weapons tightly.

Heber was used to such fear coming from people and took large steps with his Vanguard Officials following close behind. This group often gave off a strange impression, as though they were going to shout out “Fitness is key!” at any given moment.

On Han Xiao’s side, he was observing the architectural style of the Star Pupil Holy Race casually, with Hila, his Black Star Guards, and the four Apostle Weapons behind him.

They both had brought their own Calamity Grade elites, as well as many officers from the Crimson Dynasty.

Upon arriving, everyone took their seats, and the local lord wiped his sweat, carefully saying, “The Emissary is on his way. Please hold on for a moment.”

Heber was akin to a tiny mountain as he sat on the sofa. He had a pressuring aura, his arms folded as he asked, “When will Psyker return?”

“This… this… I do not know…”

The local lord was pressured by his momentum to the point his throat was locked in place. He barely managed to speak, his sweat beginning to flow again like a waterfall.

Han Xiao casually picked up one of the fruits on the table, which looked like a melon that was dyed blue. He bit into it and chewed a few times, before wiping his mouth and flicking it toward Heber.

“I’ve tried it. There’s no poison, so you can eat in peace.”

Heber’s face twitched.

I’m over here trying to posture, yet you threw me the fruit. You’re totally spoiling this atmosphere!

Furthermore, I’m a pugilist. Why would I need a mechanic like you to test for poison‽

The fruit was already thrown over, and it would not be good to let it drop on the ground. Thus, Heber could only catch it and then fling it to one of his Vanguard Officials behind him.

This time, Heber could not be bothered to speak and only closed his eyes. Han Xiao did not press the issue either, half closing his eyes as he enjoyed the feeling of Aurora massaging his temples.

The atmosphere thus quieted down.

While the surrounding guards were at the ready, after seeing the nonchalant attitudes of the duo, they had to suppress their rage.

Atrocious, these people are not showing the Star Pupil Holy Race the slightest respect!

Especially Black Star, this evildoer. Not only did he steal our clan treasure, he actually dared run over to our territory. How arrogant!

The guards held onto the weapons tight, almost wanting to shoot at Han Xiao. However, their reasoning stopped them.

The situation was more important than the people. The dynasty was going whatever they wanted in the Shattered Star Ring, and their backer, the Arcane Church, had also suffered losses, so they naturally would not dare make any rash moves.

Very soon, the surrounding guards swapped shifts, and Calamity Grades took over as the guards. They stared unceasingly at Han Xiao and Heber as though meeting their mortal enemies.

After a period of time, hurried footsteps could be heard from the door, and an emissary soon walked in with a few of his subordinates.

“Your Excellency Black Star, Your Excellency Heber, Crimson Dynasty emissaries, I’m the person in charge of welcoming you. You may refer to me as Jed.”

Jed slightly bowered, but his tone was neither arrogant nor humble.

Heber opened his eyes again and again asked, “When will Psyker arrive?”

“We’re not too sure ourselves. The leader has his own schedule and may take as little as several days to half a month. Please wait for a while. We’ll provide accommodation if both of you wish to stay,” Jed blandly replied.

Boom!

The pressure around Heber’s body intensified, and the room seemed as though a formless hurricane had been born within it.

He coldly stared at Jed as he spoke,

“Don’t try to play dumb. Psyker has always been hovering around the Star Pupil Holy Race and will not be too far away. I’ll give you three days. If I do not see him in person, you can handle the consequences yourself.”

Jed only felt his breathing become labored. He was pressured to the point he could hardly breathe and could only nod with difficulty. “I’ll convey your intentions to the upper echelons…”

At this time, Han Xiao opened his eyes, gesturing for Aurora to stop, before looking interestedly at Jed.

“I just took a gander around your network and realized that your side seems to be very keen to block off the news. Not many of them know that we came over for a visit.”

Upon thinking of Han Xiao’s ability, Jed’s expression changed. “What do you intend to do?”

“It’s no good to withhold information like that. Let me help you guys.”

Han Xiao smiled, and with a thought, the data packet that Phillip had prepared was immediately sent to the major media channels of the Star Pupil Holy Race and forcibly promoted.

It could be roughly summarized as…

‘The dynasty fleet comes to settle accounts, Star Pupil Holy Race trembles in fear!’

‘Black Star and the Tyrant show up, but Psyker dares not meet them!’

‘Psyker flees due to his crimes, leaving behind his race!’

All of the articles showed the Star Pupil Holy Race in a cowardly light and how Psyker did not dare take responsibility, which made the citizens of the race feel suffocated, cracking the prestige of Psyker.

With his current Virtual Technology skills, this news instantly broke the barriers of public opinion that were silenced and swept through the entire network of the Star Pupil Holy Race.

Psyker had brought him a huge crisis this time, and now that he had come over on behalf of the dynasty to apply pressure, Han Xiao would naturally not be polite. Only when Psyker showed himself would he then command Phillip to stop.

Jed walked to the side, and after exchanging a few sentences with the upper echelons, he approached Han Xiao with a strict expression.

“Your Excellency Black Star, please stop such behavior, or else…”

Bang!

Before he could finish, Jed’s head was captured by a large hand and ruthlessly slammed on the table.

The entire table cracked!

The person holding onto his head was a Vanguard Official of Bloodshed Land, Fosters. He coldly commented, “Watch your attitude when you speak to us. If there’s a next time, I’ll break your head apart.”

The moment the grip was released, Jed stumbled and retreated, a furious expression on his face.

However, he had no choice but to swallow this injustice. He took out his handkerchief to wipe off the blue blood flowing down his head.

When the Calamity Grades saw them being so arrogant, their faces got uglier, and the rage smoldered within their hearts. However, because this impacted the entire race, they chose not to move, instead keeping the resentment within their hearts.

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows as he gestured at Heber. He seemed to be saying, If you compare viciousness, you’re still more vicious.

Look at how much bullsh*t you have to say, Heber seemed to reply with a look.

Meanwhile, the news caused a sensation on the internet. Countless citizens burst into anger, some scolding the dynasty for taking advantage and others smearing the name of their leader. Some of them were also worried that Psyker would never return. There were innumerable emotions.

Countless people wished to recapture their national treasure, so the hatred the Star Pupil Holy Race had toward Han Xiao was not light. Han Xiao did not care about the hostility, though, as the more hostile they were, the more it meant that Psyker’s prestige was affected.

Jed did not speak, but one of the guards could not take it any longer and suddenly lashed out at Han Xiao.

“Don’t you have a conscience! After stealing our clan treasure, you dare come here and flaunt it!”

After this sentence was spoken, everyone turned over.

A chilling gaze passed through Hila’s eyes, and she was just about to move. However, Han Xiao gestured for her to hold back and turned to look at the guard.

“What’s your name?”

“Lalem!” The guard was obviously out of control and extremely emotional.

“Hmm, ok, then what would you have me do?”

“Of course, you should return our national treasure!”

“Okay.” Han Xiao nodded, taking out the Evolution Cube and throwing it into the guard’s hands. “Catch.”

Everyone from the Star Pupil Holy Race was stunned, staring incredulously at the Evolution Cube.

“You, you…”

“Didn’t you say you wanted it? Now it’s in your hands.” Han Xiao smiled. “However, I have to warn you. If you walk out of this room, it means that you have snatched the Evolution Cube, and that would mean that the dynasty would send their expeditionary fleet over. Are you ready to handle that?”

The guard’s face turned purple in anger and humiliation.

“You’re just relying on your backer! Do you have any morality in your heart‽”

Lifting his hand, Han Xiao retrieved the Evolutionary Cube, shaking his head as he spoke. “You all claim that it’s your national treasure, but this thing was not created by you. Just by using it for a long period of time, it becomes yours, huh? This is the inheritance of the Evolutionary Civilization, and you guys are the same in that you picked it up, holding on through strength. It never belonged to you, yet you call it your ‘national treasure’… There’s also another point. I did not snatch your Evolutionary Cube. It was you guys who lost it, and I picked it up. I merely refused to hand it over to others, just like you guys so many years ago. This question of stance should not be used as an excuse for morality. That would be so meaningless.”

“Bullsh*t. We’ve used the Evolution Cube for so long and can be considered its owner. Leader Psyker has always been connected to the Evolution Cube, so of course it’s ours!” the guard raged.

“This does make sense, but since you guys failed to guard your belongings, it was stolen by EsGod. I didn’t steal it; I merely chose not to return it. Furthermore, because this item was not the creation of your civilization, I have no mental burden toward withholding it for myself… If you guys can snatch it back from me, I can’t do anything about it, but your strength is insufficient, so anything else you say is meaningless. I gave you a chance, but you didn’t dare take it away. Let’s just forget about it.”

Han Xiao shook his head. He had never been a kind person, and he had another motive here, which was to resolve the hidden danger of the Evolution Cube once and for all. He planned to use pressure to force the citizens and Psyker to lift their psychic link with it!

As for right or wrong… Psyker had endangered his life many times. Now that things had gotten to this point, there was no need to worry about this issue.

“You, leave.” Jed waved toward the guard. While he was also furious about losing the ‘national treasure’, he was more realistic and knew that the dynasty had come to pressure them. It would be a pipe dream to make them hand over the Evolution Cube.

Having witnessed this little spat, Heber threw a glance over to Han Xiao.

“You’re not too bad at being evil yourself.”

“As to you.”

Han Xiao rolled his eyes in response.

One needed to be more arrogant when posturing to apply pressure. For someone like him, who was used to being low-key, this was difficult to do.

[1] He’s referring to a leader that only delegates work but never does any

Chapter 868 - Lock On Removed

The Star Pupil Holy Race fleet in the surroundings immediately gathered toward the planet and awaited their orders. At the same time, the defensive fleet at the border was also strengthened.

After waiting for two days, Psyker finally reached the border.

“Your Excellencies, Leader Psyker has already reached the border and will be here soon.”

Jed heaved a sigh of relief.

His appearance was much frailer than before. Over the past two days, he had stayed in the room together with Han Xiao and Heber. He had suggested that the two go to a guest room, but Heber and Han Xiao did not even reply to him. Furthermore, they did not allow him to leave either, so Jed could only accompany the two in the room over the past two days. He did not even dare sleep, and his mental state was already on the brink of collapse.

To a Beyond Grade A Super, two days was no big deal at all. They could easily close their eyes, and two days would be over in a flash. Furthermore, the guards of the Star Pupil Holy Race present were all in the Calamity Grade and would not be affected too greatly. Only someone like Jed who was an envoy from the government would feel fatigue.

If they went to the guest room, the pressure that both of them had accumulated would be gone. As such, they chose to sit here for two days to increase the pressure on the Star Pupil Holy Race.

After waiting a while longer, a commotion could be heard on the outside, and both of them could feel a powerful energy source approaching them.

Heber opened his eyes and nodded. “He’s here.”

The door opened, and Psyker walked into the room slowly. Everyone’s gaze was then focused on him.

The guards present all heaved sighs of relief and stood up straight as though they had found their backbone.

“Eh, isn’t this Little Psy-Psy? The hero has finally appeared,” Han Xiao teased.

Psyker walked over to the two. Jed, who was originally seated, immediately gave up his seat for Psyker.

“Didn’t both of you want to meet me? I’m back. Get straight to the point,” Psyker said with a deep voice.

The next second, Han Xiao’s arm suddenly transformed into a mechanical arm, and he swung it out toward Psyker.

The table and sofa in front of him was pushed away, and his palm sent Psyker flying into the wall.

Bang!

The entire room erupted!

“What did you do‽”

The faces of the guards all changed, and they wanted to take action to help their leader.

Right at this moment, Hila and the other Black Star Guards also sent their auras toward the guards in the surrounding with the intention to warn them. The Bloodshed Land’s Vanguard Officials did the same.

Just when the situation was about to erupt, Psyker’s voice sounded from under the mechanical arm.

“Don’t move.”

The mechanical arm was retracted, and Psyker dislodged himself from the alloy wall with his Psychic energy. He then looked at Han Xiao without any intention of fighting back.

“I almost took your life. Do you have any issues?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

“… No.”

Psyker took a deep breath and knew that Han Xiao wanted to take him down a notch. He then told his subordinates not to act recklessly and got them to bring a new table in.

The members of the Star Pupil Holy Race in the surroundings clenched their fists with aggrieved expressions.

They were able to understand why Psyker chose to give in but could not help but feel disappointed. On one hand, they were enraged at their own weakness, and on the other hand, they felt humiliated on behalf of their race.

Although all of them knew that the dynasty was there to seek an answer from them, they were all hoping that Psyker would be able to deal with such a situation and turn the tides. However, the unacceptable truth was that their leader was there to suffer humiliation.

The Crimson Dynasty emissary, who had not said a word so far, then said calmly, “You participated in the attack on Planet Lighthouse, and four of the six Beyond Grade As who participated have already been caught. The dynasty needs you and the Star Pupil Holy Race to give us an explanation.”

“What kind of explanation?” Psyker asked.

The dynasty’s emissary then tapped his bracelet, and a holographic screen appeared. A contract appeared on the holographic screen.

“You have to give a public apology and sign this compensation contract to prove your sincerity. The details of the contract are all within it. If you don’t agree, please follow us to accept your judgement in the dynasty or wait for the Arcane Church to pay a ransom.”

“Compensation and apology?” Psyker murmured under his breath. He had not been idle over the past two days and had been thinking of what the dynasty’s intention would be. This was not out of his expectations at all.

The dynasty emissary did not bother keeping the matter a secret and read the entire contract out. There were many outrageous demands, and the members of the Star Pupil Holy Race watching by the side became more and more enraged.

There were only two options placed before Psyker at the moment. First, apologize and pay compensation. Second, become a captive. Of course, there was a third option, which was to fight back. However, the dynasty would not show him any face if he chooses the third option.

The dynasty did not necessarily need that little compensation but needed the enemy to give in.

After listening to all the terms, Psyker nodded and said, “I accept the contract. I will make a public apology for my actions.”

He was not too bothered about the astronomical compensation. He was working for the Arcane Church, and although he had failed, the Arcane Church would not let him suffer the cost of the compensation. If they did not do that much, nobody would want to help them in the future. Thus, the compensation would be paid by the Arcane Church, so there was no need for the Star Pupil Holy Race to spend money.

As for a public apology, this was also something that the Arcane Church would want to see. The Arcane Church would never apologize to the dynasty, but since they wanted to redeem their people, they would have to give in somehow. Thus, the Star Pupil Holy Race giving in would be a representation of the Arcane Church’s attitude.

Even if the Arcane Church was the backer of the Star Pupil Holy Race, the Crimson Dynasty was also a Universal Civilization. With both parties in conflict with each other, the Star Pupil Holy Race definitely had to give an explanation.

Psyker understood this clearly, but most members of his race did not.

In the eyes of the others, their leader had accepted such humiliating conditions without any hesitation. This made the faces of all those present turn ugly, and the look in their eyes became complicated.

The way they saw it, Psyker seemed to be protecting himself and betraying the benefits of the race without any hesitation. Of course, they knew that this was far from the truth, but they could not help but think that way.

Although they knew that Psyker did not make a mistake in his decision, many of them could not help but feel anger and humiliation.

Right at this moment, Heber said, “Psyker, leave the Shattered Star Ring together with your people. You know that we and the dynasty will not allow you to develop. Your best option is to leave.”

Having one less Beyond Grade A in the Shattered Star Ring would benefit everyone else. Heber and the dynasty had the same thought.

Psyker shook his head and said, “Regardless of how tough the situation is, we will not leave our homeland as long as we can overcome it.”

“Humph.” Heber did not say anything else upon hearing that.

At this moment, Han Xiao piped up. “The following matter will be between us. You have given an explanation to the dynasty, but you also need to give an explanation to the victim.”

Psyker turned around and asked, “What do you want?”

Han Xiao smiled.

“I want the Evolution Cube.”

Everyone was stunned.

“Haven’t you snatched it already?” Psyker asked doubtfully.

“No, you misunderstood me,” Han Xiao said calmly. “I want you to get rid of the psychic connection that you have with the Evolution Cube and announce to the universe that you have given it to me.”

Psyker’s expression changed abruptly.

He finally understood what Black Star’s intention was!

The members of the Star Pupil Holy Race originally thought that Black Star had stolen their national treasure, so if he publicly announced that he had given the item to Black Star, he would no longer have any right to criticize the other party. At that time, the members of his race would divert their humiliation to their leader and vent all their anger on him. His status as a leader would also fall greatly.

“You b*stard…” Psyker gritted his teeth.

“Because of the Evolution Cube, you tried to deal with me time and time again,” Han Xiao said. “The ambush this time was also because of the Evolution Cube. If I do not make you give up on the Evolution Cube, something like this will happen again. I haven’t settled the score regarding the Avitan Souls trying to blow up Planet Aquamarine yet. Take a look at this video first.”

Han Xiao then summoned a holographic screen, and the scene of the guard called Lalem criticizing him was played. Phillip had recorded the entire scene.

Psyker’s face became extremely ugly after the video was completed.

Han Xiao raised his brows and said, “She provoked a Beyond Grade A, but I wasn’t too calculative with her. I don’t wish to hear bullsh*t like that again, so I decided to make use of a solution to settle this matter once and for all. What do you think?”

Psyker suppressed his anger. “What if I disagree?”

“You can also choose to disagree.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and released his aura. “However, are you still my opponent? Have you ever thought about what would happen to your Star Pupil Holy Race without you as their leader?”

At this instant, Psyker realized that the Black Star in front of him was no longer the one who had fought him to a draw. He then thought about the scene of Han Xiao capturing Dylan and felt a trace of fear.

However, he was still reluctant to give up the Evolution Cube. He had formed a Soul Connection with the Evolution Cube, and his psychic energy was strengthened as a result. Without the Universal Treasure, his own combat strength would fall, and his status would also be lowered in the Arcane Church.

The dynasty emissary then said calmly, “Black Star’s intention is the dynasty’s intention. If you don’t agree, we can add it into the contract.”

Han Xiao had not discussed this matter with the dynasty yet, but this matter was not disadvantageous to the dynasty at all. Thus, the emissary’s support was extremely normal.

Upon hearing that, Psyker’s clenched fists loosened, and he said softly, “… I agree.”

Bang!

A Calamity Grade Star Pupil Holy Race guard finally could not restrain his anger any further and hammered down on the wall.

The other guards were angered to the point their bodies were trembling. Han Xiao and the others had completely ignored them.

Han Xiao nodded and took out the Evolution Cube. The silver cube floated in midair and attracted everyone’s attention.

Heber’s throat also twitched slightly, but his subordinates did not notice.

“Then, please show your sincerity and undo your psychic connection.”

Psyker shut his eyes and released his psychic energy to come into contact with the Evolution Cube. Gritting his teeth, he cut off the connection with the Evolution Cube.

The next moment, his body trembled, and his mind could clearly feel that the bridge between him and the Evolution Cube had been broken.

The ability to locate the cube had also disappeared.

“It’s done,” Psyker said with a soft tone and tried to conceal his sadness.

Han Xiao retrieved the Evolution Cube. The senses of a Beyond Grade A were extremely sharp, and he could clearly feel the aura latched onto the Evolution Cube disappearing.

I finally got rid of this hidden threat… Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. Although the Spacetime Amber had a similar effect, he would still have to use the Evolution Cube from time to time, and this would get rid of all troubles for good.

However, he still passed the cube over to Feidin to take a look. Although Feidin was only a Calamity Grade, his luck was unrivaled.

“Don’t worry, your dynasty also has Beyond Grade A Psychics, so it will be extremely easy to tell. You don’t have to worry that I will leave anything behind,” Psyker said with a depressed tone. “I have fulfilled your conditions already. Do you have anything else? Please leave the territory of the Star Pupil Holy Race if there’s nothing else.”

The dynasty emissary then stood up and said, “Alright, we shall not disturb you any further. The dynasty will be watching you and waiting for your announcement.”

Psyker gnashed his teeth but did not say anything.

“Don’t blame me.” Han Xiao also stood up. “You have to pay the price for failing. At least you are still alive.”

“I will not always fail,” Psyker said.

“You also won’t be alive all the time.” Heber then walked out of the room with the dynasty emissary behind him.

Walking out of the door, Han Xiao turned around to look at Psyker. “Rather than being angry at us, you should take care of all your troubles.”

Psyker ignored those words and asked, “How is Dylan?”

“You still have the time to care about others? It seems like you have a pretty good relationship with him.” Han Xiao smirked. “Don’t worry, he is safe… very safe.”

Han Xiao then waved his hands and left.

A while later, Psyker received a report that Han Xiao and the others had left the planet.

After a long while, Psyker raised his head and sighed.

“Get the government to hold a press conference. I will make a personal appearance.”

Jed hesitated for a while before reminding him, “Black Star used his Virtual Technology skills and infiltrated many of our media websites, posting many rumors about you. Should we deal with that first?”

“That isn’t necessary. Black Star will stop after he leaves. Although he is a vicious individual, he won’t always play such petty tricks,” Psyker replied. “After I make an announcement, all of you will know that these rumors aren’t considered anything.”

Upon thinking about the effect of his announcement, Psyker could not help but feel depressed.

However, he did not have a choice. Even if he approached his backer, they would not come into conflict with the dynasty because of Psyker’s reputation.

His personal reputation was not at the top of the Arcane Church’s priority list.

Chapter 869 - Federation of Light, Do You Think I“m Invisible?

Their spaceships left the Star Pupil Holy Race territory and met up together with the dynasty’s fleet before disappearing into space.

The dynasty emissary turned around to look at the two beside him and smiled.

“Psyker has been extremely cooperative, and the mission has been a success.”

Heber waved his hands with an expressionless face to indicate that this was a small matter.

He was also able to increase his prestige by flaunting his might before another Beyond Grade A. Furthermore, since the Star Pupil Holy Race had agreed to apologize and pay compensation, this matter would definitely be recorded in history, and his name would be included. This was a pretty good reward for him.

“Psyker lost big this time. He will probably remain stagnant for a long time.” Han Xiao smiled.

With the hidden trouble of the Evolution Cube gone, he was in a good mood.

“That’s right. Psyker will have to deal with the aftermath of this event and the other competing Star Cluster Civilizations. He will have to remain low profile for the next few decades for sure,” the dynasty emissary added. “I have to report my success to Zoel. Your Excellencies, let’s say goodbye here.”

Heber and Han Xiao nodded. After recording the number of this emissary, they both returned to their spaceships and left.

“I will also be leaving.” Heber sent Han Xiao a message before leaving with his Bloodshed Land troops. He was prepared to return to the Flickering World and overlook the exploration mission.

The wedge between them had not been resolved, and it would be difficult for them to have a good relationship. But after experiencing this incident together, the relationship between the allies of the dynasty had improved.

Han Xiao put his communicator away and ordered Phillip, “Return to the Black Star Army headquarters.”

“Roger, hum…”

The Black Star Army battleship then sped up and entered warp-speed hyperdrive.

It was time to handle the Evolution Cube slots that he had promised the civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring. The dynasty would also send a batch of new elites for the Evolution Cube. Han Xiao was planning to take care of these matters before continuing the exploration of the Flickering World.

The influence of this event was truly large, and he had a battle record of capturing another Beyond Grade A. His personal prestige was increased to the next level, and for a long period of time, there should not be anyone making trouble for him. This should continue until the end of Version 3.0.

The only hidden trouble that worried him was EsGod.

The space coordinates of the World Tree Civilization were like a time bomb. An advanced civilization who grasped the coordinates would know how to test waters and protect themselves. However, it was impossible to predict what someone like EsGod would do.

It was a pity that EsGod managed to receive the evolution energy this round and become stronger. Without finding some companions, it would be truly difficult to deal with EsGod.

To the Crimson Dynasty, the Arcane Church was their true competitor that they needed to pay close attention to. They would only deal with EsGod after reaching an agreement with each other.

It was not easy to deal with EsGod. If they sent too few experts, they would not be able to win. If they sent too many experts, the other party would just escape. The dynasty had tried to deal with EsGod many times before but were not able to kill him. This time, they probably only intended to get rid of EsGod’s comrades.

Furthermore, the intelligence of the dynasty showed that EsGod had left the Star Field through a wormhole, and his whereabouts were currently unknown. Thus, it was pointless to think about dealing with EsGod at this moment.

Han Xiao decided to wait for the experience penalty period to be over before increasing his level. He would only have a greater chance of success if he could increase his strength.

“There is less than half a year until the penalty is over…”

Han Xiao greatly anticipated that moment.

…

A few days later, Psyker finally appeared publicly within his race and called for a press conference.

With the recent rumors, the citizens of the Star Pupil Holy Race were extremely anxious, and they all stayed in front of the television to watch the news.

Time seemed to pass extremely slowly.

It was finally the time for the life broadcast, and everyone felt their heart tighten up.

Psyker’s figure appeared on the screen, and he said with a solemn voice, “Citizens of the Star Pupil Holy Race, my colleagues of the government, I am Psyker. I shall give an official explanation regarding the recent storm…

“In the past few months, news about me has been spreading throughout the universe.

“First, I have to express my deepest apology to everyone. It was because of a mistake that resulted in me being trapped in a dilemma and dragging the race down. I am guilty and embarrassed by this, but a mistake is a mistake, and I shall not defend myself.

“A few days ago, the Crimson Dynasty paid a visit and sought an explanation from me. I did not escape like the rumors on the net but rushed back immediately to negotiate with the Crimson Dynasty’s emissary. Both parties have already arrived at an initial agreement.

“On behalf of the Star Pupil Holy Race and myself, I will apologize to the Crimson Dynasty for the recent event and adhere to the compensation terms as follows…”

Psyker then read out a list of compensation terms before continuing.

“I also apologize sincerely to the victim Black Star and am willing to give compensation because of this event.

“There is a fact that cannot be avoided. The Evolution Cube is the item of another civilization and not one that belongs solely to the Star Pupil Holy Race. Because of some unexpected reasons, we lost the Evolution Cube, and the one who should be blamed is EsGod, not Black Star. We have already enjoyed the benefits of the Evolution Cube. I will let go of all rights to the Evolution Cube here and transfer it to Black Star as compensation.

“My citizens, our Star Pupil Holy Race has experienced phenomenal economic, cultural, and other forms of achievements. We have fallen into a valley, but there will always be new opportunities to greet us after every calamity. I hope that everyone will continue working together and maintain your optimism to go through this tough period together.

“I hope that everyone can understand our choice and not forget our humiliation today.

“Finally, I wish everyone a happy life.”

As his speech was finished, the screen darkened.

An intense eruption exploded from every corner of the Star Pupil Holy Race.

Many individuals were thoroughly shocked by the press conference!

A civilization had to give in publicly and even pay compensation. They could not help but feel a sense of humiliation.

Furthermore, this disaster was a result of Psyker’s mistake, and the entire race had been dragged down by him.

Furthermore, Psyker had even openly abandoned their national treasure and given it to the demon Black Star?

The way they saw it, this was akin to them giving away the Evolution Cube because they were not able to snatch it back!

Such humiliation!

The press conference immediately created a huge sensation, and every corner of the Star Pupil Holy Race was filled with curses toward Psyker. The prestige that he had built up over the many years had gone down the drain, with some even calling him a disgrace to their race.

All the close aides of Psyker stood before him with ugly expressions.

“Your Excellency Psyker, should we really not control the negative public opinion on the web?”

Psyker shook his head and said, “That isn’t necessary. The citizens need an avenue to vent the humiliation and anger in their hearts. When they are done venting it, they will remember the contributions that I have made, and we can guide the public opinion back in the right direction subtly when the time comes.”

“This isn’t beneficial to your prestige,” someone said with concern.

“There will definitely be a rebound effect when it reaches the peak.” Psyker sighed. “Regardless of worship or hatred, it will definitely slide in the other direction when it reaches the peak. When public opinion reaches the peak, there will be more and more people speaking up for me. That will be far more effective than trying to manage the situation now.”

“Is this really good?”

“There isn’t anything bad about it.” Psyker let out a long sigh. “My previous contributions cannot be an excuse for my mistake. The greater my radiance, the greater the shadow. My mistakes have naturally been highlighted. I do not want everyone to praise my good deeds. This humiliation will be motivation for our citizens.”

“We are only afraid that you will be disappointed in us,” one of his aides said.

Psyker was the leader of the Star Pupil Holy Race, but after becoming a Beyond Grade A, Psyker himself was no longer part of the Star Pupil Holy Race. This was a shadow in the hearts of many.

“Don’t worry. I will never forget my mother clan.”

Psyker shook his head. As a Beyond Grade A, his ideals would not be so easily shaken.

“The world is complicated, and I will never judge the world by looking at a small corner of it. The words of a small group cannot represent the entire race. At the very end, all these people will realize that regardless of how they curse, I will still be their leader, and this is something that they are unable to change.

“As for the current storm now…”

As Psyker spoke with a smile, a trace of fatigue could be seen in his eyes.

“Fire will burn out, and the storm will end eventually. We just need to do our job and wait for it to cease naturally.”

…

“The Star Pupil Holy Race has given in.”

On the mother planet of the Arcane Church, Psyker’s press conference was displayed in the conference room. The Bishops then fell into a moment of silence.

After a long while, one of the bishops said with a hoarse tone, “This way, the dynasty’s attitude should ease up slightly, right?”

Psyker had cut off his connection to the Evolution Cube and lost the ability to locate it. The Arcane Church had also decided to give up on the Evolution Cube for good.

“How is the discussion with the dynasty coming along?”

“The dynasty only agreed to allow us to ransom Mercer and Dylan. Their price is extremely high.”

“Hmm, pay the ransom for both of them first. This will satisfy the allies who are watching. As for Taylor and Sagman, the dynasty will not allow us to ransom them back too quickly, but our allies will understand.”

“Where is Ninjia?”

“He has already escaped through a secret stargate set up by our spies. He will be back soon.”

“Thankfully, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is with him.”

The Bishops then heaved a sigh of relief.

Of the six Beyond Grade As that they had sent out, four had been caught, one did not have anywhere to run, and only one managed to return to the Central Galaxy. Thankfully, the only one who returned was the one with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was even more important than a Beyond Grade A in the eyes of the upper echelons. New Beyond Grade As would be born over time, but every Universal Treasure was unique.

Not losing the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was their biggest consolation.

…

Because the Crimson Dynasty was searching the entire Shattered Star Ring, the spy could only construct the secret stargate in a desolate universe belt near the Shattered Star Ring.

A spaceship was currently rushing toward the stargate with Ninjia inside.

The stargate appeared within his sights, and Ninjia heaved a sigh of relief.

After entering this stargate, he would be able to skip past a few Star Fields and return to the Central Galaxy. After running for his life for such a long time, he could no longer endure such a life.

Hum!

Right at this moment, the spaceship trembled, and the engine of his spaceship was suddenly turned off.

“What’s going on?”

Ninjia was startled, and he tried to control the spaceship. However, all his orders were completely useless, and the spaceship did not react at all.

The body of the spaceship suddenly shook.

Rumble!

A gigantic pressure crushed down from all directions, and the spaceship was reduced to a pile of scrap metal.

Bang!

A spherical protective shield then appeared from within the wreckage of the spaceship. Ninjia covered himself with a magical shield and held onto the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter while observing his surroundings carefully.

Could it be that the dynasty had discovered the stargate and set up an ambush‽

Right at this moment, a voice rang in his head.

“It truly wasn’t easy to find you, ‘Divine Spell’ Ninjia. Hand over the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, and I can let you go.”

As the voice sounded, the universe around him lit up with the light of hyperdrive, and many silhouettes appeared before him, filling the entire region.

Many pairs of expressionless eyes were fixed on Ninjia.

At the very front was a tall figure with his entire body shining with electrical bolts. The engravings on his body showed that this was a mechanical host.

Ninjia’s expression changed abruptly upon seeing the person before him.

“Manison‽”

Chapter 870 - Manison“s Interes

Blood trickled down in rivulets, flowing on the metallic surface like crimson snakes and converging into a pool of blood.

Ninjia was sprawled on the ground, covered with bruises and bloodstains. Underneath him was a huge mechanical suction cup in the shape of a triangle, lit with a faint blue light. It was this huge gravitational force that fixed him to the ground.

His hands, feet, and torso were also bound by heavy-looking black alloy rings. This was a special mechanical shackle. With a strong interference field attached and through the use of spatial conversion technology, it could disperse the energy released by the target.

At the same time, four pipes protruded from the ground on both sides, inserting into his spine and injecting nano worms that interfered with his pneumatic operations, causing his nervous system to go haywire, affecting his control.

Ninjia could only barely lift his neck. His vision was blurred but was fixed toward an area full of mechanical limbs, where a dense number of mechanical soldiers were surrounding him.

Both parties were currently on the surface of a steel fortress, a mobile base brought by Manison, and there were marks of battle and broken mechanical parts scattered everywhere.

Because space was locked by Manison’s spatial stabilizer equipment, along with magic jamming to render teleportation invalid, Ninjia could only fight.

However, with the numerous equipment and machinery he had with him other than the host he utilized for [Lord’s Descent], there were still four other Apostle Weapons, which made it such that Ninjia was not his opponent.

“I was waiting for you to utilize the scepter, but you did not. Now I can see why…”

Manison caressed the amber sealing the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, feeling the energy insulation properties and letting out sounds of praise.

“To dare snatch even our Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, Manison, are you not afraid of angering my Arcane Church‽” Ninjia gritted his teeth.

“Don’t be mistaken. I’m not interested in the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter; I’m just doing the Federation of Light a favor.”

Manison eyed Ninjia before waving his hand.

A silver Apostle Weapon walked over, its body as smooth as a mirror without any sort of mechanical seams.

The Apostle Weapon squatted down, turned its fingers into spikes, and inserted them into Ninjia’s body. After which, its entire body turned liquid and flowed into his body through the wounds.

Next, Manison released the shackles. However, the Apostle Weapon within Ninjia’s body suppressed his ability to control his body, and he could only glare at Manison.

“What do you want to do to me‽”

“The Federation of Light allowed me to kill you and destroy the evidence. However, your body is still useful to me.”

Manison threw out a compressed orb, which transformed into a restraint cabin, locking Ninjia within.

After confirming that he could not escape, Manison turned his head, gazing at the amber-sealed Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. An interested look appeared in his eyes.

“Oh, what a special new material, and it seems like Black Star has mastered the manufacturing method… I’ll find an opportunity to contact him.”

…

“Lost contact? Explain to me, what does it mean by lost contact‽”

The upper echelons of Arcane Church quickly received the news that Ninjia, who was supposed to pass through the stargate a while ago, had lost contact with them!

This gave the Bishops a big scare. They had thought that Ninjia had gotten away from danger and could successfully bring the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter back. To think that an accident had occurred.

Since they could not contact Ninjia, the worst possibility was that he had been ambushed and killed.

But even if he was attacked, he should have been able to send news back, or the Arcane Church should have discovered some abnormalities.

There was only one explanation for this… The attacking party had a Virtual Mechanic who was able to tamper with the data and prevent any communication.

The first suspect that the Arcane Church thought of was Black Star.

However, Han Xiao had been at the Star Pupil Holy Race not too long ago and was still en route to his headquarters. There was an alibi… but they did not forget that Han Xiao could command troops from a distance to complete the attack.

“If Black Star is the murderer, is he being supported by the dynasty? They have already captured four of our people and forced Psyker to apologize. Is this not enough?” someone wondered out loud.

“The possibility is not high. Both sides are in negotiations, and we have reached a preliminary conclusion. The dynasty knows that it is not beneficial to continue chasing and fighting them. If they take away our Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, it will force us to flip the table. I’m afraid it is not worth it for them.”

“Could it be that Black Star wants the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter and decided to move on his own?”

“But… if we think about it closely, this will give Black Star more problems than benefits. He has already obtained a huge benefit from this matter, and there is no need for him to also steal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. He will not be able to use it either, and just having it with him will cause numerous problems. The only way would be to give it to the dynasty. However, what we’ve checked about Black Star shows that he is not someone who enjoys taking risks, and he is still in his honeymoon period with the Dynasty. He would not do such a thing behind the back of the dynasty.”

The Bishops frowned. Everything pointed to the fact that Black Star was not involved.

Could it be that there were people who wanted to fish in muddy waters?

To be able to attack Ninjia, one had to fulfil two criteria. One was a strong enough intelligence network to be able to track Ninjia, and the second was to possess the ability of a Beyond Grade A Mechanic to be able to silently kill him off.

Thinking about this, a plausible answer floated up.

The Bishops present all lurched.

“Could it be… the Federation of Light‽”

The Shattered Star Ring was still their territory, and while it looked like they did not care, it would be careless for them to ignore their intelligence system. After operating for so many years, their network would naturally be seamless, and their intelligence gathering would trump the dynasty’s, who were newcomers in the region.

While the Crimson Dynasty did not spot Ninjia’s traces, the Federation of Light did. This explained everything.

The faces of the Bishops were green. The more they thought about it, the more it felt as though the Federation of Light was the culprit.

From the start, when they loaned out the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, that bunch of robbers had intended to fish in muddy waters.

This time, not only did the Arcane Church lose a lot of their Beyond Grade A combat power, they had also strained their relationship with the Crimson Dynasty. To the Federation of Light, this was their best chance.

The Bishops realized that this meant that their entire expedition had been captured and annihilated, and they almost spat blood.

Federation of Light, f*ck your mom!

At this time, the virtual screen on the conference table appeared, showing the command of the pope.

“Stabilize the situation with the Crimson Dynasty and redeem our allies… We’ll settle the scores with the Federation of Light at a later point.”

The Bishops exchanged glances, and within each gaze, they could see depression and helplessness.

Yesterday, they thought that at least the scepter was returning. Today, they once again received bad news. This feeling of falling from heaven to hell made them extremely uncomfortable.

It was a total loss.

Without evidence, the Federation of Light would never admit it. After all, both sides were of the same strength, so they would not be threatened.

They could only take things one step at a time.

…

On the mother planet of the Federation of Light, President Bader put down the communicator, smiling at the elders present.

“Manison has achieved the objective. The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is ours.”

At his words, everyone revealed smiles of success.

The Chief Elder fiddled with his cane, praising, “Indeed worthy of being one of the strongest Ancient Ones. The Mechanic Empire is still as reliable as ever.”

Bader nodded with a smile. Manison was an ally whom he deeply valued, not because of his frightening power but because of their ability to appear at long distances and wipe out all evidence, perfectly completing secret operations.

“The Arcane Church will suspect the Crimson Dynasty and may even suspect us, but they have no evidence. Besides, they will not tell the world about theft of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.”

“According to our intelligence, the usage of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is simple. It’s just that we do not have the necessary skills to repair it. However, we can use it as a trump card with limited uses, as it can greatly damage a Beyond Grade A… Cough cough, just don’t use it in front of Black Star.”

“While it may infuriate the Arcane Church, we’ve earned big by obtaining the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. This is also a chip to deal with the Arcane Church in the future.”

Many of the elders revealed smiles as they discussed their success.

“Manison said that the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is sealed by the special material. When he returns, I’ll have the research team crack it.”

Bader’s tone was confident; he did not doubt that the seal could be removed at all.

Chapter 871 - Business Snatching Mid-Version

The little secret between the Arcane Church and Federation of Light was not made known to Han Xiao.

After leaving the star system of the Star Pupil Holy Race, Han Xiao’s fleet did not stop, returning to the headquarters of the Black Star Army.

In the previous gathering that the Tyrant hosted, Han Xiao had signed a few agreements with a large number of civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring and had also publicly sold access to the Evolution Cube in exchange for cooperation with the major civilizations.

This year was the first year of cooperation, and because Han Xiao would remain in the Shattered Star Ring for this period, he prepared to handle the slots purchased by the various civilizations this year and complete them.

In the past years, the civilizations had conducted numerous internal selections, confirming the list of elites who would undergo evolution, and had been waiting for this day. Upon receiving the notice, the teams were dispatched, and many elites from each civilization gathered at the Black Star Army headquarters.

Using the Evolution Cube as a bridge to reach better relationships with multiple star cluster and star system level civilizations was a key step in the expansion plan for the Black Star Army.

In Han Xiao’s blueprint, maintaining this sort of cooperation network for a long period would form a large network using the Black Star Army as a transit point. By that time, the power and influence of the Black Star Army would truly cover the entire star field, so Han Xiao paid a lot of attention to the cooperation in the first year.

Furthermore, there was an additional benefit. The people picked by the civilizations would all be elites, and there would definitely be well-known characters or protagonists within.

Letting them take the initiative to gather was better than him looking for all of them himself.

This is probably the alternate reality version of keeping the talents in the world for my own usage… Han Xiao mused to himself.

…

Spaceships of different styles landed at the Black Star Army headquarters, and elites of all races poured out as the hatches opened. They were led to the accommodation area under the guidance of the reception robots, causing the dock to be extremely lively.

These elites were all leaders back in their respective civilizations, and the majority were either Calamity Grades, military officers, potential Calamity Grades, or scientific researchers. All of them sized up the other elites as they disembarked, their expressions wary.

“This is the Black Star Army talked of in legends.”

Pamela opened her three large, watery eyes as she curiously took in her surroundings. She hailed from a star system level plant-based civilization, with her race called the Flower Sprite Tribe. Her body was covered with a layer of green leaf-like epidermal tissue, and she exuded a strange fragrance. It was said that every individual had a unique fragrance, just like how humans were differentiated by fingerprints. Body fragrance, appearance, and physique were the aesthetic standards for this race.

According to their aesthetics, Pamela would be a rare beauty, and at the same time, she was an elite researcher who was chosen to undergo evolution.

As Pamela and her party observed the dock, a small hovering robot flew in front of them, speaking in Phillip’s voice.

“Welcome, everyone, to the Black Star Army, hum… Our Commander is still en route. I’ll be responsible for escorting you and arranging your accommodation. In the meantime, if you have any needs, please contact me directly, hum…”

The leader of the Flower Sprite Tribe was a Calamity Grade, and he calmly nodded. “Understood.”

“Please follow me.”

The reception robot flew through the huge crowd, leading the way.

The group followed close behind, looking around on the way and discussing in a low voice.

“People of all civilizations have come. I even saw a few Star Cluster level Civilizations.”

“All of them are elites of their races. This is a grand event. Let’s go pay a visit to some others. After all, it’s a rare chance to socialize.”

Hearing the discussions coming from behind, the reception robot turned around and addressed them. “During this waiting period, I’ll take you to visit the headquarters, hold banquets, and provide a platform for everyone to communicate with each other, so please don’t worry about not having a chance.”

“This looks a little like the Tyrant’s Party… but the people here are not representatives of a few civilizations but rather a large number of elites…” The eyes of the Calamity Grade leading the team moved around, and they seemed to understand something.

Pamela hesitated before asking, “So, so… will we have a chance to converse with His Excellency Black Star?”

“There will be a banquet for everyone to celebrate after the evolution process is completed. If you’re willing to stay, then you’ll be able to converse with our Army Commander,” the robot replied.

“That’s… that’s great.” Pamela’s skin color turned green, which was the same as humans blushing. She looked expectant.

“Yo, shy because you’re about to see your idol?” One of her colleagues teased.

Pamela did not reply, her face so green that it was turning indigo.

Every Beyond Grade A would have a few fans in the universe, even those infamous thugs such as EsGod.

The deeds of Black Star were widely circulated in the universe. As a native of a planetary civilization, he had established the Black Star Army from scratch and rewritten the fate of his homeland by himself. Such a legendary existence had attracted a large number of admirers within the Shattered Star Ring, and Pamela was one of those who were impressed with his deeds.

“I don’t know what sort of spouse Black Star likes…” Pamela appeared a bit dazed.

“Hello, are you being serious? Do you not know about reproductive isolation?” Her colleague was surprised.

“I’m a biological genetic engineer. Do I need your reminder?” Pamela snapped back in resignation.

The Calamity Grade leader frowned and turned back to say, “Don’t forget our purpose here, and don’t provoke His Excellency.”

“Can’t I have expectations?” Pamela grumpily replied.

She did not know, however, that the reception robot was recording every word they spoke and passing it on to Sylvia.

In her office, Sylvia received the report, and after sweeping over it, she coldly snorted.

“Number 237…”

After which, she put a mark on the file before throwing it into a folder labelled ‘Banquet Seating Arrangement (Corner List)’.

…

Way before the date that Han Xiao set, all the civilizations that were supposed to undergo evolution had arrived. Except for Klent, the other Shattered Star Ring civilizations were there. Not only were civilizations belonging to the Shattered Star Ring there—even a new batch of elites from the Crimson Dynasty had arrived.

While waiting, these organizations did not just idle but took this rare chance to network and exchange contacts. The atmosphere quickly became friendly.

All the elites present could see that Han Xiao was taking advantage of the situation to gather all the influential people in Shattered Star Ring and start his own banquet. In other words, he was trying to snatch the Tyrant Heber’s businesses, using the Evolution Cube as a cover to form his own ‘party’, in order to expand his influence!

Although everyone understood this, no one had any issues with it. They were also willing to communicate with other races for their needs.

As for Black Star and the Tyrant’s competition, no one dared breathe a word. Both sides were not good to provoke, and it was better to just go with the flow.

A few days passed, and Han Xiao finally arrived back at the headquarters. After resting for a few hours, he informed everyone to gather to proceed with the ceremony.

Following batch after batch of people, the clean and gleaming main hall quickly became packed. Reynold received the news and took the mechanics of the logistics department to widen the hall on the spot so that it would not be overcrowded.

The space fluctuated slightly, and Han Xiao stepped out of the void dimension, suspending himself above everyone’s head. The Evolution Cube slowly rotated around him.

Everyone looked up at the floating Han Xiao, and there was a small commotion as everyone broke out in whispers.

“Black Star is here.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen a Beyond Grade A from up close. The energy contained within his body is just terrifying. I started sweating when I felt it.”

“The thing beside him is probably the Evolution Cube. Not too long ago, I heard that Psyker relinquished his control over this Universal Treasure… Such a small thing was actually the source of so much trouble, and even a few Beyond Grade As from the Arcane Church were captured.”

“Black Star does have the ability to keep this Universal Treasure. A year ago, I thought that his Evolution Cube would be snatched away quickly, but it turns out that I was wrong.”

The elites of the various races all had awe in their eyes. No matter how proud they were normally, in front of Han Xiao, they did not have the ability to be confident.

Before Han Xiao rose up, other than the Purple Crystal Civilization, the other Star Cluster civilizations had tried to suppress Han Xiao, but at the Tyrant’s Party, all of them could not help but lower their heads to seek cooperation.

Just because Han Xiao had recently reached Beyond Grade A, everyone had entertained a brief thought of suppressing him.

However, the recent matters had proven Black Star’s ability, consolidating his position in the universe. This dispelled the last bit of hostility the star cluster civilizations had. They completely gave up on their fantasy. Now that Black Star had completely taken off, playing small tricks were useless.

Looking at the gazes below of respect and admiration, Han Xiao secretly nodded to himself.

The recent storm had brought him benefits in that he was able to successfully launch this program to create a consortium of interests. This had saved him a lot of time.

On his way back, Han Xiao had briefly scanned through the name list of the elites as well. Not out of his expectations, there were a few well-known personalities of various civilizations from his previous life.

However, this was not the time to come into contact. After completing their evolution, Han Xiao then intended to befriend these ‘old acquaintances’ during the specially organized banquet.

Most likely, these people all had some kind of storyline. While he might not need them, the players needed them…

In short, these elites were walking bags of fertilizer.

Various thoughts flashed by as Han Xiao surveyed the scene. He smiled before speaking in an interested voice.

“Before we begin, there’s something I need to do… Heber, there’s no need to hide. I know you’re in there.”

The moment this sentence was spoken, everybody jumped. They stared left and right but did not discover him.

The Tyrant’s here too?

Everyone fidgeted, but no one stepped forward. Seeing this, Han Xiao’s brows furrowed. “Stop lying to yourself. I’ve already discovered you. Since you won’t come out, do you want me to drag you out? You will only lose face.”

The commotion got louder, but still, no one stepped up.

Han Xiao looked over everyone with narrowed eyes before suddenly bursting into laughter. “Hehe, it seems like Heber really didn’t sneak in. Then we can begin.”

Hearing this, everyone’s expression stiffened.

“He was actually joking…” Countless people’s mouths twitched.

Is it really good to ridicule the Tyrant like this, even guarding against him coming over? That guy is after all a Beyond Grade A! He wouldn’t do something so low class… right?

Perhaps Black Star and Tyrant have a good relationship now, so they can ridicule each other…

Everyone could only think this way.

Han Xiao then activated the Evolution Cube, and with a thought, the black evolutionary energy spewed out, enveloping the entire room. The elites present all turned into black cocoons.

“It’s done.” Han Xiao clapped his hands and instructed Phillip, “Monitor their evolutions. Remember to invite them to stay for the banquet later.”

“Roger, hum…”

Han Xiao did not wish to wait there for nothing. He stored the Evolution Cube and left the hall full of black cocoons, returning to his room.

He was going to change his clothes. He awaited the banquet that was to come next.

On the way, Han Xiao casually read through the forums.

Now that the matters of the Arcane Church had drawn to a close, the long-term gains from this event would gradually manifest over time, such as Urranrell’s appreciation of him and his importance to the dynasty.

The situation was already settled. What happened next would be between the Crimson Dynasty and Arcane Church, which was not his concern.

In the short term, no trouble would come looking for him, so Han Xiao had the capacity to focus on the players.

From the perspective of the players, Version 3.0 had been going for about a year and a half, which was the mid-version phase.

In this year and a half, the players had experienced the secret war, the Crimson Tide, the rise of Black Star, the Flickering World, and the Battle of Planet Lighthouse, which were all major events. More and more players at the level cap of 120 had appeared, and more and more players would continue to reach this goal as time passed.

During the mid-version phase, the new Pro League would be released. There was still some time before the opening, so players had time to upgrade, learn new skills, and change equipment. However, on the forums, the league officials had already begun the preparations, advertising widely and attracting the players’ attention.

From his memory, Version 3.0 was particularly spectacular.

Players would possess the strength of Grade Bs in this version, and the Mechanic profession would also slowly start to rise. A large number of newcomers would emerge, including Maple Moon, as professional players, causing a new injection into the pro scene.

The ratio of Mechanics in the Shattered Star Ring was the highest among all the other star fields, and the Black Star Army also sold the highest number of machines as well as blueprints. With the bonuses offered throughout the version, Han Xiao believed that the Shattered Star Ring’s Mechanics would bring great glory in the Pro League this time.

To him, the best benefit would be that it would attract more people to take the Mechanic profession or allow the older players to create Mechanic smurfs.

If that was the case, he would generate more income as the ‘mentor’ of the Mechanic profession.

“What a pity. With three versions out, the good days are almost over.” Han Xiao shook his head with some emotion.

Based on his experience from his previous life, Version 3.0 was a watershed. It symbolized that players had formally entered the mid-stage of the universe, and it was where their influence truly began to manifest and expand.

The nicknames ‘Cancer of the Universe’ as well as ‘The Fourth Calamity’ were tagged toward the players after Version 3.0!

It was also the source of Han Xiao’s psychological shadow.

For now, the players were in a period of imminent transformation. After this version, the players’ strength would exceed a certain point, and the more things they could do, the more they would be inclined to cause chaos. This was inevitable!

Version 3.0 was the last stage where players could be easily controlled.

Thus, Han Xiao placed his bets on the Flickering World. He might be able to use it to gain some advantage during the faction wars in the next version.

…

Just as Han Xiao was about to proceed with the banquet, on the other side of the star cluster, Heber also received some news.

As a competitor, he was always paying attention to the moves of the Black Star Army.

Heber thus discovered Han Xiao’s sinister intentions.

“Relying on the Evolution Cube, Black Star is building a platform for the elites to converse. He’s trying to take away the influence of the Tyrant’s Party and gain even greater influence in the Shattered Star Ring…”

As he read the intelligence, Heber grew visibly annoyed.

The Tyrant’s Party was the byproduct of his many years of effort. Now that Han Xiao had come out to compete with him, he was furious yet unable to stop it.

Furthermore, upon realizing that Han Xiao had mocked him in front of all the various civilization elites, Heber’s mind finally blew.

Dammit, why!

Are we even on good terms?

To ridicule me like that in public, smearing my brave warrior image, this is pure evil!

You’re taking advantage of me!

One of these days, I’m going to make sure you can’t even defend yourself!

Chapter 872 - Banquet and Reques

The duration of everyone’s evolution process differed. As the cocoons slowly broke one after another, people groggily woke up, sensing the changes within themselves.

The Evolution Cube raised one’s life level, and the normal people were unlike players in that they could not get used to their new changes immediately. Their way to improvement was through long hours of extended practice, where many streams flowed to form a river. It was usually only when they broke through to a new realm that such a drastic change occurred.

Thus, most of the people present were satisfied with the effect of the Evolution Cube, especially the Calamity Grade Supers. The stronger their body, the better the effect of using the Evolution Cube.

“What a novel experience.” Pamela curiously observed the changes in her body. As a biological genetic engineer, she could feel the process more acutely, and her professionalism surfaced. “This is a pure evolution at the genetic level, not environmentally induced mutation but rather optimization. One’s original racial characteristics amplify the advantages of the genes, and their strengths are strengthened. If there are no sequelae, it is practically perfect.

“The source of this power is unknown. It’s like a divine blessing… The cells seemed to have received some sort of radiation. Is the essence of evolutionary energy a special kind of radiation?”

While she was muttering, the reception robot came up to her and said, “Congratulations. In order to celebrate your evolution, the Black Star Army will be holding a banquet tomorrow. The Army Commander and the officers will attend, and you’re welcome to participate, hum…”

Every race that had completed their evolution would receive an invite from the reception robots. The Flower Sprite Tribe leader suppressed his excitement and nodded. “We will be there.”

“The invite has been sent. On it is the time and place. I’ll remind you again closer to the time. Also, please remember to dress formally.”

“Understood.” Everyone else nodded in agreement.

The purpose of their trip was completed, and everyone in the room was in a good mood. Practically all the elites accepted the invitation, opting to stay and attend the banquet.

It was to be held the next day, so everyone proceeded back to their accommodation.

After resting for a day, the elites took off their battle suits and armor, donning the formal attire of their respective civilizations, and proceeded to the banquet venue.

In the commander’s room, Han Xiao also donned a suit, looking at himself in the mirror.

The man in the mirror was tall and well-built, wearing a compressed orb necklace and a thick black cloak with white borders on his shoulders. The emblem of the Black Star Army was embroidered on his back, lined with the dark-red fur of a rare beast. The neckline of the cloak had three silver magnetic clasps that could be joined to wrap around the body. It matched with the black top and pants provided.

Han Xiao could not help but comment, “I would like to know who designed this suit. Is the person treating me like a crow?”

“I designed it based on your usual attire, hum…”

“It seems like I will need to modify the data collection algorithm,” Han Xiao muttered to himself.

After washing his face, Han Xiao opened his door to find all his officers outside in their formal attire waiting for him.

Sweeping his eyes over them, he looked at everyone’s designs.

Han Xiao interestedly sized up everyone. “All of you look pretty good.”

“It’s been a while since I wore my robes. It’s a little awkward.” Feidin adjusted his neckline, looking a little helpless.

Because Han Xiao normally did not host such events, few of them had seen each other in formal attire.

Hila frowned. “You know I have no interest in these activities. If I have time to attend a banquet, I’d rather be training.”

“Just training itself wouldn’t help. You need to rest and relax at times.” Han Xiao waved his hands. “Recently, because of the problem with the Arcane Church, my nerves have been stretched out, and now that this problem has finally been solved, I can relax for today. Don’t think about training anymore.”

“I don’t like conversing with strangers.” Hila shook her head.

“Uh… these people are all the elites of their civilizations. They’re probably formidable characters, and if you get to know them, you could organize a spar.”

“That sounds good.” Hila’s eyes flickered.

Han Xiao chatted with his entourage while he walked, all the way until they arrived at the banquet. There were already a lot of people within, and it was boisterous.

The banquet hall was a special hall designed for this purpose, and its decorations were opulent. Tables were filled with full, and innumerable delicacies were delivered like flowing water. The foods were complex and catered toward the tastes of different races.

The elites of all races were present, and various styles and designs of clothing were on full display, dazzling the eyes. It fully demonstrated the diversity of the interstellar society.

Han Xiao led his people to the front, where he attracted all gazes.

“Ahem, on behalf of the Black Star Army, welcome to the evening banquet…”

Clearing his throat, Han Xiao smiled as he spoke. As the host, he had to give some pleasantries before the banquet could formally begin.

After giving a brief speech, the atmosphere at the banquet grew much warmer. Many people took the initiative to approach Han Xiao and chat with him enthusiastically.

The majority of people had stayed behind in order to converse with Han Xiao. It was not every day that one had the means to come into contact with a Beyond Grade A.

Very quickly, a crowd was surrounding Han Xiao. With a smile on his face, and seemingly not bored of the small talk, he continued to access everyone present.

In just this short period, he had seen many of the ‘acquaintances’ he knew in his past life. All of these people were famed personalities that the players from Shattered Star Ring had met in various regions while adventuring.

Some of them were very cheerful and sociable, while some wore hooded cloaks as though they were trying to hide themselves. One of them was even mumbling to himself, as though he was neurotic.

While, in front of Han Xiao, these characters’ fame was not worth mentioning, in front of the players, they were all big-shot characters.

As for all the elites that came to talk, Han Xiao collected all their contact details. This gave them a pleasant surprise because they did not expect a Beyond Grade A to be so easy to approach.

Collecting their contact information was akin to collecting their potential storyline missions for Han Xiao. In addition, these elites all had considerable power in the respective civilizations, which could be regarded as networking.

While conversing, Han Xiao heard someone calling him from behind in a shy tone.

“Your… Your Excellency Black Star, I’m Pamela from the Flower Sprite Tribe, a biological genetic engineer.”

Han Xiao turned back and smiled. “Is there anything you need?”

“I… I’m one of your admirers. I would like to know you. Could you accept my communicator number?” Pamela looked excited. She had watched him from the side for a while and realized that Han Xiao did not reject such requests. Thus, she had gathered up her courage to talk to him and exchange contact information.

Feeling her impure gaze on him, Han Xiao laughed dumbly.

Am I being picked up now?

What a rare occasion.

“Ok. Send it to me.” Han Xiao did not reject her. A biological genetic engineer was worth him befriending.

Although it was impossible for these elites to jump ship, he could still recruit them if he ran into some special situations in the future or request their aid.

“Thank you!” After exchanging contact details, Pamela behaved as though she had just obtained his autograph, her face full of joy as she hugged her communicator close to her chest.

Not far away, Sylvia saw this entire scene and lightly snorted. “Humph, airhead.”

As the banquet progressed, the guests became more absorbed in the atmosphere and relaxed more.

Batch after batch of guests exchanged their contact information with Han Xiao before being content enough to retreat. Han Xiao finally managed to get a breather and sighed in relief as he grabbed one of the alcoholic beverages from a floating tray. He drained half the cocktail, which held a blue gradient, to moisten his throat.

The cooling yet spicy alcohol flowed into his throat, and there was an aftertaste of sweetness. Han Xiao felt rejuvenated and smiled.

Walking to a corner, he slowly drank whilst surveying the scene.

After working for so many years, the Black Star Army had finally reached its current scale, which gave Han Xiao mixed feelings.

“What are you reminiscing about?” Hila carried a deep red cocktail as she walked over.

“How did you know?” Han Xiao raised a brow.

“I’ve known you for so long. How could I not understand? Seeing your eyes, I know that you’re recalling something,” Hila blandly replied.

“Speaking of, I just recalled something. Twenty years ago, back on Planet Aquamarine, when I just… cough, just lost my memories, you were the first friend I met, and the earliest.”

“That’s right. In the blink of an eye, it’s been so many years.” Hila followed Han Xiao’s gaze and looked around the entire venue. “Those years, I struggled in despair and never thought that I would step into the universe one day and have such a future. Now, looking back, it seems like those days on Planet Aquamarine belonged to a past life.”

“Thinking back, I endured for a good half a year in the Germinal Organization base. It was lucky that you left the base once in a while, or else I would never have escaped.”

“It’s good that you know this.” The corners of Hila’s mouth curled up.

Han Xiao laughed as he reminisced, but suddenly, his laughter stopped, and he shook his head. “There are so many things that happened after. You felt that you owed me, so you always chose to fight for me. However, your ability is not only at this level, and you have the potential to reach Beyond Grade A. One day, you will obtain this power, and at that time, will you still fight shoulder to shoulder with me?”

Hila hesitated for a while before shaking her head. “I don’t know.”

“An honest answer. Promises are the most unreliable thing. Who can predict the future properly?” Han Xiao shrugged and raised his glass. “At least, you’re still by my side now. To our friendship, cheers.”

“You sound so old fashioned.”

“Please, we’re already in our forties… although if we look from the perspective of our life spans, we’re just little brats.”

“You’re the little brat.”

Hila’s expression was disdainful, but a smile still hung on her lips as she raised her glass to clink Han Xiao’s.

“Cheers.”

They both took a sip of their drinks.

Han Xiao wiped his mouth. He was about to say something else, but a guest suddenly walked over, as though he wished to talk, yet there was a hesitant look.

Seeing someone approached, they both stopped talking, and Han Xiao took the initiative to ask, “Is there something?”

“Your Excellency Black Star, I’m Ceselin from the Gulal Civilization. I have a matter that I would like to discuss privately.”

Gulal Civilization? Han Xiao quickly searched on his quantum network.

This was a Star Cluster Civilization that seemed to have been embroiled in civil strife for a long time. Their internal issues were serious and had evolved to the point of military division.

This Ceselin was a Calamity Grade elite belonging to the current ruling party of the civilization. Not only was he one of the strongest guardians but also an army commander with high power.

“What do you want to talk in private for?” Han Xiao raised his brow. “Can’t we talk here?”

Ceselin shook his head. “It’s not suitable in a public venue.”

“You must at least tell me your intentions.”

Ceselin paused for a moment before solemnly saying, “This is a request. Please believe me. I come with sincerity.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin, smelling the possibility of a mission.

To have a mission bring itself to me, it’s quite worthwhile to listen to it…

As he thought of this, Han Xiao passed his glass to Hila before turning to walk toward a side entrance. There were private conference rooms located along the corridor there.

“Follow me.”

Chapter 873 - S Grade War Hire

Both of them left through the side entrance, walking along the hallway to a conference room. Phillip locked the door as they entered. The soundproofing system here was good, completely isolating the noises from the banquet.

They sat down facing each other, and Han Xiao snapped his fingers. The simulated mechanical waiter stepped forward to pour two glasses of amber mead for them, adding a few cubes of ice before placing the glasses on the table in front of them.

“We can speak now.” Han Xiao swirled his glass, and the fragrance of the liquor wafted out from the mouth of the glass.

Now that he was a great character within the Shattered Star Ring, no longer did he need to actively search for missions. People would naturally come knocking to request his aid.

This phenomenon was not only limited to himself. Players could also achieve this if they managed to carve out a name for themselves within a certain star system. NPCs would then also seek help from them from time to time.

“It’s like this. My request is about the future of the Gulal Civilization…” Ceselin sat on the edge.

I guessed it. If it wasn’t something of that magnitude, who would come and disturb a Beyond Grade A? Han Xiao’s expression, however, remained unchanged, and he lifted his hand, gesturing for him to continue.

“Before this, please allow me to briefly explain the current situation of my civilization.” Ceselin solemnly spoke. “The Gulal Civilization has always been in a state of military division, and the three main parties have formed their own military regions and are opposed to each other. They are the Ancient Emperor Party, the Pioneer Party, and the Descendant Party. The current ruling party representing the Gulal Civilization government is the Ancient Emperor Party, and my teammates and I are members of this party.”

As one of the edges of the explored universe, the Shattered Star Ring had a complicated situation due to the lack of control. Some civilizations were stable and peaceful, whilst some faced external and internal problems. The situation of internal military division such as the Gulal Civilization would be considered quite serious.

“Okay, I understand. So, what is your request?” Han Xiao asked.

“I beg the Black Star Army to lend the war efforts and end the split of the Gulal Civilization, letting us find peace.”

“I understand. You wish to apply for war employment and have my people assist the current ruling party to suppress the other two, right?” Han Xiao raised a brow.

However, Ceselin shook his head and gave an unexpected answer.

“No, I hope for Black Star Army to assist the Pioneer Party in overthrowing the Ancient Emperor Party and suppressing the Descendant Party.”

This was getting more interesting. Han Xiao sized Ceselin up. “You’re someone of the Ancient Emperor Party, yet you are helping the Pioneer Party to speak. Are you a spy?”

Ceselin shook his head. “That’s not the case. I was born on a colonial planet of the Ancient Emperor Party and even joined their army. I’ve never joined another party.”

“Then, why? For benefits? Did the Pioneer Party give you any advantages?”

“That’s not true either. My position in the Ancient Emperor Party is high, and I’m even a War Hero. The Pioneer Party would not try to pull hardcore members like me over, and whatever they can give me, the Ancient Emperor Party can do so as well.”

“Then why?”

“Ideals,” Ceselin gravely replied. “I’m more inclined toward the ideology and beliefs of the Pioneer Party. The Ancient Emperor Party is decaying, and only the Pioneer Party will be able to lead the civilization to greater hope.”

“I get it.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. “You’re a traitor. The Ancient Emperor Party has given you both authority and standing, even allowing you to obtain the power of the Evolution Cube, yet you decide to stab them in the back and overthrow them?”

“From their viewpoint, I’m indeed a traitor, but from the viewpoint of the Pioneer Party, I’m someone who has thrown away the darkness and embraced the light. One’s perception is based on their viewpoint, so I’m only looking at this objectively and not caring about one’s judgement,” Ceselin replied in a low voice. “Back when I was young, I was also passionate and wanted to serve the nation. However, my thoughts were not mature, and like many others, I was just keen to maintain the orthodox Ancient Emperor Party. Since I was born on the colonial planet, my position was largely determined from birth… but after so many years, I’ve become skeptical of their ideals and behavior, and my beliefs have become more and more shaken.”

Han Xiao looked at him silently. Before Phillip presented him with the complete information on Gulal Civilization, he would not just take anyone’s words at face value.

This time, Ceselin’s tone became more animated, and it even hid some anger.

“Due to its position, the Ancient Emperor Party wanted a totalitarian rule and has done many bloody things under wraps to our people. I’ve participated in many of them and have seen the darkness of politics, the bloodshed of domination, and the confinement of thought. My house is filled with medals awarded by the party, and I used to like to look at the past glories. However, when I stare at them now, my nose fills with the sickening smell of blood.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin. “So, you decided to betray the party that groomed you?”

“To be specific, it was only after I began to doubt myself that I finally freed myself from the shackles.” Ceselin took a sip of his drink and sighed. “I’ve always been bound by my identity, and when I woke up, I realized that the three parties were only the standpoints of internal division of our civilization. The so-called opposition is meaningless, and what we should be concerned with is the future of our entire civilization. Whoever can bring prosperity should be supported. I chose to follow the idea of freedom and the judgement of my heart, so I chose the Pioneer Party, which the majority of citizens support. They will be able to bring Gulal Civilization further.”

“So, in this way, you believe yourself to be noble?” Han Xiao raised his brow.

“I never thought of myself that way.” Ceselin shook his head.

“… Regarding your choice, I cannot give any comment because I’m an outsider,” Han Xiao slowly said. “I just want to know. You mentioned that you have never joined the other parties. So, on what basis can the Pioneer Party talk to me about cooperation?”

“I’m not representing the Pioneer Party. I’m just making a request to you personally.”

Han Xiao laughed at this. “What makes you think you can persuade me to intervene in a civil strife that I do not care about? You haven’t even reached a consensus with the Pioneer Party, and let’s not talk about whether the other party wishes for me to intervene. Just how are you even going to afford the war employment wages? Why should I kick aside the Ancient Emperor Party that I’m working with now to help you? What can you bring me?”

“I know that it’s very abrupt to bring this up as an individual, but I have no choice,” Ceselin replied. “The Ancient Emperor Party has assigned me the mission of applying to you for war employment. They are ready to use force to eradicate the other two parties and take back all the divided land.”

“So, it’s like that.” Han Xiao understood it.

The Ancient Emperor Party wanted to resolve the strife once and for all, but they did not wish to be controlled by an advanced civilization. Thus, instead of asking for help from the Star Cluster civilizations, they planned to hire foreign aid in the form of interstellar mercenaries. In the Shattered Star Ring, the most representative of the mercenaries were the Mercenary League, Bloodshed Land, and Black Star Army.

Since the Black Star Army was also the head of the Mercenary League and an ally of the dynasty together with Bloodshed Land, as long as the Black Star Army was hired, the mercenaries of Shattered Star Ring would not be employed by people wishing to oppose the Black Star Army. After all, with the current might of the army, no one wished to send themselves to die, and mercenaries that are cooperating with each other would not send their people to opposing sides.

In the mercenary world within the Shattered Star Ring, the Black Star Army had already reached the highest level of influence and reputation.

As the ruling party, the Ancient Emperor Party had already attached themselves to the Black Star Army. As long as aid was received, the Pioneer Party that Ceselin looked upon fondly would be destroyed, so he could only brave this risk and boldly make this request of Han Xiao.

Man, of all the people you chose to be the emissary, you chose an emissary that is a backstabber… Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. Could this be the legendary plot of ‘I didn’t choose this, but now I wish to be on the good side?’

Han Xiao shook his head. “Let’s be practical. Which party is in power has no impact on me. Since the Ancient Emperor Party is cooperating with the Black Star Army, they will definitely offer a good price. And since you came here in a rush to find me, that means nothing is set in stone on your side… Forget it. I don’t wish to say any more unpleasant words. Let’s consider this conversation over.”

Han Xiao put down his glass and stood up, walking toward the door with a dissatisfied mood.

While the words from Ceselin were nice to hear, it was true that he could not bring out any substantial remuneration. Han Xiao did not care about the struggle of a party in an unfamiliar civilization. The Black Star Army had retained its mercenary business after the transformation and did not change into a charity overnight.

Violation of professional standards was a behavior without any professional ethics. Without practical benefits, he wished to use only his mouth to influence a Beyond Grade A?

If he had such a fantasy, he should just die in that fantasy!

“Please wait.” Ceselin immediately stood up. “Just as you mentioned, whichever party it is has no influence toward you. The Pioneer Party can also maintain a cooperative relationship with you. I hope that you will help the Pioneer Party. The Gulal Civilization can also become stronger, which will be more rewarding for you. The Ancient Emperor Party has decayed, and the Pioneer Party is the only righteous one now.”

“What does your righteousness have to do with me?” Han Xiao did not bother turning back. Waving this so-called banner of justice was useless in front of others.

His kindness only existed to people he knew. Toward strangers, this was greatly limited. His coldness was created with the times, and with all the matters experienced, he would not easily allow people to sway him.

“Please help the Gulal Civilization!”

Dong!

A weird sound was heard, and when Han Xiao turned back, he saw Ceselin prostrating on the ground. A Calamity Grade actually begged him for help.

However, glancing at him, Han Xiao remained indifferent and prepared to push open the door.

At this moment, a mission notification appeared on his interface.

_____________________

You have triggered an S-ranked Mission (Gulal Civilization: The Flames of Pioneer!).

Mission Introduction: The Gulal Civilization is a galactic civilization that has been plagued with internal strife. The civilization has not progressed for many years and has even deteriorated. In order to break this deadlock, Ceselin, who is an upper echelon of the Ancient Emperor Party, has decided to support the Pioneer Party and has made a request to you.

Mission Requirements: Overthrow the rule of the Ancient Emperor Party, eradicate the Descendant Party, and support the Pioneer Party to become the new rulers of the Gulal Civilization

Failure Condition: The destruction of the Pioneer Party

Reward: After completion of the task, the reward will be determined by the Mission Rating.

_____________________

S-ranked mission? Han Xiao’s footsteps paused. A coup d’état of a galactic civilization was as good as engaging in total war. It was indeed deserving of its S-rank difficulty, as players would find it difficult to control the direction of an internal war.

Of course, it was different for him. The influence of the Black Star Army was huge, so he was naturally qualified to intervene in this war. This mission was not difficult for him.

But while thinking about it, Han Xiao did not stop there and walked out of the room, leaving Ceselin in the room looking lost.

The S-ranked mission was indeed attractive, but it was unreasonable to aid the Pioneer Party just because of the mission. It was unreasonable to assume that the Ancient Emperor Party would not have a mission, as Han Xiao immediately saw with his experience that this would be a series of missions.

Han Xiao was prepared to speak with all the upper echelons of the Gulal Civilization and activate the missions of each party before deciding.

He was never the kind that had an obsessive compulsion to complete every mission that he saw.

An S-ranked mission’s war employment was no trivial matter. While the Black Star Army had a certain level of strength, it did not mean that they could just ignore the resources of a galactic civilization.

Han Xiao was clear that although their status was high, it was mainly because of him. After all, the development time of the army was limited, and its military force, while able to participate in a star system level war, was still far from being able to control a star cluster level war.

Han Xiao did not really require the mission reward and did not care for the remuneration of a star system civilization. Toward this, his main concern was the players.

Such a war employment task naturally was not his to interfere—a Beyond Grade A joining a star system level war was being too much of a bully and was also incongruent to his name and reputation. Furthermore, he planned to quietly stay at the headquarters and construct more machinery while biding his time for the experience penalty to pass. Thus, this mission would definitely be given to the players.

Players were the most suited for such missions since they would reduce the casualties of his mercenaries.

Since the battle in Planet Lighthouse had just ended, there would not be any big events for a period of time. The players could only do side missions, and while the Flickering World had its benefits, it was too boring for the players. Thus, he planned to create an event for the players to fill up their spare time, catering to the players in the army.

In addition, this would give the players more rewards before the Pro League, as the rewards from an S-ranked mission would be richer than the norm.

By helping the players grow faster, it would attract more people to his faction. Han Xiao had always done it this way.

At this moment, Phillip started bubbling in the quantum network.

“Master, hum… I’ve found the information on the Ancient Emperor Party you requested.”

Han Xiao’s consciousness entered the quantum network to read the intelligence.

In this regard, Ceselin did not lie. The Ancient Emperor Party was indeed unpopular, and its government was rotten. The people were suppressed by them and did not dare speak.

The Descendant Party was also not any better; in fact, they were worse. However, the Pioneer Party was not as good as Ceselin made out. Still, compared to the other two, it was the most acceptable.

After reading, Han Xiao nodded to himself.

Now that he had seen the truth, with actual information, he had an idea in his heart.

Chapter 874 - Isolation

Han Xiao did not contact the Gulal Civilization immediately. The banquet was still ongoing, and it would be rude to ignore the guests.

Returning to the banquet, Han Xiao collected more communication numbers. The relaxing time passed in a flash, and the banquet quickly approached the end. The guests all bade their farewells and left the venue.

Han Xiao saw Ceselin among the throng of people leaving, his footsteps hurried but nothing strange from his expression. His display toward Han Xiao this time had brought nothing but ruin.

However, Han Xiao did not intend to snitch someone to such a small star system civilization. He was a Beyond Grade A and had no obligation to report to such people.

As the guests left, the mechanical waiters appeared to clear up the messy venue.

This was the first year of holding the evolutionary banquet, and both the scale and influence were limited. It would need a few more years before its reputation would sound in the Shattered Star Ring and become a practice.

After leaving the venue, Han Xiao did not idle but met up with the elites of the Crimson Dynasty separately. These people were more important, so they received special treatment. They did not talk about business but rather just chatted idly to improve their relationship.

All these people in the Crimson Dynasty had varying levels of influence, and making more contacts would allow him to help expand his network in the dynasty, as well as his speaking rights.

Because of the battle at Planet Lighthouse, Han Xiao’s fame and status in the Crimson Dynasty had increased, and he found that the elites’ attitude was now even more awed than the previous batch; they no longer treated him as a normal Beyond Grade A ally.

Everyone had a great chat, and only after Han Xiao sent them off did he return to his room and got Phillip to contact the upper echelons of the Gulal Civilization.

He did not disclose Ceselin’s backstabbing but indicated that Ceselin had offered him war employment and completed his mission, leading him to call to discuss this matter.

The Ancient Emperor Party did not suspect anything and offered a price for his war employment efforts, including remuneration, military supplies, machinery materials, and long-term mining rights for their resource rich planets.

Normal mercenary groups would only obtain remuneration, military factory borrowing rights, procurement channels, and other rewards, but due to the nature of the Black Star Army being vastly different, they were able to obtain resources such as mining rights.

Unsurprisingly, the Gulal Civilization civil strife turned out to be a mission series. After he contacted the Ancient Emperor Party, a similar S-ranked mission appeared, the only difference being the name of the mission titled ‘Protect the Orthodoxy’. The mission objective was to aid the Ancient Emperor Party in suppressing the other two parties and reclaim their territories.

Without giving the Ancient Emperor Party confirmation, Han Xiao cut the call, stroking his chin as he contemplated.

“Both are S-ranked missions, so the reward should be the same… Oh, there should be some minute differences. Because the Ancient Emperor Party is the strongest, suppressing the other two will be the easier option. If I help a weaker party ascend, the reward should also be higher.”

After thinking about it, Han Xiao had Phillip search for the leader of the Pioneer Party’s number. Ceselin was just an unexpected factor, and Han Xiao was prepared to just leapfrog ranks and talk straight to the leader.

With the military division within the Gulal Civilization, the Pioneer Party had a clear territory, so it was easy to find the required number.

The call was quickly connected.

“Hello, may I know who you…” The leader’s secretary appeared on the screen, but in mid speech, the person exclaimed upon seeing Han Xiao’s face. “Black Star‽”

With Han Xiao’s current fame, only bumpkins would not recognize him. As someone who was an official of a star system civilization, they would not fail to recognize this face.

“Connect me to your leader.” Han Xiao calmly spoke.

“Oh oh, I’ll divert the call now, you… no, sir, please hold on,” the secretary stammered. While they were not the ruling party, the leader of the Pioneer Party was not someone that any Tom, Dick, and Harry could meet as and when they liked. However, Black Star was obviously an exception.

Not long later, the leader came online. He found it difficult to hide the surprise in his eyes. He was waiting for an important call, but he suddenly received news that Black Star was on the line, which gave him quite the shock.

How come Black Star, who had never had any dealings with them, suddenly called and asked to speak with him?

“Your Excellency Black Star, may I ask… what business do you have with me?”

“I’ve heard about the situation in your Gulal Civilization, and not too long ago, the Ancient Emperor Party requested me for a war employment, wishing to borrow my strength to annihilate the other two parties. Are you aware of this?”

“Is this true‽” The leader’s expression changed. While he did not know this, he had been waiting for a report from his spy, who had reported some movements from the side of the Ancient Emperor Party. He had guessed that they would seek aid, but this report was now directly confirmed by Black Star.

The Pioneer Party leader also knew the importance of such a matter and immediately panicked. He quickly recovered though. If Black Star had accepted the employment, then there would have been no need to inform them. Black Star must have a reason for calling them.

In a flash, the leader understood Black Star’s thinking. “Your Excellency Black Star, no matter what price the Ancient Emperor Party offers, we’ll double it and will not go back on our word.”

Since the other party had already made his intentions clear, there was no need for pleasantries. The Pioneer Party immediately gave his offer. In fact, he also wished to receive the aid from the Black Star Army, but it was nigh impossible since the Ancient Emperor Party had long forged a connection with the Black Star Army through their business dealings.

What a good fellow, he actually treated me like a warmonger… Han Xiao’s brows twitched, but from the perspective of the Pioneer Party, this was natural since he did not know about Ceselin.

After thinking about it, Han Xiao did not choose to reveal the existence of Ceselin. After all, he had provided him with this mission. Before he took the initiative to jump over, his merits and fame would be hidden.

After pondering for a while, he nodded to the nervous expression of the Pioneer Party leader.

“Good, then it’s settled. When the time comes, I’ll look for someone to allow you to sign the employment contract.”

He ended the call.

Staring at the darkened screen, the leader of the Pioneer Party slumped in his chair, looking out of sorts, as though he had just woken up from a dream.

Without any warning, he suddenly obtained the help of the Black Star Army, such a behemoth?

“Could it be that Black Star is really trying to be a warmonger? He doesn’t have to do this.” A seed of suspicion bloomed in the leader’s mind.

But Black Star clearly had no dealings with his Pioneer Party, so why did he choose them?

“There must be some underlying factor…”

The expression of the Pioneer Party leader flickered.

It was just that Black Star did not reveal anything, and it was not a good time for him to ask. However, the Pioneer Party leader did not wish to be kept in the dark. He decided to slowly dig out the reason. There had to be someone involved that had made Black Star seek employment from him.

On the other side, Han Xiao put his communicator away. His part had come to an end; he only needed to send someone to get the contract finalized before sending out the mission to his faction. The rest would be completed by the players and his members, which did not require his concern.

He had chosen to help the Pioneer Party, not because it had any relation with Ceselin, but because it was indeed the best among the three. Only when he could protect his own interests would he think about sowing good karma. This had always been his work ethic.

On the other hand, the Pioneer Party looked more righteous. Many players loved such a scenario, so it would satisfy their emotional and ethical needs.

Thus, after considering all these factors, he had chosen to give up on the Ancient Emperor Party and Descendant Party, and help the ‘righteous’ Pioneer Party. This would be conducive to enhancing the players’ sense of identification with the army.

…

A few days later, the elites left the Black Star Army headquarters.

The Gulal Civilization’s spaceship also left the port, heading into the universe. Ceselin looked back at the Black Star Army headquarters disappearing, his crestfallen expression hard to hide.

Two days prior, the Ancient Emperor Party’s leader had contacted him, praising him for his effort and explaining that Black Star had contacted them. They were expecting the Black Star Army’s aid soon.

“I didn’t manage to convince Black Star… The Pioneer Party…” Ceselin was depressed, and he did not think that he alone could reverse the current plight of the Pioneer Party.

At this moment, his teammate suddenly held out the communicator and exclaimed, “Guys, come look! The Pioneer Party just announced that they’ve employed the Black Star Army and are formally launching an offensive!”

“What‽”

Everyone was stunned and took out their communicators as well, Ceselin included. The more he read, the more emotional he got.

This… this… what happened‽ Did my words… really have an impact‽

Ceselin was so moved that he found it difficult to restrain himself. His actions had really ushered in a turning point, causing Black Star to make a different choice. If he did not take the risk this time, Black Star would most likely have agreed after the Ancient Emperor Party made their request.

No matter what conditions the Pioneer Party had offered Black Star or how he thought, there was still the fact that he had played a part in this.

Just like the split in train tracks, he was the one who pulled the wrench and steered fate away from its original track.

Ceselin turned back to look in the direction of the Black Star Army, and while he knew that Black Star did not need his gratitude, he still revealed a thankful expression.

He was not aware if Black Star had revealed his identity or chosen to bury this issue. He only thought that he was doing the right thing and did not think to claim credit from the Pioneer Party.

…

Within the machinery factory, Han Xiao released the faction mission that he had on hand before opening the forums to have a look.

The players were already used to such war employments, and since it was such a large-scale collective action each time, they had always welcomed such big events.

While this time was a star system level war, helping a party to destroy its competitors, being able to have their own teammates, and not facing against the entire star system civilization made the difficulty more manageable for the players. The players in the army were excitedly signing up and calling for more support through the forums.

After a few glances, he confirmed that the players’ reactions would not have problems and closed the forums. The matters afterward would be settled by the players, so he did not need to worry.

This war employment would likely last until the late to end stages of the version, which gave the players a lot of stuff to do.

This way, I’ll have more time to construct my mechanical army.

Han Xiao let out a deep breath.

He had to tide past the experience penalty period, as well as face off against EsGod, sealing his mouth for good. This was the important matter. Because of that, Han Xiao decided to isolate himself in the factory and no longer paid attention to the matters outside.

EsGod was already strong enough. Since he had even obtained an evolution, his combat ability would be off the charts.

Thinking of this, Han Xiao could not help but feel pressure.

To kill this fellow, he had to put in a lot of effort.

Chapter 875 - Unable to crack The

Half a month later, within the President’s Office of the Federation of Light, Bader alone. In front of him was a projection of a normal galaxy human, of moderate height and wearing a large white robe. He had lots of wrinkles on his face. Despite his apparent age, however, he looked spry. His eyes especially were glowing like two luminous stellar bodies. His beard stretched down to his chest, and his hair was also kept very long, tied up with silvery magnetic bands.

This projection was the true appearance of the Mechanic Empire’s Manison. His expression was calm, and he was conversing with Bader.

“My troops have sent the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to the designated scientific research station and completed the handover.” Manison’s voice was old but full of ‘magnetism’.

“Many thanks.” Bader was smiling and nodded. “The promised reward will be sent to your Mechanical Race.”

As long-term allies, Manison’s strength and his achievements had granted him a high position in the Federation of Light. Bader was full of respect toward Manison and had always been serious in ensuring that both parties had a good relationship.

After all, Manison had already assisted several Presidents of the Federation of Light before Bader. Of course, there were also reasons for that; compared to the Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty, their rate of change for leaders was much higher.

Manison nodded and changed the topic. “There’s another matter.”

“Please speak.”

“When you decide to come into contact with Black Star, remember to call me.”

Bader lurched.

What’s this curveball? Why do you think that we’ll contact Black Star?

After this incident, Bader did not dare look down on Han Xiao. However, he was also not prepared to send emissaries over to contact Black Star. The latter was allied to the Crimson Dynasty, and unless there was a special reason, a Beyond Grade A would not jump ship. Thus, Bader had no intention of contacting him.

After thinking about it, Bader just thought that Manison was interested in Black Star and agreed. Being Beyond Grade A Mechanics, they would naturally have topics to discuss. It was nothing strange.

“If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.” Manison nodded and cut the connection.

Seeing this, Bader waited for another ten seconds or so before contacting the Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic under their employment.

“Any abnormalities in the data quantum network?”

“No.”

Hearing this, Bader relaxed. While he trusted Manison, he still had to take precautions. After all, Manison was not directly under the Federation of Light but rather an ally from the Ancient Ones. He might be the strongest mechanic alive in this era, so every time he connected remotely, Bader would have Virtual Mechanics monitor the network so that Manison would not open some backdoor.

At the same time, in the distant Primeval Star River, Manison opened his eyes as his consciousness retreated from the quantum network. He smiled.

“The material sealing the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter has reached the level of a Space Wonder. The Federation of Light… is going to have a headache.”

When Manison took up the task, he knew that he would come into contact with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, so he had taken along some research equipment to study the material while en route.

However, this Spacetime Amber isolated all forms of energy, and even detecting its parameters was impossible to achieve. It appeared as ‘non-existent’ on a lot of his research equipment, and only when utilizing his space research equipment did he then discover that the spatial and temporal coordinates of the Spacetime Amber were weirdly distorted, fixed at a constant value.

He had tried to break apart the amber by disturbing the spacetime coordinates, but the Spacetime Amber also isolated any influence toward its surrounding spacetime coordinates.

Manison had not managed to discover the material structure of this amber. It appeared to be a physical object, yet when observed under a microscope, it appeared as a universe of its own, an area without any movement.

Since there was no particle movement, and time seemed to not exist, which was the theory behind freezing.

Manison thought of the past, during the time of the exploration era where the three Universal Civilizations had changed the physical constraints of the universe near their mother stars, forming a closed and safe area. The Spacetime Amber seemed to be of a similar principle, only stranger. It was as though this material was a condensed secondary space independent of the universe.

Due to his knowledge, he concluded that this was a material on the level of a space wonder.

After his research, he had ruled out the possibility that the Spacetime Amber was a technological advancement. He did not think that Han Xiao would have such an ability at the moment, so he became interested in the treasure that could create such a material.

Other than Black Star, it was unlikely that anyone could break this.

Thus, Manison was sure that the Federation of Light would try to contact Black Star, and it would also not be long from now.

“At that time, I can take the opportunity to know him. Oh, he seems to have bullied my people some time ago.”

Manison narrowed his eyes, and it was unknown what he was thinking.

…

Not too long ago, Manison had sent the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to one of the Federation of Light’s research bases, and it was currently being fixed in a huge machinery cabin. Outside was a pile of research instruments, and many researchers were fully concentrated on the task.

This was an all-in-one material analyzer, which was able to analyze the various parameters of the object without destroying it. This was a standard product used by researchers from advanced civilizations, and the Federation of Light’s would naturally be even more advanced. So long as it was an object, its components could be easily analyzed.

The research head stood by the side, his eyes never leaving the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

Bader had set down an order that they had to crack the seal for the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. The research team head knew the seriousness of this job and thus had personally gone to supervise it.

Being in charge of a research base, the head would not be any ordinary person. He was one of the bigwigs in the Federation of Light’s top research institute and had made many various major scientific research contributions. He had even been awarded the Medal of Honor by the President.

“Reporting! The equipment has been calibrated, and the substance analyzer is ready. Permission to begin?”

“Let’s begin.” The head nodded.

The researcher pressed a button, and the substance analyzer started to operate, letting out a droning noise. Everyone watched the screen carefully, where the data was changing rapidly.

After a few moments, the artificial intelligence came to a startling conclusion.

“Data error. Substance is unable to be analyzed. The target has energy insulating properties, and the detection rays cannot penetrate it.”

The substance analyzer was rendered useless? The head was a little surprised, but such incidents were not unseen. This meant that what they had on hand was a problematic object.

The research facility would naturally not only have one type of analyzer. The head ordered the amber to be run through all the tests, and the number of analyzers that could pick up the Spacetime Amber was pitifully low, which left them still clueless about it.

Since Manison was able to discover the anomaly within the spacetime coordinates, they naturally could deduce the same. Both sides came to the same conclusion—there was no method to crack it.

If even a normal analysis did not work, why talk about cracking it?

The research head got more and more mystified, and his head began to hurt. All conventional methods were ineffective, and he did not know where to start.

Just what sort of toy was this‽

As a researcher, he was full of curiosity and had a mentality of challenging the unknown. However, interest was one thing; his mission was another.

Thinking about Bader’s request, the head groaned.

He had a premonition… the president’s hopes would soon be dashed.

This object had completely exceeded all their imaginations.

Chapter 876 - Great Mechanic Han in Seclusion, Do Not Disturb

“Can’t be broken‽”

In the president’s office, Bader received a detailed report from the research department, and a look of disbelief could be seen on his face.

He had never doubted the technological skills of the Federation of Light and felt that breaking the seal of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter would be a piece of cake. He could not have imagined the research department giving him such a ‘surprise’.

“Space Wonder grade material that seems to have the ability to solidify space…” Bader read the report again in detail.

He suddenly thought about something, and he immediately entered the intranet of the federation to pull out a secret document. This file was ‘Grade 16’, and it belonged to the secret category in the Federation of Light. In the Federation of Light, there were a total of twenty different grades.

Grades 1 to 5 contained information that could be revealed to the public such as annual reports. Grades 6 to 10 were restricted documents that most government officials could view. Grades 11 to 15 were confidential documents where a log of who viewed them would be recorded with some details being removed if the viewer did not have enough security clearance. Grades 16 to 19 were secret documents that only the upper echelons could view. Finally, Grade 20 contained top secret documents that would almost never be revealed to the public.

“Confirming your identity… Welcome, President. You have Grade 19.5 authority and have the right to view the entire document.”

Bader then began to read the document.

Spacetime Freezer!

This Primordial One had worked for the Federation of Light during the exploration era, and the Federation of Light had kept a file on him, which included a lot of detailed information about him and a breakdown of his Esper Ability. After Bader read the report of the Spacetime Amber, he immediately thought about this Primordial One as their abilities were similar.

The leader of a Universal Civilization had received special training and would be extremely familiar with their own civilization’s history, confidential documents, and technological skills. Thus, Bader was able to easily remember the existence of the Spacetime Freezer.

“[Spacetime Freezer] Frogo has the ability to freeze spacetime, and his ability can be ranked as a [Super High Risk Esper Ability]. He can freeze time and space at a set location or target and create a huge influence for Beyond Grade As. The effects of his ability far exceed a Mage’s spacetime spells, and there was once an incident of an entire planet being frozen [See Appendix B-004]. There were many records of him freezing the enemy battleship fleet, resulting in the enemy being unable to fight back, and he turned the tides of a few hundred battles [See Appendix B-027]…

“According to our investigations, Frogo needs to exhaust his energy to maintain the spacetime freeze on a region [See Appendix A-001 for the exact breakdown of numbers]. If the supply of energy is broken, the spacetime seal will disappear. The usage of the Esper Ability can be adjusted, and Frogo can freeze the space around him for defense. It can provide defense against most energy and physical attacks, but it is unable to block mental or soul attacks. After further testing, although his Esper Ability can seal a soul, it cannot prevent a soul from moving, and this proves that Frogo’s Esper Ability isn’t perfect.

“Frogo sacrificed himself in the battle of Planet Millennium [See Appendix B-1940], and his body disappeared.”

Bader frowned and thought to himself, Their abilities are extremely similar indeed. Could there be a link between the two? However, even Frogo himself didn’t have the ability to manifest the frozen spacetime into a physical object. Just what is going on?

He naturally did not know that the Spacetime Amber had been floating around in the universe for many years and had absorbed the radiation from the universe to mutate into a different object. Mutation happened because of the change in gene structure of an individual. Frogo’s Esper Ability was not perfect, and although it was able to freeze spacetime, he could not defend against mental attacks. However, the mutated Spacetime Amber did not have this weakness, and even a mental attack would not be able to pierce the amber that it created.

After thinking for a while, Bader decided to send a copy of this information to the research head and hope that it would be helpful.

Breaking the seal of the Spacetime Amber was far more difficult than he had imagined. Bader had chosen to snatch the Arcane Church’s trump card, but they were not able to use it despite snatching it for themselves. It was no more than an ornament for them.

Thinking back, it seemed as though the Arcane Church would not have been able to break the seal even if they retrieved it.

This should have been a problem for the Arcane Church to have a headache over, but it is now our turn to suffer. I thought that we would offend the Arcane Church greatly, but we only snatched something that the other party wouldn’t even be able to use…

Just what was the point of us snatching this item ‽

It seems as though we’ve suffered a loss!

Bader was truly in a terrible mood.

No wonder, Manison thought that I would send someone to meet Black Star. He also noticed that this item is extremely weird. It seems like I must find an opportunity to contact Black Star.

Bader shook his head. He was not willing to treat the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter as just an ornament.

At the same time, he could also allow the descendants of the Spacetime Freezer to be the emissary. As members from the same race, they might be able to detect some clues and find out if the Universal Treasure in Black Star’s hands was related to their ancestor.

…

The Arcane Church was also feeling frustrated.

After a series of negotiations, the Crimson Dynasty had already agreed to allow the Arcane Church ransom back one of their Beyond Grade A. After paying a huge price, the Arcane Church finally got back Dylan. They actually wanted Sagman, but the dynasty did not agree. The first one to be returned would be the weakest one for sure.

However, Dylan’s Spacetime Amber seal was not released, and the dynasty wanted to get the Arcane Church to deal with it on their own. The main reason for doing so was so they could verify if the Spacetime Amber seal was truly as troublesome as Han Xiao made it out to be.

Naturally, the Crimson Dynasty still did not know that the Federation of Light had stolen the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, and Urranrell wanted to use Dylan as an indicator to see whether the seal on the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was broken.

The dynasty made use of an excuse that Black Star was currently in seclusion and did not wish to be disturbed. Helpless, the Arcane Church could only get their own research personnel to attempt to break the seal.

The result was naturally the same as the Federation of Light, and they were unable to do a thing to the Spacetime Amber.

The Arcane Church was also extremely frustrated but also a little thankful.

They were frustrated that the dynasty had scammed them once more, and they would have to pay the price to invite the dynasty to unseal Dylan. However, they were thankful because the Federation of Light would probably be helpless toward the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter as well.

Although their own Universal Treasure had been stolen by the Federation of Light, the other party was only able to look at it through the seal but unable to use it.

If not for the grudge between them, the Arcane Church might have praised Black Star.

The Federation of Light and Arcane Church began paying close attention to the other party’s research as a result. They wanted to see if the other party had any progress while also trying to spy on each other to ‘copy the answer’.

With the Arcane Church taking a step back, the conflict between both parties was no longer as heated, and their soldiers were also recalled from the borders. The galactic organizations paying attention to this event heaved a sigh of relief.

The explored universe gradually calmed down.

The Federation of Light and Arcane Church temporarily took a step back, and the Super Star Cluster Civilizations that wanted to exploit the opportunity also became low profile. No one wanted to provoke the Crimson Dynasty at such a moment and wanted to wait until the storm passed.

…

The Black Star Army arrived at the Star System where the Gulal Civilization was located.

The outpost planet of the Pioneer Party was already within their sights, and the Black Star Army landed according to the instructions of the base. The warriors of the Black Star Army disembarked from the thousand-meter-long battleships and gathered at the port.

Apart from the army’s warriors, there were a few million players participating in this mission. A War Employment Mission was a huge event, and it was much more interesting than exploring the Flickering World. Thus, most players accepted the mission and joined the civil war in this Star System Civilization with the identity of mercenaries.

Half a month ago, the Pioneer Party announced that they were working together with the Black Star Army, and news of the Black Star Army’s interference stirred up a huge storm in the Gulal Civilization. The Ancient Emperor Party and Descendant Party were immediately thrown into internal chaos with a small portion of their upper echelons escaping or defecting to the Pioneer Party. The remaining members of the party decided to seize the initiative, and both parties joined hands to attack the Pioneer Party’s territory.

There was no need for the three parties to make any preparations before the war as all three parties had always maintained war readiness. The three parties had split up the Gulal Civilization’s land into three regions and lined up troops to guard their own territories. The commander only needed to give the order for war to begin.

Thus, the entrance of the Black Star Army also signaled the beginning of the war between the three parties.

The officers of the Pioneer Party first had a discussion with the commander of the Black Star Army’s fleet, and the players were given a new list of missions to choose from.

The Pioneer Party provided a military star map with the nine Star Zones of the other two parties being marked out.

The majority of the Black Star Army manpower was sent back to the Flickering World, and the remaining manpower was left to guard their bases. Thus, not many mercenaries were sent to complete the mission, and they did not have an overwhelming advantage in strength. As such, it would be difficult to complete this mission in a short period. With their objectives of exterminating the enemy army and capturing the enemy’s planets, the Black Star Army needed to push the battle line forward slowly to capture the enemy territories.

The colonial planets, resource rich planets, and military bases were the missions that the players could choose. As such, there were many opportunities for ground battles. This was a civil war after all, and they would not choose to bomb the enemy’s planet to capture it. As such, the players were immediately put to good use. The greatest place to utilize a few million Grade B players was a ground battle!

After looking through the mission introduction, the players all grew excited. They had experienced many different events already and instantly knew that this mission would be the most exciting one. Fighting together with a battleship was extremely troublesome, and the players preferred fighting monsters on the ground instead. Furthermore, they were the main characters of this employment mission, and they only needed to enjoy the battle to their heart’s content.

The size and levels of the enemy had been indicated, and the players could make their decision carefully. The levels of the enemies were also extremely clear. The enemy could be roughly broken down into a few different groups: cannon fodder soldiers, Grade C high grade monsters, Grade B elite monsters, Grade B mini-bosses, and a few Calamity Grade bosses that had their own names.

All the players were extremely satisfied with the mission. This was the main reason they joined the mission—to fight as they wished!

They finally did not have to just watch from the side!

Chapter 877 - The Mysterious Individual Watching the Players

Chapter 877 The Mysterious Individual Watching the Players

For one month later, the Pioneer Party defended against the attacks of the Ancient Emperor Party and Descendant Party while counterattacking with the Black Star Army. The three parties tried to break through the holes of the enemy’s defenses, which resulted in a jagged territorial line on the star map.

At this moment, a colonial planet that was near the border of the Ancient Emperor Party was being invaded. The Pioneer Party and Black Star Army fleet were engaged in an intense battle with the defense fleet of the planet. At the same time, the cities on the planet were being attacked from the sky with their protective shields being bombarded and drop pods being launched at the holes created.

A hemispherical light screen covered the capital city of this colonial planet and endured the never-ending attacks from the sky. Multicolored explosions could be seen on the surface of the light screen, and the protective shield began to flicker unsteadily.

Upon considering the many reasons for a civil war, the local army closed off all the underground sanctuaries and prohibited their civilians from entering. The many inhabitants of the city could only tremble in their own homes, and the ground troops of the city gathered together and looked up at the sky.

Ka-cha!

The protective shield of the city finally could not endure the waves of attacks and began to crack before everyone’s eyes.

The next moment, densely packed black dots could be seen appearing from the sky, descending from above like meteors.

The anti-air cannons of the city immediately opened fire toward the drop pods, and balls of explosions could be seen in the air.

A portion of the drop pods were destroyed in the sky, but many managed to land in the city.

The army of players emerged from the drop pods and sprang into action.

Every one of them had a detection device on them to scan and indicate all hostile targets who had a weapon. The descending army was already extremely used to such missions and began clearing up the enemies in the city.

Battles erupted in every corner of the city, and the players began exchanging fire with the ground troops. Although they had a disadvantage in terms of numbers, the players were almost all Grade B Supers, and a large majority of the enemies were ordinary soldiers.

Grade B Supers were mid-ranked combatants in the galaxy with all of them having the combat strength of an entire army. Destroying a building was a piece of cake, and the players were not ordinary Grade B Supers. They were not afraid of coming under fire and could fight without any worry.

The ground troops were extremely shocked to realize that these galactic mercenaries could charge forward while enduring heavy fire without any fear of death. They were able to easily cut through their formations and massacre their troops.

From the map, the black dots that represented the player army rapidly weaved through the city, and the red dots that represented the enemies disappeared quickly.

At the center of the city, the government building had already been attacked by seven parties of players.

In some room of the government building, an Ancient Emperor Party Grade B Super knelt on the ground with his eyes wide open in shock. The individual in front of him pulled out a blade from his throat, and blood splattered everywhere.

Life was drained from his body, and he collapsed into a pool of his own blood.

“This fellow’s level is pretty high. I’ve only got thirty-seven percent of my health left.” Frenzied Sword shook off the blood on his blade.

The silver black armor that he was wearing now was Mechanical Pugilist equipment with various hidden mechanical weapons hidden all around.

The entire room was littered with corpses, and the members of Rivervale and his teammates were beside him. They had just worked together to get rid of everyone in the room and were now repairing the durability of their equipment while searching for their spoils of war.

Outside the door, the sound of intense fire could be heard. This Grade B officer that they had killed seemed to be pretty important, and a large number of enemy troops were drawn to their location. Maple Moon was keeping guard outside the door, and she used her mechanic traps and electromagnetic artillery tower to return fire. The defenses of a Grade B Mechanic were not something that ordinary soldiers would be able to overcome. They were all suppressed in a corner of the corridor, and their few attempts to charge forward ended with a ground full of corpses.

Maple Moon usually enjoyed playing with Rivervale, and Frenzied Sword was also willing to bring along a reliable Mechanic. The two of them had a pretty good relationship.

When the Mechanics came into contact with compression technology in Version 3.0, they became the most popular choice to form a party with. Mechanics no longer had to slowly build their machines, and their preparation speed increased greatly. Regardless of whether it was to fight a dungeon or complete a mission, every party would generally have a Mechanic. Of course, every Mechanic had a different set of equipment and was able to deal with different circumstances.

Evil Sword injected himself with a serum to recover his health and casually said, “I wonder how many Grade B enemies there are in this city.”

“We should have taken care of most of them.” Frenzied Sword looked at the battle map. “The soldiers in the city have been mostly wiped out. Hao Tian and the others have already killed four Grade Bs downstairs.”

“How lucky. We only managed to kill two along the way,” Evil Sword said with envy.

Grade B Supers were elites that could provide them with plenty of experience. Furthermore, every Grade B elite had a name and would give them additional rewards for the mission. Apart from experience, they were able to collect an additional bounty from the Pioneer Party, and all the players were extremely passionate about killing Grade B enemies.

To a first-rate party, perhaps it would be impossible to solo a Grade B elite, but a party of five was able to easily win against an ordinary Grade B Super. Even if a mini-boss Grade B enemy was difficult to deal with, it was still within the capabilities of the players.

A Star System Civilization would only have ten or twenty Calamity Grade Supers, and they would only appear in key battles. Thus, the millions of Grade B players were basically invincible in the other colonial planets.

Not too long later, the army in this city was completely wiped out, and the players returned to the spaceship before being sent to a new battlefield.

…

“Another three colonial planets were taken down by the Black Star Army’s immortals.”

The upper echelons of the Ancient Emperor Party looked at the star map, and worry could be seen on their frail faces.

“The immortals of the Black Star Army are far too scary, and it is impossible to restrain them,” one of the officers said. “Up until now, a total of twenty-one colonial planets have been seized by them.”

If the enemy only had a fleet of battleships, they would not feel such a headache. The Ancient Emperor Party was completely helpless against the immortals.

The total number of immortals was probably more than all the Grade Bs in their civilization, and these immortals could not even be killed.

The upper echelons of the Ancient Emperor Party could only watch as the players capable of reviving captured their colonial planets one after another.

The immortals of the Black Star Army had always been famous in the Shattered Star Ring, and it was their chance to experience it personally this time. Everyone present could not help but feel despair.

Such an enemy was truly far too frightening. Anyone capable of having such a trump card would definitely have a place in the universe!

With the participation of the Black Star Army, the Ancient Emperor Party could no longer see much hope. It would be impossible for them to win if they continued fighting, and the Pioneer Party would probably emerge victorious in another year or so.

However, it was equally impossible for them to surrender. No one would be willing to give up a Star System Civilization. They had already held on for a year, and holding on further might give them a chance to turn the tables around. As they fought back, the upper echelons of the Ancient Emperor Party had been trying to find reinforcements and plan their retreat.

“That b*stard Ceselin actually defected to the Pioneer Party and even took all his subordinates away. I never imagined that he would be a traitor!” The Ancient Emperor Party leader gritted his teeth. “He must have done something to get the Black Star Army to help the Pioneer Party. If not, there isn’t an explanation for their sudden intervention!”

Upon mentioning Ceselin, a look of hatred could be seen on everyone’s face. If not for his betrayal, they would not have been reduced to such a pathetic state!

“This traitorous b*stard! We have never treated him badly before. We have given him both authority and wealth. Just what is he dissatisfied about, and what right does he have to betray us!”

The Ancient Emperor Party leader slammed the table and said with heartache, “He actually told me that our ideals were different. What a joke! Look at what he did. Just for his so-called ideals, he actually sacrificed so many of his fellow brothers. Does he really think that his actions are extremely noble‽ We have been ruling the civilization extremely well, and this civilization will lose their rightful rulers just because of him! Dammit!”

Upon hearing that, the upper echelons by the side listened with helpless expressions.

Others might have had the rights to say such words, but they knew that they did not. All of them were extremely clear about what their Ancient Emperor Party had done over the past few years.

The way they saw it, their leader must have been angered silly and was just venting his anger.

Right at this moment, the Ancient Emperor Party suddenly stopped cursing, and his entire body froze in place. He then suddenly regained his cool and stood up slowly, with his tone being completely transformed into a different persona.

“It seems like everyone is extremely frustrated. Maybe I can be of some help.”

All the upper echelons were stunned for a moment, and they stood up abruptly.

Was their leader’s mind being controlled‽

The leader of a Star System Civilization would usually be protected by a Calamity Grade spell and psychic energy. This was to prevent him from being controlled by another. At the very least, it would be impossible for a Calamity Grade Super to control the leader of a Star System Civilization without any traces in front of a crowd.

Just who did this?

Could it be a Beyond Grade A‽

“Who are you‽” a military officer said with caution and sent a message to get all the Calamity Grades to rush over.

“You don’t need to worry. I did not come with ill intentions. I do not have any intention to tell you my identity,” the Ancient Emperor Party leader said emotionlessly. “All of you only need to know that I will provide you with resources and manpower to fight the Black Star Army.”

The upper echelons were still doubtful as they looked at each other. However, regardless of whether this was true or false, they decided to play along. At the same time, they were also worried that their comrades might have been controlled. After all, this mysterious individual indeed had the ability to do so.

“What do you want?”

“Don’t worry. I do not want anything.”

“Then, why are you helping us?”

“I am not bothered about your Gulal Civilization, but I am interested in the immortals of the Black Star Army. Furthermore, the longer all of you can survive, the more I can observe them,” the ‘Ancient Emperor Party leader’ said. “My suggestion will only provide all of you with benefits. Do you accept?”

Everyone looked at each other before nodding hesitantly.

“Very good, I will get my people to contact all of you soon. Right, I can give you a suggestion. All of you can try employing the immortals of the Black Star Army.”

Everyone was stunned.

“The Black Star Army is our enemy. You are asking us to seek aid from our enemies? Just what is the meaning of this?”

“Ordinary logic doesn’t seem to be applicable to the immortals. How will you know without trying?” the ‘Ancient Emperor Party leader’ said with a teasing voice.

The Ancient Emperor Party leader then suddenly trembled, and his eyes fell into a daze. He then suddenly snapped out of his daze.

“Has the person controlling me left‽”

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief and immediately went forward to support their leader.

“Do you still remember what you said when you were controlled?”

“I remember everything. My body was controlled, but my senses were still present.”

Right at this moment, the Calamity Grade Supers arrived, and after hearing what had happened, they began to check the leader’s condition.

“How is it?” the Ancient Emperor Party leader asked.

“The enchantments used to guard your mind were destroyed in an instant. These enchantments are capable of defending against a Calamity Grade Psychic for ten minutes. The one who controlled you is definitely a Beyond Grade A.”

The expression of the Ancient Emperor Party leader changed slightly. A Beyond Grade A had a huge significance to a Star System Civilization.

There were only five Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring, and only Psyker and Austin had the ability to infiltrate the mind.

Though, it might not be these two but a Beyond Grade A from another Star Field.

Thinking about the words of the mysterious individual, everyone could not help but have a strange look on their face.

To think that they would gain support through such a strange method. This was something that they had never imagined, but at least they now had some hope.

Although they did not know who the other party was, since he was also a Beyond Grade A, he should not be afraid of the Black Star Army.

“Right, he even asked us to seek aid from our enemy. Isn’t this a joke‽ Does he think that the Black Star Army will turn around to help us?”

Everyone was the most puzzled by this suggestion. It was obviously a meaningless action, and they truly did not understand the point of doing so.

The Ancient Emperor Party leader nodded. “Since we do not have any way of retreating, why not we give it a try?”

Chapter 878 - Suspicion

The governing planet of the Pioneer Party was located in Star Zone 3, and the upper echelons within the party were observing the situation of the battle.

In the conference room, the upper echelons of the party were gathered, and the atmosphere was completely different from the meeting in the Ancient Emperor Party. Everyone had a bright smile on their face, with the Pioneer Party’s leader glowing with radiance.

Their army had the upper hand, and it was impossible for them not to be happy.

“The Ancient Emperor Party and Descendant Party are being forced back, and the citizens are also crying out for us to overthrow the rulers. The situation is to our advantage at the moment,” the staff sergeant in charge of analyzing the battle situation said.

The Pioneer Party leader had a bright smile on his face but said, “We need to be even more careful during such a moment and prevent the enemy from fighting back in desperation.”

Although the situation was looking good, he knew that it was impossible for the Ancient Emperor Party to surrender. The result of losing would be extermination.

Just as everyone was discovering the situation, the internal comms rang, and it was an emergency message from the intelligence personnel.

The appearance of the intelligence personnel appeared, and he had a strange look on his face.

“Your Excellency, the Ancient Emperor Party made an announcement.”

“Send it over immediately.” The Pioneer Party leader raised his brows.

Very quickly, the announcement of the Ancient Emperor Party appeared on the screen, and everyone present began reading it.

In this first half of the announcement, the Ancient Emperor Party claimed that they were the rightful rulers of the Gulal Civilization and criticized the Pioneer Party for using armed forces to seize authority. They then claimed that the Pioneer Party were traitors and called for the citizens to reject the Pioneer Party. They also began hiring help from the galaxy.

The details of the public announcement were extremely ordinary. They were trying to preserve their status as rightful rulers and suppress their opponents. They had made use of such a tactic for many years already, and the upper echelons of the Pioneer Party were extremely used to it. After they won, history would be written by them, and it would be useless to call them traitors now.

The way they saw it, it was completely useless for the Ancient Emperor Party to seek aid from the galaxy. This was only a civil war, which did not go against the Peace Treaty. With the Black Star Army on their side, no one in the Shattered Star Ring would go against the Black Star Army just for a Star System Civilization.

The mercenary groups that had some size would not help them, and the other civilizations would only watch by the side. Even the Bloodshed Land would not go against their titular ally for such a small matter. Thus, it was impossible for the Ancient Emperor Party to find any aid. This was the powerful effect of seeking aid from the Black Star Army. They were able to prevent the enemy from finding any support.

The Pioneer Party’s leader then read until the end and was stunned.

“Wait a moment… the Ancient Emperor Party is trying to seek aid from the Black Star Army‽”

The Pioneer Party’s leader rubbed his eyes and thought that he had misread something.

To think that the Ancient Emperor Party actually wanted to employ the Black Star Army and attempted to convince the Black Star Army to help them.

The upper echelons of the Pioneer Party all looked at each other with confused looks on their faces.

Just what was the meaning of seeking aid from their enemy‽

Even if the Black Star Army was external aid, they had already signed an employment contract. Why would they publicly break the contract? Would this not be destroying their own reputation? Furthermore, the Black Star Army was a Beyond Grade A organization, and since they had already decided to help the Pioneer Party, why would they suddenly go back on their word?

Even if you want to try and rope the Black Star Army over to your side, you should do it privately, right? With the current status of Black Star, would he openly go back on his word? Do you think he will go back on his word because of money? That’s impossible!

But if the objective of this is to drive a wedge between us, isn’t it far too coarse a method?

“It seems like the Ancient Emperor Party has truly gone crazy,” the Pioneer Party leader said with his mouth cramping up. “This should be the funniest joke that I have ever heard.”

“Hahaha…”

Everyone could not help but burst into laughter.

…

Not too long later, the announcement of the Ancient Emperor Party was spread all throughout the Gulal Civilization.

It was not just the Pioneer Party who were puzzled. Even the Descendant Party were completely bewildered.

Are my teammates fools‽

The members of the Ancient Emperor Party felt extremely embarrassed. They were currently fighting with the enemy, but their higher ups actually tried to seek help from the enemy. Just what was this stupidity?

There were many who interpreted this as the upper echelons being pessimistic about the outcome of the battle, and morale took a large hit.

On the Black Star Army’s side, the members of the army could not help but laugh.

We are currently fighting a war. Can you please be more serious and not tease us like that?

Just when everyone was laughing at the actions of the Ancient Emperor Party, the players received a different message.

The plea of the Ancient Emperor Party had actually become a mission on their interface. A Grade S mission for them to help the Ancient Emperor Party.

All the players gasped in shock upon discovering that.

“So, it turns out that this is a faction series mission. It should be a Grade S mission that can be triggered regardless of which party we aid.”

“However, the army has chosen to support the Pioneer Party, so we have no choice but to choose them as well.”

“Hmm, if we support a faction up into power, we will be able to successfully change the entire fate of a civilization. I think we found a way to strike it rich.”

“What if we persuade the NPCs to start another party and support the party. Would it be even more fun?”

This mission attracted the attention of many players, and they began to show off their creativity as they discussed the matter.

However, the influence of this new mission stopped there. Not a single player would choose to accept it.

The players were not fools, and accepting this mission would mean that they had to oppose the army. It would probably be no different from leaving the faction. They had fought in the army for three versions already and accumulated plenty of faction Contribution Points. Furthermore, the potential for growth in the Black Star Army was also extremely high. A mere Star System Civilization was not worth them betraying the faction.

Furthermore, the chances of the Ancient Emperor Party winning were far too low. Thus, it would be much better for them to keep to the Pioneer Party mission, especially since both were Grade S missions anyway.

After a month into the employment mission, the players had an understanding of the three parties. The Ancient Emperor Party was not anything good, and there was no meaning to help them.

With Summer Night Flower as an example, the number of players in the Shattered Star Ring willing to take risks had decreased. Thus, the players were only interested in the opportunity presented to them by the Ancient Emperor Party but uninterested in actually completing the mission.

…

In the Black Star Army headquarters, a large assembly line ran through Han Xiao’s workshop without stopping to produce various types of mechanical soldiers and equipment. Bolts of Mechanical Force could be seen running through the assembly lines to increase the quality and efficiency of the production.

In another region, all the freshly manufactured mechanical soldiers and equipment were sent over with many mechanical arms modifying the equipment.

Han Xiao would naturally modify all his mechanical soldiers as much as possible, and all the modified equipment would have their grades increased. Even the cannon fodder mechanical soldiers had been raised to the orange grade.

At Han Xiao’s level, an ordinary mechanical soldier was no more than cannon fodder, but these mechanical soldiers were all elite equipment that could not even be purchased with money.

Han Xiao stood in front of a machine and personally assembled a new mechanical host while humming a tune merrily.

The sound of metal ringing could be heard all around him, and Han Xiao had already gotten used to the environment in the workshop. Creating machines was a form of enjoyment to him. As his own strength increased, Great Mechanic Han also grew to enjoy the process of crafting new equipment.

Phillip’s mini projection could be seen in front of Han Xiao, and he said to Han Xiao with a babyish voice, “Master, hum… I saw an interesting piece of news. Shall I read it out to you?”

“Alright.” Han Xiao wasn’t distracted and remained focused on hammering the alloy before him.

“It’s news from the Gulal Civilization. The Ancient Emperor Party actually made a public announcement and hoped that we will go back on our word and help them instead. Master, hum… what do you think they are thinking about?”

“To think that they will make such an announcement. Do they think I am like EsGod, without any morals?” Han Xiao laughed.

“Eh‽” Phillip was stunned, and his eyes widened. “Isn’t that the case‽”

“… You have also learned how to joke, huh?” Han Xiao immediately changed the topic and said, “Although it is difficult to understand why the Ancient Emperor Party would do so, I guess it is still understandable. If not for Ceselin, I would have never come into contact with the Pioneer Party. They… eh?”

Right at this moment, Han Xiao suddenly froze in place and thought about the Ancient Emperor Party missions. He then opened the forums to take a look.

The players were indeed discussing this matter on the forums, and many of the players took a screenshot of the Ancient Emperor Party Grade S mission. His guess was not wrong, and the Ancient Emperor Party’s plea for help allowed the players to trigger a mission.

Han Xiao stroked his chin and fell into thought.

Although it only seemed like a desperate move by the Ancient Emperor Party, Han Xiao could not help but think that the matter was extremely odd.

“This is an illogical plea for aid. It feels as though…” Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed. “This plea for help is targeted at the players.”

It was not that he was being suspicious, but there were far too many coincidences. Although the actions of the Ancient Emperor Party seemed like a joke to everyone, it was not a joke to the players but a way for them to trigger a mission.

Was this by luck or an intentional action?

Han Xiao hesitated for a moment. He had too few clues and was not certain about his own guess. However, he would always plan for the worst-case scenario to be safe.

There was a reason for this. In his previous life, there was a similar phase. As the players began to grow and move around in the universe, many galactic organizations began to pay attention to the players and analyzed their characteristics, specialties, and habits.

Even during the current version, there were many organizations that paid close attention to the players.

He had operated in the Shattered Star Ring for many years, and no one would dare steal his trump card force with his status. However, the situation of the players in the other Star Fields was different, and it was not strange for the players to attract the attention of the organizations.

He was not the only one who wanted to recruit the players.

Han Xiao was not too worried about this. The players had already invested three versions of their time and effort into the army, and they would not be so easily stolen by another. Furthermore, ordinary NPCs would only treat the players as a special force. Other NPCs did not have an interface and would not be able to obtain a massive amount of experience from the players.

However, it would also be extremely frustrating if someone really wanted to steal his vegetables.

I originally planned to ignore the Gulal Civilization mission, but it seems like I must pay close attention to it now. Someone has set their eyes on the players of the army.

A cold glint flashed past Han Xiao’s eyes.

…

A mysterious fleet then entered the border of the Gulal Civilization. This was the Ancient Emperor Party territory, and the Ancient Emperor Party fleet was already present.

In the main flagship, the Ancient Emperor Party leader looked at the star map and heaved a sigh of relief. “They’re finally here.”

That mysterious Beyond Grade A had promised to provide them with reinforcements, and this fleet was the first batch of reinforcements. The Ancient Emperor Party leader wanted to guess the identity of the Beyond Grade A through the fleet but could not help but be surprised upon seeing the insignia of the reinforcements.

This was a local armed organization in the Shattered Star Ring that was managed by four Calamity Grade Supers. One of them was even a Beyond Grade A seed. As a result, the fame and size of the organization was not too small, but many people believed that they did not have any backers.

However, it seemed like this low-profile organization actually had an unknown Beyond Grade A behind them.

Just who was this mysterious Beyond Grade A. Could it be that he had more than one organization under him in the Shattered Star Ring?

The Ancient Emperor Party leader suppressed the doubts in his heart and contacted the other party.

With the aid of this armed organization, their situation will be much better.

The flagships of both parties met each other, and the Ancient Emperor Party leader’s projection met the four Calamity Grade leaders.

“I am the leader of the Gulal Civilization. I thank…”

“We will help you suppress the traitors. There isn’t any need to thank us as we are only fulfilling our orders.” That Beyond Grade A seed interrupted the words of the Ancient Emperor Party leader.

The Ancient Emperor Party leader thought for a while before probing, “I wonder, who is the one giving the orders?”

Right at this moment, a member by the side suddenly trembled, and he was possessed by the mysterious Beyond Grade A. “Don’t try to find out who I am, otherwise our agreement will come to an end.”

The Ancient Emperor Party leader was shocked and immediately nodded in agreement.

“We have followed your suggestion, but the Black Star Army has shown no reaction.”

“Is that so?” The mysterious individual was not surprised. “Failure cannot be avoided, and the habits that I have grasped won’t always work. That’s why I need to observe and experiment more.”

The mysterious individual fell into deep thought. “However, it seems like Black Star doesn’t only have good luck but has also grasped some of their habits like me.”

Chapter 879 - End of the Penalty

With the Ancient Emperor Party receiving fresh reinforcements, the advancement of the Pioneer Party was restricted.

An armed organization being led by a Beyond Grade A seed entering the battle to help the Ancient Emperor Party? All the organizations watching the civil war were naturally shocked.

There were still those who dared fight the Black Star Army in the Shattered Star Ring? Although the Black Star Army was not the sole tyrant of the Shattered Star Ring, such an action still baffled many. After all, this was fighting the Black Star Army head on.

The Black Star Army had plenty of experts in its ranks. Where did the four Calamity Grade Supers get their courage to intervene in the Black Star Army’s employment mission? Even if one of them was a Beyond Grade A seed, it still was not enough.

Han Xiao, who received news from Phillip, had his thoughts verified at that moment.

Furthermore, Han Xiao knew who the mastermind was upon seeing the armed organization.

“It turns out to be them…” Han Xiao came to a realization.

The Beyond Grade A seed of this organization was called Luthor, and he was a famous Super who was active in the Shattered Star Ring. In truth, Luthor was actually an elite member of a financial group that spanned across various Star Fields called [Limitless].

Peaceful times brought about plenty of business opportunities and many large financial groups. Limitless was a unique financial group because its leader was a Beyond Grade A Super.

Not every Beyond Grade A wanted to form an armed organization, and different Beyond Grade As had various interests and strengths. The Limitless leader was a Beyond Grade A who enjoyed making money by the name of Sorokin. He had a special position in the universe.

After Sorokin took over as leader of the financial group, he developed the Limitless Financial Group to its current scale.

This super financial group was an elite business organization that was involved in many sectors, including management, military, technological, trade, intelligence, service, and manufacturing. It had many different brands under its name, and its operations spanned across many different Star Fields. It was a conglomerate that was extremely famous and even had business dealings with the three Universal Civilizations.

The Limitless Financial Group belonged to the neutral faction and was already a listed company in the universe. Their assets were frightening, and their logo was a Mobius strip.

The armed branch of the Limitless Financial Group was not to be underestimated. With a frightening amount of wealth, the Limitless Financial Group developed many subsidiary organizations in the various Star Fields, which were akin to the military might of the financial group. Luthor’s organization was such an existence.

Furthermore, Sorokin was not the only Beyond Grade A combatant in the Limitless Financial Group. Sorokin had roped in a few other Beyond Grade A allies through their stocks with a few Ancient Ones being included.

With money to open the path for them, the Limitless Financial Group’s network was unfathomable.

In comparison, although the Black Star Army was also a Beyond Grade A organization, its history was far too short, and the scale was incomparable to the other party.

Luthor had only exposed his own identity in the later versions, and no one knew that Luthor belonged to the Limitless Financial Group at this moment. However, Han Xiao was different; he understood Luthor’s background. As such, he immediately knew the mastermind interfering in the Gulal Civilization’s affairs.

This was his unique advantage. Many ‘secrets’ were not secrets before his eyes.

The Limitless Financial Group seems to be extremely interested in the players, but this isn’t too strange, Han Xiao thought to himself.

In his previous life, the Limitless Financial Group was a faction that players could join with their headquarters being in the Sea of Star Spirits. Many players in the Sea of Star Spirits joined the financial group during the middle phase of the game.

Even now, there was a large group of players in the Sea of Star Spirits being recruited by the Limitless Financial Group, and the Limitless Financial Group was pretty popular on the forums.

Han Xiao could guess the other party’s intentions, and they probably wanted to spy on his vegetable garden.

Hmm, they should have noticed that the immortal troop is extremely similar to the players that they have recruited and sent someone to probe the players. Perhaps the Limitless Financial Group will discover some of the player’s habits. For example, they only have to issue a request to the players, and even if it isn’t logical, some of the players will still carry out the request. Thus, they got the Ancient Emperor Party to issue a plea for help toward the army to test the reaction of the players.

Han Xiao’s guess was not too far from the truth.

If I’m remembering it right, the Limitless Financial Group was also very active in the Flickering World…

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

The various Star Fields had their own organizations, and they would all enter the Flickering World in Version 4.0 to become competitors. The Limitless Financial Group was one such organization.

It seems like I cannot avoid coming into contact with them in the future.

Han Xiao pondered for a moment before calling for his Black Star Guards.

Very quickly, Hila brought the members of the Black Star Guards into the workshop.

“I have a mission for all of you.”

With a wave of his hands, a holographic screen appeared with Luthor’s information being displayed.

“This armed organization entered the Gulal Civilization civil war and provided reinforcements to the Ancient Emperor Party. I want all of you to reinforce the front lines and get rid of the four of them. Right, the one called Luthor is a Beyond Grade A seed. Hila and Hadavy, be careful.”

“Alright.” Hila nodded.

“I know Luthor.” Hadavy crossed his arms. “I approached him for a spar a long time ago. He is an extremely powerful Pugilist. Strange, I remember him as someone who kept an extremely low profile. Why would he suddenly go against the army?”

“Who knows?”

Han Xiao was not prepared to tell anyone else that he was aware of the other party’s background.

The Limitless Financial Group probably thought that they were still operating from the shadows, and Han Xiao planned to keep things as such.

“Alright then.” Hadavy did not say anything else. Although he knew Luthor, he would not go easy on Luthor since he was going against the army.

The Black Star Guards then left the room. Han Xiao opened the doors to the secondary dimension and summoned his Apostle Weapons.

“Lord.”

Psionic Prime knelt so that his head was at the same level as Han Xiao.

“Take a batch of mechanical soldiers to the Gulal Civilization,” Han Xiao said. “If Hila and the others do not succeed, find a chance to get rid of Luthor’s group of four. Phillip will send you information about the enemy.”

He could not do anything to the Limitless Financial Group as both parties were not enemies. However, exterminating Luthor’s group was not an issue since it was in line with the Black Star Army’s stance. Since they had accepted an employment mission to go against the Black Star Army, the other party would definitely kill members of the army.

Since the Limitless Financial Group was eyeing on his immortal troop and wanted to probe them, Han Xiao would use this opportunity to pull out the claws sent by the Limitless Financial Group. He would still be able to warn the other party even if he pretended that he was not aware of their objective. This would prevent the Limitless Financial Group from becoming bolder and sending more people to probe him.

…

Boom!

A spaceship crashed onto the surface of an uninhabited planet, leaving a huge crater behind.

When the spaceship stopped rolling, Luthor crawled out from the wreckage.

Hila and the other Black Star Guards descended from the sky with light injuries.

Luthor’s injuries were far more severe, and he held onto his bleeding chest. His beating heart could be seen through his ribs, and his wounds were slowly healing.

“Black Star truly thinks highly of me. He sent out his entire Black Star Guards. Cough cough, it will be an honor even if I end up dying today.” Luthor’s face was pale, but despair could not be seen on his face. Instead, he looked extremely carefree as though he had seen through life and death.

Both parties had met on the battlefield, and the Black Star Guards had already taken out his three comrades. He was the only one left, and his time had come.

Hadavy shook his head and said, “I don’t understand why you had to accept the employment mission of the Ancient Emperor Party. If it was to earn money, why did you have to go against the Black Star Army? You killed the members of the army, and His Excellency Black Star was always going to send experts after you. You definitely knew this fact.”

“I do not have a habit of giving explanations to others.” Luthor took a deep breath and prepared to fight to the death.

Hadavy hesitated for a moment and tried to persuade him. “Surrender. His Excellency Black Star is very easy going and treasures talents. You are a Beyond Grade A seed, and His Excellency won’t make things difficult for you if you are willing to join the army.”

“Ha! I am not interested in that. Either kill me or be killed by me. I am not prepared for a third choice.”

“Is there really such a need?” Hadavy frowned. “There isn’t any hatred between us, and it wasn’t easy for you to become a Beyond Grade A seed. Why do you have to rush to your death?”

Bang!

Luthor replied with a fist to Hadavy’s face.

The many Black Star Guards took action together and filled the entire planet with craters.

Even if Luthor was a Beyond Grade A seed, he could not endure such a ferocious attack. His mind, which was riddled with holes by Hila’s attack, finally collapsed, and his soulless body fell to the ground.

Luthor became nutrition for Hila’s Esper Ability.

Hadavy let out a sigh by the side. It was a pity that such a good man had been killed just like that.

The Black Star Guards then cleaned up the battlefield before leaving the planet. Not too long after they left the planet, Psionic Prime appeared outside the atmosphere with his mechanical troops.

“The Black Star Guards have killed the target, so we don’t need to take action.”

Psionic Prime had been watching the battle from the side.

…

“Luthor is dead?”

In the conference room, the upper echelons of the Ancient Emperor Party were stunned.

Although they knew that the reinforcements would not be a match for the Black Star Army, Luthor was a Beyond Grade A seed. They had never imagined that he would be killed so easily.

At this moment, one member of the upper echelons trembled, and his body was possessed.

In truth, this mysterious individual was the leader of the Limitless Financial Group, Sorokin. Despite being extremely busy, he had the ability to do a hundred things at once.

“It seems like our cooperation has to come to an end,” Sorokin said slowly.

The Ancient Emperor Party leader was shocked. “You…”

“The reaction of the Black Star Army is far more intense than I expected. My original plan was only to probe and observe them, but the loss is out of my expectations. If we continue to work together, the cost required will be too great; this investment isn’t worth it,” Sorokin said calmly.

A Beyond Grade A seed was extremely rare, and Luthor’s death truly made Sorokin feel a sense of heartache.

Sorokin did not know that Black Star already knew his identity. According to his plans, the Black Star Army was always going to react in some way, but he had never expected Black Star to send out the entire Black Star Guards.

As such, Sorokin’s plan had failed. Although he was powerful, he could not possibly find Black Star personally for such a small matter, and he was not willing to sacrifice even more subsidiary organizations for a small experiment. Han Xiao’s reaction had forced him to give up on the thought of probing the immortal troops.

His plan to test the immortal troops could only be delayed.

However, he was not someone who liked suffering a loss. Even though Black Star was not aware that Luthor was his subordinate, he was not planning to let the matter rest so easily.

Of course, Sorokin would not take revenge with force. The Arcane Church had already tried to do so and suffered a huge loss. He did not think that he would be able to match the Arcane Church in terms of high-level combatants.

However, history had proven that Black Star was an ambitious character, and Sorokin believed that Black Star would eventually have to face his Limitless Financial Group. This day might not be too long later as he was currently attempting to gain entry to the Flickering World.

Without waiting for a reply, Sorokin left the body.

The Ancient Emperor Party leader’s face turned ashen.

…

A few months went by in a flash, and Han Xiao remained in the headquarters the entire time while observing the changes in the Gulal Civilization.

After the death of Luthor, the Limitless Financial Group retreated without any signs of fighting back.

The Limitless Financial Group wanted to hide their identity so that they would not be spotted by him. The Limitless Financial Group was a business organization and not an armed organization after all. As long as Han Xiao could make the other party pay a sufficient price, the other party would definitely give up.

Without any future reinforcements, the Ancient Emperor Party was dragged back into hell, and the civil war was controlled by the Black Star Army again.

Upon seeing that the Limitless Financial Group had given up on their attempt to probe the players, Han Xiao also stopped paying attention to the battle. As the players grew stronger, it would be inevitable for others to set their eyes on them.

The experience provided by the players was something that he needed to grow quickly, and this was a non-negotiable for him. If he did not take a hard stance, the other party would climb over his head.

After dealing with this little problem, Han Xiao turned his attention to something more important.

After a few months of seclusion, the sixteen-month experience penalty had finally ended!

Chapter 880 - Thanks, Arcane Church

Han Xiao made a trip to the combat practice room and shut the door.

Taking in a deep breath, Han Xiao opened the interface.

The ‘40% Experience Penalty’ status only had a few minutes left, and Han Xiao could not help but become excited as he watched the timer go down.

It hasn’t been easy. Sixteen months…

Sixteen months ago, he had finally stepped into the realm of a Beyond Grade A Super.

In just a year and a half, he had fought Psyker to protect the Evolution Cube before having a duel with Heber. Following which, he had headed to the Crimson Dynasty’s mother planet, where he was provoked by the allies of the dynasty again. Along the way, he fought EsGod once and met with his biggest crisis not too long ago.

He had only been a Beyond Grade A for a year and a half but had met with plenty of dangers. Han Xiao could not help but feel a sense of lingering fear as he looked back.

Thankfully, my quick-witted brain and handsome appearance resolved these dangers. Han Xiao praised himself shamelessly.

Dangers also brought him opportunities, and his status had now been cemented in place. Furthermore, his experience penalty was over.

Everything was getting better!

Han Xiao rubbed his palms with a look of joy on his face.

“I am now at level 260. I increased my level hastily to deal with the Arcane Church, which resulted in me spending forty percent more experience. With the experience that I accumulated over this period…” Han Xiao looked at his stash of experience, and his eyes sparkled. “I should be able to reach level 280.”

At his current level, the experience required for every level was a sky-high figure.

Without the experience penalty and ignoring all Class Advancement missions, the experience required for him to level up once should be enough for a player to go from level 1 to 160. Furthermore, the amount of experience that he needed would only increase as his level went up.

If he did not have the players to harvest experience and only relied on missions for experience, he would probably take donkey’s years to reach level 280.

The only reason he was able to accumulate enough experience to reach level 280 was because of the Political Asset. The combined effects of the Political Assets was like a double experience card.

It was truly frightening!

After lamenting for a while, the experience penalty status reached the last second and disappeared from his interface.

“The side effect of the Evolution Cube is finally gone.”

Han Xiao rubbed the muscles on his body and felt the activity within the cells of his body. The way this side effect showed itself was the slow adaptation to the evolution of his genes. The more powerful an individual, the more energy contained within their cells and the longer the process needed for the conversion. At this moment, the slight tinge of discomfort within his cells had finally disappeared, and their evolution was complete.

The effect of the Evolution Cube is truly amazing, Han Xiao thought to himself. He had been in a rush to use the Evolution Cube so that he could reach Beyond Grade A quickly. The side effects of using the Evolution Cube did not come at the right time. Han Xiao naturally did not plan to only use the Evolution Cube once but would choose a better time to make use of it next time. The best time for him to use the Evolution Cube would be after he spent all his accumulated experience during the version update period.

However, that was still a long way away.

Han Xiao focused on his attribute interface and began to level up.

_____________________

[Lord Mechanic] leveled up to Level2.

+360 Energy, +5 Strength, +5Dexterity, +12 Endurance, +15 Intelligence.

You have received 12 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

…

[Lord Mechanic] leveled up to Level20.

+360 Energy, +5 Strength, +5Dexterity, +12 Endurance, +15 Intelligence.

You have received 12 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

_____________________

A warm surge of energy flowed through his body, and his energy level was upgraded.

As his experience stash went down, his level shot up and stopped at level twenty.

Every twenty levels, there was a Promotion Mission, and a notification popped up on his interface.

_____________________

You have reached Level280. You have triggered the Promotion Mission [A Legend Takes Flight].

[A Legend Takes Flight]: Obtain 1 Universe Grade Legendary Point. Only the strong will write his own legends.

_____________________

The moment this Promotion Mission popped up, it was already in a ‘completable’ state.

Upon looking at the mission, Han Xiao was overjoyed.

The Universe Grade Legendary Point was the highest grade, and his actions needed to shake the entire universe. A player had to complete a mission of extremely high difficulty or do something extremely ridiculous to obtain the Legendary Point. This Promotion Mission was already at the level of the later versions during the World Tree Civilization arc.

Even with Han Xiao’s current status, it was not easy for him to obtain a Universe Grade Legendary Point.

However, Han Xiao did have a Universe Grade Legendary Point right now: Enemy of the Arcane!

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted. Was it truly a blessing in disguise?

After roaming through the universe for so many years, he only had a single Universe Grade Legendary Point. It could be seen just how rare it was.

He did not have any Mission Completion Cards on hand, and he originally thought that he would be stuck at the Level280 Promotion Mission. Who would have thought that he would be lucky this time?

Han Xiao then burst into laughter.

Hehe, I really need to thank the Arcane Church for giving me a Legendary Point.

Right, I also need to thank Feidin…

Upon thinking about Feidin, Han Xiao’s hands grew a little itchy.

This was a surprise that dropped from the sky, and Han Xiao chose to complete the mission without hesitation.

_____________________

You have completed the Mission Requirements.

Level280 Promotion Mission completed.

+55 Endurance, 1 Endurance = 410 Health = 420 Stamina

Your Energy Rank has exceeded 52,000 Ona.

You have received the talent [Strengthened Elemental Resistance]!

You have received the talent [Optimized Energy Usage]!

You have received the talent [High Grade Life Vitality]!

You have acquired the skill [Mighty Prestige]!

The effects of all your Virtual Technology skills have been increased by 40%.

_____________________

Han Xiao’s eyes glowed with a blue bolt of lightning, and he spat out a cloud of bluish gas.

Since there was no race evolution this time, there was not much pain throughout the whole process.

He looked down to see if there were any changes to his body. From the outside, there were not many changes. He had grown slightly taller, and his muscles looked more toned.

He then felt his head itch slightly and grabbed a bunch of hair off from his head while scratching it.

“I’m shedding hair‽”

Han Xiao was shocked and immediately summoned his mirror to take a look, but after getting a clear look, he heaved a sigh of relief.

His Promotion stimulated his metabolism and improved the cell structure of his entire body. As such, his original hair fell out, and new hair grew out. However, the hair that had dropped was still stuck in his head, which explained why he felt the itch.

“Thankfully, my thick black hair is still around.”

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. For a moment, he thought that he had walked the evil path of exchanging his hair for power. The balder he got, the more powerful he would become.

The upper limit of the Lord Mechanic class was level 40, and he would complete his Class Advancement when he reached level 200. The next race evolution was also at level 300, and level 280 was just an ordinary Promotion in the middle.

However, 52,000 Ona seemed to be a stable boundary. Not all Beyond Grade As were able to reach 52,000 Ona, and the few talents that he had obtained felt like the basic abilities of a new realm.

After learning [Endless Material Science] and [Virtual Creator], his Energy Rank rapidly approached 52,000 Ona, and he finally broke through the boundary after increasing his level.

Han Xiao then looked at his new abilities and verified his guess.

Although he did not experience a race evolution, every Promotion was also an increase to his realm. Going past 52,000 Ona meant entering a new realm, and every life form that reached this realm would receive the same talents.

[Strengthened Elemental Resistance] boosted his attributes like [Perfect Mechanical Sense], and its multiplier was 1.25.

[Optimized Energy Usage] reduced the energy and stamina consumption of all his skills to 27%.

[High Grade Life Vitality] increased the upper limit of his health and recovery rate. His health increased by 17%, and his recovery rate increased by 120%.

These three talents strengthened his basic ability to take damage, which was something that all classes required.

The only skill, [Mighty Prestige], was a halo type ability that could be turned on and off. A life form at a higher realm was capable of emanating pressure, and this had turned into a skill.

The suppression would cover a certain region, and the individuals within the region would be affected by it, inflicting a negative status to reduce their attributes. However, it was only useful to life forms with intelligence, and certain life forms that were immune to mental skills were immune toward it, such as Mechanical Lives. It was useless against individuals of the same level.

After thinking for a while, Han Xiao concluded that the skill was completely useless apart from bullying noobs. But if he wanted to bully noobs, a Mechanic like him would not need a halo like this. He could just have a team fight.

The three talents that he had obtained were still much better.

Although this was only an ordinary Promotion, the increase to his strength was still pretty good.

His base Endurance boost was one Endurance point to 410 Health. The increase from his other abilities included an additional 60 from [Advanced Strengthened Life], 140 from [Eternal Body], 50 from Grade Sboost, 10% health from [Extraordinary Physique], 17% health from [High Grade Life Vitality], and 100 health from [Well Trained].

For his Mechanical Force, he also had various different talents and skills to convert Intelligence to Machinery Affinity.

He then threw all his Free Attribute Points into Intelligence and looked at his attributes with satisfaction.

_____________________

Level: 280

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Black Star Race

Attributes: 3,347 Strength, 4,080 Dexterity, 6,129 Endurance, 9,029 Intelligence, 2,950 Mystery, 1,163 Charisma, 1 Luck

Free Attribute Points: 0

Potential Point: 21

Health: 5,137,427

Stamina: 4,417,950

Energy: 89,320 [Level17]

Level17 Energy bonus stats: +1,206 Strength, +1,488 Dexterity, +1,890 Endurance, +2,345 Intelligence, +1,123 Mystery, +311,520 Stamina Limit, +1,632% Machinery Affinity

Energy Rank: 53,750

Grade: S+ (Beyond A)

Grade S Bonuses: +50 Endurance, +25 All Resistances. +25% Highest Attribute, +15% Other Attributes, +750 Free Attribute Points, +50 Potential Points

The future of a Beyond Grade A is like a cloud of mist. Everyone is searching for their path and will meet many bottlenecks during their evolution process. Congratulations for going past the first bottleneck.

_____________________

The remark is so solemn this time.

Han Xiao rubbed his muscles and tried to get used to the changes.

Now that he was at Grade S+, he was still considered Beyond Grade A despite the growth in his strength. His strength did not achieve such a huge change like when he went from the Calamity Grade to Beyond Grade A. Because there was no clear distinction between the combat strength of the Beyond Grade As and the grades within the Beyond Grade A realm being slowly figured out, the realm was segmented into mini realms.

Just like how everyone thought that the Calamity Grade was the upper limit of strength during the early days of the exploration era, the people now felt that Beyond Grade A was the limit of an individual’s strength. EsGod wanted to break through the current limits just like the Primordial Ones did and raise his strength to a whole new realm.

After his promotion, the amount of experience required to level up increased yet again. Han Xiao knew that it would be impossible for him to save up enough experience to reach level 300 quickly. After all, he used the faction store to earn the players’ experience, and even if he could earn experience quickly, he needed the time to accumulate it. Currently, the players had already learned plenty of knowledge, and the experience that they provided had begun to stagnate.

Han Xiao was not prepared to continue waiting. He had already been in seclusion for a few months, and it was better for him to get rid of EsGod as quickly as possible.

He had crafted many pieces of equipment that were made specially to deal with EsGod, and as long as the dynasty was willing to help him, he would have some confidence to kill EsGod.

“I haven’t contacted the dynasty at all during this period. I wonder how matters are still unsettled between them and the Arcane Church. If they have come to an agreement already, they should have the capacity to deal with EsGod.”

Han Xiao then took out his communicator and was about to ask about the dynasty’s situation.

Right at this moment, Phillip suddenly appeared.

“Master, hum… Someone sent me an encrypted message just now.”

“Sending an encrypted message to me? Decrypt it and see who sent it.”

“I can’t decrypt it alone; that’s why I came to you.”

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed. Phillip was a capable assistant, and since Phillip was unable to decrypt the information, it meant that the other party was not a simple individual. They had to be at the Star Cluster level at the very least.

“What is said in the encrypted message?”

“They said that they are the descendants of Spacetime Freezer and want to talk to you face to face.”

Han Xiao was stunned, and his expression changed slightly.

When he was searching for information regarding the Spacetime Amber, he remembered the current state of the Spacetime Freezer race.

So… the Federation of Light is looking for me?

Since they have chosen to send the Spacetime Freezer race over, are they trying to hint to me that they are aware of the Spacetime Amber’s origins?

Han Xiao then pondered for a moment before instructing, “Reply to them. I agree to meet them.”

Chapter 881 - Whereabouts

Phillip sent out a message and received a reply a few seconds later.

“Master, hum… They would like to meet you privately. You can decide the time and place.”

“If that’s the case…” Han Xiao contemplated.

This matter was a little sensitive since the Federation of Light had come to find him. However, Beyond Grade A allies were not subordinates of a Universal Civilization, and he had a certain degree of freedom and rights. Even if the dynasty knew about the meeting between them, it was not a big deal.

Han Xiao thought for a few seconds before saying, “Tell them that I don’t accept a private meeting. I temporarily do not wish to have a ‘shared secret’ with them. Invite them over to the Black Star Army as guests. They can come if they are willing, but there isn’t a need to meet them if they aren’t.”

The other party was the one who took the initiative to find him, and he did not do anything wrong. It would not be good for him to behave sneakily. Thus, he might as well invite them over to his territory openly. If not, it would seem as though he was concocting some secret plan with the Federation of Light, which would attract more misunderstandings.

The second mission of the Spacetime Amber was for him to come into contact with the descendants of Spacetime Freezer. Because the Federation of Light was protecting that race, Han Xiao had not completed the mission yet. But since the other party was taking the initiative to request a meeting, Han Xiao treated it as a small surprise, and it would save him quite a bit of energy.

However, he could not seem too anxious. Since the other party had taken the initiative to meet him, the rules would be set by him.

After sending out an invitation, the Federation of Light did not give a reply as though they were considering it.

Han Xiao was not too anxious. He then took out his communicator and called Tarrokov.

Tarrokov appeared, and he said with a smile, “Black Star, you have the time to contact me already?”

“Haha, chief commander, how are things recently?”

“Sigh, it’s still the same as always. We are still eating dirt in the Flickering World. When will you come back to continue your exploration?”

“In a while.”

“Hurry up then. The first exploration phase will end in a few years, and we will enter the construction phase. We will only start off our second exploration after digesting the territories of the three Star Clusters.”

Han Xiao then chatted casually with the other party for a while before saying with a serious expression, “I haven’t contacted the outside world during this period, and the negotiations should have been going on for a few months already. Has the dynasty reached an agreement with the Arcane Church?”

“There shouldn’t be any problem.” Tarrokov nodded. “Although both parties look like they are in conflict on the surface, they have already come to an agreement in private. The only thing that is left are the details of the agreement. The Arcane Church paid a heavy price in order to ransom their experts, but the exact figure is confidential. I can only say that the other party made huge concessions in military, economic, and political affairs. They also released some of their technological skills. In any case, the dynasty promised the Arcane Church to release three Beyond Grade As—Dylan, Taylor, and Mercer. Only Sagman is still in our hands as a bargaining chip.”

Han Xiao nodded.

The foundation of a civilization was their people, and the conflicts between the civilizations were usually because of status and resources. Compared to the long history of a civilization, every Beyond Grade A was no more than a shooting star in a part of their history. Returning three Beyond Grade A captives in exchange for resources was a trade that the dynasty was extremely willing to do. At the same time, it could be said that the three Universal Civilizations were on the same tide. Despite having their own conflicts, it was impossible for any party to wipe out the others. Apart from their conflicts, it was also important for them to suppress the civilizations beneath them and maintain order.

“Right, how did they deal with the Spacetime Amber?” Han Xiao asked.

As the Arcane Church researched the Spacetime Amber, the name of the Spacetime Amber had spread throughout the universe, and every large organization was now aware of it. The two Universal Treasures in Black Star’s hands were the Evolution Cube and Spacetime Amber. As such, Black Star had a special status in the universe.

“The Arcane Church isn’t able to break the seal and wants to invite the dynasty to help them. The dynasty dragged the matter on and didn’t contact you, so you are still unaware about it.”

“Does the dynasty plan to agree to it?”

“Hmm, the Arcane Church is willing to pay the price, and the dynasty is going to ask you to unseal one of the captives. They also want you to make a trip to the Central Galaxy.”

“Alright.” Han Xiao nodded. The players now had the Gulal Civilization and Flickering World, so they were having the time of their lives. He would not need to interfere with the players until the end of Version 3.0, so he would be free.

Furthermore, he was also prepared to head to the Central Galaxy and find some helpers to deal with EsGod.

“I would like to ask, has the dynasty found EsGod yet?”

“We have found some clues. Some eyewitnesses claim to have seen the Fallen Ark at the Primeval Star River. The wormhole cluster in the Shattered Star Ring should have sent them there.”

“As long as their whereabouts are known,” Han Xiao said. “The Arcane Church has already given in, and the dynasty can only channel some manpower to deal with the accomplice EsGod.”

Tarrokov observed Han Xiao’s appearance and said with a smile, “I feel as though you are extremely determined to kill EsGod.”

“That’s right. He had been eyeing up the Evolution Cube for such a long time and almost took my life. Can I not hate him?” Han Xiao shrugged.

“This isn’t the same.” Tarrokov shook his head but did not continue.

It was not only because of the Evolution Cube. He felt that Han Xiao’s enmity toward EsGod had a sense of urgency within it, as though EsGod posed a huge threat to him.

“In any case, the upper echelons have already sent out their forces to attack the Fallen Ark. EsGod isn’t in his main camp. The dynasty plans to send manpower to kill him, and you are also on the list. Even if you don’t ask, the upper echelons will find you regarding this matter.”

“Alright, I will be there. I can participate in this mission during my trip to the Central Galaxy.”

Han Xiao then chatted casually for a while more before hanging up.

As the final boss of the evil faction, EsGod had been able to avoid death.

The three Universal Civilizations had tried to deal with him many times before but were unable to kill him. It might be possible that the dynasty only treated killing EsGod as putting up a show.

He was probably the only one who resolutely wanted to kill EsGod.

I hope that history doesn’t repeat itself, Han Xiao thought to himself.

If he could wipe out EsGod this time, he would be able to resolve the threat of the World Tree entering early.

It was not that Han Xiao did not have any confidence in the three Universal Civilizations. In his previous life, the three Universal Civilizations won a pyrrhic victory, so they might not be able to emerge victorious at the moment.

A few ferocious characters from the later versions had not grown up fully yet.

Especially the players.

Ding!

Right at this moment, Phillip received the reply from the Federation of Light indicating that they would accept his invitation.

…

On the other side, in the Federation of Light’s Shattered Star Ring stronghold, Mona placed down his communicator. He was the emissary in charge of contacting Han Xiao this time and also a descendant of Spacetime Freezer. His skin was light blue with diamond-like crystals growing on it.

“Black Star has agreed to meet us,” Mona reported to the upper echelons.

“Alright, remember your mission. First, you must probe Black Star’s attitude. Second, you need to investigate the origins of the Spacetime Amber. If the probing isn’t ideal, do not mention the trade. Also, do not make any unnecessary moves.”

Mona nodded solemnly.

The Federation of Light wanted the seal on the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to be undone, but Black Star was an ally of the dynasty. Thus, it was unlikely for him to help them. Without sufficient benefits, Black Star would not risk offending the dynasty to help them undo the seal.

Black Star was able to get most resources from the dynasty, and there was no need to make a deal with them. Thus, the Federation of Light can only probe to see if Black Star had any special requirements.

Even if the hope was slim, the Federation of Light would have to give it a try. Bader truly could not bear to just stare at a useless Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

Since they had already offended the Arcane Church, they could not walk out without any benefits.

“I will not make any rash moves, but His Excellency Manison…” Mona then turned to look at a mechanical host beside him.

This was Manison’s Lord’s Descent host that was not activated yet. Manison’s consciousness had not descended on it, and it was being controlled by AI from afar.

Upon hearing those words, Manison appeared through a long-distance projection.

“You don’t need to bother about me. I will be paying Black Star a visit in a personal capacity and not interfere with your affairs.”

Mona could only nod as he heard that. At his level, he did not have the right to control Manison.

Manison shook his head with a strange look on his face.

In truth, Manison had been looking forward to meeting Han Xiao for a long time. He paid close attention to all the Beyond Grade A Mechanics.

Black Star’s name had resounded throughout the Beyond Grade A ranks in the universe, and he had long wanted to test Black Star’s strength.

Only then would he know the price he had to pay for the Spacetime Amber.

Chapter 882 - Meeting, Second Chain Mission Completed

After straightening his clothes and arranging his hairstyle, Han Xiao pushed open the door of the training room and walked out.

Outside the door was a silvery white corridor, with built-in lamps along the ceiling lighting the place with a white light. The corridor was ring-shaped, and on both sides were training rooms, with numbers engraved on the doors in black lettering. The suspended virtual screen on the side showed the user who was inside. This was a dedicated training place for the officers.

The satellite base in the headquarters was humongous, and it was divided into multiple bases. Where Han Xiao was located was the core area.

Han Xiao touched his stomach. Because he had just advanced, he was still full of energy, but he felt that he had consumed a lot of energy mentally. After thinking about it, he decided to head to the dining area to get himself a good meal. He was afraid that if he stuck to just eating nutrition packs every day, his taste buds would rot away sooner or later.

The dining area was a basic need of life. Furthermore, due to the diverse tastes of the various races, there were also chefs of various races.

Because of the size of the base, various anti-gravity suspension vehicles were used as modes of transport. They were all products of the logistics department. Within his ‘home’, Han Xiao would naturally not be so idle and choose to walk over. Thus, he searched for one of the vehicles and set a course for the dining area.

From afar, one could see the sea of people within the dining area. As one got closer, the din grew ever louder. No matter what time it was, the human traffic in the dining area would always be the highest.

Landing on the docking platform, Han Xiao stepped off the suspension vehicle and walked in. The army members who were idly chatting at the door after having their fill noticed Han Xiao’s figure, and those leaning on the wall immediately stood upright.

“Army Commander, good day!”

“Oh, good day. Have you all eaten already?” Han Xiao nodded and greeted back casually.

Whenever he met his subordinates at the headquarters, he would definitely reply. His airs were projected only for the outsiders, and he was more casual and friendly toward his people.

Upon entering the wide hall of the dining area, many pairs of eyes immediately glanced over. The atmosphere quietened for a moment, and many of them showed a face of emotion as they hurriedly got up and saluted. Some remained sitting as they ate, only raising their head to curiously size up Han Xiao.

Following the expansion of the Black Star Army, many of the new members had never even seen their leader once. Han Xiao also did not typically appear in public areas, choosing to stay within the core areas, thus his image in the members’ minds grew more and more mysterious.

Furthermore, the event of Enemy of the Arcane had given an additional halo around Han Xiao, causing his reputation to constantly rise. His image only grew bigger in the eyes of his members.

Every large organization would have internal faction disagreements, and it was the same with the Black Star Army. With its current size, the factions had also become more obvious, where different races and tribes all formed their own small pockets. Only Han Xiao was able to completely suppress all of them. As long as he was present, the army was truly unified.

“Don’t mind me, just continue eating.” Han Xiao helplessly waved his hands. This was the reason why he did not like to show himself.

Every time he strolled around within the base, he would seem like an inspector going about his rounds. What a lonely life.

“Teacher, here, here!” This time, Han Xiao heard a familiar voice. Turning his head, he saw Sylvia waving toward him. She was having her meal with Aroshia.

Han Xiao walked to the seat facing hers and sat down. He then picked up a drumstick from his tray and took a bite. The meat was tender and juicy, full of substance and stimulating to his taste buds. After chewing a few times, an even stronger fragrance was emitted.

“The taste is pretty good. We should raise the salary of the chefs here.” Han Xiao finished his drumstick in two or three bites. He licked the corners of his mouth, savoring the last bit of taste, and he started to pick at the other dishes. “Remember to grant funds to the canteen department as well to research a new flavor of the nutrition fluid.”

“I get it. You really love the nutrition fluids.” Sylvia grunted as she cut into her vegetables.

“Eating a meal requires ten minutes, but drinking a tube of nutrition fluid only needs three seconds. I like the more efficient method. Learn from me, sister,” Han Xiao joked.

I’m the one in charge of miscellaneous tasks, and you have more time than me. What sort of time are you trying to save? Sylvia rolled her eyes, going back to her meal feeling depressed.

Han Xiao then turned toward Aroshia. “How have you been?”

“Ah owh…” Aroshia did not raise her head, fully focused on the mountain of food in front her. Her face was expressionless, her cheeks moving like a chipmunk as she quickly chewed. The amount of food in front of her was almost ten times Sylvia’s.

She had known Sylvia for a long time, and their relationship was pretty good. However, because Aroshia’s combat abilities could no longer match Han Xiao’s tempo, she was unable to move out on operations together with him. However, she still had a special position within the army due to her experience and popularity due to her looks. She was the crush of countless army members and had even attracted a group of fans from the players.

Because of the [Reboot] mission, Han Xiao did not wish to come into contact with Aroshia and Risda too often. At this level, ruining any chance of a relationship with the Mechanic Empire over this small issue was not worthwhile. Risda had always been pestering him, but Han Xiao currently did not have any idea how to approach this issue. His current level did not allow him to have that sort of ability.

“That’s right. Since you’re already here, I don’t need to send out the news.” Han Xiao spoke to Sylvia. “In the next few days, someone from the Federation of Light will pay me a visit. Please arrange for it.”

Sylvia was startled, raising her head. “Teacher, you’re allied to the dynasty. Seeing someone from the Federation of Light isn’t too good.”

“They asked to meet me first. At least I have to listen to what they have to say.”

As Han Xiao was explaining, he suddenly got interrupted by a voice behind him.

“Black Star, I… I have something for you!”

Han Xiao turned around, only to see a male player with his ID above his head standing behind him, holding something black in his hands.

Yet another guy who thinks giving gifts will brush up my favorability…

Because the players treated him as an NPC, they thought that their favorability with him would increase when he was given gifts. Han Xiao was resigned to this.

Every time he showed himself, someone would try this method. He had long gotten used to it.

After receiving the gift, it turned out to be a slightly rare mineral.

Honestly, Han Xiao did not understand why people would send him minerals. Did they think he could not afford it‽

Gazing at the face full of expectation, the corners of Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, and he endured the impulse to lower that guy’s favorability, merely forcing out a smile. “Thank you.”

The player waited for a while but did not see any notification about an increase in favorability. He scratched his head, looking at the rare mineral in Han Xiao’s hands, his expression regretful.

“Um, can I take back my gift?”

Han Xiao’s expression turned black.

Brother, you’re being too stingy.

“No.”

“Sigh, I lost out.” The player still did not give up, however. “Is there anything you would like me to do?”

No, scram!

Of course, this was only said within his heart. He would not be so rude to the players.

“… I currently have nothing for you to deal with. If you are free, how about you proceed to the Gulal Civilization and join the war there or help with the exploration in the Flickering World? There should be something for you to do.”

Han Xiao smiled innocently but with the hidden meaning of asking the player to go f*ck himself.

“Alright then…” The player left with an expression of pity and regret.

To prevent himself from being mobbed by the players, he quickly finished his meal and left the dining area as though he was flying. He went to the logistics department next to check up on Nero’s studies.

[Perfect Mechanical Sense] was a Molding Talent that he had desired for a long time, so he paid a lot of attention to Nero’s progress.

Reaching the logistics department, Han Xiao walked into Reynold’s office and saw Nero sprawled over a table full of books.

After drinking the dragonblood potion, not only did it energize the mind, it also rejuvenated the body. Thus, Nero’s little face appeared healthy. However, his expression was bitter as though he had swallowed a pile of herbs. His face was so scrunched up that it looked as though it was about to be compressed into a single point, and he wrote as though he wished to pierce his entire pen into the textbook.

“Little Nero, your godfather is here to see you.” Han Xiao smiled as he walked over.

Nero did not even look at Han Xiao. He turned his head, his expression one of grumpiness.

Han Xiao turned to Reynold. “How’s his progress?”

“The dragonblood potion is very useful and has saved him the time needed to sleep. His progress is also extremely fast, and he will be able to start learning the introductory theory soon. I plan to add in some practical machinery classes in the next stage of his study plan.” Reynold’s tone was serious.

Hearing that, Nero’s hand trembled, and the pen dropped onto the table with a ‘clack’ sound. His entire bearing appeared to have been frozen stiff.

Han Xiao smirked.

You’re truly a devil…

This time, the door opened again, and Feidin, clad in loose blue robes, walked in. Seeing Han Xiao, he was surprised but revealed a warm smile. “Black Star, you’re here as well.”

“What are you here for?” Han Xiao’s brows rose.

“I’m here to see Nero.” Feidin laughed. “And to play some cards with him.”

Nero immediately threw himself into Feidin’s bosom, as though he had met his savior. He conveniently turned back and stuck his tongue out toward Han Xiao.

“Cough cough, Feidin comes to play cards with Nero every now and then. That’s his free time,” Reynold explained.

Han Xiao had an amazed expression on his face, as though asking, You actually will give him time to play?

“Er… once every half a month.”

Oh, I was wrong.

Since it was rare to have any playtime, Nero excitedly took out the Wayne Cards and pulled on Feidin’s sleeves to begin. Feidin smiled and took out his cards leisurely, beginning to battle with Nero.

Seeing this situation, Han Xiao’s brows twitched. He felt that Feidin was very fond of Nero. Could it be that Feidin and Chen Xing were unable to produce children?

While Han Xiao did not enjoy playing cards, he knew the rules well. Standing by the side, he could not help but suck in a deep breath.

Was this the so-called battle between two lucky stars?

He seemed to see the Goddess of Fortune playing against herself, fighting on both sides!

Seeing Nero’s practiced hand movements, Han Xiao felt a little heartache.

My little cub… in the end, you have still been infected by Hadavy and Herlous.

Seems like I need to correct this.

Han Xiao endured his laughter as he threw a [Luck Curse] toward Nero. He shook his head and stealthily left the scene.

…

Over the next few days, Han Xiao took the time to adapt to his newly increased strength and also cleared a few miscellaneous tasks, preparing for the meeting with the Federation of Light.

The spaceship landed at the headquarters of the Black Star Army, and Mona led a group of people off the spaceship. They were led to a reception room under the guidance of the reception robot.

Seated at the reception room, Han Xiao waited for a moment before the doors opened, and the emissary team from the Federation of Light appeared. They greeted each other before taking their seats.

“The Federation of Light’s Advanced Combatant Team Sergeant, Mona.” Mona gave a simple introduction.

Sensing that the other party was a Calamity Grade, Han Xiao opened the interface panel to take a look. Indeed, after being in contact with someone belonging to the tribe of Spacetime Freezer, the mission of the Spacetime Amber showed a change.

_____________________

The Second Chain Mission of [The Primordial Ones’ Inheritance – Spacetime Freezer] has been completed!

+1 Soul Connection with the Spacetime Amber.

Spacetime Amber: Current Soul Connection 2/5

The Spacetime Amber has gotten closer to you.

The buff ‘Blessing of the Spacetime Amber’ has been refreshed.

[Blessing of the Spacetime Amber (Level2)]: +15% Maximum Energy, +120 Strength, +120 Dexterity, +120 Endurance, +240 Intelligence, +50 Mystery, +50 Charisma. In addition, +70% Basic Space Resistance, +30% Basic Psychological Resistance. The effect of all your spacetime related abilities are increased by 18% – 32%.

Buff Duration: Permanent

_____________________

Han Xiao was overjoyed but did not show it on his face. With an increased connection to the Spacetime Amber, he had also developed a closer feeling to the amber, and from his senses, the Spacetime Amber seemed to have transformed into something that he had used for a long time.

This meant that his efficiency in creating the amber balls would also increase. However, he was now in a meeting with people and was unable to test it out.

Han Xiao glanced at the third series of the chain mission.

_____________________

Third Chain Mission Requirements: Proceed to the ancestral land of the Spacetime Freezer, and take his body to visit his homeland.

_____________________

Okay, so this is not a coincidence any longer… Han Xiao murmured to himself internally.

The ancestral land of the Spacetime Freezer was located within the territory of the Federation of Light. If he wished to complete the third mission, he had to personally make a visit. After all, it was impossible for the other party to bring the entire planet to him.

Closing his interface, Han Xiao cut to the chase. “The Federation of Light has few dealings with me. May I ask for your purpose in visiting me?”

“It’s like this. The Federation of Light is curious about your Spacetime Amber,” Mona said with a straight face. “After checking our records, we found out that the Spacetime Amber seems to have some relation with one of the Beyond Grade As in our history.”

“Oh, there was such a thing?” Han Xiao feigned surprise, but he was actually shocked. To think that the Federation of Light even held secret records relating to the Spacetime Freezer and even made such an informed guess.

As for the Federation of Light expressing their interest in the Spacetime Amber, he did not find that surprising. Basically every single organization in Galaxy was curious about his two Universal Treasures and were probably researching them.

“Do you know about the Spacetime Freezer?” Mona asked.

Han Xiao had to put on a show, and thus, after a while, he nodded, his expression unchanging as he replied, “Let me check.”

“Oh, now I know. What you mean is that the Spacetime Freezer and the Spacetime Amber are related, right?”

Mona had been observing Han Xiao’s expression but could not deduce anything, so he could only continue the conversation.

“We cannot confirm this either, so it is only a hypothesis. I am one of the descendants related to the Spacetime Freezer, so I requested for the Federation of Light to help me get into contact with you to understand the origin of the Spacetime Amber.”

“Why should I care about the history of the Spacetime Amber? How does that benefit me?”

Han Xiao raised his brows, but he was clear of the answer himself.

The reason the Federation of Light did this was because he could be considered to have picked up this Universal Treasure by luck and did not understand its history. Thus, the Federation of Light sent Mona as a descendant of the Spacetime Freezer to contact him and search for his ancestor’s traces. However, the Federation of Light knew that Han Xiao would not buy this reason and thus only used it to get closer to him.

“Rest assured. Because this involves the ancestor of our entire race, the Federation of Light is only helping us to investigate it and add information of this new Universal Treasure into the public database. We have no other plans regarding your Spacetime Amber,” Mona explained.

“I believe you.” Han Xiao had on a straight expression. “Really.”

Chapter 883 - Breaking the Ice and Setting Conditions

Chapter 883 Breaking the Ice and Setting Conditions

Mona could hear Han Xiao’s sarcasm in his tone, and his face turned red, but he persevered. “In short, we hope that you will allow us to investigate the Spacetime Amber. The Federation of Light will definitely give you satisfactory compensation.”

“I refuse.” Han Xiao waved his hand. “I’m not obliged to cooperate.”

“Then… could you allow us to take a look at the Spacetime Amber? This is a personal request of mine.”

“Nope.”

The atmosphere grew a little stiff. However, Mona had expected it. Black Star would naturally not allow any outsiders to come into contact with his Universal Treasures.

He pretended to take a sip from his drink, glancing left and right, before suddenly lowering his voice and changing the topic.

“Your Excellency Black Star, I’m not sure… but what do you think of the Federation of Light?”

They are finally further probing my attitude… Han Xiao thought.

“My thoughts… I should be asking you this question instead. You helped the Arcane Church during the Battle of Planet Lighthouse, and then you turned around to aid the dynasty. I’m not sure whether I should consider you guys as enemies or friends. What do you think?”

Mona thought about it before solemnly replying, “While we belong to different factions, we are very willing to befriend you, Your Excellency Black Star.”

Han Xiao raised his brows. “In that case, let me be more direct. We’ll always be opponents from different factions, but we can be business partners. You won’t object to that, right?”

“Of course.” This was one of the conditions given by the upper echelons before he set off, so Mona did not hesitate.

The three Universal Civilizations had always warred against each other; however, they also traded with each other frequently, cooperating in many industries. In this interstellar era, so long as the civilizations did not tear off all pretenses and go to war with each other, their cooperative relationship would still be maintained. The three universal civilizations were already used to this method, and in fact, interstellar integration was one of the points that bound all galactic civilizations together as this magnified the cost of them being isolated.

Thus, in terms of business and trade, a Universal Civilization would not prohibit their Beyond Grade A allies from expanding their business to profit off other civilizations. However, if they were to use the name of commerce to sell secret information to other parties, then the universal civilization would hunt them down.

However, the Beyond Grade A allies in each civilization would not easily allow outsiders to obtain a share of their pie. If one wished to develop a business in other factions, they would be pressured by the organizations of that faction. Without an official relationship, it would be hard to conduct business.

“I’m sure that you’re clear about our working style. Within the three Universal Civilizations, we are the most inclusive. We welcome financial groups and organizations from all over the universe to develop, and since the Shattered Star Ring is under the jurisdiction of the Federation of Light, you could say that we’ve always been working together,” Mona said.

Han Xiao nodded. This part was true. The Crimson Dynasty was iron-blooded, while the Arcane Church leaned toward the spiritual side. The Federation of Light was undoubtedly the richest, with lots of territory and blooming with prosperity.

“Since you wish to be friends, then at least show some sincerity. Building a relationship requires funds.” Han Xiao smiled.

“If you’re willing, we can help the Black Star Army to develop their business in the Federation of Light at any time,” Mona replied.

Han Xiao’s eyes shifted quickly.

He roughly understood what the Federation of Light was trying to do. They first mentioned the Spacetime Amber before offering a trade cooperation. The situation was very clear. They wished to borrow the Spacetime Amber in the long run. After the previous incident, their relationship was strained, so one could imagine their success rate if they came knocking to request something.

Thus, the Federation of Light made a few proposals, of which one of them would be to use a business proposal to first break the ice, warming up their relationship before proposing a future follow-up relationship. In this way, they would not attempt to achieve their goals overnight but utilize a long-term relationship to obtain what they wanted.

As the requested party, Han Xiao had the advantage, and of course, he did not need to reply immediately.

“Ok, we’ll talk about this again. I don’t currently have that intention.”

“Understood. If you still have any other requests, we’ll do our best to consider it. No matter what, the Federation of Light looks forward to working with you.”

Mona retained his sincere tone; the Federation of Light was not in a hurry to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. They could afford to wait.

“Other requests…” Han Xiao’s eyes moved as he thought. He suddenly smiled. “I personally am not adverse to befriending the Federation of Light. It’s just that because you helped the Arcane Church go against me last time, in addition to your sincerity, I feel you should display an apology.”

He was referring to the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device. That time, the Federation of Light did not expect that they would need to request something from Black Star and could be said to have dug a hole for themselves. However, if they did not do so, then they probably would not have been able to obtain the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. There were both advantages and disadvantages.

Mona’s eyes lit up. He was not afraid of Han Xiao making a request but more afraid of him not having any.

“What are you thinking about?”

“It’s like this. If you could do me a favor, I’ll forgive you, and only through resolving this then can our relationship truly begin.”

“What do you need?” Mona sat up straight.

“EsGod also took part in the battle of Planet Lighthouse, and the dynasty has been busy with capturing those from the Arcane Church. However, they have now turned their attention toward this accomplice. I have quite a huge grudge with EsGod, and if you could help the dynasty and I with encircling the EsGod and killing him, we can wipe off all other issues and start on a clean slate. What do you think?” Han Xiao’s tone grew solemn.

Mona was a little surprised. He was expecting Han Xiao to raise up some benefits for himself, but to think that he actually invited them to hunt down EsGod. It seemed like their enmity was quite serious.

“In this regard, I have no way to make a decision. I will report this upward.” Mona spoke truthfully. “But from my experience, there is a high chance that they will agree.”

If it was something else, the Federation of Light would still hesitate, but dealing with the EsGod had always been one of the priorities and would also benefit them.

At this moment, one of the mechanical guards from behind stepped forward and took off its helmet. It revealed the head of a mechanical host, and an electronic voice sounded from its mouth.

“Regarding this matter, I can do it for you instead.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao turned around. Seeing the material of the mechanical host, his eyes lit up. He could tell that the host had high technological content, seemingly a high levelled machine made by a Beyond Grade A, much like the mechanical host that he utilized for [Lord’s Descent].

“You are…”

“‘Mechanic Emperor’ Manison, the Ancient One, Palpatine[1].”

Han Xiao’s eyes changed, revealing a wary look.

Because the [Lord’s Descent] was not yet used on the mechanical host, there were no fluctuations of a Beyond Grade A coming from it. Before Manison spoke, he had still thought it was just a normal mechanical soldier. In terms of stealth, Manison truly had the advantage.

The fact that Manison had chosen to approach him was out of Han Xiao’s expectations.

A person’s reputation was akin to the shadow a tree cast. The reputation of the Mechanic Empire in the universe was profound, almost universally regarded as the peak of mechanics. Furthermore, he had indirectly interacted with the other party before, so Han Xiao was vigilant of the name Mechanic Empire.

Mona coughed before explaining, “When His Excellency Manison heard that we were coming to pay you a visit, he requested to move together with us.”

“Black Star, in actual fact, I’ve always been wanting to pay you a visit. This time was just a good opportunity.” Noticing Han Xiao’s furrowed brows, Manison spoke without any emotions. “What, am I not welcome?”

Han Xiao’s thoughts revolved quickly, and he immediately smoothed his brows over, putting on another smile as he calmly replied.

“Of course not. I just felt it to be a coincidence. I also heard of your name a long time ago and have always wished to pay you a visit. It’s just that I’ve never been able to find the chance to.”

Mona stood up at this time. “This is my communicator number. Your Excellency Black Star, I’ll report your intentions to the upper echelons, and you’ll receive a reply soon. I won’t disrupt your conversation any longer. Your Excellency Manison, we’ll wait for you aboard the spaceship.”

Manison’s mechanical host nodded, and Mona left the room, following Phillip’s directions back to the dock.

Only Manison and Han Xiao were left in the room.

“Hehe, Your Excellency Black Star, this should be our first time meeting.” Manison sounded as though he was laughing, but the electronic voice did not display a single bit of emotion, making it a little frightening.

With the skills of the other party, it was possible for his host to completely mimic a person’s emotions and tone, so this voice should be done on purpose.

“To be accurate, we’re not considered ‘meeting’ yet. You’ve seen my face, but I still have not seen yours.” Han Xiao raised a brow and spoke some mischievous words while he thought of Manison’s intentions in coming here today.

It was normal for people of the same profession to converse, but he felt that Manison had a reason for visiting.

“There will definitely be a chance in the future.” The mechanical host pointed toward its chest. “Do you mind if I send my consciousness over?”

Han Xiao shook his head to indicate his answer.

Boom!

The next instant, a surge of energy surged through the quantum infinite distance transmission channel, and the host’s body jolted. Golden electricity spilled out from it, sizzling as Manison utilized [Lord’s Descent].

The movements of the carrier instantly became a lot smoother. Manison twisted his neck, commenting, “That’s much better.”

Remote communication could be compared to doing a video chat. [Lord’s Descent] was bringing one’s consciousness into the scene, a lot more immersive.

Han Xiao smiled and did not speak, but he was full of awe in his heart.

When Manison’s consciousness arrived, the mechanical force released by the host was so huge that it gave Han Xiao some pressure. To be able to allow another Beyond Grade A to feel pressure, the Mechanic Emperor was indeed unfathomable.

In all the Beyond Grade As he had seen, only EsGod’s aura could be compared with Manison’s… and this was only the host utilizing [Lord’s Descent], not Manison’s true body.

Just what level had this guy actually reached?

Thinking about it, Han Xiao tilted his mouth toward the door.

“Your Excellency Manison, how about we change locations?”

“Sure. Could you show me around your Black Star Army?” Manison nodded.

“Alright.”

The two stood up and left the room while chatting.

They had only just met, so they did not talk about any sensitive topics but rather revolved around different topics such as about the headquarters, materials and technology used, and so on.

Han Xiao kept vision of the quantum network constantly active, letting Phillip maintain constant surveillance on the system.

While the possibility was low, it was better to guard against any secret Virtual Intrusion from Manison. After all, having Manison there was just like having the neighbor next door come to visit one’s house. One could never know when one might be ‘cucked’, so it was better to deter than to resolve.

But Manison did not have such intentions. He was only focused on conversing about mechanical knowledge, as though they were really sharing technology between peers.

Just based on his technical exchanges, the Mechanic Emperor was indeed powerful. He had accumulated experience for many years and had collected all the mechanic profession knowledge. He was even at the forefront of technological innovation, having developed an unknown number of blueprints.

Just based on the main profession level, his was far off from Manison’s. The other party had not lived so many years in vain.

Because this was the first time he was dealing with the Mechanic Emperor, Han Xiao constantly wore a smile on his face. However, he never lowered his guard. In addition to the preconceived notions, he also had to take into account the identity of the other party.

“Oh right, you mentioned just now that you would help me to deal with EsGod.”

“EsGod is currently in the Primeval Star River. That is my base camp, and if the Federation of Light agrees to your request, it will be me who acts.” Manison turned to look at Han Xiao. “Naturally, I also have my own reasons.”

“What are they?” Han Xiao was curious.

“The first, I warned EsGod before that he was not allowed to wander into my territory. As for the second… hehe, I hope to obtain something from you.” Manison did not bother hiding his intentions.

Obtain something from me? Han Xiao’s eyes flashed. It would naturally not be his machinery, so it would most likely be the Universal Treasures. Was it the Evolution Cube or the Spacetime Amber?

However, Manison did not continue talking and only turned his head to another direction. At this moment, both of them had walked into a passageway, and surrounding them were combat training rooms.

“Since we’re here, why not have a spar?” It was hard to tell what Manison was trying to do.

“Here?” Han Xiao shook his head. With our strength, we’ll flip my headquarters upside down.

“Relax, I didn’t bring any other mechanical units, only this host.” Manison waved his hands. “You can control another host as well, and we’ll stop when hit. This way, the movements are more controlled, and we will not harm our relations.”

This method works… Han Xiao breathed in deeply and nodded. “… Alright then.”

Since there was no need to fight with one’s true body, it would be simple to repair the mechanical host afterward. It would also be safer this way. Han Xiao suspected that Manison wished to test out his combat strength based on his Mechanical Force.

Having broken through the 52,000 Energy limit, this level of Mechanical Force would not allow him to be easily abused by others. Han Xiao had the confidence to spar.

Moreover, [Lord’s Descent] would also allow him to share the majority of his strength. He wished to also sneak a peek at Manison’s attributes through the combat information.

[1] This used to be Papachi, but we’re changing it to Palpatine from now on.

Chapter 884 - Probing and Surprise

Chapter 884 Probing and Surprise

The two of them chose a combat training room at random. Swiping his identification, the doors automatically opened for them.

There were also differences in the configurations of the combat training rooms. Only the high-configuration combat training rooms would be able to handle a stronger aftermath.

The ordinary training rooms were free for most army members and players to utilize. They could withstand the impact of a Grade B Super at most. If one wished to use a higher configuration combat room, then they had to pay the rent. According to a member’s status within the army, there would be different discounts attached, and the players would use the training room to brush up their skills and experience.

The core area was equipped with the highest-level training rooms, but even then, they could only withstand most Calamity Grade attacks, and a Beyond Grade A attack would be pushing it. However, if they only were using a single host for a spar, so long as they controlled the attack power, there should not be a problem.

This top training room had a lot of space, and the ground and walls were all pure white, displaying a grid-like appearance. The material was a synthetic form of a tough alloy with polymer and plastic nanomaterials, which had a self-repair function. With a virtual reality coating applied to it, it was able to simulate different environments.

At the same time, the walls and floor were movable to change the shape of the room to match the virtual environment. This could create a battlefield environment for further immersiveness, else it would be difficult to deceive one’s senses.

Of course, the battlefield simulation was not child’s play, and Han Xiao had specifically forbidden the players in the guidelines of usage for training rooms from occupying the training room to be spectators.

Han Xiao allowed Phillip to randomize the environment, and the appearance of the ground and walls rapidly changed, turning into a lush forest. In the distance was an endless forest and a mountain shrouded in mist. The training room even simulated the realism of a light breeze, with the coolness of early morning rain. One could even smell the fresh air and mud, as though they were truly present.

Surveying the scene, Manison murmured emotionally, “Being with machinery every day, all I see are dull colors. Sometimes, I forget what the great outdoors look like.”

Han Xiao opened his secondary dimension and withdrew a mechanical host. The streamlined human body shape was painted with the three colors of silver, black, and yellow. This was a ‘Mammoth’ mechanical host, updated to the RX002 Generation. Compared to the RX001 Generation, the performance was slightly different.

The Mammoth RX001 Generation was designed as a standard model with comprehensive capabilities and balanced in every respect, while the RX002 focused on reducing the volume of the skeletal structure and nano tendons. It sacrificed a portion of strength in exchange for amplified flexibility and more mechanical weapons, making it more suitable to combat.

The effect of [Lord’s Descent] would vary based on the basic configuration of the host. Different hosts thus possessed different abilities and attributes when using [Lord’s Descent], so it was necessary to build various types of mechanical hosts.

Han Xiao activated [Lord’s Descent], and blue-gold Mechanical Force shot out, colliding with the mechanical host, bursting into an eye piercing gleam!

Buzz!

His consciousness was divided into two. One stayed within the main body, whereas the other controlled the mechanical host.

Han Xiao’s true body flew up high, not participating in this battle. He controlled the host to stand opposite Manison. While they were separated by a few hundred meters, this distance was as good as non-existent at their current level.

Han Xiao eyed the host’s interface. Because of the First Gen Black Star Alloy, the host had several meat shield talents, coupled with high resistance. It possessed a power amplification of 64%, flexibility of 81%, and stamina amplification of 73%.

Han Xiao twisted his neck around within the Mammoth, adapting to it. Afterward, its back armor split open, releasing micro disks to form a suspended defense array. Various psionic cannon muzzles extended out from the shoulder, chest, and abdomen areas, and it lifted the left arm in a shield holding gesture as a psionic shield formed. A metal wrist-guard was fitted on the right forearm, and it held on to a mechanical blade wrapped with energy on the right hand.

Seeing this, Manison’s host also entered battle mode. It turned on the floating array, activating the psionic shield, and took out a mechanical weapon that looked like a staff, shifting to a lowered position.

Utilizing [Lord’s Descent] to spar was equivalent to remote controlled combat. Even if the hosts fought brutally, there would be no losses to their bodies.

Without further words, both sides exchanged glances for two seconds before their figures blurred and viciously slammed into each other!

Bang!

The huge impact created a shock wave, felling the trees around them under the effect of realistic destruction. Even Han Xiao, who was in the sky above, had his hair completely blown askew.

The next instant, both hosts turned into a single blurry image as they flashed through the woods. The mechanical blade and staff collided thousands of times in a short period, causing sparks, electricity arcs, and lights to flash.

Dang dang dang!

The sound of wind, rain, and metal striking all entered one’s ear.

Mechanical Force collided with each other face to face, exploding into arcs in front of both hosts. Wherever it landed, grooves were created, holes were bored, and trees were set ablaze.

Both of them engaged in melee combat tacitly and controlled their strength, not utilizing their strongest weapons such as the long-range cannons, or else the training room would definitely be blasted to pieces.

They were only sparring, so they did not use their trump cards. There was no need to determine a winner because a mechanic’s true prowess lay in their mechanical army.

Both of them only had intentions to probe the other, seeking to understand the other party through battle. Whoever obtained more intelligence about the other would be the one benefitting.

As they battled, Manison was sensing Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force intensity.

At his level, as long as he opened his senses, he could roughly pinpoint Han Xiao’s current standards. While the intensity could not compare to his, he still got a surprise when faced with Han Xiao’s battle strength.

He had heard of how Han Xiao had captured Dylan, and based on his hypothesis, Black Star should be similar to him, possessing the top-level Mechanical talent.

However, in reality when they crossed arms, Manison discovered that Black Star’s Mechanical Force was not as strong as expected, and he did not have the top-level abilities of a mechanic.

However, Han Xiao’s life level was much higher than he expected. Manison naturally knew of the first limit one would face at the 52,000 Energy Rank. Just crossing this limit was nothing to him, but the problem was how long Black Star had been a Beyond Grade A.

Black Star had only reached the Beyond Grade A level a year and half ago. In just this short of a time, he had crossed the first limit.

The time taken for a Beyond Grade A to undergo a life level transformation was typically measured in decades!

Such unbelievable growth was a first for Manison, despite his age!

Such potential and talent…

Such an astounding growth rate made referencing Black Star’s current combat prowess useless.

Since he knew that Black Star had already broken through the first limit, Manison felt that he had already achieved his objective. He thought that he had profited from this exchange, since Black Star would only know that he was strong but not to what extent.

Thinking about this, he clashed once more, taking advantage of the shockwave to pull apart. Manison then put his weapon away as he said, “Let’s stop here, or else the room will be destroyed.”

Han Xiao also stopped. Eyeing the various gorges and grooves within the training room, he too sheathed his weapon.

His true body descended and cancelled the [Lord’s Descent]. After storing his mechanical host, he let out a smile.

“Indeed, Mechanic Emperor. You’re really strong.”

“I must say, your abilities exceeded my expectations.” Manison nodded as well.

Han Xiao smiled but did not reply, instead changing the topic. “We’ve already toured the headquarters. Let’s go to my office. We can continue talking about the problem of EsGod there.”

“Okay.”

The two of them left the training area, and on the way, Han Xiao snuck a peak at the interface whilst chatting.

Manison’s level was displayed as ???, which meant that the disparity between them was not small. The majority of his attributes and skills were also displayed as ???, as there were many skills that he had not used during the spar.

A mechanic’s skills were infamously numerous, with many of them overlapping with each other and could be ignored. As for those that Manison had displayed in the spar, Han Xiao noticed two Molding Talents.

The first was [Perfect Mechanical Sense], which was within Han Xiao’s expectations. To be able to reach the peak of the mechanic profession, Manison had to have such a talent.

The second was [Virtual Technology Innovation—Manison]. His name at the back meant that this was a Molding Talent that he himself had developed. The effect was to strengthen his Virtual Technology with an enhancement coefficient of 1.75.

While it looked lackluster compared to the strengthening coefficient of 2.5 provided by [Virtual Lord], the meaning for both skills was completely different. As long as any mechanic learned the Ultimate Knowledge [Virtual Creator], they would gain this expertise, but [Virtual Technology Innovation—Manison] was an exclusive ability, which provided an extra bonus to him. This meant that Manison had a huge advantage in virtual technology, and it was thus classified as a Molding Talent.

Furthermore, the introduction of this talent said, “After utilizing Virtual Technology Innovation, there will be special effects.” This was probably referring to the core specialty of Manison’s strongest mechanic troops, the Indestructible Mechanic Empire.

Manison would naturally not only possess two Molding Talents, but only these two were displayed so far.

However, based on the combat information, as well as the performance of Manison in his previous life, Han Xiao had come out with a rough estimation of Manison’s battle strength.

His main profession should out-level me by at least one stage, and he should have at least four Molding Talents. In addition, his Mechanical army should outnumber mine by several thousand times… How scary. I’d better not provoke him.

Overall, Han Xiao was quite satisfied with the spar. In the intelligence area, he had definitely benefited.

The combat information had displayed some of the abilities that Manison did not display, but Manison had no interface, so whatever ability he did not display, Manison would naturally be unaware. Displaying his life level was in fact a ploy of Han Xiao’s to show off his potential so that Manison would not slight him.

Because of the presence of Character Summon Cards, there was misinformation on Han Xiao’s combat strength. For example, he did not display [Perfect Mechanical Sense], which caused discrepancies to appear in Manison’s intelligence gathering.

The Mechanic Emperor had chosen the wrong opponent to probe this time.

The corners of Han Xiao’s mouth rose slightly.

…

Both parties had their own inner monologue as they returned to the office.

After sitting down, Manison began to talk about his purpose.

“My reason for meeting you this time is also to see if you’re welcome to the idea of making a transaction.”

“Please speak.”

“I’m actually very interested in your Spacetime Amber. From what I know, this Universal Treasure can create copies of itself. I hope to buy a few pieces from you as research material.”

Turns out, he wanted to buy the amber balls…

Han Xiao was silent as he thought for a while before shaking his head.

“Apologies, but I don’t intend to sell them outside at all.”

The Spacetime Amber was one of his trump cards, and the reason he had given Austin one was to repay his debt. He did not wish to use this to gain the support of others. This item was different from the Evolution Cube; he did not wish to allow the amber balls to circulate around the universe and be utilized by others.

He was not even willing to provide them to the Crimson Dynasty, let alone to the Mechanic Empire.

While Manison’s status was otherworldly, giving him face was one thing, but in matters such as these, no matter how impressive he was, it meant nothing.

“A pity, but I can understand.”

Manison shook his head. His host did not reveal any expression, nor could anyone discern his emotions from his voice.

“If you change your mind one day, you may look for me.”

“Then about the problem with EsGod…” Han Xiao probed.

“Hehe, no need to worry, I’ll listen to the Federation of Light on this.”

Manison lightly went around this topic. However, he did not mind Han Xiao rejecting him, and he did not seem to have the intention of getting up yet.

His words suddenly took on a change.

“I have a subordinate in the Shattered Star Ring called Sardeem, and he once reported something interesting to me. He mentioned that you stole his Mechanical army and even captured him alive for a period of time.”

“… There was indeed such a matter. At that time, the circumstances forced me to.”

Warning bells rose once again in Han Xiao’s mind.

“Relax, since you did not kill him, there are no problems. I just felt that we seem to be quite connected by fate, to think that we had been linked so early on…”

Manison did not seem interested in seeking recompense.

But this next sentence caused Han Xiao’s scalp to tingle!

“But talking about this, we were linked even earlier on… This reminds me, hehe, could I trouble you to return those two lost sheep to me?”

Manison’s synthesized electronic tone had no fluctuations. While he laughed, one could not tell that he had a jovial intention.

The Mechanic Emperor actually knows about Aroshia‽

Han Xiao immediately forced his expression to remain straight, suppressing the turmoil within his emotions, and deepened his tone.

“… What do you mean?”

“A long time ago, there were two lucky AI life forms that infiltrated my base. One of them made off with one of my spare spaceships, while the other utilized my equipment to transform herself into an indestructible Mechanical Life. They tried to set their comrades free, but they were spotted by the firewalls within my base and chased by my automaton troops. Luckily for them, they entered a wormhole and eventually found their way to your organization…”

At this point, Manison paused.

“Surely you don’t think that the two AI lifeforms were able to make it into my base on their own, right?”

Chapter 885 - Brewing Influence, Rising Waves

Han Xiao only narrowed his eyes, not speaking. In actual fact, he had also shared the same suspicions, but Risda had replied in the same manner each time he asked, making him unable to verify it.

Manison crossed his hands and calmly spoke.

“Just based on their ability, they would never be able to break through my firewall. Behind them was another Beyond Grade A Mechanic that was coveting my Indestructible Mechanic Empire and wished to wreck my trump card troops while I was not within my base. They secretly guided these two little guys that knew nothing and quietly opened the virtual data channels for them.”

“A pity that his cheap trick was spotted by me, and his scheme thus failed. I actually knew that the little fellow who had turned itself into an indestructible mechanic soldier had always been residing in Floating Dragon Island. She borrowed my energy transmission channel and stole my recombination material, so I could naturally track her.

“But I didn’t go and recollect it. That’s mainly because I don’t care about these two fellows who were wandering outside, but I also decided not to make contact with Ames due to my past relationship with Aesop. However, since I’m here today, it’s just as well. You can hand both of them back over to me.”

Han Xiao rubbed his temples, feeling a little helpless. Twenty years ago when he first recruited Aroshia, he had been but a Grade B Super. He was just a nobody in the universe, so naturally, Manison would not place him in his eyes.

When he discovered the origins of Aroshia later on, he had once worried about whether Manison would pursue them, but Aroshia had never met any danger, so he had thought that Manison did not know of Aroshia’s position.

When he reached the Beyond Grade A level, his Virtual Technology knowledge grew deeper, and he also started to doubt the given description of their escape, but because of his preconceived notions and added to the fact that twenty years had gone by peacefully, he took it for granted.

To think that Manison had always known…

Han Xiao’s brain quickly moved.

Obviously, with Manison’s status, he did not care about Aroshia and Risda escaping. After all, he had an entire AI civilization as his army; just two escapees did not mean anything.

But the reason he had mentioned this was not to take Aroshia and Risda back but rather because Han Xiao had rejected his request to obtain the amber, so he decided to attack him!

This old thing… God only knows just how many cards he still has on hand.

Han Xiao frowned, pausing for a moment, before replying solemnly.

“Aroshia is a comrade of mine who has followed me for over twenty years. She has free will and is not a slave of mine. I can’t just pass someone who is respected and was involved in the establishment of Black Star Army together with me. How would I answer to my officers in this manner?”

Manison wished to reclaim its escaped soldiers, but Han Xiao tweaked the situation, emphasizing Aroshia’s position within the Black Star Army. Thus, he could firmly reject.

“Your Excellency Black Star, you’re a really tough nut.” Manison still remained calm, and he only sighed.

From the time they had met up till now, Han Xiao had always been courteous, but regarding any crucial issues, he had never given way and always had hidden needles to retaliate.

Want the amber? Not selling!

Want my people? Not giving!

Han Xiao was apprehensive of Manison’s strength, but he was not afraid of the other party. It would have been one thing if he did not have any support, but the dynasty was backing the Black Star Army, while the Federation backed Manison. Both of them had prestigious backers, and there was no need to be afraid.

Since he was the one to obtain the Spacetime Amber, the dynasty did not force him to hand it over because as long as it was in his hands, it was equivalent to the dynasty’s strength.

However, if he chose to deal with the Mechanic Empire, this would mean that the method of production of the Spacetime Amber would be passed onto the Federation of Light’s hands. This would cross the bottom line of the dynasty, and he would suffer the consequences. Thus, not even a guarantee from Manison that he would only research it privately could persuade him.

The reason Han Xiao did not make the transaction was not just to maintain the deterrence of the Spacetime Amber but also because of the problem of their opposing factions. Even if he would end up offending the other, he could only reject. This even applied to the worst case where they turned hostile.

The atmosphere was a little heavy for a moment. Han Xiao only stared at Manison, not speaking, while Manison did the same, his mechanical host not showing any emotions.

After silence reigned for a period, Manison finally opened his mouth again. “Alright then, it seems that my request was a little overboard.”

He did not insist on reclaiming the duo, maybe because he did not wish to turn hostile with Han Xiao over such a small matter. However, Han Xiao could not know if that was what he thought.

“Many thanks for understanding, Your Excellency Mechanic Emperor.” Han Xiao’s tone also softened. Since the other party had given him face, there was a need to respond appropriately.

“However…” Manison’s words took a curve. “While I don’t care if they have their own lives, there’s something I need to remind you of.”

“Please speak.”

“Those two fellows have always wanted to free their clansmen. I hope you will not be fooled by them. The Beyond Grade A Mechanic who helped them the other time ended up as my trophy, and I don’t wish to be enemies with you… or else the result won’t be nice to see.” Manison’s tone remained calm.

Han Xiao’s pupils needled. This was a pure warning!

At this moment, Manison stood up, and he expressed his intention to leave.

“No matter what, being able to come into contact with you, Your Excellency Black Star, has made this a worthwhile trip. It was pleasant getting to know you.”

Han Xiao remained expressionless and stood up, shaking hands with the other.

After exchanging communicator numbers, they walked out of the room. Han Xiao personally escorted Manison back to the Federation of Light’s spaceship.

Before the hatch closed, Manison turned back to look at Han Xiao.

“Since you are coming over to the Primeval Star River to deal with EsGod, if time permits, come over to my place for a visit.”

“Sure, I’ll try to do so.” Han Xiao nodded.

Ka!

The hatch sealed itself, and the spaceship’s thrusters ignited, taking off into the vast universe.

Sending them off with his eyes, Han Xiao secretly heaved a sigh of relief and murmured, “Old fox.”

Dealing with Manison was really not a pleasant thing.

Han Xiao could not determine Manison’s true thoughts. His attitude was also ambiguous, his every move seemingly carrying probing intentions.

This guy is not just a person who purely pursues benefits. His thinking was hard to predict, and even with Manison’s deeds from his previous life as a gauge, Han Xiao still found it hard to figure out the character of this old fox.

When encircling EsGod, the battlefield will be in the Primeval Star River. There’s a need to go to the territory of the Mechanic Empire to battle… From the current situation, since I rejected him, Manison will definitely be dissatisfied with me, but considering all factors, he probably won’t make me an enemy for now.

Han Xiao shook his head.

Because of a conflict of interest, this meeting ended on a heavy note.

Beep beep!

This time, the communicator rang, and Mona passed on the news that the Federation of Light had approved Han Xiao’s request to hunt down EsGod.

No matter what, at least I have more assurance in dealing with EsGod now.

Han Xiao regained his spirit. Regarding the Mechanic Empire, he could handle it at a later date. The pressing task at hand was to first get rid of EsGod.

He was only an ally and thus could not privately engage in a cooperation with the Federation of Light without the dynasty’s knowledge, or it would be considered as overstepping his bounds. Thus, he had to inform the dynasty, which was also convenient to show the dynasty his firm killing intent toward EsGod.

Regardless of whether the dynasty was willing to cooperate, the Federation of Light would be dispatched, and the only difference would be whether they encircled EsGod together or separately.

…

At the same time, on the Federation of Light’s spaceship, Mona approached Manison and respectfully said, “The upper echelons have accepted Black Star’s request to encircle EsGod, and they hope that Your Excellency Mechanic Emperor will be able to help since the battlefield will be situated in the Primeval Star River.”

“Got it.”

Manison waved his hands before controlling his host to move toward the porthole, gazing at the shrinking Black Star Army headquarters in the distance.

“No wonder Sorokin suffered a loss here. This guy is one tough nut.” Manison nodded.

He was one of the shareholders of the Limitless Financial Group, and he supplied the financial group with a large amount of mechanical materials yearly. Thus, he had known Sorokin for quite a long time.

The armed force that Sorokin was developing on the Shattered Star Ring was not a secret to Manison. His intelligence web was huge, to the point where even though the Calamity Grade partner of the Beyond Grade A seed Roseau seemed to be working for Sorokin on the surface, he was actually a spy loyal to Manison.

Thus, Manison was aware that Sorokin tried to probe the Black Star Army and ended up suffering in the Gulal Civilization.

Sorokin was interested in the undying troops of the Black Star Army, which were also of interest to Manison. From his point of view, Black Star’s immortal troops were akin to his Indestructible Mechanic Empire, just that Manison’s army was larger. Thus, he was not as eager as Sorokin was.

What he was most concerned about now was the Spacetime Amber.

As for the Evolution Cube, he was not too interested in it.

The theory behind the Evolution Cube was unknown, and it was impossible for the genetic optimization to be adjusted. He was different from EsGod in this regard; Manison did not like things that could not be controlled.

…

On the mother planet of the Crimson Dynasty, Urranrell put down the report in her hand. Facing the long distance projection of Tarrokov, she expressionlessly asked, “You’re saying, Black Star took the initiative to contact you, saying that the Federation of Light had contacted him, wishing to reconcile with him, and he persuaded them to prepare to encircle EsGod together?”

“Yes.” Tarrokov nodded.

Not too long ago, Han Xiao had contacted him once more and roughly summarized the events for him. After ending the call, he had immediately reported upward to Urranrell, conveying Han Xiao’s intentions.

“Hmm…” Urranrell leaned back in her chair, her hand rapping on the table as she turned to look at her confidant, Clotti. “What do you think?”

“Black Star did not ask the dynasty in advance and privately found a collaborator without permission. He has crossed the line, forgetting his identity now that he has made some achievements.” Clotti’s tone was indifferent, and he did not like or dislike Han Xiao, merely speaking his mind.

“It’s not that serious. In fact, it’s a good thing. Plus, he reported it immediately. This minor issue is not worth pursuing.” Urranrell waved her hands. “I know that he wishes to kill EsGod more than anyone else. He’s probably worried that EsGod will still eye the Evolution Cube and will make a comeback.”

She pondered for a while before making a decision.

“Since the Federation of Light wishes to participate, pull aboard the Arcane Church. Let’s have a three-pronged operation.”

Because EsGod had turned traitor, it resulted in huge losses for the Arcane Church. Thus, the Arcane Church would definitely remember this grudge. Furthermore, because they had worked together with EsGod during the battle of Planet Lighthouse, it had caused some negative public opinion within the interstellar society. There was an urgent need for them to express their position against EsGod.

In this regard, EsGod was just like a chamber pot. When there was a need, they would take it out to use, but once they had utilized it, they would find it smelly and kick it back into the corner once more.

Urranrell’s idea was to drag the Arcane Church down as well, to relieve the pressure on the dynasty. If they were going to fight, all of them should do so. No one should sit by the side and watch.

Furthermore, eliminating the EsGod would also help to fulfil Black Star’s wishes.

…

In a certain desolate universe belt of the Primeval Star River, EsGod’s fleet was currently cruising along, moving toward the edge of the star field.

In the main hall of the spaceship, Fakisen came up to the throne of the EsGod, awakening the snoozing EsGod.

The dark mist swirled, forming ugly facial features. EsGod opened his eyes, gazing at his assistant before asking indifferently, “What’s the matter?”

“There’s a problem with our main camp. The troops we have in the Central Galaxy have been encircled by the Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church, and our losses are disastrous.”

“Oh, is there anything else?” EsGod nodded as though he did not care.

Fakisen paused for a while before forcing a smile. “We’ve also angered the Arcane Church this time, and they may join hands with the dynasty to send Beyond Grade As after you. Are you not worried?”

“They’re the ones that should be worried, not me.” EsGod closed his eyes again, his tone akin to one dreaming. “I can also test out my strength after my evolution.”

Seeing EsGod once again sink into slumber, Fakisen left the hall. As he closed the door, it covered the ferocious arc of his mouth.

Anger, glee, complacency, resignation… all sorts of complex feelings flashed across.

Chapter 886 - Borrowing Strength

Two days later, Han Xiao called all his officers to his office and informed them that he was going to the Central Galaxy.

Sylvia nodded upon hearing that and asked, “How long will your trip be?”

“I have to see the dynasty’s arrangement. We will only be able to take action after they gather enough manpower.”

“Alright. The affairs of the army will be managed by me, so you don’t have to worry,” Sylvia said.

By the side, Hila said, “I have some things that I need to pack. When will we be leaving?”

Han Xiao shook his head.

“You don’t need to go. I won’t be bringing the Black Star Guards this time.”

Hila froze in place and asked, “Why?”

“Because I will be fighting with EsGod, and you guys won’t be of help. It would be better for all of you to remain in the Shattered Star Ring,” Han Xiao said.

The members of the Black Star Guards were all Calamity Grade elites, and their main responsibility was to deal with the enemies that did not require him to make a personal appearance. There was no need to bring them along to deal with EsGod; they would only be a burden to him. Thus, Han Xiao decided to go alone this time.

“… Alright.” Hila grunted with dissatisfaction and left the room.

She seemed to be agitated again.

Han Xiao laughed in his heart. This was a good thing. Hila was not the crazy individual that she was in her previous life, and it would be good to provide her with timely motivation.

“My sister will be going through a devilish training regime again.” Aurora then looked at Han Xiao and said with worry, “Will there be any danger if you go alone?”

“I’m not taking the Black Star Guards, but I didn’t say that I will be going alone.”

As he said that, Han Xiao turned around to look at Reynold.

“Hmm? Me?” Reynold pointed to himself with a puzzled look on his face.

“That’s right. It’s you.”

“But I still have to manage the logistics…” Reynold did not understand why Han Xiao wanted to bring him along.

“Won’t you get bored if you spend all your time dealing with logistics? Follow me on a walk. Right, who is the vice director of the logistics department?”

“A Calamity Grade Mechanic that joined a few years ago. This is his resume.” Sylvia immediately took out some information.

The army had developed rapidly over the past few years, and Han Xiao had plenty of experts under his charge. There were more and more Calamity Grades working for him, and the number of Calamity Grades he had was more than a Star System civilization. Apart from the Black Star Guards in the Shattered Star Ring, the other Calamity Grades were scattered in other departments and had a respected position.

There were more Calamity Grade Supers who came from the outside, such as Hadavy, Lagi, and so on. There were fewer Calamity Grade Supers that were trained by the army like Herlous, Sylvia, and Reynold.

Han Xiao then flipped through the records and asked, “Does he have any record of accepting bribes, reselling the army’s blueprints, or corruption?”

“No. I would have reported it to you if he did so…” Sylvia burst out in cold sweat.

You are a Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic and probably even know about the size of my undergarments. Is there anything in the base that is hidden from your eyes?

“Then the matters of the logistics department shall be handed over to him temporarily.” Han Xiao then turned around and looked at Reynold. “Nero is still a child, and he will be traumatized if he spends every day studying. I plan to bring him along to tour Planet Crimson Ring. Of course, having a holiday is one thing, but his studies cannot stop.”

Reynold then came to a realization. I see, His Excellency Black Star wants to bring Nero out on a holiday but doesn’t want to let his godson relax completely. Thus, he is also bringing the teacher along.

Sylvia immediately felt her heart turn sour.

I am also His Excellency Black Star’s student! Why is our teacher so biased toward Reynold? I can also be Nero’s teacher!

I also want a holiday!

“Don’t worry, all of you will stay on Planet Crimson Ring when I fight EsGod, and there’s no need to follow me. There won’t be any danger.” Han Xiao then looked at Feidin. “Follow along as well. You can accompany Nero.”

“Alright.” Feidin smiled. “Nero should be very happy.”

I don’t know if he will be happy, but I definitely am…

Han Xiao chuckled to himself.

Han Xiao mainly brought Feidin and Nero along because he believed in luck. After all, it would be difficult for him to deal with EsGod, and bringing two high grade protagonist level characters with him along might increase his chances of success.

The boost from two Advanced Luck Glows was better than an unlucky him working alone.

Han Xiao then set the departure time to two hours later.

Everyone left the room, and Hadavy dragged the napping Lagi out of the room as though he was dragging a bag of rubbish.

After the end of the meeting, Reynold immediately returned to the Logistics Department to give out his instructions before returning to his office and opening a side door.

Nero was currently doing his homework in this side room.

After drinking the dragonblood potion, he did not feel like sleeping at all. Thus, he got into the same napping posture that he had in Planet Aquamarine to try and fall asleep.

After checking Nero’s homework, a bright smile of satisfaction emerged on Reynold’s face. At the very start, he had only taught Nero because it was Han Xiao’s instruction, but throughout the teaching process, he had truly grown to like this student of his as he saw himself in Nero.

Although Nero did not like machines as crazily as him, he was also capable of enduring hardship. Nero had a strength in that he would never skive. Even if the amount of homework that he had drove him to despair, Nero would still complete it earnestly. Reynold truly liked such a student.

After all, the Mechanic Class was different from the other classes; knowledge was power. The better the foundation, the smoother his future would be. Thus, Reynold felt that Nero would definitely be able to go a long way.

Despite having such thoughts in his heart, Reynold naturally would not say that with his personality. He then coughed dryly and said, “Stop doing your work and pack up your things. The Army Commander wants to take you to the Central Galaxy.”

Nero’s eyes immediately sparkled with excitement.

“Godfather is going to bring me out to play! Hahaha… I finally don’t have to do homework!”

Nero then threw his pen down and was agitated to the point he almost teared up.

Godfather still dotes on me!

The tiny bit of resentment in his heart disappeared, and he almost wanted to jump for joy to praise his godfather.

“Pack your things quickly. We will be setting off very soon.”

Nero’s actions froze in place, and he turned around slowly. “Wait… we?”

“The Army Commander wants me to follow along to guide your learning,” Reynold said expressionlessly.

Nero’s face froze in place.

…

Han Xiao and the others then gathered at his private dock. Feidin was the first to arrive, and they chatted for a while before Reynold and Nero arrived.

Nero carried a small bag with a dispirited look.

“Everyone’s here. Let’s set off.”

Han Xiao led everyone onto the spaceship and got Phillip to activate the autopilot mode.

The spaceship then flew into space and entered hyperdrive.

He had gone to the Central Galaxy the previous year and was already familiar with the journey.

After flying for a period of time, they arrived at the army stargate and skipped past many Star Fields to arrive at the Crimson Ring Star System. Under the guidance of the army, they then weaved through the Psionic Seal Ring and arrived at Planet Crimson Ring.

“This is the capital of the Crimson Dynasty…” Reynold looked at the various mechanical structures around him and murmured in awe.

“How magnificent.” Nero looked out of the window. This was far more spectacular than his home planet, Planet Aquamarine.

As their spaceship landed, there was already a dynasty’s emissary waiting for them at the dock. Bowing to Han Xiao respectfully, the emissary led the group into Tarunamir Palace.

This was the legendary capital of a Universal Civilization. Nero was extremely curious about everything, and if not for his godfather, he would never have been able to visit this place in his lifetime.

The emissary then said with a smile, “Your Excellency Black Star, we will be in charge of all of your daily needs. Please find me if you need anything.”

“Hmm, then why not take them to explore this place? The mother planet of the dynasty is very big, and you can show them all the fun places,” Han Xiao said.

“Godfather, aren’t you going to come along with us?”

“I still have something else to do and have to meet the Dynasty Ruler.”

Han Xiao waved his hands and headed toward the core political building where Urranrell was. He had already reported his arrival, and Urranrell was waiting to see him.

Han Xiao arrived outside the office of the Ruler quickly.

The secretary knocked on the door, and Urranrell’s voice could be heard from the inside.

“Please enter.”

The door opened, and Han Xiao walked in.

This was the second time that he had seen the Ruler, and just like the first time, only the two of them were in the room.

“Black Star, you’re here. Please take a seat,” Urranrell said.

Han Xiao nodded, and just as he sat down, Urranrell continued speaking.

“You rendered huge merits during the battle at Planet Lighthouse. Good job.”

Urranrell had only praised him through long-distance communication previously and would naturally have to give a personal praise to Han Xiao now that they had met each other.

“I only did something small,” Han Xiao replied.

“You’re too humble. The dynasty will always reward those with merit, and you should already know that we will increase our support to you in terms of resources and give you some benefits when assigning the territories for the Flickering World.”

Urranrell then paused for a while before slowly saying, “I can give you a heads up. After the end of the first developmental phase, we will set up various basic facilities in the different Star Clusters and assign some territories to our allied organizations. You can give some suggestions on the topic of territory assignment, and we will consider your suggestions seriously.”

Han Xiao raised his brows. This was akin to letting him pick the first territory. It probably was not only for his merits but also to rope him in.

The development of a new Star Field was a long-term plan, and the dynasty was not anxious. After the exploration would be development. They would have to first develop the various regions that they had explored before expanding out into the other Star Clusters. At that time, the various allies would surely receive more than one piece of territory.

This was good for Han Xiao. He would be able to gain a territory after the first phase was over and could officially develop his Mechanical Life civilization and shift the Black Spirit Race over.

He would have a lot more freedom in his own territory compared to in the Shattered Star Ring and would not have to share a region with the other Star System Civilizations.

“I’m looking forward to it.” Han Xiao smiled.

“Hmm, let’s talk about some proper matters. The dynasty has summoned you this time for two matters. First, the dynasty promised the Arcane Church to help them unseal one of the Beyond Grade As, and we need your help.”

Han Xiao nodded to indicate his agreement.

“The second matter is to surround EsGod. It is also related to the first matter. The Arcane Church will only agree to join in the battle if you unseal one seal.”

Han Xiao was slightly shocked upon hearing that.

The Arcane Church was also dragged into it?

He did not receive news of this beforehand and was a little surprised.

“Isn’t it only the Federation of Light? The Arcane Church is…”

“This is my intention. Since you pulled the Federation of Light into this, I called the Arcane Church along, and they are willing to help us.”

This was an unexpected surprise. With the Arcane Church joining, the three Universal Civilizations were working together, so they would have a greater chance of getting rid of EsGod!

Han Xiao pretended to ponder for a moment before saying with a smile, “We were the only ones involved originally, but with the three Universal Civilizations working together, we can save a lot of effort.”

“This isn’t the only reason. It is also because of you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, the dynasty can feel your murderous intent toward EsGod, and we chose to do so to fulfill your wish.”

Han Xiao was truly overwhelmed with grace.

This meant that his suggestion had influenced the decision of the dynasty!

“You are an important ally of the dynasty, and we will naturally respect your thoughts.” Urranrell paused for a moment before continuing. “We shall end the conversation here today. I still have some things to take care of, and the Arcane Church fleet has not arrived yet. Remain on Planet Crimson Ring for a while, and we will inform you of the exact time of the operation.”

“Okay.”

Han Xiao could tell that the other party was inviting him to leave.

It seems like the Dynasty Ruler is truly busy.

Han Xiao then stood up and took his leave.

Hearing the door behind him close, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief and was truly excited.

The Crimson Dynasty originally only planned to put up a show to deal with EsGod, but he caused the three Universal Civilizations to work together!

This situation was because of his suggestion, and the outcome was better than he had imagined!

His resolution to get rid of EsGod was recognized by the dynasty, and there was also the effect of the Political Asset.

The influence that he had accumulated over the years was finally effective!

“It’s payback time.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

Chapter 887 - Troops Established

Leaving the government building, Han Xiao’s communicator rang. It was Milizaus who called him.

“Black Star, are you on Planet Crimson Ring already?” Milizaus chuckled.

“Yes, are you here too? I didn’t see you around.”

“I haven’t arrived yet. We are having a long-distance gathering. Come online for a while.”

“Alright.” Han Xiao entered the quantum network and found an encrypted channel.

The next moment, his projection appeared in a huge room with a round table in front of him and plenty of seats around. His own projection was currently in one of the seats. Most of the seats were filled with only four empty ones at the moment.

Han Xiao then looked around and realized that everyone present was an ally of the dynasty. It was like a Beyond Grade A group chat for the Crimson Dynasty.

Without anybody organizing a meeting, the ‘group chat’ would usually be silent with no one online. Currently, most of the Beyond Grade As were online, and many familiar faces were present. That included ‘Dragon King’ Milizaus, ‘Incineration’ Beyoni, ‘Warship Emperor’ Maximiler, ‘Fox Arts’ Ravenlaude, ‘Star Slasher’ Viru, and Little Ty-Ty. ‘Dark Lord’ Clotti and another of the three pillars were not online.

“Haha, Black Star is here.” Beyoni was the most welcoming, and he looked very happy.

Everyone then looked at Han Xiao and greeted him. The two who fought with him on Planet Lighthouse were the friendliest. Maximiler was also pretty friendly. Ravenlaude and Heber greeted him calmly, and the others had a trace of respect in their voices.

After the battle on Planet Lighthouse, Han Xiao had gained the battle record of capturing a Beyond Grade A alive, which cemented his status in the Beyond Grade A group.

Although Han Xiao had only entered the Beyond Grade A realm not too long ago, he had already gained the respect of his comrades and was officially accepted into the group. He was now at the middle rungs of the group and had an even greater status than some ordinary Beyond Grade As. At the very least, there would not be anyone who intentionally provoked him anymore.

Fists reigned supreme after all, and the Beyond Grade As only respected strength.

Facing the friendly looks on the faces of his comrades, Han Xiao replied to all of them warmly.

After which, the organizer of this meeting, Milizaus, started the meeting.

“The other four aren’t coming, and there isn’t a need to consider them. Let’s begin our discussion. Everyone knows that the dynasty plans to send out at least three Beyond Grade As to kill EsGod and has prepared a name list. However, they would like to ask us if we are willing first. There isn’t a need to talk about Black Star since he is resolute about killing EsGod. I also plan to help him. Is anyone else interested?”

A Universal Civilization could not easily order a Beyond Grade A around and would generally consider if the Beyond Grade A Super was willing to participate in the operation.

Everyone then fell into deep thought while glancing at Han Xiao once in a while.

Han Xiao looked around and felt Milizaus looking at him. He immediately understood Milizaus’ intentions.

Milizaus had heard from the dynasty about Han Xiao’s intention to kill EsGod and thus summoned most of the dynasty’s Beyond Grade As. In fact, he was trying to find partners for Han Xiao and give Han Xiao a chance to choose his teammates.

Right at this moment, Beyoni shrugged his shoulders and said, “Black Star, you were around when we last fought EsGod. It isn’t that I don’t wish to help you, but I am also an Esper, and EsGod’s ability is my nemesis. I shall not take up a slot in this battle.”

Han Xiao nodded in agreement. Indeed, EsGod had the ability to silence Espers and was the nemesis of most Espers. Beyoni was not wrong to say that he would be useless if he went.

However, understanding was one thing, but he still had to show disdain.

Ah, little brother.

I only have a single word for you—noob!

Upon seeing the rest remain silent, Han Xiao said, “The Dynasty Ruler revealed some information to me just now. The dynasty isn’t the only one taking action this time; the Federation of Light and Arcane Church will also be participating. With all three parties working together, they won’t be putting up a show. There is a good chance to get rid of EsGod. I definitely won’t let go of this opportunity, and I will definitely be thankful to anyone who is willing to help me.”

Upon hearing that, the eyes of many lit up. This meant that they would be able to use the Evolution Cube if they helped Black Star get rid of EsGod.

“I will participate.” Ravenlaude was the first to speak.

“Alright, who else?” Milizaus asked calmly.

As an Ancient One, both him and Ravenlaude were not easy to deal with. Although their relationship was not good, he also recognized Ravenlaude’s strength. An ordinary Beyond Grade A was not capable of becoming an Ancient One. Milizaus would naturally be willing to select a few more powerful allies for Black Star.

There was no need to consider the other two pillars. Clotti would keep guard beside Urranrell, and the other one was guarding a Star Field.

Heber was also tempted but could not bring himself to offer help.

Some rejected and others were not too interested. Finally, more than half of the Beyond Grade As present decided to participate in the operation. Together with Han Xiao, there were seven individuals in total.

Milizaus, Maximiler, Ravenlaude, Viru, Kohler, and Lotus Swordsman—these six were his comrades participating in the operation to get rid of EsGod. Kohler was a Pugilist, and Lotus Swordsman was a female Psychic. There was not a single Esper among the group.

“Will seven of us be too many? Will the dynasty agree?” Ravenlaude asked.

“We can help him in our personal capacity if the dynasty doesn’t agree. Can the dynasty object?” Lotus Swordsman said.

The Crimson Dynasty originally planned to send out three to five people, but because Han Xiao had promised to use the Evolution Cube as a reward, the troop had seven individuals, which was out of the dynasty’s expectations.

However, the dynasty did not have any issue with it. After all, it would not be good for them to stop their allies from seeking help personally. Furthermore, it was not a bad thing either.

Han Xiao then sized up this female Psychic. She had long white hair and violet skin. Her appearance looked similar to that of a human, and she was considered beautiful by the standards of the galaxy. She gave out a dreamlike aura and had a unique sense of charisma.

Lotus Swordsman was her name, not a title. Swordsman was her surname, and Lotus was her forename.

She came from a special race called the Rainis Race. The members of this race did not have any gender before the age of fifteen, and their bodies would undergo a special transformation at the age of fifteen. They could become a female or male, and this ceremony would be called the ‘Gender Determination Ceremony’. Once their gender was decided, they would not be able to change it in the future.

As such, the race put heavy emphasis on splitting up the workload evenly. However, because the Gender Determination Ceremony affected one’s life, there were far too many people who chose to become males every year. Even if society increased the benefits and status of females, the birth rate was still falling.

As such, the Rainis Race had a quota of females to fulfill every year to ensure that their race could continue to reproduce. Lotus Swordsman was one of the unlucky candidates to be picked when she was young and forced to become a female.

Despite the Rainis Race producing a Beyond Grade A Super, they did not receive any protection. Lotus Swordsman had long announced that the Rainis Race had nothing to do with her and managed her own organization.

Their other comrade, Kohler, was a Beyond Grade A who had completely submitted to the dynasty. He did not have an organization, and although his strength could not be compared to Heber, he was still a Beyond Grade A.

“I will have to rely on all of you for help,” Han Xiao said sincerely.

After chatting a while longer, Milizaus announced the end of the meeting and informed the dynasty of the outcome.

Han Xiao then left the quantum network and heaved a sigh of relief.

His teammates had already been set. With the dynasty sending out seven people, there would definitely be more than ten Beyond Grade As together with the other two parties. The scale of the battle might reach the same level as the battle on Planet Lighthouse.

But this time, all of them were going to deal with EsGod alone, and EsGod’s situation was far worse than the dynasty’s during the battle on Planet Lighthouse.

Han Xiao clenched his fists in excitement and prepared for battle!

Chapter 888 - Future Dynasty Ruler

The dynasty’s team had been decided. A group of seven Beyond Grade As was an extremely powerful force, and the number had exceeded Han Xiao and the dynasty’s expectations. The dynasty agreed to the list of members of the team and gathered their fleet to prepare for the battle.

Before dealing with EsGod, they had to first complete the trade with the Arcane Church.

The Arcane Church escort fleet was still on the way, and Han Xiao was awaiting his orders on Planet Crimson Ring. He could take the time out to accompany Nero and the others to explore Planet Crimson Ring.

Planet Crimson Ring was extremely large with plenty of floating cities in the sky. There were many sights that were famous in the universe. Furthermore, Planet Crimson Ring was the origin of the Crimson Dynasty Civilization, and many historical locations from a long time ago were retained.

Under the lead of the tour guide, Han Xiao and the others spent this time exploring many different tourist locations.

Han Xiao belonged to the dynasty faction in his previous life and had naturally explored the mother planet of the dynasty before. Because he was familiar with the situation on the planet, he was not too curious and was mainly there to accompany Nero and the others.

Planet Crimson Ring had plenty of rich mission resources, but to the present Han Xiao, the value of these missions was not great. Furthermore, his current status was different, and his every action would be watched by others. As such, it was impossible for him to become an errand boy for someone else.

Most importantly, there were many familiar missions and characters that had not appeared at this time yet.

Today, their group arrived at the Saint Palace Museum of the dynasty.

This museum was the largest one in the Crimson Dynasty and had objects from every historical period during the development of the Crimson Dynasty.

The Saint Palace Museum was a large garden with dozens of different palaces. The palaces all had different styles to represent the different time period of the dynasty.

The advantage of having the dynasty’s tour guide beside them was that they did not need to queue up or buy an entrance ticket. Han Xiao led Feidin, Reynold, and Reynold to skip the long queue and entered the museum through a special entrance.

Their special privilege drew the attention of those queuing up, and everyone began whispering to each other.

“That seems to be Black Star from the Shattered Star Ring. I saw him on the news before.”

“To think that we’d be able to meet such a bigshot. How lucky.”

“Quick, take a picture!”

These tourists were all extremely excited and took out their cameras to take pictures. A Beyond Grade A Super was an individual who truly held great authority and was completely different from these ordinary galactic residents. Now that they had met Han Xiao, it was like meeting a famous celebrity on the streets.

These tourists came from many different races and civilizations. The Psionic Seal Ring was there to protect the mother planet but not to seal off the mother planet. At the very least, they would not do so during this generation. It was just that every visitor had to go through stringent checks and could only spend a limited time on the planet.

Every year, Planet Crimson Ring would welcome a huge number of tourists to support the local tourist industry. The dynasty was not interested in that little bit of money but in increasing the influence of the dynasty’s culture through tourism.

Han Xiao and the others walked into the museum and entered the main palace under the tour guide’s lead.

Compared to the bustle on the outside, the palace was extremely silent and had a solemn atmosphere.

The main palace described the development direction of the Crimson Dynasty, and everyone listened to the explanation of the tour guide as they looked through the various objects being displayed.

Nero was filled with curiosity toward the dynasty’s history and looked through the introduction of every item. Feidin followed behind Nero and was also pretty interested in the items being displayed. Reynold’s attention was mainly focused on the various ancient machines being displayed. Although these machines were considered outdated compared to the current technology, Reynold was still more interested in these items than the others.

Han Xiao walked the fastest and arrived in front of ten gigantic black stone slabs. The height of the ten stone slabs almost reached the ceiling of the palace, and the history of the Crimson Dynasty was written down from the beginning to now. The development of the Crimson Dynasty had not always been smooth.

The Crimson Dynasty was also once weak and had been through many struggles such as civil war and revolutionary attempts.

The advancement of their genes brought about risk of mutation. The advancement of the machines and artificial intelligence risked the betrayal of the intelligent machines. The use of heavy machines brought about changes to the environment… As their technological skills advanced, the civilization also met many different forks in the road.

There were plenty of other dangers such as the various wormholes, pandemics, exploration wars, and so on. Through the many tribulations that the Crimson Dynasty had experienced, they finally developed their iron-blooded character.

They grew from a weak civilization into one of the rulers in the universe. They had been through plenty of tribulations throughout this period, and the ten stone slabs recorded the price that they had to pay to get there.

In front of the history of an entire civilization, everyone seemed extremely small.

Just when Han Xiao fell into a daze while looking at the stone slabs, an old voice sounded beside him.

“I’m always in awe whenever I see these stone slabs.”

Han Xiao turned around and saw an old man wearing the uniform of the museum. He had a compassionate look in his eyes with his back straight as though he was a soldier.

“That’s right. Every civilization capable of reaching the universe level deserves to be respected,” Han Xiao replied.

The old man then nodded and turned around to look at Han Xiao. With a smile, he said, “Let me introduce myself. I am the vice manager of the Saint Palace museum, Karl Fleur Wishandi. Hello, Your Excellency Black Star.”

“Hello.” Han Xiao also nodded, but his heart began thumping.

Karl Fleur Wishandi? This name sounds so familiar…

Usually, the names that he found familiar would be the famous characters from his previous life. Han Xiao immediately began searching through his database while talking to the vice manager.

Karl was a healthy old man who did not seem too concerned about Han Xiao’s status and talked to Han Xiao on equal grounds.

“I have always been interested in the history of the dynasty and have guarded the museum for many years. I enjoy protecting the items in this place.” Karl stroked the stone slab in front of him and lamented.

Han Xiao glanced at the ‘Do Not Touch’ sign by the side and decided to ignore the vice manager breaking the rules.

“Vice Manager Karl, did you use to be a soldier?”

“That’s right. I served in the Seventh Reconnaissance Corps of the dynasty when I was young and joined in twenty-three battles. I was then transferred to become a long-distance commander before landing an admin job. I served in the army for more than half my life and applied to retire. Then, I became the vice manager of the museum.”

Rather than saying that he was explaining his origins to Han Xiao, it was more like he was talking to himself and reminiscing about the past.

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao’s eyes lit up, and he finally remembered who the person beside him was!

More accurately, the retired soldier beside him was not a famous NPC, but his descendant was famous throughout the universe.

Karl’s surname was ‘Fleur Wishandi’, and one of the future Rulers of the Crimson Dynasty had such a surname!

It was very likely that the future Ruler of the dynasty was the descendant of this old man before him!

It could be said that he had met a large fish this time!

Han Xiao then turned around to look at Nero and Feidin slowly.

They are truly terrifying…

Of course, according to the time, that Dynasty Ruler might not have been born yet. However, there was still value in befriending him, and it could be said that the value was even higher.

Han Xiao then said with a smile, “I joined the dynasty recently, and I am also very curious about the dynasty’s history. I wonder if you will be interested in giving me an introduction?”

“It would be my honor to introduce the dynasty’s history to a Beyond Grade A ally.” Karl laughed heartily.

As a retired soldier of the older generation, he was very willing to narrate the dynasty’s history to others.

For the entire day, Karl snatched the job of the tour guide and accompanied Han Xiao and the others to view the other palaces.

Since Han Xiao intended to befriend the other party, both of them chatted merrily for the entire day and agreed to continue the next day.

For the next two days, Han Xiao followed Karl to explore the Saint Palace Museum and finally finished viewing all the palaces at night.

Han Xiao then invited Karl to go out for a meal, but Karl did not accept the invitation. Instead, he invited Han Xiao to be a guest at his place and said that he would personally cook.

At the appointed date, Han Xiao and the others headed toward Karl’s residence.

As a retired, high-ranking officer, Karl received special treatment from the government and had a small villa on the mother planet of the dynasty. It was not too far from Tarunamir Palace and was pretty convenient to reach.

Han Xiao and the others arrived in front of the villa, and Nero knocked on the door.

Everyone waited for a while, and a middle-aged man pushed open the door.

“Hello, Your Excellency Black Star, please come in,” the middle-aged man said with a face of excitement and respect.

This middle-aged man was Karl’s eldest son and was working for the Crimson Dynasty. With his father’s connections, he had climbed to the middle rungs but was still nothing much before Han Xiao.

Knowing that his father had befriended a Beyond Grade A Super, he was extremely excited and made plenty of preparations for the gathering that night.

Walking into the hall, Karl’s head appeared from the kitchen, and he said, “Your Excellency Black Star, please sit for a while. The dishes will be served in a while.”

“Don’t worry, take your time. We have plenty of time.” Han Xiao waved his hands.

They then sat down on the couch in the living room. Karl had another two children, with the middle child being a daughter and the youngest child being a son. The former was an entrepreneur who managed a galactic travel agency, and the latter was a sculptor. Both of them were extremely respectful and looked extremely nervous.

Looking around at the decorations of the room, Han Xiao saw the picture of a lady being hung on the wall. She should be Karl’s late wife.

Karl had three children, and Han Xiao did not know which branch the future Dynasty Ruler came from. It was not that he could not remember but that he did not study the matter in such great detail in his previous life. However, according to the occupations of the three children, it should probably be the descendant of the eldest son.

Karl’s eldest son intended to befriend him with a fawning tone in his voice. As for Karl’s other two children, they did not dare speak up much.

Han Xiao chatted casually with Karl’s eldest son for a while before Karl walked out of the kitchen with the dishes and called for everyone to come and eat.

The dishes were all common household dishes from the Crimson Dynasty and were all very tasty. Nero ate to his heart’s content, and Karl’s eldest son snatched Feidin’s job to help serve Nero food.

After the meal, Karl’s daughter and youngest son took the initiative to clear up, and the others returned to the living room. It could be seen just how happy Karl was today, and he was truly full of smiles.

“Your Excellency Black Star still has the greatest face. These three little b*stards, always complaining that they are busy every day and do not have the time to meet me. But the moment you arrived, they all ran over obediently. Especially this little brat, he is even more passionate than this old man.”

Karl chuckled.

“Cough cough.” Karl’s eldest son coughed awkwardly.

Han Xiao then chuckled and asked Karl’s eldest son, “What is your position in the Crimson Dynasty?”

Karl’s eldest son immediately lit up and described his post.

“Oh, it isn’t too bad for you to be able to sit on such a post.” Han Xiao stroked his chin and added, “You can always find me if you need any help in the future. Give me your number.”

“That’s great! Thank you, Your Excellency Black Star!” Karl’s eldest son was overjoyed.

He was so passionate about hosting Han Xiao so that he could receive Black Star’s protection. His political sense was not too poor, and Black Star’s status was extremely high. Together with the fact that the Dynasty Ruler paid close attention to Black Star, Black Star’s protection would result in a positive impact for his career.

Furthermore, with Black Star’s age, he would be able to protect the Crimson Dynasty for a long time and would definitely have a higher status in the future.

Karl did not like his eldest son’s style and felt as though his eldest son made his friendship with Black Star become complicated. However, he would not stop his eldest son’s opportunity and could only pretend that he did not see anything.

“Right, I also brought a gift for you.” Han Xiao smiled.

“Sigh, a gift isn’t necessary.” Karl waved his arms.

“How could that do? I can’t possibly come empty handed.”

Han Xiao then snapped his fingers, and ten compressed orbs landed on the table.

“I personally made these mechanical guards. They are equipped with a transmitter to send a signal to me. You can press this button when you meet danger, and I will know that you guys are in danger. I will then be able to send my Mechanical Force through the void dimension to activate these mechanical guards and protect all of you. The mechanical guards that are boosted by my Mechanical Force should be able to deal with Calamity Grade dangers.”

“Wouldn’t this be too precious?” Karl hesitated.

Han Xiao laughed upon hearing that and said, “Hahaha, I am a Mechanic.”

“Alright then, I shall thank you for your gift.” Karl then accepted the ten compressed orbs.

He was already old, and even if he did not care about his own safety, he had to consider his future generations.

The mechanical guards of a Beyond Grade A had enormous value. Black Star’s life span was very long, and as long as Black Star remained alive, these ten compressed orbs would be like a family heirloom!

After giving out the gift, both parties were much closer than before. After chatting a while longer, Han Xiao took his leave.

Upon leaving Karl’s villa, Han Xiao’s mouth curled up slightly in a smile.

He had befriended the ancestors of a future Dynasty Ruler. If he really became the senior of a future Dynasty Ruler, things would be interesting.

This small investment had a chance of bringing him huge returns, and there was no reason for him not to make such an investment.

Thinking about it, Han Xiao stroked Nero’s head.

Nero enjoyed the feeling of Han Xiao patting him on the head, and he looked at Han Xiao.

“You are really my little star of fortune.” Han Xiao chuckled.

Nero blinked, and although he did not understand what Han Xiao meant, he could tell that Han Xiao was in a good mood. Thus, he made use of this opportunity to ask, “Then, can my homework be reduced?”

“Sure. In your dreams.”

Nero then shook his head to shake Han Xiao’s hand off and placed his bag above his head to prevent Han Xiao from patting him.

…

Han Xiao spent the following days casually in this manner, taking Nero and the others out to tourist hotspots while farming favorability with Karl’s family. After some time, the dynasty finally sent him some news.

The Arcane Church’s troops had arrived at the transaction location, and he could set off.

Han Xiao left Nero and the others on the dynasty’s mother planet and followed the dynasty’s fleet on his own.

Chapter 889 - EsGod“s Preparation

Region 1749-C was the border between the Constellation Corridor and Silver Arm, and the Crimson Dynasty and Arcane Church had a large number of troops stationed there.

It only took Han Xiao a few days to arrive at the borders with the various stargates of the dynasty. This was the transaction location for the dynasty and Arcane Church.

Their battleship stopped beside the outpost, and Han Xiao’s spaceship received a message from the outpost commander.

“Your Excellency Black Star, the Arcane Church escort fleet has arrived. They are waiting to complete the transaction with us. The location of the transaction is on an uninhabited planet between the two borders. His Excellency Milizaus and the outpost fleet will escort you to the destination.”

“Milizaus is also here?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

Just when he asked that question, the old dragon’s voice sounded in the channel.

“I arrived a long time ago and have waited here for a long time already. The dynasty only wanted me to come as a precautionary measure. Although the odds of anything going wrong are slim, we cannot ignore the possibility that the other party may want to snatch the Spacetime Amber.”

“Hmm, alright.” Han Xiao nodded. “Commander, we can set off now.”

A fleet of heavy-armored battleships flew out from the outpost, and Milizaus’ gigantic body followed beside them.

The fleet did not enter hyperdrive but relied on their thrusters only. After flying for a short while, an uninhabited planet appeared in their sights.

The Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty’s fleet had already arrived on the planet, and both parties were currently in a standoff outside the atmosphere. In the middle of the standoff was an Arcane Church escort fleet with the sealed Dylan being placed on the ground.

The dynasty had agreed to unseal Dylan. The weakest individual would usually receive special treatment from the enemy.

Han Xiao first scanned the situation on the planet and confirmed that there was no trap.

However, he had been caught off guard by the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device in the battle on Planet Lighthouse. Thus, he did not lower his guard.

“We have arrived. Your Excellency Black Star, let’s go.” In the bridge of the flagship, the dynasty emissary invited Han Xiao to set off with him.

Han Xiao nodded and left the spaceship.

The surface of the red planet got closer and closer to him.

Han Xiao landed on the ground and stepped on the sandy surface.

Walking in front of the Arcane Church squad, he looked at Dylan, who was trapped in the amber.

The dynasty emissary then talked to the Arcane Church emissary for a while before nodding to Han Xiao.

“Your Excellency Black Star, please release the seal.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao stepped forward and stood in front of Dylan. He then turned around to look at the Arcane Church escort squad.

Great Mechanic Han then raised his brows and stomped on the ground lightly.

The next moment, the ground transformed into nano alloys, and a large metal wall was erected from the ground to ensure that no one would be able to see what was going on in the region.

Black Star obviously did not want to show others his method to unseal the seal. Everyone could only wait silently with disappointment.

After a full ten minutes, the alloy wall collapsed and returned to Han Xiao’s palms. Dylan’s seal had already disappeared, and he collapsed onto the ground with a look of fear in his eyes.

“Your Excellency Dylan, are you alright?” The Arcane Church escort squad immediately went to support him.

“I’m alright.”

Dylan snapped back into his senses and stood up on his own while glaring at Han Xiao with enmity, anger, and fear.

“How have you been over the past few months?” Han Xiao squinted and chucked.

Dylan trembled and subconsciously took a step back.

His body had been sealed by the Spacetime Amber, but his thoughts had not been. He could clearly feel his body but was unable to control it. Such a feeling was unbearable as though he was possessed by a ghost. During the period when he was sealed, Dylan felt like every day was a year and had almost gone mad.

If not for the mental strength and will of a Beyond Grade A being extremely powerful, he felt that he might have truly been driven insane.

Although a few months of captivity was not enough to wipe out his consciousness, Dylan could feel his soul becoming weaker. If he continued to remain trapped, it was very likely that his soul would have been wiped out!

Such a possibility made Dylan tremble in fear.

It was not only capable of trapping his body but also capable of wiping out his consciousness. Even a Beyond Grade A was unable to resist it. The terrifying might of the Spacetime Amber truly made him tremble, and he never wanted to experience it again.

Han Xiao then looked around and suddenly said, “The seal has been undone. Where is your ambush? It’s time for them to come out.”

He had always felt that the Arcane Church would arrange for their troops in the nearby region, and these troops would appear right after the transaction was completed.

“We don’t have an ambush,” the Arcane Church emissary replied.

“Really? I thought that you guys would try and deal with me. This time, not only will you be able to snatch the Evolution Cube, you guys will also be able to get the Spacetime Amber. I never thought that there really wouldn’t be an ambush around…” Han Xiao shook his head and chuckled. “It seems like you guys are really scared of me.”

The face of the Arcane Church emissary turned frosty.

Black Star had already used his strength to prove himself. In consideration for the other allies that were still sealed, they did not intend to take any risks. Furthermore, they were located at the border between both the civilizations, and the dynasty still had their guard up. It would be impossible for them to prepare an ambush.

Of course, aside from all these excuses, the truth was that they were truly afraid.

It was because Han Xiao said the truth that his words stabbed right into their hearts.

The Arcane Church emissary gritted his teeth and replied, “Since our transaction is complete, we shall take our leave. I hope that we will be able to complete similar transactions in the future.”

Han Xiao then stroked his chin and said, “Are you just going to leave like that, Dylan? Do you want to stay behind and catch up with me?”

The Arcane Church emissary immediately became wary and asked, “Your Excellency Black Star, what do you want to do?”

The transaction location was located at the border because both parties were wary of each other. The dynasty was afraid that the Arcane Church might launch another ambush, and the Arcane Church was afraid that the dynasty would go back on their word and capture Dylan again. With both parties wary of each other, it was extremely easy for the Arcane Church to misunderstand Han Xiao’s words.

“Why are you so nervous? Are you afraid that I will snatch him back?” Han Xiao smirked.

The Arcane Church emissary remained silent and did not respond.

Dylan then gritted his teeth and replied, “I will pay a visit to the Black Star Army in the future if there is a chance!”

“Then I hope that you will come with good will.” Han Xiao raised his brows. “If not, history will probably repeat itself.”

Upon hearing that, Dylan shrunk back and did not say another word.

A few rays of light then landed on Dylan and the others, sucking them back into the battleship.

Han Xiao looked at Dylan ascending into the sky and the Arcane Church fleet leaving the planet.

“The transaction is complete. Let’s return.”

Han Xiao patted the emissary on the shoulders with a teasing look on his face.

The Arcane Church would definitely ask Dylan about how he felt when he was sealed. Dylan would cooperate, and the Arcane Church would know that the seal could cause the death of one’s consciousness.

The Arcane Church originally was not clear that being sealed by the Spacetime Amber had a risk of death, and after receiving the report from Dylan, they would be anxious to release the seals on the others.

This way, they would be at a disadvantage in their negotiations with the dynasty. In order to save time, they would have to accept some more ridiculous terms from the dynasty.

Their outcome could only be described with a single word—pitiful.

“Heh, I extorted a great deal out of them again.” Han Xiao chuckled.

The happiness of an individual was usually built upon the suffering of others.

The transaction went smoothly, and Han Xiao followed the fleet back to the border outpost. He then received news from the upper echelons that the Arcane Church would send their Beyond Grade A combatants to participate in the operation to kill EsGod.

The allies who agreed to participate in the operation were already headed to the gathering point before heading over to Primeval Star River together.

Milizaus then came over to Han Xiao. “Black Star, I am preparing to head over to the gathering point. Do you have anything else to do?”

“I also planned to go now.”

“Alright, then let’s go together. My injuries from the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter haven’t healed yet. Do you still have that medicine?”

“Oh, I still have the medicine, but… you should understand the meaning of equal exchange, right?”

“Speak, how much dragon’s blood do you want? Do you want mine?”

“Cough cough. Let’s talk along the way.” Han Xiao’s mouth cramped up.

Indeed, as long as an individual broke their bottom line once, there would be a second time.

Milizaus originally refused to give Han Xiao his own blood, but after seeing Han Xiao gather quite a bit of his blood, he decided to just give up entirely. Since the other party already had his blood, a little more would not make a difference.

They did not remain at the border any longer and set off together.

The security in the dynasty was pretty good, and apart from Milizaus being a little anemic, they did not face any problems along the way. They were the first to reach the gathering point and waited for their allies to join them.

…

At the same time, in a desolate universe belt of the Primeval Star River, the Fallen Ark floated above a Fixed Star with its energy shield blocking out the powerful radiation.

In the command room of the flagship, Fakisen looked out of the window at a spot on the surface of the Fixed Star, which was where EsGod had landed. A whirlpool-like energy spiral could be seen with EsGod at the center.

The energy of a Fixed Star was far too blinding, and even with his Calamity Grade senses, he was unable to see EsGod’s figure clearly. The large energy whirlpool disrupted all the radars on board the spaceship, and the target region was covered with EsGod’s Esper Ability. No one was able to see what EsGod was doing on the Fixed Star.

“His Excellency EsGod has made us wait here for two days already. Just what is he doing?” a member of the spaceship asked impatiently.

“I don’t know,” Fakisen replied.

Two days ago, EsGod got them to await orders outside of this Fixed Star while he landed on the Fixed Star and absorbed energy like a bottomless pit.

At this moment, EsGod had his arms stretched out wide as he absorbed the endless energy of the Fixed Star.

He had an Esper Ability that could absorb the energy of the outside world called ‘Black Hole’. He had once displayed this ability when fighting Han Xiao.

As the energy was absorbed into his body, a black fog-like figure separated from EsGod’s body and transformed into a black crystal-like item that floated beside EsGod.

This black sphere was a doppelganger created by EsGod from absorbing the crazy amount of energy.

The more powerful an individual, the greater the effects of the Evolution Cube. EsGod’s strength received a huge boost, but he could clearly feel that his own body had not been completely transformed. It was as though the evolution energy had sunk into his cells and was like a treasure being sealed in a box.

EsGod did not have an interface and did not know that this was the additional Race Evolution opportunity that he had obtained by using the Evolution Cube. He would only be able to trigger it with a Promotion.

But if he was able to complete this promotion, he would experience a qualitative transformation!

However, the Evolution Cube did not have the ability to increase an individual’s level, and thus, EsGod did not receive this energy at the moment.

Although the evolution ability did not allow EsGod to promote, it released some of the restrictions on EsGod’s body.

For example, gene load!

Because of the conflict between genes, EsGod’s body was not able to contain too many different abilities at the same time. His doppelganger was able to make up for this shortcoming and store certain Esper Abilities, but his main body could not make use of these abilities.

However, there was an obvious disadvantage to this method. The doppelganger created by EsGod was not without any burdens because maintaining the doppelganger required the activation of an Esper Ability.

If EsGod was like a computer, every Esper Ability would be like a program. The upper limit of his main body would be like his RAM, and maintaining a doppelganger was like running a program in the background. It would constantly take up his RAM.

The more powerful his doppelganger and the more doppelgangers he had at the same time, the more RAM it would require.

He needed his RAM to have extra space for him to use other Esper Abilities.

Thus, EsGod would not use his doppelgangers during a head on battle mainly because of this reason. The presence of his doppelgangers would reduce the combat capabilities of his main body.

However, the Evolution Cube had changed this.

Simply put, it increased his RAM and simplified his programs.

The upper limit of his main body was increased, and the load of every Esper Ability was reduced. This meant that he would be able to use more Esper Abilities at the same time.

This strengthened EsGod’s abilities to a large extent!

As such, EsGod was now capable of supporting more Beyond Grade A doppelgangers.

The change in quantity resulted in a change in quality!

It could be said that the improvement from the Evolution Cube changed EsGod’s combat strategy!

EsGod was currently sucking up energy from the Fixed Star so that he could create a large number of doppelgangers and prepare for the enemy’s revenge!

Since he had frustrated the Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty, it would only be a matter of time before both of them attempted to surround him. Since both parties seemed like they were about to take action, he naturally made his own preparations.

EsGod treasured his life a lot as he would only be able to fulfil his wishes if he remained alive. However, he was not afraid of danger either as he would only be able to become stronger by fighting.

The attack of a Universal Civilization would definitely be a good opportunity for him to test his strength. He would only be able to understand his own strength after fighting with other Beyond Grade As.

The attack this time was also an opportunity to him even though the meaning was slightly different.

This was his first battle after his evolution!

EsGod was truly excited in his heart.

He would only know just how strong he had become after testing his strength out.

Chapter 890 - Mission Triggered

The gathering point for the dynasty’s troops was in a military region. This was a key Inter-Star Field Stargate relay point, and the stargate being guarded by the military would lead them directly to the Primeval Star River.

The military stargates of the three Universal Civilizations led to many different regions. With the Central Galaxy as the middle, they had stargates that could reach all the various Star Fields. This was the foundation of protecting their status as the ruler of the universe.

After waiting for a few days, the other few dynasty allies participating in the mission also arrived. After the seven of them were gathered, they boarded the main flagship for their expedition.

In the command room, the seven of them gathered together and greeted each other.

Since they were going to work together, it was important for them to know each other.

During his first trip to the dynasty’s mother planet, Kohler was also present, so they had met before. Lotus Swordsman was the only dynasty ally that he was meeting for the first time.

“Your Excellency Black Star,” Lotus Swordsman said with a calm expression.

“Hello. This is the first time we are meeting, right?” Han Xiao replied politely and stretched out his hand.

Lotus Swordsman then looked at Han Xiao’s palms and hesitated for a moment. She then shook her head and said, “I don’t like others touching my body. I’m sorry.”

“I understand.” Han Xiao was not too bothered and retracted his arm. There were many Beyond Grade As with their own habits, and he would respect the other party.

Right at this moment, Milizaus’ magical doppelganger walked over and patted Han Xiao on the shoulder. “Her Excellency Lotus will be our sharpest sword. Her Psychic abilities are very unique and have a strong penetrative ability.”

“It isn’t that exaggerated,” Lotus Swordsman said. “EsGod also has abilities to protect his soul.”

“Compared to his other abilities, his soul can be considered a weakness.”

Han Xiao nodded upon hearing that. He had fought EsGod three times in total, and together with the information from his previous life, he had a pretty good understanding of EsGod’s abilities.

EsGod’s most frightening advantage was his ability to collect various Esper Abilities, which allowed him to have almost no weaknesses.

He had high mobility abilities such as ‘Dimension Crack’ and ‘Instantaneous Movement’. He also had abilities like ‘Strengthened Self Recovery’ and ‘Black Hole’ to increase his safety. On top of that, he had various powerful attacks, control techniques, defense techniques, and mental attacks. Compared to his physical defense, EsGod’s soul was not as powerful. As such, it would be the most effective to launch a soul attack.

Everyone chatted for a while, and the commander of the flagship walked in. He gave a military salute to the seven Beyond Grade As and said with a deep voice, “The fleet has completed its preparations, and we shall head to the Primeval Star River if there isn’t a problem.”

As one of the three pillars in the dynasty, Milizaus had the highest status in the team. He looked around, and upon seeing that no one had any objections, he nodded.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

The commander then walked forward to the control panel and gave a strict order. “The EsGod encirclement mission shall officially commence. All forces set off!”

The dynasty fleet began moving toward the stargate.

Right at this moment, Han Xiao’s expression changed slightly.

The instant the commander announced the commencement of the mission, two notifications popped up on his interface!

The first mission that he triggered was [The Battle of the Empire: The Fallen Ark (Repeatable)]. This was a faction mission that Han Xiao had completed before.

The mission objectives required him to kill different numbers and types of Fallen Ark members with the highest reward being for him to deal with EsGod.

He would be able to obtain a certain amount of experience and Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points if he reduced EsGod’s health by a certain amount. Furthermore, he would obtain an EsGod Character Summon Card if he was able to kill EsGod’s doppelganger.

The second mission was called [Archenemy of the Three Universal Civilizations].

_____________________

Archenemy of the Three Universal Civilizations

Mission Introduction: Chaos breeds order, and order gives rise to chaos. Chaos and order were extreme opposites while also different sides to the same coin. The three Universal Civilizations have explored the universe and are the manifestation of order. EsGod, on the other hand, is the representative of chaos and violence. In his unscrupulous pursuit for strength, he was bestowed with the titles ‘Butcher of Life’, ‘Guide of the Crazy Believer’, and so on. All the ferocious individuals in the universe have gathered under him, and he spreads fear everywhere. The three Universal Civilizations are extremely eager to get rid of this tumor and have chosen to work together to achieve this objective. You have been chosen to participate in this glorious mission.

Mission Requirements: Follow the three Universal Civilizations to deal with EsGod.

Reward: Rewards will be given according to the damage dealt to EsGod—both his main body and doppelgangers will be included—as a percentage. You will be entitled to a Random Reward if you reach 20%, [Character Summon Card: EsGod] if you reach 75%, and if your damage exceeds 100% of EsGod’s health, it will be counted as 100%.

Additional Mission Requirements: Work together with the three Universal Civilizations and capture or kill EsGod.

Additional Reward: Randomly select three of EsGod’s abilities. You will be able to select his skill or talent every time, and you can choose to split it into three draws or draw them in one go.

_____________________

“The mission has been assigned.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Indeed, for a large event such as the three Universal Civilizations encircling EsGod, there would definitely be a mission.

He had already done the first mission before and did not pay much attention to it. The second mission was the main point, which seemed to have been triggered by the three Universal Civilizations working together.

It could be said that their cooperation was a result of his actions, and thus, he was the one who created this mission.

EsGod had a body full of treasures, and drawing his abilities would definitely give Han Xiao great rewards. Furthermore, the Random Reward this time was slightly different.

In the past, he would not be able to select the type of reward being drawn and would draw both skills and talents. This time, he was able to designate the type of ability being drawn, and the number of abilities had also increased. On top of that, he was also able to split it up into three different draws, which meant that he could increase the options from five to fifteen, thus increasing his possibilities.

However, the more plentiful the reward, the harder the mission.

EsGod’s strength after evolution was still an unknown factor. Apart from being excited about the reward of the mission, Han Xiao also worried about the success rate of the mission.

Han Xiao then looked around, and the faces of the other allies were all calm. Although they knew that they were about to deal with EsGod, none of them seemed anxious. Only he knew the outcome of their actions.

This would determine the direction of the entire universe!

It also affected whether he would be able to develop safely in the future.

In order to get rid of the hidden danger of the World Tree Civilization, he had to get rid of EsGod even if there was no reward.

Thinking about this, Han Xiao calmed himself down.

The dynasty had already created an advantageous situation, so we will have to see the situation of the actual battle…

…

The Primeval Star River was a vast Star Field that was even larger than the Shattered Star Ring. It was split into thirty-one Star Clusters and controlled by four Super Star Cluster Civilizations. The level of prosperity in the region was comparable to the Sea of Star Spirits and belonged to the second rung in the universe. The first rung would naturally be the Central Galaxy.

Because the three Universal Civilizations controlled the Central Galaxy strictly, the second rung Star Fields such as the Primeval Star River had plenty of different civilizations and became extremely active. For example, the headquarters of the Ancient Ones were located in the Primeval Star River.

Historically, the Primeval Star River had once been glorious, and during the exploration era, the Primeval Star River was the main camp of a quasi-Universal Civilization. This civilization was a powerful competitor to the three Universal Civilizations of today but was not able to survive past the cruel exploration era.

Back then, many local Star Cluster and Star System Civilizations also perished in the war and left behind a large number of ruins. According to the number of ruins, the Primeval Star River was only second to the Ancient Star Desert. At the same time, the Primeval Star River had many desolate universe belts that were natural hiding spots.

Because they had a mission to complete, the dynasty fleet did not delay and headed straight to the gathering point.

A few days later, the Federation of Light and Arcane Church’s fleets arrived and met up with the dynasty’s fleet.

Han Xiao saw the manpower being sent by the other two parties.

The Arcane Church sent three.

The Federation of Light sent one.

Together with the dynasty, there were a total of eleven Beyond Grade As!

Even the scale of the battle on Planet Lighthouse was about the same.

Chapter 891 - Plan and Meeting

In some locations of the Primeval Star River, the fleets of the Arcane Church, the Crimson Dynasty, and the Federation of Light gathered together with the eleven participating Beyond Grade As gathered together in the dynasty’s conference room to discuss their strategy.

“According to our intelligence, EsGod is currently at this location.”

A holographic projection displayed the star map of the Primeval Star River, and a red dot could be seen in a desolate universe belt. This red dot represented EsGod’s location, and the commander of the dynasty fleet described the situation to everyone present solemnly.

The objective of the three fleets was to deal with EsGod’s fleet, and the commander’s mission was to work together with the Beyond Grade A allies.

“Hmm, that is an ancient battlefield with many planets destroyed in the exploration era. There’s a large number of meteoroids in that region.” Manison nodded in agreement. He was a local of the Primeval Star River and was familiar with the situation here.

The single Beyond Grade A that the Federation of Light had sent out was Manison, but he did not go personally. He only sent a mechanical host with three mechanical fortresses, which had a large number of mechanical soldiers stored within.

Although he was alone, the troops that he had brought with him made him no weaker than the other two factions present.

An Arcane Church Beyond Grade A then knocked on the table and said, “We only received a report on EsGod’s troops. Where did this report come from? Is it reliable?”

“This is the intelligence provided by a Super Star Cluster Civilization in the Primeval Star River. They have a complete surveillance system in the Primeval Star River,” the dynasty commander replied solemnly. “After receiving intelligence on EsGod’s fleet, they began tracking his fleet. According to the coordinates that he provided, we made use of a long-distance tracking tool to verify it, and I guarantee the accuracy of the intelligence.”

The four Super Star Cluster Civilizations controlled the entire Primeval Star River and had plenty of eyes everywhere. At the request of the dynasty, they provided information on EsGod’s location and worked together. However, they were not aware that the three Universal Civilizations were going to work together.

With EsGod’s location locked on to, they would rush over with the stargate network to ambush EsGod.

The three Arcane Church Beyond Grade As that the Arcane Church sent out had not participated in the battle on Planet Lighthouse. Their classes were Psychic, Mage, and Cannon Master. Thus, not a single one of the eleven Beyond Grade As present were Espers.

The individual worth paying attention to was the Cannon Master who had the nickname ‘Sun Hunter’. He was a member of the Ancient Ones and also the strongest of the three sent by the Arcane Church. He was old friends with Manison, Milizaus, and Ravenlaude.

His body was lean, only the thickness of a palm. However, his body was extremely tall, and he was a universal species that was endangered. He had the characteristics of a bug and was currently clad in armor.

His body was skinny, but his weapons were tens of thousands of times larger than him.

Han Xiao remembered Aesop mentioning him before and said that there were a few Ancient Ones trying to find out information about him. Sun Hunter was one of them.

He originally thought that this Cannon Master wanted to get him to craft weapons, but after considering it for a while, Han Xiao eliminated such a possibility. An Ancient One did not need to invite a new Beyond Grade A Mechanic to help him craft weapons.

At the start of the meeting, Han Xiao had his attention on the teammates from the other two factions. There was no need to talk about Manison; his mechanical body was completely expressionless. On the side of the Arcane Church, they seemed to be unfriendly toward the dynasty’s allies and Manison.

Han Xiao still did not know that the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter had been snatched by the Federation of Light, and the Arcane Church was currently the most infuriated at the Federation of Light for taking advantage of their situation and hitting them when they were down. The Beyond Grade A allies of the Arcane Church naturally would not be too friendly toward Manison.

If not for the fact that they had to deal with a common enemy, both parties would probably have ended up in a fight.

“Since we have already grasped EsGod’s location, the initiative of the battle will be in our hands. We need a plan,” Milizaus said.

“You’re right,” Sun Hunter replied. Although his body was small, his voice was not soft. “Although EsGod is a battle maniac who likes fighting, he isn’t a rash individual. The moment he sees the eleven of us together, he will escape for sure. As long as he abandons his fleet and escapes, we won’t be able to catch up. The outcome will then be the same as before.”

“With so many Beyond Grade As working together, we definitely aren’t putting up a show and plan to get rid of EsGod,” Han Xiao said with a solemn expression. “If we want to succeed, there are two problems we need to take care of. First, we cannot let EsGod escape the moment he sees us. Second, we must restrict EsGod’s mobility so that he cannot escape whenever he wishes.”

Everyone else nodded.

Although the three Universal Civilizations had failed in all their attempts to kill EsGod, an operation of such a scale was extremely rare. A portion of the Beyond Grade A allies present there were only interested in the reward, not EsGod’s life or death. However, with so many of them taking action against EsGod alone, it would be pretty embarrassing if they failed.

Thus, all of them present wanted to complete this mission and get rid of this true archenemy of the three Universal Civilizations.

The will of a Beyond Grade A was extremely firm, and they would not be affected by the many past failures in history.

“It is easy to solve the first problem,” Manison said. “EsGod wouldn’t foolishly clash head on with eleven Beyond Grade As. We just need to split up into two groups. The first group will fight him head on and try to hold him back while the other group lies in wait.”

Han Xiao nodded to express his agreement.

EsGod was not a foolish individual and would not attempt to fight eleven Beyond Grade As. Thus, despite having many combatants on their side, they could not appear all at once. If they did, EsGod would run immediately upon seeing them.

“You are right. The first batch of combatants surrounding him must be a reasonable force for an encirclement mission but not be too large that it scares him away,” Ravenlaude said. “I think that it would be safer to have four or five Beyond Grade As.”

“Five would be the best. EsGod received a round of evolution, and his strength has grown. He will definitely want to test his strength, and five people should be within his expectations,” Han Xiao said.

The encirclement missions only had three ordinary Beyond Grade As usually, and EsGod’s original combat capability was sufficient for him to take on three ordinary Beyond Grade As without an issue. He would be able to escape even when facing four or five Beyond Grade As. Things would be slightly different if the Beyond Grade As were more powerful, but as long as he wanted to run, no one would be able to keep him behind.

If there were five of them, they would be able to give EsGod pressure and incite his desire to battle but not let EsGod feel that it was too risky and make him run away immediately.

“The first batch of combatants shall be set at five. Three from the dynasty and two from the church. Let’s not let EsGod know that the Federation of Light is participating in this mission.”

Everyone quickly agreed with that.

Right at this moment, Milizaus suddenly said, “But if we do not restrict EsGod’s instantaneous movements, the ambush of the others will be meaningless. Even if we launch a surprise attack, EsGod will be able to escape any time. Thus, it is more important to restrict his mobility, or our operation will fail for sure.”

Upon hearing that, the Arcane Church’s mage said, “That’s right. The five people fighting EsGod head on will be in charge of tying him down and restricting his mobility shall be the job of those ambushing him. This would require spacetime magic to be cast in the battlefield to separate the region from the multi-dimensions and secondary dimension channel. We still need to stabilize the spacetime to prevent him from using any instantaneous movement or hyperdrive. Transforming the battlefield to become a locked region will require a great deal of effort.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. This was the best way to trap EsGod, and it was proven by history. However, it was getting more and more difficult to accomplish such a feat.

First, this required a lot of time, and the larger the battlefield, the greater the effort required. Even a Beyond Grade A Mage would not be able to complete it in time. Second, EsGod would keep his guard up and escape before the spacetime could be locked down.

Even if EsGod fell into such a trap, it would still be possible for him to escape. He could use ordinary methods to break through the battlefield or use his Esper Abilities to create a small crack in the spacetime and escape from the locked down region.

During this limited time, it would be impossible for them to defeat or capture EsGod. He was not a fragile target, and his powerful recovery and defenses would drag the battle on for a long time.

“I have the equipment to quickly stabilize space and can reduce EsGod’s Dimension Crack and instantaneous movement abilities,” Manison said slowly. “I should be able to lock EsGod down temporarily and engineer the chance for an ambush.”

He would be able to defeat EsGod alone, but EsGod was far too crafty, and it was difficult for him to catch EsGod. His various space-locking machines required time to activate. By the time he set them up, EsGod would have escaped already.

Furthermore, Han Xiao had rejected his offer, so Manison was not willing to give it his all. The Federation of Light’s request did not have too much of a binding power to him, and he only planned to work together with his teammates.

Describing it simply, Manison treated himself as a support and not the carry of the team.

“If we want to create a locked down region, the five people fighting at the start must pin EsGod down in a certain region and not allow him to do as he wishes,” Milizaus said slowly. “We have three Mages on our side and can all remain in hiding. Two of us can use our spacetime magic to modify the battlefield while the last can hide the flow of magic and reduce the chances of EsGod discovering us. The ones fighting EsGod head on will also have to work together to distract EsGod. We also need a Psychic to attack his mind to dull his senses.”

“We have sufficient manpower, and this isn’t difficult to accomplish. However, it won’t be enough to succeed…” Ravenlaude hesitated for a moment before speaking the truth. “If EsGod falls into the trap, we will have to get rid of him using the shortest amount of time. If not, all our efforts will go to waste. However, it is extremely difficult to do so with EsGod’s abilities.”

The entire room then fell silent.

Everyone began to frown.

Although they had plenty of manpower this time, history would only repeat itself if they were not able to take care of this problem.

They all felt a huge headache just by discussing their strategy.

It was extremely difficult to deal with EsGod, and everyone knew that they needed some changes.

Just when everyone was thinking about how they should solve this problem, Han Xiao took a deep breath.

He had two changes in his hands.

The Spacetime Amber and Esper Silence!

These two abilities were definitely enough to turn the situation around and would also make this battle different from before.

Han Xiao then stood up, and everyone looked at him.

Looking at the others, he said slowly, “I have a plan…”

…

Over ten days later, in a certain desolate universe belt, EsGod’s fleet continued to travel according to their designated route after spending a few days by a Fixed Star.

After travelling peacefully for a few days, the fleet’s radar detected something.

A dynasty fleet had appeared right in front of them, and both parties were already extremely near each other by the time Fallen Ark detected the other party. The dynasty fleet had made use of their stealth mode to approach the enemy before revealing themselves.

The Fallen Ark fleet did not escape immediately. Instead, both parties stopped at the same time and entered a standoff.

Woo!

The alarms rang inside the Fallen Ark battleship.

In the main hall of the flagship, EsGod opened his eyes.

An expectant look could be seen on his face as he got up from his throne slowly.

“They’re finally here. I hope that they can let me fight to my heart’s content.”

Chapter 892 - Upgraded EsGod

892 Upgraded EsGod

Both fleets faced each other in a standoff in the dark universe.

EsGod’s figure then disappeared from his throne and appeared beside Fakisen in the control room.

“The other party is the dynasty’s armed fleet with almost five million battleships. The strength of their battleships is superior to our fleet. Since they appeared suddenly before us, it means that they can accurately grasp our coordinates. My suggestion is not to fight them but retreat immediately…” Fakisen began analyzing the situation upon seeing EsGod.

However, EsGod ignored him completely and expanded his senses. He could clearly feel three sun-like energy sources from within the dynasty’s fleet.

Counting the number of opponents, EsGod revealed a look of disappointment.

“Only three of them?”

Right at this moment, the radar rang out again and an Arcane Church fleet appeared behind them.

After feeling the two Beyond Grade As in the Arcane Church fleet, EsGod’s brows began to relax.

“Five people… only then will there be a meaning to fight.”

“The Crimson Dynasty has indeed chosen to work together with the Arcane Church. It seems like they have already laid an ambush here and plan to wipe us out with a fleet three times our size. I recommend that we break through their encirclement and retreat immediately,” Fakisen said.

EsGod did not even bother looking at him and calmly said, “Inform the fleet to prepare for battle. Hold them back, and don’t let the enemy battleships disrupt my battle.”

“I understand,” Fakisen said with a disappointed tone as if he expected that. He knew that EsGod did not care about their lives and only treated them as tools.

Fakisen then issued an order in front of EsGod and formed a defensive formation.

EsGod nodded, and the next moment, his body appeared outside the battleship.

Following which, a wave of spiritual energy exploded with EsGod as the center. The dynasty and church’s fleets had the equipment to block out a certain degree of spiritual energy, but the five Beyond Grade As received EsGod’s spiritual fluctuations at the same time to build a communication channel.

Han Xiao was also part of the group, and he heard EsGod’s calm voice.

“I have been waiting for a long time.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao looked at his teammates, and they nodded to each other.

If EsGod decided to run away from the very start, it would be impossible for them to block him. Since EsGod said those words, it meant that he was prepared to stay behind and fight them. If that was the case, the first step of their plan was successful.

Looking at each other, Han Xiao’s group of three left the dynasty battleship and entered the universe. The two from the church also flew out of their battleship and surrounded EsGod.

Milizaus and the other two mages hid in the darkness and began locking down the spacetime of the region. Manison also hid the fact that the Federation of Light had participated in this ambush and hid himself. He only passed his spacetime stabilizer to someone else. After some discussion, the five who were assigned to face EsGod head on were Han Xiao, Viru, Lotus Swordsman, Sun Hunter, and another Psychic from the Arcane Church.

The job of the two Psychics was to use their mental attacks. Viru served as the tank, and Sun Hunter was the main damage dealer. As for Han Xiao, his main body was present this time, and he was in charge of control, main tank, physical damage, and many other positions.

EsGod’s gaze swept over everybody before landing on Han Xiao. “Black Star, it’s you again.”

“Since you ambushed me, this day had to come. You knew that, right?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Sigh, destiny is truly strange. I didn’t plan on dealing with you, but you still want to pester me. You are truly taking the initiative to seek death… or perhaps it can be said that all of you are seeking death.”

EsGod shook his head.

Upon hearing that, Sun Hunter could help but interrupt coldly. “I wonder if that brain of yours still remembers how many times you have been forced back by three Beyond Grade As. When facing the five of us, do you think you will still be able to emerge victorious?”

“Ah, that was the past me. In fact, I still have to thank Black Star for the Evolution Cube. The dynasty and church will regret sending all of you to deal with me.”

Even before EsGod could finish what he had to say, Sun Hunter took the initiative to launch an attack, and a modified psionic Particle Cannon appeared beside him. A brilliant bolt of Mechanical Force shot out from his body and filled up the Particle Cannon, with a brilliant beam being shot out from the cannon the very next moment.

EsGod dodged the attack with his instantaneous movement, and a Fallen Ark battleship that was behind him was easily torn apart. The high-density alloy was ripped apart like a piece of paper, and the entire battleship was swallowed by the light and reduced to dust as though it had melted into nothingness.

With the first attack being launched, the dynasty and church fleet opened fire and the Fallen Ark fleet fought back. Both parties exchanged fire, and the dark universe was lit up by the exploding cannons.

The battle had erupted!

Han Xiao’s group of five had also launched their attacks.

The Apostle Weapons under the lead of Psionic Prime began to encircle EsGod, Viru charged toward EsGod with his weapon, Lotus Swordsman and the other Psychic began launching their Psychic attacks, and Sun Hunter rapidly opened fire like an artillery tower.

The battlefield instantly became chaotic.

EsGod’s combat method was to use various different abilities depending on the surroundings. He would not fight five Beyond Grade As head on. With his instantaneous movement ability, the encirclement of the five did not put that much pressure on him. At the same time, he was able to easily weave through the mechanical army and approach his enemies.

His powerful mobility meant that he had the initiative of the battle in his hands. At the same time, it also guaranteed him his safety as he could just leave whenever he wanted.

As such, EsGod did not intend to leave at the moment but treated the five as useful opponents to test his strength.

However, it was impossible to win against five Beyond Grade As single-handedly. This was a feat that no individual in the universe was capable of accomplishing. It was not just a simple comparison of battle prowess. The dense attacks of five Beyond Grade As would result in an individual being only capable of defending but not attacking. At this moment, EsGod had the initiative and could appear and disappear like a ghost. However, Han Xiao’s group of five could support each other, and he was not able to defeat each of them individually.

The battle immediately fell into a stalemate.

Han Xiao had his guard up against EsGod, afraid that EsGod’s strength might have improved greatly. But after exchanging a few blows with EsGod, Han Xiao was no longer that worried.

During the battle on Planet Lighthouse, Han Xiao had fought EsGod before and was familiar with EsGod’s strength. Although EsGod did have some improvement in strength, it had not reached a qualitative change.

It seems like the Evolution Cube was not sufficient to cause an earth-shattering change in him, and he still belongs to the Beyond Grade A rank.

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief.

If EsGod really broke through the Beyond Grade A rank and entered the so called ‘new realm’, his combat capability would definitely soar greatly, and there would be a huge gulf between them.

Thankfully, although the Evolution Cube was powerful, it was not sufficient to allow an individual to break through into the next realm.

As he planned for this operation, he had tried his best to overestimate EsGod’s strength, but the current strength that EsGod displayed did not reach his expectations. This way, Han Xiao had greater confidence in succeeding.

The other four also had similar thoughts. If EsGod’s strength did not exceed their expectations, they would not have too much trouble holding him back.

However, an abrupt change happened!

EsGod used his instantaneous movement to avoid a wave of fire and suddenly sent out a message to Han Xiao and the others.

“Warm up is over.”

The moment he said those words, he shot out black spheres from his body. These black spheres were the doppelgangers that he had prepared, and they all transformed into fog-like bodies emanating with energy.

Every doppelganger had a different Esper Ability that EsGod obtained and had a quasi Beyond Grade A strength. Furthermore, there were dozens of these doppelgangers around!

“Why does he have so many doppelgangers‽” Sun Hunter cried out with shock.

Information about EsGod was no secret. Everyone knew that his doppelganger ability had an obvious upper limit, and he was not capable of creating too many doppelgangers. This was already in their records!

Upon witnessing such a scene, Han Xiao’s heart shuddered, and he immediately understood what was going on.

The Evolution Cube did not allow EsGod to break through into the next level but expanded his strength at the same realm. It did not increase his ‘depth’ but increased his ‘breadth’. Compared to the other classes, a Mechanic understood just how frightening numbers were. A Mechanic relied on a large mechanical army to increase their strength and achieve a qualitative change.

The upgraded EsGod was also similar in this regard.

EsGod’s main body did not achieve a breakthrough in strength, but his ability to produce doppelgangers was improved. There were tens of Beyond Grade A doppelgangers present, and every doppelganger was like half a Beyond Grade A. Even if his doppelgangers were fragile, they had many different Esper Abilities and were still a powerful army.

This meant that the number of Beyond Grade As that Han Xiao’s group had to face had increased by dozens of times!

The threat that they faced had also increased greatly!

The three Universal Civilizations had tried to surround EsGod many times before. It was not that they had not sent out more than five Beyond Grade As before, but even if EsGod could not win, he could still retreat.

This time, EsGod already had the strength to deal with five or more Beyond Grade As head on, and he was not satisfied with escaping. If he could fight back or even kill the five Beyond Grade As that the Universal Civilizations sent, his own record would be broken, and he would be able to shock the entire universe.

However, EsGod did not know that he did not only have five opponents but another six hiding in the dark, waiting to ambush him.

The majority of the doppelgangers began to split up and surround Han Xiao’s group of five. Instead of the five surrounding EsGod, it was now EsGod surrounding the five.

The remaining doppelgangers entered the battlefield of the battleships and used their Beyond Grade A strength to rapidly wipe out the dynasty and church’s fleets. The Fallen Ark fleet that was originally at a disadvantage was gradually regaining ground.

Han Xiao and the other four felt a huge increase in pressure. It was akin to fighting tens of Beyond Grade As with different Esper Abilities at the same time. If not for the aid of the mechanical army, it would have been impossible for the other four to hang in there.

Through his doppelgangers, EsGod could unleash all his Esper Abilities without any restraint. His main body reserved the use of ‘Strengthened Self Recovery’ and ‘Black Hole’, and his other doppelgangers had many different Esper Abilities.

In the chaotic battle, Han Xiao looked at EsGod’s main body, which did not participate in the encirclement, with a grave look.

EsGod’s current appearance truly lived up to his nickname.

The god of all Espers!

Of the five of them, Han Xiao was still alright as he was sufficiently tanky. However, his mechanical army was rapidly being wiped out under the attacks of the many Beyond Grade As, and even his Apostle Weapons were trapped in a bitter battle.

Han Xiao originally wanted to save his ‘Perfect Mechanical Sense’ Character Summon Card, but he knew that it was impossible for him to do so right now. He immediately activated the Perfect Mechanical Sense Character Summon Card, and his Mechanical Force became thicker.

Han Xiao then endured the crazed attacks of EsGod’s doppelgangers and got his mechanical army to open fire at EsGod’s doppelgangers.

Every Esper Ability could only be used by a single doppelganger, and most of his doppelgangers did not have tanky abilities and were all very fragile. As such, the rapid attacks of the mechanical army were effective.

Rays of blue light struck the black fog like figures, and a quarter of EsGod’s doppelgangers were wiped out.

However, the next scene immediately caused all of them to become nervous again.

EsGod then made use of his Black Hole ability and sucked in all the attacks to create more doppelgangers and replenish the fallen troops.

Everyone’s heart sank as they witnessed this scene.

“We’re in trouble now…”

…

“They’re in trouble…”

On the other side, the six Beyond Grade As waiting in ambush had also formed a mental network through the Psychic. Their hearts all sank upon finding out about the ability that EsGod had displayed.

“EsGod’s doppelganger ability has been strengthened, and even if we are able to successfully lock down spacetime, he would be able to make use of his doppelgangers to drag for time. This plan will not work,” Ravenlaude said with a grave tone.

Their plan was to lock down spacetime to trap EsGod and control him according to Han Xiao’s plan before he could escape.

However, the strength that EsGod had displayed was out of their expectations. Even if they were able to temporarily trap him, they could not control him before he escaped.

“We still have to give it a try. Don’t stop.” Milizaus was not confident but could only continue according to plan. They did not have any other choice.

“I wonder how much longer they will be able to hang in there,” Manison said calmly.

They could not enter the battle before the trap was complete, and holding EsGod back could only be left to the group of five.

The six of them in ambush were not sure if they could hold on until the trap was completed.

Chapter 893 - Appearance

Sharp pugilist flames cleaved EsGod’s doppelgangers one after another and reduced them into black mist.

Viru’s body was ignited with flames, and he weaved through the battlefield like a meteor. He accurately killed plenty of EsGod’s doppelgangers under the cover of the mechanical army and was currently riddled with injuries.

“This fellow has too many doppelgangers, and it is impossible for us to kill them all. Furthermore, he is even able to make new doppelgangers. It will be pointless regardless of how many doppelgangers we kill. At the same time, we will be severely wounded if we are careless, and we are currently too passive,” Viru said with a deep voice as he raised up his blade to block an attack from one of EsGod’s doppelgangers.

On the other side, Sun Hunter was controlling his fortress-like artillery equipment to rain down fire on EsGod’s doppelgangers. His face was extremely ugly, and he replied, “I am exhausting energy too rapidly in such an intense battle. I am not like Black Star and don’t have the ability to recover energy so quickly.”

The combat capability of EsGod’s doppelgangers was not that powerful and was largely decided by the Esper Ability of each doppelganger. EsGod’s doppelgangers definitely were not an opponent for a Beyond Grade A, and Psyker had once killed two of EsGod’s doppelgangers single-handedly.

However, the situation was now different. The dozens of EsGod doppelgangers brought about immense pressure, and it was akin to facing dozens of Beyond Grade As at the same time. Furthermore, it was impossible to completely wipe out the enemy. It was truly troublesome.

Facing the encirclement of the doppelgangers, everyone was riddled with injuries, and apart from Han Xiao, the other four had limited recovery ability. Furthermore, such an intense battle also drained them of their attention and energy greatly. Apart from Han Xiao, the other four were gradually slipping up.

Han Xiao’s brows were locked tightly as he controlled the mechanical army to block EsGod’s doppelgangers. His mechanical army had been reduced to scrap many times over, and he used [Waste Modification] to send them back into the battle over and over again.

Mechanical soldiers were not afraid of death, and with their dense psionic cannon attacks, the mechanical soldiers killed far more doppelgangers than the others.

Thankfully, his mechanical army, which had been strengthened many times, had powerful attributes, which reduced the loss of the army. With the aid of his four teammates, they were still barely able to achieve a stalemate.

However, the upgraded EsGod was far more frightening in terms of sustained combat. As long as he was given enough time, the entire mechanical army would definitely be wiped out. Han Xiao had no choice but to admit that it would be extremely difficult for him to win against EsGod if he fought EsGod alone.

However, this was not a one-on-one battle, and he did not need to defeat EsGod alone. His current mission was to hold EsGod back and restrict him to this battlefield. They only needed to hold on until their teammates were done setting up the trap.

Han Xiao was extremely clear that if the five of them could not hold EsGod back, forcing the six in ambush to come out and save them, it was very likely that EsGod would escape immediately. The trap was not set at the moment, and if they could not hold EsGod back, the operation would fail for sure.

Han Xiao then turned around to look at EsGod’s main body, which was seated crossed legged in space. New doppelgangers were formed every second.

After using his doppelganger technique, EsGod’s main body retreated to the side and did not participate in the battle personally. As his doppelgangers engaged in a bitter battle with the enemy, he watched with interest.

He did not need to take action personally; just his doppelgangers were enough to reduce the five Beyond Grade As to such a pathetic state. EsGod enjoyed such a feeling of strength.

Sun Hunter and Viru had tried to break out of the encirclement and approach EsGod, but EsGod’s instantaneous movement made it impossible for them to approach him. Even Han Xiao could not attack EsGod’s main body, so he had plenty of abilities that could not be used.

He could only wait for EsGod’s instantaneous movement to be restricted before he had the chance to make use of his trump cards.

With his current strength, even if he did not use any Character Summon Cards, Han Xiao’s personal strength was sufficient to last a long time. His new talents brought his health up to about 5,000,000 HP, so he was extremely tanky.

Only Lotus Swordsman and the other Psychic could restrict EsGod slightly. They continuously unleashed their mental attacks on EsGod with their attacks being like swords stabbing at EsGod’s mental defenses.

Regardless of how many doppelgangers EsGod had, he only had a single soul, and the two’s Psychic attacks were effective against his main body.

However, EsGod also had Esper Abilities to guard his mind and repair any soul damage. Although he would suffer from mental damage, he would not be so easily restricted by the two.

Because the two Psychics possessed a certain degree of threat toward him, EsGod’s main target was not Han Xiao, Sun Hunter, or Viru. Instead, it was the two Psychics. Thus, Han Xiao got his Apostle Weapons to lead a special team of mechanical soldiers to guard the two.

Psionic Prime’s spear stabbed the core of EsGod’s doppelganger, Mad Sky Hunter chewed on the head of a doppelganger, Silver Flash opened fire at a doppelganger, and Giant King Kong used his Divine Giant Armor and large body to protect the two Psychics and other Apostle Weapons.

The Apostle Weapons also had quasi Beyond Grade A battle strength, and they engaged EsGod’s doppelgangers in a bitter battle.

…

A portion of EsGod’s doppelgangers entered the dynasty and church’s fleets to destroy their battleships.

One EsGod doppelganger shot through the shield of the battleship and pierced through the battleship.

Right at this moment, countless dark energy cannons shot over from all directions and reduced this EsGod doppelganger to dust.

In the flagship, the dynasty commander said with a solemn expression, “The damage of the fleet is increasing, and we aren’t able to destroy the Fallen Ark fleet with these doppelgangers distracting us. Things will be bad if they continue to drag on.”

Since the five Beyond Grade As could not hold EsGod back, the fleet would suffer from the attacks of the Beyond Grade A doppelgangers. The EsGod doppelgangers then weaved around the fleet and caused a great deal of chaos while disrupting the battleships in battle. As such, the fleet led by Fakisen was barely able to hold on and not get wiped out.

The Fallen Ark fleet formed a defensive formation in the center and endured the attacks which came from all directions. Fakisen directed the fleet while paying attention to EsGod’s battle.

“His Excellency EsGod’s strength is becoming more and more frightening,” Fakisen said with hesitation.

“That’s right. He is able to deal with five Beyond Grade As so easily. He is EsGod indeed,” a vice commander said with reverence in his eyes.

Fakisen then said with a strange tone, “Even five Beyond Grade As aren’t able to win against EsGod, and this isn’t even His Excellency EsGod’s limit. The three large civilizations sent too few people and have truly underestimated him. Tsk tsk.”

Fakisen then summoned an officer.

“You shall take command of the fleet now.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Ah ah, I still have something else to do. This is a secret mission that His Excellency EsGod handed over to me.”

Fakisen then turned around, left the command room, and headed to a spaceship hangar.

He knew that EsGod was already beginning to become suspicious of him. After EsGod took care of the present danger, he would probably be next. EsGod would never need evidence when getting rid of his subordinates.

Besides, regardless of whether EsGod was able to survive this encirclement, Fakisen was not planning on remaining by EsGod’s side.

…

The intense battle lasted a long time, and apart from Han Xiao, the other four were riddled with injuries. The mechanical army had also suffered great losses and was gradually becoming weaker.

EsGod looked at the few who were extremely pathetic and sent out a mental message with satisfaction.

“Black Star, do you see this? This is the strength that you have given me. What do you think about it?”

Han Xiao then used the amber ball formation to block an incoming attack and snorted in response. “It isn’t much.”

EsGod was not bothered by the reply and continued, “Ah, although I haven’t broken through the Beyond Grade A limits, my strength should already be the peak of the entire explored universe. The five of you do not even have any chance of fighting back before me.”

As Sun Hunter heard that, he immediately aimed his cannon at EsGod and fired.

This time, EsGod did not avoid the attack but used his body to receive the attack. He then activated his Black Hole ability and absorbed the attack to create a few more doppelgangers.

The remaining force from the attack charred his skin and disfigured him completely.

But the next moment, his injuries recovered rapidly, and his appearance went back to normal. His recovery speed was no slower than Han Xiao.

“A useless attack.” EsGod glanced at Sun Hunter before looking at Han Xiao. “Black Star, you are not the only one with an indestructible body.”

Han Xiao replied with an expressionless face, “Every time you repair your body, your cell’s activeness will be exhausted. When your cells reach their upper limit, your life span will also come to an end. This is the disadvantage of a self-healing ability.”

“That’s right. I am already old. Every time I fight, my lifespan would be burnt up,” EsGod said calmly. “However, your Evolution Cube increased my life span by a great deal, and it is enough for me to use. At the very least, you won’t have a chance in this battle.”

EsGod’s current strength came from the evolution energy, and thus, he treated Han Xiao differently.

“Do you really think that you have won?” Sun Hunter interrupted coldly.

“Oh? Please give me a good surprise if you guys still have any unused trump cards. In a while, you guys won’t even have the strength to escape,” EsGod said with confidence in his voice. “After getting rid of the few of you here, the Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty will definitely be infuriated. I also do not have any interest in facing the next wave of enemies, so letting all of you go will be the best option. However, if all of you do not wish to escape, I don’t mind killing you.”

Through this battle, EsGod had already tested his own combat strength, and defeating this wave of enemies was sufficient to prove his strength. As long as he did not kill them, the three great civilizations would not bother him for a period of time. He wanted to remain low profile for some time to familiarize himself with his strength after the evolution. Thus, he truly did not wish to kill Han Xiao’s group.

If not, a Universal Civilization would not let the matter rest after suffering such a huge loss, and that did not suit his current objectives. Thus, he hoped that Han Xiao’s group would willingly retreat.

Han Xiao then looked around at his comrades. They had injuries all over their bodies and were not in good states.

Just as EsGod had said, it was impossible for the five of them to do anything against EsGod. If the battle continued, their lives would possibly be in danger.

Right at this moment, Han Xiao suddenly laughed and said, “EsGod, do you know that I am extremely clear about the threat you pose?”

“My threat?” EsGod raised his brows. “My deeds are spread all across the universe. Is there a need for you to emphasize on them?”

“No, I am not talking about that.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

“I don’t get what you are talking about,” EsGod said.

Han Xiao chuckled and was not planning to explain himself.

EsGod purposely revealed information about the wormhole because he wanted the other organizations to investigate the matter together with him. However, he hid information about the World Tree Civilization, and EsGod thought that he was the only one who knew the existence of the World Tree Civilization.

In truth, EsGod was not wrong in thinking so. No one else apart from Han Xiao knew about this secret and would fall for EsGod’s trap to help EsGod research this wormhole. EsGod’s wish was to open this channel and fish for benefits from the side.

However, EsGod could not have known that Han Xiao also knew about the existence of the World Tree Civilization. He was the second person in the explored universe to know about this, and EsGod was still in the dark regarding this.

It was because of the lack of information that EsGod was not clear about how resolute Han Xiao was about killing him. According to his past experience, there should be four to six Beyond Grade As coming to encircle him, so five was within his expectations.

As such, he never imagined that there would be far more than five Beyond Grade As coming to encircle him!

Right when Han Xiao finished what he had to say, an abrupt change happened.

EsGod’s expression changed greatly as he could clearly feel a spacetime magic spreading out to cover the entire region. The secondary dimension was cut off, and spacetime was locked down. The space in this region became extremely sturdy without any cracks.

At the same time, Han Xiao also activated the space stabilizing equipment that Manison had given him and covered EsGod within it to prevent EsGod from escaping before the trap was formed.

Losing the ability of instantaneous movement, EsGod no longer had the initiative. EsGod then detected another six energy sources appearing from afar, rapidly approaching him.

Milizaus’ group of six appeared on the battlefield and surrounded him.

Upon seeing that, EsGod’s expression darkened, and a look of shock could be seen in his eyes.

“Why are there another six more‽”

Chapter 894 - Key Variable in the Operation

Everyone was treated equally under the spacetime lock. Mechanics were unable to open their secondary dimension channel, and the Dimension Crack and teleportation of EsGod also lost its effect.

With the universe continuously being explored, the three Universal Civilizations had recorded all sorts of Esper Abilities and had developed counters or restraints toward most of them. Except for some Super High Risk Esper Abilities, there was no unsolvable ability.

“Turns out, this was a trap. You guys are really willing to pay.”

EsGod was surprised but quickly regained his calm.

This was also not the first time he faced such danger, so he did not panic. While the number of the enemies was more than what he expected, with not only the Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church, even the Federation of Light was also involved.

There were eleven Beyond Grade As surrounding him, which outstripped his expectations.

If it were not for the fact that the Universal Civilizations had sent out enough manpower this time, it would have been difficult to make him fall into the trap. Just to fight him head on and not make him think it was a trap would already require at least four to five people, and there was still a need to ensure three mages could set up the spacetime lock secretly. That meant at least seven to eight Beyond Grade As were needed to complete the entire ambush. This was a completely different concept from having seven to eight ordinary people.

Upon realizing that he had fallen for the trap, EsGod did not talk further and immediately reacted.

He would not sit there and await death. While his teleportation was blocked in this area, he could still fly. As long as he flew in the opposite direction of Han Xiao and the others, the moment he escaped the range of the spacetime lock, he would be able to teleport again.

He was not an iron-headed person. When facing eleven other Beyond Grade As, he had no plans to fight them head on.

The six people involved in directly fighting him at the start were still chasing him, and they had yet to completely surround him. Because of the spacetime lock, they were unable to activate the hyperdrive to arrive immediately, so there were only five people who were able to suppress EsGod at the moment.

Han Xiao did not speak further, ditching Sun Hunter and the others, and pouring all of his energy into the mechanical suit propulsion module.

A blue flame burst out from the thrusters from his back, elbows, and feet, and his entire figure shot forward in pursuit of EsGod, leaving a dark blue arc in the universe like a comet.

The spacetime lock did not differentiate between allies or enemies, so his hyperdrive and Void abilities could not be used.

Many of EsGod’s doppelgangers turned to hold Han Xiao back, stopping him from pursuing the true body.

While he had fallen into the trap, EsGod did not mind it too much.

He might have been in danger before his evolution, but things were different now. A large number of his doppelgangers were enough to contain his pursuers and give him enough time to escape the spacetime lock.

“Don’t let him get away!” Sun Hunter shook a doppelganger off before unfolding a gigantic sniper rifle. He aimed it toward EsGod and fired.

A golden energy beam blasted out, with a tracking function toward EsGod. The speed of the beam was obviously faster than his flight speed, and the distance was quickly shortened.

EsGod frowned, only having the time to deploy a shield before the beam hit.

He originally wished to utilize the repulsion force to retreat even further, but the firearm used by Sun Hunter was not offensive in nature. The moment the beam hit EsGod, it swelled violently, turning into a ball of energy with a powerful suction force, dragging EsGod toward it. EsGod’s speed dropped sharply, and the latter had no choice but to continue struggling to get out of the gravitational range.

Ranged attacks were the strength of a Cannon Master, and among the team, Sun Hunter’s skills had the best effect against restraining escaping enemies. Furthermore, a Cannon Master did not only have one weapon. They were good at using a variety of firearms, not only offensive ones but also crowd control ones, such as the beam used against EsGod previously.

EsGod could not teleport, so his evasiveness was lowered. Being harassed by Sun Hunter, and with Han Xiao’s mechanical suit speed originally being quicker than EsGod, their distance gradually closed.

Luckily, Milizaus and the mages did not underestimate EsGod, and thus, they purposely enlarged the area of spacetime lock, ensuring that there was enough leeway to chase him down.

As EsGod’s back slowly grew bigger in his field of vision, Han Xiao estimated the distance before taking out a compressed orb with a flip of his palm. It transformed into a hexagonal alloy board, tens of meters in length with a slight curve to it. It was powered by a core of sub-psionic energy.

This was a Unidirectional Adsorption Gravity Device that Han Xiao had spent a few months creating. It could adjust the direction and strength of gravity, and it was mainly used for attraction.

Based on his tests, at full power, the gravitational force generated could reach the level of a planet’s gravity. This gravity was enough to peel off the crust from a planet and achieve the power to tear apart the surface of a planet.

Even for a Beyond Grade A, this was an extremely strong means of crowd control, many levels higher than the spaceship traction beam.

Han Xiao activated the equipment, and a strong attraction force covered the entire area in front of him. EsGod only felt a huge pulling force acting on him, as though an entire star wished to devour him.

EsGod frowned, and with a thought, he split out another new doppelganger, which threw itself toward the attracting force, rushing up to Han Xiao to obstruct him.

This doppelganger only had the goal of destroying the gravitational attraction equipment, so it flew along with the attraction, its flight speed not affected.

Han Xiao activated his psionic shield, blocking the advance of the doppelganger. However, the doppelganger also possessed a battle strength at Beyond Grade A, so it was not so easy to deal with. Han Xiao’s speed also took a hit. EsGod shot out a timely black and red energy beam to hit Han Xiao, conveniently using the repulsion to move further away.

“EsGod can continuously produce doppelgangers. The moment I come too close, I’ll be obstructed by the doppelgangers. If I cannot hold him, I can only watch as he escapes,” Han Xiao murmured, and having made his choice, the Mechanical Force around his body immediately flickered and condensed into a large arc of electricity that bound up EsGod’s doppelganger.

The next moment, Han Xiao’s consciousness stretched into the quantum network.

Soul attacks, I can do that too!

_____________________

You have utilized Virtual Soul against EsGod!

Attribute Judgment in progress…

Character level judgment failure, -30% success rate.

Luck Attribute judgment failure, -20% success rate.

Mystery Attribute judgment failure, -30% success rate.

Intelligence Attribute judgement Success, +40% success rate.

One of the above four judgments is effective. Skill is successfully launched!

Based on your Virtual Technology level, the basic success rate is 424%. After taking into account various judgements, final theoretical success rate: 384%

Calculation of the opponent’s abnormal status resistance in progress… Calculations complete, final success rate: 76%

Final Judgment in progress… Judgement successful

Skill (Virtual Soul) is effective.

_____________________

In front, EsGod’s body suddenly lurched to a stop. His soul was virtualized by Han Xiao, thrown into the quantum network and hence lost control of his body. The attracting force pulled him backward once again.

EsGod’s weakness lay in his spiritual level. Because his doppelgangers and true body all shared the same soul, the [Virtual Soul] skill that Han Xiao utilized on the doppelganger could also be effective on his true body.

Because of the large difference in attributes, the duration of [Virtual Soul] was only for a short while and even had a cooldown of fifteen minutes. But this was enough for Han Xiao to close the remaining distance.

The quantum network was Han Xiao’s home field, and his consciousness transformed into a luminous giant that covered the sky and the sun. He grabbed onto EsGod and pummeled him, all attacks converting into spiritual damage to EsGod.

The duration of [Virtual Soul] ended quickly, and clarity shone again in EsGod’s eyes, but the soul damage he received made him look weary.

Upon surveying his surroundings, EsGod discovered that his true body was now in front of Han Xiao. Without any additional words, Han Xiao pounced on him.

Seeing this, EsGod knew that he could not escape anymore. The reason he escaped was not because he could not fight them off but because remaining within the trap would leave him the passive one.

As they fought, EsGod continuously released doppelgangers to strengthen his damage output. However, Han Xiao was akin to a sticky plaster. His HP and resistance was too high in addition to having the amber ball as a shield. EsGod got more frustrated the more they battled, as he was fully held back by Han Xiao.

“You irritating fool!” EsGod thundered.

“Thank you for the praise.” Han Xiao smiled, his hands suddenly jetting out a Psionic Impact, directly shattering a doppelganger.

At the same time, the six involved in the ambush had started to surround them, and Sun Hunter’s side had also eliminated several doppelgangers.

Because all the new doppelgangers created by EsGod were trapped by Han Xiao, there were no new reinforcements on that side, so they could catch up with EsGod after being relieved of the pressure.

Before long, all the Beyond Grade As arrived, each one taking a position and surrounding EsGod. Han Xiao’s mechanical army and Manison’s Mechanic Empire stood at each path of escape.

Seeing this, Han Xiao also stopped attacking for the time being, retreating into his mechanical army formation.

EsGod was completely surrounded, and from his position, he could only see densely packed mechanical soldiers. The energy signatures of the eleven Beyond Grade As burned his olfactory sense organs. His doppelgangers were recalled back, stationed around him for protection.

In the distance, the fleet of the Federation of Light also appeared. Without EsGod’s help, the Fallen Ark fleet was quickly eliminated by the Universal Civilizations. The battleships burst into flames one after another, the light from the explosions illuminating the faces of everyone present.

Glancing at his destroyed fleet, EsGod turned toward Manison, speaking through the spiritual network. “Manison, I didn’t expect you to also have come to deal with me.”

Among the eleven, EsGod only respected four of them—Manison, Milizaus, Sun Hunter, and Han Xiao. All of them had fought with him at some point, with Manison being the person he most respected.

“It was a transaction. Besides, I’ve warned you before about not stepping into the Primeval Star River.” Manison’s tone was calm.

EsGod nodded before surveying the rest.

While he was surrounded, he did not display any panic, instead calmly saying, “Even if you have the numbers, it won’t be so easy to defeat me.”

He had two escape plans. One was to escape from the area that was locked by spacetime. Since that had already failed, he had to choose the second method, which was to use his own spatial Esper ability to penetrate the spacetime lock, drilling a gap to teleport away.

For this plan to work, he needed to stall them for long enough.

The assurance of EsGod in surviving mainly lay in his doppelgangers. Even if he was surrounded, he could still use them to fight against everyone. Coupled with his own regeneration and energy absorption abilities, he could survive for quite a period of time, so he was not worried.

Everyone present however knew this and knew that every second was precious. Thus, they exchanged a glance and nodded.

“Begin the operation.”

“We’re relying on you, Black Star.”

The next instant, everyone attacked at the same time!

Faced with ten other Beyond Grade As, the doppelgangers died extremely quickly, but EsGod continued to produce more doppelgangers using his energy absorption, succeeding in holding off all the Beyond Grade As! While it was taxing on him, this was already shocking enough.

Even the Beyond Grade As encircling him could not help but sigh at his battle strength.

The evolved form of EsGod was really a freak!

If it was not for Black Star’s suggestion for them to join hands and deal with him, who would still threaten this fellow in the future?

Han Xiao weaved through the battlefield, shuttling through the heavy blockade of the doppelgangers to get closer to EsGod.

Because EsGod had already fought with Han Xiao before, it did not suspect him and immediately rushed forward to challenge him.

However, when the two of them made contact, EsGod felt a strange power surge out from Han Xiao’s body and into his own.

The next instant, it was as though a tranquilizer had been injected into EsGod, and his abilities all went silent.

“This is… Esper Silence‽”

EsGod’s expression changed, and it finally turned into suspicion. He did not understand why Han Xiao had his ability.

“It’s effective!” Seeing the notification on the interface, Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.

During the pre-war conference, Han Xiao had discussed this strategy with the rest, and the moment they surrounded him would be the time he unleashed the Esper Silence Character Summon Card.

Han Xiao had always hidden this move, just waiting for the opportunity.

The moment Esper Silence came into effect, all the doppelgangers froze, and without the ability to maintain it, the doppelgangers exploded and dissipated into black mist.

Because of their disparity, the duration of Esper Silence was at the lowest, but this instant was enough to disintegrate his doppelgangers!

Everyone was long prepared and took the advantage when EsGod lost his abilities. The three mages threw the restraint magic they had prepared, the psychics interfered with his mental state, the pugilists used force to suppress him, and Han Xiao also gave EsGod an injection, implanting him with nano-level cytostatic fluid to reduce his vitality.

This single instant was enough for EsGod to fall under heavy restrictions. With so many Beyond Grade As acting in concert, there was no way he could struggle free in a short while.

When his strength recovered, he tried to free himself, but the control skills were like shackles, binding each of its limbs and nailing him in place.

Under so many effects, the energy within his body stagnated, and he was unable to utilize it to activate his abilities any longer.

EsGod stared at Han Xiao, his eyes displaying puzzlement.

“How are you able to use my ability?”

“You’ll have a lot of time to slowly think about that in the future.” Han Xiao did not hesitate, immediately taking out the Spacetime Amber and pointing it toward EsGod. After entering its second layer of Soul Connection, the production of amber balls had sped up.

The Spacetime Amber was the key to this plan!

The people present might have been able to restrict EsGod, but they could not keep gathering forever. EsGod had too many Esper abilities, and there was no guarantee that he could not run after being locked up.

The only guaranteed way was the Spacetime Amber, which could restrict EsGod.

They had already decided that Han Xiao would be the core behind the operation this time, and everyone’s responsibility was simply restricting EsGod.

Without Esper Silence and the Spacetime Amber, EsGod would likely manage to escape. They were the key variables in this operation.

EsGod was sensitive toward space and felt the space around him start to warp. A look of astonishment was seen in his eyes.

“So, this is the effect of the Spacetime Amber from the legends. What a miraculous Universal Treasure.” EsGod paused for a while, reluctantly twisting his facial muscles. “I never thought that I would end up in your hands.”

Han Xiao was deeply aware of the possibility of receiving a counterattack if one talked too much and did not answer, focused on creating the Spacetime Amber.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, EsGod stopped struggling, staring indifferently at Han Xiao.

“Black Star, we will meet again.”

“That will be left to when the three Universal Civilizations see fit to ask me to release you.”

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and he suddenly cut the energy supply.

EsGod’s entire body was sealed within the Spacetime Amber!

Chapter 895 - Success, Return

The moment the Spacetime Amber was formed, all energy was isolated, and everyone let go, surrounding it and gazing at EsGod, who was trapped within the amber curiously.

“Is it done?” Sun Hunter tapped the casing of the amber ball, gazing at the motionless EsGod. His eyes carried some surprise.

Before the operation, they had estimated that the success rate would not be low, but now that it had been completed, the Beyond Grade As found it unbelievable.

EsGod was famed in the universe and had escaped the grasp of the three Universal Civilizations time and again. Now, it had truly been caught!

Furthermore, the operation had gone quite smoothly.

“Once trapped within the Spacetime Amber, time and space will be frozen. EsGod still retains his consciousness but can no longer move his body. We’ve succeeded,” Han Xiao summarized.

“Humph, to think this day would come.” Milizaus shook his head.

“With eleven of us, it would be an embarrassment if we failed.” Manison’s expression was calm, but he felt emotional at the loss of someone he knew.

But just as this feeling surfaced, it was immediately suppressed down when his gaze shifted to the Spacetime Amber that Han Xiao was holding. Everyone also looked at the Universal Treasure.

The capture of EsGod filled everyone with surprise, but this did not last long as they were all Beyond Grade As. What they were more interested in was the Spacetime Amber.

Due to the rumors of the battle of Planet Lighthouse, the Spacetime Amber had entered the sights of the various Beyond Grade As, and they were interested in something that could easily imprison another Universal Treasure. Now that they saw it in person, feeling envious was only natural.

Black Star had the means to restrict a Beyond Grade A’s abilities, which posed a threat to most of them present. Everyone had to reconsider their evaluation of Black Star’s strength. His position was unique.

Sensing their gazes, Han Xiao’s brows furrowed, and he put the Spacetime Amber away once again with a flip of his hand.

“What a good thing.” Sun Hunter sighed. “Black Star, your luck is good to actually possess two Universal Treasures.”

Han Xiao raised his brows in response. He was the happiest whenever someone praised his luck.

=

After all, something intangible had to be emphasized by others, just like how ordinary people liked to be called ‘handsome’ or ‘beautiful’…

After pausing for a moment, he did not respond but rather changed topics. “Now that EsGod has been caught, the operation is complete. I’ll take EsGod back to the dynasty. Any objections?”

Manison shook his head. He was interested in EsGod’s body, but it was a pity that he could not open the Spacetime Amber.

The trio from the Arcane Church, including Sun Hunter, thought about it before finally agreeing to Han Xiao’s request as well. The Arcane Church wished to take EsGod captive, but the situation always trumped one’s desires. With seven Beyond Grade As from the dynasty present, there was no guarantee they could snatch it, and there was also no need to.

“Since everyone is agreeable, then leave it to us.” Milizaus nodded. “Black Star, your contribution was the biggest in the operation this time. The dynasty will cooperate and announce your deeds.”

“Alright.” Han Xiao smiled.

EsGod and the Fallen Ark fleet were quite well known in the universe as notorious villains, frightening countless interstellar citizens. Now that this guy had been caught by the dynasty, it would definitely be big news. The dynasty would not let go of this opportunity to announce in public their ‘contribution to maintain peace in the universe’ by eliminating a scourge that threatened the citizens’ safety.

As the promoter and biggest contributor to the operation, Han Xiao would naturally be the key figure of this propaganda. When the news was spread, his reputation would also rise, and it would most likely become one of his defining battle records. The influence of this event would not necessarily be lower than the battle of Planet Lighthouse.

For someone such as EsGod, he might not be able to obtain any political assets, but he should definitely get Legendary Points.

Of course, when compared with the hidden dangers of the World Tree Civilization, these were trivial things. It was more important to eliminate the hidden dangers. At least the citizens would not receive a sudden alert that a World Tree was invading when they were on the toilet one day. That would probably scare the sh*t out of them.

Without the threat of EsGod, the spatial research of the three civilizations would also be lowered somewhat, and the Fallen Ark would also not continue launching attacks without a leader. Thus, the time when the World Tree Civilization would be linked with them would be delayed.

Since he had captured EsGod at this stage, the storyline of EsGod would disappear, but compared to the disaster brought about by the early invasion of the World Tree, this consequence was worth it, and it would win him more time for a stable development.

In the future, the three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree Civilization would definitely notice each other, and there would be a cosmic disaster. Han Xiao was accumulating strength for this, so to him, the later it happened, the better.

That’s right, EsGod said that he would meet me again.

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed. Just now, he was busy trying to seal EsGod and did not pay attention to his words. Now that he had relaxed, all sorts of hypotheses began to float up.

EsGod also knew of the existence of the World Tree Civilization and was definitely certain that there would be a war between the two. His meaning was—would they let him out when they realized that they would require his strength?

Han Xiao shook his head. It was unknown when that would happen, and by then, it was hard to say that EsGod’s consciousness would still be sane after the long period of captivity.

This time, the Lotus Swordsman opened her mouth, coldly remarking, “There’s something I must remind you of. When I was interfering with EsGod’s soul, at that instant when he was sealed, I felt an extremely strong mental fluctuation.

Han Xiao’s expression stiffened. “What sort of fluctuation?”

“The mental state of EsGod exploded out at that time, and his resistance increased manifolds, as though he wished to use his mental energy to incite his body and remove his restrictions. However, he did not succeed, and the Spacetime Amber enveloped him shortly after, bouncing my psychic powers out.”

“Ok, I got it.” Han Xiao was silent for a while before he nodded.

It sounded like EsGod’s last gamble, but he had seemingly failed. It should be very normal.

No one argued over the rights to hold EsGod, and they quickly reached a consensus.

Everyone then turned back to look at the battlefield. The three Universal Civilization’s fleets were still clearing up the remnants of Fallen Ark, but no one intended to help.

They only had EsGod in their eyes. Now that the main evil had been cleared, these small fries were not worth moving.

Han Xiao remembered that the Contribution Points awarded by [Dynasty Battle Operation: Fallen Ark (Repeatable)] and thus split apart some of his mechanical army to hunt down the fleet.

The moment EsGod was caught, the rest of the Fallen Ark members also gave up resisting. No one surrendered since they were wanted criminals but fled in all directions. There was almost no one left on scene.

While waiting for the battle to end, Han Xiao opened the interface and viewed the large number of prompts that had popped up just now.

[Dynasty Battle Operation: Fallen Ark (Repeatable)] would soon end, and the few missions regarding facing EsGod directly had been completed. Just the reward for the experience measured up to thirty billion and was enough to level up a few times even at his level of 280. Of course, the premise was destroying his doppelgangers. Be it in the early or late versions, the number of players who could achieve that were few, but to him, it was not much effort.

The Contribution Points of the dynasty also surged up, crossing the ten thousand mark, almost nearing the amount where he could purchase two Ultimate Knowledges.

Very rewarding!

At the same time, a brand new [Character Summon Card—EsGod] also fell into Han Xiao’s hands.

However, EsGod had too many abilities, and the chances of drawing Esper Silence were low. This time, his draw was ordinary, and he only got teleportation. He could use it about ten times, and its effect was pretty good, but it was chicken feed for him, given that he already had Void Hyperdrive.

However, Void Hyperdrive was a little less flashy, and having more methods would also be good.

This time, Han Xiao had spent a lot to deal with EsGod. He had completely used up his Esper Silence skill, so this sure-kill ability against Espers was gone. Furthermore, the number of [Perfect Mechanical Sense] uses had dropped by one.

He still had one final blank Character Summon Card, which he could use to produce another [Perfect Mechanical Sense], but he did not plan to do so currently.

The battle at Planet Lighthouse and with EsGod was enough to give him a strong reputation, and it was estimated that no one would come and provoke him for a period of time. There was no need to think about using the blank Character Summon Card.

The other mission, [Archenemy of the Three Universal Civilizations], also showed a ‘completed’ status.

By capturing EsGod alive, he had fulfilled the additional requirements of the mission, and thus, he could draw three abilities from EsGod, which was much better compared to the Character Summon Card.

His Molding Talents were all practically drawn in this manner.

Han Xiao did not accept the reward immediately. Such precious reward, if he did not go back and touch Feidin and his godson first, would he not waste his chances‽

Just based on his own face, he would probably draw something nasty out!

Other than the reward, Han Xiao also obtained a great amount of experience in killing enemies. Killing a doppelganger would net him a lot of experience, and since the doppelgangers came unceasingly, it allowed him to obtain a ton of experience.

While gazing at his interface, the battle finally ended.

Han Xiao looked toward the other two universal civilizations.

“Our cooperation ends here. I thank you all for your help.”

“There’s no need to be polite. If there’s time, you can come over to my territory for a visit.” Manison sent another invitation to Han Xiao.

“Not today. I still have to escort EsGod back,” Han Xiao said. “Let’s do it another time.”

“Next time then.”

Manison shook his head regretfully before turning to leave.

Sun Hunter exchanged communicator numbers with Han Xiao before leading the rest of the Arcane Church members back to the main flagship. Han Xiao took the captured EsGod and followed Milizaus and the rest back to the dynasty’s flagship.

The eleven of them returned to their respective factions, and the three civilizations left.

At the same time, the operation’s report was also sent to the upper echelons of the three Universally Civilizations.

Chapter 896 - Talent Upgrade The Legendary Mechanic

"EsGod was really captured?"

Urranrell received a report from the fleet commander within the Ruler's office and was a little surprised.

The Ruler was busy with official business, so after a simple meeting to form a cooperation between the three civilizations, Urranrell did not continue to pay attention to this operation.

Urranrell had attached importance to Han Xiao's determination to get rid of EsGod, but she did not care about the operation that took place. This mentality was just like a billionaire taking out a hundred thousand to make an investment. It was purely to test the waters, and whether it succeeded or failed was relatively unimportant. Having received the report of success, however, she was pleasantly surprised.

EsGod, who had constantly given them a headache, was finally removed.

The existence of EsGod had always been the bane of the three Universal Civilizations, it represented chaos and lawlessness, and it was a firm enemy of order. Both sides had clearly demarcated their boundaries, but in some cases, the three civilizations would rely on its strength.

The notoriety of EsGod came from its atrocities, and although it was tyrannical, it would definitely not come to rile the three civilizations up without a valid reason. The targets of its crimes were mainly some star cluster or super star cluster level civilizations, and rampaging about in these territories was actually a benefit to the three civilizations.

On the other hand, the Fallen Ark fleet attracted thugs and wanted criminals from all over the universe. The disadvantage was that the power of EsGod was repeatedly increasing, which made him harder and harder to deal with. The benefit in this was that because all the wanted criminals were gathered in one place, it became easier to control them and keep tabs on them, increasing their security.

Of course, this was under the premise that EsGod was sufficiently strong. If he was not so difficult to deal, the three civilizations would not have left him alone.

Now that Black Star had really captured EsGod, getting rid of this tricky enemy, they were obviously pleased.

This was equivalent to capturing the head of the terrorists, and it showed that the anti-terrorism measures of the three civilizations had an effect. The greater the shadow EsGod had left on the galactic residents, the more reputation they would gain.

Urranrell nodded in satisfaction. "Excellent, Black Star did not waste my efforts. He did well."

"EsGod was likely careless, or else, with his strength, there's no one in the Universe that would be able to capture him," Clotti said calmly.

He had also faced EsGod a few times, and his judgment was accurate. If EsGod ran the moment he faced a blockade, no one would be able to capture him.

A pity that all of this was only hypothetical. EsGod's behavior would never allow him to perform in this manner; he would definitely engage in battle first. If he only knew how to run, there was no way that he would have been able to reach his current strength and infamy. He would have long been removed by the three civilizations.

"No matter what, Black Star did not let down my expectations."

Urranrell was getting more and more satisfied with Han Xiao. From viciously beating up the Arcane Church in the battle of Planet Lighthouse to getting rid of the Archenemy of the three Universal Civilizations, he had brought much fame and benefits to the dynasty.

…

While the dynasty fleet was on the journey back, they received a reply from the upper echelons of the dynasty.

In the center of the command room, a remote projection appeared. It was Urranrell. Seeing this, everyone got up to salute, and Han Xiao as well as the other Beyond Grade As also symbolically bowed their heads.

"All of you did well this time. You have made a tremendous contribution to the dynasty. The dynasty will not be stringy with the corresponding reward."

Urranrell stood with her hands behind her, her tone full of praises.

Facing the leader of the dynasty, everyone maintained the aloofness of a Beyond Grade A and only nodded, accepting her praise.

"If not for Black Star managing to convince the Federation of Light to participate, I would not have been able to contribute much to this joint operation. I've seen the report, and Black Star had the biggest part to play in the capture of EsGod. The dynasty plans to announce Black Star as the core of our publicity stunts. I believe no one will object to it," Urranrell said.

Capturing EsGod was a frightening battle record, and Urranrell was ready to put the credit on Han Xiao's head, helping him to spread his reputation.

"Of course not, this is the truth." Milizaus laughed.

He had been heavily injured in the battle of Planet Lighthouse, and he had always remembered this grudge. Seeing that EsGod had fallen into their hands, he felt so pleased, as though he was offered a cold refreshing drink on a hot summer day. His goodwill toward Han Xiao increased even further.

The rest did not have any objections. They were still waiting for the use of the evolution cube, so no one was willing to fight with Han Xiao for credit.

"Then, I'll thank the dynasty in advance." Han Xiao laughed.

"Good, you guys quickly bring EsGod back. The dynasty will lock him in the most secretive location." Urranrell paused for a moment. "That's right. Black Star, you mentioned that those that are sealed by the Spacetime Amber will have their souls slowly die off due to the long captivity, right?"

"That's right." Han Xiao nodded and understood her intentions. "Does the dynasty wish to study EsGod?"

"Yes, it has high research value. After so many combinations of gene chains, it has mastered all kinds of abilities. If this can be cracked, the genetic technology of the dynasty will have progress, and the number of Supers will also increase." Urranrell did not conceal it. "Of course, only when his soul dies can we begin the research. How long do you think we need?"

Han Xiao stroked his chin. "I recommend at least five hundred years to start with."

Urranrell stood in deep thought for a moment before nodding. "That works. Although the period is a little long, let's play safe."

Five hundred years was nothing to the Crimson Dynasty. Their period of existence far surpassed that number, and some war preparations even took units of a hundred years as a gauge.

After a few more side conversations, Urranrell hung up, and the dynasty soldiers present returned to work.

Ravenlaude now turned to Han Xiao. "Since EsGod has already been caught, it's time for you to uphold your end of the deal."

Han Xiao's mouth widened in a smile. Raising his hand, nanoparticles surged, and the Evolution Cube was brought to his palm.

"Relax, I value credibility, and since everyone here has helped me in solving my issue, I won't cheat you guys."

…

The three Universal Civilizations reached a consensus, and only after their fleets returned did they announce the arrest of EsGod. Because the fighting took place in the desolate universe belt where there were limited human traces, most major organizations did not know anything about their encounter.

A little over half a month later, the dynasty's fleet smoothly returned, and there were no unexpected incidents.

Han Xiao passed EsGod to another dynasty fleet, who locked EsGod up in a secretive location.

The other Beyond Grade As had also obtained their evolution and left satisfied, leaving Han Xiao as the only one who returned to Planet Crimson Ring.

He immediately contacted Feidin and the rest. After a month apart, they were finally reunited.

His goals for going to the Central Galaxy this time had been achieved. Han Xiao announced the end of the vacation before taking them back on his own spaceship, departing back for the Shattered Star Ring.

In the spaceship, Han Xiao took the excuse of not meeting them for a long time to have a meal and thoroughly 'molested' Feidin and Nero.

Feidin was used to it and just had a face of helplessness, but Nero squirmed left and right, not used to Han Xiao's 'passionate' self. He was dizzy from all the 'love' given by Han Xiao's big hands.

Reynold thought that he would undergo such a treatment as well and took a deep breath, psychologically preparing himself, but Han Xiao only turned and left, as though not interested in him. This made Reynold feel a little depressed.

After recharging his luck, Han Xiao locked himself in the room and opened the interface to complete the mission [Archenemy of the Three Universal Civilizations].

_____________________

The mission [Archenemy of the Three Universal Civilizations] has been completed.

Your cumulative damage to EsGod is calculated as 100% (up to the maximum limit). You will obtain the corresponding reward.

You have been awarded 20,000,000,000 experience, x1 Random Reward, x1 [Character Summon Card—EsGod].

[Character Summon Card—EsGod] Esper Ability—Ability Enhancement. This can only be used on Espers that are lower than your current level. It allows the potential of the ability to receive a permanent upgrade. Each target can only be promoted once. Uses: 0/3

_____________________

Han Xiao's eyes sparkled.

This skill… is a little overpowered.

If a civilization's Beyond Grade A has this ability, it would be equivalent to an unlimited number of Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid shots. Even if this could only be used on Espers, it was enough to raise the prowess of the Espers in the entire civilization by one whole level.

This was a strategic level ability!

A pity, the one who obtained this was EsGod. With his stingy character, chances were low that he would help his subordinates raise their strength.

EsGod had collected all these abilities, which was equivalent to killing off a lot of potential geniuses. If the original owners of this ability did not fall to EsGod, it was likely that they would have become distinguished guests of the Universal Civilizations.

_____________________

Additional mission requirements have been completed.

You have received an additional reward: Random draw of three skills of EsGod (Talent/Ability)

Alert: EsGod is an Esper. Part of the possible abilities have been automatically adjusted to your class.

You have three chances to draw, and at least one ability will be randomly selected each time. Please select your type of draw (Talent / Ability / Both).

_____________________

Han Xiao rubbed his hands, choosing the Talent option.

Since the Esper class was incompatible with his due to the different sources of strength, he knew that many Esper Abilities could not be extracted.

Since he could obtain abilities this time, he should by right utilize it. However, it would likely be more beneficial for him to obtain a good talent first.

_____________________

Randomizing… complete.

Please select one to three options from the five below as the reward:

1. Talent: Particle Structure Reinforcement - Immunity to True Damage.

2. Talent: Crazed Devotee - +20% Resistance to abnormal mental status.

3. Talent: Cell Division Control - Consumes energy to stimulate cell division and achieve powerful self-healing properties. Converts energy into HP at a 1:3 ratio, capped at 15% HP per second.

4. Talent: Endurance Enhancement - +40% Physical and Energy resistance.

5. Talent: Combat Instincts - Upon entering a combat state, +1% to all attributes, capped at 12%.

_____________________

Han Xiao's eyes sparkled. He drew two Molding Talents this time, which were the first and third options.

His gaze was firmly locked on the [Cell Division Control]. This talent should have been converted from the 'strengthened self-recovery' of EsGod, which was similar to his [Middle Grade Cell Proliferation Control]. It was just that the efficiency was not as high as his.

His own HP had now broken through 500,000, and even if he converted all of his energy, it would not even reach ten percent of his total HP. It was far from achieving the cap of twenty-eight percent per second. Thus, he would benefit by increasing the efficiency of the conversion.

As for the ability to be immune to true damage, he already had it, and there was no need to reselect it.

_____________________

You have chosen [Cell Division Control].

Your [Middle Grade Cell Proliferation Control] is similar to [Cell Division Control], and the two talents will be combined.

Talents can be upgraded! Han Xiao was excited.

Certain similar talents could be merged together to form a stronger talent, which was equivalent to an upgrade.

_____________________

Combination complete.

You have lost [Cell Division Control].

Your talent [Middle Grade Cell Proliferation Control] has been upgraded to [High Grade Cell Proliferation Control].

High Grade Cell Proliferation Control: Make use of energy to proliferate cells, heal wounds, and convert energy into HP at a ratio of 1:9. Recovery rate capped at 35% of total HP per second.

_____________________

His conversation rate had now increased from 1:5 to 1:9, almost doubling the recovery speed. The cap had also increased from twenty-eight percent to thirty-five percent.

Han Xiao exhaled before continuing with the second draw. He still stuck to the Talent option.

Another five random talents were drawn, and after a glance, Han Xiao chose the Talent [Spiritual Onsen], which gave him an added twenty percent psychological resistance, as well as accelerated the removal of any abnormal mental statuses and soul damage.

Mental attacks were his shortcoming, so there was a need to stack his psychological resistance.

For his third draw, he still chose Talent. Sweeping the randomized reward, his eyes lit up.

Among the five, one of them seemed to be the adjusted version of EsGod's Esper ability [Black Hole], which could convert a portion of the incoming damage into energy values.

After choosing this talent, the [Intermediate Energy Absorption] combined with this to form a new talent.

_____________________

Your [Intermediate Energy Absorption] has been promoted to [Expert Energy Absorption].

Expert Energy Absorption: When subject to any physical, energy, magical, or other attacks, incoming damage is reduced by 25% and converted to energy. The absorbed damage value is not counted as offset by resistance, and the remaining 75% of damage received will be used to calculate the resistance instead. 60% of the damage offset by resistance will be converted into energy.

_____________________

Han Xiao roughly did a calculation.

"If I count it like this, my efficiency in converting damage to energy will have increased by more than 1.5 times, and the upgraded talent now offers twenty-five percent more absolute resistance."

With the addition of the [Black Hole] specialty, it directly converted part of the damage into energy, which was equivalent to saving the energy required to restore this amount of HP.

If his resistance was fifty percent and he received ten thousand damage in theory, then the initial talent effect would mean he received five thousand damage and absorbed three thousand energy.

After the upgrade, the effect now was receiving 3,750 damage and absorbing 4,750 energy.

The energy obtained was more than the HP lost!

Chapter 897 - The Fall of EsGod Even

897 The Fall of EsGod Even

After the three rewards had been drawn, miniscule Mechanical Force arcs swam on the surface of his body, and he felt numb. The cells started to subtly change, and from Han Xiao’s senses, he could feel that they had become even easier to control.

Because there was a base version, the upgrades to the talents were not uncomfortable and were actually quite pleasant.

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief, clenching his fists and feeling the endless strength surging in his body, as well as the vibrant vitality.

Following the evolution of the talents, Han Xiao’s self-healing abilities had also risen to a new level. For the current him, having such strong vitality was not disadvantageous since he was holding onto two coveted Universal Treasures, or else he might end up being captured like EsGod one day.

“With my current self-healing level, so long as I’m not like EsGod being beaten up by so many Beyond Grade As, there should not be any problems.”

Now that his HP and energy conversion rates were high, Han Xiao had plans for his subsequent advancements. Since the upper limit of his HP would increase with every level up, there was no need to pay attention to it. What he needed was to continue improving the energy attribute, as this affected his total energy as well as the speed of conversion.

In terms of his Mechanic class, he had to acquire advanced mechanic-related talents, learn more Ultimate Knowledges, research more blueprints, improve his machinery, expand the size of his mechanical army, and nurture a mechanical civilization… While he was resistant to attacks, this only ensured his tankiness. The main method of combat still had to rely on his Pay-to-Win… cough cough… his mechanical army.

The siege this time was considerably less risky than the battle at Planet Lighthouse. At Planet Lighthouse, they were the passive party under attack and were outnumbered. But this time, they were on the active side and outnumbered the enemy. His situation was not so dangerous because even if the operation failed, it would not have been life threatening. Thus, the pressure was lower.

As the interface for ability extraction disappeared, Han Xiao glanced and noticed another reward notification for this mission.

[Dungeon Copy: Fall of EsGod]

Han Xiao’s eyelids jumped.

“D*mn, the difficulty of this dungeon will be through the roof!”

EsGod was considered one of the end game bosses of the evil faction, but receiving the dungeon copy was something Han Xiao expected. However, those players who dared enter such a dungeon would be masochists.

Ignoring the players, even if it was Han Xiao himself, if he attempted to solo this, he would end up being pummeled by EsGod. Luckily, he only distributed the dungeon crystals and did not use them himself.

“Oh, this copy can actually be used to display my heroism…” Han Xiao could not help but think about the professional boot-licker Bun-Hit-Dog.

Putting his thoughts away, Han Xiao then glanced at his notifications to make sure he had not missed any rewards.

“Such a notorious guy like EsGod should give me some Legendary Points. I believe when the three Universal Civilizations announce this, the points will be delivered.”

There were two ways to obtain Legendary Points. One was the reward upon completing a mission, while the other was not part of the reward but more of the news being circulated around the universe, which would still award them with Legendary Points. Since Han Xiao had obtained Legendary Points in both ways before, he was not surprised.

Han Xiao could not help but think about the future developments, sighing internally.

“Now that EsGod is trapped, the unstable variable that is the World Tree Civilization has been resolved. Even if the Crimson Dynasty manages to crack the wormhole coordinates, as long as I’m operating, the Crimson Dynasty will then pay attention to hiding itself and will not lead them here. Rather, they will explore the World Tree Civilization in advance and obtain the initiative.’

Because of the coordinates from the wormhole, the storyline of the World Tree Civilization would inevitably change. The timeline being brought forward was a definite, but in his previous life, the World Tree Civilization had first discovered the three Universal Civilizations and seized the initiative. This time, however, Han Xiao estimated that it would be the three Universal Civilizations that would first discover the World Tree Civilization.

In this manner, the situation would change. The three Universal Civilizations had progressed all the way from the dark ages and definitely understood the importance of concealment. They would make a plan first before taking action. Han Xiao himself was also clear of the style of the World Tree Civilization, and there was no way both sides could co-exist. War was inevitable.

But who the invading party would be this time was difficult to say.

Han Xiao remembered that there was still another set of the wormhole data in the hands of the Tyla Civilization, and this would require the Crimson Dynasty to recollect it themselves. This was not a huge problem. With the ability of a Universal Civilization, it was likely that they would crack it before the Tyla Civilization, and then, the dynasty would take the initiative.

Furthermore, EsGod was now out of the picture, so it was likely that this set of data would hold less of an attraction toward the researchers since there were so many other research topics to work on. They would not spend so many resources on an unknown wormhole. Therefore, based on Han Xiao’s expectations, even if the storyline of the World Tree Civilization was brought forward, it would not be so soon.

“Without their leader, the Fallen Ark should disband quickly, no longer being a paradise for thugs. Those players who like to pillage and kill will also have one fewer place to go,” Han Xiao mused.

The storyline of EsGod could be said to have been completely subverted, and the destinies of many people would be rewritten. Most of them would lead better lives. With fewer planets being destroyed, they also would not meet with grisly ends due to EsGod. The number of lives saved would probably number in the billions.

This could be considered as doing a good deed, saving a wave of characters. Han Xiao stroked his chin, and the corners of his mouth curled up.

“After getting rid of EsGod, I can now lie low. There’s nothing much for me to do. I can safely tide through Version 3.0.”

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. Thinking back, ever since Version 3.0 started, he had always been into dire straits and had faced many big issues. It seemed like he would finally welcome a long period of stability, where he could relax and slowly develop.

Just as Han Xiao was preparing his blueprint for the Black Star Army, Reynold took Nero to another machinery modification room.

Reynold came to a modification table, and his fingers marked several golden operation marks on the panel. The table was switched to a manual assembly mode, and on the clear surface of the table, several gaps appeared in which metal plates opened into arms for support.

“Since this vacation is over, I hope you can return to your studying mode as soon as possible. Theoretical knowledge is only the basis of a mechanic. The mechanics who are unable to turn this knowledge into actual manufacturing capabilities are considered failures. You have learned enough theory, and thus, starting today, you’ll need to add the operation training of primary machinery into your curriculum.”

Nero’s spirit was refreshed. Studying theoretical knowledge was dry and boring, and having actual practical lessons would at least be more interesting. He had been interested in building machinery from the start, which was why he had chosen to become a mechanic.

Pressing a few buttons of the modification station, a virtual screen popped up, in which there were many low-level machinery assembly methods recorded.

This machinery modification table belonged to Reynold, and within it were a lot of low-level blueprints.

“Let’s start from the simpler ones,” Reynold said. “Okay, take this. The classic exoskeleton mechanical suit, with a technical difficulty of D1, at the weak planetary level. This is the technology of Planet Aquamarine, and the parts have already been produced. You just need to assemble them.”

Nero settled down, recalling theoretical knowledge that he learned and applying it. He would watch the operation video whenever he was confused.

“Right now, we’re training you on your familiarity with assembly. This is the basis of a mechanic, and even His Excellency Black Star started off the same way.” Reynold stood by the side to provide guidance. “Don’t just simply follow the steps to assemble. Use all your sensory organs to detect the machinery’s structure. Use your mechanical force to penetrate it, touch it, and perceive it.”

“Understood.”

Nero focused, and the clearer a picture he got of the machinery, under the effect of the Advanced Luck Glow, his Middle Grade Mechanical Sense was slowly moving toward the advanced level.

…

In a certain restricted area of Constellation Corridor, a dynasty battleship landed on a huge mechanical space fortress. This fortress was in the shape of a cube, with a structured layer and covered with heavy armor. A large number of defensive weapons were arranged on the outside, arming it to the teeth.

This sort of armed space fortress was specially designed by the dynasty to hold prisoners who were powerful supers. It possessed powerful defense capabilities, enough to blow up an entire fleet, and a huge prison space. Only one Beyond Grade A was detained there, and all those facilities inside were to prevent the person from escaping.

“Please confirm the code and key of the imprisonment project… Procedure complete.”

“The prison is being activated. The core is currently being opened, and smart docking is underway.”

“Docking complete. The imprisoned cabin is ready to launch. Counting down… three, two, one, launch.”

From within the dynasty battleship shot out a small egg-shaped cabin. Its body was silver and black. It was ten meters long, and EsGod, wrapped in amber, was locked inside.

This egg-shaped cabin possessed independent power propulsion, jetting out flames as it smoothly flew into the gap exposed by the prison fortress. The body fit perfectly, and the mechanical structures on both sides locked to complete the fitting.

The prison then closed and folded upon itself, turning back into its original cuboid shape.

This was where EsGod would be locked for the next five hundred years.

…

Some days later, a piece of news shook the entire Galaxy.

The three Universal Civilizations jointly released a news report that the criminal EsGod had been captured!

They had hunted EsGod multiple times, all of which had ended in failure, and the infamy of EsGod had long pierced deep into the citizens’ hearts. For them to have suddenly captured EsGod shocked all the citizens.

Countless galactic residents thought that EsGod would remain unpunished, and many conspiracy theorists even believed that the three civilizations were secretly backing EsGod, but they were all equally shocked by this news.

After the initial shock came the cheers.

EsGod had been captured; everyone cheered!

After years of poisoning the universe, EsGod had caused a lot of tragedies. He had always remained the most dangerous criminal in the eyes of the galactic residents, and now the three Universal Civilizations had fought against this terrorism and captured the criminal.

The three civilizations’ joint operation, in the eyes of many people, sent a signal to the outside world that the conflicts arising from the Battle of Planet Lighthouse had been resolved, and they were trying to promote their relationship now. The interstellar environment had returned to stability.

As for the joint operation, the three civilizations also announced the details. The eleven Beyond Grade As involved were introduced, and they emphasized on Han Xiao’s merits, even calling him the core of the operation as well as its initiator. This further highlighted his contributions.

With the number of people being aware of EsGod, it was equivalent to Han Xiao stepping on the infamy of EsGod to boost his own renown.

Even before the topic of the ‘Enemy of the Arcane’ had disappeared, another matter that represented Han Xiao had appeared.

The universe termed this as the ‘Fall of EsGod’, and as the leader of the event, Han Xiao left an even deeper impression in the hearts of the galactic residents.

Various star fields and countless victims who bore hatred toward EsGod gave rise to emotions of gratitude toward Han Xiao.

…

The Shazik Planetary Transit station was a neutral planet that offered various services, located in the dangerous Central Galaxy desolate universe belt. It was a rare occurrence, and it provided people with venues for smuggling, repairs, and entertainment. The target of their service was the wanted criminals, including Fallen Ark.

Only people who were not afraid of death would establish a planetary transit station in this area. Those with no backer would be long looted by the mobs, so Shazik had linked up with the Fallen Ark, providing them with a large amount of protection fees in order to prevent being plundered.

The owner of this planetary station was also called Shazik. He was a Calamity Grade Super and had established cooperative relationships with a number of armed forces, including Fallen Ark. He was considered a middle level character in the desolate universe belt.

As for his origins, they were a secret, and the criminals there did not and would not care.

However, Shazik was no criminal but rather had his hometown ravaged by EsGod. He had developed a strong hatred, and thus, he had chosen to become an avenger, building a transit station there to look for opportunities to deal with Fallen Ark.

Upon receiving the news of EsGod being captured, he immediately called for a secret meeting.

“The moment EsGod falls, there will be no one keeping the insane Fallen Ark members together. They’re sure to disband. We’ll also be embroiled since our backer has fallen. There are too many fellows that want to plunder us,” one of his close aides said.

“That’s right. We cannot stay here any longer. We need to leave.”

“Boss, what are you going to do?”

Shattered Star Ring solemnly said, “Bring all of our things. We’ll go to Shattered Star Ring and look for the Black Star Army.”

“Why him?”

“I made a promise to the gods before. Whoever could get rid of EsGod, I would serve under him.” Shazik’s expression was set.

Ever since his hometown was annihilated, he had only had revenge left in his life. However, EsGod was too strong, and revenge was out of the question. Now that Black Star had finished his life’s work, even if it was not for revenge, Shazik also felt gratitude toward him and decided to use his strength as a form of repayment.

“With someone at Black Star’s level, will he even want us?”

“That’s why we have to bring a gift.” Shazik lowered his voice. “Over the years, we’ve bribed several of the Fallen Ark members and have also sent in a lot of undercover spies. Now is the best chance. When the Fallen Ark is in chaos, they’ll steal a portion of the riches, and this will be our basis to enter the Black Star Army.”

Everyone’s eyes lit up. They had spent so many years here and also gotten to know the Fallen Ark well. While they were a chaotic and loose organization, they also had a lot of valuable items, such as the trophies EsGod had stored over the years—secret intelligence reports, failed experiments, and even special prisoners that were locked up.

Now that EsGod was gone, they were definitely not the only ones looking to plunder the Fallen Ark. This was the best time to fish in muddied waters!

Chapter 898 - Impac

898 Impac

The members of Fallen Ark were originally criminals that came from different star fields. Some of them were the crazed worshippers of EsGod, while others did it to obtain the protection of EsGod.

Now that EsGod was gone, without their strong leader, no one had the qualifications to step up, so the lawless criminals also lost their reason for banding together.

The criminals knew that without their leader, the next move of the three Universal Civilizations would be to bring the knife to them, completely cleansing the desolate universe belt.

After EsGod fell, the powerful Fallen Ark also began to split apart into countless smaller groups, and one by one, they started to raid all the Fallen Ark’s treasuries.

The desolate universe belt in the Central Galaxy was actually the territory of the Fallen Ark and had maintained a very thin line of balance between all the forces, but now, it had become even more chaotic and dangerous, with the criminals killing and plundering each other.

At this moment, there were more than a thousand battleships surrounding a desolate planet and undergoing a battle.

This planet was one of the secret research facilities established by EsGod, and it stored various valuable materials, technology, and special products. The thousands of battleships belonged to the divided criminal groups, and their purpose was to snatch the results of this Ru0026D base. One of the teams belonged to Shazik.

The surface of the planet had turned into an intense battlefield. Most of the battlefields were not equipped with annihilation weapons but rather only used their battleship cannons to attack. The plasma beams interlaced with each other, coloring the dark universe with bright stripes, as though paint on a canvas. Hulls melted wherever it passed, turning into red hot slag that became obstacles in the battlefield.

The battle continued for a period of time, and finally, the victors were decided. Shazik’s team was one of them, and they raided this facility before leaving in satisfaction.

…

The inky black blade sliced across the throat, and fresh red blood seeped out, splattering on the bloodied cabin wall.

Plop!

A gray-skinned creature with dense compound eyes fell over, clutching his bloodied neck, revealing the killer behind.

It was a humanoid creature with a long blade wearing a hood and a black mechanical mask that only revealed a pair of scarlet eyes.

This was a tattered ship cabin, the walls of which were covered with slash marks and electrical arcs. Lying on the ground were hundreds of dead bodies of different species, and the ground was solidified with colorful blood scabs. Only the killer was left standing.

“Number 11,570…”

His voice was hoarse, sounding like a pair of worn bellows. With a flick of his wrist, the blood on the blade disappeared, and he sheathed the blade before pressing on his mechanical mask, sending a message to a number labelled ’employer’.

“Objective complete.”

Very quickly, the employer replied, their tone filled with gratitude.

“Thank you very much, Mister Lothaire. Thank you for taking revenge for us. Without you, we would forever be…”

“This is a transaction. Remember to pay up.”

Lothaire indifferently cut the other party off.

He was a lone bounty hunter, but his hunting targets were limited to members of the Fallen Ark.

Lothaire was born in one of the colonial planets of an advanced civilization and had grown up in a peaceful environment. However, the Fallen Ark fleet descended upon them one day, bringing death and destruction.

He had thought that he would die, but somehow, a hidden Esper Ability within his body burst out at the juncture of life and death, allowing him to escape from his fate… but resistance was futile, as they captured him and offered him to EsGod.

Thus, Lothaire met EsGod and had his newly awakened Esper Ability torn away from him, becoming a dying person, his life force flickering like a candle in the wind.

Normally, those whom EsGod had stolen abilities from would either be made into food or thrown out into the universe. Maybe Lady Luck was smiling at him, but Lothaire was thrown out into the universe. While ordinary people could not survive in the universe, he found out that the Esper Ability had changed his body structure, allowing him to survive even in the vacuum of the universe.

After the Fallen Ark fleet had left, the civilization’s rescue force managed to arrive before Lothaire died, making him the only survivor. He held an extreme hatred toward EsGod and Fallen Ark, and under this drive, Lothaire, who had lost his Esper ability, experienced mortal hardships, embarking on the path of a pugilist and becoming a Super.

After his training was completed, he became a bounty hunter.

The members of the Fallen Ark were all criminals, and they fled under EsGod’s umbrella to avoid being hunted by various civilizations. Lothaire was specialized in hunting down such criminals, and he made these self-confident fugitives pay their blood debt. Thus, his employers were usually victims of Fallen Ark.

As of today, the number of Fallen Ark members who had fallen under Lothaire’s blade was in six digits, but Lothaire was still unsatisfied. He was just like an ascetic monk that continued to grind his strength in order to complete his hidden goal—assassinating EsGod!

His experience of meeting EsGod had always been his nightmare, bringing him endless fear and causing him to wake up from his sleep. But even though he knew it was impossible, he refused to give up on his ultimate goal.

Without caring about the ground strewn with corpses, Lothaire walked toward the control room of the spaceship. Suddenly, his communicator notified him of a news flash, which was the joint report by the three civilizations.

“EsGod has been captured?”

Lothaire’s expression changed, and he stopped walking, concentrating on the news report.

After a while, he let out a long, relieved sigh. Suddenly, he felt a bit lost, as the goal in his heart had suddenly disappeared.

But very quickly, Lothaire regained the light in his eyes and muttered to himself, “The guy who caught EsGod is called Black Star…”

…

On one planet where the people were living like nomads, less than a tenth of the population remained after being attacked by EsGod.

When news of EsGod’s capture reached this tribe, the people shed tears of joy.

“EsGod has been captured!”

“Wu wu wu… we’ve waited so long for this day!”

“All praise Black Star!”

“Long live Black Star!”

The same scene was being repeated on many different planets.

…

The news of EsGod’s arrest incited joy but also alarmed a few secret organizations.

“EsGod was too violent in his bearings. I knew this day would come for him.”

“Now that EsGod is gone, the Fallen Ark also won’t exist. There’s no one else to take away the attention of the three civilizations. This is disadvantageous to us.”

“Continue maintaining a low profile and accumulate strength. We’re not as unbridled as EsGod, so it’s hard for them to focus on us.”

“This is also a chance. We can accept those under EsGod as well as his inheritance and use it to bolster our forces.”

“Yes, send someone to the Central Galaxy. There will be a lot of people who think the same way, so don’t fall behind.”

…

In the orbit of Planet Aquamarine, the Floating Dragon Island drifted.

Ames stood at the edge of Floating Dragon Island, overlooking the panoramic view of Planet Aquamarine.

Footsteps sounded behind her, and Ames turned to see Aesop walking to her.

“There’s big news.” Aesop shook his head. “EsGod has been captured by the three Universal Civilizations.”

“What happened?” Ames’ brows raised up.

“See for yourself.”

Aesop put the communicator on her hand.

After glancing through, Ames returned the communicator, a smile on her face.

“He really can’t sit still.”

“Black Star went and did something big again. He’s becoming stronger and stronger.” Aesop felt a little emotional.

Throughout his long life, he had experienced the age where EsGod was the craziest. He feared EsGod somewhat, but to think that this fellow actually was captured by a newbie Beyond Grade A.

Although this was a siege, he also saw the extent of Han Xiao’s current connections and influence from the lineup of the three civilizations in this operation. Even when he was part of the Ancient Ones, he probably did not have a reputation like Han Xiao’s.

“Yes, he is becoming stronger.”

Ames smiled but went a little silent. She still remembered the time she fought EsGod together with Han Xiao. At that time, his strength left her with a deep impression, but now EsGod had actually fallen to Han Xiao. This meant that Han Xiao’s overall strength should have surpassed hers.

While she had always been pursuing strength, watching her subordinate catch up to her left her with complicated feelings.

She was originally high up above, but later on, Black Star reached Beyond Grade A and sat on the same level as her. However, whether it was in position, strength, or influence, Black Star had completely surpassed her, completing a counterattack under her watch.

While she was also improving, the majority of it was because of the evolution that Black Star had given her.

Their roles had swapped.

Ames stretched before lightly blowing out.

“It seems that I’ve been too lazy these years and not exercising properly. I should look for a time to have a good fight with Black Star.”

…

Following the news, Han Xiao who was on the journey back also received a long-awaited notification.

_____________________

You have received 1 Legendary Point.

Universe Legendary Point: The Fall of EsGod—The notorious leader of the Fallen Ark, the ‘Butcherer of Life’ EsGod, has finally been captured by the three Universal Civilizations. As one of the participants, and even the leader, countless races are grateful for your contribution and will remember your name.

_____________________

Universe Legendary Point? Han Xiao whistled. The infamy of EsGod was really carved into everyone’s heart.

As one of the end bosses of the evil faction, EsGod had quite the reputation. The sensation caused by capturing him was no less than the Battle of Planet Lighthouse. Since EsGod’s influence covered the entire universe, he was given the highest legendary point rating.

Closing his notification, Han Xiao opened the forums. Everyone was discussing the fall of EsGod.

He had obtained reputation from this event, and this also seemed to have affected the players’ gaming experience.

Chapter 899 - Popularity and Recognition

899 Popularity and Recognition

The social media transmission within the galaxy was quick, and this explosive news quickly went around to various star fields. As for the players who also carried a communicator, they naturally did not miss out on such news.

Within the forums for the Shattered Star Ring, there were many players fervently discussing this incident.

After going through three versions, the players were already familiar with the erratic whereabouts of NPCs. Except for functional NPCs such as merchants, most of the characters would not stay within the same place all the time. A player could talk to a character and come back later to see that they had left for another place.

While this was a little inconvenient, the majority preferred such a characteristic, as it gave off a high sense of realism.

Following the expansion of the Black Star Army, the contact that Han Xiao had with the players had also begun to decrease. Ever since Version 2.0, he had adopted an image of a faction commander, and thus, the players were now used to not seeing a trace of their army commander and suddenly finding out news about him.

Discussing the deeds of the army commander became one of the pastimes for the players.

Many players were creating posts to discuss the fall of EsGod. At this stage, their level was too far from EsGod’s; he was a character toward the mid-late versions. As such, there was little interaction between the character and the player. The players only knew that he had a badass introduction, and he was from the evil faction, nothing else.

Only the players from the three star fields in the Central Galaxy knew more, especially those chaotic players who had taken part in looting and pillaging without taking up any storyline missions. They had gone to the desolate universe belt to join the Fallen Ark, but they did not have the qualification to see EsGod, only seeing the tip of the iceberg.

Because they were limited in their understanding of EsGod, the impact of EsGod falling was not as great, and its significance could not be compared to the battle at Planet Lighthouse. After all, Planet Lighthouse involved two Universal Civilizations, and to the players, that was end game content.

As for the fall of EsGod, the majority of players did not experience it and did not know the significance of this matter. They just thought that a big shot character had been caught.

The reply that Han Xiao saw was thus a routine spit on their army commander.

“The Army Commander ran off to do something again. He seems very free.”

“Sigh, I also want to go to the Central Galaxy to take a look. This abominable contractor, throwing us at the Shattered Star Ring to slave away while he goes to explore places leisurely.”

“Will this lead to a new storyline?”

“I doubt it. I think this was supplementary to the battle of Planet Lighthouse. EsGod took part and thus got caught. Since there’s nothing that us players can do, it’s most likely a backstory.”

“What a trash game. It’s all just CG.”

“Ah, there are no cutscenes to see. I’m going to die.”

“I’m EsGod. I got captured yesterday by the three Universal Civilizations and require 5,000 Enaus to bail me. Someone, please bail me. When I’m out, I’ll bring you to explore the world. My account number is 480xxxxxx…”

“D*mmit, I’m part of the Fallen Ark faction. You guys captured my leader. All you Black Star Army dogs, eat sh*t!”

“Central Galaxy dog, scram!”

“The Constellation Corridor is shivering.”

Seeing all sort of cr*p on the forums, Han Xiao’s mouth curved into a smile.

Just as he was scrolling through all the posts of these moronic players, he discovered that one of them was actually pushed to the top, with the topic of ‘The meaning behind the Fall of EsGod’. The post’s popularity was flying up quickly.

As he clicked on the post, he saw the player’s ID, ‘Army Commander’s JJ’ [1. For those of you who need a reminder, JJ basically means the third leg.].

“… Crazy!”

Han Xiao’s face began contorting.

Being perverts was certainly a strong point of the players. He was ashamed that he could not be like them.

Taking a deep breath to calm down, Han Xiao began to read the content.

“Brothers in the army, it seems as though many of you do not view the fall of EsGod with importance. I started off like this, but today, I met with a miraculous incident that changed my mind.

“It goes like this. I actually accepted a small employment mission some time ago and acted as a temporary escort for a long-distance travel spaceship, responsible for escorting them through the Giberian Star System. You guys know, all the Galactic Travelling Agencies now like to employ us Black Star Army people. As long as we are onboard, the pirates will not attack.

“Anyway, there was nothing to say about the journey. It was relaxing. But after we disembarked, a few of the other visitors from another star field stopped me, giving me some stuff and asking me to pass them to our Army Commander.

“[Picture Attached]

“[Picture Attached]

“As you can see from the pictures, they weren’t anything valuable, just some handmade stuff, and the flavor text read ‘This is a gift that is full of gratitude’. It triggered a corresponding mission.

“[Picture Attached]

“I had never interacted with them before, but they took the initiative to find me. These passengers said that their civilization had once been attacked by EsGod, and many people died. They were extremely grateful to Black Star for eradicating him, so they made the gifts to express their gratitude. They saw me as a member of the Black Star Army and wanted to ask me to deliver them to the commander.

“This is the rough idea. During the conversation, this group was enthusiastic, holding my hands as they laughed and cried, continuously murmuring thanks toward the Black Star Army. I’ve recorded the video here, and the emotions are very contagious…

“[Video]

“While this is just a small task, I feel that the meaning hidden within is not simple.

“Within the entire universe, how many people would have been harmed by EsGod, and how many wish to thank our commander! This number must be frightening! From this, you can tell that the true meaning behind the Fall of EsGod is not just a simple backstory but rather the dawn of justice shining upon many destroyed races and families!

“The Army Commander did a great noble deed, and honestly, seeing the gratitude on the NPC’s faces gave me a feeling of satisfaction.

“Brothers, I’ve said too much. Let me be the first to conclude: the Army Commander is awesome!

“PS: To reflect my admiration to the commander, I’ve decided to go to the cash shop to buy a ‘Name Change Card’. I’m going to add an additional ‘Big’ word to my name!”

Han Xiao scrolled down. This post had attracted a lot of players, and there were a lot of replies to it.

“It’s ok to add a ‘big’ word. But it seems that the OP[1] is a troll.”

“I suspect that you are guiding us somewhere, but I have no proof.”

“I just saw the video. It’s full of emotions. I give 100 points.”

Some players ridiculed the poster, and some agreed with him.

“This made me remember the Mutation Disaster. In order to save his mother planet, the Army Commander actively went into the galaxy to gather reinforcements. He has always had a sense of responsibility.”

“That’s right. While Army Commander is a profiteer, he can still be relied on. I remember his speech. My goodness, so inspiring!”

When players chose a camp, other than just benefits, they also paid attention to the values it displayed. The players would often seek psychological satisfaction.

Han Xiao had always given the players a good impression, so many of them stayed in the Black Star Army not just because of the high welfare but also because they recognized Han Xiao as a leader.

Now that Black Star had received the gratitude of countless races, the players also felt honored being related to him. Many of them had a sense of honor and achievement.

After reading this point, Han Xiao scratched his head, and he found out that even he himself had underestimated the influence of this incident.

Just as the post had said, there were countless races that EsGod had trampled on, and now they saw him as their savior.

This popularity was different from the normal reputation. The ones before stopped at the level of acknowledging his strength and status, but everyone only knew him as a powerful person, having high influence. What the EsGod incident gave him were the hearts of the commoners and the recognition of the galactic residents.

One of these functions would attract more talents to take the initiative to join his faction. After all, some people would never be persuaded by benefits, and they were likely often talents.

A Universe Legendary Point was indeed not simple, and this EsGod could be said to be a treasure to Han Xiao. He was now in a good mood.

“EsGod has made countless enemies, and there are so many that want revenge on him. I wonder if those NPCs that would have attacked EsGod in the future versions will lean toward my faction.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin.

…

After travelling for a few days, the spaceship finally returned to the headquarters of the Black Star Army, entering through the dedicated personal dock.

The moment Han Xiao exited, he saw Hila waiting for him.

“Hey, you personally waited for me?” Han Xiao smiled as he waved.

“Humph.” Hila did not deny it, brushing aside the red stray hairs that covered her eyes, and slowly scanned Han Xiao. “Seems like EsGod didn’t give you much trouble. None of your limbs are missing.”

Han Xiao raised his brows before sniggering. “Were you worried about me?”

“This is my duty as the Black Star Guards captain.” Hila remained expressionless.

Han Xiao smiled, turning back to bid goodbye to Feidin and the others, before leaving. He gestured for Hila to follow.

“By the way, I’ve brought you a present.”

“Not interested.” While Hila said that, her body was more honest, immediately following behind Han Xiao.

The two of them came to a combat room, and Han Xiao locked the door before turning to Hila, who was hugging her waist.

“I got something interesting from EsGod. It seems like it can strengthen Esper Abilities. With your Beyond Grade A potential, this gift could make your road to Beyond Grade A even smoother, increasing your upper limit.”

Hila fiercely pursued strength, so she immediately felt emotional. “But such a good thing, won’t you give it to my teacher to use?”

“Oh, she probably can’t utilize it.” Han Xiao shook his head. “Furthermore, you’re my first choice. The first person I thought of was you.”

[Esper Ability Strengthening] from EsGod Character Summon Card only had a total of three uses. Han Xiao had already thought about it. Hila’s potential was exceedingly high, and coupled with the fact that she was his close aide, he would also obtain the benefits.

“Humph.” The corners of Hila’s mouth curled up in an arc of joy, and she put her hands behind. “Ok. What I need to do?”

“Don’t move. Let me handle it.”

Han Xiao activated the Character Summon Card [Esper Ability Strengthening]. The shadow of EsGod appeared behind him, and dazzling white energy particles floated around his palm.

He came up to Hila’s side and tapped on her forehead. The energy particles streamed into Hila’s seven orifices and circled around in her brain.

Hila groaned and shivered, immediately fainting. Han Xiao moved fast and caught her.

After checking her condition, he estimated that she would not wake up for a period of time.

“To actually faint, I thought it would be the same as the Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid.”

Gazing at Hila who was leaning on him, Han Xiao shook his head and carried Hila off like a sack of potatoes on his shoulder.

After leaving the combat room, he approached Hila’s room, and hacking into the system, he unlocked her door and went in.

Hila’s room was as sparse as Han Xiao’s, and after he placed her on the bed and tucked her in, he caught sight of three photo frames on her desk.

He took a closer look. The three were respectively Hila and Aurora, her with Ames, and a picture with him. Other than that, there were no other decorations.

Standing silently for a while, Han Xiao stretched out his hand, taking the photo frame and lying it on the desk. He then switched off the lights and exited the room.

…

After a while, Hila finally opened her eyes and discovered that she was in her room.

“Did he bring me back?”

As her hazy brain cleared, Hila stood up and rubbed her eyes.

She revolved her Esper Ability, feeling the changes, and her eyes widened.

“This is as amazing as the Evolution Cube. The pathways are much smoother, and my upper limit has also increased… Oh, not sure how long I’ve slept. Better go find him.”

As Hila prepared to leave, she noticed an incongruity in her room. Gazing at the three photo frames, she noticed that one of them had fallen.

She realized that it was the photo of herself and Han Xiao upon closer look.

Hila’s eyes twitched, and the good mood she had gotten from strengthening herself dissipated in a flash.

“…Humph!”

[1] Original Poster

Chapter 900 - Eternal Power Source

900 Eternal Power Source

In the following month, Han Xiao remained within the headquarters to sort out his gains.

His Contribution Points in the dynasty had increased by another ten thousand or so, and with his original eleven thousand, he had more than twenty-two thousand. He used that to purchase one new Ultimate Knowledge from the dynasty.

Right now, the tumor that was EsGod had already been removed, and the external environment had also settled down and entered a stable development period. The pressure on him was greatly decreased, so he did not have to rush and gather more knowledge.

Han Xiao had currently grasped three Ultimate Knowledges: [Endless Material Science], [Mechanical Life Tinder], and [Virtual Creator]. There was one from each of the branches.

The Materials, Information, and Energy Branches had always been the Three Chariots of the Mechanic Class. He had obtained both material and information branches, so he chose to fill up the final branch with [Eternal Power Source].

This Ultimate Knowledge’s title was just a sham. Its effect was not so exaggerated as to provide an ‘eternal’ source. It was not literally inexhaustible energy. The name came from the significance it held toward a Mechanic’s combat strength.

The Cutting-Edge Knowledge [Abnormal State Energy] allowed a Mechanic to master the technology for safely extracting Psionic, dark matter, antimatter energy, and more. [Eternal Power Source] allowed these new energy sources to be utilized to elevate a Mechanic’s abilities. At this point, one would see that technology and magic had started to blend into one, and like a mage, a mechanic would also begin to wield multi-dimensional energy.

However, this did not mean a difference in energy levels. Multi-dimensional energy did not mean that it was stronger than Psionic energy. It was just an increase in the variety of energy that a mechanic could wield.

The real focus of [Eternal Power Source] was not mastering new energy but improving the technology of the mechanic such that it was able to welcome the energies.

Just like the progress from nuclear fission to fusion, learning a more advanced energy extraction method would create a new generation of Psionic and dark matter energy reactors, which would increase the power output and stability.

The result would be a comprehensive increase in weapon power, shield durability, and machinery performance, which was the improvement brought about by energy technology innovation.

The new Ultimate Knowledge also gave Han Xiao a new talent and ability.

_____________________

[Advanced Energy Control]: When utilizing advanced energy, x1.15 Attack Power Bonus, x1.2 Shield Durability Factor, +30% Machinery Core Efficiency, +20% Output Efficiency.

[Energy Innovation]: Passive Ability. This Ability will only be upgraded with each increase in level for [Eternal Power Source]. Every level up will unlock additional advanced energy technology as well as reactor blueprints.

_____________________

Energy was just too important, so no matter which Mechanic branch one belonged to, they had to max out the level of [Eternal Power Source]. This was also one of the culprits behind the players’ Enaus hemorrhaging.

If one did not choose to specialize in the Energy Branch, the tripled cost of Potential Points needed would make people feel like dying!

Even Han Xiao himself felt the difficulty. Even at Level 280, he only had twenty-one spare Potential Points. Learning this knowledge would require twenty-four points, and even if he maxed out a few of his abilities to make up for the lack of points, maxing out [Eternal Power Source] from Level1 to Level5 would require another ninety-six Potential Points, which was equivalent to raising the level of ninety-six blueprints to the maximum.

The experience needed for this was even more frightening than what was needed to level up!

The strength of a mechanic was derived from knowledge, and blindly levelling up was insufficient. Only by stacking up the various knowledges would they then have a stronger combat capability among their peers. This was the foundation of a mechanic.

Han Xiao’s four Ultimate Knowledges were all at Level1. After raising his level, he had to consider raising his Ultimate Knowledge level. Because of his unique advantage of having leeks, he had decided to raise all the levels of his Ultimate Knowledges as much as possible. This was destined to be a long project, but upon completion, his combat capability would be off the charts.

In addition to his own growth plan, Han Xiao also took care of the officers. The [Ability Enhancement] Character Summon Card was utilized on both Hila and Aurora, as the former had a Beyond Grade A potential, whereas the latter had a strategic level ability.

The last usage was left behind. Because both Ames and him were in the S grade, it was impossible for him to use it on her. He prepared to save this chance for another time.

In the next month, Han Xiao settled a few more official matters. The most important was the business cooperation with the Federation of Light. This was the deal that they had agreed upon.

Their method of cooperation was to help Black Star by opening a branch in the Abyss of Stars. Han Xiao coordinated with a deployment team and arranged for several satellite bases to be sent over.

Those who went over as the deployment team did not include the players, however. The Great Mechanic Han did not have the habit of transplanting his own leeks into another person’s farm.

Currently, there were two major events for the players to participate in—the Gulal Civilization war and the exploration of the Flickering World.

Moreover, the promotion for the Pro League had already begun, and because Version 3.0 was the time where the volume of players shot up rapidly, there were far more newcomers. The volume for this Version’s Pro League was much greater than in the past, and every player that intended to participate was actively preparing.

Based on Han Xiao’s estimates, the enthusiasm of players had risen by 47.5%.

Thus, the players could be left alone. Han Xiao had recently been more concerned with the follow-up events of EsGod’s fall. The impact of the event had already begun to ferment, spreading to the whole universe.

The three Universal Civilizations had begun a new wave of cleaning up the evildoers, and the Fallen Ark that had threatened the entire Central Galaxy had now completely disbanded and scattered. Many of the criminals had left the Central Galaxy, choosing to roam through the universe. Some of the other organizations were actively recruiting such criminals, dividing up EsGod’s manpower.

The Fallen Ark was one of the most famous criminal organizations of this era, but it was not the only one. With the vastness of the universe, there were other large criminal organizations active in the major star fields, and it was these people that were taking in EsGod’s manpower and legacies.

The Black Star Army had also received the same treatment. From Sylvia’s report, there was a spike in newcomers registering, and this should be because of his reputation in the universe.

While the majority of them were victims of EsGod, there were two people who attracted Han Xiao’s attention.

…

In the reception room within the Black Star Army Headquarters, Shazik and Lothaire sat in front of Han Xiao. The three of them sized up each other.

Han Xiao’s gaze swept across the two of them. His expression was unreadable as he spoke. “Both of you are Calamity Grade Supers. Are you serious about joining the Black Star Army?”

Shazik nodded and solemnly said, “EsGod destroyed my entire hometown, and my reason for living was to take revenge on him. I once swore that if someone could help me take revenge, then I would follow him.”

Lothaire had half of his face covered, and he only coldly nodded in response. He did not talk much.

“If that’s the case, then on behalf of the Black Star Army, I formally welcome you two aboard.”

Han Xiao smiled. A Calamity Grade was a high-level combatant and could live a life of luxury in any organization. Thus, he definitely would not reject them.

The reason these two caught his notice was not just because they were Calamity Grade but because they were famous NPCs.

In the past, EsGod had rampaged in the universe for many versions and made many enemies. Both Shazik and Lothaire were people who appeared in the storyline of EsGod, and they were both enemies of EsGod.

Shazik ran a gray transit station in the Central Galaxy’s desolate universe belt, and while it looked like it provided services to the criminals, it was actually a venomous snake in hiding.

During the time he was in business, he secretly bribed the people in Fallen Ark, collecting intelligence to disclose to EsGod’s enemies while also quietly sheltering the various organizations that sought to take revenge against EsGod. He provided them with weapons and spaceships, and players who had joined the universal civilizations could accept missions from him.

Shazik used all sorts of methods to nibble away at the influence of the Fallen Ark, but what the universe did not lack was crime, and thus, his speed of destruction could not overcome the speed at which they recruited.

In the end, because players who accepted asylum from him posted about it on the forums, his behavior alerted a player of the Fallen Ark faction, who then revealed his identity. He died at the hands of a bunch of criminals.

As for Lothaire, he was even better. This was a madman that dared to try assassinating EsGod. He had a mid-level Luck Glow around him and was a revenge-type template of a main character.

Lothaire was a bounty hunter who specialized in assassinating members of Fallen Ark. In the middle versions, he had established a secret organization named ‘Assassin’s Society’. It was not a large organization, but all its members were elites, possessing some reputation in the universe.

This was a hidden faction, and only players who had passed the test would be able to enter. Within, they would be able to obtain the subclass [Galactic Assassin] and could learn all sorts of assassination related skills from the members present. There was also an S ranked mission, [Assassinate EsGod].

In the past, the Assassin’s Society had high popularity because a large portion of lone wolf players liked the feeling of being assassins. This was especially so if one was an assassin in the universe, as they could assassinate all sorts of great characters, then watch the chaos it brought.

Lothaire had the strength of a Beyond Grade A seed at his peak, and he appeared and disappeared like a specter. As an assassin known for his lethality, his deterrence force was even stronger than a normal Beyond Grade A seed. He far outstripped Hadavy in terms of strength and was ranked at the forefront for assassination in the universe.

A pity that, because he could no longer withstand the fear he got from his nightmares of EsGod, he finally attempted to assassinate EsGod alone. With that, the strongest assassin never returned, dying at the hands of EsGod.

Based on their past records, Han Xiao looked more favorably on Lothaire’s strength. If he could obtain his loyalty, there was a lot of value in grooming him.

Upon recalling Lothaire’s past, Han Xiao had an idea.

I can create a small squad within the Black Star Guards, which need not stay near me, but move out on black ops. They will only answer to me, and I can call them the Shadow Guards or Shadowers…

This would allow Lothaire to once again create an assassin group similar to his past life. This might allow him to attract lone wolf players and use them to complete some shady objectives.

Just as Han Xiao was absorbed in his thoughts, Shazik took out a data storage device and placed it on the desk.

“Your Excellency Black Star, this is my greeting gift for you.”

Hearing his, Han Xiao tilted his head, asking curiously, “What’s inside?”

“A portion of EsGod’s legacies,” Shazik said in hushed tones. “Before we left the Central Galaxy, I mobilized all my undercover agents and seized a few of EsGod’s research bases. From there, we took their inheritance. This is my offering for joining the Black Star Army.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he looked at Shazik with praise.

This leek truly knew how to do things and even brought fertilizer for him.

He was reliable in doing things, a talent!

The various organizations are now trying to divvy up EsGod’s inheritance. I didn’t expect that by sitting at home, I would also receive a copy.

Pointing with a finger, he shot out a ray of nanoparticles, which entered the port of the data storage, directly linking to the stored data within.

“Phillip, read the data inside.”

“Roger, hum…”

Han Xiao closed his eyes, reaching into the quantum network. His brain, under the guidance of Phillip, quickly downloaded all the various information within.

There were quite a few goodies within, such as intelligence on certain civilizations, blueprints from lost civilizations, and special technology research reports.

After browsing for a while, Han Xiao found traces of the Evolutionary Civilization and was overjoyed.

With the instructions from the Evolutionary Civilization, he could now manufacture the containment block by himself, which solved one problem. Now, he need not be afraid of destroying the containment block to release its actual shape, and there were more methods to utilize it.

This information was priceless to him!

“What good stuff.” Han Xiao suppressed his excitement, quickly flipping through other reports.

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. A certain report had captured his attention.

Oh, this is… a Super High Risk Esper Ability‽

Chapter 901 - Clue on Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy

901 Clue on Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy

Han Xiao frowned and scrutinized the report.

“This is the observation record and prediction coordinates of the [Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy]…”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

EsGod had been conducting research on mastering Super High Risk Esper Abilities for many years. One method would be to synthesize the abilities, and the other would be to directly find the whereabouts of such an ability.

Within the Super High Risk Esper Ability Restriction Treaty, not all abilities were derived from self-awakening. There was a super high risk Esper ability that was rare and unique, known as ‘Primal Energy Body’, which could exist as a life form in the form of an energy field. It had its own independent consciousness and was an ancient existence that flowed through the universe.

This kind of ability allowed a biological user to harness its power in the form of a possession, and they were called ‘hosts’.

However, the screening conditions were extremely harsh. If the strength of their energies conflict, no matter how powerful the Supers were, they could not bear the original energy body. Therefore, only Espers or ordinary people had the opportunity to become hosts. If the host was unable to carry the energy body, there would be a backlash.

Biological creatures below the Calamity Grade would be completely unable to withstand its strength and would implode due to the immense energy.

If successfully possessed, the host could use the power of the energy body. The host’s power would then come from an external source, and they would act like a launcher. The stronger one’s body, the more strength could be utilized, and the host would not need to develop the strength. This alternative ability was rare and much stronger than self-awakening an ability.

[Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy] was one of these ‘Primal Energy Bodies’. It was a compound ability, covering multiple abilities such as physical fitness, firing radiation beams, and super speed. It could also allow the host to travel in space and extract the energy cores of stars, as well as possessing spatial and mental attribute abilities. It was well rounded and extremely powerful.

In history, there had been a few cases where hosts of [Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy] were recorded. All of them left startling records, pushing this ability onto the list of Super High Risk Esper Abilities.

In his previous life, the [Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy] was one of the Super High Risk Esper Abilities that EsGod grasped in the later versions. He did not become a host but rather managed to rip off part of the [Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy] body and obtained a portion of the [Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy].

This storyline was quite interesting, as it was unknown if the piece ripped off was the reproductive organ of the energy body, but the energy body went berserk and tried to reclaim that piece at all costs, searching for hosts to fight against EsGod.

Thus, there appeared two hosts capable of using the [Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy], and as though it was some drama where one sky could not hold two suns, they would fight. As for the host, he was also one of the important characters in EsGod’s storyline.

The [Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy] shuttled through the secondary dimension usually, only occasionally appearing in a corner of the universe. This report recorded where the [Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy] had moved and predicted its next location.

“Since EsGod obtained that ability in the future, out of the predictions here, one should be accurate.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin, feeling a little moved.

While he could not possess any Esper Abilities, he could always use it to nurture his followers. Although they were bound by the Super High Risk Esper Ability Restriction Treaty, the specific implementation varied from person. With his current status, as long as he did not allow his people to abuse their ability, the Universal Civilizations would not care about him. After all, there was something known as ‘privilege’.

As for the method of capturing the Primal Energy Bodies, it was not an issue at his current stage. It was more than enough to create a containment device that could restrict an energy life. Many civilizations had this technology.

However, the time stated for the [Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy] was still far away. He had plenty of time to prepare.

Han Xiao nodded.

According to the data, he had decades before the next return. Preparing it now would be too early. As long as it had not appeared, going to the coordinates would be useless.

However, this time would not be as relaxed as obtaining the Spacetime Amber. It was likely that not only Shazik had managed to obtain this data, so there would be competitors.

Let’s think about it more when it comes. If push comes to shove, I can just snatch it… Han Xiao did not care much.

With his current strength, he was not afraid of clashing with any organizations, let alone decades later. Who knew how much the Black Star Army would have developed by then?

Retreating from the quantum network, Han Xiao renewed his gaze on the both of them, nodding.

“I’m very satisfied with this gift, Shazik. I feel that you have some ability in the area of intelligence gathering and intend to put you in that department. How about it?”

“I will accept any position.” Shazik did not have any objections.

Han Xiao nodded. He felt that Shazik was a talent in intelligence and might be able to lead it in the future.

He then turned toward Lothaire, and after pausing for a moment, he said, “As for you… I will not give you any positions at the time being. Just follow at my side for now.”

This main character was quite strong, so he decided to allow Lothaire to lead a special ops team in the future… but not at the moment.

This guy had just entered and required a period of observation.

“Okay.” Lothaire’s words were like gold to him.

“Then you two may go rest up and familiarize with the headquarters.”

Both nodded and left the room.

Han Xiao sat on the sofa, sending them off with his gaze before leaving the room himself.

He went straight to his grand, exclusive machinery factory before allowing Phillip to arrange the information on the Evolutionary Civilization.

He had only glanced at it just now and finally had the time to study this in depth.

The Evolutionary Civilization’s technology had long been lost, and even the information on EsGod’s hands was incomplete. It could not explain the principle behind the Evolution Cube and only acted like an operation manual.

After reading it, Han Xiao realized that his usage of the Evolution Cube was actually very rough.

As a Universal Treasure that a semi Universal Civilization had created, its purpose was not that simple. The Evolutionary Civilization had used it as a special energy source and had developed a variety of devices for it to be utilized differently.

For example, one of them acted like a totem device, where it used the energy of the Evolution Cube as fuel, and the influence of the totem could be adjusted to cover up to the entire planet. Unlike the one-time improvement of the Evolution Cube, the effect of the totem device was gentler, similar to a buff. If maintained for a long period of time, it would slowly increase the talent and potential of a planet’s inhabitants so that the awakening rate of the planet’s supers soared. This was equivalent to transforming the planet, allowing the newborns to become stronger.

There was only one Evolution Cube, but one could create as many Evolutionary Totems as they wished. They just had to be charged to be used. The Evolutionary Civilization had utilized this to great effect to improve the talents of their civilization; the efficiency was high and results controllable.

“This is good!” Han Xiao’s eyes turned into dollar signs.

With such totem blueprints, the Evolution Cube’s value would rise several times in the eyes of the other civilizations. The value could not be estimated.

But this was also useful to the Black Star Army. This could be used to slowly enhance the talents of all their soldiers in the subbases.

There was also a device worn on the body, called the Ovitan Badge, which used Evolutionary energy as fuel. It could carry out an ultimate evolution of the wearer when activated regardless of the consequences, turning a normal person into a biological aberration. Their combat power could even reach Grade C or B just from the evolution. This effect was more potent than any strength enhancing drugs, and the duration ranged from hours to days. However, when the effect ended, the user would collapse and die.

There was also a chance to break through the genetic locks and become a perfect evolutionary being, but the chance was so miniscule that it was not considered at all.

Only when faced with great danger would the Evolutionary Civilization resort to this method.

Han Xiao immediately thought of the perfect users for these—the players!

The army’s nuclear explosion backpack had always been a hot product, and eighty percent of the players would definitely ignore the effects of the Ovitan Badge.

“With this thing, the death-strike gameplay is going to become famous again.”

When his players next went out to fight, if they all transformed into monsters, this might give people the impression that his people were undergoing some human genetics experiment, viewing them as an evil faction camp.

This function also has a long-range method of attack. The data from EsGod recorded an offensive method as a special missile that carried the evolutionary energy similar to that of the Ovitan Badge. After hitting the surface, the energy would spread and contaminate all living beings within the range, and they would all turn into aberrations, waiting to die.

The Evolutionary Civilization only needed to wait for their genes to collapse and die, and they could easily capture the territory without damaging any structures. These were simply biological weapons that could kill creatures with the utmost precision.

“What a frightening weapon,” Han Xiao remarked. In the exploration era, the Evolutionary Civilization did not utilize such weapons at all.

At the back of the document, various techniques for connecting one’s soul with the Evolution Cube were also recorded. In the words of the Evolutionary Civilization, this was known as ‘resonance’.

Every Evolutionary Civilization guardian of the Evolution Cube had to form a soul connection with the Evolution Cube, and this was a skill passed down every generation.

“This has made it easier for me.” Han Xiao’s eyes lit up.

Since Psyker had removed his Soul Connection, the quota had been vacated.

Another Soul Connection to a Universal Treasure would also increase his strength.

Speaking of which, this little Evolution Cube seemed to have had many owners before and was technically a spoiled flower.

It was unlike the Spacetime Amber, which had given its first time to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao immediately shook his head, throwing these weird thoughts out before clapping his hands.

“There’s now a job for me to do. Let’s first do a mass production of these containers.”

Chapter 902 - Evolutionary Totem

902 Evolutionary Totem

A couple of days later…

Within his dedicated machinery factory, Han Xiao had constructed a production line for the totems and Ovitan Badges based on the instructions, and he had set it to run automatically. During the assembly, new products would be released all the time, and they were automatically delivered to the warehouse specially designated by Han Xiao. As for the Gene Collapse Missile, he has not put it into mass production for the time being but had just created a test product.

Han Xiao took out three samples for a test.

The Evolutionary Totem was a black cylinder with a height of five meters and a diameter of two meters. Its surface was inscribed with a silver energy circuit. At this time, it was in an inactive state because it was not charged.

The Ovitan Badge was the size of half a palm and the shape of a diamond. It looked unassuming at first glance.

Han Xiao used his finger to trace the pattern of the password on the base of the totem device. With the sound of gears connecting, the base rotated to reveal a black lacquered groove, which was the interface of the energy circuit where the fuel was located.

Taking out the Evolution Cube, Han Xiao activated it, and a thin stream of evolutionary energy flowed into the groove.

The next instant, the totem shuddered.

Hum!

The totem device activated as fuel was put in, the silver lines lighting from bottom to up and beginning to slowly flash at a frequency like breathing. The evolutionary energy underwent an invisible process of dilution, which was then released in an invisible radiation wave with a constant output power.

“The current energy is enough to be used for more than ten days. The more fuel I put, the longer the duration, with an upper limit of twenty years of operation.”

Han Xiao carefully scrutinized the operation mode. From his senses, he could see that the device had turned into a radiation source. It continuously radiated the diluted evolutionary energy, which would cover the entire Black Star Army headquarters.

He was included in the influence range, and his interface refreshed with a new buff.

[Continuous Genetic Optimization]: You are enveloped by evolutionary radiation, and your potential qualifications will slowly increase, which will add more options when sublimating into a new life level.

Han Xiao nodded to himself. Directly using the Evolution Cube enhanced the potential qualifications, and these were hidden attributes that were directly related to one’s attributes. Each time they improved, their attributes got closer to perfection.

Because the totem device slowly altered one’s genes, the advantage was that the effect was not restricted by one’s strength level. Furthermore, there was no side effect like Exp Penalty.

As long as one was within the influence of the totem, the buff would not disappear.

Han Xiao stretched out his hands and touched the totem device, and a series of words popped out.

_____________________

Evolutionary Totem (Active): A special product of the Evolutionary Civilization, utilizing energy of the Evolution Cube as fuel to optimize the genetic structure of the organism on a large scale. It enhances the potential of biological creatures and increases the awakening probability of Supers.

“While we have grasped the method of evolution, I firmly oppose the Vice President’s concept of custom population and extreme evolution. Evolving should be done step by step, and big supplements are not as good as moderate supplements.” — Usain, Evolution Cube Technology Institute, Project ‘Totem’ Supervisor

_____________________

“This thing can be utilized on a large scale, but I need to first report this to the dynasty.”

Following the division of EsGod’s inheritance to many forces, the information of the Evolutionary Civilization was bound to be circulated. While it would not be disclosed in the universe, most advanced civilizations would be able to get their hands on the intelligence, so concealment was impossible.

Furthermore, as an ally, it was only natural to share it with the dynasty. Only then would he be able to gain greater support and attention.

The Evolutionary Totem technology, once spread out, would make the attractiveness of the Evolution Cube rise several times. Only by helping the dynasty would they then continue to help him block the people coveting it.

Selling the Evolutionary Totems to other civilizations would also have to be discussed with the dynasty. Both sides were allies, and he could not decide everything on his own. Large scale sales would cause dissatisfaction with the dynasty, as they did not wish to see their opponents enjoy the benefits provided by the Evolutionary Totem.

As he thought of this, Han Xiao picked up the Ovitan Badge, and another series of words popped out.

_____________________

Ovitan Badge: The special product of the Evolutionary Civilization. Allows for Evolution Limit: Aberration to occur through extreme modification of the user’s genes, and the user has a high probability of turning into a biological aberration, where their basic attributes have been greatly strengthened. When the duration of the energy ends, the user will be unable to suppress their own genes collapsing and will inevitably die.

“Countless failed extreme evolutionary experiments have cost us a lot of money, and the upper echelons have accused us of not producing results, so we created this based on the experience of our failures. Cr*ppy by-products they were, originally intended to deceive our investors, but they seemed to be very satisfied with this, causing our funding to increase by 40% the following year.” — Banjadi, Evolution Cube Technology Institute, Vice President]

_____________________

Han Xiao toyed around with it for a while before putting it back.

The side effects of this toy were too great, and he was not interested in testing it out himself.

The Ovitan Badge possessed no lethality to Beyond Grade As, who would control their own bodies extremely well. Even if the energy entered their bodies, they could excrete it given some time. Just like detoxification, this level of biochemical toxin was not even able to kill a Calamity Grade, let alone a Beyond Grade A.

Compared to the Evolutionary Totem, the value of the Ovitan Badge was far less, but it was still useful.

“I can change the appearance of the Ovitan Badge to serve as the new Black Star Army emblem. Other organizations’ emblems are purely for decorative purposes, but mine has an added insurance within.” Han Xiao stroked his chin. “I should first find a few players to test it out before selling it.”

As for the Gene Collapse Missile, Han Xiao did not bother charging it, only looking through the introduction.

_____________________

[Gene Collapse Missile]: A special biochemical weapon of the Evolutionary Civilization. It can cause the collapse of biological genes and is often used to occupy planets.

“This weapon is suitable for clearing the resistance of a planet’s surface but is useless in interstellar wars. In contrast, I still prefer the small portable gene collapse bombs.” — Molin, Evolution Cube Technology Institute, Head of Weapon Research and Development

_____________________

Taking out his communicator, he sent the Evolutionary Totem’s report to Urranrell’s private number, and his communicator rang after a short while.

After connecting, Urranrell’s long distance projection appeared in front of Han Xiao.

“Black Star, you’ve created the Evolutionary Totem?”

“Yes, and I’ve tested it. It works perfectly. This is my reason for contacting you.”

“Very good!”

Urranrell was overjoyed, but her face did not reveal her happiness.

She paused for a while, as though suddenly realizing a problem, and her tone grew solemn.

“There are many organizations that have obtained EsGod’s inheritance.”

“That’s right, but there’s only one Evolution Cube that can supply the energy.” Han Xiao nodded. “I’ll send a batch of Evolutionary Totems to the dynasty, and I’ll only begin sales of the Evolutionary Totems to other civilizations but on the premise that they will not harm the dynasty’s benefits. I’ll mainly sell to the other civilizations that have a closer relationship with the dynasty.”

Urranrell’s eyes lit up.

“That’s great. I understand.”

The Evolutionary Totem would be a great attraction to all civilizations, and the dynasty had the ability to hoard it all, but doing so would only incite resentment, which was unfavorable to Han Xiao.”

Han Xiao’s intentions were for the Evolutionary Totem to be used as a bargaining chip. The civilizations that wished to obtain it must be part of or allied to the dynasty, and this would attract more political allies, which would also allow him to harvest more contacts and money.

Rather than restricting it, the dynasty would have the meat, and its allies would get the soup. If they opened a channel for the other civilizations to obtain, then the pressure would be a lot less.

Furthermore, this was not a one-off transaction. The Evolutionary Totem required fuel to operate. Otherwise, it could not be used, so the civilizations that purchased this would have to maintain long-term cooperation to renew the contract with Han Xiao again and recharge the totem. This created a passive income flow for him. In addition, even if the Evolutionary Totem appeared on the black market, the civilizations that purchased it could not use it forever.

Urranrell considered it for a while before accepting the proposal.

After all, the Evolutionary Totem was not some mass weapon of destruction, and it was something that would benefit the people. All advanced civilizations studied genetic technology, but it was not as powerful as the Evolutionary Civilization. Thus, the totems would not be a need but a want. While it was good to keep it for themselves, the dynasty was not the strongest civilization, with the Federation of Light and the Arcane Church on the same level, so it was better to consider an option that would be a win-win.

After disconnecting, Han Xiao thought about it before opening the faction interface and releasing a task.

_____________________

Trial Tester Needed

Mission Introduction: Black Star has manufactured a new product and requires volunteers to help test out the product (risk of death).

Mission Requirements: Help Black Star test out the new product.

Reward: 100,000 Experience, 500 Black Star Army Contribution Points, and 50,000 Enaus.

Remarks: The mission is only restricted to 10 people. The test will begin in three hours. If not present by the testing time, -1,000 Contribution Points and -20 Black Star Favorability.

_____________________

Because only ten people were needed, the moment the mission was released, it was immediately snapped up.

…

Three hours later, the ten players arrived at the venue, guided by Phillip, looking around.

One of them was Bun-Hit-Dog.

The Fall of EsGod had made him smell a scoop, so he immediately ran back to the headquarters in hope of meeting Han Xiao and managed to come across this mission.

“Bun-Hit-Dog, you’re also here.”

“You piece of sh*t, hurry and update your stream!”

“Will you be afraid if I pull out my blade and threaten you now?”

The other nine players greeted Bun-Hit-Dog passionately.

Because the Black Star series had gone through so many updates, it had long attracted many fans, and Bun-Hit-Dog was like a celebrity in the eyes of these players.

After bantering around, the door suddenly opened, and Han Xiao walked in with his hands behind his back.

“Good day, Army Commander!” Bun-Hit-Dog immediately pulled himself away from all the others and saluted Han Xiao with an ingratiating smile.

“Oh, it’s you. Long time no see.” Han Xiao patted him on the shoulder.

Bun-Hit-Dog could not help but feel touched at this camaraderie.

Han Xiao then turned to the rest and dryly coughed. “Since everyone has arrived, let’s begin. But let me warn you. The side effects are pretty severe this time.”

As he spoke, Han Xiao took out ten fully charged Ovitan Badges with the Black Star Army emblem on it.

The ten players took a badge each, browsing the item introduction.

Seeing the introduction, the eyes of Bun-Hit-Dog lit up, and he began the recording function.

The players also knew that the Evolution Cube was in the hands of their own Army Commander, but Black Star did not allow the players to use it freely. The appearance of the Ovitan Badge could be an omen that the Evolution Cube was going to be spread to the players soon.

“Whenever you’re ready.” Han Xiao nodded.

Everyone looked at each other and did not hesitate, pinning the badges on.

While the introduction told them there was a high risk of death, the reward was 50,000 Enaus, which was no small amount for the players. It was worth it.

The first player who activated it underwent a heaven shaking transformation.

His flesh multiplied, and bone spurs burst out from his body as he swelled up like a balloon. He quickly turned into a biological aberration more than five meters tall, looking like a monster with sarcomas all over his body. The muscles all over his body and face were torn apart.

The other nine players were stunned and unconsciously stopped their activation.

Before they could speak, the transformed player noticed his appearance and yelled, “The f*ck! Just what sh*t did I transform into‽”

Chapter 903 - Transformation

903 Transformation

“Woah, what a large lump!”

“This item is a little interesting. This looks a little like an Ultraman transformation.”

“This looks like a biochemical transformation!”

“Wow, he really looks a little like a Creeper…”

“No, no, no, this is a Ravager!”

“Bullsh*t, look at his sexy bone spikes. He is obviously a Skeleton Horse!”

“I didn’t study much, but don’t lie to me. This is obviously a monster from Balala the Fairies.”

The players all gathered around with curiosity in their eyes.

Their height was only up to the transformed player’s crotch, and they were like dwarfs surrounding a giant. The players then stretched out their hands to touch the body of the transformed player.

“Oi! Watch where you’re touching! You’re touching my ass! Why don’t you transform yourself if you’re so curious‽”

That player was exasperated and swung his palm out like a heavy hammer. The few players surrounding him were immediately sent flying and crashing into the alloy walls.

The players who were sent flying were not angry at all. They all stood up and puked out a mouthful of blood before crowding forward again excitedly.

“Wow, that attack dealt a lot of damage. How powerful.”

“Hurry up and check your attributes.”

The other players pestered him by the side.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled as he watched the scene before him.

The Ovitan Badge was an item that had been through many rounds of improvements and modifications. The Evolutionary Civilization would not create soldiers that lost all reason. Thus, the transformed being would maintain a certain degree of their consciousness and would not enter a [Chaos] state. It was just that their intelligence level and mental resistance would fall, and they were only capable of making some basic judgement. However, because of the uniqueness of the players, they would not experience any changes to their mental state after using the Ovitan Badge.

This meant that his theory was right. The players were the most suitable bunch to use the Ovitan Badge!

They did not lose their rationality and could fully utilize their strength after the evolution!

Han Xiao coughed and interrupted the players. “How are you feeling right now? Can you still control your body freely?”

“I can.” The transformed player performed a few actions curiously and displayed his stunning dexterity. His nails transformed into sharp claws to scratch his bald head.

Han Xiao nodded, and nanoparticles gushed out from his sleeves to form a golden needle.

“Don’t move, let me check your body.”

As he said that, Han Xiao stabbed the needle into the transformed being’s body, and combat information popped up.

The Ovitan Badge seemed to exist in the form of a buff, and this player was currently experiencing the buff.

_____________________

[Evolution Limit: Aberration]: Your genes have been reconstructed by the [Ovitan Badge], and your Class has been temporarily changed to [High Grade Biological Aberration].

Basic Endurance boost will be transformed to 1:200, +30% Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance. -50% Intelligence, Mystery, and Charisma.

Additional attribute changes: +240 Strength, +200 Dexterity, +200 Endurance, -300 Intelligence, -300 Mystery, -500 Charisma.

1.3x physical resistance, 0.4x mental resistance, +200% Health and Stamina recovery speed.

You will lose 300–600 Health every minute, and your Health will fall by 30% – 60% every half an hour. Your Health limit is reduced by 10,000 – 20,000 every hour.

-90% effectiveness of any close combat equipment (including but not limited to mechanical equipment and magic tools). A portion of incompatible skills and talents will be frozen (unusable). +100% energy and stamina consumption of skills. Your close combat attacks will have [Hack] and [Sweep] effects. +70% close combat damage. +25% [Suppressing Force] and [Crushing Force] success rate.

Remark: Dance to your heart’s content before your death!

_____________________

Woah, how ferocious!

Han Xiao excitedly analyzed the effects of the badge.

The transformation had obviously prioritized close combat strength, and the gene evolution path that the Evolutionary Civilization had set leaned toward strengthening the body while weakening the mind.

After all, the initial motive of designing the Ovitan Badge was to scam investments… cough cough, create a suicidal civilian army. Thus, strengthening the body was the fastest way to raise an individual’s strength.

After the transformation, their biggest improvement was in their tankiness!

During Version 3.0, the player’s level limit was 120. When he was at level 120, his health was about thirty thousand, and the players, who did not have any Molding Talents, should have about ten thousand health with their basic Endurance boost being one to fifty. After the transformation, the player’s health was increased by four times!

Just this extra boost provided by the transformation would provide the players with forty thousand more health, and together with the few hundred points of Endurance that a level 120 player had, it was possible for their health to break the hundred thousand mark. Just from their health alone, it was sufficient to be compared to an ordinary Calamity Grade Super!

An ordinary level 120 player would have their attributes in the range of the hundreds. As such, the boost to their Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance would be almost doubled.

Thus, the benefits of the transformation were extremely obvious. If a player transformed when their HP was low, there was definitely a chance to turn the entire battle around.

However, the weakness was also extremely obvious. An individual’s Intelligence and Mystery would be greatly reduced, and their mental resistance would be frighteningly low. Furthermore, a lot of the frozen skills would be the long-ranged skills, resulting in the transformed being’s long-range combat capability being extremely poor. If the transformed being could not drag the enemy into a close ranged battle, it was very likely that the transformed being would end up becoming a live target board.

Just as he was viewing the combat information, Bun-Hit-Dog and the others also saw the attribute panel being shared by the transformed player.

“F***! This is too overpowered!”

“Although he is extremely ugly, I can accept it!”

Everyone then activated the badges excitedly, and eight more beasts appeared in the room. Feeling their powerful strength, they jumped around the room like monkeys. Bun-Hit-Dog was the only one who did not transform.

Bun-Hit-Dog swallowed a mouthful of saliva and asked Han Xiao with agitation, “Army Commander, will this item be sold to everyone after this test?”

Han Xiao looked at him and said, “Hmm, although the side effects of this item is extremely large, it is very useful. I will produce it in large quantities and sell it to the members of the army. As for whether they want to buy it or not, that will be their personal choice.”

Bun-Hit-Dog’s eyes widened, and he instantly knew that this matter would be world shaking news.

This was his exclusive content!

I am going to be trending for sure!

Following which, Han Xiao got the players to perform a few tests and obtained valuable research data. Finally, the players’ health dropped to zero, and they revived back into their original forms.

After confirming the usage of the Ovitan Badge, Han Xiao could also be at ease and gave the ten suicidal players their mission reward. He then watched as they left excitedly, and he got Phillip to place the Ovitan Badge in the army’s store. At the same time, he had also refreshed the interface of the faction store.

The product name was also changed, and it was not called the Ovitan Badge. Instead, it was called ‘Black Star Army Badge: Evolution’. The picture on the badge was the Black Star logo of the Black Star Army.

Because the core technological skill required was the Evolution Cube, the production cost of the Ovitan Badge was extremely low. Furthermore, it could be reused as long as it was refilled with energy. Han Xiao set the price of such a powerful equipment at 150,000 Enaus and 2,500 Contribution Points. The price of the Ovitan Badge was akin to that of a spaceship, and his profits were sky high! The price that he had set was mainly to target the player group.

After all, to an ordinary member of the army, using the badge meant instant death. The frightening side effects and price would keep them far away from the item, and not many of them would buy one. But in the player’s eyes, this item was like a divine item, and dying meant nothing to them at all!

Not just in Version 3.0, the Ovitan Badge would be extremely useful before the players reached the Calamity Grade!

Of course, there was another reason for setting such a high price: to control the combat capability of the players. Furthermore, it was impossible for all the players to have the money to purchase such an item. Han Xiao was even planning to charge a fee for refilling the energy of the badge, and this would spur the players unable to afford it to do more missions…

What a perfect cycle.

The only problem was that the image of their army would be affected. After all, which proper organization would create so many transformed creatures?

…

At the same time, Bun-Hit-Dog left the testing room and immediately posted a thread on the forums.

‘Shocking! The Black Star Army’s new item is actually…’

The thread included the entire testing process and a large number of pictures and videos. At the same time, the [Black Star Army Badge: Evolution] also went on the shelves of the faction store, and Bun-Hit-Dog’s thread became extremely popular!

The players all began to reply to the thread.

_____________________

Strange Things: Shocking! The product was just placed on the shelves, and you already have a review‽

Vice Commander’s Spaghetti: How frightening. Is this the speed of the army’s reporter?

Sandy Wind: I am currently at headquarters and just got off the spaceship. Did I miss some big news‽

Sprouting Melon: My goodness. The effect of this tool is too perverse.

Use Tyrant If You Want to Be Bald: The price is also equally perverse. My liver is crying out for help…

Zhang Weiyu: The wealthy players are very happy. Hang in there! You have almost emptied my entire wallet.

Maple Moon: How ugly. I would rather be killed by a boss than use it!

Rat Who Likes to Eat Bamboos: It isn’t ugly at all! This is called the beauty of violence!

Bi Bi Bear: Would you rather be a handsome boy for your lifetime or a powerhouse for a few hours?

White Jewel: I’m sorry, but I choose to be a handsome boy.

Army Commander’s Big JJ: Too awesome! The Army Commander made such a frightening item, so his class should be Mad Scientist, right?

My Wife Is Called Feidin: Upstairs, you really changed your name!

I’m Really Not Too Bad: This tool is like the item of an antagonist. I finally found out that the Black Star Army is actually an antagonist faction. We should change our name to Protective Umbrella Army.

Elephant Waving Whip: Black Star’s ratings have been affected

Germinal Organization Leader: I am smiling at all of you in heaven.

Wind Colt: I think that the ‘Black Star Army Badge: Evolution’ is truly a treasure for fight dungeons. It is the best item for the main tank. We can finally kill all the bosses that have been torturing us.

Jupiter: Guild of Gods is purchasing Enaus in large quantities, and the price is negotiable. Please contact the guild’s customer service players if you are interested. They are online 24/7. Guild of Gods has a good reputation and is definitely reliable.

Jade Green Sky: Temple of God is trash. There isn’t a need for explanation.

Jupiter: Haha, your Long Sky should wait for your deaths during the upcoming Pro League! Defend your title if you can!

Jade Green Sky: How sour, how sour. Some club didn’t even make it into the top eight–

Sun Eggplant: ?

Dancing Fish Dragon: ?

Perfumed Bear: ?

Jade Green Sky: Wtf! The three powerhouses of Fried Eggplants with Fish, this is definitely unintentional!

Sun Eggplant: NMSL[1]

Second Prince: Hahaha! I am going to die from laughter!

Li Ge: +1

_____________________

Apart from some useless banter, the majority of the players were discussing the effects of the [Black Star Army Badge: Evolution].

Every player only had ten chances to revive within six days, so this side effect was still acceptable to them. Many players could see the value of this tool.

Because of the high price, only some wealthy individuals and squirrels were able to afford it. After looking at the thread, many players were tempted and immediately placed an order with Phillip.

There was a limited number of badges available, and they could only pre-order them at the moment. Han Xiao planned to launch the product officially in a few days and got the logistics department to first set up an assembly line.

Han Xiao and the Dynasty Ruler came to a verbal agreement on the business for the Evolutionary Totem. The actual details of the cooperation would only be confirmed after an official response from the dynasty was given. A Universal Civilization was extremely large, and even if the power structure was simple, there would still be plenty of red tape.

Han Xiao could make use of this time to form a connection with the Evolution Cube based on the methods recorded by the Evolutionary Civilization. This was a long-term process, and it could not be rushed.

Han Xiao merrily viewed the forums and went back to his room. He suddenly thought about something.

“Right. Phillip, show me the footage of Shazik and Lothaire. I want to see how they are blending into the army.”

“Hum.”

Han Xiao entered the quantum network and checked on how Shazik and Lothaire were getting along with the old members of the army.

Shazik was extremely normal and was still familiarizing himself in his new environment. He was getting along pretty well with the people from the intelligence department, but he did not have a great sense of presence. However, this was not a disadvantage for an intelligence officer but an advantage.

The situation with Lothaire was a little different. Lothaire was used to being alone and did not interact with the other officers. He would be either training in the training room alone or sharpening his blade in the room while staring at the wall in a daze. He was like a loner.

Han Xiao thought for a while and headed toward Lothaire’s room.

When Lothaire first joined, he was rushing to take a look at the Evolutionary Civilization’s information and did not communicate much with the other party. Han Xiao decided to head over and have a good conversation with Lothaire.

Based on combat strength and potential, Lothaire was definitely ranked among the top five in the army and had even exceeded Hadavy. He was only second to Hila, Aurora, Feidin, and Nero. He was a peak expert below the Beyond Grade A realm. Han Xiao placed great importance on Lothaire’s potential and thus felt the need to care about his mental health.

After all, EsGod was his nightmare, and he was now freed from his nightmare. Since he had snatched the enemy from the other party, Han Xiao felt the need to take responsibility for that. If not, a loner like Lothaire might end up losing himself in the future.

[1] This is Chinese slang. It’s the initials for “Ni Ma Si Le”, which means your mom’s dead.

Chapter 904 - Ames“ Invitation

904 Ames“ Invitation

With his gaze fixed on the edge of the blade, his finger glided lightly across the sharp edge of the blade, and he could clearly feel the sharpness of the blade.

In the room, Lothaire was seated beside the table, stroking his black blade that had accompanied him throughout his entire life as an assassin. The light from the table lamp was not reflected by his black blade as his weapon was created from a special material that absorbed all light.

Lothaire’s mood was completely unlike his calm expression.

He had been in the Black Star Army for a few days, and he was like an invisible individual. He could not fit into the boisterous atmosphere of the army and maintained his usual style.

Lothaire had chosen to come to the Black Star Army from afar because EsGod had been caught. First, he wanted to see what kind of person Black Star was, and second, he was currently at a loss.

EsGod had stolen his innate talent and had been a recurring nightmare to him. Lothaire did not like to sleep as he would be always shocked awake by his nightmares. Assassinating EsGod had been his only target.

Now that EsGod had been defeated by someone else, Lothaire no longer had the chance to take his revenge. Lothaire did not have any hobbies, and his friends had all passed away. His lone wolf personality meant that he did not like interacting with anyone else. He did not have any ambition and did not know what to do next. Should he continue hunting the fugitives of Fallen Ark, or should he sheathe his blade and drift around? Perhaps he should find a planet to lead a secluded life.

Lothaire felt that life had no meaning, and thus, he had decided to come to the Black Star Army and serve Black Star for a period of time to repay his debt. When he felt that he had repaid his debt to Black Star, he would choose to leave.

Just as he was in a daze, the doorbell suddenly rang, and Lothaire snapped out of his daze. He subconsciously gripped the weapon in his hands before realizing that he was in a safe place.

He then returned his blade to its sheath and stood up to open the door. It was Black Star who had come to visit him.

They looked at each other for a while before Lothaire said, “Do you need something?”

“We haven’t had a proper chat before. Since I am free now, are you going to stand at the door to have a chat with me?” Han Xiao replied.

Lothaire paused for a moment before stepping aside to let Black Star in.

Han Xiao walked into the room and casually looked around before sitting on the couch. He then raised his chin at the seat opposite him to ask Lothaire to sit down.

After Lothaire sat down, Han Xiao looked at him and said, “I have been paying close attention to you, and from the resume that you’ve given me, you are a powerful Calamity Grade assassin. I think very highly of you and thus wasn’t in a rush to assign you a job.”

“Ok.”

Han Xiao then said, “You don’t like speaking, right?”

“Yes,” Lothaire replied calmly.

Han Xiao chuckled and said, “It doesn’t feel good to be lost, right?”

Upon hearing that, Lothaire trembled slightly.

“Trust me, I understand your thoughts. You are different from Shazik. He truly wishes to repay my favor, but I can tell that you are different. Your target was only EsGod, and now that you have lost your enemy, you do not know what you should be doing. Thus, you decided to work for me for a short while. Am I right?”

Lothaire did not write his past experiences on his resume, but because of the information from his previous life, Han Xiao was extremely clear about Lothaire’s experiences and character, so he was able to easily deduce what he was thinking about.

“Right.” Lothaire let out a long breath and nodded.

“I can see your insistence toward EsGod and thus guessed that your hatred toward EsGod isn’t as simple as him destroying your homeland. You may have met EsGod personally before and witnessed how frightening he is. Furthermore, he has become your nightmare.”

Lothaire looked at Black Star with his eyes widened in shock. These were the secrets hidden deep within his heart, and he did not include them in his resume. He rarely revealed these experiences of his to outsiders, and he truly did not understand how Black Star could tell.

They rarely spoke to each other, so could it be that Black Star’s observational skills were truly so terrifying? Black Star was able to guess his own thoughts just by meeting him a few times?

“… You are right. I met EsGod, and I was an Esper who had my ability stolen by him.” Lothaire suppressed the shock in his heart and spoke with a calm expression.

“Then you are really lucky to still be alive.”

He knew that Lothaire’s hatred toward EsGod was carved deep into his bones. After all, the innate Esper ability that he had been born with had been stolen, and even if Lothaire managed to turn his fate around to obtain a similarly powerful strength, he still felt hatred toward EsGod.

“You must have suffered a lot to obtain the strength that you currently have.” Han Xiao comforted him.

Upon hearing that, a trace of agitation could be seen in Lothaire’s eyes as though he recalled some unpleasant memories. However, he quickly snapped back to his senses and lowered his head silently with a strange feeling in his heart.

He had spent many years alone without any friends or comrades. At this moment, he realized that Han Xiao understood him, and after hearing Han Xiao’s consolation and seeing his sincere smile, Lothaire felt a little moved.

It has been a long time since someone cared for me…

If it was an ordinary person who said those words, Lothaire would not have thought about it too much. As a Calamity Grade Super, he was not so easily swayed by the words of others. However, Black Star was a Beyond Grade A, and he was no more than a little boy in front of Black Star. Black Star was a powerhouse far above him, and Lothaire was moved by the concern shown by this powerhouse.

In truth, there was another reason. In order to get Lothaire to open up to him, he activated Chen Xing’s Character Summon Card while talking.

_____________________

[A Flirtatious Smile]: +688 Charisma.

_____________________

It seems like it was useful indeed.

Lothaire let out a long breath and replied with a hoarse voice, “It is all over now.”

Han Xiao shook his head and said softly, “You don’t need to keep it all in your heart. Perhaps you have been alone for far too long, but you must understand that regardless of what the future holds, you are no longer alone. I am your superior, and I hope to understand your experiences.”

Lothaire fell silent for a while. He originally rejected the idea in his heart, but upon remembering that Black Star was his benefactor, he gradually began describing his past.

Because he had not spoken so much for such a long time, speaking felt a bit foreign to him at the start. However, he was very quickly overwhelmed by his emotions.

He did not have anyone to pour his heart out to in the past, so Lothaire kept everything bottled up. Letting out those feelings, he was truly in a much better mood.

Han Xiao listened silently. In truth, he already knew all this; he only wanted Lothaire to feel better by letting all his emotions out. At the same time, he could also increase the Favorability that Lothaire had toward him. Since Lothaire had just joined the army, loyalty would not fall from the sky without any relationship between them.

“This is the way. I think very highly of you, and I will be willing to listen to you if you are willing to speak.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Thank you.” Lothaire let out a long breath and felt his entire body loosen up. At the same time, the fear in his heart toward EsGod also decreased a great deal.

He was truly overwhelmed with favor as a bigshot like Black Star was willing to sit down and talk to him.

“Let’s end here today.” Han Xiao stood up with a smile. “I hope that I can trust you with ease one day.”

“Hmm.” Although Lothaire still did not say much, his tone was completely different and was no longer as cold as before.

“I will give you a mission soon, and I hope that you won’t be so listless at that time. I’ll be going now.”

Han Xiao turned around and walked out.

Lothaire leaned against the door and watched Han Xiao’s departing figure.

It seemed like his decision to join the Black Star Army was not too bad.

…

A few days later, the Logistics department created a large batch of [Black Star Army Badge: Evolution]. After Han Xiao filled them all up with energy, they were ready to be sold.

Some of the players who had nothing better to do returned to headquarters for the goods. As for the players who were dealing with the Gulal Civilization, they could only wait for the Logistics department to send the badges to them.

Very quickly, the first batch of players personally experienced the effect of the tool, and many new posts were created on the forums.

The players participating in the civil war in Gulal used the badge in actual battle and recorded the scene of the battle. Han Xiao then opened one of the posts and watched a video.

The video showed a scene of the players clearing up a city from all resistance. There was an artillery tower being erected in the plaza with a large number of Ancient Emperor Party ground troops. The powerful firepower of the enemy decimated all the attacking players and forced the players to hide.

The players participating in the war then communicated with each other, and ten players wearing the [Black Star Army Badge: Evolution] stood up and raised their badges toward the sky.

“Ultraman, transform!” one of the Pugilist players roared, and their bodies began expanding rapidly.

“Roar!”

The ten transformed players charged out to tank the incoming firepower while charging at full speed.

They used their powerful life force to withstand the firepower of the enemy, and looks of fear could be seen on the enemies’ faces as they saw the approaching monsters.

Two of the transformed creatures were killed along the way, but the others managed to charge into enemy lines and rip through the defenses of the enemy

_____________________

Testicle Fist (Poster): Personally experiencing the effect of evolution. My body became outrageously tanky, and it is super useful for charging.

Maple Moon: Although it is a little ugly, it is truly useful…

Moon Shadow: The quality-price ratio is pretty high. However, it is still extremely expensive. Refilling it requires another 5,000 Enaus. This is extortion!

Starry Sky: Think about it. How can you be strong if you don’t spend money?

_____________________

Most players used the badges in dungeons. The transformed body was extremely suitable to be a main tank, and it was perfect for handling bosses.

The badge immediately became a popular tool used to fight dungeons, and every party would have at least one member with the badge.

Some of the players immediately saw the business opportunity hidden within and gathered money to purchase the badge. They then collected fees to enter parties and provided their service to the players that could not afford one.

Very quickly, many different ways of using the badge were discussed on the forums, and after looking at it for a while, Han Xiao closed the forums. There was something else for him to do right now.

The Crimson Dynasty had already decided to sign an agreement with him, and he would be providing the Evolutionary Totems to them long term. He would have to provide a hundred million Evolutionary Totems within five years.

Because of the relationship between the two, Han Xiao would not be able to make any money from the dynasty, so his targets to make money would be the other civilizations. An important part of their agreement was the authority for Han Xiao to sell the Evolutionary Totem to other civilizations with the profits belonging solely to the Black Star Army.

The dynasty did not wait for EsGod’s properties to be slowly exposed but took the initiative to announce to the entire universe about the Evolutionary Totem. A huge commotion was immediately created, and countless civilizations were stirred up!

The civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring that already had a cooperative relationship with Han Xiao were also shocked. The way they saw it, the value of using the Evolution Cube could not even be compared to the Evolutionary Totem!

Countless civilizations could no longer sit still, and the contact numbers of the army were engaged throughout the day. Many people tried to contact Han Xiao, hoping to purchase an Evolutionary Totem.

Han Xiao got Phillip to inform all the civilizations about his agreement with the dynasty. As long as they received approval from the dynasty, they would be able to purchase the Evolutionary Totem. As such, he managed to successfully push all the problems onto the dynasty.

As for the allied civilizations that had already joined the alliance, Han Xiao traded with them directly and signed a large number of orders. The sales figure of the totems reached the millions, and his business was spread across all the Star Fields.

He would not set the price of the Evolutionary Totem as ‘cheaply’ as the Ovitan Badge. As such, the Black Star Army made huge profits.

The Evolutionary Totem became a staple faction product of the Black Star Army, and the high profits from the product naturally attracted the jealousy of many organizations. However, the Black Star Army and Crimson Dynasty combination made many organizations forget about the idea.

The larger the business, the greater the strength required to protect it. The Black Star Army already had the strength to enjoy this cake all by themselves.

The Black Star Army was already a tyrant in the Shattered Star Ring, with many local civilizations in a cooperative relationship with them. A Beyond Grade A organization of such a level was already at the top of the food chain in the universe.

Furthermore, after the battle on Planet Lighthouse, everyone knew that it was incredibly difficult to deal with Black Star. Even the Arcane Church and EsGod had failed, and not many were confident that they would be able to deal with Black Star.

Furthermore, Black Star’s organization was not alone in the Shattered Star Ring. The Shattered Star Ring had another four Beyond Grade As, and three of them were in a cooperative relationship with him. The network of his was truly frightening.

On top of that, the Shattered Star Ring was located right beside the Flickering World, and the dynasty had millions of battleships stationed in the Flickering World, ready to reinforce the Shattered Star Ring at any moment. Even the nominal owner of the Shattered Star Ring could only close one eye. Not many organizations dared to do as they wished in the Shattered Star Ring.

With the many considerations, no organizations would make a rash move at the moment and had to agree to the trade conditions set by the dynasty.

Han Xiao naturally would not forget about his own people. Every army division and training camp had the Evolutionary Totem, and Bennett also received the benefit of having the Evolutionary Totem. He did not forget about the Black Spirit Race either, and Han Xiao sent an Apostle Weapon to pass an Evolutionary Totem to them. At the same time, he sent some mechanical soldiers to guard the planet that the Black Spirit Race was located on.

Seeing their archnemesis earning such a huge fortune, the Star Pupil Holy Race was extremely frustrated. Originally, the members of the Star Pupil Holy Race no longer blamed Psyker as much, but after seeing the immense profits being earned by the Black Star Army, many of them felt their hearts ache and blamed Psyker for losing the opportunity to develop the civilization.

The wave of scolding within the civilization made Psyker extremely frustrated.

Heber also felt extremely bitter. He could clearly feel his status in the Shattered Star Ring becoming unstable. However, he did not have any ideas and could only watch as Han Xiao roped many organizations over to his side. His heart was as sour as a lemon at this moment.

Just when everyone’s attention was focused on the Evolutionary Totem, Han Xiao received a special invitation for battle.

It came from Ames.

Chapter 905 - Floating Dragon“s Warning

The challenge letter was sent personally and not a public one, but it was not as casual as the usual interaction between the two. Instead, it was an official challenge and included the location and time of the battle—in five days on a desolate planet in the Godora Star System.

The news was too sudden, and Han Xiao was truly puzzled.

The relationship between them should not be a problem, and he did not understand why Ames would issue him a challenge letter without informing him beforehand. Furthermore, she did it in such a solemn manner.

Just what was she thinking‽

Han Xiao was currently in discussion with one of the civilizations about the trade terms of the Evolutionary Totem, and the moment he received Ames’ invitation, he immediately hung up the call with the representative of the civilization and contacted Ames.

He did not wish for the alliance between them to go wrong.

The call went through quickly, but the one who picked it up was Jenny, not Ames.

“Why is it you?”

Han Xiao was a little puzzled. He had dialed Ames’ personal number.

“Where’s Ames?”

“You received her challenge letter, right?” Jenny asked.

“Yes, just what are her intentions?” Han Xiao frowned.

“Just like what is written on the challenge letter, before fighting you, she does not wish to speak with you, and she wants me to tell you that she will fight you seriously this time.”

“Why did she suddenly decide this?” Han Xiao asked.

“You can ask her yourself if you have any doubts. Remember to arrive on time.” Jenny snorted coldly and hung up.

Looking at the black screen on the communicator, Han Xiao could not help but scratch his head.

It was extremely normal for Beyond Grade As to spar with each other, but with their relationship, all Ames had to do was give him a heads up. There was no need to have such an official challenge letter at all.

Forget it, this isn’t the first time Ames has behaved willfully…

Han Xiao shook his head with resignation and felt that Ames was once again behaving willfully.

…

At the same time in the main palace of the Floating Dragon Island, Jenny placed down the communicator and looked at Ames, who was seated on the floating throne.

Ames was listening by the side during the communication, and she nodded with a smile.

“Good work. Thank you.”

“In truth, I don’t really understand…” Jenny could not help but speak up. “Although I dislike Black Star, his strength is undeniable. Pardon me for being direct, but I don’t think your chances of victory are high. Why do you want to do so?”

“You don’t seem to have any confidence in me,” Ames said with a teasing voice.

Aesop, who was by the side, could not help but interrupt. “This has nothing to do with confidence. After the battle on Planet Lighthouse, Black Star has already proven his strength, and your chances of victory are very low. Why do you have to issue a challenge that you will lose for sure?”

Ames kept her smile upon hearing that.

“We have to fight before knowing whether or not I can win.”

She then paused for a while and let out a soft sigh.

“Perhaps I am no longer a match for Black Star, but I want it to be proven…”

…

Five days went by in a flash.

Situated in the Godora Star System was Planet G-S7058, a gigantic planet with an obvious asteroid belt revolving around the planet. This planet was not too far from the headquarters of the Black Star Army and Planet Aquamarine. It was the location of their battle.

A ray of light approached from afar and stopped outside the atmosphere of the planet. Han Xiao was the one piloting the spaceship, and he had come alone.

“Detecting a large unknown target. Matching it with the database… Match found. The target is Floating Dragon Island, hum…”

Phillip’s voice sounded in the spaceship. Without his reminder, Han Xiao could also see the scene outside the window.

A gigantic Floating Dragon Island floated outside the atmosphere of the planet, and the entire planet was protected by a golden yellow shield.

Ten large alloy satellites were lined up beside Floating Dragon. These were the weapons that Han Xiao had given to Ames.

The eyesight of a Beyond Grade A was shocking, and Han Xiao could see that Floating Dragon Island had already activated their armed mode. All the buildings were retracted underground, and no one was moving around on the island. Ames was the only one standing on the dock, looking at him from afar.

Han Xiao’s face contorted slightly upon seeing that.

She actually brought Floating Dragon over? Does she really want to go all out?

He then tried calling Ames’ personal number, and Ames picked up this time.

Ames’ calm appearance appeared on the screen.

“You’re here.”

“Since you sent me an invitation, how could I not come?” Han Xiao said with a helpless look. “You only need to ask me if you want to have a spar. It’s not like I will reject you anyway. Is there really a need to make things so solemn?”

“You misunderstand me. This isn’t a simple spar,” Ames said slowly. “I will use all my strength to fight you, and I hope that you will also give it your all. You may lose your life if you are careless.”

Han Xiao kept his smile upon hearing that and asked with a frown, “Just what is this about?”

“Ever since you entered the Beyond Grade A realm, I’ve fought alongside you against Heber and EsGod, but we have never had a proper exchange between us. Thus, I want to fight you officially for once until one side loses the ability to fight back.”

“Is there a need to use such a method to see who is stronger between us?” Han Xiao did not understand.

“During this period, word of your actions has spread throughout the universe,” Ames replied softly, “and in less than two years, you’ve gone from a new Beyond Grade A to your current status. I’ve watched you changing every day. Do you know that the feeling of being caught up to really isn’t nice?”

When Han Xiao first entered the Beyond Grade A realm, both of them had a relationship of equal status, and Ames was willing to help Han Xiao, who was a new Beyond Grade A, overcome his difficulty.

In just two short years, Han Xiao had grown at a rapid speed, and the organization that he had set up had already far exceeded Floating Dragon.

Ames could feel that their status and strength were gradually becoming further and further apart, and their relationship was no longer on equal grounds. As such, her mental state also experienced a subtle change.

Ames was a carefree individual and could not be bothered with many things. At the same time, she was extremely stubborn toward the people she cared about. This point could be clearly seen when she had stubbornly searched for Aesop.

And Han Xiao was one of those whom she cared about.

Ames had once watched as Han Xiao rose to prominence, but the status between them was now reversing. She did not wish to see Han Xiao overtake her by too much and was not satisfied by only seeing Han Xiao’s battle records on the news. As such, she decided to issue a challenge and personally experience Han Xiao’s strength.

She wanted to see just how big the difference between her and Han Xiao was!

The next moment, the alarm in Han Xiao’s spaceship rang.

“Detecting a powerful energy source!”

Han Xiao then looked over and saw that it was Ames releasing her energy.

Ames stepped out from the dock and into space.

The energy level in Ames’ body was increased to the peak, and her tone became solemn.

“Don’t hold anything back. Come!”

The next moment, she raised her arms, and the ten satellite bricks and Floating Dragon shot toward Han Xiao.

At this moment, a notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

_____________________

You have triggered the S ranked mission [‘Dragon Emperor’ Ames]!

Mission Requirements: Last for as long as possible under Ames’ attacks. (The battle method isn’t restricted. You can only leave battle mode for 30 mins at most. There are no restrictions to the number of times you leave battle mode.)

Reward: You will be able to attain the corresponding reward by fulfilling the corresponding requirements. (Only 1% of the time out of battle mode will be counted toward the mission.)

_____________________

This was the same mission that he had when facing the Tyrant. The longer he hung in there, the higher the reward.

Apart from experience, he could obtain Legendary Points, Character Summon Cards, and the opportunity to draw one of Ames’ talents or skills.

However, Han Xiao was not in the mood to see the mission at the moment.

How can I go all out against you?

Han Xiao let out a sigh but did not say these words.

With his current strength, his attacks would be too lethal if he went all out.

She probably would not be able to tank his attacks.

Han Xiao shook his head. He did not plan on injuring Ames. No matter what, they were allies, and he would not go too far.

Seeing Ames’ blazing battle intent, Han Xiao instantly made a decision.

Let me drag this battle out. My tankiness will be enough to exhaust all her energy so that she cannot carry on fighting. This is the only way to prevent me from injuring her and ruining our relationship…

The distance between them shrank rapidly, and Han Xiao no longer hesitated. He then activated his mechanical suit and opened the secondary dimension to summon a portion of his mechanical army.

“Lord.” Psionic Prime appeared with various other Apostle Weapons.

Han Xiao then said with a deep voice, “Attack. Your main focus should be exhausting her. Do not go all out.”

“Understood.” Psionic Prime nodded, and flames shot out from his thrusters. He then charged at Ames with the mechanical army behind him.

The glow in Ames’ eyes grew brighter and brighter as she inched forward slowly.

Force Field: Floating Dragon Planet Destroying Hammer!

The force field surrounding Floating Dragon rapidly expanded, and Floating Dragon accelerated like a gigantic meteoroid, smashing down toward the densely packed mechanical army.

This scene was like a brick slamming down toward a bunch of ants.

If Floating Dragon crashed down on a planet at such velocity, it would probably be able to destroy an entire planet.

Using her force field to swing her weapon around was the Dragon Emperor’s style of combat!

The proper method for dealing with such an attack would be to destroy Floating Dragon. However, Han Xiao did not wish to destroy the other party’s home and was truly helpless against Ames swinging her base around.

The mechanical army did not open fire toward Floating Dragon but followed their orders to allow Floating Dragon to break through their defensive line.

The outcome was obvious.

The gigantic Floating Dragon swung down on the tiny Han Xiao!

The shadow rapidly grew larger and covered everyone’s view.

Looking at the gigantic continent-like brick smashing down toward him, Han Xiao could feel his balls aching.

Ames had once used Floating Dragon to save him, but now he had to endure being smashed in the face by Floating Dragon.

This was truly retribution!

Chapter 906 - Exchanging Blows

In the universe, her force field was able to accelerate an object without any limits, and this was the battlefield most suitable for Ames. Her Force Field Esper Ability leaned toward defense and control, and it was extremely powerful in Ames’ hands.

Under the control of the force field, Floating Dragon’s speed continued to increase, and its gigantic body was like a super large scale attack. If Han Xiao allowed Floating Dragon to speed up without limit, it would be incredibly difficult to avoid it and become extremely powerful.

However, Floating Dragon still was not fast enough, and it was like a tortoise in Han Xiao’s eyes. He had more than ten different ways to avoid the attack.

However, Ames was not an individual who only knew how to use bricks to smash others. Her eyes glowed brightly, and she released a force field to trap Han Xiao’s body and pull him toward Floating Dragon.

Force Field: Gaze of the Dragon!

The space around him seemed to have frozen up, and Han Xiao’s body endured a tremendous amount of pressure. He found it difficult to even lift his arm, and he was dragged toward Floating Dragon.

“I used this attack before in the past…” Han Xiao’s mouth contorted.

With his current strength, he was not afraid of Ames’ control ability and could easily break free from the force field. However, he was not planning on avoiding this attack. He wanted to obtain combat information through this attack and test the upgraded effects of his health and mana conversion.

Floating Dragon approached him rapidly, and Han Xiao could already see the various structures on the surface of Floating Dragon.

A powerful pressure assaulted him from the front, and he could feel a sense of danger approach him.

Han Xiao raised up his arms, and nanoparticles flowed on the surface of his mechanical suit to form a shield generator. A blue psionic shield then appeared in front of him, and he took a defensive posture.

The next moment, Floating Dragon smashed down on his shield and sent him flying far away while being stuck to Floating Dragon.

Ames then twisted her palm, and Floating Dragon’s trajectory was aimed at the nearby planet, prepared to smash Han Xiao into the planet.

At the same time, the mechanical army led by Psionic Prime approached Ames and began to open fire.

Ames’ ten satellite bricks were not idle either. Six of them surrounded Ames in different directions and were covered in a layer of force field to form a defensive formation.

The gaps of the defensive line were filled up by her force field and it can be said that her defensive formation didn’t have a single blind spot.

The other four satellite bricks were then shot toward the formation of the mechanical army under Ames’ control.

The mechanical soldiers were not so gentle toward the satellites and unloaded their firepower without restraint. The satellite bricks were immediately riddled with holes and craters with scrap metal floating around. These scrap metals then formed a metal whirlwind under Ames’ control and roamed unhindered around the mechanical army.

The Apostle Weapons ignored these attacks and rapidly approached Ames’ defenses. Psionic Prime waved his spear and struck the force field shield to create a hole in it.

The very next instant, a new force field filled up the hole. Just when Psionic Prime was about to continue attacking, Ames raised her finger, and a force field engulfed the Apostle Weapons and threw them out. Following which, an even more powerful force field was formed, and the mechanical army formation was split in two like Moses parting the red sea.

Ames’ Force Field Esper Ability could restrict the Human Wave Tactic to a certain extent.

Right at this moment, a light flashed behind Ames, and Mad Sky Hunter appeared behind her. He opened his mouth and revealed his alloy teeth, biting down at her waist.

However, he only managed to bite air.

A white, sleek finger then tapped on Mad Sky Hunter’s head. Ames avoided the attack by using Void Hyperdrive. After being strengthened by the Evolution Cube, her mobility had increased by a great deal.

Violent force field energy then entered Mad Sky Hunter’s body through her finger.

Force Field: Seismic Wave!

Cracks immediately began to form on Mad Sky Hunter’s body, and a large amount of spare parts dropped out from his body. His body was severely injured, and he immediately ran away in fear.

The Force Field Esper Ability had a wide range, but the strength of the force field would be more powerful the closer Ames was to the target.

All of a sudden, Ames felt fluctuations in the Void Dimension. Looking up, she saw Han Xiao, who was originally stuck on Floating Dragon, disappear.

Han Xiao swung his slightly numb hands and was shocked by the combat information.

“She was actually able to deal Crushing Force damage to me. Only a pugilist like Heber would be able to use his head to smash Floating Dragon up.”

Although the damage was high, Han Xiao did not mind at all. There was a limit to how powerful Ames’ AOE attack was.

His recovery speed was extremely high at the moment, and as long as the enemy’s burst damage did not reach a certain extent or deal him a [Severe Wound] status, he would not be afraid.

Floating Dragon did not continue smashing down toward the planet but turned around to hammer down on Han Xiao. Its gigantic body brushed past the side of the planet and formed a huge sandstorm.

Ames, who was far away, used Gaze of the Dragon again, and Han Xiao could feel the force field restricting him again. He had already obtained the combat information and was not prepared to receive the attack again. He then placed his palms together.

Hum!

His mechanical suit vibrated and generated an endless stream of energy to form a small field around him.

This field successfully blocked Ames’ force field on the outside, and Gaze of the Dragon became ineffective.

This was ‘anti-Dragon Emperor’ equipment that he had created especially for this.

This was equipment after all and had a limited effect. However, the strength of Ames’ force field could be increased further, and she would definitely be able to break the field if she had enough time. Thus, Han Xiao did not plan on approaching Ames but played hide and seek with her from afar while controlling his mechanical army to attack.

Upon seeing that Han Xiao did not dare approach her, Ames took the initiative to move and flew toward Han Xiao while dealing with his mechanical army.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao also retreated and maintained the gap between them. After getting out of the control of the force field, Floating Dragon Island was not able to catch up to him, and his mobility was higher than Ames’. Thus, he had the initiative.

Upon seeing that a single Floating Dragon Island could not do anything to Han Xiao, Ames’ palms turned into claws, and she performed a grabbing motion toward one of the satellite bricks attacking the mechanical army.

This satellite brick then froze in place as though it was being trapped, and the layers of force field began to contract rapidly, which made the satellite brick vibrate violently.

Ames pulled her arm back slowly, and the force field continued to contract, accumulating a powerful rebound force. The next moment, her eyes shone brightly, and she clenched her fists. Like an arrow being shot out, the rebound force accumulated within the satellite brick exploded forth!

This satellite brick shot out toward Han Xiao at high speed!

Force Field: Satellite Cannon!

The terrifying acceleration took off a layer of the metal shell and almost disintegrated the satellite.

Han Xiao saw the satellite brick approaching him rapidly but did not bother dodging the attack.

At the same time, Silver Flash, who was waiting in the distance, transformed into his Planetary Obliteration Cannon main body and opened fire at the satellite.

The thick silver light accurately struck the satellite brick and penetrated through the satellite like a knife slicing through a meatball!

The next moment, the satellite began expanding from the inside, and a brilliant red light exploded from within. It exploded right in front of Han Xiao like an orange!

The satellite was instantly melted by the high heat of the Planetary Obliteration Cannon, and all the fragments transformed into red colored molten metal like orange juice spraying in all directions.

With the gigantic satellite exploding in front of him, Han Xiao casually avoided the molten metal spraying in all directions.

This seemed to have been a signal. A few more satellite bricks reached the limit of their durability, and another three had been destroyed by the mechanical army.

The number of satellite bricks that Ames had left was six. They were also riddled with damage and looked as though they would disintegrate at any moment.

“What will you do next?” Han Xiao muttered to himself, looking at the scene from afar.

Ames’ attacks were extremely ferocious, but they did not cause much damage to Han Xiao. After many rounds of upgrades, his mechanical soldiers were extremely tough and no longer the inferior products easily crushed by the force field. Although Ames seemed to have the initiative, Han Xiao still had plenty of tricks up his sleeves and was in control of the battle.

Ames could also feel this, and her eyes narrowed.

My attacks aren’t able to do anything to him and have all been neutralized…

She could tell that Han Xiao was on the defense and did not plan to attack. He was obviously going easy on her.

But even so, she could not do anything to him!

Has he grown to such a stage?

Ames’ eyes narrowed, finally understanding Han Xiao’s strength. The gap in their strength was already extremely obvious, and Black Star was much stronger than her.

However, she was not too affected by this revelation. The battle had not ended, and she would not give up halfway.

Ames then grabbed toward the planet, and the asteroid belt became her new weapon.

Force Field: Dragon’s Breath Shooting Star Fist!

The asteroid belt was a large weapon stash!

No wonder she chose this place as the battlefield, Han Xiao thought to himself.

The asteroid belt became her weapon and smashed down toward the mechanical army. The mechanical army also destroyed the incoming asteroids, and the battle became a drawn-out battle under Han Xiao’s commands.

…

Just when both of them were battling around the planet, a fleet was parked far away from the battlefield. This fleet belonged to Floating Dragon.

Because their base was taken by their boss as a weapon, these battleships could not remain on Floating Dragon Island. As such, it ferried everyone to watch the battle by the side.

Although house prices on Floating Dragon were extremely low because of the high risk, there were still some who would purchase property on Floating Dragon Island. At this moment, they watched as the property that they spent money to buy was being used as a weapon in the fight, and many of them could not help but be extremely anxious in their hearts.

In the main flagship, the Floating Dragon officers were looking at their leader fall into a passive state, and all their expressions were ugly.

It was true that Black Star was an ally, but they naturally wanted Ames to win since they were members of Floating Dragon.

Apart from the officers, there were another two projections watching the battle from afar. They were Hila and Aurora.

There was no need to make the battle a complete secret, and Vilna had informed Aurora and Hila. As Ames’ students, they had a right to know.

“Our teacher isn’t an opponent for Black Star,” Aurora said with a bitter expression.

Hila also had a complicated look in her eyes and nodded.

Their status was much more awkward. They were the officers of Black Star and Ames’ students. Both sides were people who they were extremely close to, and they did not know who to support.

Hila had followed Ames for ten years and was extremely clear just how powerful Ames was. She was filled with respect toward Ames, and upon seeing her respected teacher being suppressed by Black Star, she had a complicated feeling in her heart.

The energy fluctuations of the battle also made her understand that this was a battle that she could not interfere with. It was still far away from her current level. Regardless of how stubborn Hila’s personality was, she could not help but doubt herself at the moment.

Beyond Grade As are truly too frightening, and a planet is only a toy to them. Can I really possess such strength?

…

Countless asteroid fragments and metal scraps floated in space. The battle between the two had lasted for a long time.

After utilizing her force field over such a long period of time, Ames’ stamina and energy had been largely depleted, and her head was covered in sweat. She was obviously no longer in her peak condition, and the strength of her force field had decreased.

On the other hand, Han Xiao was still extremely energetic. He had [Advanced Energy Absorption], and his recovery rate was not something that Ames could compare to.

Since he did not lack any energy, he could use [Advanced Machinery Construction] and [Waste Modification] without any limit to revive his mechanical army and limit his losses.

As Ames began to slip up, Han Xiao gradually gained control of the battlefield. Ames’ force field defenses had already been broken by the Apostle Weapons, and she had to deal with the harassment of the many Apostle Weapons. She could not even take care of herself and no longer had the strength to attack Han Xiao.

Psionic Prime then stabbed out toward her waist. Ames avoided the attack, and Psionic Prime’s spear brushed past her force field to produce sparks.

Gold Sovereign then ambushed Ames from the front, and his punches were blocked by the force field.

Ames’ leg then swung out like a whip, and her kick smashed a hole in Gold Sovereign’s armor, sending him flying.

All of a sudden, another Apostle Weapon shot out a psionic cannon toward her. It shattered the force field at her back and struck her body. Ames’ eyes then squinted as she felt the pain.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao, who was watching the battle from afar, said, “That’s enough. Her energy is already exhausted.”

Right at this moment, Ames looked up at Han Xiao, who was slacking off by the side. A large suction force suddenly gathered toward her and sucked all the Apostle Weapons in her surroundings toward her.

Being caught off guard, all the mechanical soldiers were lumped together in a pile.

Han Xiao then felt fluctuations in the Void Dimension.

Without any hesitation, Han Xiao turned around and raised his arms to block the incoming kick from behind him. This kick came from Ames, who had used Void Hyperdrive.

“You actually dared approach me? Are you staking everything on a final, desperate attempt?”

Han Xiao’s eyes glowed, and he pulled Ames’ leg toward him with his other palm striking toward Ames’ abdomen.

Bang!

Ames gathered her force field to block Han Xiao’s attack and chopped down at Han Xiao’s neck with her palm.

However, her palm had not found its target yet when Han Xiao grabbed Ames’ neck. The thrusters behind him then activated fully and smashed Ames into a nearby asteroid.

The asteroid was smashed immediately, but Han Xiao did not stop there. He grabbed her and charged into the asteroid belt while using her body to smash up every asteroid in their way.

Their bodies transformed into a ray of light and did a lap around the asteroid belt. Who knew how many asteroids they had destroyed along the way? In any case, Han Xiao could feel Ames’ force field becoming weaker and weaker, and it almost disappeared.

Han Xiao slowed down and smashed into an asteroid. This time, the asteroid was not destroyed, and both of them stopped.

A gas ring then shot out from the mechanical suit and enveloped both of them. Han Xiao removed his helmet and shook his head.

“Your energy is almost all exhausted. You’ve lost.”

Ames’ brows were furrowed at this moment as she endured the pain from Han Xiao’s attacks. Her skirt was cut in many different areas to reveal her fair skin. Her neck and legs were still being held by Han Xiao, and she could not struggle free.

Upon hearing that, Ames revealed a smile and said, “No, I still have the strength for one last attack.”

“Alright. Let me see what other methods you have,” Han Xiao replied calmly.

Ames then raised up her arm and flicked Han Xiao lightly on the forehead.

It was an attack without any strength.

A look of surprise could be seen on Han Xiao’s face.

Ames then retracted her arm and dissipated her protective force field. She then said with a smile, “Alright, I used up my final bit of strength. You win.”

Han Xiao let go of Ames’s neck and rubbed his head helplessly.

“So mischievous.”

Chapter 907 - Interes

One leg was still trapped under Han Xiao’s arm, and the skin was plastered to the cold Mechanical suit.

Ames tilted her head.

“Please let go of my leg.”

Han Xiao released his hold and retreated a little bit, allowing Ames to retract her long, snowy legs into her black dress.

After sizing up Ames’s dress that was badly damaged in the battle, Han Xiao raised his palm, and nanoparticles flowed out, turning into a material that filled in the torn places of the fabric.

Kacha!

Ames used her Force Field to pull herself out from the meteoroid before dusting herself and stretching. Knocking into numerous meteoroids had given her quite a few bruises.

“Quite painful.” Ames rubbed her slim waist and frowned. “Forget it, I suggested this spar. I was asking for it.”

“I already stayed my hand.” Han Xiao shrugged.

“Oh, indeed, you’re now stronger than me.”

Ames sighed, but her expression looked calm, as though she had expected this.

Black Star had a firm grasp of the battle situation from start to the end, and Ames had a more profound understanding of his strength now.

“There’s no need to be discouraged. I…”

Before Han Xiao could finish, Ames cut him off and blandly smiled. “That’s enough. Who do you think I am, needing to be pacified after I have lost?”

“It’s a habit developed after I kept sparring with Hila.” Han Xiao rubbed his chin in embarrassment.

He then turned to signal to his mechanical army to clear up the battlefield. Seeing the debris and wreckage floating around the universe, he commented, “The weapons I made for you are broken. I’ll ask the logistics department to manufacture another for you later… Of course, you have to pay for it.”

“I know.” Ames nodded without objections. She had initiated this battle and even destroyed the weapon that Han Xiao had sent her. She could not allow him to just give her a new one. As a Beyond Grade A, she still had to maintain a level of pride for herself.

After the battle ended, the Floating Dragon fleet in the distance slowly approached. Ames took a deep breath, revolving the little strength she had recovered to control Floating Dragon Island to stop.

The protective shield of Floating Dragon was then opened, and the fleet landed at the docks.

The fighting mode of Floating Dragon was lifted, and the building structures that were hidden underground started to pop back up. Many of them rushed to check on their houses, assessing the damage.

The logistics team led by Haier also began their jobs to repair the houses.

Han Xiao and Ames adjusted their clothing before flying straight toward Floating Dragon Island. On the way, they attracted the glances of everyone present.

The members of Floating Dragon had all seen Ames losing to Han Xiao, and their boss seemed to have been taken advantage of. Thus, all their hearts were filled with some dissatisfaction.

Jenny rushed over impatiently, and after glaring at Han Xiao, she turned around to size up Ames, anxiously asking, “Are you okay?”

“Not really injured. Just consumed a lot of strength.” Ames waved her hand and turned her head. “Black Star, let’s go to my palace for a chat.”

As she spoke, she started walking toward the main hall. Han Xiao removed his mechanical suit and followed.

After entering Floating Dragon’s palace, Ames brought Han Xiao to the back garden, where they sat on the stone benches.

She manipulated her Force Field to pour two glasses of wine on the table. After taking it up to drink a sip, she saw Han Xiao not moving, and the corners of her lips curled up.

“This is the Dragon Bone Wine that was brewed by Aesop using the Void Dragon bones. I rarely take it out to entertain guests.”

“To actually use those to brew wine, what a dark recipe,” Han Xiao commented. Still, he lifted the glass for a sip. He only felt like a line of fire trailed down his throat, as though he was drinking lava itself. After this, a strong aftertaste surged back up, and he smacked his mouth as he savored the taste.

At this moment, Ames opened her mouth to speak, her tone a little emotional.

“Your strength now has surpassed me, and you only took twenty years… I’ve basically wasted all that time. Compared to you, I’ve been stagnant.”

“It’s not at the level of wasting it. You’re just lazy,” Han Xiao teased. “However, if you were to actually be hardworking, that would not be you anymore.”

“In your heart, am I such a lazy person?” Ames rolled her eyes.

“Are you not?” Han Xiao laughed.

“Huh… I suppose, if I compare myself to you, I really don’t have much motivation.” Ames shook her head, unable to retort.

The fact that she had lost made her attitude toward Han Xiao have a slight chance. Every Beyond Grade A was clear on the difficulty to improve further, and the rule of the strong was always to respect those stronger than them.

Ames put down her glass, gazing at Han Xiao as she softly said, “To have reached this level in just twenty years, you must have suffered a lot.”

Han Xiao paused, suddenly feeling as though this sentence was very familiar.

This phrase… now where did he hear that before[1]?

Suppressing the weird feeling in his heart, Han Xiao dryly coughed. “It was still ok.”

“Now that you’ve already carved out an area for yourself in the universe, what other plans do you have in the future?” Ames changed the topic.

“Continue to develop, accumulate strength.”

Hearing this, Ames paused, blinking her eyes rapidly.

“You feel that your ability now is still insufficient?”

“Before reaching the limit, strength will never be enough.” Han Xiao shook his head.

“… There’s actually something I don’t understand.”

Ames crossed her legs, holding her chin with one hand as she stared at him, and slowly spoke.

“Around eight to nine years ago, I asked you why you did not stop moving forward, and you said that you did not have the qualifications to do so yet refused to tell me the reason. What exactly are you afraid of? You’re a powerful Beyond Grade A Super with great influence and have the Crimson Dynasty as a backer. What could make you so afraid?”

Hearing this, Han Xiao hesitated.

What he was afraid of was the ultimate boss of the later versions, the World Tree Civilization.

Eight to nine years ago, when he was still a Calamity Grade, their statuses had been different, and thus, he did not tell Ames. However, now that their statuses were similar, there was a certain gravitas to his words. Pondering about it, he finally made a decision and opened his mouth.

“I’ve received some news, and in the future, there will be a calamity of epic proportions in our universe. No one will be able to avoid it, and there will be nowhere to run.”

Ames was a little surprised at his reply. “Such a calamity will be for the three civilizations to worry about. What’s there to fear?”

“When the calamity strikes, Beyond Grade As will just be greater ants. How can the people below us be spared?”

Ames subconsciously stroked her wine glass as she muttered, “So, it turns out that you had this sort of premonition… I thought your drive came from your insatiable ambition.”

She did not doubt Han Xiao’s words. Everyone had different information channels, and just his position in the dynasty would allow him to grasp many of the secrets that she could not obtain.

Furthermore, there was no reason for Black Star to lie to her.

The atmosphere turned heavier, and Ames seemed deep in thought, whereas Han Xiao did not talk, instead appreciating the wine.

After swirling the wine around for a few rounds, Ames finally raised her head, her voice soft.

“Seems like I cannot laze around anymore. If there’s such a day, I’ll stand beside you to fight.”

“That would be the best.” Han Xiao smiled.

In the past, due to Floating Dragon Island being destroyed, the life and death of Ames during the World Tree version was not known. However, since Aesop had stayed in Floating Dragon and did not go out to roam the world, the previous tragedies that happened to Ames would not appear this time.

The influence Han Xiao brought about had changed Ames’ fate. She should be able to last till the era the World Tree showed itself.

At this point, Jenny walked over and, pointedly ignoring Han Xiao, spoke in a low voice. “Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, the damage estimates are out. I need you to review them.”

“Got it.” Ames nodded and turned to Han Xiao. “There’s some stuff I need to do, and my energy has not fully recovered yet. I need to rest.”

Han Xiao stood up. “No problem, go ahead. I’ll be on Floating Dragon Island until you recover. It’s on the way for me to visit Planet Aquamarine anyway.”

“Okay.”

Ames knew that this was Han Xiao’s way to showing concern and smiled.

Han Xiao nodded and turned to leave.

Sending Han Xiao off with her gaze, Jenny’s cold face slowly thawed. She turned to look at Ames, her expression complex, and opened her mouth. Yet, she was seemingly hesitating over what to say.

“Hmm?” Ames glanced at her. “What do you have to say?”

Jenny opened and closed her mouth, finally gathering her courage.

“Your Excellency Dragon Emperor… do you like Black Star?”

Hearing this, Ames raised her brows.

“Why do you care?”

“I… I’m curious.” Jenny gritted her teeth. “And I don’t like Black Star.”

“I knew the last part. You didn’t need to emphasize it.” A helpless laugh came out from Ames.

But Jenny shook her head seriously.

“Your Excellency, I hate Black Star not for the reasons you are thinking… Initially, no one came to provoke us due to our position as a neutral force. Our days were leisurely, and while our influence was limited, it was fine. But after he appeared, Floating Dragon has undergone so many dangerous situations, and I always think that without Black Star, there would not be such issues. He is not a simple man and will bring us into great danger one day.”

Hearing this, Ames also smiled, and she thoughtfully asked, “So… you’re thinking that Black Star and I are allied because I like him?”

“I’ve also observed your attitude toward him and cannot ignore this possibility,” Jenny replied.

Ames nodded and laughed.

“Not bad, I have some feelings toward Black Star. What do you intend to do? Dissuade me?”

“I…” Jenny was shocked and did not know how to react.

“Ok, I’ll stop joking with you.” Ames waved her hands helplessly. “I do have some favorability toward Black Star, but who told you that was love? Just how old am I? Am I the kind that hides my emotions because of embarrassment?”

Ames then stood up. Her back was toward Jenny as she mused and looked out at the universe.

“Among the Beyond Grade As, Black Star is the only one whom I find pleasing to the eye. He beat me and has the qualifications to reproduce with me… but from the beginning till now, I’ve never entertained the idea of allowing a man within me to pass on his genes.

“My favorability toward him comes from the help he has rendered toward Floating Dragon and my admiration of him. My relationship with him is close, but he’s at most a good friend and comrade I can trust. When have you seen us talk about love?”

Jenny breathed a sigh of relief.

Right, how could Her Excellency and Black Star have any relationship? She was probably mistaken.

However, Ames’ next sentence shattered her hopes.

“However, the days are still long. If I ever change my thoughts of having descendants in the future…”

Ames thought of getting along with Han Xiao and shook her head as she laughed.

“Black Star is the only candidate.”

Ka-cha!

The communicator in Jenny’s hands was snapped in two.

…

Meanwhile, Han Xiao recalled his mechanical army and metal plates, allowing Phillip to control his spaceship to dock at Floating Dragon.

As the door closed, Han Xiao opened his interface.

The mission [‘Dragon Emperor’ Ames] had been completed. They had fought for over twenty minutes, fulfilling all the requirements.

And the best reward that he could obtain was a talent or ability from Ames!

Endure, endure…

Han Xiao breathed out and calmed himself down.

Feidin and Nero were not beside him, and he was definitely not going to use his bad luck to gamble.

Suppressing his itchy fingers, Han Xiao turned toward his other mission rewards—a large amount of experience, one Legendary Point, and one Character Summon Card of Ames.

[1] Han Xiao spoke the same phrase to Lothaire in Ch.904

Chapter 908 - Old Friend

The amount of experience rewarded was about the same as his mission for fighting against the Tyrant. Completing all the objectives netted him more than twenty billion experience, and this was basically the standard when faced with a Beyond Grade A task.

With the addition of political assets, Han Xiao’s actual experience almost doubled, and his savings rose quite a bit.

Other than that, he also received a Legendary Point and a Character Summon Card.

_____________________

Star Field Legendary Point (Shattered Star Ring): [Battle with the Dragon Emperor]—Your battle with the Dragon Emperor will be added to your battle records, and your reputation will be passed on.

Character Summon Card—’Dragon Emperor’ Ames: [Force Field – Dragon Body]—Your body will be covered with a force field, and you will get additional shield durability equivalent to 300,000 HP and +3,000 defense. The shield regenerates at a speed of 30,000 per second, and if the shield is broken, there’s a cooldown of ten seconds before it will reform. At the same time, each melee attack brings about 20,000 – 26,000 points of additional physical damage. When there is a Strength judgment test, +1,500 points.

Duration: 30 minutes

Uses: 0/3

_____________________

“Quite a strong effect. It should come in handy during close combat.” Han Xiao nodded and switched off the interface.

After cleaning up the battlefield, Floating Dragon returned to its main base, and Han Xiao followed along.

The battlefield used for the spar was not too far from Planet Aquamarine and did not need much time to journey back. Floating Dragon Island soon reached Planet Aquamarine and stationed itself in outer space.

Spaceships could be seen rising from and descending to the blue planet. Right now, Planet Aquamarine had integrated with the interstellar society, and the development opportunities brought about by the financial groups also helped their civilization progress quickly. Now it also had the appearance of a galactic city.

After returning to his hometown, Han Xiao slowly looked over the changes in Planet Aquamarine, and after thinking about it, he invited Ames along.

Although Ames did not care much for her loss on the surface, Han Xiao needed to remove any negativity and maintain their relationship as allies. He would take this chance to properly interact with her, solidify their relationship, and reduce the friction to the minimum.

Ames looked at Planet Aquamarine every day, but she seldom went down to visit the surface city in person. With his invite, Ames obviously did not reject.

New Western Capital was situated at one of the original Six Nations, Stardragon.

Bennett’s Black Star City was where the Black Star Army’s sub-base was situated and also the political core of the Planet Aquamarine Federation. It continued to expand on the original Karst wilderness, attracted countless people, and had long become saturated. Later on, because the financial groups decided to focus their attention on the other cities that were not controlled so tightly, many other economic and financial cities were created around it, and the New Western Capital developed quickly, coming into the ranks of the first-tier cities of Planet Aquamarine.

It was just past noon, and the bright sunlight injected vitality into the city. The bustling streets were full of people, and voices clamored. There were not only natives but also many galactic citizens. With anti-gravity vehicles, public transportation carried people in an orderly manner across the city’s midair cross-track network. This was a picture of peace.

Han Xiao and Ames hid their presence and aura, not letting anyone discover their presence.

The two of them walked side by side down the streets, observing the situation as they chatted.

Two kids chasing each other ran past Han Xiao, a carefree smile plastered on their faces.

Han Xiao kept his gaze and spoke emotionally.

“With the Mutation Disaster gone for almost a decade, the people in Planet Aquamarine have also walked out of the shadows, embracing their new life and producing a new generation. This kind of feeling is indeed good.”

“This is the result of your effort. Are you feeling a sense of accomplishment?” Ames smiled.

“Just a little.”

Han Xiao was not so humble. In the first place, he saved his mother planet purely out of the benefits of the Planet Aquamarine players. But seeing the results now, he was actually quite satisfied. No one disliked beautiful scenes.

“During the Mutation Disaster, you once invited me to view your mother planet, and at that time, I felt that it was full of despair and hopelessness. The people were confused about the future and did not know if they could survive past tomorrow. However, it’s now another extreme.” Ames shook her head. “It was you who gave the planet a new life.”

“Then it’s estimated that I’m probably the turning point in history, haha.” Han Xiao laughed. When interacting with people he was closer to, he could not be so humble.

As they walked and chatted, they unknowingly arrived at the central area. Towering buildings clustered around the areas like pigeons waiting for food. This place used to be the old site of the Dragonhorn Tower in Stardragon. It had been remodeled into a new one, which was built by a financial group.

Seeing all these buildings, Han Xiao’s footsteps stopped as the memories surged, and he could not help but have a sense of aloofness from this world.

At this moment, Ames seemed to have spotted something and tugged at Han Xiao’s sleeve as she asked, “Hey, what’s that store?”

Turning to where she was looking, he saw a shop across the street with the sign ‘Black Star Heritage Exhibition Hall’ written on the signboard!

“I’ve actually… become a cultural relic. It’s not even been two decades…”

Han Xiao felt like vomiting. However, his curiosity overwhelmed him, and he walked over with Ames.

The automatic glass doors opened as they neared, and they walked into the exhibition hall. They saw that it had various glass showcases with various objects within.

However, the entire hall seemed to be cold and empty, without a single person present. There was a counter at the door, with a sign erected and the price of the ticket written. A woman sitting behind the counter seemed to be a clerk with her upper body lying on the table napping. She did not even hear the two of them enter.

With his Beyond Grade A eyesight, Han Xiao glanced toward the inside of the shop and instantly saw what was within the display cases. His mouth twitched.

“What sort of nonsense is this?”

The exhibition hall was filled with all sorts of messy stuff, such as ‘Chair That Black Star Has Sat On’, ‘Slippers Black Star Has Worn’, and ‘Bread That Black Star Has Bitten’. There was even one that read ‘Toilet Seat Thich Black Star Has Sat on’.

Han Xiao swore that he had never seen the toilet in the display case!

Ames blinked a few times, pointing toward one of the cases, and curiously asked, “Did you really like to wear diapers in the past?”

“You’re the one who likes it!”

“Who didn’t wear them when they were babies?” Ames opened her hands as she retorted.

Their voices woke up the clerk by the counter, and she raised her head, rubbing her eyes sleepily before showing herself in front of them while yawning.

“This is a small establishment, so we don’t accept Enaus as currency. One ticket requires 400 Aquamarine Credibility Points. I can explain the history behind each artifact if you’re interested… eh‽”

The woman finally took in their appearances after she yawned, and her mouth, which had not closed, hung open like that as she revealed a shocked expression.

Han Xiao originally wanted to question where these ‘cultural artifacts’ came from, but after looking at her appearance, he suddenly felt that she looked a bit familiar. “Wait a minute…”

Before he finished speaking, the woman suddenly got excited and opened her arms wide, as though she wished to give him a hug.

But just as she got into the pose, her face froze as though she had thought of something, and her entire body paused in mid action.

The next instant, she put down her hands, and her expression became cramped, as though she did not know where to place her hands. She tentatively asked, “Han… no, Your Excellency Black Star, do you still remember me?”

Han Xiao frowned slightly as he closely looked at the woman. There were fine wrinkles around her eyes, and she seemed a little old, but she still had her womanly charms and had probably been extremely beautiful when she was young. She still maintained a good figure… but under the scrutiny of a Beyond Grade A, this sort of beauty did not have any attractive appeal.

With each advancement, it was a sublimation of life level. At the Beyond Grade A level, one could see the minutest of details, and most creatures were covered with dirt in a Beyond Grade A’s eyes. Only others who were at the Beyond Grade A level would appear uncontaminated by dirt and dust.

Han Xiao scanned through the faces in his memory and matched with one of them. He said in a surprised tone, “You’re… Li Yalin?”

The woman in front of him was actually his colleague back when he was working as an agent in Stardragon.

Seeing that Han Xiao recognized her, Li Yalin was overjoyed and nodded like a chicken pecking on millet.

“That’s right, that’s right. You really still remember me!”

“It’s harder for me to forget things than to remember now,” Han Xiao explained. “Turns out, you’re still alive. I thought you died in the Mutation Disaster. Since you were alive, why didn’t you go to the Black Star Army to find me?”

“I only survived out of luck, and later on, when the Six Nations were disbanded by you, I also lost my job and took the severance payment. I didn’t want to fight anymore, so I didn’t go to you. I bought a house here and opened this exhibition hall.”

She suddenly remembered all the nonsense around them and let out an awkward smile. “Oh… that, I got all those things from the flea market and marketed them as things you’ve used before. No choice, life is hard…”

“… Relax, I’m not going to make trouble for you.”

Seeing an old friend, Han Xiao’s mood was very good.

“Old friend?” Ames suddenly spoke out.

“Yeah, an old comrade more than twenty years ago.” Han Xiao nodded.

Because Li Yalin had focused all her attention on Han Xiao, she did not notice Ames. She snapped back and bowed. “To not notice Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

Ames smiled as she nodded.

“Ai, we’re already old friends. There’s no need to be so polite.” Han Xiao waved his hands.

“How can I?” Li Yalin was a little embarrassed. “You’re such a famous character now.”

With more than twenty years, her friend had now reached a level that she would never obtain and was a great planetary character that appeared on the news. Li Yalin had to withstand the urge to hug him after thinking of the gap between them.

Han Xiao also noticed this point and could not help but sigh that one’s status truly differentiated people. After thinking for a while, he suddenly smiled.

“Now, come to think of it, I seem to owe you money.”

Li Yalin paused before waving her hands. “That was so long ago. You don’t need to be bothered about it…”

“Too late, already transferred.” Han Xiao cut her off.

Ding!

From within the room came the sound of a communicator pinging.

“Hey, I didn’t tell you my account number. How did you know…” Li Yalin was surprised, and she took out her communicator. After glancing, she froze in shock.

“Th—This…”

“One million Enaus, enough to compensate for the interest accumulated for more than twenty years.”

Han Xiao smiled and felt that he was radiating the aura of a wealthy wastrel.

“It’s too much!” Li Yalin was helpless.

“This is not even a large sum for me, pocket money at most. You can rest easy and not worry about life in the future…” Han Xiao glanced around and dryly coughed. “So, find a time to close this shop.”

Ames could not help but start laughing.

“You look like those galactic pirates that paid me a protection fee in the past.”

“No one will think you’re mute if you don’t talk.” Han Xiao spat back.

Seeing Li Yalin still standing there with a dumbfounded expression, Han Xiao looked around and fished out a paper and pen from behind the counter, writing down his communicator number and passing it to her.

“Next time if you have problems, call me. You can come find me anytime.”

Li Yalin slowly regained her wits and solemnly folded up the paper before replying in a serious tone, “Thank you.”

“There’s no need. The money is a small matter.”

“It’s not about that.” Li Yalin took a deep breath before bowing. “I’m thanking you for whatever you did for the entire Planet Aquamarine, for all the people you’ve saved, including me. I did not have the chance to tell you that previously… you’ll always be the hero in my heart.”

Ames also smiled at that and joked, “What about me?”

“Ah, you’re also the heroine in my heart.” Li Yalin hurriedly bowed toward her as well.

At this moment, some other guests walked in, and seeing the scene, they felt a little surprised before suddenly exclaiming.

“Your Excellency Black Star‽”

“Goodness, it’s really him!”

Everyone rushed forward with excited expressions.

Among a hundred Aquamarians, probably only one would not know what Han Xiao looked like. A portion of them benefitted from the statue of him situated in Black Star City, while the other benefitted from the textbooks.

“I… Can I take a photo with you‽” One of them excitedly took out his communicator.

“Of course.” Han Xiao smiled. Anyways, he had nothing to do, so taking a bit of time did not matter.

As they took pictures with Han Xiao, their ruckus attracted more people, which started to form a queue in front of the stall. The tiny exhibition hall became crowded, and it was extremely rowdy, as though there was a fan meet within.

Han Xiao did not refuse anyone and took photos with all the happy citizens of Planet Aquamarine. The lights flashed continuously, and group photos were posted on Planet Aquamarine’s social network constantly.

The appearance of their ‘Savior’ spread quickly and attracted countless people to swarm to this location.

By the sides, Ames looked at Han Xiao and how he was welcomed by everyone, and the admiration in her eyes was apparent.

Chapter 909 - Half a Year

909 Half a Year

As he was leaving the exhibition hall, Han Xiao went back to find Li Yalin to make up for the unfinished hug. In that moment, there was no status difference between them, just a reunion of friendship.

Twenty years had passed just like that, and his first group of friends all had their own personal experiences. Everyone had the freedom to make their own choices, and he would not interfere. Thus, after repaying his ‘debt’, he did not say anything else to Li Yalin.

After bidding goodbye, Han Xiao and Ames spent another ten or so days touring Planet Aquamarine’s major cities. When they were spotted, numerous people would rush up to take pictures with them. This happened all the way until they met up with Bennett.

Since there were a multitude of photos posted on social media, Bennett knew that Han Xiao would definitely go to him and only waited, not disturbing him this time.

Since Han Xiao and Ames had a cooperative relationship with Planet Aquamarine, Bennett also prepared himself to meet the two.

…

After they finished discussing the formal matters, Bennett could not help to ask about Nero. Han Xiao told Bennett about Nero’s heavy study load, but this reassured Bennett that Han Xiao valued Nero a lot and was interested in grooming him.

After finishing the inspection work on Planet Aquamarine, Han Xiao went back to Floating Dragon, with the intention of sneaking into Aesop’s wine cellar to get some Void Dragon Wine to share with Hila, but it was foreseen by Aesop, who had moved his bed and toilet to the wine cellar, guarding it with his life. Thus, he could only return to the headquarters empty handed.

In her palace, Ames watched the spaceship fly toward the horizon and let out a breath, muttering to herself, “I can’t be lazy anymore…”

…

When he returned to the headquarters, the first he did was look for Feidin and Nero, and after molesting them, he went to his room to collect his mission random reward.

_____________________

You have received a Random Reward Draw of one of Ames’ skills (Ability/Talent).

Alert: Ames is an Esper, part of the possible abilities have been automatically adjusted to your class.

Randomizing… complete.

Please select one from the five options below as the reward:

1. Pure Bloodline – Talent: Improve one’s Racial Talent to a certain degree (cannot be quantified due to individual’s talents being different)

2. Advanced Charm Aura – Talent: +120% Charisma

3. Caretaker of the Stars – Ability: Passive Ability that is randomly triggered. One will be favored by the Stars and obtain a [Strong Luck] status, +90% Luck. Lasts for 15 days.

4. Activate Potential – Ability: Unleash one’s potential, +10 – 15% Attack and +200% Crit Rate. Energy is continuously consumed in this state.

5. Heroic Wrists – Talent: You have frightening wrist strength, a strong body, and vigorous cell activity. As your character’s overall level rises, your Strength, Endurance and Attack will increase.

– Lv1 – 100: Every 10 levels will give +30 Strength, +15 Endurance, and +0.6% increase in attack.

– Lv101 – 200: Every 10 levels will give +45 Strength, +25 Endurance, and +0.9% increase in attack.

– Lv201 and above: Every 10 levels will give +60 Strength, +35 Endurance, and +1.2% increase in attack.

_____________________

“Whoa, jackpot!” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Feidin and Nero were really his lucky stars, allowing him to draw all decent rewards.

[Advanced Charm Aura]’s bonus was quite impressive, and any talent with the word ‘Advanced’ would not be bad, but Han Xiao’s demand for Charm was not high.

[Caretaker of the Stars] was a powerful skill, and its Luck bonus was high, but he had no demand for that, and besides… with one point of basic Luck, no matter how great the bonus was, it would still be around the same.

[Activate Potential] was a practical skill that would increase one’s output, but it was lacking compared to the other two.

Han Xiao particularly favored the [Pure Bloodline] since it was a rare racial talent boosting skill as well as [Heroic Wrists] since it was a growth type talent.

However, there was only one reward that could be chosen, so after pondering for a while, Han Xiao made the decision.

_____________________

You have been awarded with the talent Heroic Wrists!

Current additional states applied: +1230 Strength, +680 Endurance, +24.6 increase in attack.

_____________________

He favored this sort of growth talent more as it was stable, strong, and full of potential.

In contrast, [Pure Bloodline]’s effect was too uncertain, and based off Ames’ ability, the bonuses of this talent should be limited.

Moreover, his Racial Talent would undergo an improvement every time he underwent a Race Evolution. He was not lacking in this area. Furthermore, his main force of combat was his mechanical army, and Racial Talent could only be applied to his true body of mechanical host.

Currently, he only had the skills [Superhuman] and [Supreme Power] directly increasing his attack, which already brought forth a totally different dimension of attack strength, so the [Heroic Wrists] skill that directly increased one’s strength was rare.

Han Xiao looked at his attributes in satisfaction before turning off the panel and tilting his head to consider the current situation.

Right now, it’s the middle stages of the version. The external environment can be considered peaceful, and the three civilizations need time to quell their contradictions with each other. I’ve also established my position, and there should be no major events during this time… I can focus on my stable development till the end of the version.

In the past year, Han Xiao had been sharply driving up the organization’s power, causing it to soar rapidly. Now was the time to slowly digest the various achievements he had gained, such as the greater attention the dynasty had on him, the deterrent power he had, and the profits from the Evolutionary Totems.

The army needs to be low-key and digest our fruits of victory, consolidating our businesses while waiting for the next opportunity for development.

In his plan, the next opportunity would be the end of the first phase of the Flickering World development. The dynasty had allowed him a portion of the territory within, and that would be the time to vigorously develop his mechanical civilization as well as the Black Spirit Race.

At the same time, that was also the opportunity to seize the advantage for Version 4.0. It would be the time when the global service would be opened, and the players of the major star fields would gather and begin the faction war. It would also be the time when the Fourth Calamity, the Cancer of the Universe, would be born.

It was inevitable that players would cause trouble in the next version. Thus, it would be a great advantage for himself and the players in the Black Star Army to secure a site within the global service area. At that time, the Black Star Army, as the largest player faction in the Shattered Star Ring, would not be able to avoid being involved in the battle between players. There were advantages and disadvantages, but there was no way to avoid the storm.

The players in the Shattered Star Ring had experienced too many things in Version 3.0. From the secret war early on, to their commander breaking through to Beyond Grade A, the alliance with the Crimson Dynasty, and even the exploration in the Flickering World and the battle of Planet Lighthouse. There was still the Gulal Civilization civil strife, which had yet to end.

Han Xiao estimated that, with the remaining time left, the Shattered Star Ring would likely not have any major events happening, so he could use this time to rest.

Fighting the Arcane Church and then EsGod had tired him out. It would be good for him to use this period to absorb the players’ experience and rebuild his mechanical army.

It had been less than two years since he had become a Beyond Grade A Mechanic, and his mechanical army had yet to reach the level of Manison’s. Let alone to Manison, his army was still quite small compared to the other senior Beyond Grade A Mechanics.

I’ll do some low-key farming and not go around to cause trouble.

…

Under Han Xiao’s strategic direction, the Black Star Army temporarily slowed down its development and turned inward to stabilize itself, consolidating its current scale and businesses.

The transaction of the Evolutionary Totem had set off ripples in the universe, with many civilizations deciding to reach a cooperative relationship with the dynasty in various ways, in order to obtain the qualification to purchase the Evolutionary Totem.

The Crimson Dynasty gained unprecedented political influence, and Han Xiao gained a large number of customers from the various civilizations. This resulted in an abundance of funds, achieving a win-win situation for the both parties.

This sort of monopoly resulted in envy and dissatisfaction among the financial groups, but it was pity. With the Crimson Dynasty as a backer and the Black Star Army’s status as a local tyrant in the Shattered Star Ring, no one dared provoke them.

On the other hand, due to their previous issues, the three civilizations chose to consciously reduce friction with each other. Thus, the Arcane Church and Federation of Light chose to wait and see the effects of the Evolutionary Totem.

Due to their peaceful actions, the galactic environment became stable again. The impact of the Crimson Tide lasting for more than ten years also gradually faded.

The division of Fallen Ark also gradually settled. Some criminals were arrested by the three civilizations, while others went to join other criminal organizations in other star fields, and some became mercenaries.

The leftovers were reintegrated by other people and continued to act as Fallen Ark. Their leader seemed to be Fakisen, the once deputy under EsGod. The new Fallen Ark had shrunk in size dramatically and entered a dormant state, acting low-key.

As for the players in the Black Star Army, they were focused on two events, the exploration of Flickering World and the Gulal Civilization war. They helped the Pioneer Party occupy more land step by step, ousting the Ancient Emperor Party. Their influence on the war was growing larger, and they never grew tired of war.

Under this peaceful environment, more than a year passed quietly.

Version 3.0 had finally entered the final stages.

Chapter 910 - Ultimate Mechanical Engineering

The metal bulkhead of the battleship was full of ridges and holes, and its exposed energy lines were badly damaged, constantly sputtering sparks. The cabin looked like it had experienced a fierce battle, where flames crackled and raged inside, and the ground was covered in the broken bodies of the crew members.

A group of warriors wearing full body armor carried energy guns around to examine the bodies, and whenever they found a survivor, they would fire.

The killed crew were all Rock Sprites, an older race with rough, tawny skin, an average height of about three meters, and covered in hair. Although they were made up of flesh and blood, they had naturally rock-solid skin and were good at uncovering rare ores. With their metal resources, they were a relatively powerful star system level civilization in the Sea of Star Spirits.

The uniforms of all the crew members had the symbol of their civilization, proving that this was a regular unit belonging to their official civilization. Yet, it was attacked, and the entire crew was annihilated.

At the very end of this battleship was a huge metallic warehouse door, and at this moment, the leader of the attackers stood in front of the closed warehouse door and took out a specialized tool to crack the code. The disc-shaped device was pressed on the operation panel of the door, and a high-frequency beep sounded.

Buzz!

The next instant, the door rang loudly and released its locks, slowly swinging open.

The leader strode in and saw hundreds of Evolutionary Totems neatly arranged in the warehouse.

“We’ve got the goods. Clean up and bring them back.”

The people nodded in satisfaction, waving their hands as they brought their subordinates over.

The Rock Sprites had purchased a batch of Evolutionary Totems from the Black Star Army, and when this news was leaked, their attackers set an ambush, with the goal of snatching these Evolutionary Totems.

To be able to clear out the guards of a star system level civilization so easily… it was obviously not a small bandit group.

These attackers were also interstellar mercenaries, but their nature was different. Mercenaries were separated into three types: regular mercenaries registered under the Mercenary Alliance, such as the Black Star Army; independent mercenaries, who are not registered; and the last belonged to black market mercenaries, who worked to supply the galactic black market.

‘Black Jobs’ referred to criminal jobs that violated interstellar law, and these were normally posted only on the black market. They included looting, kidnapping, and assassination of officials. Black market mercenaries were usually criminals… In fact, the majority of people in the industry were originally wanted criminals.

This group of attackers belonged to a black market mercenary group that was one of the top organizations in the black market—the Blood Gold Organization.

The Blood Gold Organization was a black market mercenary group that operated around the Sea of Star Spirits, Ancient Star Desert, and Primeval Star River, and the whereabouts of its members, spaceships, and bases were kept secret. Their style of action was also low-key, which led to their exact size being a secret, but it was obviously a behemoth to be able to conduct business in three different star fields.

At the same time, the Blood Gold Organization was also one of the upper echelons in the black market.

Wherever there were controls for trade, there would exist black markets, which would continue to breed and eventually form a huge chain.

There were also different levels within a black market, distinguished by one’s region and business scope. From planetary level to star systems to star fields, slowly increasing in scope until the highest level, which was the galactic black market that practically dominated all other black markets.

And this black market of the highest level knew how to make a fortune, or else they would not have given themselves the name ‘galactic black market’. Those who did not do this might still think it was a term and not an actual organization.

Of course, not all independent black markets followed under the orders of the galactic black market, just like how some hooligans did not know who the kingpin of their underworld was.

The galactic black market was humongous, and its business covered the entire universe. There were always some civilizations that wished to obtain certain restricted technology and would turn to the black market. Thus, everyone turned a blind eye to its actions, which acted as a cover for it. The galactic black market also acted as a communication platform for a huge underworld society.

However, not all criminals existed for the sake of being evil; a large number were only in it for the benefits, so they also required order and credibility, and they required someone to formulate rules for them. Therefore, the administrators of the galactic black market came into being, with representatives from the mercenaries, intelligence organizations, smuggling trades, contraband production, and other gray industries.

The Blood Gold Organization was one of the administrators of the black market, and they were equivalent to one of the tyrants of the underworld.

The Fallen Ark was not an administrator of the black market, as the administrators typically fell on the Lawful Evil side. They also disliked EsGod, who was a Chaotic Evil. While both of them were criminal forces, they did not belong on the same side. After Fallen Ark fell apart, the Blood Gold Organization accepted a large number of criminals and helped them achieve re-employment.

An officer came to the side of the leader, and watching his subordinates carry away the Evolutionary Totems, he could not help but smirk.

“The price of the Evolutionary Totem on the black market is extremely high now. As far as I know, there are many civilizations that are secretly purchasing. How much do you think we can get if we swallow this batch?”

“Don’t even think about it. This is what our employer wants, and our job is to deliver it. To think of swallowing the goods, are you thinking that you’ve lived too long?” The leader shook his head.

After a year and a half of sales, the business of the Evolutionary Totem had basically stabilized. Some civilizations that relied on the Federation of Light as well as the Arcane Church could not have a relationship with the Crimson Dynasty, and so, they could only start moving now.

No one had forgotten Black Star’s battle records a year and a half ago, so the difficulty of stealing from the Black Star Army’s spaceships was too high. As such, they aimed at the other organizations that transported the Evolutionary Totems, focusing on the civilizations that purchased them.

Because this violated Galaxy’s laws, the black market mercenaries represented by the Blood Gold Organization now came in handy. The Evolutionary Totem was near priceless on the black market and always in short supply.

After stealing the Evolutionary Totems from the Rock Sprites, they destroyed the spaceship completely before they left.

In recent months, such scenes had taken place many times in various corners of the universe.

…

“Another buyer got robbed midway?”

Within his office in the Black Star Army headquarters, Han Xiao closed the player forums, looking at Sylvia’s long-distance projection as he frowned.

“Yes, if we count the Rock Sprites, then there are already thirteen star system civilizations that have been robbed. Thousands of Evolutionary Totems have now appeared on the black market.”

“Where did this happen?”

“Sea of Star Spirits. The identity of the robbers is unknown, and preliminary judgment points toward it being under the same organizations as the previous few.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin. “Pay attention to the black market. If there are no Evolutionary Totems on the black market for some time, it should be the black market mercenaries. They usually hand things over to their employers.”

“Teacher, do we need to deal with this problem?”

“No need to care. I’m not in charge of after-sales. Whether they can protect what they bought, it is not my problem… of course, if they choose to hire my machinery troops, then it would be a different problem.” Han Xiao waved his hand. “What did the Rock Sprite tribe say?”

“They’re hoping that you’ll give him another batch?”

“Give? Not buy?”

“That’s right. They know that the Evolutionary Totem has a low base cost, and they are unwilling to buy another batch at high costs, so they hope you can send them a batch. You also know that the Rock Sprites are direct with their words.” Sylvia helplessly shrugged.

“Tell them that I don’t run an insurance business. If they want to buy, they can buy another batch. There’s no such thing as a replacement batch. This is a matter of principles.”

Han Xiao shook his head. If he agreed to this, who knew if some civilization would choose the method of ‘robbing oneself’ to obtain a replacement. He would not do anything that would bring him a loss.

This sort of thing was hard to predict. There might be civilizations privately reaching agreements with other civilizations who were not close to the dynasty, indirectly helping them to purchase these Evolutionary Totems.

Moreover, Han Xiao did not mind the Evolutionary Totems being stolen. The more they were robbed, the more he would sell, and a larger market would help to ease the pressure off him. He was not losing money at this rate anyway.

The only problem would be the dynasty, not him. As long as it did not reach the Black Star Army side, he did not really care.

“Understood, I’ll relay the message to them.” Sylvia then switched off the projection.

Han Xiao spat out a sigh, leaning back in his chair as he pondered.

In the past year and a half, the Black Star Army had gradually stabilized and consolidated their businesses and operations. They had been developing well. His style of doing things was finally akin to a mechanic. He stayed at home to build machinery and expand his legion while his mechanical army went around to hoard missions for random rewards, using them to draw his Mission Completion Cards.

His experience reserve had also slowly accumulated, and a part of his accumulated Potential Points were used to upgrade his Ultimate Knowledges. During this period, he got his fifth Ultimate Knowledge, [Ultimate Mechanical Engineering], from the Dynasty for six thousand Contribution Points.

This knowledge was related to the manufacturing of machinery, greatly improving one’s manufacturing technology and production line capacity. He also unlocked a large number of blueprints, giving him the talent of [Ultimate Manufacturer] as well as an ability [Inspirational Creation].

[Ultimate Manufacturer]’s effect was simple and practical, increasing the base performance of his machinery by 25 – 30%, as well as his production speed by 300 – 500%. Obviously, this was the talent needed for creating an explosive number of soldiers.

As for [Inspirational Creation], it was an inactive ability. The activation condition was for [Ultimate Mechanical Engineering] to achieve the max level of five. Its effect was to combine an unlimited number of blueprints in any combination to undergo Blueprint Refinement, creating new improved or merged blueprints. One could also choose advanced settings such as focusing on certain aspects such as attack or defense, which was more stable than random blueprints.

Levelling up this ability just needed experience… an ocean worth of experience.

For players who were unable to change their blueprints manually, this skill was akin to magic, but Han Xiao could improve his own blueprints, so this skill was not very useful. However, it was not completely worthless, as it had an irreplaceable role.

[Inspirational Creation] had a slight chance to synthesize the blueprints of Universal Treasures and was the only way for a Mechanic to create Gold Equipment!

Right now, Han Xiao possessed two Universal Treasures, but he would definitely not complain about having more. It was just that synthesizing a Universal Treasure was not that easy, as it was not like gambling for blueprints. There was no fixed combination, and even if two people combined the same blueprints, the synthesized final blueprint would still be different due to randomization.

In his previous life, there were players that indeed created Universal Treasure blueprints, but there were two problems with it. The first was that they did not disclose the combination, and the second… none of the blueprints were for Mechanics.

The prerequisites were too harsh, and there was basically no possibility of manufacturing it below the Beyond Grade A level, so many players could not even satisfy the prerequisites.

Thus, Han Xiao temporarily placed [Inspirational Creation] at the back of his mind. To even reach max level for [Ultimate Mechanical Engineering] required too many potential points, and while he had a large experience reserve, trying to synthesize the blueprint of a Universal Treasure would mean less experience in other areas, particularly since he needed to leave a reserve for during the version upgrade period. Thus, he did not dare waste his experience.

…

The overall situation in the Gulal Civil War had also been stabilized, and they were progressing step by step. There were no issues in the process as the Pioneer Party was about to taste the fruits of victory. However, the attention of the players had already shifted to the Pro League.

Because of the increase in players, the popularity of this version’s Pro League had also risen, attracting much attention. This time, they were similarly separated into the nine major regions, and the schedule had already undergone fine tuning.

For example, the heats and qualifiers started earlier, allowing for ample time and enabling more players to participate in the Pro League. At the same time, this also allowed them to decide the wildcard quota, as well as the Pro League regular season list.

Han Xiao just watched the video of the qualifiers through the forums, appreciating the weird antics and idiocy of the players.

During the official competition, in addition to the ring, group, individual, and team survival battles, there would be three special battle types added.

The first was Capture the Flag, which was a free for all, and each player would be resurrected indefinitely. The winner would be decided by overall points.

The second would be a team dungeon game, where many teams would enter the same dungeon and challenge missions to earn points.

The last would be the survival game. Just like its name, it competed on which team could survive longer in the dungeon, which was also referred to by the players in his past life as the ‘competition to see who could hold their pee back the longest’.

The competitive form was much richer this time round, and the goal of the Pro League was to enhance the competitiveness and interest in the players. The goal of adding the dungeon battles was also to attract more PVE players.

The rules of this Pro League were also much stricter, with a ‘Prohibited Items List’ being released. Not out of his expectations, the [Black Star Army Badge: Evolution] was placed at the top of the list!

The Black Star Army players did not feel much about it since everyone in their faction could use it, but the clubs in other star fields heaved a sigh of relief. This equipment was too overpowered, and if the Shattered Star Ring all had one in their hands, they could just directly admit defeat!

However, Han Xiao did not think that this was the reason. He believed that because the aberrations were too ugly, it would be easy to scare off the ladies…

If one was ugly, they would have no rights. What an accurate saying!

Chapter 911 - Opening of the Pro League

The Black Star Army Badge: Evolution was a divine tool for completing missions and dungeons. In addition to this item, there were several items within each region that were banned.

“The qualifiers are almost over, and the Pro League opening is close.”

Han Xiao rubbed his fingers before reopening the forums, browsing through the information of the qualifiers.

All players were eligible for the qualifiers. After three versions, there were already many players signing for the third Pro League season. They were competing for forty team spots and sixty-four individual tournament places during this regular season, so the competition was fierce.

The saying ‘every version has its own generation of Gods’ was apt. With the compression technology, the Mechanic class that was originally weaker now started to rise in Version 3.0. Their average record in the team and individual games also improved significantly. This was especially so for the individual matches. The mechanics that were originally limited in the individuals now shone in the qualifiers. Their rating was re-evaluated as a T1[1] profession.

The combat capability of a mechanic had started to shine. Unfortunately, it was too much of a money burner, and the players finally experienced this happy problem.

Throughout all the competition regions, the most powerful mechanics all came from the Shattered Star Ring, which had become a feature there. The Black Star Army was indeed one of the best camps for Mechanics.

Along with the rise of the Mechanic profession, many dark horses also appeared.

However, this did not include Maple Moon like in Han Xiao’s previous life, as she only took part in the Pro League for the first time in Version 3.0 back then. In this life, she had participated in the previous Pro League and had even finished in the thirties, so the effect was different.

Because of her good relationship with Frenzied Sword, Rivervale had offered her an olive branch early on and chosen to sign her up before the Pro League started. Thus, Maple Moon was not considered a free player now but rather part of the professional players.

Regardless of her character attributes, equipment, or skills, Maple Moon was one tier higher than in her previous life, and she firmly gained a seat in the top sixty-four in the individual category, allowing her to qualify for the Pro League.

What was worth mentioning was that the Australian and Russian clubs that were based in Shattered Star Ring tried to send some of their club players to form a team to participate in the qualifiers, to try and eliminate the stronger teams of China.

While this was not considered outsourcing, it still triggered a lot of dissatisfaction among the Chinese players.

Your own professional players remain in their regions to play, but you actually sent over some ruffians to try and make a scene? And you dare claim to be some big club? You’re actually just like a kid!

The Australian and Russian teams were targeted heavily by the Chinese players because they were not professional players and ended up being quickly eliminated during the qualifiers.

The candidates for the qualifiers in each region were mostly decided, and the Pro League would be their stage. Thus, a large number of players were analyzing the performance of these players in the qualifiers and posting their analysis videos.

Han Xiao was also deeply engrossed in this as he had received similar treatment.

After scrolling through the forums for a while, a new post suddenly appeared, and it was pushed to the top, attracting Han Xiao’s attention.

A glance at it told him that this was the new episode of Galaxy Times, which was the final promotion for the opening of the Pro League.

This was something our Great Mechanic Han had always kept tabs on, so he immediately entered.

“Hello players, this is Galaxy Times, dedicated to sharing first-hand game information. Your gaming career is our top priority,” the male host greeted.

“Now that the qualifiers are about to end, the countdown for the Pro League begins,” the female host said. “Today, we have the honor of inviting various professional players from the clubs in the Shattered Star Ring for an interview. Please give them a round of applause.”

Claps and cheers played in the background.

Everyone came online and faced the camera, introducing themselves.

“Welcome everyone to the Galaxy Times,” the female host said. “On behalf of the majority of players, I congratulate you for qualifying in the Pro League. We have a lot of new faces in this version, and many say that this version is one where the dark horses will shine. Let me ask those players first, what do you think?”

The host began to interview a batch of newcomers. All of them were familiar faces to Han Xiao. In his previous life, these newcomers were people who rose up in Version 3.0, and a considerable number later joined as professional players, becoming important players or even the aces in their respective teams. Their future statuses were equivalent to Li Ge and Hao Tian. Looking at all these young people in the group, Han Xiao liked this fresh perspective.

After interviewing the newcomers, it was the turn for the professional players. This interview was the highlight, and the teams interviewed were Long Sky, Dynasty, and Rivervale.

“Hao Tian, King Admiral, and Frenzied Sword, the three captains. You achieved an excellent international ranking in the previous league. Now that the third Pro League is about to open, do you feel any pressure?”

Frenzied Sword nodded. “The pressure is real. The better one’s results, the more eyes will be on you. A small mistake will be magnified infinitely, but that’s where we have more motivation. We have a potential rookie, Maple Moon, and the team is good, so we are confident of going further in the competition and earning greater glory.” “That’s great, and we wish Rivervale all the best. How about Long Sky and Dynasty? As the Champion and the Second Runner-up, what goals do you have, and where do you hope to finish?”

“We only have one goal, to defend the championship,” Hao Tian replied. “Anything else is considered regressing.”

King Admiral smiled. “Coincidentally, our only goal is obtaining the Championship.”

“Seems like both captains are confident, and they wish to win the champion’s position for China.” The hostess quickly rounded off as the smell of gunpowder grew heavy.

After finishing this episode, Han Xiao glanced down at the players’ responses.

[If You Lick to the End, You Get Everything]: “We took three of the eight quarterfinal spots last version. If not for the fact that Dynasty had bad luck and fought twice with our country’s people, maybe even the Runner-Up position would have been ours!”

(Twin Lotuses on a Stem]: “What would be called a strong battle team?”

[A Cart of Bread): “We have a great chance of defending our title. This version, the Mechanic profession rose sharply because of the Black Star Army, and our Mechanic profession is the most powerful! This is our advantage, and our overall ranking will definitely be better.”

With optimistic people, there would better be ones that badmouthed them, and however small they were, their existence could not be covered up.

[Rewind): “Can you stop boasting? They were lucky and got the championship, and now they’re all arrogant. Hehe, don’t even know if they can get into the quarter finals.”

[Father of DuDu: “I really find it revolting that they put these professional players on a pedestal. I don’t get what’s so good about them.”

Scrolling through all the comments, Han Xiao could not help but raise his thumb inwardly.

These people are really good at inciting hatred!

A few days later, the opening ceremony came as scheduled, and the long-awaited moment for the players finally arrived, causing the forums to go wild with excitement.

Before the competition officially started, the number of viewers on the live broadcast channel skyrocketed. Han Xiao, who was at the headquarters, also opened the forums to watch the opening battle. [1] T1 = Main Tank, T2 = Sub Tank, and so on. The author mentioned this very early on in his series. So, this should be gauging the mechanic as being able to tank a lot now.

Chapter 912 - Warning

“Welcome to the opening match of the Third Galaxy Pro League. I’m the commentator of this game, Wind Chimes.”

“Hello everyone, I’m a guest commentator, Bun-Hit-Dog.”

“I’m a guest commentator, Li Ge.”

The three of them were being filmed in a studio. This studio was located within a spaceship that hovered above the competition planet, overlooking the scene.

As soon as the live broadcast was connected, there was a barrage of pop-up comments flying across the screen. It was really lively.

Han Xiao took out a bag of nibbles, and reclining in his chair, he ate as he watched in comfort.

“The two teams against each other this time are Long Sky and Dynasty,” Wind Chimes said. “They were the Champions and Second Runners-up in the previous Pro League. They last met in the semifinals, where Long Sky defeated Dynasty and made them miss the final, so there will definitely be some grudges. Their fans have been giving off the smell of gunpowder before this match. One side are the champions, who have to secure the first win, while Dynasty wish to wipe away their previous humiliation, so this match will be one of epic proportions. What say you two?”

“I feel that Long Sky might win,” Bun-Hit-Dog said. “Hao Tian is a typical example of a competitor who grows stronger the stronger his opponents are. I’m very optimistic about him.”

“There was some luck factored in during Long Sky’s last win,” Li Ge countered. “I’m more optimistic about Dynasty, as they will definitely have done more research after losing the previous time.”

The three commentators debated for a few minutes before Long Sky and Dynasty finally entered the battlefield, waving to the audience and doing the self introduction before the match.

The hero who won the previous glory for China appeared, and it incited a large wave of pop ups, so much that Han Xiao could barely see the screen.

“Okay, we can see that both sides have already gotten on the battlefield. If that’s the case, then the Pro League officially… begins!”

The moment the voice sounded, both sides moved, akin to a lightning strike or a volcanic eruption. Compared to the previous version, the tactical methods and destructive power of these professional players had obviously risen to a whole new level, so the battlefield range had also become larger.

Long Sky had a sharp penetrative force, but Dynasty was more balanced overall. Their teamwork was nigh perfect, and they were skillful in team battles as well as capturing the flag. However, in terms of individual strength, Long Sky-which had Hao Tian, Sleepy Winter, and Twinkle Fried Rice, three god-level players-slightly overwhelmed Dynasty. While King Admiral slightly exceeded all his opponents, it was difficult for him to support the entire team.

In this Pro League, the new formats for team battles and dungeon survival games also made their debut. Han Xiao was no stranger to this, but players found it new since it was their first time.

The selected dungeon was not fixed, and it was different each game. Before the game, several dungeon options would be taken out to allow players the time to study before one of these options was randomly selected. However, professional players were on a different level. When this rule was announced a year ago, the teams had already begun to do dungeon training and were familiar with most of the dungeons in this region. The team battle would be held in a normal level dungeon, while the survival battle would be held in a high-level dungeon. Coincidentally, the dungeons that Long Sky and Dynasty chose all had to do with Han Xiao.

The team battle was held in the secret war dungeon series, and both parties would be thrown into the same dungeon. The goal was not a time attack but rather to complete some special mission tasks, such as assassinating certain characters or drawing out hidden missions, testing the comprehensive quality in each team.

As for the survival battle, it was a copy of (Warfare: Defense of Planet Aquamarine), where the Calamity Grades of DarkStar ganged up against Han Xiao. Even though it was in Version 2.0, this dungeon copy was still a difficult one for the players.

The focus of the dungeon battles was to test the wit and bravery of the teams. Utilizing everything within the dungeon to defeat their opponents would make the Pro League more interesting than just a basic battle. As for the survival battle, it was more of who could struggle longer to survive. Watching the professional players get abused was quite entertaining for the audience as well.

Long Sky’s battle style was more reckless, as Hao Tian’s specialty did not lie in strategy and was not suitable for the intricacies of team dungeon battles. While Sleepy Winter was accustomed to pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger, he was unable to shake the stability of Dynasty and was completely led around their nose by King Admiral, hammered flat.

When it came to the survival dungeon, the dungeon copy replayed the battlefield at that time, where the two teams came face to face with the three Calamity Grade DarkStar supers. The threat level was basically dying once they encountered them. Luckily, the copy of Black Star was also projected according to the original history.

Long Sky and Dynasty both materialized outside of the Sanctuary, with protective shields, and had to withstand the aftermath of the three Calamity Grades as well as the bombing of the mothership. The survival game allowed them to fight each other as well, but neither side had the luxury, only scurrying around with their heads tucked low. This was the complete opposite of the image of arrogance the professional players typically showed, which delighted the viewers to no end. The live broadcast was full of lively cheers and comments.

Both teams died in quick succession, and it was Long Sky that died first. They were not that good at dodging and were turned to ash by Ember.

The first victory of the opening game was thus won by Dynasty, which directly destroyed the chance for Championship for Long Sky. Han Xiao had to admit that King Admiral was a really good representative of the Chinese professional players, and he had once admired him. This guy was a true god-level player.

Leaving the live broadcast, he could see many more posts on the forums about the battle previously. The fans of both clubs were busy badmouthing each other, and Han Xiao only swept past them before closing the forums. As he put his snacks away, his mind started to reminisce.

In his past life, China was faced with a devilishly tight schedule, and their final result was dismal, not even squeezing into the semi-finals. There was no Black Star Army in his past life, so the strength of Shattered Star Ring was pretty weak. The situation is different now. China has won the championship once, and with the increase in power for the Mechanic profession, the odds of defending it are not small at all.

Ring ring! At this point, the communicator on his table rang. With a hook of his finger, he dragged the communicator over. The caller was from the Crimson Dynasty, and it was someone responsible for the Evolutionary Totem project.

“Your Excellency Black Star, I’m sorry to intrude.” The other party’s attitude was respectful.

“Any problems with regards to the business?”. Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Yes, as you know, some bandits recently snatched the Evolutionary Totems that were purchased by our allies. Some of these stolen Evolutionary Totems are now in circulation within the black market, and some were taken away by their secret employers. According to our sources, we think that the Blood Gold Organization is one of the suspects involved.”

Blood Gold Organization…

Han Xiao remembered the past details. This was a member of the Lawful Evil faction. They were in charge of the galactic black market along with other gray organizations. They were also a black market mercenary group that players could enter, usually for those players who liked to cause trouble.

“The Blood Gold Organization is unlike the Fallen Ark. They have a set of rules to follow. As long as we warn them in the name of the Dynasty, they should know how to behave.” Han Xiao stroked his chin.

“That’s where the problem exists.” The tone of the officer dropped. “Based on our intelligence, our spies have discovered that there are radiation signals of the Evolutionary Totem on some planets of the Federation of Light and Arcane Church. They may also be buyers, and if that’s the case, the Blood Gold Organization will have their support.”

“Well… I suppose that’s still within my expectations.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. The Federation of Light and Arcane Church could not get the Evolutionary Totem through conventional channels, so they searched for alternatives.

The Blood Gold Organization was also a large organization, with a wide scope of business, and they would definitely have their own agenda. But if the Federation of Light and Arcane Church approached them, even at the cost of them offending the Crimson Dynasty, they would still be willing to be chess pieces as it would allow them to get close to the other two Universal Civilizations.

Within the currently explored universe, the three Universal Civilizations were the biggest backers, so it was not surprising that the Blood Gold Organization was tempted by the olive branch thrown to it.

“So, you want to bring the knife to the Blood Gold Organization?” Han Xiao asked.

“That’s right. We hope to give them a good warning and need your help to collect some intelligence.” “Got it.” Han Xiao nodded.

They exchanged the respective intelligence and ended the call.

At the same time, a new mission popped up on his interface.

(Warning]

Mission Introduction: The erratic movements of the Blood Gold Organization have impacted the dynasty’s important businesses, and the dynasty has decided to send them a warning, to kill the chicken in order to warn the monkeys.

Mission Requirements: Provide the dynasty with 3 high ranked members from the Blood Gold Organization.

Reward: 15,000,000 experience, +1,000 Dynasty Contribution Point, x1 Random Reward

Track the upper echelons of the Blood Gold Organization? It seems like the dynasty want to strike from the top. No wonder they asked for help. This is the expertise of a Virtual Mechanic.

Stowing his communicator, Han Xiao thought for a while before calling Sylvia.

“Sylvia, is there any news from the Rock Sprite Tribe?”

“They have decided to buy a new batch of Evolutionary Totems.”

Han Xiao rapped on the table. “Tell them, in order to prevent similar incidents, I’ve decided to send some of my mechanical army to follow their fleet, providing a free escort service.”

“Understood, I’ll relay the message.” Han Xiao nodded and hung up before connecting to the quantum network and calling Phillip. “In a while, hack into a black market account with a high credibility point, and anonymously hire the Blood Gold Organization to rob this batch of goods.”

Against such mercenary forces, the simplest method would be to drop some bait.

Over the next few days, while Han Xiao was waiting for the fish to bite, he was watching the Regular Season battles that were in full swing.

After a round robin battle, the Regular Season finally decided the participants for quarter finals as well as the top sixteen individuals, and entered the finals.

Dynasty ranked first in the team battles for points, while King Admiral was the first in terms of individual points. Dynasty had obtained a double first and demonstrated their powerful strength, obtaining the qualification to enter the International League.

Temple of God and Thunder Storm ranked second and third, while Long Sky was placed fourth. This result was a little unbefitting of the former champion, and they were somewhat sluggish.

Following that were Fried Eggplants With Fish and Rivervale, ranked fifth and sixth respectively. The seventh was a new club, which explosively entered the scene, named Long River, while ranked at eighth was Sky Palace.

These were the top eight teams, and they would play in the division finals in best of five games.

Only the top four teams would be able to qualify for the International League.

For the individual battles, Maple Moon reached the top sixteen this time, obtaining the qualifications to compete in the International League, along with Frenzied Sword.

After the Regular Season, a buffer period was given.

During this time, the Blood Gold Organization finally bit on the bait that Han Xiao had cast.

Chapter 913 - Entrapmen

Near the borders of the Sea of Star Spirits, a fleet of over forty battleships was currently cruising. The battleships all had the logo of the Rock Sprite Civilization.

These spaceships were the long-distance spaceships created by the Rock Sprite Civilization. Their exterior looked a bit like a bloated mining spaceship with the main weapons of the spaceship being a lightweight Ion Cannon and a Particle Cannon.

A Star System Civilization would only be able to move around the Star System if they relied on their own technology, and even if they had a stargate from a higher civilization, a Star System Civilization needed to construct a special spaceship in order to conduct inter-Star Field travel. Resources and energy would be a huge barrier between the short-distance and long-distance travel spaceships.

To a Star System Civilization, long-distance spaceships were extremely precious, and the difficulty of constructing one was far more than that of a short-distance spaceship.

In order to transport the Evolutionary Totems from the Black Star Army in the neighboring Star Field, the Rock Sprite race sent out a long-distance fleet. Their previous fleet was ambushed by the Blood Gold Organization and was completely wiped out. This fleet was their second batch of spaceships, which had travelled in hyperdrive for a period by borrowing a stargate before reaching the Black Star Army base. After a long trip, this fleet had finally returned to the Sea of Star Spirits.

In the command room of the flagship, a Rock Sprite commander instructed with a solemn expression, “Everyone, remain on high alert. Our previous long-distance fleet was ambushed around the border of the Sea of Star Spirits. We have already received news of the enemy’s operating region. Report any anomalies on the radar to me.”

“Understood,” the crew in the command room replied anxiously.

The civilizations of the Star Cluster grade and above were used to long-distance voyages, but to the fleet of a Star System grade civilization, every trip out of their own region represented unknown danger. After leaving their borders, they no longer had the protection of their civilization’s fleet, and it was akin to entering the deep ocean.

The enforcement squad would not descend from the sky, and various galactic organizations were active within this region. They would never know how many eyes were looking at them.

“There are still another eighteen days until our next stargate, and we will be able to jump past three Star Systems to leave this border region. The border is the most dangerous, and as long as we do not meet any enemies during this region, we should be safe,” the commander said.

However, right as he completed his sentence, an ear-piercing alarm rang.

Spaceship signals appeared all round them, and they entered an encirclement that the enemy had prepared.

“Again‽ Who leaked our whereabouts‽”

The commander gritted his teeth and cursed in his heart.

If not for His Excellency’s Black Star help, we’d definitely suffer a huge loss this time.

…

The attackers had more than three hundred spaceships and were rapidly surrounding them. They immediately activated their equipment to jam hyperdrive and prevent their prey from escaping.

In the flagship of the attackers, a large crystal bodied organism was floating in front of the command room’s window. His exterior appearance was a crystal with many edges, and he did not have any limbs or sensory organs. He only had two blue tentacles formed by Psychic energy that were wiggling around.

This crystal lifeform was the leader of the assault fleet and was named Kelansta. He was a Calamity Grade Psychic and an experienced mercenary of the Blood Gold Organization. He was once the traitor of a crystal lifeform civilization because he absorbed a large amount of his race’s own mental energy to become a Calamity Grade Super. As such, a bounty was placed on him, and he joined the Blood Gold Organization many years ago.

The encirclement was rapidly formed, and Kelansta made use of his Psychic energy to form soundwaves to say, “Release the magnetized radioactive waves to weaken the enemy’s defensive shields. The vanguard force shall approach the enemy and enter close-quarters combat. Do not bombard them from long range lest we damage the goods. Our objective is to snatch the Evolutionary Totems.”

The Blood Gold Organization had been eyeing the Evolutionary Totems in the black market. Not too long ago, an account with a high credibility rating issued a mission to snatch the Evolutionary Totems and revealed the whereabouts of this Rock Sprite fleet. The Blood Gold Organization then accepted the mission immediately.

They were not interested in the reward of the mission; their main aim was the Evolutionary Totems. Handing an Evolutionary Totem over to the civilizations that needed them would give them even more money, and they would even be able to gain the support of a backer. Han Xiao made use of the Evolutionary Totems to gain huge political support, and the Blood Gold Organization and other organizations snatching the Evolutionary Totems wanted to share this influence.

It would not matter if they were unable to complete the mission; snatching the totems was their main goal. However, the Blood Gold Organization was not planning to swallow the entire batch of totems for themselves. They only needed to give a portion of the totems to their employer and claim that the rest were destroyed in battle. The remaining totems would then go into their pockets. This was a standard practice of theirs.

Because of the robberies over the past few months, the civilizations purchasing the totem made sure to keep the matter a secret. As such, it was extremely rare to come across such information on the black market. There were few transportation fleets that had their location discovered, and this employment mission had revealed the whereabouts of the Rock Sprite fleet.

Because the Blood Gold Organization had previously robbed the Rock Sprite fleet, they had a certain degree of trust toward this information. They had also gotten a large intelligence organization in the black market to verify the information before taking action.

The fleet of the Blood Gold Organization was many times larger than the Rock Sprite fleet, and they were like wolves surrounding a herd of sheep.

The next moment, a radioactive pulse was released from the Blood Gold Organization fleet, and the defensive shields of the Rock Sprite fleet began to flicker.

Such a radioactive pulse was generated by a powerful electromagnetic field. It was capable of disrupting electromagnetic and ion shields. However, it was useless against psionic and dark energy shields. However, most Star System civilizations would mainly use electromagnetic and ion shields.

The distance between both parties rapidly shrank, and the Blood Gold Organization made use of their electromagnetic chains to latch onto the Rock Sprite spaceships.

The image of the spaceships being latched on was displayed in the command room.

“Report, I have boarded the spaceship, and everything feels good. I am heading toward the control room of the spaceship, taking out any resistance along the way.”

“Very good,” Kelansta replied slowly. “Speed up, I…”

Before he could even finish what he had to say, the screens in the command room all shut down, and everyone was stunned.

The next moment, the sound of intense battle could be heard from the communicators, followed by the sound of miserable groans.

“Enemy attack! There are other troops on the spaceships!”

“My armor isn’t listening to my commands!”

The sound of the battles lasted for a short while, and the communicator fell silent. The vanguard force was completely wiped out.

Everyone in the command room had a look of loss, and they looked toward Kelansta, waiting for his orders.

Kelansta was also in shock, and just when he was about to say something, a buzzing white noise could be heard from the screen on the command room.

Buzz!

The next moment, a human silhouette formed by white noise appeared on the screen and let out a mechanical voice.

“Following the orders of my Lord, I am taking over this region.”

“Who… are you?”

“Formless Ghost.”

After which, everyone in the room detected an anomaly. Something seemed to be flowing under the alloy walls around them as though snakes were slithering around their command room.

The members in the room immediately got away from the walls and stared at the walls with fear in their eyes.

“Just what is going… Argh!”

Before they could finish their sentence, the metal floor beneath them suddenly changed shape, and a cactus-like iron tree grew in the middle of the room with many bodies hanging down from the branches!

Boom!

Kelansta released his powerful Psychic force and smashed the iron tree apart.

The shattered alloy then collapsed onto the ground and was absorbed back into the ground like it was liquid. Following which, the command room changed shape, and the alloy walls seemed to have transformed into flesh, contracting inward. The entire room came alive.

Kelansta immediately used his Psychic force to destroy the windows and entered space. Only then could he see what was going on.

The entire spaceship seemed to have been transformed into nanoparticles, and the alloy was being molded like clay. The few spaceships in the surroundings also had the same phenomenon.

Kelansta was shocked.

Formless Ghost was one of the Apostle Weapons. He had an infective nanoparticle virus that could live in any alloy or machinery to control it. At the same time, he was capable of transforming alloy into nanoparticles and becoming one with them to increase his body mass.

At the same time in the Rock Sprite fleet, a black tide of mechanical soldiers rushed out. These mechanical soldiers easily destroyed the many spaceships of the Blood Gold Organization.

Upon seeing the Black Star Army insignia on the mechanical soldiers, Kelansta immediately understood what was going on and fell into despair.

“Black Star‽”

After realizing who his enemy was, Kelansta lost all motivation to fight back.

Formless Ghost led a long-distance fleet to escort the Rock Sprite fleet. With Han Xiao’s current strength, he would be able to easily wipe out the few hundred Blood Gold Organization battleships without even using Lord’s Descent.

The battle had no suspense, and all the enemies became his captives.

Kelansta also had nowhere to escape. Even if he was in the Calamity Grade, he was powerless against the mechanical army. He was captured, and his mental energy constrained.

Without his Psychic energy, he would even need help if he wanted to get up.

After the battle, Han Xiao’s consciousness descended upon a complete Blood Gold Organization spaceship through the quantum network, and he shook his head with a chuckle.

“These fellows indeed took the bait.”

“Lord, I completed your orders.”

The ground of the command room then transformed into a human figure, and the human figure knelt on the ground. This was Formless Ghost. His main body was made of nanoparticles, and he could exist in many different forms.

“It’s been tough for you.” Han Xiao praised him. “I shall take care of the rest.”

In the blink of an eye, Han Xiao’s consciousness went through the quantum network of the spaceship and infiltrated the Blood Gold Organization’s database. In the quantum network, physical distance lost all meaning.

In the eyes of a Beyond Grade A Mechanic, the firewall of the Blood Gold Organization was filled with loopholes everywhere.

…

Not too long later, Han Xiao opened his eyes in the Black Star Army headquarters, and he smiled.

“Found it.”

“Lord, what should we do with the captives?” Formless Ghost asked.

“They aren’t anything good. Execute them all. Oh, apart from that crystal lifeform. Bring him back to me. I want to see if I can squeeze any juice… er, crystal powder from him,” Han Xiao replied casually and exited the quantum network. He then picked out the whereabouts of three Blood Gold Organization upper echelons and sent the data to the Crimson Dynasty official in charge of the totems.

The members of the Blood Gold Organization were extremely mysterious with their whereabouts unknown. But as long as Han Xiao set his sights on them, it would be incredibly difficult for them to escape.

If this mission was assigned to the players, it would be extremely challenging for them, and they would have to find clues from all around. However, it was an easy matter to him; he only needed a single clue to dig up all the intelligence.

After handing over the intelligence, a notification popped up on his interface.

_____________________

[Warning] has been completed.

You have received 15,000,000 experience, 1,000 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points, x1 Random Reward.

_____________________

Not too long later, the dynasty replied to him.

“Thanks for your intelligence, Your Excellency Black Star.”

“It’s a small matter. How are you planning to deal with the three of them?”

“Haha, Your Excellency, you’re asking the obvious.”

“That’s true. Using such a method to find them isn’t an overboard method.” Han Xiao then added, “How about this? Let me take care of one of them.”

“Since you are interested, the dynasty has no issues with that.”

“Alright then.”

He then hung up, and Han Xiao sent the intelligence to Lothaire.

Lothaire had joined the army one and a half years ago, but he did not have much to do most of the time. After all, the army did not really have any assassination missions for him to do, so this was a chance for him.

Han Xiao was planning to let Lothaire go out and exercise a bit so that his assassination skills would not turn rusty.

Furthermore, after a year of observation, he felt that Lothaire was now sufficiently trustworthy to set up an assassin organization on the outside. This plan of his could be brought forward.

“I will set off immediately,” Lothaire replied promptly.

He was not concerned about the reason behind the assassination. After a year and half of interaction, he already trusted Han Xiao and had a good impression of the army.

Chapter 914 - Top Eigh

914 Top Eigh

Just as Han Xiao got Lothaire to assassinate a target, the Division Finals continued as usual.

After a series of battles, the top eight teams in the Shattered Star Ring had already been formed. Dynasty obtained their third championship and created their three-time championship era. Among the four great guilds, Dynasty had always been ranked first and did not have any obvious shortcomings.

The first runner up was Temple of God, and although the fans of Temple of God were considered satisfied, passersby could not help but lament with pity. The impression of Temple of God being a weakling during external battles was imprinted deep within their hearts, and sending Temple of God into the International League meant that China had one less team!

The second runner up was Long Sky. Although their performance was not good in the division matches, they entered into the International League and had the opportunity to show the world what they could do. The third runner up was Rivervale. Frenzied Sword, Evil Sword, and Maple Moon were the core of the team, and their strength was no less than the first three teams.

These four teams would be participating in the International League.

Of the four great guilds, Fried Eggplants with Fish had once again missed the chance to participate in the International League.

It was said that the boss of Fried Eggplants with Fish felt that the name of their team was not auspicious enough and wanted to change the team’s name. They were currently seeking opinion from the public, and the names suggested were all like dishes on a menu.

Without mentioning the fans of Fried Eggplants with Fish who were entertaining themselves in their bitterness, the majority of the players were rooting for the four teams that had made it into the International League. They had a huge advantage in this version. The Mechanic class had risen to prominence, and many large events in the Shattered Star Ring increased the benefits of the Black Star Army greatly. Thus, the Chinese players were extremely confident about emerging as champions. The god-level players in the clubs were all in their peak state, and all the players thus placed huge expectations on the Chinese teams. They looked forward to them displaying their brilliance in the International League.

In the Singles, Maple Moon got into the top eight. In this season, four of the top eight belonged to the Mechanic class, and the Mechanics finally made up for their weaknesses in the first two versions.

The rankings for the eight other regions had also been released. Most of the teams were the usual teams that made it to the International League such as Devil, Key, and Thunderbolt Python from America; Tulips and Grapes from France; Rose Knight from Britain; Hydra and Vagrant from Japan; Kimchi and Samsung Bomb from Korea; Tomahawk from Sweden; Wings from Poland; White Emperor Sword from Russia; and Kangaroo Boxing from Australia. Many of these teams were the familiar faces from the previous International League. There was a total of thirty-six teams in the International League, and they were split into three divisions.

The division lineup truly excited the Chinese players this time. The strongest batch of overseas teams were all drawn into Division A, and only Temple of God was drawn into that division. Because the Regular Season relied on point accumulation, it would be difficult to pull apart the gap in points with too many strong teams in the division. As such, many of the strong overseas teams would not be able to arrive at the finals.

Long Sky and Dynasty got into Division B with only a few stronger teams such as Hydra, Rose Knight and Tomahawk. The two Chinese teams were hot favorites to win the championship, and it was highly likely for both teams to advance together.

Rivervale got into Division C, which was the weakest division of the three.

The random assignment of the teams was completely the opposite from the previous season. However, it was far more advantageous to the Chinese teams, and it was very likely for the scene of three teams in the top eight to happen again.

The Chinese players were overjoyed and almost set off firecrackers in the Shattered Star Ring to celebrate!

As for the unlucky Temple of God, the Chinese players were not bothered and even laughed at them.

You from Henan: “Sacrificing Temple of God to obtain three slots in the top eight. This deal is truly sweet!”

Li Ge’s Life Is Filled with Darkness: “Sacrificing the noobest team to increase the average strength of China.”

Praying Under the Moon: “Is this Tianji horse racing?”

Senior War Official: “Haha, what a divine grouping.”

Amid the cheerful atmosphere, the short break after the Division Finals ended, and the International League began.

There were millions of players watching the competition from the forums and discussing the competition excitedly.

The opening battle of the International League was the faceoff between the champion and first runner up from the previous season: Long Sky vs Devil. Long Sky’s fans and the other viewers were all worried about this battle. Long Sky’s performance during the division competition was not satisfactory, and it was highly likely for them to lose this battle if they faced the previous first runner up. While it was not much to lose a single battle, it would dampen the team’s morale.

Both parties used Dungeon Crystals to enter the battlefield. The Long Sky team was equipped with armor that had the Black Star Army insignia. The various armor types all had their own purposes, and this was akin to free advertisement.

Although the equipment of Devil was also extremely powerful, they did not look as uniform as Long Sky. In comparison, Long Sky felt a lot more like a proper army.

Black Star Army’s fame was no longer limited to the Shattered Star Ring, and the other countries all knew that the Black Star Army was the largest player faction in the Shattered Star Ring. The Black Star Army had a complete monopoly and was the first faction that provided the players an opportunity to cross Star Fields. In the hearts of the various players, the Shattered Star Ring was akin to the Black Star Army’s territory.

Usually, only a Universal Civilization or Super Star Cluster Civilization would have the privilege of being recognized as the ruler of a Star Field. Although the strength of the Black Star Army was far from being compared to these two factions, their fame among the players was no less than a Universal Civilization.

The curtains to the International League were drawn, and Long Sky revealed their fangs to fight an intense battle with Devil.

In this respect, Long Sky was the exact opposite from Temple of God. They were so-so in internal battles but extremely ferocious in external battles.

Long Sky beat Devil by a small margin during the previous season, but this time, because of the improvements to the Mechanic class and some players from Devil changing clubs, the difference between the two parties widened, and Long Sky seized their first victory in the International League.

The Chinese players all cheered with excitement.

The Regular Season of the International League then unfolded with many intense battles every day.

The rankings had only stabilized after they fought the first half of the season. Because of the many strong teams in Division A, it was extremely difficult for the players of that division to gain an overwhelming victory, and their points were not too high. As such, the rankings did not display the proper strength of the teams. For example, teams like Devil, Tulips, Key, and White Emperor Sword did not manage to make it into the top four.

Dynasty and Long Sky had an easy time in Division B and managed to obtain first and fourth place. Rivervale harvested a great amount of points in Division C and managed to take second. Among the top four, only third place was Korea’s Kimchi, which was also a member of Division C.

To the Chinese players, the situation was extremely good, and Temple of God, which was being abused, was completely ignored.

The huge advantage of the Chinese teams was not only because of the groupings but also because Capture the Flag and two dungeon modes were added into the competition. These modes were far more suitable for a Mechanic to show off their skill, which gave Long Sky, Dynasty, and Rivervale a huge advantage. Their PvE strength was much higher than the other international teams, which allowed their scores to be pulled forward.

There was another reason… The dungeons chosen in the Regular Season would not be the dungeons from the respective regions of the participating teams to ensure that the teams did not have any disparity of information. As such, the Chinese teams would not experience the Black Star Army’s perverse dungeons.

As for their friends from overseas, they could personally enjoy the usual life of the players in the Shattered Star Ring.

The difficulty of the dungeons issued by Han Xiao was not on the same level as the highest level dungeons in the other regions. Shattered Star Ring was the only region that had a Beyond Grade A dungeon!

Under Han Xiao’s abuse, the Chinese players were used to being abused and could face the high-level dungeons of the other regions with ease. It was just like taking a vacation to them.

On the contrary, the teams from the other regions were abused to the point they wanted to puke when fighting the Black Star Army dungeons.

Being killed on the spot was commonplace, and their time spent in the dungeon would usually be the time of the intro clip.

Was this a dungeon for players to complete?

Was there a need to make the difficulty level so perverse‽

As long as the Black Star Army dungeon was picked, the fans from the other teams would cry out with agony. The team would die too quickly, and there was nothing to watch at all.

During the second half of the Regular Season, perhaps because of the large disparity in points, all the teams had given up, and the Chinese teams were not targeted by the other teams like in the previous season.

Long Sky, Dynasty, and Rivervale stabilized their position in the top eight, and it was impossible for them to drop out of the top eight.

After the end of the final match, the rankings were finalized.

Rivervale obtained first place with the other members being, Kimchi, Dynasty, Hydra, Long Sky, Devil, Key, and Tomahawk.

China had three teams entering the top eight again and maintained their glory from the previous season. Furthermore, it was the same three teams that had made it into the previous top eight.

Dynasty and Long Sky were well established clubs, so there was no need to mention them. Rivervale was a newly formed club that managed to get into the top eight two times in a row. Their status among the players had been cemented, and there was a chance for them to become a new super guild.

Temple of God had no fate with the finals, but no one felt any pity for them. Everyone’s attention was only on the winner.

This time, the matchups in the finals were much better than the previous season!

During the second season, because of the lousy matchup, the Chinese teams needed to fight each other twice. Dynasty and Rivervale were both eliminated by a Chinese team.

According to the current scores, the first place Rivervale would be facing Tomahawk, the third place Dynasty would be facing Devil, and the fifth place Long Sky would be facing Hydra.

This matchup made all the players cheer with joy. Compared to their bad luck in the previous season, they were truly blessed by the goddess of luck this time!

…

After the Regular Season of the International League was completed, the dates for the International Finals were fixed.

Lothaire was sent by Han Xiao to the other Star Fields, and after the end of the Regular Season, Han Xiao received Lothaire’s message.

“Objective cleared.”

The message included a picture of the victim, and it was taken care of cleanly.

He only provided the intelligence, and Lothaire could work on his own without any help.

The Crimson Dynasty had also gotten rid of the other two Blood Gold Organization upper echelons.

With three upper echelons dead, all the upper echelons of the Blood Gold Organization were in shock.

The Blood Gold Organization could no longer sit still after being targeted by the Crimson Dynasty and Black Star Army.

Chapter 915 - Surging Currents

In some secret conference room of the Blood Gold Organization, over ten upper echelons were meeting through long-distance projections. They were made up of organisms from many different races.

All those present in this room were not ordinary characters and were infamous in their respective regions. Most of them had high bounties placed on them by the various civilizations, and their combat capabilities were not weak in the Calamity Grade. They were now the leaders of the Blood Gold Organization and had various troops under their command. They rarely took action personally and were in a semi-retired status.

“I believe that everyone understands our recent situation. The Crimson Dynasty and Black Star Army have taken action against us. Marlowe, Vancesna, and Indir have been assassinated,” the leader of the Blood Gold Organization said with a grave tone.

The current leader of Blood Gold was a male organism and a member of the Federation of Light. He was an elite being that went through genetic testing before. His appearance was extremely ferocious, and he was currently at the peak of his life.

As compared to the others present, his background was extremely clean, and he was not a wanted man. He was an elite brought up by the previous leader of the Blood Gold Organization. When the previous leader died, he took over the position as leader, and it had been thirty years since then.

The Blood Gold Organization was a pretty old organization, and he was the twelfth leader.

The existence of the galactic black market was even older than some Star System or even Star Cluster Civilizations. The managers had been changed over and over again, and the Blood Gold Organization had only taken up the role of manager of the black market two hundred years ago.

“Poor Marlowe, I still owe him 7,203,050 Enaus. He is truly a good man and died at the best time.” A squid like upper echelon rubbed his eyes to squeeze out some tears.

“This isn’t the time to joke. The Crimson Dynasty is obviously trying to scare us by killing the upper echelons of our organization and punish us for stealing the goods of their allies. They want us to retreat and not think about the Evolutionary Totems anymore. The problem is, how did news about the upper echelons leak?” a member of the Andor Bee Race said.

The leader of Blood Gold then said, “Kelansta’s fleet met Black Star’s mechanical army a while back, and Black Star should have taken action personally to locate the upper echelons. It is usually us scaring others, but this time, some powers higher up have their eyes set on us. The Crimson Dynasty and Black Star Army aren’t easily provoked, and we have to consider how we should deal with them.”

“Humph, the Black Star Army is far away in the Shattered Star Ring, and the threat that they pose is limited. Furthermore, the Black Star Army is only a little bit more prominent in the Shattered Star Ring and does not have any forces in the other Star Fields. Their scale cannot be compared to ours; only Black Star is difficult to deal with. For now, we do not need to bother about them. The dynasty should be our main focus,” a pirate-like man with a large beard said.

“I agree.” The Blood Gold leader nodded.

Their Blood Gold Organization had operations across three Star Fields, and their scale was even larger than the Black Star Army. In their eyes, the Black Star Army was nothing to be afraid of; they only needed to be afraid of Black Star alone. It was the strict attitude of the Crimson Dynasty that truly worried them.

“The federation and church were the ones who approached us. If we continue to snatch the Evolutionary Totems, the Crimson Dynasty will definitely fight back. But if we stop, the federation and church will abandon us,” the Blood Gold leader said slowly.

“I was against interfering in the Evolutionary Totems back then. We are no more than a chess piece in the battle between the three Universal Civilizations. Our fate was no longer in our hands the moment we joined. We should’ve just operated in a low profile manner,” one of the upper echelons grumbled.

“Humph, the federation and church came to find us. Do you think they’d give us the chance to reject them? We still have some hope of advancing if we hug their thighs, but we would’ve lost everything if we rejected them,” the Blood Gold leader said coldly. “Manager of the black market? You don’t even need to think about it. We’d slowly become an insignificant black market mercenary group waiting to be wiped out. From the moment they came to find us, it was impossible for us to steer clear of the matter.”

The galactic black market had plenty of benefits, and every manager was a tyrant in the various gray operations. Among the managers of the black market, the one with the largest authority was the one in the broker business. They used many different means to persuade different civilizations to provide protection to the other managers.

If the Blood Gold Organization dared incur the ire of the federation and church, the aftermath of the matter would not affect them alone. If the other managers of the black market ended up being affected, they would kick the Blood Gold Organization out of the black market and not provide them with protection or support.

Since the other party had chosen them, a gray organization unprotected by the galactic laws need not dream about maintaining neutrality!

The world was not that convenient!

“The Universal Civilizations are as tyrannical as always. This is the tragedy of a gray organization not protected by galactic law.”

“Then what should we do? The federation and church won’t just watch as we are all assassinated, right?”

Right at this moment, another two projections appeared in the room wearing the federation and church’s uniform.

“I have already spoken to the federation and church about this matter.” The Blood Gold leader stood up and said, “Let me give you an introduction. These two are the emissaries of the federation and church. He…”

Before he could finish, the Federation of Light emissary waved his arms and said, “Don’t need to bother introducing us. Let’s get straight to the point. The Federation of Light already knows about the price that you have paid and expresses our sympathy. As such, we will be providing protection to the upper echelons of the Blood Gold Organization. We will secretly bring all of you to the Abyss of Stars and Silver Arm. The Crimson Dynasty and Black Star Army won’t be able to touch you in our territory. All of you can continue controlling the organization remotely and gather more Evolutionary Totems. We will provide you guys with resources as well.”

The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was a wedge between the federation and church. However, it did not stop them from working together for the Evolutionary Totems. After all, the Evolutionary Totems involved the improvement of their entire civilizations’ genes. It had a huge strategic significance. In front of benefits, there was no such thing as an enemy forever. However, both parties definitely did not get along very well.

Upon hearing that, the upper echelons of the Blood Gold Organization all heaved a sigh of relief. They would only be able to become a chess piece at ease if their own safety was protected.

Right at this moment, the upper echelon from the Andor Bee Race said, “Pardon me for being straightforward, but I have a question. Robbing the Evolutionary Totems that the other civilizations purchase is an extremely inefficient method. If we rob too many civilizations, the same situation will probably happen, and Black Star won’t allow us to keep robbing his customers.

The Federation of Light emissary smiled and nodded. “You are right. This isn’t a long-term solution. Just robbing alone won’t be enough to satisfy our needs. What are your plans?”

“After EsGod was caught, the method of making the Evolutionary Totem was discovered. The most effective way to solve this problem would be to snatch the Evolution Cube from Black Star!” a member of the Blood Gold Organization upper echelons said with a cold glint in his eyes.

“You are right, but this method will not work for now,” the Arcane Church emissary said coldly. “With the presence of the Evolutionary Totem, the strategic importance of the Evolution Cube is much higher than before. If we snatch away the Evolution Cube, there won’t be any room for negotiation like the battle on Planet Lighthouse, and the moment we succeed, it will mean war. Until the last moment, our three civilizations won’t start a war and let others benefit from the side.

“Furthermore, do you think that it is that easy to deal with Black Star? It’s easy for you to say! If not for us knowing about the existence of the Evolutionary Totem, do you think we would have risked offending the dynasty and starting the battle on Planet Lighthouse? We have tried before, and there are still a few Beyond Grade As sealed up in Spacetime Amber. Do you want to go give it a try‽”

“No no no.” That upper echelon was completely speechless and coughed awkwardly.

What a joke. Black Star is a true powerhouse in the galaxy, and an ordinary Calamity Grade like me isn’t even in the same league as him.

The Federation of Light emissary nodded and said, “He’s right. We do not intend to risk stealing the Evolution Cube at this moment. That will be our final choice. There is still another approach for us to take at the moment. That is to get the dynasty to allow Black Star to openly sell the totems.”

“Is this really possible?” the Blood Gold leader asked doubtfully.

“Humph, the current situation is like this. Black Star likely doesn’t mind selling the Evolutionary Totems publicly, but because he belongs to the Crimson Dynasty faction, he cannot risk offending his ally and sells the totems privately. Thus, we should not be setting our sights on Black Star but the Crimson Dynasty.

“As long as the Crimson Dynasty gives in, we will have the chance to obtain a large number of totems.

“There are a few ways for us to force the Crimson Dynasty to give in. Suppress them with force, exchange benefits, work together to pressure them… You should also know about the dynasty’s style. It would be a pipe dream to suppress them with force, and we will definitely suffer a huge loss if we want to exchange benefits with them. The dynasty will not agree unless we give them our core technological skills and resources.

“As such, we can only choose to work together to pressure them from the economical, trade, political, and security side. Your Blood Gold Organization will be a part of this plan.

“The Crimson Dynasty has invested a large amount of resources to develop the Flickering World, and they will be weakened in other areas. This is our best chance to pressure them, and we will be able to force the dynasty to compromise!”

One of the upper echelons then trembled. “Is it really okay to tell us such a secret…?”

“Ah, there is nothing secretive about this matter. The dynasty knew that this would happen the day they decided not to sell the Evolutionary Totems openly. Furthermore, you are working together with us, and there is no harm informing you about our plans,” the Federation of Light emissary said casually.

The Blood Gold leader then frowned. “What if the plan doesn’t work?”

The Federation of Light emissary then sneered coldly.

“If the dynasty refuses to give in, we will have to consider going for the source.”

…

In the Sea of Star Spirits was the Limitless Financial Group’s headquarters. Four figures were seated around a table in the personal guest room of the financial group’s boss.

“I heard that the members of the Blood Gold Organization’s upper echelons were assassinated recently. Your Federation of Light and Arcane Church won’t ignore them after getting them to work for you, right?”

Sorokin took a sip of his drink and sized up the other three at the table. Everyone present was a Beyond Grade A bigshot who could easily shake various large organizations.

One of them was ‘Mechanic Emperor’ Manison, who appeared in the meeting with a mechanical host. The other was the doppelganger of ‘Void Overlord’ Kasuyi from the Arcane Church. The last was one of the protectors of the galactic black market, ‘Beast Ancestor’ Gorutan.

All three of them had a common identity. They were the shareholders of the Limitless Financial Group!

“Such a small matter has nothing to do with me,” Manison said calmly.

Gorutan had a huge body, and he picked up his cup with his hairy hands. He poured all the drink into his mouth before saying, “I just received news that the Blood Gold Organization has met with the emissaries of the federation and church. They’ve come to an agreement.”

With the sheer size of the galactic black market, they naturally had a Beyond Grade A to support them. A portion of the galactic black market managers were Beyond Grade A organizations. The galactic black market was an allied organization to protect the benefits of the evil factions and did not belong to a single person. There were many Beyond Grade As behind it, and Gorutan was one of them.

Sorokin’s eyes then narrowed upon hearing that.

“If I didn’t understand your words wrongly, the organizations behind all three of you plan to join hands?”

“You can say so.” Kasuyi’s voice had an ethereal feeling. “We have also sought you out because of this matter. You can treat us as emissaries.”

Sorokin fiddled with the cup in his hands and said calmly, “I don’t really want to interfere with this matter.”

“Aren’t you interested in the Evolutionary Totems?” Gorutan’s voice rumbled like thunder.

“No, I believe that every organization in the universe is interested in the Evolutionary Totems,” Sorokin said expressionlessly. “But according to my understanding of the Black Star Army, rashly intervening in this matter will be a huge risk. I do not like making a loss.”

Manison nodded in response. “I understand. You don’t only have business deals with the federation and church but also the dynasty. You do not wish to offend any party. Your Limitless Financial Group is different from those gray organizations and is protected by the law. You have the right to remain neutral.”

“That’s right. This is the case,” Sorokin replied.

“Haha, don’t worry. We will not ask you to do something too outrageous.” Manison’s mechanical host chuckled.

“Oh? Then, how can I help?”

“We hope for the Limitless Financial Group to invest in the Shattered Star Ring and compete with the Black Star Army using proper business means. This is only a small matter to the Limitless Financial Group. If you don’t set your eyes on the Evolutionary Totems, the dynasty cannot disrupt your business.”

Sorokin raised his brows and asked, “Why do you want me to do so?”

“This is a part of our plan to pressure the dynasty. The Black Star Army’s opinion will influence the dynasty’s strategy to deal with the Evolutionary Totems. We have to make Black Star know that he cannot think about swallowing such a huge business alone. Of course, other than these official matters, I also have a small conflict of interest with him,” Manison said calmly.

Sorokin then chuckled and said, “So, it turns out that the Mechanic Emperor also has some conflict with Black Star. Ah ah, I also have some personal grudges with him.”

“Does that mean that you agree?”

“I will definitely have to respect the views of three shareholders. However, it won’t be so easy to snatch the Black Star Army’s business,” Sorokin said with a solemn tone. “I performed my research on the Black Star Army before. Their development is rapid, and they manage a few dozen different operations. Their four main operations are armed employment missions, mining operations for the local civilizations, the exploration of the Flickering World, and the sale of the Evolutionary Totems. Forgive me for being straightforward, but the latter three are specialized businesses that are difficult for an outsider to enter. It is difficult to deal a heavy blow to his core operations, and our Limitless Financial Group can only do so in other areas.

“Thankfully, the Black Star Army has only been around for twenty years or so, and their foundations aren’t too stable. However, this will still require a great deal of investment… At the end of the day, what is my benefit for doing so?”

Manison then waved his finger, and a virtual screen appeared. A long list was on the screen.

“Resources, political support, and many more. The details are all written within the document. You only need to risk the Crimson Dynasty reducing their cooperation to you. However, we are in the interstellar era, and the dynasty will not be able to cut off all ties with you completely. You can gain a deeper business relationship with two other Universal Civilizations…

“You believe in benefits and risk. I believe that you will be able to make the right choice. I can give you a month to consider the matter, and you can reply then.”

“I don’t need that long. I can give you an answer now.” Sorokin smiled. “This sounds like a good plan.”

Chapter 916 - High Grade Mechanical Sense

On the second satellite of the Black Star Army headquarters was Training Ground 001. This was a training plaza far larger than the training rooms and could support large scale battles. Furthermore, it was constructed with high tensile alloy and was capable of enduring even more powerful attacks. It was constructed like an oval-shaped sports stadium with a large mechanical roof covering the battlefield. The roof was made using a nano mimicry screen and could simulate various battlefields. There were cargo lanes underground that were connected to a warehouse of training mechanical soldiers.

Han Xiao sat at the side while watching the battle going on. Lagi, Feidin, Reynold, and the others were all beside him, either standing up or sitting down.

At this moment, there was an intense battle going on in the training ground. A few exits for the mechanical soldiers opened from the ground, and an endless stream of training mechanical soldiers came out from them. There were knights, mechanical beasts, Hovering Shield Shuttles, and many other types of mechanical soldiers charging at the two individuals in the middle of the training ground.

This battle was a D Grade battle, and the mechanical soldiers were all low grade ones. They used gunpowder and electromagnetic weapons, and the entire ground was charred black from the intense battle.

One of the two figures on the battlefield was clad in a black heavy mechanical armor while the other had magical shields floating around him. They were Nero and Tomar.

After learning from Reynold for a few years, Nero was now at Grade B. Apart from theoretical lessons, Reynold had also arranged for some combat training.

Nero was still young, and his body was still at the stage of puberty. But because he had consumed the Starry Spiritual Dragon blood and the life force potions bestowed to him by Aurora, his cell activity was extremely high, and his physique was comparable to an adult. Furthermore, the strength of his Mechanical Force had also exceeded his current Grade.

After two years of in-depth training, his [Middle Grade Mechanical Sense] had transformed into [High Grade Mechanical Sense] under the aid of his [Advanced Luck Glow].

He was not allowed to use any weapons given to him by Han Xiao during training, and all the equipment he was using had been crafted by him personally. Under the boost from his Mechanical Force, his weapons could unleash a powerful might, and the mechanical soldiers were all blasted into scrap metal by him.

Han Xiao had gone over to watch the battle so that he could check on Nero’s progress.

Tomar was also a protagonist-level character who had Luck Glow and had an extraordinary talent in magic. Spells that an ordinary Mage would take seven days to learn took him less than a day to grasp. His learning aptitude was stunning, and he grew up rapidly under Lagi’s tutelage. He was also a talent who had a great deal of potential.

Boom!

Han Xiao stroked his chin as he watched the battle and said to Reynold, “His Mechanic abilities aren’t too bad, but his close combat skills are so-so. The moment the mechanical beasts approach him, he ends up being flustered. This is a result of a lack of experience.”

“This is my oversight. I only had my sights set on his learning of machines but overlooked his close combat skills. I will definitely increase his training on close combat,” Reynold said calmly.

“Increase it greatly,” Han Xiao said with a deep voice. “But you cannot neglect his machinery training.”

“Understood.”

Bennett, who was present by using a long-distance projection, revealed a gratified smile.

Feidin could no longer stand it and said helplessly, “A Mechanic’s weakness is close combat battle. Black Star, not every Mechanic can be the same as you. Don’t set your expectations so high.”

Han Xiao chuckled in response. “Dreams are necessary, and it isn’t bad to have higher expectations of him.”

He was truly happy in his heart. Nero’s Mechanical Sense had already reached the high grade, and it was a matter of time before he obtained Perfect Mechanical Sense.

“Tomar’s improvements are also extremely great.” After thinking for a while, Han Xiao patted Lagi on the shoulder. “You’ve taught him well.”

“What’s the use of that? One day, he…”

Han Xiao’s face darkened, and he covered Lagi’s mouth. “You can keep quiet now.”

Not too long later, Nero’s ammunition was exhausted, and Tomar’s magic ran out. The mechanical soldiers all stopped moving, and the training came to an end.

Both of them then returned to the viewing gallery while panting and sweat covered.

Han Xiao smiled and praised them. “Not bad.”

“His Excellency Black Star has trained you well,” Bennett added. “In a few years, I won’t be a match for you.”

Receiving the praise from his father and Han Xiao, Nero’s face turned red, beaming with happiness.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao nodded. He placed great importance in Nero not just because he wanted the [Perfect Mechanical Sense] but also because he hoped that Nero would grow to become a new pillar of the army.

After praising them for a while more, they all boarded the spaceship and returned to headquarters.

After two years of digestion, the Black Star Army had stabilized, and there were a few more satellite fortresses around the headquarters to hold the new members of the army.

After returning to his office, Sylvia came to find him.

“Teacher, many people are asking me when Black Star’s Party will be held this year.”

Han Xiao thought for a while before saying, “How about in a few months? We can start to issue the invites already.”

The Black Star Army had already held two banquets to invite all those in cooperation with him to use the Evolution Cube. The banquet was becoming more and more solemn and influential. Many organizations were hoping to make use of this opportunity to build relationships with higher grade civilizations, and it was called Black Star’s Party. It was in a competitive relationship with the Tyrant’s Party.

The Evolution Cube did not only bring them money but gave the Black Star Army an opportunity to expand into other fields. The army had a powerful brand image, and there were few organizations in the Star Field that could compete with the army.

The benefits of the Evolutionary Totem created a snowball effect that allowed the Black Star Army to strengthen itself greatly. After two years of digestion, the operations of the Black Star Army had stabilized, and they were starting to look a bit more like a financial group.

Because of the Evolutionary Totem, there were more and more parties working together with the Black Star Army. The influence of the Black Star’s Party grew, and they were gradually becoming a new faction.

If he released the restriction on the Evolutionary Totems, the profits obtained would increase many times over, but the pressure would also increase. Han Xiao was still satisfied with the current situation. The business pressure of the Evolutionary Totem was on the dynasty, and the army could avoid more than ninety percent of the risk.

“Alright, I shall go and prepare the invitations. There is something else. An organization that isn’t cooperating with us wishes to participate in the Black Star’s Party.”

“The Black Star’s Party will only invite those cooperating with us, and we can reject everyone else. This is a rule that we set a long time ago. Why are you bringing this matter up now?”

“Because the other party is a bigshot, so I cannot make the decision. Thus, I came to seek your opinion.”

Han Xiao raised his brows, a little interested. “Who is the other party?”

“The Limitless Financial Group.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao paused and fell into deep thought.

Sorokin’s Limitless Financial Group?

Both parties had some conflicts before. Sorokin had once sent his subsidiary organization to probe the players of the army and had been warned by Han Xiao. It had been more than two years since then, so who knew what kind of objective the other party had for suddenly participating in his Black Star’s Party?

“What’s their reason?” Han Xiao asked.

“The Limitless Financial Group wishes to have business cooperation with our army and says that it is related to the Flickering World. They know that the dynasty will grant their allies some territory and want to work together with us.”

“I see. That is reasonable,” Han Xiao said.

Although the galactic financial groups could not be the first batch to enjoy the benefits of the Flickering World, their shadows could be seen in the future development plans.

The benefits of a new Star Field were extremely rich. Did the Limitless Financial Group want to seize the initiative?

Although the reason was believable, Han Xiao was still wary of the Limitless Financial Group because of their previous conflict.

After thinking for a moment, he said, “Send them an invitation if that’s the case. Tell them that I want to make use of this opportunity to meet Sorokin.”

The Pro League would finish in a few months, and Han Xiao was not afraid of the Limitless Financial Group creating any trouble.

Meeting the other party would be beneficial to him.

“Understood. I will take care of it.” Sylvia nodded and left the room.

Han Xiao then poured himself an alcoholic beverage and drank while going about his business.

He managed to find the time to open the forums after a while.

Today was the first round of the International Finals, which was a best of five competition. The first round was Rivervale against Tomahawk, and the viewership rates of the match set a new record again.

With three Chinese teams making it into the top eight, the players from the Shattered Star Ring were all extremely excited. The way they saw it, if Dynasty, Long Sky, and Rivervale were all able to win the first round, there would be three Chinese teams in the top four!

At the same time, a portion of the players who did not think highly of the Chinese teams could not help but retort that all the three teams might end up losing in the first round, and not a single team would be able to enter into the top four.

At the finals, all the teams would no longer hide their trump cards, and the competition would be even more intense than before. Han Xiao was also pretty curious about the ranks that the Chinese teams could achieve this round.

Chapter 917 - Indestructible Body !

The Rivervale and Tomahawk teams entered a jungle-covered planet for their battlefield.

The trees were as tall as the clouds and covered the skies. Only a bit of light could penetrate through the densely packed leaves.

Both teams appeared in different parts of the jungle, and the spectators could switch to different viewpoints of the players and teams.

“Good luck, Rivervale! Get rid of Tomahawk!”

“First place vs eighth place. Easy game.”

“Go Maple Moon!”

The format of the finals was best of five, and they had to fight five matches every round. The five rounds were team fight, arena battle, capture the flag, dungeon competition, and dungeon generation.

The countdown of one minute came to an end, and the first round of the finals began. The two teams immediately sprang into action. Maple Moon from Rivervale threw out a compressed orb, which transformed into a pagoda-like base station. It was used to prevent the enemy from detecting their whereabouts and also to confuse the enemy. The logo of the Black Star Army was shining on the base station. It was a product of the Black Star Army, and the quality was guaranteed.

On the other side, Tomahawk had also begun hiding their whereabouts, but they used a magical tool instead. The leader of Tomahawk, Captain Viking, took out a black, magical scroll with golden inscriptions shining on it. He then tore the scroll apart, and a dense magical energy flowed out of it to cover the entire Tomahawk team.

“Eh, isn’t this a sovereign mage scroll?” Han Xiao was also viewing the battle on the forums and raised his brows upon seeing that.

The materials used to craft such a magical scroll were extremely rare, and it was capable of storing even more powerful magic. It needed to be crafted by hand, and Han Xiao had seen Lagi craft one before. A grandmaster-level spell would be engraved on the scroll at the very least, and it was an expensive item. Tomahawk was obviously extremely rich for them to use such a scroll to carve a concealment spell.

“Now that it’s the finals, all the teams are bringing out their trump cards,” Han Xiao said with interest.

None of the teams would hold anything back in the International Finals and would go all out. Such a situation would only bring about more variables in the battles. The strength of the various teams would undergo a huge change, and it would be difficult to use a team’s previous performance to estimate their strength.

Different strategies would have to be crafted based on the field that they were battling in. Since they were in a dense jungle, it was important for them to conceal themselves and be the first to detect the enemy.

After concealing their own locations, both teams started to search for the enemy. Rivervale made use of a multi elemental radar while Tomahawk made use of a magic incantation that had many different aura detecting spells. Because of their culture, Tomahawk preferred to use magic instead.

Both parties moved forward slowly, and the atmosphere grew more and more tense as the seconds ticked by. A Chinese commentator then began describing the battle on the forums.

“Alright, both teams have already entered the battlefield. We can see that the mini map is split into sixteen regions. The top left corner region is A1, and the bottom right is D4. The columns shall be numbered one to four while the rows are lettered A to D. Rivervale is currently at A3, which is at the top of the map, while Tomahawk is at C1, which is at the bottom left side of the map. Let’s see what routes they will choose. Oh! Indeed, both parties have used flying devices!”

One of the Tomahawk members belonged to the bird race, and he spread his wings to fly in the sky. On the other side, Maple Moon threw up a few compressed orbs into the sky, which transformed into floating soldiers, patrolling the air at high speed.

To the players at the current stage, flying was extremely easy. However, because of the trees blocking them, flying did not give them much of an advantage.

With the compression technology, it was far easier to bring along machines, and the deployment speed of a Mechanic also increased greatly. In the previous version, it would be impossible for Maple Moon to bring a few dozen different machines or easily deploy her machines with a wave of her arms.

The flying troops of both parties discovered each other very quickly, and the member from Tomahawk easily destroyed the floating mechanical soldiers, which did not have any Mechanical Force boost.

The commentator immediately exclaimed, “Oh! Both parties engaged in a short, intense battle! Let’s take a look at what both parties will do next. It seems like Tomahawk has chosen to use a long-range raid strategy and are charging toward the location of their scout. What about Rivervale? Eh, they seem to have grasped the enemy’s location and are currently going around in circles! Player Maple Moon had set up a large number of mines and mechanical traps along the way. She is trying to make the entire battlefield into her own territory! As long as a Mechanic is given enough time, she would be able to expand her geographical advantage. Tomahawk is currently on the passive side…”

The strategies of Rivervale revolved around the Mechanic class, and their own captain, Frenzied Sword, was a Mechanical Pugilist. After Maple Moon joined them, their strategies became even sneakier.

Tomahawk was very quickly hit, and they stepped on the mines that Maple Moon had planted.

After a series of explosions, a sea of flames engulfed the forest. Not to mention anything else, in terms of destructiveness alone, the Mechanic Class was the undeniable number one!

With the other party stepping into the trap, Rivervale no longer remained hidden and changed their route for a head on assault. The members of Tomahawk all had magical armor, but compared to the products of the army, their magical armor was on the losing end.

Frenzied Sword brandished his blade and sliced through the enemy formation. Their team then took down Tomahawk after paying the price of two members and claimed their first victory.

The Chinese players were all in a good mood after the victory.

“Haha, didn’t I say so? Rivervale was definitely going to suppress Tomahawk. Their position in the Regular Season isn’t just for show.”

“The members of Tomahawk have experienced it personally.”

“With little sis Maple Moon joining in, Rivervale is much stronger than before.”

“Little sis is truly powerful. She has character but is still gentle. I am now a die-hard fan of hers! When will she be coming out with an album?”

“Aunty Rainy Kim is already an old lady. She isn’t as young or pretty as little sis Maple Moon. I’m sorry, but I am going to change my taste. It isn’t that you aren’t good enough, but my sights are just set too high.”

“Forgetting about your old wife after finding a new mistress!”

Amid the chattering of the audiences, both teams took a short break and started the arena battle. Tomahawk sent out an ordinary player to probe the enemy team, but Rivervale had actually sent out Frenzied Sword as their first player.

After winning the team battle, their captain was appearing first in the arena, and they obviously intended to suppress the other party in terms of aura. The players could feel Rivervale’s confidence from their arrangements.

The commentator immediately fired off rapidly like a machine gun.

“Rivervale’s captain, Frenzied Sword, requested to fight in the first battle of the arena. Although he didn’t manage to enter the top sixteen for the singles, he was ranked eighteenth in the International Regulars. He may have been able to enter the finals if he was just a little luckier. Let’s watch the battle now… Oh, just as I expected! Frenzied Sword easily ended his opponent. A Mechanical Pugilist has the advantages of both a Mechanic and Pugilist, and this Class has a huge advantage in this season.”

Frenzied Sword fought the enemy head on without dodging or hiding. He threw out a bunch of compressed orbs to form various mechanical traps so that his opponent’s path would be restricted. The control ability of a Mechanical Pugilist was far higher than that of a normal Pugilist.

After easily approaching the enemy, Frenzied Sword unleashed a flurry of attacks and decimated his enemy’s health in less than a minute.

He was both powerful and handsome. Although he was no longer a Pugilist, Frenzied Sword was still as elegant as before.

Tomahawk could no longer sit still, and Captain Viking came out next. It was a captain versus captain fight.

Captain Viking was a Pugilist, and he took off his heavy armor to activate all his buffs from an armorless state. Magical inscriptions could be seen all over his body to provide him with defense and recovery.

“Roar! Fresh blood and glory!” Captain Viking let out a crazed roar.

Frenzied Sword stood opposite him and had a speechless look on his face.

“He is a Pugilist indeed. His shamelessness resistance is truly high…”

Right at this moment, a muscular figure could be seen behind Captain Viking, and it disappeared in a flash. Following which, Captain Viking’s muscles began to balloon up, and the Pugilist flames on his body exploded.

A new buff could be seen on his status panel. Captain Viking made use of a Character Summon Card!

The commentator then gasped. “Berserk from the Clan of Glory. +50% Close Ranged Damage, +30% Physical Resistance, +400 Strength, +200 Dexterity, +20% Health, +40% Movement Speed, and an additional 300 Frost Damage for every attack. It actually lasts for thirty minutes! This Character Summon Card is so powerful!”

The chat immediately exploded with comments.

“The other party used a Character Summon Card. Victory is now up in the air.”

“Let’s see if Frenzied Sword has a powerful Character Summon Card. If he doesn’t, he will probably be screwed.”

A Character Summon Card was extremely rare, and it was even more difficult to obtain a Character Summon Card of a powerful character. All professional players treated them as their trump cards. Now that they were in the finals, none of them would hold such a trump card back.

There was only a single region that had the [Black Star Army Badge: Evolution], so it was reasonable for it to be banned. However, a Character Summon Card was different, and every player had a chance of obtaining one. Thus, it was not banned, but there were some limitations.

The effects of the Character Summon Card could not be carried on to the next round. Even if Captain Viking achieved a complete victory in the arena with the effects of the Character Summon Card not ending, his status would have to be refreshed, and he would not be able to carry on the effects to the ‘capture the flag’ battle.

The Character Summon Cards that the professional players had were rare, and it was a feature that made the battle more interesting for the ordinary players. Such a rule provided greater excitement to the battle while reducing the influence of the Character Summon Card to the competition.

After all, there were fifteen rounds at the very least, and a Character Summon Card was untradable. It would be considered a skill if one could take out fifteen overpowered Character Summon Cards.

Upon witnessing the opponent’s changes, Frenzied Sword also activated a Character Summon Card.

A suave appearance then appeared behind him, and everyone squealed as they recognized the figure.

“Woah! It’s Black Star!”

“It’s here, it’s here! Just as I was saying, how could Frenzied Sword not have a Character Summon Card!”

“I remember Frenzied Sword using a Black Star Character Summon Card in the previous season as well.”

“Black Star is now a Beyond Grade A. Will the effects be the same?”

The players all became excited. They were only able to see question marks when viewing Han Xiao’s interface and only had an estimate of Han Xiao’s strength through the dungeons. Thus, they were truly curious about his strength.

A new buff could then be seen on Frenzied Sword’s status panel.

_____________________

Character Summon Card – Black Star: [Indestructible Body]—You are immune to and will absorb 25% of all damage. 60% of the remaining damage will be converted into energy, and you can convert energy to health at the ratio of 1:9. You can recover a maximum of 35% of your health every second.

Duration: 10 minutes

_____________________

Upon seeing the effects of the Character Summon Card, everyone exploded with excitement.

“WTF! What kind of perverse ability is this‽”

“No wonder Black Star has such a nickname in the universe…”

All the players were dumbfounded.

Although the Character Summon Card that Captain Viking used was powerful, it was still acceptable. However, the effect of the Black Star Character Summon Card was completely out of their understanding, and the spectators were shocked!

Was this the strength of a Beyond Grade A? Just a single ability of his was so frightening!

His damage was high, he had many minions, and he still had such thick skin…

With such an ability, not to mention now, they would probably never be able to kill such a terrifying boss!

“Eh? Why does he have my Character Summon Card?” Han Xiao was stunned for a moment. He did not remember issuing such a mission before.

After thinking for a while, he finally understood what was going on. Frenzied Sword probably obtained a blank Character Summon Card and imprinted his ability.

“Alright, I haven’t used this talent too much after my Promotion, so you are enjoying it first.”

Han Xiao shook his head and chuckled.

Chapter 918 - Finals

With the buff of the Black Star Character Summon Card, Frenzied Sword abandoned over eighty percent of his defenses and concentrated on attacking.

He brandished his closed-ranged mechanical weapon without any restraint and blasted craters on the surface of the arena.

Captain Viking was reduced to a pathetic state and could only attempt to avoid all the attacks. He had activated the Berserk Character Summon Card with the intention of fighting Frenzied Sword head on, but he was completely unable to damage the enemy at all. Every time he damaged the enemy, his opponent’s health would be recovered the very next second.

As such, Captain Viking could only adjust his strategy and stall for time.

There was a time limit to the Character Summon Card, and although Frenzied Sword’s recovery was ferocious, his damage was not increased. As such, Captain Viking tried his best to stall for as much time as possible. The longer this battle lasted, the easier things would be for his teammates.

Captain Viking activated a special skill, and the axe in his hands turned blue and transparent as though it had turned into an axe made from ice. His physical damage would be converted to ice damage so that Frenzied Sword’s speed would be lowered.

Frenzied Sword ignored all the incoming attacks and charged forward relentlessly. The mobility of a Mechanical Pugilist was far higher than an ordinary Pugilist, and even if his speed was restricted, Captain Viking would not be able to escape from him.

Kacha!

He swapped out for a gigantic alloy axe and waved it around crazily.

Dang dang dang!

The alloy axe with Mechanical Force surrounding it clashed with the ice-like axe over and over again. Red sparks and blue frost could be seen flying in all directions, and a formless energy wave would be sent out every time their weapons met.

They were both Grade B Supers, so the special effects of the battle were pretty good.

Captain Viking could only try his best to last as long as possible, and his health fell to forty percent very quickly. On the contrary, Frenzied Sword was still at his peak, and every attack of his would still be at his peak.

Clank!

Right at this moment, the ground under Captain Viking’s feet suddenly cracked open, and an underground spider shot out from the ground. A large electrical wave was released, which gathered beneath Captain Viking’s feet. Captain Viking felt his legs go numb, and he entered a temporarily movement restricted status.

In the midst of the chaotic battle, Frenzied Sword had secretly released some mechanical spiders and released a control ability to restrict the enemy’s mobility.

A Mechanical Pugilist had many tricks up their sleeves and was like the combination between a weapon master and hidden weapon master. The number of control skills that a Mechanical Pugilist had far exceeded an ordinary Pugilist.

Seizing the opportunity, Frenzied Sword switched out to his spear and attacked.

Captain Viking could only raise his axe to block the incoming attack.

Clank!

The spear clashed with the axe, and sparks flew in all directions. Captain Viking could feel a powerful force coming from the axe with powerful vibrations included within the spear. The other party had obviously used a skill to complement his weapon’s specialty. His axe was knocked aside, and he was left wide open.

The next moment, the mechanical spear suddenly changed shapes and broke up into four spider legs. The spider legs then penetrated Captain Viking’s back and fixed him on the spot. It looked as though his spear had transformed into claws to hold the enemy in place.

At the same time, the spearhead transformed into a barrel, and an ion cannon charged up while aiming at the immobile Captain Viking.

Swoosh!

A brilliant blue ion cannon shot out from the barrel and penetrated Captain Viking’s chest.

Frenzied Sword made use of this opportunity and unleashed a brilliant combo to wipe out Captain Viking’s remaining health.

Because of the Black Star Character Summon Card, he was able to abandon all defenses and focus on attacking. Without having to bother about his health, his attacks were intensified by many folds, and he dared to take much more risks.

“This combo is truly amazing. The Mechanical Pugilist Class is truly impressive.”

“I feel like training a Mechanical Pugilist smurf.”

“Stop dreaming. A professional Mechanical Pugilist is completely different from a Mechanical Pugilist like you. A noob like you shouldn’t have such dreams.”

The next player then entered the battlefield and mimicked Captain Viking to stall for time. However, it was completely useless, and Frenzied Sword got rid of three people in a row.

With the Black Star Character Summon Card, his endurance was stunning, and he always had the initiative in his hands.

The Chinese players watched with excitement as they witnessed Frenzied Sword using the effects of the Black Star Character Summon Card. Suddenly, a strange question popped up in the heads of many of the players.

“Umm, Black Star is a Mechanic, right?”

“That’s right. This [Indestructible Body] is far more powerful than the [Advanced Strengthened Life] from the previous version. It looks more like the core skills of a Pugilist instead…”

“I understand now! A Mechanic without Endurance doesn’t have a soul!”

“I understand now. So, it turns out that being a tank is the best way to play the Mechanic Class.”

The Chinese spectators began joking.

However, Frenzied Sword seemed to use Black Star’s abilities every season, and they personally witnessed how the Black Star Character Summon Card became more and more perverse, from the Machinery Affinity boost in the first season to the [Advanced Strengthened Life] in the second season. Now, it was the [Indestructible Body]. Every season represented a huge improvement.

Perhaps this was considered them watching as Black Star rose to prominence.

Many players could not help but feel this way and had a sense of satisfaction as witnesses of a powerhouse rising to power.

The remaining battles were completely one-sided, and the other Tomahawk players didn’t bother wasting any other trump cards. Frenzied Sword single-handedly wiped out the entire team and achieved another overwhelming victory.

Although it only appeared for a short time, the terrifying ability of the [Indestructible Body] was imprinted into the memories of the players.

Everyone was extremely curious about what other power abilities Black Star had on him. He was always able to shock them without fail.

Looking at the discussions in the forums, Han Xiao could predict that all the players would go to him if they had a blank Character Summon Card in the future.

Following which, the ‘capture the flag’ battle became Maple Moon’s stage. She set up a fortress at the very start of the battle, and Tomahawk would have to suffer a huge loss if they wanted to steal their flag. As such, the gap between the two parties grew larger and larger.

Rivervale did not give Tomahawk the opportunity to turn the tables around and seized another victory.

After winning three consecutive rounds, Rivervale’s victory was already guaranteed. The next two dungeon battles were much easier, and Rivervale obtained the victory for their first round.

…

The first round of the International Finals was extremely exciting, and all eight teams went all out.

The result of the first round had truly excited the Chinese players.

Rivervale defeated Tomahawk with a score of three to one, Dynasty defeated Devil with a score of three to one, and Long Sky defeated Hydra with a score of three to two…

This meant that all three Chinese teams had made it into the top four!

Their score from the previous season had already been spectacular, and they had managed to improve this season and clinch three out of four of the top four spots. The only lonely one left was America’s Key!

With the semifinalists being decided, the players from all the regions were shocked. None of them expected the performance of the Chinese to be so powerful this season!

They were demons!

The Chinese teams were truly frightening during this season, and Key became the only hope of the players from all the other regions.

Apart from the Shattered Star Ring region, the players from the other regions all had a common enemy and hoped that Key would be able to defeat the great demon king and obtain victory.

Compared to the other countries looking as though they were facing a desperate war, the Chinese players were all celebrating. Obtaining three out of the four spots meant that they were guaranteed a spot in the final. Furthermore, there was a higher chance for both the champion and first runner up to be from China.

It would be a huge honor if both teams in the final belonged to the same country. If China could be the first country to achieve such a feat, it would be akin to creating history. As such, the Chinese players were all extremely expectant.

The expectations of the local players and enmity of the foreign players brought a great deal of pressure to the players of Rivervale. The opponent that Key drew for the semi-finals was Rivervale.

If they beat Key, everything would be good, and Rivervale would be the one to create history and find their chance to be a super guild.

But if they lost to Key, they would have wasted all the fame that they had accumulated throughout this season. This was a double-edged sword!

To all the players, the battle between Rivervale and Key was like the final of this season. As long as Rivervale won, the championship title would be in their hands for sure!

As such, all the players in the Shattered Star Ring began gathering information about Key and analyzed the enemy’s strategies to provide intelligence for Rivervale.

Although Rivervale did not necessarily need all this, their passionate actions warmed the hearts of Rivervale and the others.

The semifinals finally started, and the attention of almost all the viewers was drawn to the battle between Key and Rivervale.

In terms of individual combat strength, Key had the middle-ranked players from Devil and their overall strength was definitely superior. They definitely were not ordinary since they could emerge victorious from Division A.

The leader of Key was Key of Solomon, and Frenzied Sword was his old opponent. Both of them had fought in the first season, and Key of Solomon had lost to Frenzied Sword back then. After two versions, Key of Solomon had also improved.

The battle was extremely intense from the very start, and four rounds went by quickly. The current score was two to two, and the final match started.

In the final round of the competition, the gap was not widened in the team fight and arena, but in the ‘capture the flag’ and dungeon rounds, Maple Moon displayed her might and took out all her trump cards. Even the Void Dragon embryonic mechanical suit made an appearance, and she aided her team to clinch victory.

The final result was three to two, and Rivervale won. Maple Moon made the largest contribution and had a large wave of new fans.

On the other side, Dynasty and Long Sky fought each other again like in the previous season. However, the outcome was reversed, and Long Sky lost to Dynasty this time.

Two Chinese teams would be facing each other in the finals, and a new milestone was created for the Pro League.

The Chinese players all heaved a sigh of relief and were extremely satisfied.

Because Key did not manage to enter the finals, the overseas players were all disappointed. With China fighting each other for the championship, the finals were not as exciting as the semi-finals.

Although both the Chinese teams desired victory, they did not have any conflicts and thus fought stably for victory.

It was a pity that Rivervale was exhausted in the semifinals, and they obviously were not in top condition. Dynasty had only fought four rounds in the semi-finals and had more time to rest.

Finally, Rivervale lost, and Dynasty took the title of champion!

The excitement from China obtaining victory was not as ubiquitous as the previous season, but there was a great sense of satisfaction. China now had top notch teams in the international scene, and while obtaining victory deserved to be celebrated, it was not that big of a surprise.

Compared to Han Xiao’s previous life, the Chinese teams would not be challenging other teams; other teams would be coming to challenge them. This was the glory of the great demon king, and the Chinese players were truly satisfied about that.

Because Rivervale completed the milestone for China, the Chinese players were all very understanding toward them and encouraging even though they lost the final.

The players who did not think too highly of China before the competition now had nothing to say.

With China clinching both the championship and first runner-up, the players cried out with excitement on the forums, and Han Xiao was also pretty happy. However, this was a half-good and half-bad matter for him.

The results of the Pro League would affect the actions of the players. In the next version, when all the regions gathered in the Flickering World, the Chinese teams would probably end up being the public enemy, and the Black Star Army would probably be provoked by the other player factions.

Those foreign clubs would definitely rally together to snatch resources, missions, and territory from China.

Version 4.0 was the version for the players to climb onto the stage of the universal factions. Han Xiao would not underestimate the billions of players from the other regions.

As such, he would have to build up a huge enterprise in the Flickering World during the version update period.

This would be his foundation for Version 4.0.

“This version update period will be the key to my development…”

Han Xiao then closed the forums and fell into thought.

Chapter 919 - Prospect and Version Update 1

For the next ten or so days, a joyful atmosphere filled the Shattered Star Ring forums.

This was China’s best result to date, and Dynasty, Rivervale, and Long Sky received a great amount of praise.

The players were still extremely excited about the Pro League, and the forums were filled with their discussion about the exciting battles.

The various teams would definitely carry out various promotional activities after the competition, and the various clubs rented a place at the Black Star Army headquarters to carry out a meet and greet session with the players.

At the end of the version, the Gulal civil war that the players had participated in was also going to come to an end.

The Pro League lasted for a long time, and the players who did not pass through the preliminary rounds all returned to the Gulal Civilization battlefield. They watched the Pro League while working together with the fleets to snatch the territories of the Ancient Emperor Party and Descendant Party. After a long series of battles, they brought the Pioneer Party into power.

The Pioneer Party expressed their thanks to the Black Star Army for the army’s assistance, and the employment fees were wired to the account of the army.

It was also considered the end of the player’s mission, and the players were only left with the Flickering World mission that had yet to be completed. However, this long mission obviously would not be completed within this version, and the players were not anxious about it.

As such, many of the players began leading a relaxed life after the Pro League to reorganize their gains from this version. Even if they did not go out into the fields to kill monsters, there were many entertainment outlets in the universe.

Plenty of events happened in Version 3.0. They personally witnessed how the Black Star Army became a Beyond Grade A organization and followed the Black Star Army to perform many missions. The sense of belonging that the players had toward the Black Star Army grew stronger and stronger, and this was a win-win situation for both parties.

Through the hard work of the players, the content of the Galaxy Chronicles increased greatly, and information about the Black Star Army also became more detailed. The players had personally witnessed the growth of the Black Star Army all the way from its conception.

Galaxy Times came out with a new program to interview the top four teams that made it into the International League. They also did a projection about what would happen in the next version. Han Xiao, who was currently supervising Sylvia’s preparation of the Black Star’s Party, also saw it.

…

“Hello players, this is Galaxy Times, dedicated to sharing first-hand game information,” the male host said. “Your gaming career is our top priority.”

“The third season of the Pro League has come to an end. Dynasty, Long Sky, Rivervale and Temple of God represented China to obtain spectacular results in this season of the Pro League,” the female host said. “We are lucky to have the captains and teammates of the four teams with us to talk about their interesting encounters during the competition…”

The four teams then made their appearance and waved to the audience.

“King Admiral, how do you feel about winning the championship this time?”

“Dynasty’s status has been extremely good during this season, and we displayed the strength that we ought to. The entire team is definitely excited about winning the championship,” King Admiral lazily replied.

Second Prince then coughed dryly and could not help but add, “We obtained the championship because of the good teamwork between our team. Everyone was able to do their own job well. This is the result of everyone’s hard work… and definitely not because of the captain’s leadership.”

The host then asked a few more questions before turning to Rivervale.

“Team Rivervale, although all of you didn’t manage to clinch the championship, your contributions can’t be underestimated. Your team kicked out Key during the semi-finals and locked in the championship title for China ahead of the final. I thank you for your contributions on behalf of our audience.”

“We only did something within our capabilities,” Frenzied Sword said humbly.

“Rivervale is a new team but has shown rapid improvement. Your score has been rising over the three seasons, and many people feel that Rivervale is a new super club. What are your thoughts on that?”

Frenzied Sword nodded and said, “I will have to thank our fans for their love. During the semi-finals, countless individuals provided us with strategies and information. We were truly moved by that.”

“In this season, Maple Moon made a large contribution for Rivervale. As the captain, what do you think about her?” the male host asked.

Frenzied Sword thought for a moment before saying solemnly, “The best decision that Rivervale has made to date is signing Maple Moon. She has greatly increased the strength of our team and is an irreplaceable team member.”

After three seasons, Frenzied Sword was no longer a new player in the eyes of the players but a god level player. His status was equivalent to Hao Tian, and Maple Moon had become a core member of Rivervale. Her status was like Second Prince in Dynasty and Sleepy Winter in Long Sky.

The host then continued the interview, and Long Sky was extremely bitter. Although finishing in the top four was not too bad, it was considered a step back for them.

It was finally the turn to interview Temple of God, and the comments section became active.

“How are your feelings as the sacrificial lamb?”

“I thank Temple of God for their contributions. They lit themselves up to shine brightly for others.”

“So, it turns out that I’ve always blamed Li Ge wrongly. You are truly sacrificial and a saint who can endure humiliation.”

“Everyone, cry out together with me, brother Temple of God!”

“Temple of God’s contributions are truly the greatest. If any of the other three teams had been picked to enter Division A, we would have wasted a slot. Temple of God would probably have been eliminated in the first round regardless. If Long Sky had been chosen, they may not have been able to make it into the top eight, and this would be akin to losing two slots… Since Temple of God entered Division A, we sacrificed our lousiest to ensure the smooth victory of the other three teams. Thus, it can be said that Temple of God is truly the biggest contributor to China!”

The teams then chatted about other interesting parts of the competition, and the interviews came to an end. They then started the next topic, which was the prediction for the next version.

“With the increase in Grades of the players, there are more regions being opened up,” the female host said. “We had predicted that the inter-Star Field travel would probably be activated in the next version.”

“There have already been examples of inter-Star Field travel in Version 3.0, and it was related to the Black Star Army and the Shattered Star Ring,” the male host said. “The Black Star Army once provided a channel to cross Star Fields for the players in the Constellation Corridor.

“At the same time, the players of the Shattered Star Ring could also enter the Flickering World Main Storyline Mission. With the scale of the Flickering World mission, it is very likely to be an important event for the players in the Shattered Star Ring during the next version.

“All these signs point to inter-Star Field travel being very likely during the next version. Furthermore, the Black Star Army will probably play an important role for this.”

Galaxy Times had once made such a guess when the players from the Constellation Corridor were allowed to cross Star Fields. They restated their prediction once again.

The presence of the Black Star Army was truly too great in Version 3.0. According to their experience from the previous two versions, the actions of the Black Star Army would usually hint at future development. As such, the actions of the Black Star Army were important evidence for Galaxy Times.

Han Xiao nodded and thought to himself, Because of the Main Storyline Mission, the players can guess that the Flickering World will probably be a big event in the next version. However, no one’s guessed that it will be a world server…

During Version 4.0 in his previous life, the Flickering World had completed their initial exploration phase and had been opened up to the outside world. Many factions began recruiting members to head toward the Flickering World to compete with each other while exploring new regions.

High mobility was a foundation of the galactic civilizations. Mobile residents, resources, finances, and so on were the blood and vessels that connected the various Star Fields. No civilization was a lone island anymore.

As such, a new Star Field would definitely open up to the outside. Furthermore, a new Star Field represented new opportunities for development, which gave some factions hope to gain a territory. As such, many organizations that no longer had a way to advance would migrate to the Flickering World and engage in a competition for territory and resources.

The Crimson Dynasty had the highest authority in the Star Field. They chose to open the Flickering World for two main reasons. First, it was the natural course of development in the current generation, and second, others would share the construction cost.

The amount of resources and manpower required to develop was far greater than exploration. Even if they were a Universal Civilization, it would be an enormous project for them to build up a new Star Field from scratch. Furthermore, there were still two other civilizations eyeing them covetously from the side, trying to seize the opportunity to suppress the dynasty. As such, the dynasty needed to give the job of development to the countless organizations and use methods like tax to digest the benefits of the Flickering World.

The entire universe had their sights set on the Flickering World, and even the tyrannical Crimson Dynasty knew that they did not have the ability to swallow it all by themselves. Greed and poverty were two sides of the same coin, and the outcome of them trying to swallow everything by themselves was extremely clear.

The galactic society believed in free economic trade, and unless there was a need, the Crimson Dynasty would not restrict their allies from competing with each other. Besides, using competition to spur the outside organizations on was also a situation that the dynasty was willing to see.

The dynasty would only hold the most lucrative region in their hands and a portion of the Star Field would be controlled directly by the dynasty. As for the rest, it would be split among important allies of the dynasty like the Black Star Army to protect the Flickering World and ensure that the dynasty had control over the Star Field.

In such a situation, the players would have a large space for them to display their abilities. Even without a mission, the players would definitely compete with each other for sure.

Chapter 920 - Prospect and Version Update 2

“The first exploration phase of the Flickering World will soon end, and construction will follow shortly after. At that time, a large amount of resources and manpower will be required. The army has no lack of funds, and together with the support from the Crimson Dynasty, there will be no need for me to worry about resources during the version update period.”

He had a monopoly in the Evolutionary Totem business, and it was his faction’s specialty. It brought him a large amount of profit, and among the Beyond Grade A allies of the dynasty, he would probably belong to the group that had no lack of money.

In his plans, the mechanical civilization and the Black Spirit Race would be his focus for development. The former would be his source of high-quality soldiers while the latter had great potential. He would be able to allow them to grow without any hindrance and concern in his own territory.

He was no longer watching the Black Spirit Race develop but personally intervening in the development of the race. The Black Spirit Race had a strong ability to accept changes, and as long as their development was on track, they would definitely soar forward rapidly.

The version update period from Version 3.0 to Version 4.0 was a couple of decades. The players would return when the Flickering World opened to the outside world.

With the experience from his previous life, Han Xiao knew which organizations would compete in the Flickering World, and this was a huge advantage for him.

During this version update period, the entire galaxy would be focused mainly on expansion. The Crimson Dynasty would probably face huge pressure, and Han Xiao himself would likely meet some trouble because of the Evolution Cube. However, with his current strength and status, there should not be that many threats from the outside.

The Black Star Army had only been around for roughly twenty years, and the version update period was going to last for a few decades. This would be a good time to let the Black Star Army solidify their foundation and transform from a ‘newborn organization’ to a ‘veteran organization’.

“Hila is still continuing to grow, and although her growth speed isn’t as fast as in my previous life, she has greater potential with my aid. During the version update period, it is very likely for her to become a new Beyond Grade A…”

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

This way, his organization would have one more top combatant. Even if Hila chose to become independent, both of them would definitely remain allies.

At that time, the Shattered Star Ring would have six Beyond Grade As, and the army would be able to benefit greatly from it.

Psyker, on the other hand, definitely would not have a good time.

During the entire Version 3.0, Han Xiao had harvested a large amount of experience from the players, and it was stored in his interface. The players would be offline during the version update period, and huge events would be rare. This accumulated experience would be the strategic resource for him to last through this version update period.

At his current level, leveling up once would require a sky-high amount of experience. Although Han Xiao’s stash was great, it would not be enough if he used it all to level up. A couple of decades was a long time, and he had to use his experience sparingly.

In his plans, he would obtain a new Class Advancement and Race Advancement after reaching level three hundred, and he would have to increase the level of his skills to obtain more Potential Points so that the levels of his new knowledge would all be increased.

The experience required to increase his level in the future would only increase, and developing more crop fields would aid in his efficiency of harvesting experience. Version 4.0 did not only have more competition from the world but also gave him the opportunity to develop a new batch of crops.

The players had settled the Gulal civil war a while ago, and the [Gulal Civilization: The Flames of Pioneers!] mission on his interface was also completed.

The Mission Rating of this mission was dependent on the performance of an individual. He had thrown the mission over to the players and did not do it himself. As such, his Mission Rating was not high. However, the experience that he gained from the mission was not the main point. The experience that the players obtained would eventually flow back to him through their purchases, and that profit was many times that of the mission.

After three versions of hard work, the Black Star Army had developed to its current state, and Han Xiao was no longer as worried about the version update period.

“I am already fully prepared and waiting for the day the dynasty divvies up the territories.”

…

After the end of the Pro League, the version update date drew nearer and nearer. The attention of the players was also diverted from the Pro League to the new version.

Many players kept a large amount of experience and wanted to use it to reach the next level limit in the new version.

The players were all gathered in the Black Star Army headquarters, chatting with their friends while waiting to go offline.

At the corner of the plaza, the professional players were gathered together, chatting among themselves.

“There are plenty of new players in this version. Did we see so many players in the previous two versions?”

Twinkle Fried Rice shook his head.

“The more the merrier. This way, the Pro League will have higher viewership rates.” Li Ge chuckled.

“I wonder how long the version update period would be this time,” Maple Moon said curiously.

“It shouldn’t be too long, right? Our Flickering World mission hasn’t ended yet. We will definitely get to continue the exploration during the next version,” Frenzied Sword replied. “I am truly curious to see what the Black Star Army will be like during the next version.”

The few of them chatted and suddenly saw King Admiral waving at them from afar. Frenzied Sword and the others then went over.

King Admiral chuckled and said, “Since everyone is here, let’s find a day to have a meal. We can take it to be a celebration for obtaining both the championship and first runner up.”

“Sure.” Li Ge was the first to agree.

“I remember that we did so after the previous season ended as well,” Sleepy Winter said while stroking his chin.

“That’s right. We should just make it a tradition. The champions shall be in charge of treating all the Chinese players. We can go for a vacation together.”

“Better treat us to something good. Don’t be like Long Sky and only treat us to some roadside store.”

“Dining at a roadside store is value for money,” Hao Tian said bitterly.

Everyone then cheered at the proposition, and King Admiral had no choice but to accept it.

Very quickly, all the players went offline, and the entire plaza became empty.

A notification also popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

_____________________

Version 3.0 update activated.

Saving data… Save complete!

Player forums closed.

Update Duration: Unknown. Please wait patiently.

_____________________

Han Xiao then looked up, and the player forum button had turned gray.

“The players are all offline…” Han Xiao took a deep breath. “It’s now time to start planning for Version 4.0.”

…

At the same time, at the entrance of the Shattered Star Ring stargate, a trade fleet had just exited the stargate. The spaceship had an egg-like shape with silver armor. It looked extremely simple yet high tech. The insignia of the Limitless Financial Group was carved out on the exterior of the spaceship.

The main flagship was a gigantic flying saucer. In the command room, a tall man stood in front of the window and looked out at the view.

His figure was slim, and his skin was extremely fair. He looked very gentle and did not have the pressure of a powerhouse. He was dressed in luxurious clothes from head to toe and was emanating with the feeling of wealth.

This man was the current head of the Limitless Financial Group, Sorokin. He was one of the richest men in the galaxy.

A secretary stood beside Sorokin and said softly, “Your Excellency Sorokin, we have arrived.”

“Hmm…” Sorokin replied. “Follow our schedule and head to the Black Star Army headquarters. Get our Shattered Star Ring branch to show me information about their performance over the past five years.”

“Understood.”

The Limitless Financial Group had property everywhere, and the Shattered Star Ring was no exception. But because of the poor public security of this region, the Limitless Financial Group did not place much emphasis on the Shattered Star Ring, and their operations were not large there.

If not for the fact that he had accepted the proposition of his three Beyond Grade A shareholders, Sorokin would not have established a large scale operation over there.

Although his current goal was to make trouble for Black Star, they were not direct enemies in business competition. Sorokin was also interested in meeting Black Star.

The way he saw it, Black Star should be happy to meet a wealthy individual like him. Although one of his subsidiary organizations had been wiped out by Black Star, his identity was not revealed, and Black Star should not know that he was the mastermind behind the matter.

As such, this would be their first encounter in Black Star’s eyes.

With Black Star being kept in the dark, he would have a slight advantage.

He could also make use of this opportunity to come into contact with the Black Star Army’s immortals and complete his previous goal.

Just as Sorokin was in thought, the hatch to the command room opened, and a woman walked in. She was dressed in the manager attire of the financial group.

This woman came to Sorokin’s side and lowered her head slightly.

“Father, what are your instructions?”

She was Lovell, Sorokin’s daughter.

Sorokin had many children, and they took on various positions in the financial group.

Turning to look at her, Sorokin flipped open his communicator and sent an invitation to her.

“Take this Tyrant’s Party invitation and go to Heber. Meet him on my behalf.”

Lovell was startled and asked, “Didn’t you want to invest in the Black Star Army?”

“I will only make a decision after meeting Black Star. Before that, we cannot let go of any other investment opportunities,” Sorokin replied.

His deal with the three shareholders was a secret. Apart from himself, everyone in the financial group thought that he was making a trip to the Shattered Star Ring for an ordinary investment.

Although he was planning to use money to compete with the Black Star Army, he needed to use the money wisely. While money would allow him to snatch a larger portion of the market, he did not like suffering losses.

Sorokin wanted both the deal with his shareholders and the opportunity to invest in the Flickering World!

As long as he invested in the right target, things would go smoothly for him.

He wanted to compete with Black Star head on but also not anger the dynasty. Thus, there was a suitable investment partner in the Shattered Star Ring.

After all, the Black Star Army was not the only organization that had the right to begin construction in the Flickering World.

Chapter 921 - Level 300

Less than five minutes after the players went offline, various reports were sent from all the Black Star Army bases to Han Xiao. This was not the first time such a situation had occurred for the various officers, and although there were still some who found the matter strange, there was not a huge commotion.

To the outsiders, the disappearance of the players did not have any pattern, and only Han Xiao, who also had the player interface, could accurately grasp the time.

Version 3.0 was the true uprising of the Black Star Army in terms of manpower, strength, and status. Before the end of Version 2.0, the Black Star Army only had twenty-three bases, a few thousand battleships, and almost two hundred million Enaus in savings. But now, their scale was at least a thousand times larger!

This was sufficient to prove just how great the benefits he had during the current version. He had managed to grasp all the opportunities that presented themselves to him. Advancing into the Beyond Grade A was like a carp leaping through the dragon gate.

With the current scale of the Black Star Army, although the players going offline would affect the employment missions of the army, it would not stop the ordinary operations of the army from operating.

“The version update this time will take twenty-three years, and the Flickering World will be in the fourth phase of development by then…”

Han Xiao leaned back on his chair.

To a civilization, a few decades was a short amount of time, just one or two generations. Without any outside interference, this amount of time was not enough to cause a huge change.

When all their questions could be answered and they no longer needed to fumble around in the dark for research, the Black Spirit Race would definitely be able to go from a native civilization to a galactic civilization in a short few decades for sure.

Intervening in the development of low-grade civilizations went against the Treaty of Cosmic Civilizations. On the surface, this was to restrict the development of the low-grade civilizations, but in truth, it was to reduce the conflict between galactic civilizations.

However, it was still the same logic. Regardless of how good a rule was, the rules could be bent depending on the individual bending it. With Han Xiao’s current status, as long as he did not go too far, no one would care about such a small thing. Furthermore, the Black Spirit Race was a race that worshipped him, so no one would attack him because of this matter. As long as he had his own territory, no one would bother him about such matters.

Han Xiao then took out his communicator and called the dynasty.

“Your Excellency Black Star, do you need something?”

“Of course. If not, why would I bother calling you/” Han Xiao then went straight to the point. “How much longer will it take for the first exploration phase to end? You said that it would be finished very soon two years ago, and the star maps of the three Star Clusters have already been perfected. When will the upper echelons of the dynasty announce the completion of the first phase?”

“I am not too sure about the exact time, but it should be this year at the latest.”

“Inform me if you have any news.”

“Don’t worry, chief commander Tarrokov will definitely inform you beforehand.”

Right at this moment, the other party paused for a while, and his voice became solemn.

“Right, I also have something to tell you. The Blood Gold Organization ignored the dynasty’s warning and didn’t stop robbing the Evolutionary Totem. Our allies are grumbling because of this matter.”

Han Xiao was surprised and said, “It seems like they’ve found a backer.”

“Er, it is more accurate to say that a backer found them. The Federation of Light provided them with protection and got them to hide in the Abyss of Stars. They can then manage their subordinates remotely and continue accepting employment missions.”

Federation of Light? Indeed, they can’t help but target the Evolutionary Totem. Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed. The interference of a Universal Civilization was not out of his expectations. The Federation of Light would never allow the dynasty to monopolize an item of such strategic importance.

The Federation of Light’s plan was still unknown, and Han Xiao believed that the Federation of Light would not stop at conducting robberies. Such a small amount was not enough to satisfy their needs, and there must be a bigger scheme behind it all. They would most likely attempt to force the dynasty to open the rights to sell the Evolutionary Totem.

In this regard, the Federation of Light did not have any conflicts with him. Han Xiao also wished to expand his operations.

However, the method to craft the totems had been grasped by many organizations, and the other party might also attempt to seize his Evolution Cube. Still, the probability of this happening was small.

The memory of the Arcane Church failing miserably was still fresh, and now that the technological skill for the totem had been exposed, the dynasty would definitely place a larger importance on the Evolution Cube. If it was not necessary, no one would risk starting a war with the dynasty to snatch the Evolution Cube. The losses would exceed the gains. But despite all this, he still had to keep his guard up.

“What is the reaction of the dynasty?”

“The upper echelons guessed that something like this would happen and made plenty of preparations in secret. Although the dynasty will help you to endure most of the pressure, you will still face some risks yourself. The upper echelons recommend you stay in the dynasty’s territory and operate through your machines. Even if the Federation of Light has the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, they won’t dare teleport into the dynasty’s territory.”

“I would be safer indeed, but I cannot stay in the Central Galaxy forever. That would be no different from being imprisoned.” Han Xiao sighed helplessly.

As long as he did not hand over the Evolution Cube, he would always have to face such a dilemma. Profit would always come with risk, and if he wanted to settle this point thoroughly, he needed to let the entire universe recognize that the Evolution Cube belonged to him. His own strength was a factor, and the dynasty opening the rights to sell the totem was another factor.

Sigh, the Federation of Light is forcing me to be their spokesman…

“Thank you for your reminder. I will consider the matter.” Han Xiao shook his head and hung up.

After sitting down for a while more, he then went to the training room and opened up his interface.

With the players offline, the experience which he had stored up will be the basis for him to increase his strength. Han Xiao had accumulated a large amount of experience over the past two years, and it was enough for him to reach level three hundred.

Since he was not able to influence the dynasty, all he could do was increase his strength.

Han Xiao let out a deep breath and channeled his experience to leveling up.

_____________________

[Lord Mechanic] leveled up to Level21.

+360 Energy, +5 Strength, +5Dexterity, +12 Endurance, +15 Intelligence.

You have received 12 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

…

Lord Mechanic] leveled up to Level40 (max).

+360 Energy, +5 Strength, +5Dexterity, +12 Endurance, +15 Intelligence.

You have received 12 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

_____________________

Han Xiao’s level went from 280 to 300, and his body surged with energy.

At his current level, the amount of experience needed to level up would only snowball. Without a way to accumulate experience, choosing to level up further was not the best option.

Han Xiao placed all his Free Attribute Points into Intelligence to increase his damage and looked at the notifications on the interface.

_____________________

You have reached the upper limit of your Main Class. You have triggered Class Advancement Mission: [Erudite]

[Erudite]: Have 30 Class Knowledges reaching Level5 with at least 3 being Ultimate Knowledges. The strength of a Mechanic comes from their knowledge, and a Mechanic can only reach higher heights with a stable foundation.

You have reached Level300. You have triggered a Promotion Mission: [Abundant Energy]!

[Abundant Energy]: Reach Level19 in your energy level. Energy will always be required to support strength.

_____________________

“These two missions don’t seem too bad.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

Compared to the challenge-type missions, Han Xiao preferred the missions that had a requirement on his attributes. He was already planning to increase his Class Knowledge, and the [Erudite] mission came at the right time.

[Abundant Energy] required his energy level to be at Level19, which was 120,000 energy points. Han Xiao had always been training [Radiation Absorption], and together with his gains from leveling up twenty times, his energy level had just passed 100,000 points and had reached Level18. He was only about 20,000 points away from the requirement.

The energy points of most Beyond Grade As were above 100,000, so Han Xiao’s energy level was relatively low. If not for his special energy regeneration tactic, his energy level would definitely be lower.

Since he could not level up, he needed plenty of energy training manuals to fill this gap. Although the requirement was harsh, energy was an important attribute, and there would be no disadvantage for him to complete this mission.

However, despite thinking that way, Han Xiao still opened the Random Reward page.

During this period of time, Han Xiao had gotten his mechanical army to perform plenty of missions on the outside and accumulated a few Random Reward opportunities. There were more than twenty chances for him to use.

“I hope that a Mission Completion Card will come out…” Han Xiao prayed.

Even Feidin’s luck was not useful to help him this time. Luck would help him to increase the chance of a high value item appearing, but the Mission Completion Card was considered a worthless item to even the players, and high Luck would reduce his chance of drawing it.

Without any hesitation, Han Xiao immediately started drawing rewards.

After finishing all his Random Reward chances, over half were common items. Apart from that, there were three Potential Points, three low grade skills, one foundation talent, one empty Character Summon Card, one ability enhancement card, one double experience card… and two Mission Completion Cards.

He only got two of them in over twenty draws. Han Xiao truly did not know if this was his good or bad luck.

The two Mission Completion Cards would be able to allow him to complete the missions immediately, but after thinking for a while, Han Xiao did not plan on using the Mission Completion Cards now as he felt that it was not worth it.

“This thing is too damn difficult to get. Since these two missions aren’t that difficult, I should save these Mission Completion Cards for the future,” Han Xiao mumbled to himself.

[Erudite] was not difficult at all, and he had already planned to increase the level of his knowledge. Although the requirements for [Abundant Energy] was harsh, he only needed to put in some effort to complete it.

He could still afford to wait for a short while and kept the two Mission Completion Cards for a rainy day. It would truly be a loss if he wasted these two ‘precious’ Mission Completion Cards.

Han Xiao then looked through his attributes. Because he did not finish his Promotion and Class Advancement missions, his Attribute Points and Potential Points had only increased slightly.

Chapter 922 - Meeting

Han Xiao opened his Profession tree for a look. The current maxed Level5 knowledge did not reach the required thirty to give him the title of [Erudite], but he was close to it, just requiring him to raise a few lower-tiered knowledges. The problem was having an Ultimate Knowledge of each of the three branches maxed out.

Another important source for potential points would be to reach max level for his skills, but the upgrade cost would increase exponentially with the character level and sum of all skill levels. For a non-related branch Ultimate Knowledge, it would require roughly 120 Potential Points to upgrade from Level0 to Level5.

It was also impractical for Han Xiao to suppress his level. Even with all the experience he had saved up currently, it would not be enough to bring his Ultimate Knowledge to max level.

After thinking for a while, he decided to instead upgrade [Eternal Power Source], [Virtual Creator], and another from the Control Branch to the max level, as these three Ultimate Knowledges did not suffer from any experience penalties.

He directly opened the skills tab and invested some experience to upgrade his blueprint skills. After reaching the required amount of Potential Points, he immediately used them up, maxing out [Virtual Creator] and [Eternal Power Source].

His last required Ultimate Knowledge of the Control Branch had not been learned. While he had sufficient Contribution Points, in order to maintain the effect of his political assets, he needed to preserve at least six thousand points, keeping his relationship with the dynasty at [Reverence]. Thus, he could only wait until he reached twelve thousand Contribution Points to exchange for the Ultimate Knowledge. He was still lacking around three or four thousand.

After completing his operation of upgrading and learning skills, his reserve experience shrank greatly.

During Version 2.0, Han Xiao’s stored experience was only enough for him to increase from Level 170 to 207. In Version 3.0, due to the larger number of Black Star Army faction players, which allowed him to sell more of his products and grant higher rewards for missions, Han Xiao’s current experience reserve far outstripped Version 2.0.

But no matter how much he had, it was still finite. The cost of upgrading at this stage was much greater than that of the lower level, and he also needed to reserve a certain amount of experience to gamble on blueprints and improve strength training.

Han Xiao then entered the quantum network, ordering Phillip to purchase Energy Training Techniques in large quantities. With the current finances of the Army, this was a small matter and did not require him to worry about it himself.

Following this, Han Xiao collected his gains in the random reward. The two low-level skills drawn were relatively ineffective, but the foundation talent was not bad. It was called [Brain Enhancement], and the effect was an increased four percent Intelligence. At his current level, it would grant hundreds of Intelligence points, and since Intelligence was the core attribute for a Mechanic, there was some value in it.

Other than this, the more useful ones included a blank Character Summon Card as well as an ability enhancement card.

He had drawn one ability enhancement card long ago, and it had been sitting in his interface without him touching it. With this new card, he now had two.

Han Xiao scanned his skill bar as he muttered, “What should I enhance?”

Profession skills would not be able to trigger any skill mutations and could only be strengthened based on its basic values. At present, Han Xiao’s combat ability was quite well rounded, so it seemed like he could use it to strengthen any skill.

After thinking for a while, he decided to use it for the skill [Gene Liberation]. This explosive ability was still useful, and strengthening it would be no loss.

_____________________

Activating Ability Enhancement Card, target: [Gene Liberation Level10], undergoing enhancement…

Enhancement completed. [Gene Liberation Lv10]’s effect has been upgraded.

_____________________

There was no mutation, but Han Xiao was not surprised. [Gene Liberation] was already the mutated form of [Flaming Will], and in the past, there was a crazy guy who tried continuously enhancing only one skill, and he found out that the use of the enhancement card greatly dropped with each consecutive try. The success rate for the first time was twenty percent, followed by five percent, and a third time would be one percent.

The interface showed that [Gene Liberation]’s minimum damage bonus had increased from 220% to 240%, while the maximum increased from 480% to 520%. The continuous effect was upgraded from 2 to 2.4 seconds, while the cooldown reduced from seven minutes to six minutes and twenty seconds. The passive trigger was upped from 20% to 28%. Overall, it was an acceptable strengthening.

There was still one Ability Enhancement Card left over. After looking at it for a long time, Han Xiao decided that he had no other abilities worth increasing now and decided to leave it.

Players could also draw Ability Enhancement Cards, and the enhancement effect applied the same way. The more used, the higher the chance of transforming qualitatively. If one could increase the -90% Luck for the Luck Curse to -100%…

All card items such as the Character Summon Card or Ability Enhancement cards were character bound and could not be traded. Thus, the temporary character cards obtained through his juice extraction would be so sought after. If it was not for that, Han Xiao would have assigned a mission long ago to amass Character Summon Cards.

After finishing what he needed to do, Han Xiao closed the interface and left the training room. On the way, he took out his communicator and contacted Sylvia.

“How goes the preparation for the party?”

“The official time for the party has been set to be in a month, and it’s already arranged. By the way, I was paying attention to the trends of Bloodshed Land, and it seems like the Tyrant’s Party held this year has been adjusted to the same time as ours.”

Han Xiao let out a peal of laughter. “Little Ty-Ty is not very happy, I see.”

“If I were the Tyrant, I would be angry too.” Sylvia did not reply very nicely to him.

“There’s no rule saying that only he can hold a party. After all, we’re not good friends, so why would I care about what he thinks?” Han Xiao stroked his chin.

Sylvia lightly snorted and no longer bothered judging him. She instead continued speaking. “The number of Evolutionary Totem collaborators has increased, and there are more representatives attending this party, many of whom hail from different star fields. There are 11 Star Cluster civilization representatives and 413 Star System civilization representatives, which includes the Beyond Grade A allies that are friends with you.”

“Not bad, the business scope widened.” Han Xiao nodded.

Had the dynasty completely opened up his Evolutionary Totem trade, there would have been god knew how many times more organizations approaching him.

“Remember to provide good hospitality for the guests. Don’t neglect them.”

After casually leaving some instructions, Han Xiao hung up.

The follow-up plan needed to be started after the dynasty had divided the territories, so he could only make preparations for the time being.

…

A month passed by in a flash, and the day for the Black Star’s Party came as scheduled.

There were already precedents to this party, so the officers like Sylvia were familiar with the process as well as the routes their guests used to travel over.

Han Xiao also had to meet with the VIPs in person before the actual party and invited the local representatives of the Shattered Star Ring to gather.

“Haha, Black Star, long time no see.”

The representative of the Purple Crystal Civilization was the first to arrive and walked in laughing heartily. Han Xiao also smiled, walking forward to give him a hug.

The two of them were old friends. During the time when Han Xiao was still a Calamity Grade, he had borrowed the opportunity of the secret war to develop himself. While he was now allied with the Crimson Dynasty, he had always maintained a good relationship with the Purple Crystal Civilization.

The Purple Crystal Civilization maintained its neutrality and did not express their enthusiasm for the dynasty. Only because of Han Xiao’s request were they able to purchase the Evolutionary Totem. Thus, they were the only non-dynasty-ally customer of Han Xiao. The Purple Crystal Civilization also attached great importance to their Beyond Grade A supporting them, so both sides were harmonious.

Both of them sat down and started to chat. Ralph could not help reminiscing.

“Just now, when I was outside, I saw a lot of other representatives in the Star Field. In just a few years, your organization has changed so drastically.”

“There was some luck involved.” Han Xiao smiled.

Ralph shook his head as though sighing.

A few years ago, the Black Star Army had been but a small armed organization that cooperated with the Purple Crystal Civilization. Over a few years, they had transformed into a behemoth that hundreds of civilizations now valued.

Even their Purple Crystal Civilization did not have such influence.

Looking at the small shrimp that once needed their support become a behemoth today, Ralph’s mood was a bit complicated.

After chatting for a while longer, the other representatives of the six Star Cluster level Civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring arrived. Now, there was no star cluster civilization that dared not give Han Xiao face. Even the neighboring Klent Kingdom also sent people to participate this time.

Seeing his old opponent, Ralph’s brows raised, and he joked, “Hey, why did the Klent Kingdom come too? I thought the Tyrant’s Party is being held around this time this year. Aren’t you afraid Heber will be unhappy?”

“Humph, there are other colleagues of mine that will go to the Tyrant’s side.” The Klent representative snorted.

The grudges of the secret war had not disappeared, but because of their interests, Klent could only wrinkle their noses and come to please Han Xiao. While they both were allies of the dynasty, if Black Star did not wish to sell the Evolutionary Totem to Klent, he could choose not to do so.

These seven Star Cluster level civilizations controlled the entire Shattered Star Ring, and Han Xiao had various business dealings with them. His network and influence could even be considered stronger than Heber’s, as people who attended Heber’s party did so to give him face; however, those who attended Han Xiao’s party all were connected by benefits, which meant a deeper level of relationship.

Just as Han Xiao was chatting with them, his communicator vibrated. It was a message from Sylvia.

“Teacher, Sorokin has arrived.”

Han Xiao told Sylvia to observe Sorokin. His eyes flashed, and he flashed a smile toward the other representatives.

“Gentlemen, excuse me for a moment.”

…

Sorokin’s fleet docked at the pier, attracting a lot of attention.

The Limitless Financial Group’s name had been heard by almost all the representatives of these civilizations, but after a few glances, they withdrew their gazes.

The Black Star Army was also a Beyond Grade A force and was allied to the dynasty. It was not surprising that the Limitless Financial Group had also arrived.

Sorokin got off the spaceship and saw their behavior. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he had a clearer understanding of the power of the Black Star Army.

While the partners of the army might not compare to those of the Limitless Financial Group, they still had a lot of say in the Shattered Star Ring.

This moment, Feidin, who was waiting by the side, came up with a smile.

“I’m a Black Star Guard, Feidin. I’m here to welcome the distinguished guests from the Limitless Financial Group to the Black Star Army. Your Excellency Sorokin, Black Star is waiting to meet with you.”

Hearing this, Sorokin withdrew his gaze and focused on Feidin. His breath caught suddenly, as confusion flashed across his eyes. He asked, “Are you… male or female?”

“I guess you could say both.” Feidin warmly smiled and added, “But mostly male.”

“Oh… I understand.” Sorokin coughed lightly. “Please lead the way. I’m also looking forward to seeing Black Star.”

The group left the dock and proceeded to another reception room.

Along the way, Sorokin glanced left and right, observing the situation of the Black Star Army, and could not help but say, “I heard that the Black Star Army has a unique Immortals troop. I wanted to see them during my trip here, but it seems like none of them are here?”

Feidin smiled. “Oh, you really came at the wrong time. They are not present.”

“… Oh, so that’s the case.” Sorokin’s mouth twitched.

A month ago, not long after he reached the Shattered Star Ring, he received news from his side that all the Immortals in his financial group had disappeared. Sorokin thought that it was a standalone case, but it seemed that Black Star Army’s group had also disappeared.

Indeed, no matter how far it is, the Immortals seemed to be linked…

Sorokin had always been observing the players, but he was unable to tell the circumstances behind their disappearances and could only admit that he was unlucky.

His idea of coming into contact with the Immortals here was wasted.

Arriving in the reception room, Sorokin sat for a while before the door opened, and Han Xiao walked over.

“How do you do? I’m Sorokin from the Limitless Financial Group. I’m honored to meet with the man who captured EsGod.” Sorokin smiled slightly, displaying nothing out of the ordinary.

“It is also my honor to meet you. Please, take a seat.” Han Xiao shook hands with him as well.

They sat down, and Sorokin smiled as he spoke.

“While I’m based in the distant Sea of Star Spirits, I’ve often heard about the deeds of Black Star. A long time ago, I was already thinking of cooperating. There is a business opportunity, so I came with sincerity and hope that our first contact today would be a good start for the future cooperation between the two parties.”

“… I hope the same.”

Han Xiao raised his brows, with a smile that was unlike a smile on his face.

First time in contact? You piece of sh*t. If not for the fact that I know you so well, I would really think that you’re such a sincere person…

In his previous life, the players did not have much information on Sorokin. In the eyes of the players, he was a Beyond Grade A without much sense of existence. He had no outstanding records at the Beyond Grade A.

Han Xiao had recently asked his friends in the Beyond Grade A circles and found out that Sorokin had never fought with any of his peers before. They mentioned that his combat power was not strong, and the ‘Beyond Grade A’ was used more as an identity to facilitate business negotiations.

Combining all the various accounts, Sorokin seemed to be a freak that deviated from all the normal Beyond Grade A evaluations. Compared to the others, his business attributes were far stronger.

However, those who could become Beyond Grade A would have experienced various difficulties and obstacles. Without strong mental will, it was impossible to get to Beyond Grade A. Han Xiao felt that Sorokin might not be as simple as he seemed on the surface.

Because there was limited information, he could only understand the opponent’s personality through personal contact.

Han Xiao’s mind was racing.

It’ll be best to find a method to poke him and force out all the combat information…

Chapter 923 - Old Fox and Lobbyists

Even as he thought about Sorokin’s information, Han Xiao’s expression was normal, and he commented on Sorokin’s words with a voice full of interest.

“How can we cooperate?”

As he spoke, Sorokin smiled. “The Flickering World is a rare business opportunity. I heard that the Crimson Dynasty will divide the territory of its allies that participated in the exploration. When the new Star Field opens in the future, the Flickering World will be integrated into the universe, which will usher in a period of explosive development. The dynasty’s allies who sit on these sites will be the biggest winners, so we hope to invest heavily in the Black Star Army and build the site ahead of time with you.

“The Limitless Financial Group invests in the entire universe and does not miss any business opportunities. Presumably, you know of our financial resources. Our help will make the construction more efficient.”

“That’s right. The market value of the Limitless Financial Group… is indeed frightening. I do not doubt your capabilities.” Han Xiao nodded.

Many subsidiaries of the Limitless Financial Group had been listed on the Interstellar Stock Market in different regions. Their market value was transparent and open, easily checked, and the amount of Enaus they possessed made people who were unaware of it think that Enaus were some inferior currency.

Resources were often gathered like this in the hands of a few. In the galactic age, the gap between the rich and poor was like the difference between a beast on a planet surface compared with a galactic resident.

The development of the territory in the Flickering World would inevitably be supported by various financial groups. This was also a means of cost saving and cooperation. The Crimson Dynasty tacitly agreed that the allies could sign contracts with financial groups to develop the territory together.

It sounded as though there was no problem, but this guy, Sorokin… Han Xiao did not show any changes in facial expression while evaluating the man before him.

Seeing that Black Star did not show any confirmation, Sorokin narrowed his eyes and continued speaking. “The Black Star Army is now a huge business and dominates the Shattered Star Ring. In terms of financial resources, it does not lose out to the first-tier financial groups due to its deep background and connections. With an extensive network, along with support from the dynasty, it will definitely attract countless galactic residents to invest. It is not difficult to multiple its market value.”

“Your meaning is?” Han Xiao raised a brow.

Sorokin smiled. “Our Limitless Financial Group has experience in this area. If the Black Star Army agrees, we are happy to help you…”

“We can talk about this in the future.” Han Xiao cut in. This idea was the real essence of growing leeks, but it came with its own disadvantages, and he temporarily did not wish to dabble in this.

Hearing this, Sorokin also put down this topic. He asked, “Then, what does Your Excellency Black Star think of my proposal?”

Han Xiao thought about it before asking, “It’s not just myself that has a territory in the Flickering World. Based on normal circumstances, the financial groups will only move when the territory gets divided, so why are you guys approaching me for cooperation when everyone still has not chosen?”

“Haha, I have inside information because I have contacts within the Crimson Dynasty. Even without these connections, thanks to your contributions in the battle of Planet Lighthouse and the Fall of EsGod, plus the Evolution Cube that is in your hands, the territory given to you by the dynasty will be the best. In this case, why should I hesitate?”

Sorokin had a big smile on his face.

There were no falsehoods in his words. Even if he had no relationship with the dynasty, the best choice would still be the Black Star Army. With Han Xiao’s current record and importance, everyone knew that the Black Star Army would be given the largest and best piece of meat.

A pity…

“Is that so?” Han Xiao deeply looked at Sorokin.

This guy’s words were sincere and aligned with their interests. He seemed like he sincerely wished to work with him…

However, because of Sorokin’s involvement in the Gulal civil war, Han Xiao was already alert to him. He hesitated a while before asking, “If I agree to work with you, are you prepared to sign the contract now?”

“That’s not the case.” Sorokin shook his head and chuckled. “I’m just here to reach a preliminary arrangement. The specific details can only be formed after the site is confirmed. Of course, the main reason I came over was because you insisted on me coming to attend Black Star’s Party. Such big business needs me to be here in person, and I also admire what you’ve done so far.”

To say such flattering words so easily, there’s no air of a Beyond Grade A about him, Han Xiao thought.

At this moment, Han Xiao thought of something and said, “Ok. Then I have no objections.”

“Then, I wish our cooperation a success.” Sorokin laughed.

Han Xiao did not laugh and changed the topic. “That’s right. I heard that the Limitless Financial Group has many Beyond Grade A shareholders, and there are even Ancient Ones among them, such as the Mechanic Emperor Manison and even allies from the dynasty.”

“That’s right.”

“The Limitless Financial Group trades its shareholder position for resources and protection, am I right?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, since you wish to cooperate, a verbal promise is unsuitable. In the future, since the Flickering World still has a long time ahead for development, if I become a shareholder of the Limitless Financial Group, then I can naturally cooperate fully with the financial group… I think that my name, Black Star, still has some weight in the universe. Your Excellency Sorokin, do you think that I have the qualifications for a shareholder position with my current status and resources?”

Through the Gulal civil war, Han Xiao had discovered the Limitless Financial Group’s attempt to steal his ‘food’, so he wished to break into the Limitless Financial Group and find out who was trying to snatch his rice bowl.

“This…” Sorokin had an awkward expression.

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed, and he purposely deepened his voice. “Oh? It seems you think that I don’t have the qualifications.”

“Of course not.” Sorokin shook his head, but he was laughing coldly to himself.

I’m afraid you don’t have the qualifications.

To want a shareholder position the first time we meet, your appetite is really big. It seems like your battle records have made you proud and reckless…

While Sorokin thought this, he displayed a helpless expression on his face.

“Your Excellency Black Star, you have the qualifications, but with the size of the Limitless Financial group, the shareholder position is not given out easily. Even if I’m willing, the others may not be willing, and there’s only one shareholder for each of the three Universal Civilizations. The dynasty already has someone occupying a seat… You understand what I mean.”

“Ah, so it’s like that.” Han Xiao nodded. Another method for the three Universal Civilizations to keep each other in check.

This reason seemed to be easy to use, with no way to figure out their thoughts.

“If that’s the case, then let’s not talk about such things for now. No matter what, to be able to meet another Beyond Grade A today, I’m really happy.” Han Xiao glanced at Sorokin. “Are you interested in a spar?”

“I’ll give it a miss. I’m not good at combat.” Sorokin waved his hands while laughing.

“Haha, come on, a Beyond Grade A saying that they are not good at combat? You must be joking.”

“I might be a Beyond Grade A, but I don’t like to fight and have not exchanged blows with anyone for a long time. My skills have long regressed, and besides, with Your Excellency Black Star’s renown in the universe, I admit that I will not be your opponent.”

Saying this, Sorokin stood up and smiled. “If I’m not wrong, you still need to meet others, right? I’ve also just arrived and need to arrange my subordinates. Let’s stop here for the day. I’ll come and visit again tomorrow and chat more. How about that?”

“Alright.” Hearing this, Han Xiao could only nod. The guest had come from afar, so he could not forcibly make Sorokin stay.

Sorokin smiled, and after exchanging communicator numbers, he left the room.

After he left, Han Xiao frowned.

“This guy has a seamless defense. If he doesn’t agree to spar, then I’ll need to think of another idea…”

Sorokin was also a person of influence, and he came all the way to discuss a possibility of cooperation, so Han Xiao could not show any hatred. He did not know the intentions of the other party, and if he ended up antagonizing them, that would be bad.

While Sorokin seemed very sincere on the surface, Han Xiao felt that the other party did not really want to work with him.

Recalling their conversation previously, Han Xiao found it difficult to read Sorokin’s personality, as though he was wearing a mask the whole time.

“I don’t even know what he’s thinking…” Han Xiao rubbed his temples, helplessly sighing.

Conversing with such people was the most taxing.

…

This year, the Tyrant’s Party and Black Star’s Party were held at the same time. The civilizations of Shattered Star Ring could not afford to snub either one, so they also sent messengers to follow the habits of previous years to attend the Tyrant’s Party.

On the top floor of the Bloodshed Land’s palace, Heber stood in front of a huge window. Outside the window was a black and gray fortress, as well as stars that spanned across the entire universe. His gaze was fixed toward the residences of the emissaries.

In recent years, these messengers would take advantage of the time before the party to network with the others, but now, there was almost no movement from these emissaries. Most of them stayed within their rooms, and the hall appeared cold and deserted, like stagnant water.

Because Black Star’s Party was livelier, the civilizations of the Shattered Star Ring all regarded Black Star’s Party as the main stage of communication, and the Tyrant’s Party was a secondary occasion. Matters to be discussed could be done on one side, and they did not need to move on the other.

Right now, these people participated in Tyrant’s Party more as a way to show their face, rather than as a grand and lively occasion.

“Humph, Black Star.”

Heber’s expression was tense, and the fist behind him was clenched tight.

At this point, his Chief Staff Officer Jorde walked in. Walking behind Heber, he whispered, “Your Excellency Heber, the emissary from the Limitless Financial Group has arrived. She’s waiting outside.”

“Let her in.” Heber did not even turn back.

A moment later, Lovell walked into the room. Gazing at the huge figure in front of the window, a wave of pressure assaulted her.

She calmed her mind and whispered, “I greet Your Excellency Heber.”

She was not even at the Calamity Grade and could not maintain the bearing her father Sorokin had in front of Han Xiao.

“I heard the Limitless Financial Group wants to work with us.” Heber indifferently glanced at Lovell.

“That’s right. It’s regarding the Flickering World. We…”

“You wish to be an investor, right? Such small matters need not be discussed with me. You may look for the respective officer.” Heber withdrew his gaze, uninterested.

Lovell gritted her teeth before taking out a letter. “His Excellency Sorokin tasked me with delivering this to you.”

“Letter?” Heber’s brows furrowed.

In this age where electronic communication was so convenient and efficient, a handwritten letter only meant that there was a need for secrecy. Heber was suspicious; he did not have any dealings with Sorokin, so why would the latter send him a letter? What did he mean? It was definitely not going to be a love letter.

Heber then turned to face Lovell, and with a gesture, the letter landed in his hands. The moment he opened it, his pupils shrank, and his expression became solemn.

“No wonder…”

Heber waved his hands, and the letter turned to ash before disintegrating into atoms. He gazed at Jorde. “Leave for now.”

Jorde was surprised, but he bowed and left, closing the door on his way out.

With only two of them in the room, a ray of light flashed past Heber’s eyes, and energy rushed out, filling the room and isolating any external detection.

“You guys wish for me to deal with the Black Star Army?”

“That’s right.” Lovell nodded.

“Humph, ridiculous!” Heber coldly replied. “While I have issues with Black Star, we’re still allies of the dynasty, and I can’t do anything about him. You’ve come to the wrong person.”

Lovell took a deep breath. Recalling what Sorokin had taught her, she said, “Black Star has only been around for twenty years, but how many years have you already been in the Shattered Star Ring? Black Star came later, but his business is flourishing, and his influence has surpassed yours. Your Excellency, are you willing to watch this continue?”

Heber’s expression was indifferent, but he did not refute.

“As for your ally, the Crimson Dynasty, they have always been biased toward the Black Star Army. Have you thought about why that’s so…”

Heber cut in. “He has the Evolution Cube, and I don’t have anything. It’s that simple.”

“Yes!” Lovell’s voice rose a notch. “That’s the crux!”

“Humph, so you want me to help you take his Evolution Cube?” Sarcasm laced Heber’s words.

“Of course not. We just need to come out with a way to make him lose the Evolution Cube. There’s a difference between the two.”

“Oh? What is that?”

“It’s almost impossible to rob, and the federation as well as the church will not rashly act. So, what we want is for Black Star to willingly give up his Evolution Cube.”

Heber almost burst into laughter. “Pass the Evolution Cube to an outsider? Do you think Black Star is a fool? I understand that b*stard Black Star. It’s easier for your Limitless Financial Group to go bankrupt tomorrow than for him to pass over his Evolution Cube.”

“No, I did not mean it that way. What if… we could make Black Star surrender the Evolution Cube to the dynasty?” Lovell replied.

Heber narrowed his eyes, seemingly interested.

“Go on.”

Chapter 924 - True Colors

“The value of the Evolution Cube need not be emphasized. Today, this Universal Treasure coveted by all organizations is in the hands of Black Star, and its risk to the dynasty is huge. However, the Universal Civilizations will not force their Beyond Grade A allies to hand over their Universal Treasures, so while they acquiesce to Black Star’s ownership of the Evolution Cube, it does not mean that the dynasty will be at ease.”

Heber nodded. “Indeed. Continue.”

“Only when the Evolution Cube is held in the hands of the dynasty can the risk be eliminated. Although he came out victorious in the battle of Planet Lighthouse, it has also sounded an alarm within the dynasty. Rather than simply believing in Black Star’s strength, it’s always better to prevent such things from happening. The Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device of the Federation of Light will forever remain a threat. Think of what will happen if a group of Beyond Grade As suddenly raid the Black Star Army headquarters.”

“If the federation could do it, they would have done so long ago.” Heber remained unmoved.

“That’s right. If you take into account various factors, the Federation of Light will not take such a risk, so it takes a roundabout approach to put pressure on the dynasty and Black Star… But if all means fail, then the risk will only get higher.”

Heber neither agreed nor disagreed, only indifferently replying, “Even if there are external threats, Urranrell still attaches importance to Black Star. The dynasty will not force him, so the success rate of your plan can be ignored. I advise you to give up as soon as possible.”

“We have to try,” Lovell insisted. “Black Star is close to the faction of the Ruler and has gained a lot of protection, but you also know that there are many factions inside the dynasty. Ever since the Evolutionary Totem appeared, there have been more cries to make Black Star turn in the Evolution Cube. Black Star’s refusal to settle in with the cube on the mother star also convinced more factions.”

Heber frowned. “You seem to know a lot.”

Hearing this, Lovell mysteriously smiled. “That’s because… I’m not just representing the federation and church by coming this time.”

“Hahaha…” Heber burst into laughter, and his tone was playful. “Your appetite is so big, to think you want to gobble up all three players. No wonder. I was doubting what you said, because if Black Star hands over the Evolution Cube, then the last chance for the federation and the church would also disappear. Turns out it’s actually like this…”

Lovell smiled without answering, but inside, she secretly praised Sorokin’s courage.

While Sorokin appeared to agree with the deal between the federation and the church, he secretly contacted a few of the factions within the dynasty to change the plan to suppress the Black Star Army, saying that he would make the Black Star Army willingly pass the Evolution Cube over to them. The second deal made it obvious that the Limitless Financial Group’s plan was to suppress Black Star.

Not only did it leave him with a way to retreat, it also allowed him to reap the most benefits. Sorokin was not someone who listened to orders quietly; he had himself to think about.

The scale the Limitless Financial Group had developed not just by profiteering from war. The battle at Planet Lighthouse had resulted in the market becoming volatile, which in turn affected the stocks of the Limitless Financial Group, causing them to eat quite a loss.

In order to prevent such a situation from happening again, Sorokin would rather become a pacifist, completely removing the possibility of the Evolution Cube provoking a war by cutting off any chance for the other two civilizations to obtain the cube, solving the conflict between the three Universal Civilizations.

If the Evolution Cube fell into the hands of the dynasty, it would eliminate any risk of turbulence in the universe.

Thus, on the surface, he made a deal with the federation and the church, but he was actually thinking from the view of a third party.

Lovell paused for a moment before speaking in a low voice. “The moment the dynasty obtains the Evolution Cube, they will also seize all the profits from the Evolutionary Totems. Black Star will thus be kicked out of the scene, and the dynasty can now increase the possibility of opening this purchase to the outside world so that they can pacify the growing pressure from the federation and the church. Since the latter two do not wish to take any risks if possible, completely severing their desires would be best.”

“Sorokin… this guy is interesting.” Heber narrowed his eyes. “So, after saying all that, the premise lies in Black Star surrendering the Evolution Cube. If it fails, these will all be empty words. What do you plan to do?”

Hearing this, Lovell was happy. Heber asking for the details meant that he was interested.

“Very simple, exert pressure on Black Star internally and externally so that he sees that there are greater benefits in handing over the cube rather than keeping it.”

“Elaborate.”

“In the battle of Planet Lighthouse, Black Star obtained huge battle records and shut the mouths of those that insisted he turn in the Evolution Cube, but the number of casualties in the battle for the dynasty were also high. As long as the dynasty continues to suffer losses due to the Evolutionary Totem, Black Star will encounter more pressure within the dynasty. Even Urranrell will not be able to suppress them all… but this part will be the work of the federation and the church, and I cannot disclose more.”

“What about the external side?”

“We have to target Black Star Army, so we require your help.”

“If you want me to betray the dynasty, then we can stop here.”

Lovell smiled. “Rest assured, there is no harm done to you. Even if we do not particularly aim at the Black Star Army, the Bloodshed Land will still benefit from it.”

“What should we do?”

“Simple, my Limitless Financial Group will first come out with the investments to support the Bloodshed Land and recapture those business markets that the Black Star Army has taken from you. This will suppress his business. While developing your site in the Flickering World, we will use our influence in the dynasty for you to obtain a better site.

“Since you also belong to the dynasty, it is nothing but legitimate commercial competition. Thus, the dynasty will not have any issues. The strength of my Limitless Financial Group is also clear to Your Excellency. With our capital injection, regardless of success or failure, the Bloodshed Land will not make any losses.”

Hearing this, Heber closed his eyes and thought hard. After a few seconds, he reopened them as he lightly replied, “Ok. I agree.”

Lovell breathed out in relief, her taut mental state relaxing. “In this entire deal, only Black Star will lose out, but for universal peace, he can only be wronged.”

“Universal peace, huh…” Heber sneered to himself, but he did not show any expression as he said, “With the Federation of Light, Arcane Church, the Crimson Dynasty, and my Bloodshed Land, humph, the Limitless Financial Group is really making some big moves. This is akin to an anti-Black Star alliance.”

“This is just business, and there are no personal grudges within.” Lovell smiled without minding it. “I just hope that he will recognize this point. Besides, he will still receive compensation from the dynasty.”

Heber inwardly curled his lips. While he did not like Black Star, knowing his character, the probability of him compromising was infinitely close to zero, and that guy’s ability to resist pressure was terribly strong. Even if Lovell could upend everything, their plan still might not work.

However… his Bloodshed Land did not stand to lose out. Heber was willing to cooperate with the Limitless Financial Group to develop himself, unwilling to sit back and watch Han Xiao throw him further and further away.

…

The next day, in the Black Star Army headquarters, there were still a few days before the actual party. Thus, many guests were walking with each other and expanding their social networks, a lively scene.

Han Xiao visited Sorokin early in the morning and invited him to visit the headquarters of the Army. Sorokin readily accepted.

The two hung around the headquarters chatting, and Han Xiao once again made a request to spar but was rejected firmly. Han Xiao was a little helpless.

The other party just kept admitting defeat, without a single hint of a strong mindset.

Just as Han Xiao was hesitating, Sorokin suddenly seemed to think of something.

“I heard that Aesop is over here.”

Han Xiao’s brows rose. “You know that d*mned… cough, that old man?”

“In the past, when he was part of the Ancient Ones, I met him a few times. I also invited him to join the Limitless Financial Group but was rejected.” Sorokin shook his head.

Aesop, that old man, was really a social butterfly. To think that people recognize him everywhere he goes… Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.

“That’s right. I also seem to have heard that you and Ames are a couple.”

Han Xiao froze. “Now where did you hear that?”

“The rumor is being spread everywhere, and I just happened to chance across it.” Sorokin sighed. “The union between two Beyond Grade As is just too rare. I don’t even remember who the previous couple was.”

“The head of the Limitless Financial Group actually has time to pay attention to gossip, huh?” Han Xiao helplessly shook his head.

“It’s precisely because I’m the leader that I need to pay attention. Sometimes, business opportunities can be hidden within.” Sorokin smiled.

Han Xiao thought a bit and decided to probe further. “If I’m not wrong, you seem to be the successor to the group and not the original owner of the financial group, right?”

“Yes.”

“There are few records of you in the Universe, so I’m a little curious about your experiences before you became a Beyond Grade A.”

“Haha, are you so curious about my childhood?” Sorokin laughed.

In the eyes of many Beyond Grade As, their lives before they reached their current realms were as good as their childhood years.

“I’m just curious.” Han Xiao waved his hands.

“That was a long time ago. Be it training or combat, there’s nothing really worth talking about.” Sorokin shook his head and changed the topic. “I wonder, do you have any ambitions, Your Excellency?”

“Ambitions? Does universal peace count?” Han Xiao cracked a joke.

“What a coincidence, me too.” Sorokin laughed.

As they continued to chat, Han Xiao split his consciousness and slipped into the quantum network, hacking into Aesop’s communicator.

An old face surfaced in his field of vision within the quantum network, obviously frightened out of his wits.

“Black Star, I’m watching a show now. Why did you hack into my communicator‽”

“Old man, I have something to ask you. Do you know Sorokin?”

Aesop stopped before suspiciously saying, “I do. Why are you mentioning him?”

“He’s beside me now, and I’m quite curious about this guy. What was he like when you met him in the past?”

Hearing this, Aesop fell into silence for a while before finally saying, “Sorokin… tsk, an old sly fox. You’ll never know if the words coming out of his mouth are truth or lies. It’s better for you to be cautious when dealing with him.”

“Oh… then how’s his battle strength?”

“I don’t know, definitely stronger than me.” Aesop spread his hands out.

“Isn’t that as good as not saying anything?” Han Xiao was speechless.

“Alright, stop bothering me. Put my communicator back to normal. I want to continue watching my show.”

Resigned, Han Xiao could only retreat out of the quantum network. Turning over to glance at Sorokin, he suddenly made up his mind, sending a quick punch over.

“Hmm?”

Sorokin’s reaction was impressive, and he raised his hand to block the punch.

Peng!

There was not much force behind the punch, but a loud noise sounded, and a shock wave rippled out from the point of contact.

“… Your Excellency Black Star, what is the meaning of this?” Sorokin narrowed his eyes.

“You mentioned that your skills have regressed, but I didn’t believe you, so I decided to test it out for myself.” Han Xiao smiled, not hiding it at all.

Sorokin frowned, but that turned it into a smile as he shook his head. “As a Beyond Grade A, how could I not have basic reactions and awareness? It’s just that if you were a Pugilist, I would not have been able to block this punch. Please don’t scare me, Your Excellency Black Star. I’m really not your opponent.”

“Alright, it was my fault. I was too reckless.” Han Xiao immediately pulled his hand back, as though he had given up.

Seeing this, Sorokin heaved a sigh. He did not expect Han Xiao to move against him and thought that Han Xiao was going to force him to spar. But the latter only dealt a punch before restraining himself, making him a little surprised.

Thinking about it, Sorokin was relieved. Because Black Star had displayed tempestuous behavior all this while and was quite reckless. For him to suddenly attack like this was in line with his character.

However, he did not know that this blow he received had already activated his combat information, and it was enough for Han Xiao to see his true strength.

Stealthily opening the interface, Han Xiao swept across the notifications, and his pupils narrowed.

He did not guess wrong. Sorokin’s level was actually unknown, only having ‘???’.

When I was Level 280, Manison’s information was unknown too. Now that I’m Level 300, Sorokin still appears as unknown to me. This means that his combat strength is at the peak of the Beyond Grade A! He actually hid it for so long, letting all Beyond Grade As think him weak… This guy, playing the pig to eat the tiger, what is he planning?

Han Xiao’s thoughts spun, and his eyes narrowed.

Chapter 925 - Hila“s Farewell

Similar to Manison, most of Sorokin's abilities were masked, and only some of them were revealed.

Sorokin was a Psychic Esper, which was evident in that most of his abilities were geared toward the soul and mind. He had strengthened his mind invasion, mind reading, and mind manipulation abilities, and Han Xiao even saw some special talents and skills.

_____________________

[Immortal Soul]: Your powerful spiritual energy has blessed your soul with immortality, and even if you lose your fleshly body, you can still survive with your soul.

When the HP value reaches 0, your soul can survive from the destroyed body. In this case, you transform into a soul lifeform with an energy body, and you will obtain a new HP bar, which will not decay.

You will also obtain immunity to all Physical Attacks, extremely high resistance to Status Effects, and can phase through a majority of obstacles.

You can also invade and parasitize the mental domains of other living creatures.

Only Energy-Based or Mind-Based attacks will cause damage to you.

[Fleshly Body Reconstruction]: The fleshly shell is the carrier as well as the protector of the soul.

If your body is destroyed, you can consume Soul Energy to reshape it. The HP of the reconstructed body will be 30% of the original.

[Multidimensional Energy Absorption]: You can absorb any ownerless multidimensional energy in your surroundings to replenish your energy.

[Spiritual Energy Foundation]: Exclusive Talent. Your soul is akin to the cells in the body and can store and release energy as needed.

[Eternal Life]: Your Soul Resistance is slightly enhanced.

[Swindler—Sorokin]: Exclusive Talent. +75% to all Psychic Esper Abilities, +20% Intelligence and Mystery, +4 to all Psychic related abilities (This effect can break through the upper limit).

_____________________

What OP abilities… Han Xiao's expression was grim.

[Immortal Soul] and [Fleshly Body Reconstruction] could be regarded as divine skills for those with psychic abilities. General, psychic users would experience soul decay without a fleshly body, but for Sorokin, no fleshy carrier was needed, which might be a change brought about by his Race Evolution.

Just based on these two strengths, as well as the talent [Eternal Life], Han Xiao had developed some conjectures.

Could it be… that Sorokin was actually living life as an alternate identity before this?

No wonder there was almost no information about him!

If that's the case, then his age likely exceeds my imagination!

Han Xiao was secretly guarded and sneaked a glance.

If not for his combat information, the way Sorokin acted would make it difficult to believe that he had such a great secret.

This guy is very strong, but he puts himself in a weakened position and does not care about being bent to the will of others, so it's easy to underestimate him. Although he has lived a long life, he's completely different compared to Manison… totally two extremes!

Sorokin naturally did not know that his true strength had been revealed, nor did he know what Han Xiao had discovered. He was a little unhappy over the sudden attack and did not speak for a while.

The duo walked in silence for a couple of minutes before Sorokin's eyes brightened. He had received news from Lovell, and a smile appeared on his face as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Your Excellency Black Star, may I ask if you have any intention to freely sell the Evolutionary Totem?"

Han Xiao returned to his senses.

"I'm not really bothered. It depends on the dynasty."

"Alas, if the Evolutionary Totem could be sold to all civilizations, then the market value of the Black Star Army would be stabilized at an extremely high level after being listed due to the profit from the monopoly. It's a pity we can't cooperate regarding this…"

Sorokin's expression looked regretful.

Han Xiao smiled and did not reply, but he was wary, as Sorokin seemed to imply something else.

After observing his headquarters, the two separated. Han Xiao sent Sorokin back to his room, standing at the spot for a few seconds before he left toward his office.

On the way, he contacted Sylvia and ordered, "Check all movements related to the Limitless Financial Group after they entered the Shattered Star Ring."

"Understood."

…

After a few days, the Black Star's Party officially started, and everyone came into the banquet hall. The scene was full of noise and chatter.

Han Xiao made a simple speech, summing up the results of their cooperation last year, before announcing the opening of the banquet amid the applause.

The emissaries of many civilizations and cooperative organizations were present, and they were all partners of the Black Star Army, covering many business areas.

A few years ago, Han Xiao had begun rolling out the plan for the 'Pan Star Field Profits Consortium', and after developing it for a few years, the prototype had become more and more perfect. These partners shared various business channels with the army so that it could have its current industry scale today. This plan was one of the cornerstones of the future development for the army, so Han Xiao attached great importance to it.

Han Xiao was surrounded by people, talking enthusiastically. Sylvia stood by his side, helping him cope with the crowd. There was a lot of laughter and cheers, and all the representatives showed a lot of face to him. The atmosphere was harmonious.

In the other corner of the banquet, there were people around Sorokin as well. The Limitless Financial Group was the wealthiest party there, so many people wished to take this chance to have dealings with him.

Sorokin held a wine glass, smiling as he chatted with the rest. He took in the scenes of this gathering and the guests, his gaze masking his thoughts and only carrying an interested look.

At the same time, his consciousness had arrived in Bloodshed Land and possessed a follower beside Lovell.

The Tyrant's Party and Black Star's Party were held at the same time, but it was much colder compared to Black Star's Party. Only a few people were whispering, and most people were only focused on dealing with the drinks and food.

While Heber remained expressionless, his mood was obviously no better than the chilly atmosphere.

As Lovell walked around the banquet with wine in hand, she suddenly noticed that her follower had signaled toward her with his eyes. She immediately understood that it was Sorokin and quietly moved to a corner.

"What's the matter?" Lovell whispered.

"You'll be staying at Bloodshed Land, responsible for the work of the financial group here. The resources of the financial group over here will be handled by you," Sorokin said.

"Okay."

Joy flashed through Lovell's eyes. Due to the intense competition among Sorokin's children, to have such an important task given to her by her father meant that her father appreciated her talents.

Suppressing her excitement, Lovell asked in a small voice, "What are the specific action plans? Are there any issues that require special attention?"

"I'll hand the details to you later. To suppress Black Star Army's businesses, the first goal should be to start with his business partners." Sorokin coldly laughed. "I can see that Black Star has deliberately created a huge net of interests for his organization, so the first thing to do will be to cut the net he's formed. I don't need to teach you how to do it."

"I understand." Lovell nodded.

"When the resources of the financial group arrive, you can take action when you see fit."

…

The party this time also ended on a successful note. The next day, Sorokin bade farewell and left.

At the dock of the headquarters, Han Xiao sent the Limitless Financial Group's fleet off into the universe. His brows then furrowed tight, and he revealed a heavy expression.

He left just like that… I really can't tell what he's up to.

While he had already seen through the hidden power of Sorokin and made himself more alert, he still knew nothing about Sorokin's plans.

Han Xiao had a hunch that Sorokin might be planning something in the background. If the Black Star Army encountered any abnormal issues, it would probably be Sorokin's doing.

And according to his speculations, it likely had something to do with the Evolutionary Totems.

"Troublesome…" Han Xiao snorted.

He knew early on that the matter of the Evolutionary Totem would not go away easily. Without satisfying everyone, there would still be complaints and grumbles.

The dynasty was shouldering the majority of the pressure, but it seemed like the pressure on the Black Star Army was about to arrive as well.

If that's the case, then it would be better for me to stay within the dynasty for a period of time and leave behind some Apostle Weapons and mechanical hosts in the headquarters.

Han Xiao made up his mind. He was still worried about the long-distance teleportation that the Federation of Light had.

Ta, ta, ta!

He heard the footsteps of someone drawing near. Han Xiao did not need to turn back to know that it was Hila.

"Han Xiao, there's something I need to discuss with you."

"What is it?" Han Xiao put away his thoughts, staring at Hila's cold and delicate face.

"I'll be leaving for an extended period of time. Please take care of Aurora."

Han Xiao raised a brow. "Where are you headed?"

"I'll be following my teacher, Ames, to other Star Fields to gain experience. I might not be able to perform my duties as the Black Star Guard Captain," Hila lightly replied.

Han Xiao was surprised. "Following Ames?"

"That's right. It was Teacher who invited me."

Both sides stared at each other for a while before Han Xiao broke out into laughter.

"This is a good opportunity. I approve of this. Leave Aurora to me."

"Thank you." Hila nodded.

"There's no need to say thanks between us." Han Xiao walked up and grasped her shoulders, solemnly saying, "I hope that when you return, you'll be at Beyond Grade A."

"You really have a lot of confidence in me." Hila let out a smile and hesitated for a while before punching Han Xiao's chest. "Take care."

"Relax, I'll have Feidin assume the role of Captain for now. He's reliable. As for you… eh, don't go, I haven't finished speaking."

Looking at Hila's unfriendly back as she walked away, Han Xiao facepalmed and swallowed his words.

It was a good opportunity for Hila to go out and gain more experience, and this should help her stimulate her potential, allowing her to reach Beyond Grade A faster.

He just did not expect Ames to also go out and train. He had heard that Ames had thrown herself into training two years ago after losing to him, but it seemed that she wished to take it further.

With Ames by her side, Hila would naturally be safe. However, to be on the safe side, Han Xiao equipped their spaceship with some mechanical troops and hosts for insurance.

Since they had already started working, he could not sit idly by…

Han Xiao entered the quantum network, summoning Phillip.

"How goes the collection of the Energy Training Techniques?"

"Master, hum… I've screened out the more valuable options for you. Please check the results, hum…"

A list appeared in front of him, all of which were exquisite Energy Training Techniques that could be bought on various galactic markets. They came from different civilizations and races, with all sorts of flowery names.

Sweeping over them with a glance, Han Xiao quickly came to a decision.

"Buy them all."

Chapter 926 - First Phase of Development

The ability of having Enaus might not be the strongest, but it was definitely the best to use. The joy of having a lot of money was something unimaginable.

After buying a lot of Energy Training Techniques, Han Xiao slowly inserted the experience, increasing his energy.

Time is money, and the life span of a Beyond Grade A was long. This long lifespan gave them plenty of time to learn more knowledge and skills, so each Beyond Grade A had a ridiculous number of Energy Training Techniques. While Han Xiao required less time compared to the other Beyond Grade As to raise his energy, it was still a chore for him.

The next day, Han Xiao brought Aurora to the restricted dock to send off Hila.

A black, reflective spaceship was parked there. This was an advanced spaceship that Han Xiao had given to Hila. Under the gangway where the cabin door was, Hila stood without her uniform.

Hila still maintained her cold expression, with her long red hair spread out around her, only loosely tied at the ends, hanging around her waist level. With bangs covering her forehead, her temperament appeared a lot more refreshing than her usual cold self.

She wore a lightweight and tough soft alloy jacket, similar to a windbreaker, coupled with black tights that were made by Han Xiao for defense. A small rucksack was on her shoulder/. She looked like a traveler.

“Sis, when are you coming back?” Aurora had a look of reluctance. Over the past few years, both sisters had stayed together, and now that they were separating, she was a little unused to it.

“When I reach Beyond Grade A.” The corners of Hila’s mouth curled up slightly as she glanced at Han Xiao.

Aurora let out a despondent “Ah…”

“How long would that be…”

“You’re my motivation. In order to return home to see you, I’ll be quick.” Hila ruffled Aurora’s hair.

Aurora helplessly grabbed at her hair before sighing. “After so many years, you still treat me like a kid.”

In my heart, you’ll always be the kid that needs protecting… Hila gently squeezed Aurora’s cheeks, a touch of love in her eyes.

By the side, Han Xiao coughed and interrupted them. “I’ve equipped the spaceship with a nano-maintenance robot as well as some good mechanical equipment. There are also two mechanical hosts and some mechanical soldiers within the warehouse. If necessary, let me know and I’ll activate them.”

“Ok.” Hila was different from her past self. While she enjoyed solitude, she no longer rejected the help of others.

“While Ames will be travelling with you, it is training, and she will not purposefully protect you. Furthermore, she’s a Beyond Grade A, so some dangers that might seem like nothing to her could be lethal to you. You have to be careful,” Han Xiao advised.

While those of the Calamity Grade could already walk unhindered in the universe, if one wished to train, they would have to deliberately wander around the danger zones. There were still many such places in the universe, where dangers abound. It could be experimental planets undergoing biochemical experiments or places filled with viruses, huge beasts, aberrations, and many more. Otherwise, they could attempt to hunt some powerful galactic beings. Even if they could not find such areas, wandering around to challenge people would also serve as a form of practice.

Hila nodded, expressing her understanding, but she did not think this way.

Only at the border of life and death could one explode with all their potential. Staying in the army has no life-and-death fight, so her progress was stalling. Her threshold to breakthrough into a Beyond Grade A was still far, and while Ames might be whimsical and take this trip as an adventure, Hila herself treated this as real life or death training.

Han Xiao was one of the few people she trusted, so only by handing Aurora over to Han Xiao would her mind be at ease.

After turning back to glance at them one last time, Hila turned around to board to spaceship.

The next moment, the spaceship shuddered, and the thrusters jetted out orange flames that quickly turned blue.

Whoosh!

The spaceship sped up and rushed out of the port. In the blink of an eye, it entered hyperdrive and vanished from sight.

“Sigh… I don’t even know how many years Sis will need before she can achieve Beyond Grade A and return… It’s the Beyond Grade A realm, how could it be so easy?”

Aurora’s spirits were low, and she tugged at Han Xiao’s sleeve.

“Er… actually, I think it’s pretty easy.” Han Xiao’s lips curled up teasingly.

“My fault, I shouldn’t have asked you.” Aurora rolled her eyes, tiptoeing to pat on Han Xiao’s shoulder, acting like the elder as she sighed. “Both Teacher and Sis are now gone. Old Uncle, it’s just you and me now.”

“The Shattered Star Ring and Flickering World doesn’t really need me to be here personally. Because of some reason, I have to go over to the dynasty for a period of time. You should follow me over too. It’ll be safer for you.”

Aurora hesitated. “You mean this place will be exposed to danger?”

“That’s… I’m not sure, but there will definitely be turmoil.”

“Alright, whatever the case, I’ll follow you around… Oh yes, can I try being part of the Black Star Guards?”

“You’re too green, better not.”

“Humph. Rude!”

Han Xiao shook his head, turning to gaze at the river of stars in the universe.

How long will Hila take before she returns?

The day she returns, I’ll have yet another trustworthy ally.

…

A few days later, in the Crimson Dynasty’s ruler’s office, the virtual projections of many of the dynasty’s upper echelons gathered together and stood neatly in the room. Tarrokov, as Commander-in-Chief of the Exploration army, was among them. A document adorned with the dynasty’s logo was spread out on the table in front of Urranrell, the written content densely packed.

Urranrell read the document quickly and, upon turning to the last page, paused before picking up the pen and signing her name at the end of the document.

The table shimmered, and a digitally projected head appeared, intoning in a synthetic voice.

“The authority of the dynasty’s ruler is confirmed. The decree ‘Flickering World Construction Charter’ has been signed and is legally binding, effective immediately.”

Every advanced civilization had to use artificial intelligence, and the three Universal Civilizations had their own versions of master artificial intelligences. With generations of Mechanics and scientists perfecting it, the master artificial intelligence would record the backup of each Dynasty Ruler as well as the elites of the civilization, merging them into an elite consciousness. It was codenamed [Heroic Soul].

Urranrell placed the pen down, handing the document to the secretary beside her as she announced, “In three days, announce to the world that the first phase of the Flickering World was a success… Long live the dynasty.”

“Long Live the dynasty!” the rest of the upper echelons echoed.

“Notify the allies involved in the development that it is time to divide the lands and formally begin the construction of the three Star Clusters in the first phase of development,” Urranrell solemnly said. “Until the construction is completed, the second phase will not begin.”

…

In the logistics department, Han Xiao was supervising Nero’s learning when he received a communication request from Tarrokov. He had a hunch as to why Tarrokov was calling.

Switching it on, Tarrokov’s old face emerged on the screen.

“Black Star, Ruler Urranrell has already signed a decree and will soon announce to the entire universe that the first phase of the Flickering World has been completed. Let me specifically inform you that the dynasty’s decision to allocate land to the allies has also been finalized.”

Finally, it’s here. I’ve been waiting for a long time… Han Xiao’s attention was completely focused.

“I’m listening. Please continue.”

“Territory will be issued according to the merits of exploration. Most of the allies that joined later will only take a few Star Zones, at most no more than one Star System. As the earliest ally to participate, the dynasty will naturally give you more territory.”

The three Star Clusters that were explored during the first phase were located at the gateway to the Flickering World and basically fell under the control of the dynasty and its allies.

A single Star Cluster contained dozens of Star Systems, and while each Star System seemed tiny in comparison, they were still large in scale. After all, the territory of a Star System level civilization encompassed the entire star system, with some not even reaching that scope.

Han Xiao nodded and asked, “So, how much are we being given?”

“Bloodshed Land will obtain about two Star Systems’ worth, and because of the deal we made regarding the secret war, Klent will obtain about four Star Systems. Their territories will be based in the Renault Star Cluster.”

“And me?” Han Xiao was curious.

“The Black Star Army’s exploration was the most well done. In addition, you had racked up huge merits. The Ruler favors you, so the dynasty has decided to give you…” Tarrokov paused and smiled. “A whole seven Star Systems!”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Seven star systems was equivalent to about ten to twenty percent of the total territory in the Garu Star Cluster!

Furthermore, this was only the first phase!

Just based on this, this starting point had exceeded all the Star System civilizations by a few times.

“Furthermore…” Tarrokov’s grin got wider. “Urranrell did not forget her promise to you. The territory for the others has basically been allocated, but for your seven Star Systems, you may choose them yourself.”

All my work paid off… Han Xiao was jubilant.

So far, the Black Star Army had no proper base. Their headquarters and branches were actually located in the territories of others, as the universe currently had already been fully explored. There were not many vacancies left, and even the desolate universe belt had owners. Only now did they finally obtain their autonomous territory.

Part of the Star Cluster was to be distributed to their allies, while part of it would be under the direct control of the dynasty. The last part would be considered an open territory, for other organizations to compete over. With so many partitions, it was impressive that Han Xiao had obtained nearly a fifth of the entire Star Cluster.

According to Han Xiao’s prediction, he would obtain about three to four Star Systems, which would already make it extremely profitable.

However, to think that the dynasty valued him so much to give him seven Star Systems immediately, a total of over 100 Star Zones, and he could even choose the location!

The dynasty was really generous!

Chapter 927 - Flickering World First Chain Mission Completed

927 Flickering World First Chain Mission Completed

The 3D map, displayed in a vibrant blue color, was suspended in front of Han Xiao, showing the overview of the Garu Star Cluster. Most of the areas were marked in green, representing the available Star Systems.

Han Xiao gazed with a thoughtful look at the star map, and the light from the map was reflected on his face.

Beside him, Tarrokov's long distance projection was also smiling while gazing at the star map.

"Have you decided?"

"I have, but before that, I have a question. After the first phase of exploration, the dynasty has now figured out the resource distribution for each Star System. While you allow me to choose, will your attitudes change if I do not pick the ones that the dynasty wants me to pick?" Han Xiao eyed him.

"Haha, I know what you're referring to. You're worried that if you pick all the resource rich areas, the dynasty will have something to say, right?" Tarrokov laughed. "Relax, since the dynasty is willing to give you something, that means they are not worried no matter how big your appetite is. The dynasty is not so petty."

"That's good." Han Xiao nodded.

"However, the Ruler has asked me to warn you…" Tarrokov's eyes flashed at this moment, carrying a hidden meaning. "She advises you put some thought into choosing the Star Systems."

"Because I'm in the Ruler's faction?" Han Xiao got interested.

"Well, this could be one of the reasons… How about this? Let me share some inside information with you. In fact, not everyone within the dynasty agreed to give you seven Star Systems. Some of them thought that the important areas should be controlled by the dynasty and should not be distributed to any allies. However, Urranrell and her heads of state stood in the way and took out what they had within the Garu Star Cluster for you to choose. Based on her words, since the dynasty had made a commitment, they should not go back on their word, or it would only cause their allies to lose trust."

"Seems like the Ruler is really looking out for me." Han Xiao smiled and nodded.

"The Ruler thus recommends that you hold onto some strategic locations," Tarrokov said. "The implied meaning is that you use this to obtain a louder voice within the dynasty. That way, she can suppress the unharmonious voices within the dynasty… I think you know what's going on."

Hearing this, Han Xiao understood that it was the matter of the Evolution Cube.

Every time a Beyond Grade A ally appeared with a strategic level Universal Treasure, this sort of contradiction would occur. In the past, Psyker often had to bear the pressure of the Arcane Church as well.

Some people within the dynasty would hope for him to take the initiative to turn in the Evolution Cube. It was not that Han Xiao had not heard of it, but their voices were currently very weak when faced against the rules of how Universal Civilizations should treat their allies.

It was impossible to force their allies to turn in any Universal Treasures. However, the desire of some people for the Evolution Cube within the dynasty had yet to vanish.

Urranrell wanted Han Xiao to increase his voice, but the other party of the faction coveting the Evolution Cube did not wish for him to do so, which would make it harder to suppress him. From another perspective, this was an internal factional competition.

With this in mind, Han Xiao felt helpless. He originally did not wish to be involved in the political struggles within the dynasty, but it seemed like he did not have a choice. Anything of value in the eyes of these dynasty factions would be used as a chip, and their Beyond Grade A allies were no exception.

"No matter how they think, I just need to develop myself." Han Xiao shook his head, stretching out his hand to tap on seven points on the map. "I'll take these seven Star Systems."

Tarrokov took a look, and his eyes flashed before he laughed out loud. "You're really not polite."

"You were the one who told me not to be." Han Xiao shrugged.

He had chosen all the important Star Systems of the Garu Star Cluster. Two of them were Star Systems that served as gateways to the other two Star Clusters, which were strategic choke points, and two other Star Systems chosen were to be important transit points within the Garu Star Cluster. The last three were in the central location of the Star Cluster, where the resources were the richest, with extremely high developmental value.

"Alright, I'll report back to the Ruler, and construction will soon begin. You should prepare well in advance." Tarrokov then switched off his communicator, and his projection vanished.

Han Xiao turned back to face the seven lighted spots in the star map, slowly letting out a breath.

"Seven Star Systems… This is my future territory."

…

Several days later, the Crimson Dynasty announced to the universe that the first phase of the Flickering World exploration was a complete success, announcing the exploration results to the world.

There were countless gazes observing the development process of the Flickering World all along. The new Star Field was both the territory of the Crimson Dynasty as well as the wealth of an entire universe, and if successfully opened, the reputation of the Crimson Dynasty would also be raised.

This news inspired the spirits of many organizations, especially the financial groups. Even as early as during its exploration, the dynasty had already released the rumors that the follow-up construction would allow the financial groups to inject capital to participate. Even though there were more people than benefits provided, only the larger financial groups would be able to compete for the rights to construct, so it was still a profitable trade.

Every ally of the dynasty would be a good target to invest in. The dynasty's announcement also listed the ownership of territories for each ally. Among them, the Black Star Army stood at the very top with seven Star Systems, far exceeding Klent in second place with four Star Systems.

The major organizations within the universe could feel the importance the dynasty viewed Black Star with.

But that was to be given. Black Star was still so young, yet he had grown so quickly. He would most likely end up as one of the pillars of the dynasty for the next hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Therefore, the dynasty would not neglect him.

After the announcement was released, the major financial groups also started to act. They began to contact the dynasty allies within the list. The Black Star Army was the most popular with the financial groups, with countless applications sent to Phillip.

While the territory of seven Star Systems seemed huge, there were just too many financial groups staring at the Flickering World. A financial group's goal was to profit, and with only that much territory, there was no way Han Xiao could choose to work with all of them. Han Xiao personally screened out the financial groups with limited power and sent his people to negotiate with the larger ones.

Because this was a big project, Han Xiao asked Sylvia to send staff from the various departments to form a team to negotiate with the different financial groups to discuss the details of cooperation.

The typical method of cooperation was for the financial group to invest cash, buy resources and engineering equipment, or help them to construct the territory. The invested party had to promise that after the Flickering World was opened up, these financial groups would get to operate or mine on certain resource rich planets or have certain rights when conducting businesses within the territory.

Because the territory was completely under one's jurisdiction, they had the final say in any transactions approved and did not have to face any pressure from a ruling civilization.

While Han Xiao was still wary of Sorokin, the two of them had already reached a preliminary agreement to cooperate, so in the spirit of keeping promises, he sent a message to Sorokin to set the terms of cooperation. However, the other party's investment amount was far below Han Xiao's expectations, almost to the point of an investment made while suffering from poverty.

"There's no reason for the Limitless Financial Group to only invest that amount. It seems like they do not respect me at all."

Within the office, Han Xiao observed the terms of the contract, his expression strange.

"Sylvia, when I asked you to check the Limitless Financial Group's movements, did you find anything?"

"Yes. The Limitless Financial Group split into two groups after they entered the Shattered Star Ring, with the smaller group joining the Tyrant's Party. If I'm not wrong, the Limitless Financial Group should have been evaluating their investment targets, and they seem to have chosen the Tyrant over us."

"That's strange. The territory I have is more than thrice that of Heber, yet Sorokin is focusing on Heber?" Han Xiao wondered aloud. "Could it be that Heber gave him some special terms?"

After thinking for a few seconds, Han Xiao did not continue struggling with this matter. There were many financial groups staring at this opportunity, and if the Limitless Financial Group did not wish to cooperate in depth, it was fine. What he did not lack now was potential partners.

After dealing with the matter at hand, Han Xiao placed the communicator down, opening the interface to view the Mission notification.

The first part of the [Flickering World] main mission was to explore the Garu Star Cluster. The moment the Crimson Dynasty announced the successful exploration of the first phase, the first mission would also be shown as completed and ready for Han Xiao to collect his rewards.

The players had also received this main storyline, but they had to wait till they returned from the version update to obtain their reward.

Han Xiao glanced at the mission description. He had accumulated a large number of Exploration Points, and the Mission Rating had long reached the highest tier.

"After several years of exploration, I've finally managed to complete the first part of this Main Storyline Mission," Han Xiao grumbled. "The Mission Rating is so high. The reward should also be enough for me to redeem the last Ultimate Knowledge I need."

As he spoke, he chose the option to obtain his Mission rewards.

_____________________

[Flickering World] First chain mission completed.

Your Mission Rating is S+.

You have obtained 2,000,000,000 Experience, x3 Random Reward Draws, 3,000 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points, and x2 Blank Character Summon Cards.

The milestone [Exploration Pioneer] is now activated.

Milestone Requirements: Obtain at least 3 'A' Ratings and above for Mission Rating in the [Flickering World] Chain Missions.

Current Progress: 1/3

_____________________

"Yo, a milestone mission." Han Xiao brows went up.

These kinds of milestone missions usually gave either a unique title or Legendary Points. Some titles were just for bragging rights, while some had additional bonuses. Han Xiao remembered that he still had a [Legendary Hunter] milestone mission that had not been completed. The title would increase his damage against Beast-type creatures. On the other hand, [Exploration Pioneer] increased his rate of obtaining dungeon copies or random rewards.

The highest Mission Rating gave him twenty billion experience. While it was peanuts to him, for a player at level 120, it was enough to level up quite a few times. Based on the standards of this version, this reward could be considered sizable. The only other missions that gave him the same amount of experience involved fighting the Beyond Grade As, and comparing their difficulties, the [Flickering World] exploration was so much easier.

The second chain mission for the [Flickering World] also appeared, which was to complete all the infrastructure construction in the territory that the Black Star Army was assigned.

This Main Storyline was very flexible, and its specific requirements would vary according to one's faction and the actual situation. The mission requirements for Han Xiao and the army players in [Flickering World] were issued based on their position as the Crimson Dynasty and Black Star Army factions.

It was a pity that the players were all offline, missing out on this mission reward.

After letting his thoughts wander for a while, Han Xiao then collected himself and glanced at the faction contribution point bar. The most useful thing right now was the three thousand Contribution Points. With this, his total contribution exceeded twelve thousand points, enabling him to gain one more Ultimate Knowledge.

"Finally, I'm getting the number of Ultimate Knowledges needed." Han Xiao breathed out in relief.

…

At the same time in the Bloodshed Land, the Limitless Financial Group and Heber reached a consensus. Lovell served as a resident emissary in the Bloodshed Land, and Sorokin would pass her instructions by possessing her followers.

Not long after the dynasty announced the territory of its allies, Lovell contacted Sorokin in shock.

"The dynasty is too partial toward Black Star, giving them a whole seven Star Systems. Father, will it really be okay if we don't focus on investing in the Black Star Army?"

Sorokin also frowned. He knew that the dynasty treated Black Star with importance, but this was out of his expectations.

The Black Star Army had gathered more wealth and popularity than expected, which was detrimental to their plans.

Those cooperating internal factions mentioned that they were working internally to prevent Black Star from getting any good territory, but now it seemed that they had failed. This was not suppressing him but rather increasing the difficulty level…

His teammates were not useful at all!

Chapter 928 - Required Knowledges Gathered!

928 Required Knowledges Gathered!

Seeing the sullen look on Lovell's face, Sorokin eased his brows and calmly replied, "Forget it, it's just the first phase anyways. Although this is unexpected, this profit is not worth mentioning compared to our dealings with the three civilizations. The Bloodshed Land might have fewer territories, but they are also valuable. We can focus on investing here and need not go over to Black Star to compete with the other financial groups."

Lovell pursed her lips and could only nod.

Sorokin paused, his eyes narrowing slightly as he indifferently continued. "The Black Star Army has now gained such a huge territory, and there's a lot of room for development. Its ability to resist pressure has increased, but this is not completely to our disadvantage. The focus of the army will be directed toward the Flickering World, which allows us to weaken their original business dealings.

"First, attack the interest consortium of the Black Star Army within the Shattered Star Ring. We are still unable to shake their core businesses and can only start with the cooperative organizations of various industries that the Black Star Army is affiliated to. We can help Bloodshed Land to snatch a part of the business channels and cut off the arms of the Black Star Army, reducing the scope of their business. In this case, they will return to the original scope, which will make him unable to expand and develop comfortably."

Lovell hesitated before speaking in a whisper. "Father, the Black Star Army has great prospects, and their business is also booming. In all honesty, it is unlikely for such methods to shake them."

"Naturally, a Beyond Grade A organization is not so easily suppressed. That's especially so for Black Star with his growing momentum… but it's because this is difficult that the three Universal Civilizations came to me. Rice should be eaten a mouthful at a time. As long as one is willing to fork out the costs, they will be able to gradually erode everything."

Sorokin shook his head, his expression still cold. "Furthermore, I'm not here to destroy the Black Star Army but to make him feel uncomfortable. This will take a long time to take effect, so I'll take my time. Those cooperating with me are not even in a hurry, so why should I rush?"

While the father and daughter were cooperating, on the other side of Bloodshed Land, Heber was also in his palace reading the terms of the contract proposed by Lovell. He secretly nodded to himself.

The contract described the plans for the Limitless Financial Group to invest in Bloodshed Land. The goal was to let the Bloodshed Land learn from the Black Star Army and complete an organizational transformation, dealing not only in armed force employment but expanding to different industries, developing in an all-round manner.

Such business channels need not be laid out from scratch. They focused on the channels that many of the local organizations within the Shattered Star Ring had operated and perfected after many years. They would obtain them through acquisitions, where most of the costs would be borne by the Limitless Financial Group.

Seeing the investment amount proposed by the Limitless Financial Group, Heber coldly snorted.

"Really rich."

…

The Black Star Army had recently entered a busy state.

After the preliminary selection made by Han Xiao, each financial group then sent people to negotiate with the personnel of the Black Star Army.

Dillard, the team leader of Negotiation Team 098, was currently involved in the discussions with one of the higher ups of a financial group.

"Mr. Dillard, this is the third time we have modified the terms of cooperation according to your wishes. Are you satisfied with it this time?"

The executive of the financial group carefully watched Dillard's expression.

"You want the mining rights of at least ten resource rich planets for fifteen years, management rights for three of the planets and the right to modify its surface, operation rights for two regional quantum network channels, and preferential sales channels for dozens of rare resources… Hahaha, don't you think that this investment amount is insufficient to request such treatment?" Dillard raised his eyebrows, giving a smile that was not a smile.

"Based on the calculations done on my side, the amount of investments is equivalent to our requirements…"

"Do you wish to take advantage of our Black Star Army? If you don't have enough sincerity, we can stop the negotiations. We still have many others to choose from." Dillard's tone sank, and he looked ready to end the discussion.

"Wait a minute." The executive got a shock and immediately scrambled to reply. "Don't misunderstand, we never intended anything like that. Which part are you not satisfied with? We can always talk it out…"

As he observed the other party's careful expression, there was no outward change in Dillard's face, but in his heart, he was secretly very proud of himself.

He was just an ordinary worker in the Black Star Army with limited pay. In the galactic society, be it in status or assets, he was far inferior to the executives of various financial groups.

However, these rich and powerful executives were now trying to please him, a clerk, with enthusiasm as well as treading on thin ice to speak to him. Dillard had never been treated with such enthusiasm before.

Now that countless financial groups were seeking cooperation with the Black Star Army, as a negotiator, he held the initiative and power, and he had more confidence.

If not for the fact that he had joined the Black Star Army earlier, how could he have gotten such an opportunity, where those in the high ranks bowed to him?

In order to satisfy his own vanity, in addition to obtaining more benefits for the army, Dillard would set harsher and more unyielding terms, holding firmly to his initiative.

He knew that this was merely borrowing the name of the Black Star Army to strut around, like a fox pretending to be a tiger, but he was happy about it. Now that his affiliation was so powerful, if he did not take the chance to flaunt it a little more, there would never be a chance for him in the future.

The executives of the financial group knew what Dillard was doing, and they gritted their teeth in anger inwardly, but they had no choice as they were the passive party.

They would rather suffer a bit than lose out on the golden opportunity to cooperate with the Black Star Army.

…

In the Army Commander's office, a projection of Phillip about a thumb's size sat on the edge of the table with his legs swinging around, reporting to Han Xiao in a crisp voice.

"Investigation completed. There are forty-five negotiators who have received bribes during the negotiation process."

"Fire all of them and cancel the cooperation agreements that they've negotiated. We're no longer cooperating with these financial groups."

Han Xiao frowned.

As the scale of the army increased, it was inevitable for people to develop greed in their hearts and use the army's name to obtain personal benefits.

He did not mind the members flaunting the army's prestige, but if someone betrayed the army's interests, he could not pretend nothing had happened. As a Virtual Mechanic, the entire faction was within his control; nothing could be hidden from him.

After dealing with this annoying problem, Han Xiao rubbed his eyes and prepared to proceed to the training rooms to work on his Energy Training Technique. It was at this time that his communicator rang.

Picking up the communicator, Han Xiao's eyes sparkled.

His request to the dynasty had been accepted!

The Dynasty Contribution Points he had amounted to twelve thousand, and Han Xiao had sent in a request to redeem an Ultimate Knowledge.

In just a few short years, Black Star had made so many achievements that it was enough for him to obtain all the Ultimate Knowledges he needed. This efficiency was probably the highest in history. Because the biggest attraction for a Beyond Grade A to join a Universal Civilization was to obtain Ultimate Knowledges, now that Han Xiao had gathered up all the Ultimate Knowledges of the Mechanic department, the Crimson Dynasty was a little hesitant, and the approval time was much longer than before.

However, if there were merits achieved, the reward had to be given. Thus, Han Xiao finally received the final Ultimate Knowledge of the Mechanic profession.

Control Branch—[Relativity Theory]!

Just like how Beyond Grade A mages could travel through all secondary dimensions, this Ultimate Knowledge of the Mechanic profession could achieve similar results. As a sophisticated spacetime technology, it could be applied to the manufacture of stargates, Interstellar Navigation Technology, Hyperdrive transition engines, next-generation propellers, and many more devices.

In combat, this knowledge improved the maneuverability of machinery, and it was applicable to various spatial based devices. It could be used to attack and defend, and it was extremely good for crowd control.

With this Ultimate Knowledge, the difficulty of facing mechanics would increase more than one level. This played the biggest role in overcoming the core shortcomings of Mechanics, which was fighting people at close range. As Han Xiao was an anomaly, close ranged combat did not matter to him at all, so he had placed this knowledge at the very end of his collection.

Because this was considered general Profession Knowledge, the triple penalty did not apply to it, and every level only needed eight Potential Points. He had just enough to use it to complete the Class Advancement Mission [Erudite].

"After mastering this, all of my Ultimate Knowledges have been collected. The next step is to slowly max out all of my knowledges."

Han Xiao settled himself down and chose to learn it.

_____________________

Mechanic Class Ultimate Knowledge detected: [Relativity Theory]. Spend 8 potential points to learn?

Learning…

Successfully learned! You have learned [Relativity Theory]!

You have been awarded with the talent [Hyperspace Thought]!

You have mastered all available Ultimate Knowledge, and your talent [Ultimate Knowledge Possessor] has been strengthened!

You have learned all Class Knowledges. You have been awarded with the talent [Almighty Mechanic]!

Hyperspace Thought: Enhances all spatial device performances, control effect is significantly strengthened, and your domain related abilities and all space-related abilities will be enhanced. +50 – 100% increase in CC duration, +20% to mobility of all machinery equipment, +40% to mental resistance.

Ultimate Knowledge Possessor is enhanced. +15% – +25% Attributes for machinery built, +150% – 600% Machinery Affinity. New effect added: All Mechanic skill levels +1 (can exceed the upper limit).

Almighty Mechanic: +20% Mechanic Creation Attributes, all Mechanic Skill levels +2 (can exceed the upper limit). In addition, +1,500 Intelligence, +500 Free Attribute Points.

Extra Effect I: +1% Machinery Affinity for every 20 points in Intelligence.

Extra Effect II: Passive Aura, any life forms around you gain a boost of +200 Intelligence.

_____________________

Chapter 929 - Preparations Complete, Construction Begins

With the completion of the last piece of Knowledge needed, the world in front of his eyes seemed to have undergone a subtle change, and his perception of space transformed.Han Xiao raised his head to look at the cup on the table. By the corners of the cup, a variety of function formulas appeared, excluding its outer appearance, and only the precise lines denoting the outline of the spatial structure of the cup were left. Glancing around, all objects in the room appeared in this manner, where everything appeared as a coefficient of spatial structure rather than as its original appearance.As he blinked, this feeling slowly disappeared, and the room returned to normal.

This is probably the change brought about by [Hyperspace Thought]. It seems that it has elevated my spatial perception to a whole new level.

That feeling seemed to maintain the view of multiple perspectives at the same time. It seemed to even overlap with other dimensions.

[Relativity Theory] only provided one talent by nature, but the effect was considerable. It comprehensively enhanced the mobility and controlling skills of the Mechanic, and it also improved Psychological Resistance. The other two talents obtained were brought about by the [Erudite] ability.

Generally speaking, the players could never afford the expenses needed to collect all the Knowledges, and it was difficult to learn all of them. However, there were a minority of people who grinded like crazy to completely learn all of the available Knowledges. Han Xiao was one of such ‘Liver Emperors[1]’. Thus, he was no stranger to the effects both talents brought about to him.

With the two extra talents, my strength has increased by yet another level, and I can be considered to be an all-rounder Advanced Mechanic now.

Han Xiao calculated that the enhanced [Ultimate Knowledge Possessor] as well as the newly obtained [Almighty Mechanic] would enhance him to the point of the [Perfect Mechanical Sense] standard.

The higher his Machinery Affinity, the greater the increase of the total bonus from his Mechanical Sense talent. So long as he managed to get [Perfect Mechanical Sense], his damage would fly off the charts!

By that time, he would be roughly similar to [Mechanic Emperor] Manison, the only difference being their exclusive talents.

“Now that I’ve gotten my hands on all the Knowledges, the next step will be to upgrade all of them.”

In his previous life, while there were players that learned all Knowledges, there had not been anyone who raised everything to the maximum. That was Han Xiao’s goal this time. To complete this, he needed huge amounts of experience. The accumulated amount in this version was far from being enough, and he could only work on this from the next version onward.

Han Xiao had no idea if there would be additional rewards for maxing out all his Class Knowledges. In any case, with the huge player market that he had, levelling up everything would not bring him any losses.

The interface also showed that he had an additional five hundred Free Attribute Points. Gazing at his attributes, he saw that his Intelligence had finally broken through the ten thousand mark. Intelligence was the main attribute of a mechanic, which would determine the attributes of his mechanical creations as well as the Mechanical Force bonuses. Currently, his Endurance was not lacking; he was so tanky that even he could no longer bear it. Thus, Han Xiao decided to continue to pump his Intelligence.

After seeing the huge increase in his attributes, Han Xiao closed his interface in satisfaction. He chewed on two high energy nutrition bars as a celebration before taking a private space shuttle to the satellites around his headquarters. He found an idle one and entered its large, open-air training ground to summon all his machinery through the secondary dimensional army box.

After years of accumulation, Han Xiao now had more than a hundred thousand mechanical lives and over ten Apostle Weapons, which served as his commanders, lining up in front of Han Xiao.

In the huge square, the various mechanical lives stopped making any noise and turned to look at Han Xiao. Those with legs knelt on one knee, while those without lowered their heads to show respect. A magnificent scene was displayed.

“Lord.”

“Rise.” Han Xiao waved his hands before turning to look at Psionic Prime, who was at the forefront. “The time has come. The Machinery Civilization plan can now be implemented.”

“I will not disappoint you, my lord.” A determined expression appeared on the facial features of Psionic Prime.

Han Xiao gestured with a finger, and a star map appeared on the sky, showing the territory of the Garu Star Cluster. The picture zoomed in and quickly locked onto one of the planets within the Star System, situated within his own territory.

“This planet will be your new home in the future. It is rich in ores. Psionic Prime, at that time, you’ll take all the mechanical lives to develop on this planet. The Black Star Army will provide you with all sorts of support, and I only have one requirement, which is to expand the population as much as possible.”

In order to develop his own Mechanical Civilization, Han Xiao had released all his mechanical lives. They need not stay within the secondary dimensional army box for the time being.

After being transformed by [Tinder Awakening], the machines had already become true living bodies. Their bodies were filled with silicon-based nerve fibers. They had independent thoughts and even the ability to reproduce.

Of course, the method of propagation for mechanical life was not through ‘pa pa pa’ but asexual reproduction. Two or more of the mechanical lives would extract their own tinder gene code and transfer to the reproducing mechanical life, or they could insert it within the assembly line to ‘hatch’ a newborn. After a long period of energy supply, the newborn’s tinder would be strengthened into a complete mechanical life.

The mechanical life created in this manner of reproduction was equivalent to sharing the life energy of the first generation of machines. Its purity and basic attributes would of course be far inferior compared to the first generation. The parent mechanical life would also enter a period of weakness due to huge consumption of their life tinder.

But the advantage was that births could be mass-produced, so Han Xiao did not need to work laboriously anymore. The production efficiency would skyrocket, and even the weakest mechanical life borne through this would still be stronger than most mechanical soldiers. The original intention of developing a machinery civilization was just to form a large-scale arsenal.

Manison had a machinery civilization that had developed for many years as his barracks, and the soldiers were endless.

With these hundred thousand first-generation mechanical lives, as long as they are allowed to develop for several years, I will then have a new army of mechanical lives, Han Xiao secretly thought.

All the mechanical lives raised their heads up to gaze at the virtual screen and started to discuss among themselves.

“I won’t let you down.” Psionic Prime retracted his gaze, simulating a solemn tone.

“Good. You can recommend another person with an outstanding ability, and I will give him a spot as an Apostle Weapon.” Han Xiao smiled.

His new talents gave him a total of +3 to all Mechanic skill levels, which meant that the quota for [Apostle Life Creation] had now increased by three. Letting Psionic Prime pick a soldier would help him to consolidate his leadership position.

Because Han Xiao would not continuously monitor the development of his machinery civilization, he needed the first generations to manage everything well. Thus, the stronger the position of his spokesperson, the smoother the development of the machinery civilization.

Hearing this, Psionic Prime raised his spear and turned back. “Heaven-Suppressing Banner, step out.”

Han Xiao looked at where the spear was pointing and saw a towering mechanical life enveloped in heavy outer armor within the crowd. It was as though he was clad in full plate mail, with all sorts of weapons hung around him. He had six arms, and on his back was a giant alloy battle shield, held by magnetic force. From afar, it looked like a huge banner.

“He’s the strongest and bravest warrior in our clan, having defeated hundreds of others and taken their weapons. At the same time, he also knows how to command the army. I urge the Lord to grant him the qualification of an Apostle,” Psionic Prime said.

Han Xiao sized Heaven-Suppressing Banner up. This guy’s gear was actually loot taken from his opponents and installed on himself.

These mechanical lives had a high growth rate, and the blessing of [Machinery Fusion] allowed them to self-transform their hardware structure without limits.

“You indeed have the qualifications to be my Apostle. Make good use of this power.” Raising his palm, a golden beam of Mechanical Force appeared in his palm like a bolt of lightning.

Flicking his hand, his Mechanical Force shot into the body of Heaven-Suppressing Banner, transforming his body and creating a brand-new Apostle.

Han Xiao did not continue to observe the transformation process but turned to Psionic Prime. “I shall hand the right to command the mechanical lives over to you. Serve me well.”

…

After the transformation a few years ago as a result of the Evolution Cube, the Black Spirit Race had become far more intelligent and even possessed visual senses now. They gradually got used to living on the ground, no longer living in nests underground. With their efficient command over the mind network, they had built a stone city.

The largest stone city currently belonged to the Germinal Tribe, and in the center of the city, a stone statue, carved in the likeness of Black Star, stood tall. At this moment, this status held a metal statue, which was the Evolutionary Totem.

Evolutionary energy continuously radiated from the totem. For species with evolutionary space, the effect of the totems was excellent, and this had resulted in the evolution of the Black Spirit Race to be accelerated by hundreds of times. The proportion of the carapace on their body had shrunk once again, and their original bestial and insect-like characteristics were reduced a lot. Some of the Black Spirit Race had already begun to stand upright rather than crawl.

The liberated forelimbs also gradually played the role of a palm and began to learn how to use tools.

Up till now, Han Xiao had not forced the civilization process of the Black Spirit Race but focused more on improving the quality of the Black Spirit Race itself. From his viewpoint, as long as the species itself became perfect, it would be more effective to help them develop.

The racial characteristics of the Black Spirit Race lay in its mind communication network, which improved communication efficiency and knowledge penetration rate. Their Race Specialty was related to the mind, and the totem would subtly enhance the mental and spiritual strength of the entire race.

The Black Spirit Race was also very prolific. After more than ten years of reproduction, several generations of newborns had been born, and the population had grown a lot.

At this moment, in the center of the Germinal Tribe, a large group of children played around an adult, who happened to be the leader of the Germinal Tribe.

The leader of the Germinal Tribe was wearing a coarse animal skin robe and holding a simple scepter made out of Prophecy Stones. His dress was very different from the other tribesmen, who were not wearing clothes.

Countless years before they were transformed by the Evolution Cube, the Black Spirit Race had produced a very small number of variants, which could build a mind communication network on their own instead of utilizing the Prophecy Stones. These variants were known as ‘Sages’.

The current leader of the Germinal Tribe was one of the strongest variants, with his mental network able to accommodate most individuals. At the same time, he was also the spokesperson of their ‘Black Star God’, so he was hailed as the Great Sage.

“Great Sage, why do we worship the Black Star God?” The group of toddlers crowded around the Germinal Tribe leader, chattering away in his mental network.

Lifting his scepter, the Germinal Tribe leader spoke in equal seriousness and fanaticism. “The Black Star God has brought us the gospel for evolution, as well as the fire of our civilization. He is the omnipresent greatness.”

“I don’t believe you. I feel that you are stronger than him, Great Sage!” One of the toddlers laughed.

“Humph, you know nothing about power.” The Germinal Tribe leader pointed at a battleship suspended in the sky with his scepter. “Do you see that? That’s called a spaceship. It’s what brought us here from our ancestral land. Just relying on our powers, we would not even have reached here in ten thousand years, but Black Star God brought us here in an instant. That is the power of a God.”

“Ancestral land? This place is not our ancestral land?”

“Sigh, our ancestral land was long taken by others. If the Black Star God had not led us away, maybe…”

The Germinal Tribe leader sighed again and shook his head.

At this moment, hundreds of black specks appeared in the clear blue sky. They floated down slowly toward the Germinal Tribe and caused a commotion within the tribe. Many of the tribe members gathered in the square, watching the descending spaceships.

The hatches opened, and Psionic Prime flew out and landed in front of the leader of the Germinal Tribe. The Black Spirit Race scattered, but they were not nervous at all.

In their eyes, this sort of metal creature was the servant of their Black Star God.

“I’m the Chief Apostle under Lord Black Star. My lord has commanded me to take you away from this planet.”

The Germinal Tribe leader stood up, speaking jerkily with vocal cords that had yet to fully develop.

“Where is the Black Star God taking us?”

“Your new home.”

…

With a lot of investments from the financial groups, the Black Star Army had sufficient funds to purchase engineering equipment as well as to prepare to build troops. The process was smooth.

After a month of preparations, the construction team of the army finally departed officially under the universe’s interested eyes, full of manpower and resources to develop the Flickering World.

Lagi, Reynold, Sylvia, and Herlous were directly involved, and Han Xiao was only responsible for remote supervision since he wanted to go to the dynasty to avoid any danger. He had left the blueprint for the construction of the site with them, so he did not need to be present.

On the day that the construction team set off, Han Xiao arrived at the stargate leading to the Central Galaxy with only a few Black Star Guards and Aurora with him.

This was to avoid danger but also to visit the various Beyond Grade A allies of the dynasty. After all, they would be working together for many years, so it was necessary to build relationships.

At the same time, he also prepared to visit those future famous characters of the dynasty that he recalled.

The version update would take several decades, and the dynasty would experience a change in power. His cooperation with the dynasty would last a long time, so he needed to have wider vision. For the sake of his future, it was necessary to build good relations with the powerful people of the future in advance, granting him a louder voice within the dynasty.

Sweeping his eyes over Feidin and the rest, Han Xiao turned his head to look at Aurora in the pilot’s seat and nodded.

“Let’s go.”

Aurora swiped her finger on the control screen, and the spaceship slowly moved into the stargate.

At the same moment, Ames and Hila arrived at the stargate at the edge of the Shattered Star Ring.

Turning back, Hila had a complicated expression.

She had a hunch that it would be a long time before she returned.

The Beyond Grade A realm…

A slim hand rested on her shoulder, and turning back, Hila saw Ames standing there with a light smile.

“Let’s go.”

“Sigh… I got it.”

Hila recollected her thoughts and also directed the spaceship to enter the stargate.

[1] Probably named so because you need to donate a liver to get enough money to buy everything

Chapter 930 - The Prototype Plan of Three Great Calamities

In the Flickering World, the Purple River Star System was one of the seven Star Systems that belonged to the Black Star Army. It was located at the edge of the Garu Star Cluster and was one of the important gateways into the Star Cluster. At this time, from the stargate of the Purple River Star System slowly sailed a huge Black Star Army fleet. This was the construction force led by Herlous.

There was a large number of Black Star Army spaceships awaiting Herlous’ arrival next to the stargate station. This was originally the first exploration fleet. Now that the exploration had been completed, the same fleet was transformed into construction personnel, awaiting instructions from the higher ups.

In the meeting room of the flagship, Herlous was having a discussion with the senior officers such as Sylvia and Lagi to go through the construction plans. “Purple River, Long Day, Ponzale, Orlando, Fenrir, Sigma, and Ednea—these seven Star Systems belong to our Black Star Army, and we have to first set the infrastructure foundation before carefully sculpting and slowly transforming the Star System.” Herlous had a serious expression on.

While he usually behaved in a lazy manner, he still acted properly and seriously when faced with Han Xiao’s tasks.

Sylvia nodded. “We should first establish the stargate transportation network within the seven galaxies to form a whole and facilitate fleet transportation. Through our exploration, the network has already taken shape, which is convenient for us. After this, we should install the army’s own warning and space monitoring devices, and we’ll lay a large scale quantum network base station to place the seven Star Systems under the management of the artificial intelligence system.”

The Black Star Army had to establish its own infrastructure to take over the seven Star Systems and make it into a seamless whole, strong as an iron board.

“According to the plans left by the Army Commander, we need to focus on the two Star System gateways, Ponzale and Purple River. We must firmly control the entry and exit stargates for the main traffic routes. These stargate stations were originally made by the dynasty, and now that the station is under our control, we have to spare some troops for the stations. “In terms of planetary terraforming, the priority should go to the army bases and resource mining bases. The galactic cities and transit stations will only come in handy when the Star Field is opened, so we can put those off until a later date.

“The blueprint also states that the Sigma Star System will be the logistics base of the army within the Flickering World. There will also be a need to focus on the transformation and the construction of a large number of barracks, military factories, and airports there…”

The construction scope for seven Star Systems was a monumental task. Han Xiao only provided a blueprint, and the specific action plans would need to be developed by those responsible for each star system. While everyone was discussing, Lagi maintained his usual style, not caring about anything and serving as a mascot.

A plan was quickly formulated, and under the command of Herlous, the construction troops began to proceed in an orderly manner. The stargate passage was set up, various devices were laid, and they took the facilities that had been left over during the exploration to be reused, saving a lot of resources.

At the same time, Bloodshed Land, Klent, and the rest of the dynasty’s allies also started to construct their territories. The entire Flickering World entered a period of rapid development.

Rural development was a long-term project. It would take a lot of time to raise the region to the standard of the currently explored universe. The seven Star Systems that Han Xiao had chosen were all important areas in his past life. Han Xiao had drawn out the renovation plans according to his memory, and it was expected to take decades to completely construct everything on the blueprint. It was estimated that the next phase of exploration for the Crimson Dynasty would not be held back for so long. As long as at least two Star Systems were complete in each Star Field, the second phase of exploration would then proceed.

While the construction team was in full swing, the mechanical lives and Black Spirit Race also arrived at their new, separate home planets.

The Sigma Star System was a central area of the Garu Star Cluster, rich in resources. It bordered the other two Star Systems, Ednea and Orlando, occupying a vast area.

Planet Apostle was one of the resource rich planets within this Star System, which was named by Han Xiao. The whole planet was gray, with rich mineral veins and metal resources. Although it was not a habitable planet in the conventional sense, it was very suitable to host mechanical lives.

Dozens of spaceships landed slowly on this gray wasteland. The Psionic Prime disembarked from the spaceship with the hundred thousand mechanical lives and glanced around. The undulating wasteland extended to the end of the horizon, and there was no greenery in sight, only endless gray rocks and flying sand. “This will be our homeland in the future.”

The Psionic Prime held his spear and directed everyone to begin building the city immediately.

If it was a normal civilization, eighty percent of them would collapse from the mental burden of establishing a civilization on this desolate planet. However, to the mechanical lifeforms, this emotion did not exist, and their mentality leaned toward a colonialist mindset.

With the engineering equipment provided, coupled with their natural talents, the speed of the mechanical lives in building cities was incredibly fast.

If one overlooked the planet, they would quickly see a metal area appearing on the surface and spreading out to form a city of machines.

First of all, a large number of assembly lines were built. With sufficient resources, the mechanical lives were assembled. A portion of the existing life forms consumed their energy to synthesize their own tinder gene codes, incubating the second generation of mechanical lives.

Having a large quantity of soldiers was the specialty of a Mechanical Race.

At the same time, they built specialized equipment that allowed them to excavate the underground veins and resources, smash apart stones, and gather all these raw materials into the warehouse.

Without any enemies, the construction efficiency was frightening, and under the command of the Apostles and the Psionic Prime, the mechanical lives’ civilization slowly unfolded.

On the other side, the Black Spirit Race also arrived at their new home, Planet New Black Spirit.

This planet was different from the Planet Apostle. It was a habitable planet with vast vegetation and verdant forests. There were many indigenous beasts with mild temperaments.

The migratory fleet landed on a fertile plain, and the Black Spirit Race rushed down from the spaceship. Their newly evolved green eyes curiously took in the scenes.

“This is our new homeland?”

“It seems even more beautiful.”

One of the spaceships fired a traction beam, lowering the Black Star statue onto the plain. They were unable to move the entire city, but landmarks could still be transported.

To the Black Spirit Race, the statue of Black Star was just like their landmark, and its function was similar to a ‘civilization monument’. This monument gave their race hope. They could do without the city but not without the statue.

Han Xiao required the Black Spirit Race to develop itself during the decades when the version was undergoing an update, so he could only intervene in the Black Spirit Race’s civilization process. The spaceships that transported the Black Spirit Race were outfitted with many engineering devices and stayed to help them construct their new homes.

Under the gazes of the Black Spirit Race, an army member handed a communicator to the Germinal Tribe leader.

“This contains Knowledge that the Black Star God is gifting you. You can learn it and use it to transform your race.”

The Germinal Tribe leader carefully switched it on, and a list popped up. Within it was all sorts of information compiled by Han Xiao. It was a technological tree tailored to the racial characteristics of the Black Spirit Race, ranging from basic to advanced Knowledges.

Planning out a technology tree for the entire race would ensure that their development direction would not deviate.

Thanks to their mind network, the Black Spirit Race quickly found out about the contents and started worshipping the statue.

“Many thanks to Black Star God for this generous bestowal!”

The Germinal Tribe leader was very moved. This emotion spread to everyone else, turning their faith even more fanatical.

Their Black Star God had passed down divine knowledge to them, which had historical significance for the entire race. This scene would forever be inscribed in the inheritance memory of the Black Spirit Race.

While there were varied differences between the mechanical lives and the Black Spirit Race, they shared similarities in the fact that they had a hive mentality. One utilized a mind network, while the other accessed the quantum network, which could highly condense the productivity of their race. Thus, all races with such characteristics typically had unparalleled development potential.

The Black Spirit Race was akin to the Bug Tribe. So long as they were placed on the right track, they would enter the fast lane of civilization development. As for the mechanical lives, they were even more overpowered, starting with a high technological level. All they lacked was land and population, which were easily expanded. Han Xiao had high hopes for these two races, so he had specifically placed them in different Star Systems, hoping to give them ample room for development.

Speaking of which, if both of them developed, they could be treated as Calamities that could shake the balance of the world. If one added in the players that were supposed to be the fourth Calamity…

Han Xiao himself occupied three of the four Calamities!

In the past month, countless people were paying attention to the construction of the Flickering World by the Crimson Dynasty and its allies. This was the most eye-catching event in the Universe.

Like the others, the Black Star Army also poured all its effort into development, investing a lot of manpower and resources within.

Taking advantage of this time, the Limitless Financial Group finally started to manipulate the network of interests that the Black Star Army had within the Shattered Star Ring.

Chapter 931 - Trouble Surfaces

The Colin Group was one of the local financial groups within the Shattered Star Ring. It was well-known for its large business scope that encompassed areas such as resource mining, logistics, and transportation, as well as the production of processed materials. While it was not a galactic-level financial group, it was still a sizable company in cooperation with many planetary and Star System level civilizations. At the same time, this group was also partnered with the Black Star Army and provided business channels for the army.

Many similar organizations cooperated with the Black Star Army, partly for the Evolution Cube, and partly because they were attracted to the influence of the Black Star Army in the area. Their identities as Black Star Army collaborators could bring a lot of convenience to their businesses.

The Colin Group, as one of the first companies to cooperate with the Black Star Army, had experienced a booming performance in the past few years, and their prospects were broad, but at this moment, all the corporate executives and shareholders were gathered together in the conference room of the Colin Group with frowning faces.

The current head of the group, Colin Duller, sat at the head seat. His expression was terrible, and he was suppressing his fury.

"The Hebrew and Sayde Civilizations have terminated their cooperation with us. They not only withdrew the planetary mining rights that we purchased but also cancelled the long-term contract for the supply of materials. Furthermore, I was negotiating with the Wiese members before, which would have allowed us to obtain a new business area. The negotiation had already come to an end, but the Wiese actually went back on the previous terms and chose to cooperate with others. Our situation now is very bad."

One of the upper echelons sighed. "That's right. Many of the heads for the civilization departments that had cooperated happily with us have now cut off all contact. This is not normal and should be our competitors pulling some underhanded moves…"

"Humph, I know who they are." Colin snorted coldly. "A while ago, the Limitless Financial Group sought me out, wanting to purchase the Colin Group, but I rejected them. The recent movements were most likely made by them."

"What, there was such a thing‽"

"Why didn't we know that the Limitless Financial Group had contacted us?"

A few of them displayed expressions of shock while some of them remained silent. Obviously, they had found out about this matter.

Colin's tone was furious. "I've already inquired about it. The Limitless Financial Group has been acquiring companies in the Shattered Star Ring recently, and those businesses that did not agree were more or less suppressed. I heard that the Limitless Financial Group has decided to enter Shattered Star Ring due to the development of the Flickering World, and they are preparing to invest in the large scale construction of a factory in the Hebrew and Sayde civilizations. They should have made a deal behind our back, so both of them terminated the cooperation with us."

At this moment, the second largest shareholder of the company, who had always been dissatisfied with Colin, suddenly sneered.

"It's not only that. There are also several important cooperative businesses that have stopped businesses with us. Several civilizations no longer approve our loans, and our management level employees were also poached, leaving a significant gap… Now our business has shrunk by more than thirty percent, and our price on the stock market has plummeted. As I said earlier, you should not have rejected the Limitless Financial Group, one of the largest financial groups in the universe. There's no disadvantage to turning them against us."

Hearing this, Colin's face was pale.

He also knew that they could not compare to the brand or financial power of the Limitless Financial Group. If there was an opportunity, many would cooperate with them, even abandoning their previous partners, as the Limitless Financial Group would bring immense benefits.

The more Colin thought about it, the angrier he got, and he heavily thumped on the table, leaving behind an indentation. He gritted his teeth.

"Don't even think about it. The Colin Group is my hard work, and I will not agree to the acquisition requirements of the Limitless Financial Group!"

The second largest shareholder sneered. "How are you going to solve the current problems? If there is no way, the group will collapse sooner or later. Everyone here is a shareholder. If you want to gamble, you have to go through us first."

Colin fell silent for a while before shaking his head. "I have no method at the moment…"

A document was thrown out by the shareholder, landing on the table. He coldly laughed. "Since you have no methods, just sign this shareholder acquisition document."

Colin's expression changed. He stared at the shareholder. "You've been bought over by them‽"

"Bought over? I was just acting in the interests of our group."

The second largest shareholder laughed and surveyed the shocked or calm faces of the upper echelons.

Another large shareholder understood the idea and said, "Colin, just agree. We will have a hard time contending with such a large financial group at that level. Besides, their purchase price is very reasonable, and after joining the Limitless Financial Group, our businesses can be further developed with their support."

This seemed to be the signal to get many of the upper echelons to open their mouths.

"You, all of you…" Colin's eyes widened. How could he not understand that all of them had been bought over? The sum of all these people's shares was enough to overrule his decisions.

To think that the board had been infiltrated like this!

Even those hesitating shareholders were also staring at Colin with hopeful eyes now.

Colin's eyes were unreadable. "If I don't agree, are you all planning to overthrow me?"

The second largest shareholder indifferently replied, "That will depend on the strategy you can come up with. If you want to drag this whole group into the abyss, don't blame us for saving ourselves."

Colin stared at the acquisition book on the table, and hesitated. Without a word, he grabbed the book and read it carefully before signing the agreement with a heavy expression.

Pa pa pa…

A sudden applause could be heard outside the door, and the room opened, showing a man clapping as he walked in, a confident smile on his face.

"A wise choice."

Colin looked over frowning, but before he could ask, the second largest shareholder beat him to it.

"This is one of the upper echelons of the Limitless Financial Group, Mr. Madick."

"Oh, turns out you're the guy who bought us out." Colin's words were sarcastic.

"Hehe, there's no need to look at me like that. In the future, the Colin Group will be an arm of the Limitless, and we'll all be colleagues." Madick waved his hands while lightly smiling. "I'm here to tell everyone that there will be no major changes to the original decision-making structure of the group. You all will still remain as the backbone."

Madick eyed everyone before continuing. "However, there needs to be an adjustment in business direction. We need to immediately terminate the cooperation with the Black Star Army."

"Why?" Colin could not understand.

Acquisition was one thing. What did it have to do with their business partner?

"Oh, our Limitless Financial Group has signed an agreement to cooperate and develop the Bloodshed Land. The Bloodshed Land is prepared to emulate the Black Star Army and build its own interest union, so it requires many organizations to join. Every business we buy must be converted to a partner of the Bloodshed Land, to provide them with channels to expand their business."

Madick smiled indifferently.

Colin frowned before a look of understanding flashed past his eyes.

He had also attended the previous Black Star Party, and Sorokin had been there, but the latter had chosen to invest in Bloodshed Land and was now using it to attack the partners of the Black Star Army. As someone local to the Shattered Star Ring, a bold conjecture appeared in Colin's mind…

The Limitless Financial Group did not just wish to enter the Shattered Star Ring; it wanted to attack the Black Star Army!

All of them were just pawns that had been caught up in the storm!

…

The Colin Group was just one of many examples. During this period, many of the local businesses within the Shattered Star Ring were acquired or controlled, either defeated directly by sheer banknotes or simply willing to go under the banner of the Limitless Financial Group.

For those that did not agree, there were many methods that the Limitless Financial Group could use.

For example, in response to conflicts, they could rally the smaller shareholders to overthrow the larger shareholders. They could also buy out some key personnel or invest in building factories to attract the civilizations to hinder the businesses of some companies. The Limitless Financial Group was well experienced in this.

If someone would not compromise, they would be suppressed to death sooner or later, and they would lose more than what they would have originally obtained.

The Limitless Financial Group had no way to directly shake the businesses of a hegemon like the Black Star Army, so they could only erode them bit by bit. To the local enterprises, this universe level top financial group was like a giant crocodile that they could not compete with.

You might be rich, but the Limitless Financial Group… is especially wealthy!

Under such operations, the Limitless Financial Group, having worked behind the scenes for several months, acquired many of the local businesses, forming a large number of business channels. They strongly inserted themselves into the Shattered Star Ring market with a stable footing.

At the same time, the Bloodshed Land released a joint announcement with the Limitless Financial Group to publicly announce their cooperation. The Bloodshed Land also mentioned that they would expand their business and carry out a transformation of their organization. While it was not specifically stated, everyone in Shattered Star Ring knew that their target was the Black Star Army.

"The Limitless Financial Group is working in depth with Bloodshed Land‽"

In the headquarters of the Army, Sylvia looked at the report on her hand, her face revealing a troubled expression.

"The Bloodshed Land plans to steal our businesses. There has been a conflict of interest on both sides, so those organizations that have been acquired by the Limitless Financial Group have terminated their cooperation and turned to the Bloodshed Land." The secretary next to Sylvia shook his head, his tone worried.

"They don't want the quota for the Evolution Cube anymore?" Sylvia frowned.

"This… I'm not too sure, but most of the acquired organizations are private, and their demand for the Evolution Cube is not great."

Hearing this, Sylvia nodded.

That was the case, as private organizations were different from civilizations. Even if they required evolutions, they would probably have purchased slots for all their members in the past few years. The main reason they cooperated was to maintain the influence created by the network of interests. Now that they had been acquired, they could only be swayed to the intentions of the Limitless Financial Group.

What businesses relied on to compete was their power, wealth, and influence, and force could not be applied to them. Furthermore, with the Bloodshed Land as a Beyond Grade A organization and an ally of the dynasty, this provided a suitable shield for the Limitless Financial Group to act.

Teacher was right. The Limitless Financial Group did not have any good intentions at all.

Sylvia secretly huffed and looked at the detailed report.

While the Limitless Financial Group was huge, it would be impossible to fight against all the businesses in the entire Star Field. That was especially so for the civilizations; it was impossible for them to give up on cooperating for the Evolution Cube. The Limitless Financial Group could only target the private organizations, and because each acquisition also required a lot of money, the larger organizations had not been targeted for the time being.

Thus, so far, the Black Star Army had only lost a few business channels, but it was far from the level of hemorrhaging. Only their peripheral businesses were affected. Their core businesses like the Evolution Cube, Flickering World development, and planet mining were still stable.

But… they had to guard against any further upsets.

As she thought of this, Sylvia had a severe expression as she took out her communicator.

"I have to inform my teacher immediately!"

Chapter 932 - The Capacity of a Beyond Grade A

At the same time, in the dynasty’s central territory, a small unmarked fleet was docked above a huge blue planet. The planet hosted one of the most famous interstellar cities in the Crimson Dynasty, with a prosperous economy and a huge population.

This fleet came from the branch of the Black Star Army in Constellation Corridor. Because of his long stay in the dynasty this time, Han Xiao immediately dispatched the local army fleet the moment he arrived in order to utilize the fleet’s machinery factory to produce machinery to while away the time on the way.

The Crimson Dynasty knew that Han Xiao had come over to the Central Galaxy with the purpose of avoiding any danger, so he did not need to proceed to Planet Crimson Ring to report. Except for the secret military areas, he was free to roam about the territory of the dynasty, and the upper echelons of the dynasty would not restrict him.

Han Xiao was practicing his Energy Training Techniques whilst searching for the famous people of the dynasty in the future. He had arrived in this interstellar city to visit just one person. The No.16 Comprehensive Superpower Academy of the dynasty was a first-class university and a famous facility on this planet. The goal of Han Xiao’s trip was precisely this academy. In his memories, a future Beyond Grade A Dynasty member had graduated from this college.

According to the data from his past life, this Beyond Grade A was recruited into the academy between the years 709 and 712 on the Galaxy Calendar. This was the early stage of the update from Version 3.0 to Version 4.0, this exact period.

Because his fleet was unmarked, the arrival of Han Xiao did not cause a sensation on the planet. Only the upper echelons of the academy were notified, and the principal immediately dropped all his affairs to personally greet them. At this moment, in one of the campuses of the dynasty’s No.16 Comprehensive Superpower Academy, Han Xiao took Aurora with him as they walked down the tree-lined road. Their faces were concealed by a virtual disguise, and their real identities could not be seen.

The artificially planted trees helped to ward off the shine from the artificial sun in the sky, and the sunlight passing through their canopies was cut into slivers of golden specks. The was also a sparkling river beside the road, where several students were frolicking in the water. Further ahead, there was a patch of grass where students of difference races mingled with each other in discussion, and occasionally, a few students flew past in midair holding books to rush to class. Everywhere was full of youthfulness.

“So nice…” Looking at this scene, a slight longing and envy appeared in Aurora’s eyes. Her childhood was akin to hell, and she had never experienced such a normal growth process.

Gazing at the scene, Han Xiao suddenly felt a little sad. The life of a normal person is already too far away for me…

Lowering his head, Aurora’s profile, under the morning light appeared particularly pure and sacred, and her long eyelashes twitched gently.

“Your Excellency Black Star, the Pugilist Department is in front of us.”

At this time, the voice of the principal sounded by his ear. Han Xiao withdrew his gaze from Aurora, looking forward at a tall building complex. There were spherical gravity training spaces visible to the naked eye, and many of the pugilists were also practicing. The three of them walked around the teaching area for a while and walked past a classroom. A new class of pugilists were in the middle of a cultural class. When Han Xiao looked in, his gaze immediately landed on an unremarkable person belonging to the Galaxy Human Race. This plain and unassuming face was very familiar in his eyes…

Karlot, the Beyond Grade A directly under the dynasty in the later versions. After ‘Dark Lord’ Clotti died, he took over his position, and his combat ability also reached the peak of Beyond Grade A…

The memories of his past flashed through Han Xiao’s mind in an instant, and Han Xiao’s eyes flashed inexplicably.

Seeing that Han Xiao had stopped and did not move, the principal was a little confused. He looked over and saw Karlot seated there. He hesitated before he asked, “Your Excellency Black Star, do you recognize this freshman?”

Han Xiao shook his head. “I just felt that he has a lot of potential.”

Hearing this, the principal immediately looked carefully, but he could not see anything special about Karlot. He was a little dissatisfied in his heart, but he could not help paying attention to the opinions of a Beyond Grade A. The principal secretly took out his communicator to check Karlot’s files, but he found out that the freshman had yet to awaken his Super-Gene, and thus, his performance was also at the bottom of the cohort.

The majority of the freshmen in the college were ordinary people, as the college would also conduct tests to select the good seedlings to start education earlier. Within this one-and-a-half-year period, if they could not awaken their Super genes, they would be asked to leave.

“I hope to be able to chat with him,” Han Xiao said. “This… ok.” The principal hesitated a little but finally agreed.

Han Xiao walked into a random empty classroom, and when the bell rang, the hallways got noisy. The door of the classroom opened, and the principal walked in with Karlot.

“Sit.” Han Xiao smiled.

“Why do you want to meet me? I, I didn’t do anything wrong.” Karlot stood dumbly, his expression cramped and speech awkward.

His family were all ordinary people who ran a small business. However, his parents wanted him to become a Super so that this family business could obtain the social welfare treatment that was unique to Supers. Thus, they allowed him to go to the college. Karlot had no opinion and thus took the admission exam, being lucky enough to pass it.

As a freshman who had never come into contact with any Supers, Karlot had only met the principal once at the opening ceremony. However, the principal had approached him personally today, which made him anxious as to whether he had broken any rules.

“Haha, you didn’t do anything wrong. I just wanted to chat with you.” Han Xiao laughed.

Karlot finally heaved a sigh of relief, closely scrutinizing Han Xiao’s face before he asked curiously, “You… Who are you? I don’t recognize you. Why are you looking for me?”

“Oh, my name is Black Star. Maybe you’ve heard of my name. I’m an ally of the Crimson Dynasty, and I think that you have potential. Are you willing to join my Black Star Army?” Han Xiao smiled.

The purpose of this trip was to search for potential strong candidates, but because Karlot’s starting identity was too low, he was not spotted early. If Han Xiao could bring such a power over, he would not hesitate.

Seeing this, the principal began to doubt his own eyes. It was impolite to poach someone in front of him, but he did not dare say anything. It was even more surprising, seeing that Black Star would personally invite this person without any extraordinary features.

“What is the Black Star Army?” Karlot opened his eyes wide, a look of puzzlement. He never paid attention to interstellar matters and did not even know what their Dynasty Ruler was called.

Han Xiao’s face cramped up, and he threw a glance to Aurora. Aurora could only explain it patiently to him.

Karlot seemed to only understand half of it. “So, you guys are mercenaries?” “You can put it this way, I guess.” Han Xiao was helpless. “If you join our army, not only will you obtain better teachings, you can also obtain more benefits. I…”

Before waiting for Han Xiao to finish, Karlot began shaking his head. “I’m not going. Dad only sent me here to improve our family condition. He does not allow me to go out to fight and kill. If he learns about this, he will beat me up.”

Hearing this sentence, Han Xiao did not know whether to laugh or cry. This reason was quite refreshing.

The universe indeed was not lacking people who wanted to be Super just for the benefits. However, once they obtained the strength, their mentalities would undergo a change. Thus, he could understand why Karlot was thinking like this right now. In his previous life, Karlot himself belonged to the late-bloomer protagonist character archetype. He was honest, clumsy, and had a slow growth rate, but he slowly stepped forward until he stood at the peak of all Supers. During his peak, he could even kill ordinary Beyond Grade As without losing his breath.

After graduating from this official superpower academy, the military and some government departments came to recruit him. At that time, Karlot finally had his own beliefs and joined the army against the will of his family, starting his legendary career. However, now, Karlot was still a naive child in Han Xiao’s eyes.

Every Beyond Grade A was unique. If he rashly changed Karlot’s future, he might not grow up like his previous life. After all, guys like Karlot were not like Hila, who had the innate potential to hit Beyond Grade A.

Seeing that no one was talking, Karlot scratched his head and hesitantly asked, “If there’s nothing else, can I go?”

“Alright.” Han Xiao put his thoughts aside and smiled as he nodded. He decided not to push Karlot so far right now as he did not have the value to be poached.

But he had also helped Karlot indirectly, since he showed this student’s importance. The principal would definitely try to focus on his training, and he could use this time to foster a closer relationship with him.

Watching Karlot leave, Han Xiao temporarily bid farewell to the principal, returning to his spaceship.

As soon as he entered the cabin, his communicator rang. It was Sylvia on the line.

“Teacher, there’s a situation with the Limitless Financial Group!”

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed. “Explain in detail.”

Sylvia quickly summarized the incidents, and Han Xiao frowned as he connected the picture of him conversing with Sorokin. An understanding came to him.

“Them entering the Shattered Star Ring market is false. Their true motive is to deal with me.”

“Teacher, you’re saying…” Han Xiao sighed. “The Limitless Financial Group acts as an economic and commercial enterprise on the surface, but its true motive is to support the Bloodshed Land in opposing us, interfering with our development. I’ve been waiting to see what the pressure brought about by the Evolutionary Totems would be, and it turns out it’s in this form. There should be many backers behind the Limitless Financial Group this time, likely the federation and the church as well.”

“Then, what should we do? There’s no way to resolve this!” Sylvia’s expression was solemn.

Han Xiao was also tied up. In terms of commercial activities, the Limitless Financial Group was the undisputed ruler. The core businesses of the army were not impacted, but he was unable to prevent Sorokin from acquiring his partners. That would later cause a negative effect as his other business partners would choose to dissolve any relationships in order not to be targeted.

This was a straightforward strategy of attacking using their own abilities.

“If we hope to compete with the Limitless Financial Group, we must turn our dispersed capital into a whole. Use this external pressure to facilitate internal cohesion among our partners, encourage them to unite and form an existence similar to that of a Chamber of Commerce. We can help each other resist the malicious acquisition of the Limitless Financial Group.”

Sylvia thought about it before nodding in agreement. “This method is not bad.”

“Alas, there is no method to tackle the root cause. We can only stop the damage from spreading.” Han Xiao’s eyes flashed with a cold light. “After a period of time, I’ll have the mechanical host I left in the headquarters go to the Bloodshed Land and find Heber for… a good talk!”

After discussing the countermeasures, Han Xiao hung up, and his expression sank.

Now that the Black Star Army had gained the opportunity to shine in the world and develop rapidly, Sorokin attempted to deliberately drag them down, preventing them from developing peacefully.

He wanted to destroy the network of interests Han Xiao had spent years trying to build up!

Although this method of Sorokin’s could not shake the core businesses, it was very sinister and disgusting, and it would kill the future of the army!

He wanted to contact Sorokin for questioning, but he quickly banished this idea. With that old fox’s character, he would definitely use all kinds of business activities as an excuse, and there would be no way to express his own dissatisfaction.

Since he knew how Sorokin was going to reply, there was no point calling him. If Heber promised to cooperate, it means that he’s taking this opportunity to develop his forces. He, of course, won’t mind knocking me down in the process. When I advance to level 300, I’ll go and chat with him.

Han Xiao clenched his fists with a heavy expression.

Since he could not deal with Sorokin, he would cause trouble for Heber!

Ty-Ty is not giving me face at all. If you think that this wave of trading is very profitable for you, don’t blame me for destroying your prestige later!

Chapter 933 - Black Star“s Tour

In the Bloodshed Land's palace, Jorde excitedly reported, "… In summary, we've obtained many new channels of business in a short amount of time, and our operations will double at the very least this year."

A burly figure stood beside the window, and Heber listened to the report.

Jorde then continued reading the report. "The Black Star Army completed their transformation many years back and diversified their operations. We didn't have the Evolution Cube, so despite having Klent's support, our transformation was very slow, and we were still restricted by the quality of the employment missions that we received. About seventy to eighty percent of our funds come from various armed employment missions. After working together with the Limitless Financial Group, they've provided great aid to our transformation, and the embryonic state of our transformation is already complete."

The Black Star Army and Bloodshed Land were both Beyond Grade A organizations, but their operation direction was different. Under Han Xiao's lead, the Black Star Army managed to diversify their operations through the Evolution Cube. They had both military and financial strength. As for the Bloodshed Land, they were a classic poor army with their influence and operations being very limited. This was a problem that had been troubling the Bloodshed Land.

With the help of the Limitless Financial Group, Heber's problem was now resolved. As long as they continued down this path, the Bloodshed Land would no longer be a group of boorish individuals who only knew how to fight wars. They would have the right to fight with the Black Star Army as a private organization.

Heber turned around and calmly said, "Good job."

Jorde hesitated for a moment and could not help but ask, "Your Excellency, just what kind of a deal did you make with the Limitless Financial Group? Why are they willing to help us without holding back?"

"It is just an exchange of benefits." Heber glanced at him. "They wish to enter the Shattered Star Ring and want to borrow our influence to gain a spot in the local market. Humph, although their targets are the organizations that cooperate with the Black Star Army, we are also a Beyond Grade A organization, and it won't be a loss for them to join us."

This was the reason on the surface. As for the deeper intention of their deal, Heber was not planning to inform his subordinates.

Although Heber did not say anything else, Jorde could sense that this matter was not so simple. The Limitless Financial Group did not approach the Black Star Army but went to the second best option instead. They were obviously targeting the Black Star Army.

Jorde broke out into cold sweat as he thought about the possible meaning behind the cooperation and did not dare continue asking. He still wanted to live to the day where he could hug his grandchildren.

Jorde then wiped away his sweat and left the room. Heber was the only one left, and he continued looking out the window. A long while later, the corner of his lips curled up slightly.

Although he maintained his calm appearance in front of his subordinates, he was actually very happy.

He was not bothered about whether the Limitless Financial Group would succeed; he only wanted to make use of this opportunity to develop. The losses of the Black Star Army were of no consequence to him. The both of them were the dynasty's allies but also competitors. He would be more than happy to see the Black Star Army suffer a huge loss.

…

On the other side, Karlot, who had rejected Han Xiao's invitation, returned to his dormitory, and his friends immediately crowded over with curiosity.

"Hey, why did the principal look for you?"

Karlot was extremely honest, and his results were at the bottom. Thus, his relationship with the others was not too bad.

A few of his friends had seen the principal approaching Karlot at the end of the lesson and thought that he had done something wrong. Thus, they all crowded over with concern.

Karlot scratched his head and said, "Nothing much. Someone wanted to meet me."

"Who? He is actually able to get the principal to personally invite you!" one of Karlot's dormitory mates exclaimed. He was the one with the best background in the entire dormitory, but he was still far from the level of the principal. Karlot's family was extremely ordinary, so he could not help being puzzled.

"He said that he is called Black Star and asked me to join the Black Star Army," Karlot said helplessly.

The moment he said these words, the entire room fell silent, and a look of disbelief could be seen on everyone's face.

"That legendary Black Star‽"

"Are you kidding me‽ Why would he look for you‽"

Seeing his dormitory mates' expressions, Karlot could not help but ask with doubt, "Do all of you know him?"

"My goodness, don't tell me you don't even know who Black Star is‽" One of his friends almost fainted.

"I… I hadn't heard of him before," Karlot said with a tinge of embarrassment. "Is he really a bigshot?"

"He isn't just a bigshot! He is a Beyond Grade A Super! The peak of individual strength and an existence who can chat with the Dynasty Ruler!" One of his friends then began describing Han Xiao's history.

The others then surrounded Karlot and showered with him plenty of questions. Karlot briefly explained the situation, but with his lousy expressive vocabulary, it took a while for the others to understand what had happened.

That handsome dormitory mate of his then could not help but notice a sour feeling in his heart. Why did such a good thing fall on the head of this bottom-ranked idiot instead of him?

At this moment, another one of his dormitory mates then realized something and asked, "Did… you accept Black Star's invitation?"

"I didn't agree," Karlot replied uneasily.

"You actually rejected the opportunity to join the Black Star Army‽" Everyone was truly speechless. "You're truly an idiot! This is an opportunity to change your fate! Ordinary people like us would never be able to enter the Black Star Army! You… you actually…"

Seeing everyone say so, Karlot fell into a daze and started to doubt his own choice.

Did I really make the wrong choice?

I'd better ask my family first.

Karlot then took out his communicator and ran to the side to contact his family. That handsome dormitory mate then looked at Karlot's back, and a look of dense jealousy and resentment could be seen in his eyes.

Why him? Why‽ Why did he obtain such an opportunity but not know how to treasure it? He is truly idiotic to the extreme! Why would such a legendary figure take notice of such an individual!

He originally liked Karlot and was willing to take care of Karlot, but now, he was only filled with disgust toward Karlot.

…

The next day, Han Xiao temporarily ignored the frustration of the financial groups and continued monitoring Karlot. He noticed something interesting.

The event had already spread throughout the entire level, and the attitudes of all the students changed greatly. A portion of them fawned over him while others excluded him.

"Because of my actions yesterday, his entire school life has been rewritten by me. He can no longer be a transparent individual like in his previous life…" Han Xiao shook his head and had a greater understanding of his status as a bigshot.

For Karlot to be dragged into the storm early on, the effects on his growth would be unknown. It could be a good or bad thing.

However, his actions had definitely helped him. Any individual capable of becoming a Beyond Grade A would have grit in them and be unwilling to concede defeat. Difficulties would only spur on his potential, and he would welcome all problems head on. Who knew if Karlot had such a character? Perhaps the intense competition in the school would allow Karlot to experience a change further.

"If that's the case, why don't I aggravate the situation further?" Han Xiao stroked his chin.

After waiting for a moment, the bell went off, and the students left their classrooms. Han Xiao then openly called out.

"Karlot."

Upon hearing someone call his name, Karlot turned around. Upon seeing Han Xiao in the same clothes as the previous day, he recognized Han Xiao's identity and was startled. "Black… Black Star. It's you again."

His voice was not loud, but it seemed to have a magical force. The students in the surroundings all stopped and looked at Han Xiao with burning gazes.

"You seem to be very nervous?" Han Xiao ignored the crowd and smiled at Karlot. Although others were unable to see his true appearance, he could still display emotions.

"My father asked me to thank you, but he doesn't wish for me to interact with you too much," Karlot said with a nervous look.

Han Xiao was not too bothered by the response. Raising his finger, Karlot's communicator flew into his hands. After fiddling with it casually, he handed it back to Karlot.

"It's alright. I left my number for you. You can contact me if you change your mind."

Karlot was overwhelmed with favor and said without confidence, "I… truly do not understand why you think so highly of me."

"I am only interested in developing more talents."

He then patted Karlot's head and felt the changes in the gazes of those around. A profound smile could then be seen on his face.

Heh, I helped you strengthen your protagonist interface. You don't need to thank me.

Han Xiao then looked at Karlot deeply before disappearing from everyone's sight.

The next moment, Han Xiao's figure appeared outside the atmosphere. He did not remain on the planet and left in his spaceship.

During the following period, Han Xiao remained in the territory of the dynasty. The upper echelons of the dynasty paid close attention to Han Xiao's actions and observed that he paid visits to many different people. Some of them were middle-rank members within the dynasty, and others were ordinary individuals.

The upper echelons of the dynasty understood Han Xiao's intentions. Black Star was planning for the future and considering what kind of talents he should invest in for his authority in the dynasty to increase.

However, the choices that Han Xiao had made were truly strange. Han Xiao did not pick the current high-ranking individuals but went to find some strange people. Just what kind of logic was that?

The dynasty had investigated everyone that Han Xiao visited. Some of them truly had great potential, but the majority of them did not seem special at all.

The upper echelons of the dynasty were puzzled. They could not understand the basis behind Black Star's choices. His choices truly seemed far too random.

On Han Xiao's side, he paid visits to many NPCs that would be famous in the future.

The majority of them rejected joining the Black Star Army just like Karlot. There were some who had accepted Han Xiao's invitation, and he managed to bring some talents over to his side. Of course, Han Xiao did not rope over any talents who would have authority in the dynasty in future.

On the Shattered Star Ring's side, Sylvia acted according to Han Xiao's instructions and took the relevant measures. She contacted many of the organizations working together with the army to withstand the pressure from the Limitless Financial Group together.

This idea achieved a certain effect, and a portion of the organizations accepted the suggestion to form a loose alliance to increase the difficulty of the Limitless Financial Group acquiring these organizations.

However, this was a method that did not resolve the root cause of the problem.

The army was not a real financial group after all, and their foundation was not as robust as the Limitless Financial Group. These organizations only cooperated with the army and were not properties of the army.

The most important thing would be for these organizations to hang in there by themselves. As for the rest, the army could only look at convincing some of their partner civilizations to provide some political leeway to these organizations to aid their businesses.

The only way to resolve the root cause of the problem would be for the dynasty to open up the rights to sell the totem to everyone. However, this was not something that Han Xiao could decide alone. Since competition was unavoidable, Han Xiao did not think too much about it and focused on training his energy. As long as his energy reached the requirement for the Promotion Mission, he would go and cause trouble for the Tyrant.

He would not be able to solve the problem this way but could create a lose-lose situation for both of them.

He would only be able to use strength to target Heber, but it was useless for him to suggest sparring with Sorokin. The other party was the leader of a financial group and was using normal business means to compete with him. If Han Xiao used strength to deal with Sorokin, the citizens of the universe would only think that the Black Star Army was too tyrannical. Furthermore, Sorokin did not need prestige, and Han Xiao was able to think of over a hundred different reasons for Sorokin to admit defeat immediately.

Heber was different. As an ally of the dynasty, Heber helped the enemy backstab him, and Han Xiao would have no qualms with beating Heber up. Heber placed much importance on his prestige and would never run from a spar. This was also a good opportunity for Han Xiao to take revenge about the time Heber bullied him when he had just become a Beyond Grade A.

As the owner of the Evolution Cube, many large organizations paid close attention to all of Han Xiao's actions. Even if he was only having a holiday in the dynasty's territory, many organizations still paid attention to him. Everyone knew that he was hiding from the storm, and no one wanted to disturb him.

However, there were some who had other thoughts.

…

Planet Ladbu was the colonial planet of a Star System Vassal Civilization in the Crimson Dynasty's territory. Because of the interference from the Universal Civilizations, all the Vassal Civilizations in the Central Galaxy made use of more lax and backward political systems. This civilization was like that. This colonial planet was managed by a local feudal lord. Apart from in emergency situations, the feudal lord would not be appointed by the central power but elected from the region. It was a semi-independent system.

Such a backward ruling method was not advantageous to the authority of the civilization.

The position of feudal lord on Planet Ladbu had always been held in the hands of a few prestigious families.

Although an election would be held according to an ancient agreement, the election was only for show, and the family that took up the position of feudal lord had already been decided beforehand.

This year was the election year for Planet Ladbu, but it was different from the other years. An individual called Iapetus, who was born in a business family, returned to participate in the election. Originally, someone like him would have been suppressed by the other families, and it would have been impossible for him to emerge victorious.

But this time, the citizens of Planet Ladbu seemed to be tired of the various large families playing politics and wanted a new face. As such, they gave their votes to the outsider, and Iapetus became the most popular candidate. First, he was a local, and second, he was from a pretty famous business family on Planet Ladbu. According to the current votes, he was the most likely candidate for the position of feudal lord.

"We hope that you will back out from the election."

In one of the most luxurious apartments of the planet, the emissaries of the various families placed a communicator with a bank transfer page on the screen in front of Iapetus.

"What is the meaning of this?" Iapetus frowned.

"Name a price."

"I do not lack money."

"Do you really want to block our way?"

Iapetus replied with a deep voice, "I am only playing according to the rules. This is what an election means."

The emissaries then looked at each other and stood up to leave. One of them then looked at Iapetus coldly and said, "You've made the wrong choice."

After the emissaries left the room, Iapetus let out a long sigh. His back was already covered with sweat, and he let out a bitter laugh.

At this moment, a lady wearing a secretary uniform walked in and stood in front of Iapetus. She said with worry on her face, "They will not let go of you so easily."

"I know." Iapetus waved his arms and muttered under his breath, "Now that negotiating with me has failed, they will employ more violent means. If they are kind, they will kidnap me and use various methods to frame me. If they aren't, I will not be able to survive until the end of the election."

"I have already hired more galactic mercenaries as your bodyguards. They will protect you for sure."

"Mercenaries… People who can be bought over with money cannot be trusted."

"… Brother, why not you give up on the election? Your life is more important than anything."

This female secretary was not an ordinary employee but Iapetus' kin.

"No. There are some things that an individual has to do." Iapetus shook his head.

The female secretary had a complicated look in her eyes and a tinge of admiration. She had always admired Iapetus, not just because of his methods but also because of his courage.

Both of them then fell silent for a while, and Iapetus' eyes lit up as though he thought about something.

"Right, I heard that the bigshot Black Star is currently touring the dynasty. His last seen location isn't too far from Planet Ladbu, right?"

"Er, I think so."

Upon hearing that, a bright glow lit up in Iapetus' eyes.

"I have a bold idea. Perhaps… we can make use of Black Star!"

Chapter 934 - You Are Truly Bold

934 You Are Truly Bold

In the dark energy gathering chamber of Black Star's spaceship.

A black metal sphere that was ten meters in diameter floated in the middle of the room. The surface of the sphere had many beehive-like holes lined up neatly along the surface with most of the holes being connected to a high efficiency energy transmitter cable that stretched to the wall.

The spaceship had many of these dark energy gathering chambers that were used to collect the dark energy when travelling in the universe. This black sphere was the dark energy converter. Under normal circumstances, the dark energy reactor was enough to sustain the spaceship for ordinary flight. Using such an energy collector was akin to harvesting solar energy for backup and for letting the energy reactor rest once in a while. It was also able to provide additional energy if required.

The room was filled with abundant dark energy. Han Xiao floated in front of the collecting device, and strands of dark red energy flowed around his body. The cells of his entire body absorbed the dark energy being given out, and he used an energy conversion manual to increase his own energy.

Whoosh!

After a while, the red light in Han Xiao's eyes receded, and he spat out a mouthful of hot air. He looked at the notification on his interface. The number of refinements for his [Dark Energy Refinement Manual] had increased by one again.

Among the Energy Training Techniques that he had purchased, this was one of the best. He could absorb dark energy and convert it to his own energy with an upper limit of 240 refinements. Every refinement would give him 10 energy, and he would be able to obtain a total of 2,400 energy points at most.

After triggering the Promotion mission, Han Xiao had been training his energy every day, and his energy points had already gone up by a few thousand points.

Landing on the ground, Han Xiao gestured with his finger, and the cable lines that he unplugged were plugged back into the energy collection device. He then walked out of the room, and his consciousness entered the quantum network. With two fingers, he grabbed Phillip and brought Phillip in front of him.

"Has anything happened recently?"

"Let me see, hum…"

Phillip then took out a holographic book and pretended to flip through it. An animated lightbulb then lit up above Phillip's head.

"A few dozen dynasty organizations issued an invitation to you. They wish to get to know you, master, hum…"

"They're here again," Han Xiao said helplessly.

It was no secret that he was touring the dynasty's territory. Most of them knew not to disturb him, but a small portion of them wanted to cling onto his thighs, and there were already a few hundred organizations that had invited him. They were all rejected by Han Xiao without exception.

"Reject them all if there are no invitations worth paying attention to." Han Xiao waved his hand.

"I looked through all the invitations, and there is a pretty interesting invitation that I think you may be interested in, hum…"

As he said that, the invitation was displayed before Han Xiao.

"Your Excellency Black Star,

"I am the founder of the Iapetus Financial Group, and I have always admired the Black Star Army. I wish to work together with the Black Star Army and build a subdivision on Planet Ladbu. Having heard that you are in the area, I wish to invite you to take a look at Planet Ladbu.

"Planet Ladbu feudal lord, Iapetus."

Han Xiao looked through the invitation and could not understand what was special about it.

"What's so special about this? Isn't this an ordinary invitation? Just send someone to build the subdivision. Why is there a need for me to go personally?"

"The problem is, his signature is wrong. When I checked his identity, he isn't the feudal lord of that planet but only one of the individuals participating in the election. I looked through the database, and it is very likely that he is in a precarious situation and thus chose to issue this invitation."

Han Xiao did not have any impression of Iapetus and went online to check on his background. Iapetus' current situation was no secret to a Virtual Mechanic like Han Xiao.

After looking through the information, Han Xiao could guess Iapetus' thoughts, and a look of interest could be seen on his face.

He wants to make use of me? And he doesn't even bother hiding it?

A teasing look could be seen in Han Xiao's eyes.

Their statuses were worlds apart. A small little financial group leader actually wanted to make use of a dynasty bigshot like him?

Without mentioning the rest, he was at least bold enough.

"Master, should I reply to him?" Phillip asked.

Han Xiao thought for a while and smiled.

"Agree to him and change course to Planet Ladbu. Let's take a look at this fellow who has the guts to make use of me."

…

In the room, Iapetus was currently pacing around with a frown. His female secretary was dealing with the administrative work for the election and glanced at Iapetus with concern from time to time.

"Beep beep!"

Right at this moment, the communicator rang, and Iapetus picked it up immediately.

"Brother, are you alright?" Upon seeing the sudden change in his expression, the female secretary could not help but ask that with concern.

"I'm extremely good! Black Star has replied to me and agreed to my invitation. He will be arriving at Planet Ladbu very soon!" Iapetus was truly overjoyed.

"He really agreed‽" The female secretary had a look of disbelief on her face.

She actually did not think that Iapetus' plan would work. In her eyes, a bigshot like Black Star would never bother about insignificant people like them.

"See for yourself."

Iapetus handed the communicator over to his secretary. This was just a bold attempt of his, and he had known that it was unlikely to succeed. Even if Black Star could not see through his intentions, it would be difficult to tempt the other party with such a small amount of benefits. But since Black Star had agreed to their invitation, it meant that their cooperation had begun.

"Make immediate arrangements," Iapetus instructed. "I want to personally welcome Black Star."

"I understand." The secretary stood up immediately and suddenly said with hesitation, "Those few families are already taking action. Should we release news now and get them to…"

"No!" Iapetus rejected without any hesitation. "This information cannot be revealed before Black Star arrives. If it is, I will be in danger. Cancel all my plans during this period. We must not give the enemy any chances!"

…

The representatives of the various wealthy families were gathered together. There was a pale looking man seated on the couch with a box in his hands. His hand had never left the surface of the box.

"What is Iapetus doing? He's cancelled all his plans, hiding at home. We will not have any chances to take action," one of the representatives said.

Another representative then looked at the pale man and said, "Do you have an idea to get rid of him?"

This pale looking man was an assassin that the various families had been grooming. He was a Grade B Cannon Master. He shook his head upon hearing the question.

"I had been observing the security of Iapetus' house. He's hired many bodyguards with a few Grade B Supers. His defenses are extremely tight. Unless he comes out in the open, it will be impossible for me to break into his house."

"I have already come into contact with those Grade B mercenaries," one of the representatives said. "They took my money but told me that they can only pretend to be careless. They cannot betray their employer in the open, otherwise it will affect their credibility. We'd better wait for Iapetus to leave his house."

"If those Grade B bodyguards are on our side, I am confident that I will be able to kill him." The pale looking man smiled coldly.

"Alright, be ready for your orders," one of the representatives said with a dark expression. "Planet Ladbu is our territory, and we will never allow it to be managed by outsiders."

…

A couple of days later, Iapetus finally left the house and took a bulletproof flying device to one of the harbors. His motive was unknown.

The various large families received news and immediately sprang into action. They arranged for the pale looking man to follow behind them and waited for their opportunity.

Very quickly, Iapetus arrived at the harbor, and his flying device landed under the protection of his bodyguards.

The pale looking man followed behind and arrived at a storeroom under the arrangement of the families. There were no windows in the storeroom, but a Cannon Master had the ability to lock onto his target. He was definitely able to aim accurately without the need to see his target. This would allow his assassination to be better concealed.

He opened up the box beside him. The parts of a sniper rifle were stored within it. He rapidly assembled it, and it transformed into an electromagnetic sniper rifle. He then aimed the sniper rifle at Iapetus.

The bodyguards intentionally left a gap that was a huge flaw in the eyes of the pale looking man. He then pressed on the microphone in his ear.

"I am in position. I can open fire anytime."

"Very good." The voice of the representatives entered his ear.

In the city, the representatives monitored Iapetus' movements through the various satellites. After controlling the planet for so many years, they had plenty of resources available to them.

Looking at Iapetus through the satellite, all the representatives could not help but be puzzled.

"Is he waiting for someone?"

"Strange, who would come to meet him?"

"He has a financial group after all. Perhaps he hired some new bodyguards."

"But there isn't a need for him to personally welcome bodyguards, right?"

Since they could not understand his intentions, they decided to just not think about it. Regardless of what he planned to do, they just had to kill him, and the problem would be solved.

One of the representatives then issued the kill order.

"You can…"

But before he could finish, an emergency call was made from the defensive troops outside the atmosphere.

This representative immediately picked up the call.

"What's going on?"

"This is the observation station outside the atmosphere. An unknown fleet suddenly appeared outside the planet's atmosphere. A group of battleships just broke through the planet's detection net and is landing rapidly. Their target should be the harbor near the capital of the planet."

Upon hearing the location, everyone was stunned.

Iapetus was waiting for this fleet?

Was this a show of force?

"Humph, what's the point of calling people? You're dead for sure!"

Everyone's face darkened.

Just when they wanted to give the kill order, a gasp could be heard over the communicator.

"Wait a moment! I recognize it now. This is the Black Star Army's fleet! Although there isn't an insignia on the spaceships, they passed by here recently, and the number and models of the ships are identical!"

The expressions of all the representatives changed greatly.

At the same time, a gushing sound could be heard at the harbor, and everyone looked up. A group of spaceships was descending at high speed and becoming bigger by the second. The spaceships then landed accurately in front of Iapetus' group and messed up their hair.

Whoosh!

The spaceship's hatch opened, and a tall figure walked out from the spaceship. He then took off his disguise and revealed his true appearance.

"Black Star‽"

All the representatives were dumbfounded, and some of them even collapsed on the ground.

Black Star was a bigshot that belonged to a completely different world from them.

Yet, the person whom Iapetus wanted to receive was Black Star‽

How was that possible‽

What was the relationship between them? Why would Black Star make a trip to such a small planet?

Not just the representatives of the families, even the bodyguards beside Iapetus were shocked.

They could feel an immense pressure from just seeing Black Star's figure, and they felt that even breathing had become difficult.

Right at this moment, the representatives seemed to have been shaken awake from their dreams and roared into the microphone.

"Quickly leave! Stop all your operations!"

All of them were frightened by the sudden visit of Black Star. Before understanding the relationship between Iapetus and Black Star, they would not dare make a rash move.

The pale looking man gulped and swiftly disassembled his rifle before running away at top speed.

Han Xiao looked in the direction the assassin had escaped before glancing at the leader of the group with interest.

"You are Iapetus?"

Iapetus suppressed the nervousness in his heart and said, "Yes, I welcome you, Your Excellency Black Star, on the behalf of Planet Ladbu. Your arrival is our honor."

Although his plan had succeeded and he had already planned what he should say to Han Xiao, his mind completely blanked out when he saw Han Xiao.

His mental state was immediately shaken.

Just what kind of a character did I summon this time?

Han Xiao then sized him up and smiled.

"You are truly bold."

Iapetus' body trembled slightly, and he did not dare reply.

This time, even a deity would not be able to save him.

Chapter 935 - I Will Harvest Crops with a Sickle in My Hands

Iapetus had a respectful attitude before him, and the secretary beside him was extremely nervous.Han Xiao sized the two up and confirmed something in his heart. He did not have an impression of the two, which meant that they were not famous NPCs in his previous life. At the very least, they were not famous among the players.However, not having any fame did not mean that he did not have any ability. The galaxy was extremely large, and there would be many characters that the players had not come into contact to. Perhaps Iapetus did not achieve much in his previous life, or perhaps Iapetus passed away early and thus remained without fame.

Han Xiao generally tried looking for those with potential in his previous life, but apart from this, it was also possible for him to dig up some latent talents.

Before coming, the Great Mechanic Han had checked up on Iapetus’ background. His resume was complete, and his background was clean. He had founded a local financial group, and his few strategic decisions showed his foresight.

The way he saw it, although Iapetus did not have any combat strength, he was a capable talent in terms of management and could be brought back to help Sylvia.

With the various thoughts going through his head, Han Xiao did not say anything for a while. His silence had instead increased the pressure that Iapetus felt.

A drop of sweat rolled down Iapetus’ neck, but Iapetus maintained his posture and did not dare wipe his sweat off.

“Are you planning to let me continue standing here?” Han Xiao teased.

“My apologies. It is my oversight. Please follow me. I have arranged everything already,” Iapetus said immediately and cursed himself in his heart. Han Xiao’s immense pressure made him lose control of his own thoughts, and he was afraid that he would incur the ire of Han Xiao.

Iapetus led the way in the front and boarded the flying carrier with Han Xiao and Aurora.

The flying carrier then started moving toward the city. Iapetus and his secretary were seated opposite Han Xiao and Aurora with a reserved attitude.

“You are the one who invited me. Why are you so nervous?” Han Xiao chuckled.

“There are fewer than a hundred people in the universe who can probably maintain their cool before you, and I am not included among the hundred.” Iapetus calmed himself down and attempted bootlicking him.

It was a pity that Han Xiao did not like people sucking up to him. He then suddenly said with a smirk, “Right, you seem to have told me a lie. You aren’t the feudal lord of this planet yet.”

Iapetus tried to calm himself down and forced a smile. “This is only temporary. With my current polls, becoming the feudal lord is only a matter of time.”

Han Xiao did not retort but chuckled. “This means that our Black Star Army will only be able to set up a subdivision here after you become the feudal lord, right?”

This sharp question had targeted the core of the matter. Although Iapetus had such a thought, he did not dare admit it. He could only use his silence to agree.

The other party’s reaction was not out of Han Xiao’s expectations. He then paused for a while and said with a smile, “If that’s the case, why don’t I work together with the current feudal lord?”

“The election date is arriving, and I will definitely become the feudal lord of this planet. I will still be the one in charge of working together with you. Thus, I decided to make use of you being nearby to send you an invitation.” Iapetus knew that this reason was shaky, and it was only an excuse.

Before inviting Han Xiao, he had already considered the possibility of angering Black Star. He knew that Black Star might end up choosing to work together with the other huge families. However, this was a gamble anyway. If Black Star did not come, he would not have the chance to turn the tables. Thus, even if Black Star chose to work together with the large families, his situation would not be any worse than before. After considering the possible gains and losses, he had decided to make use of Black Star’s influence.

Even though he was ‘making use’ of Black Star, Iapetus was extremely clear that it was Black Star helping him. His little tricks would not be able to fool a bigshot like Black Star, and he had not even been confident that Black Star would show up.

Now that the other party was here, it meant that even if Black Star was aware of his intentions, Black Star was still willing to help him. Thus, there was no need to make things too clear, and both parties would have a tacit understanding of the situation.

Upon hearing the other party’s words, Han Xiao did not make things difficult for him and chuckled.

He could not help but recall a story from his previous life. There was a young man who wanted to become the son-in-law of the world’s richest man. As such, he applied for a job at a famous bank and claimed that he was the son-in-law of the world’s richest man, hoping to obtain a high-ranking post. He then went over to meet the world’s richest man and claimed that he had a high-ranking post in the famous bank and wished to marry his daughter.

Although this story was fake, Iapetus’ strategy was extremely similar to it.

Although it was a little risky and had a low chance of succeeding, Iapetus’ decision wasn’t too bad.

Han Xiao nodded in his head.

However, the other party’s actions were no different from inviting the wolf into his house in Han Xiao’s eyes. With fresh crops jumping right into his embrace, he would be a fool not to eat it up!

Constructing a subdivision on an ordinary planet was almost meaningless to him. What Han Xiao wanted was Iapetus.

Regardless of the generation, talent was the most important resource.

He did trigger a mission on his interface, but the rewards for the mission were pitiful. Since he was already going to help Iapetus, though, he might as well accept the mission.

Han Xiao and Aurora then arrived at Iapetus’ villa, and Iapetus could finally heave a sigh of relief after arranging everything.

The bodyguards returned to their position. After seeing that there was no one else around, Iapetus’ female secretary could not help but hug Iapetus’ neck from behind with excitement.

“Yes! We will definitely win with Black Star’s help!”

Iapetus forced out a smile and then shook his head. “It is enough for Black Star to come. I only want to borrow his prestige. As long as the large families do not do anything underhanded, I will be able to win the election for sure!”

“I was almost frightened to death when Black Star appeared just now.” The female secretary rolled her eyes. “This move of yours was truly too risky. Don’t do something like this again.”

“If not for me making this bold move, our ending would definitely have been terrible,” Iapetus said with a resolute gaze. “There’s no point to trying to guess the thoughts of a bigshot. Why not just give it a try? How could we know if the other party was willing to help us? We must take the initiative to seize opportunities!”

…

On the other side, Han Xiao’s arrival on Planet Ladbu had scared the few large families, and they were currently discussing what they should do next.

In the conference room, the family heads of the various families had solemn expressions on their faces, and the atmosphere was grave.

“Our information shows that Iapetus doesn’t have any background. Why would Black Star come and meet him?” one of the family heads asked with doubt.

“Our intelligence report must have missed something. Immediately check his relationship with Black Star! Before this, all our schemes against Iapetus must stop!” another family head roared.

Black Star’s arrival had disrupted all their plans, becoming an obstacle that they could not ignore. They had no choice but to consider Black Star’s attitude in their future plans.

Everyone present was not sure about the relationship between the two, and this was the misunderstanding that Iapetus wanted them to have.

With Black Star by his side, it would be impossible for them to assassinate him. If Iapetus was truly Black Star’s friend, they would be dead if they dared make a rash move.

These family heads could only do as they liked on this planet, but they were no different from ants when compared to Black Star.

Even if Black Star slaughtered them all, the universe would not be bothered by the matter. As a vassal of the dynasty, the central government would not stand up for them for sure.

Even if they died, no one would care about them!

“Thankfully, we stopped the assassination, but I’m afraid…” One of the family heads said with lingering fear in his heart.

“The current feudal lord is still a member of our family. We should first pay a visit to Black Star and try to fish for some information.”

…

A few hours later, the current feudal lord of Planet Ladbu visited Iapetus’ villa with plenty of gifts.

Even though Han Xiao was only the guest in this place, he seemed more like the owner of the villa. Iapetus did not dare reject the guests on behalf of Han Xiao and reported it to Han Xiao obediently.

The feudal lord of Planet Ladbu waited for a while outside the gate before being allowed to enter. He then suppressed his anxiety and arrived at the guest room.

However, he was immediately stunned upon entering the room. Han Xiao could not be seen in the room, and only an adorable girl was seated on the couch.

He then remembered that this girl was one of Black Star’s subordinates and sat opposite her obediently.

“You can let me know what you want.” Aurora tried her best to force out a solemn expression.

The Planet Ladbu feudal lord then chuckled and said with a fawning tone, “As the leader of Planet Ladbu, I would like to pay a visit to His Excellency Black Star and personally welcome him…”

“You don’t need to worry about that. His Excellency Black Star is not an individual that you can meet as and when you please.” Aurora waved her hands and mimicked the words and tone that Han Xiao had taught her. “You may leave if there isn’t anything else.”

The Planet Ladbu feudal lord refused to give up and tried probing Aurora a few more times. He only left after he noticed Aurora frowning.

After leaving the villa, his face became extremely ugly. He was unable to meet Black Star, but Iapetus was able to personally welcome Black Star. The meaning behind this made his heart sink.

…

With Han Xiao’s current position, many complicated matters became simple. Just his name and appearance were sufficient to frighten the various large families. They no longer dared act as they pleased, afraid that they might anger him. As such, they had no choice but to watch as Iapetus’ votes increased in number and had no way to stop Iapetus.

Han Xiao trained his energy and stayed on Planet Ladbu for a period of time. Very quickly, it was time for the election.

During the day of the election, Iapetus won by a landslide.

He then made a speech and went through plenty of ceremonies.

Night gradually came, and darkness descended.

A flying carrier moved slowly in the air, and Iapetus looked out of the window at the city.

His excitement from the day had died down, and upon thinking about the bigshot waiting for him at home, he could not feel happy.

His flying carrier stopped outside his door. Despite it being his own house, he was like a frightened beast in front of the house. Iapetus then took a deep breath and walked into the villa.

“You’re back?”

Just as he entered the door, he saw Aurora leaning against the wall, waiting for him in the hall. She then pointed up and smiled.

“He is waiting in the room for you.”

Iapetus then went up into the room nervously.

Han Xiao was the only one in the room and had his back facing the door. Without turning back, he knew that someone had arrived and said, “Come in and take a seat if you’re here.”

“Alright.”

The atmosphere in the room made Iapetus gulp, and he sat in front of Han Xiao.

Han Xiao then looked at Iapetus expressionlessly.

“Since you have succeeded, it is time to fulfil your promise.”

Iapetus heaved a sigh of relief and said respectfully, “I understand. I will immediately use my authority to work together with the Black Star Army and support the construction of a subdivision over here. I…”

Before he could finish, Han Xiao interrupted him. “I am not talking about this small matter.”

Iapetus felt his intestines tangle up.

Han Xiao then looked at him and said slowly, “Since the matter is completed, I shall speak openly. You borrowed my prestige to suppress the other great families, and this is only your motive on the surface. Your second motive was to obtain the support of the army through the subdivision constructed here to ensure that you can sit comfortably in the position of feudal lord.”

Iapetus fell silent upon hearing that.

That was indeed his plan.

The election was only the start. After running Planet Ladbu for so many years, the various large families controlled the officials of all levels. Even if he became the feudal lord, he would be no more than a puppet without authority. When Black Star left and the families investigated his relationship with Black Star, his life would be in danger.

Thus, he had to find a reliable backer.

Black Star, who was in the vicinity, had attracted his attention. As such, he hoped to make the Black Star Army his backer to stabilize his position of feudal lord.

Read latest Chapters at WuxiaWorld.Site Only

“What do you want?” Iapetus said with a dark expression.

Han Xiao looked at him and smiled. The oppressive atmosphere in the room also disappeared.

“Don’t be so nervous. I won’t harm you since I chose to help you.”

Iapetus also felt that those words made sense and eased up slightly.

Before Iapetus could catch his breath, Han Xiao’s next words made him freeze in place.

“Alright. You have played enough already. Pack up and follow me onto the spaceship.”

Iapetus’ expression froze in place.

Chapter 936 - Dealing with Sorokin

“What do you mean?” Shock could be seen on Iapetus’ face.“You should understand the Universal Language, right? I mean what I said. You are going to come with me.” Han Xiao looked at Iapetus with interest.“Are you joking? Leave with you?” Iapetus was puzzled.

“I am not joking with you. You will need to pay the price for my aid. Since you sought help from me, you will become a member of my Black Star Army and my subordinate as the price.”

“We never had such an agreement!” Iapetus stood up abruptly.

“Why do you think that I need to discuss terms with you?” Han Xiao raised his brows. “Since I am the one providing help, the conditions will naturally be decided by me. My condition is you. You are already one of my subordinates now.”

Iapetus’ face began to contort. He had never imagined that the other party actually wanted him!

All of a sudden, his heart was filled with a myriad of emotions. There was shock and frustration, and he even felt overwhelmed with favor.

Iapetus then replied in a deep voice, “I am sorry. I thank you for thinking highly of me, but I will not sell myself.”

“Why are you under the impression that you have a choice?”

Han Xiao could not help but laugh.

Compared to combat strength, management ability did not have a benchmark. One could only view an individual’s past records to make a judgement, and Han Xiao felt that Iapetus was a talent worthy of harvesting.

It wasn’t that Han Xiao thought extremely highly of Iapetus. There was no lack of management talents in the army, but having met a talent, he would just take Iapetus back with him since he was already there.

“I won’t be able to fight back if you want to force me, but will the famous Black Star do something like that?” Iapetus was completely helpless and could only attempt to persuade Han Xiao otherwise.

“Tsk, you seem to have gotten something wrong.”

Han Xiao then walked behind Iapetus and pressed down on his shoulder to get Iapetus to sit down.

“If this was an ordinary recruitment, I wouldn’t force anyone who rejects me. But the relationship between us is different. You wanted to make use of me and have already obtained benefits. Furthermore, you will still need the Black Star Army to help you stabilize your position. Thus, the initiative is in my hands. It can be said that I am your creditor.”

Han Xiao then retracted his smile and said calmly, “Since I am your creditor, I will decide how you should pay your debts and not how much money is in your wallet.”

Iapetus had nothing to say in response. This was obviously a forced transaction, but he had no way to reject a bigshot like Black Star.

Gritting his teeth, Iapetus said, “You should have mentioned beforehand that you wanted me to work for you. That way, I wouldn’t…”

Han Xiao interrupted Iapetus calmly. “Don’t forget that you were the one who took the initiative to seek help from me. You did not ask me for my conditions at all.”

Upon hearing that, Iapetus was completely speechless.

He had only hinted at Black Star about his intentions during the invitation. How could he openly ask the other party for his conditions? Should he have openly stated that he would not work for the other party? Would that not have been too shameless of him? How would he have known that Black Star would take a fancy to him‽

Now that things had developed to such a point, Iapetus had nowhere to go. Black Star already had the initiative, and if he insisted on rejecting Black Star, he was certain that the Black Star Army would work together with the other families. The situation was different from before. Before the election, he had nothing to lose, and the situation could not have become worse for him. Now that he had already obtained the position of feudal lord, Black Star’s attitude would determine the stability of his position. In fact, it even determined his life!

At this moment, Iapetus only had a single thought.

Just why do you think so highly of me? I will change!

Seeing Iapetus’ difficult expression, Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and intentionally lowered the tone of his voice.

“Do you really dislike the Black Star Army that much?”

Upon hearing that, Iapetus was taken aback. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head.

Iapetus had no choice but to admit that his future in the Black Star Army would definitely be brighter.

How could the feudal lord of an ordinary planet be compared to the personal recruitment of Black Star?

“I am not against the idea of joining the army. It is just that I didn’t only participate in the election for my future but also to do something for my mother planet,” Iapetus said with a sigh and briefly described his ambition.

He was born in an ordinary family and started everything from scratch. After he made his mark, he became dissatisfied with the corruption in his homeland and thus tried to use many ways to wipe out the corruption in his homeland.

“You can still continue to be your planet’s feudal lord while serving me,” Han Xiao then replied.

“Then, I really cannot leave with you. How can I leave after being elected?” Iapetus said with difficulty. “Can you give me a few years to iron out matters here?”

“You do not have the right to negotiate with me.” Han Xiao chuckled. “Even if you are not on Planet Ladbu, you can still manage it from afar. With my support, no one will be able to shake your position even if you aren’t present.”

Upon seeing that he still had something to say, Han Xiao did not bother bargaining with Iapetus and said while leaving the room, “I don’t care how you take care of it, but I will only give you three days. You will leave with me when the time is up.”

Looking at Han Xiao’s retreating back, Iapetus sat in silence, and his face was extremely bitter.

His worst nightmare had come true. It was truly easier to invite a wolf into his house than send it away. Before he even warmed the seat of feudal lord, he would have to leave and sell himself away.

I’m so tired. I truly regret it… I shouldn’t have provoked such a bigshot.

…

Three days later, Iapetus stood in front of the hatch with a complicated look on his face.

He then let out a sigh and looked at his secretary, who had a reluctant look on her face. “I will have to trouble you when I am not around.”

After three days of making arrangements, Iapetus decided to make his trusted secretary his spokesperson to help him manage Planet Ladbu. With the support of the Black Star Army, her personal safety was guaranteed.

Although he was not very willing, he had no choice.

His secretary stepped forward and gave Iapetus a hug. She could only watch as the situation turned out as such, and she had no strength to prevent Iapetus from being dragged away.

“You… be careful,” Iapetus’ secretary said with worry on her face.

Upon hearing that, Iapetus could not help but laugh bitterly. If he followed Black Star, not to mention other things, his safety definitely would not be an issue.

He then suppressed his emotions and headed toward the spaceship and his unknown future.

…

News of their new leader leaving was not kept a secret, and all the large families were extremely shocked.

Is he leaving the third day after the election? Just what is this‽

After a series of investigations, the various large families understood what had happened. They found out that Iapetus had become a member of the Black Star Army and was taken away. He had left his secretary behind to maintain his control over the planet.

Iapetus had the support of the Black Star Army, and none of them could fight back. However, Iapetus’ actions did not conform to the rules. The local leader of a colonial planet was not allowed to join another organization. This was to prevent the colonial planet from being controlled by other organizations.

All of them then made a plan and made use of their network to report this matter to the central government. They did not have any way to deal with Iapetus, but the civilization’s government could. They would be able to take away Iapetus’ title of feudal lord by using the reason of ‘sensitive identity’ and have an official take over the position.

In their eyes, although the Black Star Army was powerful, they did not have the right to interfere with the internal affairs of a civilization.

Since they could not provoke Black Star, they could only choose to employ such methods.

This civilization had stopped progressing many years ago, and many of their officials were corrupt and easy to deal with. These large families could not do anything to Iapetus, but they were still confident about roping in such an official. The situation definitely would not be worse than it was right now.

After the central government found out about this, they immediately fell into a dilemma.

Such an action had gone against their laws, but they could not afford to provoke Han Xiao. After some discussion, they could only force Iapetus to make a choice. He could choose to give up his identity as a member of the Black Star Army or give up the title of feudal lord.

Iapetus would want to return to his home planet, but he had no choice. However, he was not resigned to give up the title of feudal lord and could only report the matter to Han Xiao.

Since he had roped the other party into his army, Han Xiao did not mind increasing the loyalty of this newbie. As such, he immediately made a call to the Crimson Dynasty.

The effect of this call was obvious. A few days later, this Star System Civilization retracted their orders and pretended that nothing had happened.

This time, the several large families of Planet Ladbu were truly helpless. Black Star’s authority made all their plans useless, and they could only accept their fate obediently.

This Star System Civilization was a vassal of the Crimson Dynasty. With Han Xiao’s status in the dynasty, a single call was enough to resolve this problem.

However, Han Xiao was clear that this method would only work on the vassal civilizations of the dynasty. If it was a neutral Star System Civilization, his fame would be useless.

An outsider interfering with the internal affairs of a civilization was already taboo and touched the bottom line of a civilization. His status was indeed high up as an ally of the dynasty, and he was respected by the various Star System Civilizations. But respect was one thing, and no civilization would compromise on their principles.

However, the vassal civilizations of the Crimson Dynasty were different. Their political will was weak, and they adhered to the requests of the Crimson Dynasty.

The dynasty did not want to affect the relationship between the two because of such a small matter. This could also be considered one of Han Xiao’s special rights in the Crimson Dynasty.

…

Iapetus had already spent some time on the spaceship and adjusted his own emotions. Now that things had developed to such a state, he could only accept his fate. Since fighting back was useless, he chose to enjoy it and decided to do his best for the army.

Han Xiao finally summoned him that day. When he arrived at Han Xiao’s office, he immediately asked about his job.

“Your Excellency Black Star, what do you need me to do for the army?”

Han Xiao placed down the communicator in his hands and looked up at Iapetus. “You started out from scratch and have good management abilities. Your business foresight isn’t too bad either. I have some financial group related matters to hand over to you.”

“This is my specialty.” Iapetus heaved a sigh of relief.

“But before this, meet your future superior first.”

As he said that, Han Xiao pressed his communicator, and Sylvia’s projection appeared in the room.

“I am the Chief Administrative Official of the Black Star Army. Are you Iapetus?” Sylvia sized Iapetus up.

“Yes.”

“Hmm, I have already seen your resume. Your ability isn’t too bad.” Sylvia nodded.

Right at this moment, Han Xiao knocked on the table, and both of them turned around.

“Alright, let’s get straight to the point. I plan to set up a subsidiary financial group that is still in the preparation phase. I will be investing in a large number of talents in the future.”

The current Black Star Army was extremely large, and there was a need to modify its structure a little. After some consideration, Han Xiao decided to make the Black Star Army the core and develop a few organizations.

The first organization would be a pure financial organization. The financial group would be able to make use of the Black Star Army’s resources to gain business advantages.

A portion of this idea came from referencing the structure of the Limitless Financial Group, and the other reason was to deal with the Limitless Financial Group’s competition.

The methods of the Limitless Financial Group revealed the weakness of cooperation through benefits. As such, Han Xiao planned to develop a subsidiary financial group and reorganize all the army’s subsidiary operations. All the previous operations managed by organizations cooperating with them would be transformed into their own operations. This would limit the Limitless Financial Group’s acquisition tactic.

Sylvia nodded and looked at Iapetus.

“I am the temporary leader of the financial group. Although you are a newbie, you are a talent that the Army Commander has personally recruited. I will give you a chance. You do not need to work from the bottom and can lead a team to compete with the other teams. As long as you are able to produce results, I will give you the position of a manager. As for whether or not you can be promoted, that will depend on your performance.

The army had a large number of talents, and Iapetus was only a newbie. Han Xiao would not allow him to become a manager so quickly, and he could only slowly prove his ability to rise up the ranks.

“I understand. This is fair.” Iapetus nodded. He was pretty confident in doing business and was not afraid of competition.

Thinking about that, he could not help but ask, “What is the name of that subsidiary financial group?”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao raised his brows, and a teasing look could be seen on his face.

“Let’s call it… the Germinal Financial Group.”

Chapter 937 - Feidin, Being Lucky Is So Troublesome

Iapetus did not know the meaning of the financial group’s name, but the strange smile on Black Star’s face when he mentioned this name told him that this name had a special meaning.Han Xiao shook his head and knocked on the table. “I will get people to send you to the army headquarters located in the Shattered Star Ring when we reach the next planet. When you arrive, you will have time to get used to your job. That’s all I have to say; you can leave now. Go and do your own homework.”“Alright.” Iapetus nodded, bowed, and left the room.

When Iapetus left the room, Sylvia rolled her eyes and said, “You are far too petty. You actually came up with such a name.”

Although she was not someone from Planet Aquamarine, she had served under Han Xiao for many years and had also heard about his experiences in the early days.

“I am not being petty.” Han Xiao grunted.

In fact, Hila, Aurora, and himself were the final three members of the Germinal Organization. Looking at it that way, Germinal was truly brimming with talents.

After joking for a while longer, Han Xiao got back to the main point. “Anyway, how are matters in the Shattered Star Ring?”

Upon hearing that, Sylvia also retracted her smile and reported the situation regarding the Bloodshed Land and Limitless Financial Group. Ever since the start of their competition, Han Xiao had gotten Sylvia to give him a report every now and then.

Currently, the remaining organizations working together with the Black Star Army had formed an alliance and restricted the Limitless Financial Group’s acquisition tactic to a certain extent. The Limitless Financial Group and Bloodshed Land had also changed their tactic and started to stabilize the operations that they had acquired.

The efficiency of the Bloodshed Land had immediately shown itself. They quickly digested the market stolen by the Limitless Financial Group, and the Bloodshed Land expanded rapidly during this period.

Both parties were able to complement each other. The Limitless Financial Group smashed money to acquire organizations while the Bloodshed Land provided their influence and network to reorganize these resources. As such, the development of the Bloodshed Land went smoothly and was catching up to the Black Star Army’s status in the Shattered Star Ring.

The combination of a foreign dragon and local snake gave people the greatest headache. If not, even if the Limitless Financial Group could print money, their threat would still have been limited.

The Tyrant had truly created a lot of trouble for him. Han Xiao snorted after listening to the report.

I will definitely give you a good beating after my Promotion!

Han Xiao shook his head.

“I understand the situation. You can get back to work.”

“Humph, you only know how to order me around. Can’t I even stay a bit longer with you? Ever since I became the Chief Administrative Official, you’ve become more and more distant from me!” Sylvia could not help but sniffle.

“Since when?” Han Xiao was stunned.

“I don’t care! I haven’t taken a break in such a long time. I want to be as carefree as Jenny!” Sylvia complained with anger. “Although I am willing to work for the army, you cannot treat me like a slave! Humph! Do you really think that I like working‽ If not for you… Humph!”

Han Xiao could only comfort her helplessly.

In the eyes of the members of the army, Sylvia would never complain and had a steady image. She would only start to whine and throw a tantrum when she was in front of him.

At the next planet, Han Xiao picked a few battleships and sent Iapetus back to the Shattered Star Ring.

He then continued to run around in the dynasty, searching for crops while training his energy.

He went through many different Star Clusters, Star Systems, and planets. As time went on, the various organizations no longer found his actions strange.

After touring the dynasty for a long time, Han Xiao accumulated his energy to the boundary point of Level19. He was getting closer and closer to completing his Promotion mission.

…

Whoosh!

In the gravitational chamber, the half-naked Han Xiao was floating in midair with his eyes glowing brightly.

Han Xiao then took a deep breath and retracted all his Mechanical Force. Ending the gravity simulation, he could feel as though a layer of restriction was taken off his cells, and new energy was being formed.

I’ve finished training another Energy Training Technique.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he nodded with satisfaction.

This was an Energy Training Technique that used gravity to force out the energy of the cell. He had trained it to the maximum and squeezed out all its value.

During this period, Han Xiao had trained a few different Energy Training Techniques, and he now had about 119,000 energy points.

Just one last thousand points. I am not too far away from Level19.

Han Xiao then controlled his body to open the sweat pores of his body. Sweat immediately gushed out from his pores but evaporated the instant it left his body.

At his current level, he was able to control his body perfectly. Even sweating was something that he could control with a thought. He could choose not to sweat after an intense workout and would only feel a tinge of discomfort.

Drying up his body, Han Xiao touched his chest muscles and admired his body for a while before putting his clothes back on.

Han Xiao then walked out of the gravitational chamber, walked to the alley, and looked out of the window.

The image displayed on the window was capable of zooming in and out. At this moment, the image on the window showed the surface of a planet with plenty of spaceships taking off and landing from it.

Enya Hub, a famous galactic city in the Constellation Corridor. A high-grade transfer hub.

This was a prosperous galactic city that belonged to one of the dynasty’s Beyond Grade A allies. Because of its good management and location, Enya Hub had become one of the famous spots in the dynasty.

However, Han Xiao did not come to this planet to dig up talents. His fleet needed to replenish their resources, and Aurora and his Black Star Guards complained that they had stayed on the spaceship for too long and wanted to play in the city. Thus, he brought them to Enya Hub and had stayed there for a few days already.

In order to not attract any commotion, Han Xiao disguised his fleet and got Phillip to conceal information of his arrival and create a fake identity. As such, Enya Hub’s artificial intelligence did not detect his arrival, and no one knew that he had arrived.

Opening his interface, he could see an Evolutionary Totem buff on it.

This is also a planet that has an Evolutionary Totem on it. Han Xiao stroked his chin.

The sale of the Evolutionary Totems had been going on for quite some time already. The dynasty and their allies had purchased whatever they wanted and had begun putting them to use already. The Evolutionary Totems would usually be used on colonial planets, and it was rarer to see one being used in a transit station.

Han Xiao looked through the past two years of information for Enya Hub and realized that the Enya Hub had attracted more tourists and visitors. Some weak races would even send some of their members to stay on a neutral planet that had the Evolutionary Totem.

As such, a new wave of migration happened.

Han Xiao then walked over to the officers’ activity room.

There would usually be many people playing cards in there, and it would be extremely noisy. But today, it was extremely silent, and not even half of the Black Star Guards were playing Wayne Cards.

All of them turned around and greeted Han Xiao before continuing to play their game.

Looking around, Han Xiao did not see Feidin, Hadavy, and the others. He then tapped someone on the shoulder and asked, “Where are the rest?”

“Oh, they went to Enya Hub to play. Hadavy led a group of them to… cough cough… to that type of bar. As for Feidin, I think he went shopping with Aurora.” This Calamity Grade guard rubbed his head and said, “Do you want to call them back?”

“Forget it.” Han Xiao shook his head. He would not prevent his subordinates from seeking entertainment.

He was not in a rush to leave anyway. Since he only needed another thousand energy points, he might as well remain there and finish his Promotion mission.

…

In the Fourth Entertainment Zone, a grand ceremony was being held, and the streets were filled with people of many different races. A convoy moved slowly down the streets with the performers on the convoy performing strange actions toward the spectators. From time to time, there would be street performers performing alongside the convoy.

Feidin and Aurora had put on disguises and were currently mixed in with the crowd. Aurora looked around with curiosity, and Feidin followed behind her as a temporary bodyguard. He had a bright smile on his face and would comment on the performance by the side from time to time.

“Sigh, it is truly too boring to be on the spaceship. Somewhere with more people is much more fun.”

Aurora was currently holding onto some snacks in her hands, and she spoke while chewing on her food.

Hila enjoyed being alone, but Aurora enjoyed crowded places. When she was young, although a traumatic experience had given her social anxiety, she no longer faced such an issue after so many years of adjustment.

She spent most of her time with Hila, and now that Hila was on a long trip, Aurora wanted to travel around to increase her worldview. However, she did not only like crowded places because of her personality, and there was also a biological factor. Her Esper Ability allowed her to detect life force, and there was a certain degree of attraction in a place with plenty of life force. Such an environment allowed her to become extremely energetic and joyful.

“Oh, I like places that are quieter.” Feidin shrugged his shoulders.

Aurora then rolled her eyes and said, “You like your two-person world, right? Is mental mating really so fun? Are both of you addicted to it?”

Feidin was not too bothered by the remark and chuckled while pointing to his forehead. “You made her shy.”

Aurora felt her hair standing up. Just when she wanted to say something, Feidin’s expression changed, and he grabbed Aurora’s shoulders.

“Wait a moment, something seems to be happening.”

Aurora immediately dropped her joking expression and threw away the snacks in her hand. She then grabbed her firearm and got ready for battle.

At the same time, she circulated her life force detection ability and scanned the direction of Feidin’s sight. She then noticed the appearance of a few life forces with a particularly weak one as though an individual was severely injured.

Both of them then looked at each other and entered an alley. After making a few turns, there was no trace of the passersby anymore.

Very quickly, they arrived at the location of the life force but were greeted with an empty patch of land.

Feidin frowned and took out a magical badge. This was a gift that Lagi had given to her. It was equipment that could detect magical fluctuations. It was currently vibrating and pointing toward the empty land in front of them.

“It seems like some magical barrier. To think that it is able to hide from the magical detection equipment of the city. However, they don’t seem like good guys if they wanted to hide in the city. Just what are they trying to do?

Feidin wondered if they should poke their noses into this matter.

But before he could even make a decision, the space around him shattered like glass!

Clank clank!

The invisible barrier was broken from within, and a bloody figure charged out before collapsing on the ground. The scene in front of Feidin and Aurora immediately changed, and a large number of craters could be seen.

Apart from this injured individual, there were a few standing far away with war hammers in their hands and black hoods on their heads. Their robes were inscribed with a white insignia, and they had a couple of different necklaces each. They were dressed like the priests of some religious order.

A group fight had obviously just broken out here.

It might have been because of the broken barrier, and they did not wish to attract any attention. These few priest-like individuals then turned around and left without any hesitation.

Feidin thought for a moment and did not bother giving chase because he was not aware of their identities. He then walked forward to support the injured individual.

Before he could even ask about what had happened, the injured individual grabbed onto his clothes tightly and said with a hoarse voice, “St… op… them…”

The injured individual fell unconscious and left a bloody print on Feidin’s clothes.

They looked at each other with their eyes widened.

“What should we do?”

“Sigh, use your ability to save him first. We should ask him about what’s going on. I have a feeling that this isn’t a small matter.”

As he said that, Feidin shook his head and muttered under his breath, “Why do I always encounter such situations?”

Chapter 938 - Meeting an Opportunity Even When Shopping

Upon seeing the severely wounded individual on the brink of death, Aurora placed her palm on his body, and a brilliant ray of life force energy was released from her fingers. The next moment, the individual’s wounds healed up at a rapid rate. His bloody wound closed up, and fractured bones connected back together. His pale appearance also regained some color, and all his wounds were healed.

“Urgh.” His brows twitched, and he gradually woke up from his slumber.

“Where am I?” He was in a daze for a moment before remembering what had happened before he fell unconscious. He then stood up abruptly and looked around cautiously. “Where did those maniacs go?”

Feidin coughed lightly to catch his attention and said, “The ones who attacked you have escaped. We saved you.”

“Escaped? Sh*t! It took me a great deal of effort to find traces of them, and I lost track of them again,” he said with frustration before sizing up Feidin and Aurora. After a while, he came to a realization. “You’re the two I saw before I fell unconscious, right?”

“That’s right.” Feidin pointed at the bloody print on his clothes. “You even asked me to stop them.”

This individual then slapped his head and said with resignation, “I’m sorry, friend. My injuries were too severe, and my consciousness was muddled. It wasn’t my intention to drag both of you into danger. I would have asked both of you to escape if I was thinking clearly.”

Just as he said that, he remembered about his wounds. After checking his body, he was immediately startled.

“Eh? Where are my wounds? Where did the large hole in my chest go!”

Aurora then imitated Han Xiao’s expression and said, “I was the one who healed you. This is my ability.”

He then moved around and realized that not only was his body completely healed, he was full of energy as though he was at his peak state.

It was not that he had not witnessed a healing ability before. But this was the first time he had witnessed an ability with such powerful effects. It had only been a few minutes since he fell unconscious at the very most; this healing efficiency was truly too frightening “I met a treasure!” This individual was extremely excited and stepped forward, wanting to hold Aurora’s hand. “Are you interested in joining us?”

Feidin helplessly stretched out his arm to block the passionate fellow. After a short period of interaction, he realized that this fellow seems to be a little dimwitted.

“You should introduce yourself first at least. This is basic manners.”

“Oh. Right right right. I was too agitated and forgot.” He then retracted his arms and said with a solemn expression, “I am called Raymond, a member of the Punisher Alliance.”

“What alliance?” Feidin had never heard of such an organization.

“Er… you guys don’t belong to this Star System, right?” Seeing the other party’s puzzled expression, Raymond rubbed his head awkwardly and explained, “The Punisher Alliance is an organization that protects the normal people and punishes evil. Our main area of operation is within this Star System.”

Feidin and Aurora immediately understood what kind of an organization the Punisher Alliance was.

The Punisher Alliance was a local vigilante Super organization in the Star System. They were the ‘superheroes’ of the ordinary galactic residents.

Those who had strength would have a slight change in mental state. There would always be wanted individuals in the various parts of the universe. The core reason for this was the strength that individuals could obtain. As such, there would be the bad guys who had various different ambitions but also the superheroes who were on the other side.

Being a superhero was also a kind of occupation, but it was different from being a mercenary. This occupation was extremely bitter. They not only had to go around saving people everywhere but might not even receive a reward in return. Their moral standard was at least as high as a five-level building.

There were few willing to go into such an occupation, and most Supers wanted to use their strength to lead a better life, obtain more wealth, and gain greater authority. Thus, there were very few Supers who became superheroes. As such, a superhero organization would usually be formed by a group of like-minded individuals.

However, there was also a benefit of such an occupation. Their fame was much higher than the mercenaries.

Although there were not many Superheroes, their numbers were not small when adding up the numbers across the universe. Most of them operated in their local region. As such, the three Universal Civilizations set up a superheroes association to make it easier to manage them. As long as one registered and obtained a ‘superhero permit’, they would be allowed to administer justice within a certain region and not get invited for tea. Apart from having a salary, any losses suffered during the process of ‘administering justice’ would be reimbursed by the association. In summary, the superheroes were like a bunch of vigilantes.

After listening to his introduction, Feidin thought for a moment and did not give his real name.

“I am Fei… cough Chen Xing. She is Au… Aura.”

“Thank you for saving me.” Both of them had a disguise on, so Raymond did not recognize them.

“Just what is going on?” Feidin asked.

Raymond originally did not want to drag outsiders into the matter, but Aurora’s ability changed his mind, and he explained what was going on. “The bunch who attacked me belong to a cult called Blood Hammer Church. They use blood sacrifices to carry out their rituals and have committed many crimes within this Star System. They are the old rivals of the Punisher Alliance.”

Upon hearing that, Feidin began to frown. He did not like the action of using an ordinary individual’s blood to perform a ritual.

Even if the public security within the three Universal Civilizations was good, crimes could not be avoided in society.

Unless the preparator had extremely high combat capability or the crime was extremely severe, the governing Universal Civilization would not personally take action and leave the matter to the local vassal civilization or mercenaries. The Universal Civilization would only intervene if their vassal civilization could not deal with it.

Every blood sacrifice conducted by the Blood Hammer Church would not kill too many, and many of their operations had been stopped by the Punisher Alliance. At the same time, they would not catch the members from the dynasty’s colonial planet directly. Thus, the dynasty had not found the need to personally intervene and capture them yet.

“I detected traces of them on Enya Hub and was worried that they were going to carry out a blood sacrifice here. As such, I followed them stealthily and wanted to find their base of operation but was discovered halfway. You know what happened next. If not for you two, I would be dead already.” Raymond laughed bitterly.

“I see,” Feidin said. “Then, what is your current plan?”

“Don’t worry, I have already contacted my other partners, and they are rushing over to Enya Hub now. I will continue to pursue the Blood Hammer Church and not allow them to harm ordinary citizens.” Raymond then paused for a moment and added, “But I won’t be a match for them alone…”

“You can approach the military or public security forces stationed here,” Aurora said.

“I will definitely make a report, but I am an ordinary superhero, and they will not allow me to join in their operation. I can’t sit idly by the side without doing anything and will have to do something,” Raymond said with sincerity. “I hope that both of you can help me, and I sincerely invite both of you to join the Punisher Alliance.”

Many superheroes had such a habit. They enjoyed working alone. Furthermore, the other party had obviously taken a fancy to Aurora’s Esper Ability.

“Alright then, allow us to consider the matter.”

Feidin did not reject him immediately. He planned to report the matter to Han Xiao and hear his opinion.

It was not that he enjoyed poking his nose into others’ business. They were in the territory of the dynasty, and they were allies of the dynasty. It would not be good if they ignored such a crime. After all, it was a small matter to the Black Star Army to stop such a crime.

“Punisher Alliance? Blood Hammer Church?”

In the cultivation chamber, Han Xiao opened his eyes and looked at Feidin and Aurora’s long-distance projection with a strange look on his face.

He was originally training his energy and received a message from Feidin and Aurora about this matter.

Han Xiao then searched in his memories of his previous life for these two organizations.

The Punisher Alliance had quite a bit of fame and was a secondary faction, so joining it would not affect the player’s status. There were some players in his previous life who joined the Punisher Alliance to enjoy the feeling of being a superhero. During that period, the Blood Hammer Church had already been destroyed, and the players could only come into contact with the Blood Hammer Church storyline through a Dungeon Crystal.

Han Xiao had played the Blood Hammer Church dungeon before many times as well, and the dungeon had left a deep impression on him. The priests in the dungeon had healing abilities and could also swing their hammers around viciously, capable of both dealing damage and healing health.

In front of the Blood Hammer Church, a priest only capable of healing was like a child.

The Punisher Alliance also had a side storyline. After defeating many evil organizations, they collected plenty of items, and one of them was a relic left behind by a powerful Super. A powerful secondary dimension lifeform was sealed within it.

Many years later, this lifeform broke out from the seal and caused massive damage to the Punisher Alliance.

Han Xiao could clearly remember that the mission to get rid of this boss had two talents as the reward. One increased Psychological Resistance and the other Magical Resistance.

Furthermore, the relic was also valuable. It was able to increase a Psychic’s psychic energy by a large extent.

Upon seeing Feidin’s clueless appearance, Han Xiao had a complicated look in his eyes.

You can truly find gold whenever you leave the house…

Chapter 939 - Scheme in the Dark

I always meet unexpected events when I bring a protagonist level character out with me. I only want to train my energy in peace. Is that really that difficult?

Han Xiao let out a helpless sigh and waved his hands.

“Since there is someone creating trouble in the dynasty, just help them stop it. I will hand this matter over to you to handle. You can mobilize my Black Star Guards if you meet any difficulties. Also, let me give you another mission. You and Aurora should hide your identities to enter that Punisher Alliance and help me find information regarding an item.”

The Blood Hammer Church and Punisher Alliance was too many levels beneath him. If it was during ordinary times, Han Xiao would have been willing to interfere personally. But now, he only wanted to train his energy in peace and was not interested in joining such a matter. As such, he might as well get Feidin to help him find clues on whether that sealed item was currently in the Punisher Alliance.

He could just one hit the boss when the time came. It would save him a great deal of effort, and he would still be able to gain the talent easily.

He was at ease handing a mission like this to someone like Feidin.

“Alright then,” Feidin said. “Then, about the problem of concealing our identities…”

“I will get Phillip to forge both of your resumes, and there won’t be any loopholes. It will be enough to gain their trust,” Han Xiao said. “Since both of you are going to conceal your identities, don’t perform too outstandingly. You can just work together with that Raymond guy, and there’s no need to show too much initiative.”

“This… alright then.” Feidin hesitated for a moment before asking, “Can you help us use your Virtual Technology skills to trace the whereabouts of the Blood Hammer Church?”

Han Xiao shook his head. “Without any clues, I will need to infiltrate the main system, or even control the quantum network node, of Enya Hub if I want to investigate this matter. This is a huge matter, and this planet belongs to another Beyond Grade A ally. They will have their own defense troops, and there’s no need for me to intervene. Didn’t I just say that there isn’t a need to be too outstanding? It wouldn’t be good if you attract Raymond’s attention.”

Searching for a few targets by spying on the entire planet required a large amount of calculations. Although Han Xiao was able to do so, it was very troublesome.

The Blood Hammer Church was at too low a level, and he did not wish to waste his effort on this matter. Enya Hub’s security forces should also have a similar method to track any suspicious characters. Han Xiao would rather hand the matter over to them than poke his nose into this matter.

“Alright.” Feidin thought for a while and realized that what Han Xiao said made sense. Troubling a Beyond Grade A for such a small matter was like making a mountain out of a molehill. As a member of the Black Star Guards, how could he get his superior to help him do everything?

Raymond and the others were only at Grade B, and a Calamity Grade like him should be enough to deal with the situation. Even if things took a turn for the worse, he could still mobilize Hadavy and the other guys, who were bored to death.

As things stood, those Black Star Guards would really become sloths.

Closing his communicator, Feidin explained the matter to Aurora, and Aurora’s eyes lit up immediately.

“He got us to take care of the matter? Great! I finally have something to do!”

Feidin smiled and contacted Raymond. He then agreed to Raymond’s invitation and said that he was willing to join the Punisher Alliance.

Raymond was overjoyed upon hearing that.

“Great! I welcome both of you on behalf of the Punisher Alliance. I will inform the rest immediately and arrange for both of you to enter the alliance!”

Upon seeing that Raymond was about to hang up, Feidin could only stop him and say with a sigh, “We’ll need to fill an application if we want to join, right? Did you forget about that?”

“Right right right.” Raymond slapped himself on his forehead and said, “I was too excited. You need to fill in a form to join the alliance. I will send it to you immediately.”

Feidin shook his head and received the document that Raymond had sent. After looking at the form, it only needed them to fill in their names, abilities, Grade, and past employment.

He then filled in the identity that Phillip had forged for him. His new identity was only a Grade B Super. This was to make him seem more ordinary. If others knew that he was a Calamity Grade, his status would be completely different, and it would not be good for him to sneak into the organization. Although the Calamity Grade percentage in the Central Galaxy was higher, Calamity Grades were still a rare sight.

After filling up the form, Raymond sent it out to the members of the Punisher Alliance without any hesitation.

…

Two Star Zones away from Enya Hub, there was a small spaceship in hyperdrive heading toward Enya Hub. There was a logo outside the armor of the spaceship that belonged to the Punisher Alliance.

A group of individuals were in the spaceship, either sitting down or standing up. Some of them were wiping their weapons, while others were cleaning their firearms. There were some who had their eyes shut in meditation, while others watched variety shows. They were all the superheroes of the Punisher Alliance.

They did not have an actual leader, and they were all comrades of equal level who had their own jobs. There were a few nominal leaders within the organization who were the old members with greater fame. This was a common structure within superhero organizations.

A holographic screen suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, and Raymond’s message was displayed.

“Raymond sent news!”

Everyone immediately looked at the screen, and the temporary captain of the team read it out.

Raymond talked about what he had experienced and emphasized heavily on Aurora’s ability. He also indicated that he hoped that they would be allowed to join the alliance.

“It is actually a powerful healing Esper Ability.” The captain was surprised and immediately understood the value of such an ability.

A superhero alliance like theirs found it difficult to recruit new members. Every time a superhero died, they had one less member. If there had been such a comrade among them in the past, they would have been able to receive timely healing, and the death rate would have been lowered greatly.

“Is there any problem with their resumes?”

“I checked it before, and it is all true,” one of the Mechanic superheroes said.

“Then we can be at ease. I support them joining us.”

“Wait a moment,” a skinny looking man said. “We have to be careful and ensure that this isn’t a scheme of the Blood Hammer Church. Perhaps they are the spies that they want to place in the alliance. Don’t forget that they also have their evil healing ability. Ask Raymond if he personally witnessed the other party healing him.”

“Slade, you are thinking too much. Although Raymond is a little rash, he is still reliable.” The captain frowned.

“I trust Raymond, but I don’t believe in such a coincidence,” the skinny man said coldly.

He was called Slade and was an old member of the alliance. He was extremely suspicious of the people around him, and no newbie would be able to obtain his trust from the start.

The captain knew that it would be impossible to persuade the other party and changed the topic. “Let’s not talk about this now. It is more important for us to foil the schemes of the Blood Hammer Church.”

“That’s right.”

Everyone’s face turned dim.

However, none of them knew that they had only witnessed the tip of the iceberg. The background behind this matter was not as simple as they thought.

A conspiracy was brewing in the dark.

…

In the temporary stronghold of the Blood Hammer Church on Enya Hub, the few priests that had ambushed Raymond returned to the stronghold, and the other members in the stronghold immediately knew that something was wrong.

In the room, a tall man stood up. He was dressed in a set of luxurious robes and held onto an even larger hammer. He was the head bishop of the Blood Hammer Church and had an unfriendly gaze in his eyes.

“There’s the smell of blood. You guys met an enemy?”

“It’s a member of the Punisher Alliance. He followed us, and we used a magical barrier, wanting to get rid of him. However, he broke the barrier and escaped.”

“It’s them again! They’ve wrecked so many of our missions and are truly like flies!”

The head bishop was enraged. He hated these old nemeses of his.

Raymond thought that the Blood Hammer Church was planning to carry out a blood sacrifice, but this was not the truth.

It would not matter if this was an ordinary blood sacrifice mission. But this time, they had received an important employment mission that was related to the future of the Blood Hammer Church. As such, the head bishop was truly incensed.

“We cannot stay in this stronghold anymore. We have to change locations immediately,” the head bishop said with an ashen face. “We cannot afford anything to go wrong during this mission. Pack up your things quickly.”

Upon hearing that, everyone in the stronghold got to work and packed up the items in the room.

The head bishop then walked in front of a table and looked down on the paper map placed on it.

An important location of Enya Hub was outlined on the map, and a detailed plan was marked out with various arrows pointing toward the middle of the region.

This place was the location where Enya Hub’s Evolutionary Totem was placed!

…

A couple of streets away, there was a secret stronghold of another organization.

In the room, a few people were surrounding a table, and the structural layout of another Evolutionary Totem location was on the table.

This group was a bandit group famous in the black market that specialized in stealing important items for their employers. They had also received employment for a job on Enya Hub.

“We are going to steal the Evolutionary Totem located on Enya Hub. This item is protected by many layers of defenses, and it will be a difficult mission to complete. It isn’t too far away from the appointed date by the employer. Do you guys have any ideas?”

“I’ve received enough intelligence after scouting the place out a couple of times. There is plenty of advanced surveillance equipment that is constantly monitoring the location. I already have a rough idea, but my plan needs to be perfected.”

“It would be impossible for us to steal the item alone. We will only have a chance if we have helpers like our employer said.”

The few of them then suppressed their voices and discussed their strategy.

…

At Enya Hub Dock One, the main hall was crowded with people, and the passengers leaving or entering the dock needed to pass through there. In a beverage shop near the door of the main hall, an ordinary looking woman was reading a book with a drink in front of her.

She had been sitting there for quite some time as though she was waiting for someone.

A commotion suddenly arose from the entrance of the dock, and a group of bodyguards surrounded a young man.

Two of the bodyguards were different from the others. They did not conceal their auras, and the strength of a Calamity Grade Super emanated from them. They stood on the left and right of the young man. It was obvious that this young man had a huge background.

As the people in front witnessed such a scene, they immediately opened up a path for them.

After watching the group leave the main hall, the ordinary looking woman then paid for her drink and left the harbor, with her book under her arm, going in the opposite direction that the group had left in.

After walking through ten or so streets, the crowd became thin, and she walked into the shadow of a building. However, the individual who emerged from the shadow was a burly man, and the book in her arms had disappeared as well.

This individual had a disguise Esper Ability and altered her appearance many times before taking a carrier to another region of the city. He then walked into a rundown inn and returned to his room.

There were another three individuals of different races in the room. All three of them were notorious wanted Calamity Grade individuals who were once members of Fallen Ark. After Han Xiao captured EsGod, they had left Fallen Ark and led a low-profile life.

After closing the door, the disguised individual said, “The intel is accurate. The target has arrived, and he has two Calamity Grade bodyguards. His two bodyguards are the ones in the intelligence report.”

“Very good. Proceed according to the plan,” one of them said with thick killing intent in his eyes.

…

On the mother planet of the Crimson Dynasty, a meeting concerning the present circumstances of the Crimson Dynasty was coming to an end in Tarunamir Palace.

Ever since the Federation of Light and Arcane Church implemented their plan to suppress the Crimson Dynasty, the Crimson Dynasty had suffered plenty of pressure from the various regions. Because the dynasty had invested a large amount of resources into the Flickering World, the other regions were neglected slightly, and the other two parties had an opening to seize.

Because of their miserable plight, there had been plenty of such meetings recently.

“The Federation of Light and Arcane Church are targeting us in these few regions and have created pressure for us in many areas. Their goal is obvious, and it is because they want us to allow the public sale of the Evolutionary Totem. What are your thoughts?” Urranrell said with a solemn tone.

The upper echelons all nodded with some of them expressionless. The only thing in common was that they all remained silent.

They were not in the faction of the Ruler, and there were some who were important members of other factions. Urranrell placed greater importance on the opinions of these people.

Urranrell then looked at an old official and said, “Ludwell, what are your thoughts?”

Ludwell was an official in charge of finances and also the head of the neutral faction. His status was extremely high, and he replied slowly, “Your Excellency Ruler, there will be benefits and losses regardless of our choice.”

“Share your thoughts.”

“Alright.” Ludwell nodded. “The benefit of not selling the totems openly is that it will increase the number of vassals and earn us more allies. It will also improve the potential of our races in the long run, and we will be able to produce more talents in the future to slowly overtake the other civilizations. The downside is that the other two civilizations will target us.

“Selling the totems openly will reduce the pressure on us and stabilize the status of the three Universal Civilizations. We can still obtain political benefits by limiting the sale. However, we won’t be able to enjoy the advantages of the Evolutionary Totem alone and will lose an opportunity to surpass the others in terms of potential.”

Right at this moment, Ludwell suddenly changed topics, raised up a finger, and said calmly, “However, there will be a problem that cannot be avoided if we want to openly sell the totems. The equipment to manufacture the totems isn’t controlled by us, and this is an unstable element. We are now enduring such huge pressure, but the majority of the benefits are given to Black Star. This isn’t a good thing. We must consider this aspect if we want to sell the totems openly. If we cannot receive all the benefits from the totems, enduring so much pressure will be a huge loss.”

“Alright. I know your opinions already.” Urranrell raised up her arm but did not disagree with those words.

Ludwell knew that Urranrell did not wish for him to continue, and thus, he kept his mouth shut.

Urranrell could not help but sigh upon witnessing such a scene. Ludwell was the leader of a faction, but he would not go against her orders. He only had some differences in political opinions in some areas. The problem of the Evolution Cube was one of them.

Ludwell belonged to the party that strongly believed in Black Star handing over the cube. He was an official in charge of finances, and he would usually see things from an economic or political aspect. He was not well versed in military affairs.

He was not satisfied with their dynasty enduring the pressure from two other civilizations but not being able to enjoy the benefits of the Evolution Cube. He had always believed in taking back the Evolution Cube from Black Star, regardless of whether they had to use resources or force. In any case, he felt that the dynasty should be the ones to hold onto the Universal Treasure.

Urranrell placed great importance on Black Star, and they had a difference in opinion in this regard. It was because of her presence that the faction who wanted Black Star to hand over the cube could not succeed.

“Let’s end the meeting here today.” Urranrell shook her head.

The projections in the conference room disappeared.

Ludwell bowed before turning off his communicator. His viewpoint then returned to his own office. Sighing, he rubbed his eyes, and the creases could be seen at the corner of his eyes.

Du du du!

The phone on his table rang, and Ludwell immediately picked up the call.

“Your Excellency, your grandson is calling. Should I connect the call?”

“This brat. How many times have I told him not to call the number in my office!” Ludwell frowned. “Patch the call through.”

A while later, the voice of a young man sounded on the phone.

“Grandfather? I am already on Enya Hub. I am telling you beforehand lest you send people to find me again and cause the people from my company to think that I am missing.”

“Humph.” Ludwell snorted and was slightly embarrassed.

“Right, you said that you liked to eat the delicacies on Enya Hub. I will bring some back for you this time.”

“That’s more like it,” Ludwell said. “Take care of yourself. The universe is no longer calm, and there have been many attacks within the territory of the dynasty. Humph, they all want to snatch the Evolutionary Totems. Are the two bodyguards that I sent beside you?”

“Sigh, these two are looking at me as though I’m a prisoner. They even want to follow me to the toilet. Grandfather, can you please take them back? With them beside me, everyone thinks that I am the superior, and even my boss doesn’t dare reprimand me. If things go on like this, I will probably be fired soon.”

“That won’t do. You are my only grandson, and your safety comes first. I will only be assured with both of them beside you,” Ludwell said with a solemn tone before realizing that his tone was not good. He then spoke with a gentler tone and sighed. “Sigh, take care of yourself. Also, you aren’t an official of the dynasty and shouldn’t call the internal channel. There are some members of the internal department who have complained to me about this matter.”

“Alright, alright. I shall hang up now.”

The line was then cut off, and a doting look could be seen on Ludwell’s face.

Chapter 940 - Chaos

Over the next few days, Feidin and Aurora worked together with Raymond and searched for traces of the Blood Hammer Church in the various regions of Enya Hub. This matter had already been reported to the security troops of Enya Hub. After a series of negotiations, the security troops promised to check on traces of any suspicious individuals before sending all of them out of the door. They obviously had no intentions of letting the superheroes help.

Although the superheroes were legal in the universe, the security troops of the various regions did not like working together with superheroes. After all, the majority of superheroes were just Grade B Supers, which could be easily found in the various civilizations. Furthermore, the strength of the superheroes might not even be compared to an ordinary member of the security force. As such, they did not need the help of superheroes most of the time.

Raymond insisted on investigating the location of the Blood Hammer Church, and Feidin remembered the mission that Han Xiao had given him. He thus moved into the location that Raymond rented and hid his strength to help Raymond.

After a few days, the three of them still had not found any clues of the Blood Hammer Church but managed to wait for the reinforcements of the Punisher Alliance.

“All of you are finally here!”

In the rented house, Raymond was overjoyed and immediately welcomed the reinforcements. He then introduced Feidin and Aurora to the rest. Most of the superheroes had friendly looks on their faces with only a small portion remaining expressionless.

“These two are Chen Xing and Aura, whom I’ve mentioned. They are both Grade B Supers. Aura’s healing ability is truly extraordinary.”

“Hello everyone, I am Chen Xing.” Feidin smiled toward the crowd. He did not put on any airs as a Calamity Grade and spoke with an amiable tone.

The moment he smiled, many present immediately felt their hearts speed up.

Feidin’s Charm attracted everyone regardless of their race and gender. Even if he had a disguise on him, his Charm still could not be concealed.

This new comrade of theirs truly gave off a good vibe. Many of them thought that and looked at each other.

“I am Au… Aura.” Aurora was not too used to her fake name.

Everyone then looked over with a passionate gaze. No one would dislike a partner with the ability to heal. Any of them could require the other party’s help someday after all.

Just when they wanted to move forward to interact with their new comrades, an unfriendly tone sounded from the crowd.

“I would like to ask something. Why do both of you want to join the Punisher Alliance?”

Everyone then looked over with a look of resignation. The one who had spoken was Slade.

“Because he invited us.” Aurora shrugged her shoulders and pointed at Raymond.

“Both of you are Grade B Supers after all. You joined us just because of a simple invitation? Don’t you find this matter strange? You hadn’t even heard of the name of the Punisher Alliance before and changed your minds so easily, huh? Ah, I would rather believe that both of you are scheming something,” Slade said with a cold voice. Everything was far too big a coincidence, and he could not help but suspect them.

Feidin smiled and did not bother defending himself. The others were worried that Feidin would be dissatisfied and immediately went forward to stop Slade from continuing. The first impression that Feidin gave them was truly too good, and they could not help but speak up for him.

Someone who looked so good had to be a good person!

Slade tried his best to defend against Feidin’s Charm halo and said with a cold voice, “I will keep my eye on you. If you have other intentions, don’t blame me for being rude.”

He then left after finishing what he had to say.

The atmosphere immediately became awkward after this, and Raymond walked forward to console Feidin. “Don’t bother about him. He’s always been like this. I was also targeted by him when I first joined.”

“It’s alright.” Feidin smiled.

Upon seeing that, everyone came forward to talk to Feidin, and Feidin easily blended into the atmosphere.

After half a day of rest, the temporary leader of this team broke the team up to search for the Blood Hammer Church.

The Punisher Alliance did not have many individuals, and they could only assign a few people to search a large region.

Feidin was naturally together with Aurora, and both of them were assigned to work with Raymond and another Pugilist superhero. The four of them were in a team to search a prosperous region of Enya Hub.

…

The artificial sun gradually set, and the entire sky was dyed red. Darkness gradually descended upon Enya Hub, and the lights of the building all lit up. Enya Hub would only be alive in the night, and another side of this galactic city would be shown. It would be transformed from a tired traveler to a smoking hot hostess.

Everyone would spend their night getting drunk before continuing on their journey the very next day.

The crowds on the streets were larger than in the day, and a joyful atmosphere filled the air.

Feidin’s group of four walked along the streets and observed their surroundings. Raymond pushed aside a drunkard and said with a suppressed voice, “The Blood Hammer Church usually conducts their blood sacrifice rituals at night. Don’t overlook the smell of blood and pay more attention to any deserted locations.”

After walking for a while, Aurora suddenly pulled on Feidin’s sleeves and pointed up to the sky.

“There is the life force of a Calamity Grade.”

Feidin looked up and saw a flight carrier stop at the top of the building. A group of bodyguards then pushed aside the crowd with two of the bodyguards emanating the strength of a Calamity Grade Super.

The passersby also noticed their aura and looked up as well. Raymond then muttered, “It seems like a bigshot.”

The Pugilist by the side then shook his head and said, “We won’t be able to come into contact with someone like that anyway. Stop looking. This has nothing to do with us.”

“You’re right.”

Ignoring the two by the side, Feidin felt that the two Calamity Grade bodyguards were a little familiar as though he had seen their photo before. Feidin had always believed in his intuition and took out his communicator to send the picture over to Phillip.

“Phillip, check who they are.”

“Alright, hum… Matching in the database… Matching complete.”

The large artificial intelligence database of the Black Star Army was also opened up to ordinary individuals, and most of them used Phillip’s child program. Because Feidin had followed Han Xiao for a very long time already, he had the authority to enjoy Phillip’s main artificial intelligence. The efficiency difference was akin to the difference between 3G and 5G.

Lowering his head to take a look, he realized that these two Calamity Grade bodyguards belonged to the Crimson Dynasty, but there was no information on the young man. There was obviously an unknown force that encrypted his information. Ordinary individuals did not have such a privilege, and he should be the descendant of some upper echelon.

“He should be the descendant of an upper echelon in the dynasty.”

Feidin nodded and was not too bothered. Right at this moment, Aurora sent him a message.

“I can feel four different Calamity Grade Supers hiding nearby.”

Aurora could use her life force detection ability to find people. As long as there was no magical barrier ability, she would be able to easily detect the strength of an individual’s life force and determine the other party’s strength.

Feidin then paused for a while and took a look at the coordinates that Aurora had sent him. He realized that the four Calamity Grade Supers had already surrounded the area. Who knew if they were protecting this upper echelon descendant from the dark or had other intentions?

“Er, it isn’t our business. Don’t bother about it.”

Although Feidin said that, Aurora still paid attention to the situation. She had a bad feeling that something will happen tonight.

After searching for a while more, Raymond suddenly received news from his comrades.

“Hurry up and come over. We’ve found the Blood Hammer Church!” His comrade’s anxious tone could be heard with the sound of fighting in the background.

“Where are you? Have you started fighting with the Blood Hammer Church‽” Raymond hurriedly asked.

“It isn’t us.” His comrade said with a strange tone of disbelief, “We didn’t find the Blood Hammer Church, but… they are actually attacking the military restricted region!”

“What‽” Everyone was stunned.

In their minds, the Blood Hammer Church was just a cult that would capture people to perform blood sacrifice rituals. Why would they suddenly attack a military restricted region?

All of a sudden, everyone had a bad feeling in their hearts.

Right at this moment, the ground beneath their feet began trembling.

Boom!

A blinding light then came from afar, and explosions could be seen in various different regions.

A powerful shockwave swept through the region, and even though they were far away from the explosion, the shockwave still blew their hair messy.

Everyone then turned around and looked toward the explosion.

“Something isn’t right!” Feidin frowned.

This was Enya Hub, which had plenty of soldiers standing guard. Such a huge commotion definitely was not one that a second-rate organization like the Blood Hammer Church could cause.

We were misled by Raymond. There are definitely other organizations trying to cause trouble on Enya Hub, and they should have a bigger scheme.

Just as the thought flashed through his mind, an ear-piercing alarm went off in the city. Battleships could then be seen taking off from the various military camps and sprinting toward the various regions.

The passersby were immediately thrown into a mess.

…

Bang!

A silver light flashed past, and the head of an Enya Hub guard exploded.

The head bishop then exchanged fire with the guards of the military restricted region.

Both parties were engaged in an intense battle. The artillery towers in the surrounding opened fire on the priests of the Blood Hammer Church, and dark energy rained down on the magical shields of the priests. Many priests died under the heavy fire of the enemy, and not even their ashes were left behind.

The head bishop displayed his Calamity Grade strength, and his war hammer caused great chaos throughout the battlefield. Everything that blocked his way would be destroyed with a single blow of his hammer. The high-level combatants of Enya Hub would not be stationed at the outpost all the time and were still on the way there.

The head bishop smashed his war hammer down on the ground, and a strange red light glowed on the hammer. The blood on the ground then evaporated into a bloody mist, which formed a huge figure in midair.

The next moment, two sun-like eyes lit up on the face of the red fog as though they were eyes. An individual’s consciousness had descended upon this bloody mist.

This bloody mist then shot out blood red magical arrows toward all the priests in the battlefield. The priests were immediately bathed with red as though they were enjoying a buff. Not only were their wounds healed, their strength also seemed to have been increased.

This figure was the ‘deity’ of the Blood Hammer Church. It was a secondary dimensional magic being that could temporarily descend through special means. It had the strength of a Calamity Grade Super.

The same situation also occurred in various different locations, and the Blood Hammer Church was not the only organization attacking the military restricted regions. This was definitely a well-engineered plot!

…

The tallest building located right in the middle of Enya Hub belonged to the protector of Enya Hub. The one guarding this place was an experienced Calamity Grade Super called Jabra.

Upon witnessing the city being lit up with lights, Jabra threw the female organism in his arms aside and stood in front of the window to look at the explosions.

“Your Excellency Jabra, there’s an emergency!” His vice commander’s projection appeared in the room, and he anxiously narrated the situation.

“Someone is attacking the military region where the Evolutionary Totem is located? They are seeking death by attempting to snatch something on my territory!” Jabra said with a baleful aura. He then put on his pants and smashed the window apart with a kick. Jumping into the night sky, his body glowed brightly with gray Pugilist flames, and his figure shot toward the battlefield.

At the same time, a wanted Calamity Grade individual saw the gray shooting star in the sky and pressed down on his mic.

“Jabra has already been led away, and the other Calamity Grade Supers are also heading toward the battlefields. The organizations over there will tie down these Calamity Grade Supers. We can take action when chaos envelops the entire city. Remember to take care of the battle quickly and disguise it as just another battle.”

…

At the same time, two ordinary-looking individuals stood on the rooftop of a skyscraper and looked down at the chaos.

“The operation has begun.”

“Thank you for proving that I am not blind.”

“I wonder how many of these gray organizations will still be alive after today.”

“Ah, even if they can survive, they will be cleaned up eventually. If not by us, they will be caught by the dynasty.”

“The army has gone to protect the Evolutionary Totem. Heh, do they really think that we created such a huge commotion just for the Evolutionary Totem?”

“Thankfully, we are not on a colonial planet of the dynasty. If we were, it would have been impossible to smuggle these weapons in. The other teams will have enough time to create chaos all over the city.”

“The fellow guarding this planet is a trusted aide of a Beyond Grade A Super. He will probably suppress the chaos before dawn arrives. We spent so many resources just for a single night of chaos.”

“It doesn’t matter. Even if all these gray organizations die, they just have to stall long enough for the other team to get rid of the target. Only then will we be able to make a report to our team leader.”

“It is truly dangerous for us to be assigned such a mission. Tsk, I am truly envious of the other teams…”

Chapter 941 - Interference, Suppression

A series of explosions occurred in the different regions of Enya Hub.

After receiving the message from his comrades, Raymond rushed over to meet up with them. Feidin and Aurora could only follow behind him. At the same time, Feidin contacted the other Black Star Guards secretly.

Because he had to sneak into the Punisher Alliance, it was not convenient for him to take action. As such, the Black Star Guards were his best helpers.

The situation had already exceeded his initial expectations. In order to weather this storm, the Black Star Army could no longer stand idly by the side.

The restricted military area was extremely chaotic with battleships arriving from various locations. Afraid that the shockwaves of the battle would cause damage to the neighboring cities, they could only use their weapons within the planet to deal with the enemy.

Jabra led his subordinates to find the gray organizations. He also had Calamity Grade comrades beside him, and both parties were engaged in an intense battle. There were seven or eight Calamity Grade Supers exchanging blows, and the shockwaves of the battle had completely ruined the area. If not for the army activating a protective shield, the shockwave of their battle would have spread to the other regions.

The members of the Punisher Alliance could not interfere with the battle between Calamity Grade Supers at all, so they could only help deal with the various gray organizations.

“Hurry up and help them!” Raymond joined the battle without any hesitation after arriving at the battlefield.

As Feidin saw that, he protected Aurora and only displayed a Grade B strength to fight the enemies. He had plenty of capacity to spare and could fight while thinking about the bigger picture.

I never imagined that the situation would develop as such. For these gray organizations to come and snatch the Evolutionary Totem, there is definitely a mastermind behind them. Feidin frowned. Rather than cause such a huge commotion to rob the Evolutionary Totem from within the territory of the dynasty, they would be better off robbing the other civilizations located in the other Star Fields. Their target should be something other than the Evolutionary Totem in this region.

Just as he was thinking about this question, another round of explosions occurred across various regions. There were obviously more enemies in the dark setting off explosions all around.

Jabra avoided the head bishop’s hammer and roared, “Send some people to get rid of those b*stards setting off explosives!”

With the command being given, some of the battleships dispersed and headed to the various regions to maintain security.

Boom!

Right at that moment, a large explosion occurred in a region afar, and a skyscraper collapsed. The shockwave of the attack destroyed another few streets, and an unknown Calamity Grade aura appeared.

“There are still more enemies‽” Jabra said with frustration and thought that there were incoming enemy reinforcements.

However, the Calamity Grade Supers from afar did not seem to have any intention of coming nearer but seemed to be fighting an unknown opponent.

“What’s going on?” Jabra was puzzled. He could not leave his position. The way he saw it, his enemy’s target was the Evolutionary Totem. If he left his current location, the enemy would break through the defenses and steal the Evolutionary Totem. Thus, he could not leave his post.

After thinking for a while, Jabra could only temporarily ignore the unknown situation afar and get rid of the lousy Calamity Grade Supers in front of him. Only then would he be able to take care of the other situation.

Feidin also felt the shockwave from afar, and his eyes narrowed.

If he did not remember wrongly, the shockwave came from… All of a sudden, Feidin thought about the group of Calamity Grade Supers that he had discovered. With just his instincts, he could guess that they were fighting with the bodyguards of the upper echelon’s descendant.

This seems to be a scheme… Feidin’s eyes lit up.

…

At the same time in another region, an intense battle was being fought. The Calamity Grade Supers did not hold anything back, and plenty of skyscrapers were destroyed.

The ones fighting were the four Calamity Grade fugitives and the bodyguards of Ludwell’s grandson.

With the battle being a four-versus-two situation, the bodyguards beside Ludwell’s grandson were already covered in injuries as they endured the attacks from the four Calamity Grade fugitives.

“Just… just why are they attacking me‽” Ludwell’s grandson had a face full of shock. Although he was the grandson of a high official, he had never developed in the political arena but chose to become a businessman. He had not imagined that he would meet with such a situation one day.

At this moment, he was hiding within a protective energy shield and could not move an inch. Outside the shield, the shockwave from the battle would easily destroy him, and he would lose his life the moment he left the shield.

His two bodyguards were high-level combatants developed by the dynasty and were extremely loyal. Although they knew that the chance of them emerging victorious was slim, they still gritted their teeth and defended against the attack of the four.

Bang!

All of a sudden, one of the bodyguards suffered a huge blow and was sent flying.

Only one bodyguard was left to endure the attack from the four enemies, and his injuries worsened rapidly. They were not elite Calamity Grades like Jabra, and these fugitives were not ordinary characters. A single opening would be seized by them, and the arm of this bodyguard was cleaved away.

The bodyguard’s face turned pale, but he only let out a soft grunt and wanted to fight back. However, his powerful mental will did not translate to extra combat strength.

With both his bodyguards being severely wounded, Ludwell lost the protection of experts and had already become a lamb for slaughter.

“Get rid of him!” The four fugitives wanted to get rid of their target.

However, a change occurred at the next moment. ‘

Beams of light rained down from the sky and the Calamity Grade fugitives immediately avoided the attacks.

Boom!

The laser beams exploded in front of them, and the soil melted under the high temperature.

A couple of figures then descended and blocked the four fugitives.

“Who are all of you‽” One of them immediately felt that something was going wrong. The Calamity Grade Supers before them were not in the intelligence report and were not part of the Enya Hub security force. Furthermore, the pressure that they gave off was far greater than the two bodyguards that they had just fought. They were definitely powerhouses in the Calamity Grade.

“We are the Black Star Guards from the Black Star Army. Who are all of you? How dare you cause chaos within the territory of the dynasty?” Hadavy’s gaze swept past the fugitives coldly.

The fugitives were stunned, and their expressions changed greatly!

Black Star Army‽

Since when did they arrive on Enya Hub‽ Why did they not receive any news at all?

They truly kicked an iron plate this time!

If they had known that the Black Star Army was present, would they have dared participate in the mission?

They were truly unlucky!

“We actually have reinforcements!” The two severely wounded bodyguards heaved a sigh of relief and were overjoyed.

Thankfully, Black Star was on Enya Hub. If not, the consequences would have been dire!

The moment the name of the Black Star Army was reported, the four fugitives immediately thought about retreating and abandoning their mission. However, Hadavy would not give them any time to think and immediately charged forward with the Black Star Guards. Both parties became embroiled in battle.

…

On the other side, there were plenty of casualties in the battle at the military region, and there was even a Calamity Grade Super who had his head blown up by Jabra.

Although the Enya Hub forces had the advantage, Jabra would not be able to get rid of the enemies anytime soon. As such, it would be difficult to suppress the chaos on Enya Hub quickly.

The members of the Punisher Alliance helped out in one of the battlefields and were engaged in an intense battle. Many of their members had suffered injuries of varying degrees.

At this moment, they personally experienced the overpowered ability of Aurora’s healing. Regardless of how severe their injuries were, they would be healed in a couple of breaths. All the members of the Punisher Alliance were immediately energized and fought as though they were not afraid of death.

Slade, who was wary of the two, had an awkward look on his face and was too embarrassed to even say thanks when he received healing.

After such a long period of growth, Aurora’s recovery ability was far more powerful than before. The little bit of exhaustion to heal a Grade B Super was less than her own recovery speed and did not have any burden on her body.

Just as they were fighting, the projection of a vice commander appeared beside Jabra and said anxiously, “Your Excellency Jabra, the Evolutionary Totem is missing!”

“What‽” Jabra was shocked, and he furiously roared, “How did you guys lose it‽ Get it back immediately!”

At this moment, he understood that the attack was no more than a distraction so that a thief could sneak in from the back and steal the Evolutionary Totem.

The Evolutionary Totem was placed in a supposedly secure location, but galactic thieves were still in business because they were able to enter places that ordinary people could not.

With things developing to such a state, even with Jabra’s proud personality, he could not help but be shocked by the amount of forces that the enemy could mobilize. He was truly curious about the individual behind the entire scheme.

Spending so much effort for a single totem? Jabra didn’t think that this was possible.

Protecting the totem was his responsibility. In truth, he could not care less about the totem itself because they were also an ally of the dynasty. They could easily purchase a new totem from Black Star anytime.

Just as he was thinking, the enemy’s attack disrupted his train of thought. Jabra was instantly incensed, and he thought to himself, The totems can be lost, but these b*stards must die!

“Get rid of these fellows creating trouble first before dealing with the lost totems.”

Just as he said that, a couple of Calamity Grade Supers suddenly descended from the sky. They were the other Black Star Guards team. They joined the battle without saying a word, and the balance of the battlefield was immediately broken.

“Reinforcements‽” Jabra was stunned. Where did they come from?

One of the Black Star Guards worked together with him to destroy the Magic Being summoned by the head bishop, and Jabra made use of this opportunity to ask, “Who are you?”

That member of the Black Star Guards calmly replied, “The Black Star Guards.”

“It’s you guys!” Jabra was overjoyed. He knew that Black Star had been roaming around the dynasty’s territory, but never had he imagined that the other party would arrive in his territory.

The heavens were truly on his side!

Jabra then bellowed, and his voice covered the entire battlefield.

“The reinforcements of the Black Star Army have arrived. Stop resisting if you don’t want to die!”

All the Black Star Guards were then dumbfounded.

We haven’t even reported our names, and you beat us to it? Why do you look more like a member of the Black Star Guards than us?

The effect of those words was obvious.

The faces of the enemy changed abruptly, and their hearts sank.

The morale of the Enya Hub soldiers increased greatly!

The moment they thought about the Beyond Grade A standing behind them. They all felt at ease.

To ordinary soldiers, the presence of a Beyond Grade A was like a mental pillar for them.

“Black Star Army…” The members of the Punisher Alliance looked at the Black Star Guards with a strange look in their eyes.

An organization like this that could roam unhindered in the universe seemed extremely distant from them. It was not a level that they could even come into contact with.

Upon seeing the members of the Black Star Guards, everyone was extremely excited as though they had seen their idol. To a Super, a famous Calamity Grade group was a superstar in the Super world.

…

“We have obtained the item. Let’s leave!”

A couple of individuals who were dressed in disguises escaped from the battlefield.

They were secretly escorting the stolen Evolutionary Totem to safety while the main army was being tied down. As famous galactic pirates in the black market, they had various items and suitable Esper Abilities to aid them.

Spaceships flew past in the sky, searching for traces of the thieves. However, the thieves hid among the allies and under shelter to avoid being spotted.

Just when they were about to run out of an alley, they felt their shoulders become heavy, and they were pressed down by a powerful force, preventing them from moving.

A breathing sound then appeared behind them. They did not detect anything before this, and their hair immediately stood on end.

Turning around, a suave appearance appeared before their eyes.

“Where do you think you’re going with the goods that I sold?”

The voice was extremely calm, but it sounded like thunder in their ears.

This face before them was extremely famous in the universe. Perhaps ordinary individuals might not recognize it, but every organization would definitely recognize the owner of this face.

He was an ally of the dynasty, ‘Enemy of the Arcane’, ‘Indestructible Body’ Black Star!

The galactic thieves froze in place and did not dare move.

Han Xiao snorted coldly, and nanoparticles flowed out from his clothes. The nanoparticles then transformed into cuffs to lock all of them in place. With a wave of his arm, a mechanical soldier appeared beside him.

“Take this back to where it came from.” Han Xiao pointed at the Evolutionary Totem.

When the chaos erupted, Han Xiao, who was training his energy in seclusion, noticed what had happened. He tacitly allowed the Black Star Guards to take action and stop this storm, and he also detected the Evolutionary Totem being stolen.

After plenty of practice, Han Xiao had already formed a Soul Connection with the Evolution Cube, and the effects of the Soul Connection were similar to what Psyker previously had. He was able to detect the location of the Evolution Cube.

At the same time, he would also be able to detect the Evolutionary Totems within a certain range. More accurately, he was able to detect the evolution energy within them.

There was no need for him to interfere in the battle between Calamity Grades, and his Black Star Guards were sufficient to take care of such an enemy. However, he would not be able to sit idly by the side if an Evolutionary Totem was stolen.

With the interference of the Black Star Army, the chaos would be suppressed extremely quickly. The people who came up with this plan definitely did not think that he would appear.

Han Xiao looked at the thieves that he had caught and revealed a smile.

“Now… tell me everything you know.”

Chapter 942 - Want to Escape? Do You Think That“s Possible?

Hadavy strangled the neck of one of the Calamity Grade fugitives like a little chicken. This fugitive was already covered in wounds all over and could not break free from Hadavy’s grip. He launched a wave of attacks in desperation, but his attacks were not capable of breaking through Hadavy’s defenses.

“Useless…” Hadavy closed his eyes with a look of enjoyment as he enjoyed the wave of attacks.

The next moment, his eyes glowed with a fierce light, and he snapped the enemy’s neck.

Ka-cha!

The enemy’s head immediately drooped down, and his backbone was destroyed. Such a wound was not fatal to a Calamity Grade, and the fugitive immediately activated the healing ability in his cells to recover from his injuries.

Hadavy, however, would not give the enemy the chance to recover and slammed him into the ground with a punch. The Black Star Guards beside him then swarmed over and tore this enemy into shreds.

Hadavy enjoyed fighting powerful enemies to bring himself pressure. However, he was not interested in bullying these ordinary Calamity Grades alone and wanted to take care of the battle as quickly as possible.

Black Star’s Black Star Guards were all carefully chosen elites within the army. Hadavy was a Beyond Grade A seed and had a huge advantage against an ordinary Calamity Grade Super. He was famous in the Shattered Star Ring for his defense, and these kids would not even be able to break through his skin.

The instant the Black Star Army intervened, the fate of these fugitives was determined. Only one of these Calamity Grade fugitives was left alive, and Hadavy had intentionally left him alive.

With the enemies being taken care of, Ludwell’s two bodyguards were finally at ease. They did not care about their own injuries but immediately deactivated the protective shield around Ludwell’s grandson to check if he had any injuries.

After ensuring that he was alright, both of them walked forward to Hadavy and expressed their gratitude.

“On behalf of His Excellency Ludwell, I thank all of you for your assistance. I will truthfully report your contributions to him.”

“Ludwell? Who is he?” Hadavy was puzzled.

Unlike Feidin, he was completely clueless about the structure of the dynasty officials. He was only concerned about becoming a Beyond Grade A Super and was not too interested in anything else.

“He is a high political official in the Crimson Dynasty…” The bodyguard then described Ludwell’s title and position before pointing to the young man by the side. “This is His Excellency Ludwell’s grandson, and our job is to protect him. The consequences would have been dire if not for all of you.”

“Oh, so we saved the child of a high official?” Hadavy’s eyes widened, and he chuckled. “Heh, you guys are truly lucky that we were on holiday here. Or perhaps it should be said that the enemy is unlucky. It is a small matter to us anyway, and we cannot watch as others cause chaos within the dynasty as an ally of the dynasty.”

“We will not forget this kindness.” The amputated guard then looked at the remaining fugitive and said coldly, “I have one request. I hope to participate in the interrogation later. I need to see who set their sights on His Excellency Ludwell.”

“We can talk about this later. My comrades are still fighting over there, and I shall go over to help them first.”

Although Hadavy had a straightforward personality, he knew that he could not easily agree to something like this. He thus waved his arms and led the other Black Star Guards to the main battlefield.

As the two bodyguards saw that, they could only follow behind with Ludwell’s grandson, lest they ended up being ambushed again. At the same time, they also reported what had happened to Ludwell.

…

“The economic situation of the dynasty isn’t ideal, and we suffered from a huge impact in terms of trade…”

In the gigantic conference room, all the high officials in charge of finances were gathered and Ludwell was also part of the group.

Many of the economic officials belonged to the neutral faction, and Ludwell was one of the leaders of the neutral faction. As such, he possessed great authority when it came to finances.

Halfway through the meeting, Ludwell’s communicator began vibrating. After looking at the contents of the message, he placed his communicator aside and continued with the meeting.

After the meeting ended, Ludwell returned to his office.

As the door closed, he slammed his palm on the desk.

Bang!

The entire alloy desk was dented. Although Ludwell was a refined individual, it did not mean that he did not have any combat strength. The majority of the officials in the dynasty were not weak scholars.

“Investigate this matter for me! Just who set their eyes on my grandson?”

Ludwell’s face was ashen, and he roared out orders for half a day before his anger subsided slightly.

He was extremely shocked when he saw the news but endured his anger as he was in a meeting. He only unleashed his anger at this moment and was determined to make use of the authority in his hands to check the matter clearly.

Thankfully, his grandson was saved in the end, and Ludwell heaved a sigh of relief with lingering fear in his heart.

Thankfully, they met the Black Star Army. If not…

Upon thinking about this possibility, he could not help but shudder with fear.

After pacing around in the room for a while, Ludwell gradually calmed down and sat down in his chair while muttering to himself.

“Black Star, I owe you a favor this time…”

He originally did not like Black Star. However, they were allies, and he did not treat Black Star like an enemy; there was only a conflict in terms of benefits for the dynasty.

Work affairs would remain as work affairs, but his personal impression of Black Star was much better than before.

Although he would not bring his personal emotions into work, he would remember this favor.

…

After Hadavy brought more reinforcements to join the battle, the chaos was immediately suppressed. Those who wanted to escape were not able to do so, and the others were either killed or wounded.

The soldiers then cleaned up the battlefield and placed restrictive equipment on all the survivors.

These fugitives then squatted by the side with their heads lowered, and the scene looked like an anti-vice operation.

“Lock them all up and interrogate them properly,” Jabra roared at his subordinates before walking forward to the members of the Punisher Alliance. He then said calmly, “You guys are not bad. I will get people to give you a reward later. Thank you for your assistance.”

Although he was giving his thanks, his tone was calm and perfunctory. The status of the Punisher Alliance was truly too low, and they were not able to provide much help to him. They could only deal with some small fries in his eyes. However, the other party did help him after all, and he had to show some face to these superheroes.

Raymond and the others nodded. They were not expecting an officer of a Beyond Grade A Super to be super grateful to them, and displaying such an attitude was already decent. Furthermore, they still had money to take, and the money could be used to replenish the funds of their alliance. A Calamity Grade powerhouse like Jabra definitely would not be stingy for sure.

However, Jabra did not leave immediately but looked at Aurora instead. “Are you interested in joining me?”

Raymond frowned and said with a deep voice, not bothering about the other party’s status, “What’s the meaning of this?”

“Your healing abilities aren’t too bad. Join our Beyond Grade A organization. You will have a brighter future,” Jabra said calmly.

During the battle previously, Aurora’s healing abilities had attracted his attention, and thus, he wanted to poach her.

Upon hearing that, all the members of the Punisher Alliance looked at Aurora with anxiousness in their eyes. They did not want such a good comrade to be poached away, but they could not reply on her behalf.

Aurora shook her head and said, “No thanks. I am more interested in being a hero.”

Jabra frowned and wanted to persuade her. Right at this moment, footsteps sounded from behind him, and Hadavy arrived with the Black Star Guards.

Jabra immediately abandoned the members of the Punisher Alliance and said with a bright smile toward Hadavy’s group, “Hahaha, brothers from the Black Star Army. Thank you for your assistance! You have helped me greatly!”

Jabra’s attitude took a 180-degree turn when it came to the Black Star Guards. He would put on airs before the Punisher Alliance but was extremely passionate in front of the Black Star Guards.

Although he was a subordinate of a Beyond Grade A Super, Jabra’s boss was only an ordinary pillar of the dynasty. However, it was very likely that Black Star, who had a great amount of potential, would take over the position of Dark Lord in the future and become the dynasty’s strongest ally.

“We’re all allies of the dynasty, so it’s only right for us to help each other.” Hadavy then added on, “His Excellency Black Star wishes to interrogate these fugitives together. Would it be convenient for you?”

“Of course it’s convenient.” Jabra chuckled.

“Hmm.” Hadavy nodded before looking at Aurora. He then said, “You are extremely capable. Are you interested in joining the Black Star Army? You will be a part of the Black Star Guards at the very least.”

Everyone’s face became strange as these words were said, especially the members of the Punisher Alliance.

You just wanted to poach one of ours, and now she is being poached by a bigger fish.

Upon hearing that, Jabra’s face froze in place, and he coughed to hide his awkwardness.

“This… it isn’t too suitable, right? I don’t have any intention of leaving my current organization.”

“Alright, remember to inform us if you change your mind.”

Hadavy chuckled and glanced at Aurora with a look of delight.

Aurora’s mouth contorted slightly.

You are truly such a vengeful person.

Right at this moment, a mechanical soldier arrived with the Evolutionary Totem. Jabra immediately ran over to take a look and was overjoyed.

Great, even his last problem was solved! He would not need to have a headache over the matter anymore.

Black Star was truly a good man!

With this slight interlude, Jabra no longer felt like poaching others and got his subordinates to clean up the battlefield.

Hadavy then glanced at the members of the Punisher Alliance and left with a strange smile.

Only then did the members of the Punisher Alliance relax. They were truly nervous when being surrounded by a group of Calamity Grade Supers.

After calming themselves down, they looked at Aurora and Feidin with greater passion.

These new comrades of theirs had actually rejected a Beyond Grade A organization to stay in their organization!

They then thought about the scene of Feidin and Aurora fighting beside them. At this moment, everyone, including Slade, had truly recognized these two as their new comrades.

Upon seeing that, Feidin smiled.

…

At the same time, there were two individuals moving around stealthily. It was the disguiser and his comrade.

They knew that their plan had failed the moment the Black Star Army intervened. It would be a lie to say that they were not furious about failing despite investing so much resources.

However, being angry was useless. Were they going to fight a Beyond Grade A? They could only swallow their anger and secretly leave their observation spot.

“Sigh, our plan failed.” One of them shook his head with resignation.

“This was an accident. Who could’ve known that the Black Star Army would hide their identities and remain on this planet? The captain won’t blame us.”

“However, we wasted plenty of resources, and our spies located on this planet will definitely be cleaned out. According to the rules, we will be punished and demoted.”

“If we can seize this opportunity to leave this plan and be transferred to a safer position, it may be a blessing in disguise. All those organizations were hired from the black market, and we didn’t intervene directly. It will be difficult to trace the matter to us.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes… hmm?”

Both of them then froze in place with a look of shock on their faces. That voice did not belong to either of them.

Looking up, they saw a phantom-like figure floating above their heads. Who knew how long this figure had been following behind them without them noticing a thing?

Upon seeing this figure, they froze on the spot without moving. Their minds blanked out, and they had the same thought in their head.

Just how did Black Star find us?

The various gray organizations did not know that they were the masterminds, and they were also in disguise when they helped the Calamity Grade fugitives lock onto their targets!

Han Xiao then floated down gently and could not help but ask, “What’s so surprising about me finding both of you? Do you two really think that it is possible to escape from me?”

After interrogating the thieves, he realized that they had received the mission from the black market, and their employer’s mission was for them to steal the Evolutionary Totem.

Han Xiao then joined the dots to Feidin’s report of the assault on Ludwell’s grandson and could more or less guess what their entire plan was.

These organizations that came to create trouble were all hired from the black market and were no more than pawns. They did not know the entire plan and were only in charge of their own segment of the mission. The true objective of the mastermind should be to get rid of Ludwell’s grandson.

Although Enya Hub was not a colonial planet of the dynasty, their security was not too bad. For this group to be able to smuggle such restricted items in, they had definitely borrowed the strength of the local organizations.

There were very few organizations capable of organizing such a scheme in the territory of the dynasty. The two most suspicious parties were the Federation of Light and Arcane Church.

During this period, there were many cases of Evolutionary Totem robberies in the dynasty’s borders. The robbers were mainly hired from the black market, and the employers were not the federation or church. They had definitely borrowed the name of other organizations, and their true motive of causing chaos was not the Evolutionary Totem but creating security problems within the dynasty.

They were trying to create chaos for the dynasty and make the dynasty know that such events would be commonplace if they did not allow the totems to be sold openly. They also wanted to make use of this opportunity to express their attitudes to the other civilizations. In any case, they definitely had other plans, and this was only the tip of the iceberg.

Since he guessed that there was a mastermind behind the matter, there was no reason for Han Xiao to let them go. He had gotten Phillip to infiltrate the artificial intelligence of Enya Hub and open a backdoor to dig up all the data.

If he was not a Virtual Mechanic, these two masterminds might have escaped.

What a pity… Han Xiao shook his head. You two are truly unlucky to meet me.

Chapter 943 - Favor and Attitude

Jabra, Hadavy, and the other Black Star Guards were waiting for Han Xiao when he brought the group of depressed captives to the Enya Hub prison

“Your Excellency Black Star!” Jabra took two steps forward and bowed.

Han Xiao was at the same level as his boss, and he was welcoming the other party on behalf of his organization. As such, he was very wary of his own attitude and made sure to be humble.

“Hello.” Han Xiao nodded, and the captives flew toward the prison warden.

Hadavy and the others followed behind Han Xiao while Jabra led the way in front. They all arrived at the interrogation chamber, and the prison warden placed each captive in a solitary room.

“Would you like to interrogate them?” Jabra asked Han Xiao.

“It’s fine. You can do it. Show me your art.” Han Xiao shook his head.

He had already obtained the intelligence that he wanted from these two masterminds, and he was only there for show.

These two masterminds were indeed from the Federation of Light and Arcane Church. They were part of a plan to pressure the Crimson Dynasty and were members of a small team. Han Xiao could see the tip of the iceberg of a grand scheme from the confession of the two.

There were many different teams targeting the various regions of the dynasty with each team being in charge of a region. These two were in charge of causing chaos within the dynasty with regards to the Evolutionary Totem and employed pawns through the black market to affect the public security of the dynasty… while carrying out some other special operations like assassinating Ludwell’s grandson. Their goal was to sow chaos with the accidental death of a high official’s grandson. They hoped to disrupt the unity within the dynasty and increase the pressure from within.

Their targets were not chosen by people but calculated by an artificial intelligence. They would calculate the expected impact their target could create on the dynasty and deal with the targets with the highest impact.

Ludwell’s grandson was chosen in this manner. The final calculation of the artificial intelligence was that getting rid of Ludwell’s grandson would result in a high probability of Ludwell’s position being changed. For a large plan like this, which involved dozens of regions, using artificial intelligence would be far more accurate than a human’s thought process.

The federation and church were targeting the dynasty in many areas, but as long as their schemes were not exposed, everyone would follow the unspoken rules and only work in the dark.

But things would be different if they had a witness. These two individuals were not too useful to Han Xiao, but they would have their uses for the dynasty. Even if the federation and church refused to acknowledge the existence of these two individuals, the dynasty would still be able to make use of them.

As he watched the captives being interrogated, Han Xiao pondered about other things.

He originally thought that it was only a third-rate organization causing trouble but never expected to be dragged into this matter and save Ludwell’s grandson in the process…

Feidin’s luck was truly amazing. If he did not discover Ludwell’s grandson beforehand, they might not have been able to save him.

He is truly a great general.

Han Xiao shook his head and sigh while stroking his chin.

As for Ludwell…

He was no stranger to this name and knew that Ludwell was a high official of the dynasty with great clout in the economic arena. However, Ludwell did not have many dealings with him.

Han Xiao only knew that there was a faction that wanted him to hand over the Evolution Cube in the dynasty but did not know who they were.

Ludwell had a high position and did not have many enemies as a member of the neutral faction. As members of the dynasty, the other officials would not reveal too many details to Han Xiao. Strictly speaking, the allies were still outsiders, and only the officials of the dynasty were their own people. As such, no one was willing to create enemies for themselves for no good reason.

With the interrogation being completed halfway, the scene before him became a little nasty. As such, Han Xiao was prepared to leave. Jabra immediately stopped the interrogation and escorted Han Xiao to the exit of the prison.

“It is all thanks to your help, Your Excellency. Without you, these two spies would have escaped,” Jabra said with a bright smile on his face.

“It’s just a small matter.”

“Will you remain on Enya Hub, Your Excellency? Please give me the chance to be a good host…”

“It isn’t necessary. We plan on leaving.” Han Xiao waved his arms.

With his identity exposed, he would probably end up being surrounded like a zoo animal, and he was not prepared to remain on this planet.

Since Feidin had already snuck into the Punisher Alliance successfully, Han Xiao was prepared to get his fleet to follow behind him stealthily. He would train the last bit of energy while waiting for Feidin to find the item to trigger the hidden boss.

Under the respectful gazes of the Enya Hub members, Han Xiao returned to his spaceship with his Black Star Guards.

Just as he returned to his room, Han Xiao’s communicator rang, and it was a foreign number.

Picking up the call, an old face appeared on the screen.

“I am Ludwell. Black Star, thank you for saving my grandchild.”

“It isn’t much.” Han Xiao then sized this high official up. “This is our first meeting, right?”

“That’s right.” Ludwell nodded. “I have long heard of your great name.”

“You’re too polite. I have also long heard of your name.” Han Xiao smiled calmly.

Seeing Han Xiao’s friendly attitude, Ludwell’s impression of Han Xiao became even better. It was not that he had not talked to any Beyond Grade As before. However, a cold individual like Dark Lord liked to treat the warmness of others with a chilly attitude. Even the old dragon had the arrogance of a Beyond Grade A. It was rare to see such an amiable Beyond Grade A in the universe.

After chatting casually for a while, Ludwell expressed his gratitude. Since the other party had saved his grandson, he had to express some gratitude.

“We are all comrades of the dynasty, and I naturally did what I could. I cannot sit idly by the side when someone else causes chaos in the dynasty,” Han Xiao replied calmly.

A smile appeared briefly on Ludwell’s face, and he asked casually, “I heard that the Limitless Financial Group is expanding into the Shattered Star Ring?”

“That’s right. They are preparing to expand their operations. They are extremely wealthy, and I also suffered slightly. That Tyrant truly knows how to seize an opportunity.” Han Xiao understood the other party’s intentions and was slightly surprised.

“Hmm, I understand.” Ludwell smiled and said, “I will treat you to a meal the next time you come over. I have something else to do and shall hang up now.”

“See you next time.”

Ending the call, Han Xiao played with the communicator in his hands, and a smile could be seen on his face.

The Crimson Dynasty had long known about his competition with Bloodshed Land. However, it was not good for them to help either party, and thus, they had decided to ignore the matter entirely and watch from the side.

However, it seems like Ludwell was planning to aid him somehow.

Ludwell did not speak openly, and Han Xiao did not know how the other party would help him or whether the other party would even help him at all. It was extremely common for officials to speak in such a vague manner and let others guess their intentions.

Perhaps someone else would not have such authority, but Ludwell was the individual in charge of trade and economics in the dynasty! This matter was well within his influence!

If he’s willing to help, the effects will be significant, Han Xiao thought to himself.

Financial support was one thing, but financial cooperation was another. It was similar to the difference between giving a man a fish or teaching him how to fish. After the dynasty split up the pie in the Flickering World, the Crimson Dynasty would not have any new support plans for a long time in order to achieve balance. However, this was no longer so certain.

Feidin has allowed me to build a relationship with this high official, and I can make use of this relationship to deal with the Limitless Financial Group. Is this the legendary ‘following the protagonist for meat to eat’?

Beep beep…

At that moment, his communicator rang again. This time, it was someone he knew. The other party was Jabra’s superior and the Beyond Grade A ally who owned Enya Hub.

They had met a few years ago in the meeting to deal with EsGod, and Han Xiao had recorded the other party’s number. This was the first time that the other party had taken the initiative to call.

The reason for his call was simple. He was calling to thank Han Xiao for helping him maintain the security on his territory and invited Han Xiao over to be his guest. Both parties then exchanged some pleasantries before hanging up.

…

In his office, Ludwell placed his communicator down and thought for a moment before calling the internal channel.

“Contact Bekorodi for me.”

Bekorodi was a high official who also supported the idea of Black Star handing over the Evolution Cube. However, both parties were in different political factions. Ludwell belonged to the neutral faction whereas Bekorodi was an important figure in the hawk faction. Although both parties supported the notion of Black Star handing over the Evolution Cube, their methods were different.

As a member of the neutral faction, Ludwell would only bring up his ideas to Urranrell, but Bekorodi would take physical action.

Ludwell was in charge of the economic arena, and the actions of the Limitless Financial Group were within his observation. His experience told him that there should be a faction of the dynasty supporting the Limitless Financial Group from behind, and Bekorodi was the biggest suspect.

Ludwell did not plan to interfere with this matter in the past as it was in line with his neutral stance. Thus, he was not the mastermind but also pretended to ignore this matter.

However, he owed Black Star a favor now, and Ludwell decided to intervene with this matter. His stance would not change, but he could change his method slightly.

His first step would be to have a talk with Bekorodi and warn the other party a little. He would then be able to influence the deal between the other party and the Limitless Financial Group.

Because of his status, Bekorodi would not be afraid of Black Star. However, he had no choice but to listen to the opinion of another political leader!

…

The storm in Enya Hub came to an end. The number of casualties was large, and the financial losses were also great. Some time would be needed for Enya Hub to recover.

After collecting a large reward, the Punisher Alliance was not willing to stay any longer and also planned to leave.

After the battle, Feidin and Aurora had already blended into the group and left together.

“Where are we going?” Aurora asked curiously.

“Both of you are still newbies, so we will return to headquarters now,” Raymond said with a friendly smile, but Aurora thought that he was making a funny face.

Feidin nodded upon hearing that.

The item that Old Black wants me to find is probably in the headquarters of the Punisher Alliance.

Sigh… I wonder if I will be able to find it…

Chapter 944 - Box of Enticemen

The Punisher Alliance did not have the financial strength to construct a space fortress, so their headquarters was a modified spaceship that was parked in a galactic harbor called Punisher.

After entering the spaceship, the two newbies explored the spaceship under Raymond’s lead. The structure of the spaceship was a circular one with the different regions being connected by an alley. It was shaped almost like a pearl bracelet.

“This is our base. This is our daily activity region, and every member has their own room. I have already made the arrangements for both of you. All your daily necessities are prepared, and you can rest anytime. That is the combat training region, and that is the equipment storage…”

They then came to a region with a door that had ‘Spoils of War Museum’ written on it.

“That is…” Feidin pointed at the door. He felt that there would be clues inside the room.

“Oh! This is the glory of our Punisher Alliance.” Raymond chuckled. “These are all the spoils of war that we have obtained from fighting fugitives. Let’s go. I will regale you with tales of our glorious achievements.”

The room was extremely spacious with a few transparent cabinets being placed within it. A portion of the cabinets were empty, and the others were filled with many different items. There were some broken weapons, half broken masks, a charred electronic eyeball, and many other items.

Raymond led the way and began explaining the origin of the items.

“This is the tomahawk of a fugitive called Ruthless, who had a bounty of 300,000 Enaus. We sacrificed a comrade during this battle…”

“Do you see that electronic eyeball? That is the artificial eyeball of Professor Vicious. His corpse was completely destroyed, and this is the only thing that he left behind…”

“That is the war hammer of the head bishop. The others just placed it in…”

Hearing Raymond’s explanation, Feidin looked through the artifacts while comparing them to the picture that Han Xiao had given him.

All of a sudden, Feidin’s footsteps froze in place, and his gaze was locked on a transparent cabinet.

An old fashioned looking white box was placed in the cabinet with a black charred mark on it that seemed extremely ordinary.

“What is this?” A look of joy flashed past Feidin’s eyes as he pointed at the box.

This was the item that Han Xiao had gotten him to find.

What’s this? So, it turns out that it was so easy to find it. I thought that it would be much more difficult to find it.

“Let me think…” Raymond thought for a while before saying, “I remember! This is the loot from one of our operations. There was one fellow who wanted to take over a surface civilization with the weapons that he smuggled. When we heard the news, we set off on an expedition to get rid of him. We found many items in his storeroom, and this is one of them.”

“What’s the use of it?”

Feidin was extremely curious. He was truly curious about an item that Black Star said he wanted.

“We aren’t clear about its origins and only know that carrying it will strengthen one’s Psychic energy and mental defenses. However, the user will hallucinate if the box is used for a long time, and they will hear voices in their ears. Thus, we called it the Box of Enticement. We sealed the box up after one of our comrades went crazy because of it.”

As he said that, Raymond suddenly had a puzzled look on his face. “Didn’t we seal this item up? Who put it back on display?”

Right at this moment, Feidin frowned slightly, his attention still on the box. He could hear a soft voice calling out to him and luring him to touch the box.

Using his Psychic energy to scan the box, he felt as though the box was covered with a mental shield.

Feidin wanted to see what was in the box and transformed his psychic energy into a drill to break through the Psychic Current of the box. However, the moment his psychic energy came into contact with the box, his face changed abruptly, and he cut off his psychic energy that was being sucked into the box.

Upon seeing that, Raymond waved his arms and said with resignation, “Stop trying, it’s useless. Our Psychic tried it once, but psychic energy isn’t able to detect the situation inside the box.”

“Can we open up the box normally?”

“You can, but there is nothing inside.” Raymond opened up the cabinet and opened up the box.

At this moment, Aurora jabbed Feidin’s waist and made a hand sign.

Feidin immediately understood what Aurora meant. There was a life force within the box.

Black Star wouldn’t want this box for nothing. The item that he wants is strange indeed, Feidin thought to himself.

Raymond then placed the box back into the cabinet and continued touring the place with the two.

…

After taking a tour throughout the entire base and meeting some new members of the Punisher Alliance, Feidin and Aurora said goodbye to Raymond and returned to their rooms.

After a few more hours, they left their rooms and walked straight to the museum.

The artifacts in the museum only had commemorative meaning, and the surveillance equipment in that region was of a lower grade. Feidin took out an army-made automatic infiltration device. Just when he was about to plug it into the door, he was stopped by Aurora.

“Are you going to walk in like this?” Aurora asked doubtfully. “The alarm will sound.”

“I know,” Feidin said slowly. “Since Black Star wants the item, it will be impossible for them to fight back. I do not like to bully the weak, and they aren’t a bunch of evil people. Even if I want to take the item, I must let them know the reason. I am not willing to act like a thief.”

“This isn’t good, right? What if Black Star has his own intentions?” Aurora hesitated.

Truthfully, she also felt that it was beneath them to act like thieves.

“He didn’t make any special requests. Even if he does… he will only blame me.”

Feidin smiled, walked into the room openly, and picked up the Box of Enticement.

Di di di…

He ignored the ear-piercing alarm and led Aurora toward the entrance of the spaceship.

He did not face any restrictions along the way and only met Raymond, Slade, and the other members of the Punisher Alliance by the hatch of the spaceship.

“Why do both of you want to steal the Box of Enticement?” Raymond had a bitter look on his face and was not willing to believe what he had seen.

Slade gritted his teeth and said coldly, “I almost believed both of you! Both of you had other intentions indeed!”

“Perhaps they were enticed by the Box of Enticement…” Raymond looked at Feidin with a complicated gaze and a trace of hope in his eyes.

“I’m sorry.” Feidin shook his head and said calmly, “I am here for this item.”

Raymond could not help but ask, “Was it a scheme for you to save me?”

“Would you believe me if I said that it was luck?” Feidin said helplessly.

Slade then walked out from the crowd and pointed his weapon at the two. “I said it before. If I discover that both of you have other intentions, I will not show any mercy. Since you have already admitted to it, place the Box of Enticement down and give up on resisting or face the power of my weapon!”

Feidin looked at the agitated group and said slowly, “Aura and I saved all of you more than once during the battle on Enya Hub. Are all of you really going to fight us?”

Upon hearing that, it was as though they were doused with cold water.

He was right. If not for her healing abilities, they would have suffered heavy losses on Enya Hub. It would not be too much to say that both of them had saved all of their lives. Although they had other intentions, it was not a lie that both of them had saved them all before.

Everyone immediately had a look of difficulty on their face and lost the will to fight.

Slade was the same, but he immediately threw away such emotions and gripped his weapon tightly. “This is an unrelated matter! You will become our enemies if you want to steal the Box of Enticement! We will not let you leave!”

Feidin then glanced at the group and sat on the ground.

“Alright. I won’t be leaving then.”

Everyone was stunned.

“What are you doing?” Raymond asked.

“Waiting for someone to pick me up.” He then closed his eyes and meditated.

“You truly have character.” Aurora, who was by the side, then glanced at the group and said helplessly, “Why are all of you still holding onto your weapons? Do all of you really want to attack me?”

Slade had a look of hesitation on his face. After thinking for a while, he decided to keep his weapon while watching Feidin by the side on high alert.

Just when everyone was on high alert, the hatch opened, and a black figure stood outside the spaceship.

The members of the Punisher Alliance immediately turned around and were astounded.

The one who had arrived was Black Star!

“You you you…” Raymond’s eyes widened to no end; he was dumbfounded.

Han Xiao glanced at him before bringing his Black Star Guards over to Feidin.

The members of the Punisher Alliance immediately opened a path with a look of shock on their faces. Why was Black Star there? Just what was going on‽

He then looked at Feidin and said with resignation, “Why do you have to trouble me to make an appearance for such a small matter? Stop playing already.”

Feidin smiled and stood up. “You know my personality.”

“That’s right. I’ve known your personality ever since we were on Sunil.” Han Xiao rubbed his head helplessly and joked, “If you continue to be so reckless, I won’t dare use you in the future.”

“I know how to differentiate between important and unimportant matters. I do not wish to lower my bottom line for such a small matter. Besides, you shouldn’t have asked me to be a thief.” Feidin blinked.

“Sigh, it is truly so difficult to avoid work.” Han Xiao groaned.

Every protagonist had their own principals, and it was impossible to order them around without restraint. It seemed as though they would not be able to display how extraordinary they were if they did not cause some trouble.

Upon hearing their conversation, everyone was dumbfounded.

Slade was a little anxious and could not help but cry out, “Just who exactly are you‽”

Hadavy looked over and snorted. “He is called Feidin, vice commander of the Black Star Guards.”

Slade’s body froze in place upon hearing that.

He could not believe that he had actually interacted with such a character.

Such a character could kill him like killing an ant. It was a joke that he thought Feidin was afraid of their numbers. It turned out that the other party could not even be bothered with them and probably treated them as kids.

Slade’s face turned pale. Thinking about his forceful tone toward Feidin, he was filled with both shock and fear in his heart.

Han Xiao said at this moment, “Alright, since you want to let them know the reason…”

He then turned around and sucked the Box of Enticement into his palm. Exerting strength on the box, he smashed it into pieces.

“Argh!”

Everyone could then feel a powerful mental energy exploding out from the box.

The faces of the Punisher Alliance superheroes turned pale, and they covered their ears. They could hear an ear-piercing screeching sound in their minds.

The mental sound in their head was filled with excitement as though a man that had been imprisoned for many years had been released!

Chapter 945 - Heart Sucking Demon

Hu!

As though a storm swept through the place, an illusory figure gradually appeared. Its facial features were not distinct; it only looked like a shadow. Its shape was extremely odd as though it was a creature with many arms. Its shape was still transforming, and it was emanating a frightening aura.

“Delicacies… delicacies…”

A mental energy was spread out in all directions, and everyone could understand the intention of this illusory being.

A strange sense of fear rose in their hearts, and even Han Xiao and the Black Star Guards were no exception. They just were not as badly affected.

“What kind of a beast is this‽”

Raymond and Slade had a look of fear on their faces. They did not know that such a beast had actually been hiding within the Box of Enticement!

They could feel a sense of fear in their hearts, and they started to feel a wave of dizziness.

“It is a special creature from the secondary dimension. You can treat it as a parasite that is born together with the soul. It is one of the reasons the Psychic Current exists in the universe,” Han Xiao said calmly.

This was a boss from the secondary dimension called the Heart Sucking Demon. The thoughts of every living being in the universe formed a universe consciousness, and the Heart Sucking Demons would crawl at the bottommost layer of the universe to feast on the universe consciousness.

The bottommost layer of the universe was the nest of these Heart Sucking Demons, and there was an almost endless supply of them in the bottommost layer of the universe. This Heart Sucking Demon was at the Lord level, but it had been caught by a powerhouse and sealed in this box.

Han Xiao knew that the Heart Sucking Demon boss’ main attacking methods were to attack the souls of its targets. It also had many different types of resistance and was almost immune to mental attacks. Most mental attacks would only be food for it.

It was because of this that the corpse of a Heart Sucking Demon was a huge supplement to one’s mental strength. However, the side effects of it was an explosion. Only a Psychic and some Mages were able to make use of it without any side effects. It could increase the mental defenses of a Psychic and also cause one’s attacks to have the [Chaos] status.

However, the Heart Sucking Demon was extremely difficult to catch and extremely rare in the universe.

The instant the Heart Sucking Demon broke free from its seal, a notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

_____________________

Destroy the Heart Sucking Demon

Mission Introduction: The Heart Sucking Demon is an extremely dangerous secondary dimension being that feasts on human thoughts. This Heart Sucking Demon was brought into the universe because of some reason, and it would be a hidden threat if ignored.

Mission Requirements: Kill the Heart Sucking Demon

Reward: 10,000,000 Experience

Rewards for the highest damage dealer: [Mental Defense] Talent and [Magic Resisting Body] Talent.

[Mental Defense]: +40% Psychological Resistance. You will be immune to [Chaos] and [Shock] statuses.

[Magic Resisting Body]: Your body has additional resistance toward magic. +45% Magic Resistance. You will have a 5% chance of being immune to a magical attack. Cooldown: 10 mins.

_____________________

The players would definitely form a party when killing bosses, and the player who output the most damage would gain the kill of the boss. Even with Han Xiao’s current ability, he felt that the effects of these two talents were not too bad, so he had come for these two talents.

The box was just a sealing device, and the Heart Sucking Demon had been trapped in it for a long time already. It could not come into contact with the outside world and was extremely weak at the moment. It was currently in a starving state, and it immediately rushed toward the members of the Punisher Alliance to fulfil its thirst the moment it was released.

These people were a group of walking delicacies in its eyes.

“Hurry! The beast is coming over!”

Raymond, Slade, and the others immediately drew the weapons and unleashed a wave of attacks toward the demon.

However, although their attacks struck the Heart Sucking Demon, the effects of their attacks were limited. The defense of the Heart Sucking Demon was similar to that of the Interstellar Beast, and the attacks of a Grade B Super were unable to break through its defenses.

Despite enduring a large number of attacks, the Heart Sucking Demon was unharmed, and it slowly approached Raymond.

Upon seeing the strange beast about to stick on him, Raymond’s expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly backed off.

Swoosh!

Right at this moment, a ray of light pierced through the back of the Heart Sucking Demon, and the Heart Sucking Demon immediately froze in place.

A spherical floating cannon floated beside Han Xiao with multi-dimensional energy being released from the sphere.

This was a multi-dimensional weapon that Han Xiao had created after obtaining his new Ultimate Knowledge. It was extremely effective in dealing with the beasts from the secondary dimension and could be used to kill the Heart Sucking Demon.

The ray of light rapidly expanded in the Heart Sucking Demon’s body, and the Heart Sucking Demon trembled as though it was trying to struggle for its life.

An intense sense of despair was sent out from the Heart Sucking Demon’s mental waves, and everyone present was also affected by its emotions.

It had just left the wolf’s nest to enter the tiger’s mouth. It was truly unlucky!

Everyone then saw the Heart Sucking Demon explode like a bubble being burst. The Heart Sucking Demon disappeared without a trace and only left behind a black, palm-sized item on the ground. This was the corpse of the Heart Sucking Demon.

Han Xiao then sucked the corpse into his hands and threw it to Feidin casually.

“Deal with it. You helped me find it, so this item shall belong to you. You can go and discover its use on your own.”

Feidin was stunned. “You’re giving it to me? You don’t want it?”

“It’s useless to me.” Han Xiao shook his head. He was a Mechanic and did not need the corpse of the Heart Sucking Demon.

His goal was only the two talents. A mission completion notification popped up on his interface the instant he killed the Heart Sucking Demon; he had already obtained the two talents.

Although the resistance of the Heart Sucking Demon was high, Han Xiao’s strength stood at the peak of the universe. Even if the Interstellar Beast from before appeared before him right now, killing it would only require a single cannon.

That reminds me, I seem to be even tankier than the Interstellar Beast…

Glancing at the members of the Punisher Alliance, Han Xiao did not bother giving an explanation and left the spaceship. Feidin shook his head with a smile and followed behind Han Xiao.

After being together for such a long time, he realized that he was becoming increasingly fond of Han Xiao’s personality.

He is truly a friend who I am willing to serve.

Raymond and the others opened a path and watched as Black Star left. Slade then came to a realization.

“Such a terrifying creature was hidden in the Box of Enticement. If it escaped someday, we would have been…”

Upon hearing those words, the members of the Punisher Alliance came to a realization as well and felt that they understood Black Star’s intentions.

Black Star knew about the existence of the Heart Sucking Demon and thus came just to destroy this demon that should not have appeared in the universe.

They had personally experienced how terrifying the Heart Sucking Demon was. If the Heart Sucking Demon had been allowed to escape in the future, they would have suffered heavy casualties for sure!

Did this mean that they had all been saved by Black Star‽

To think that they had misunderstood such a bigshot…

Understanding this point, Raymond and the others had complicated feelings in their heart. They were filled with both gratitude and a sense of shame.

After struggling for a while, Slade rushed out of the spaceship and wanted to catch up to Feidin and apologize for his previous attitude.

When he left the hatch, he realized that Black Star had already disappeared and left the planet.

Upon seeing that, everyone looked at each other and sighed.

Black Star’s level is too far away from us, and we will never be able to repay this favor.

…

The event that Feidin had triggered came to an end, and Han Xiao learned his lesson. He no longer allowed the fleet to stop near any planets, lest Feidin ended up meeting another fortuitous event and disturbing his training.

Thankfully, Feidin hid in his room to research the Heart Sucking Demon’s corpse and did not run around anymore.

After absorbing the corpse, Feidin’s psychic energy was strengthened, and Han Xiao had a strange feeling in his heart.

No matter how he looked at it, suddenly gaining a treasure was like the treatment of a protagonist.

Although he had also gained some talents, Feidin seemed to have benefited more.

After travelling for a few more days, Han Xiao’s energy level finally reached Level19.

His level 300 Promotion Mission was finally completed!

Chapter 946 - Level 300 Promotion!

Circular mountains covered the land with some alloy wreckage sticking out from the ground occasionally. There was a black mountain peak filled with desolation and an ancient feeling in the distance.

The sky was gloomy, and the planet was deserted. A powerful gale was blowing through the planet, sweeping up anything that was on the surface of the planet.

This was a deserted planet covered with a thick layer of gray fog. From the outside of the planet, a large storm-like spiral could be seen in the atmosphere of the planet.

This used to be a planet full of life with the color of nature all around the planet and the sound of beasts roaring resounding through the forests. Today, only darkness and silence were left behind. This was one of the battlefields during the exploration era.

Underground, a large number of battleships were buried.

A black figure walked slowly on the planet as though he had melded into the background.

“This place is fine.”

Han Xiao looked up at the gray skies and knew that a spaceship was waiting for him outside the atmosphere of the planet. The people on the spaceship would probably be looking at him through their windows.

The commotion of a beyond grade A Super would not be small, not to mention the fact that he was going to undergo a race upgrade and Class Advancement at the same time. The commotion would probably shake the mountains and the earth. He would probably destroy the spaceship if he carried out his Promotion on it. Thus, Han Xiao had found an uninhabited planet and was planning to complete his advancement on the planet.

Of course, he had already touched Feidin before coming over and was currently full of confidence.

Opening his interface, his Promotion Mission and Class Advancement Mission were already completed. Han Xiao then chose to end the missions.

_____________________

Lv300 Promotion Mission completed!

+70 Endurance Bonus! 1 Endurance = 480 Health = 490 Stamina.

The energy within your cells causes your body to experience a transformation. Your genes are experiencing a transformation toward a higher level, and you are taking another step on the road of evolution.

Race Detected: Black Star Race (Specialty race, unchangeable)

Randomly drawing five matching evolutionary directions… Randomizing… Randomization complete.

Please select two from the five Race Evolution choices below and receive one talent from each.

1. [Void Archangel (Human Form)]

2. [Endless Proliferation Aberration Body (Group Consciousness)]

3. [Void Priest (Human Form)]

4. [Saint Tyracles Race]

5. [Margola Void Beast]

_____________________

“The evolution directions aren’t too bad.” Han Xiao nodded with satisfaction.

He had chosen [Void Saint] in his previous evolution, and he now had the option of [Void Archangel]. He was already coming to the end of the Void Race.

[Endless Proliferation Aberration Body] was a terrifying being that could endlessly proliferate as long as it had enough energy. There was no need to worry about his genes collapsing, and he would become a meat planet eventually.

He would also be able to form various flesh constructs such as a new organism that could reproduce normally. He could split up a part of his body to create an organism that was controlled by his consciousness but still had its own free will.

[Saint Tyracles] was an extinct race that had superb Mechanic talent. They were said to be natural born Mechanics.

[Margola Void Beast] was a Void Beast with an extremely powerful body. It was a leviathan in the void race that was an equal to the Void Dragons.

After pondering for a while, Han Xiao came to a decision. He chose [Void Archangel] and [Saint Tyracles]. The former was to maintain his void evolution path while the latter was to strengthen his Mechanic talent.

He had many different void talents. The reason he did not choose [Void Priest] was because it contained many of the talents of the [Void Archangel]. Although the [Endless Proliferation Aberration Body] was terrifying, Han Xiao was not prepared to give up his human form.

He still had to remain human.

[Margola Void Beast] was famous for being a meat shield and Han Xiao felt that he was already a first rate meat shield and didn’t need to be strengthened in this regard.

All the talents of the two races were placed before him and he could choose one each. After looking at them for a while, he made his choice.

_____________________

You have received the talent [Divine Void Power]!

You have received the talent [Tyracles Mechanical Legacy]!

[Divine Void Power]: Your understanding of the void has been increased to a new level. You will be able to control Void Energy more effectively and increase your attributes.

Your attack and defense will be boosted by Void Energy, and your attacks will receive a void bonus (12,500 points +12% attack). -10,000 damage and +15% Resistance to all damage taken.

You will receive more from Divine Void Power as your level increases.

Level 1 – 100: +15 Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence, and Mystery for every 10 levels, +0.5% attack.

Level 100 – 200: +30 Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence, and Mystery for every 10 levels, +1% attack.

Level 200 and above: +45 Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence, and Mystery for every 10 levels, +1.5% attack.

Current bonus: +900 Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence and Mystery, +30% attack.

[Tyracles Mechanical Legacy]: The Mechanic discipline is inherited in the memories of the Saint Tyracles Race. The Saint Tyracles Race has superb talent in the Mechanic Class. -20% Experience to level up any Mechanic skills (inclusive of but not limited to Mechanic skills and blueprints).

You will receive more Mechanical Legacy as your level increases.

Level 1 – Lv100: +8% Machinery Affinity for every 10 levels.

Level 100 – Lv200: +12% Machinery Affinity for every 10 levels.

Level 200 and above: +16% Machinery Affinity for every 10 levels.

The legacy of the Saint Tyracles Race is stored in their memories. You will unlock a special race blueprint when you reach Levels 20, 60, 100, 160, 200, 260, 320, and 360.

_____________________

Boom!

Han Xiao felt his head spinning and his body being washed in void energy. It was as though he was attacked by both cold and heat at the same time.

A transformation was ongoing in Han Xiao’s body, and more notifications popped up on his interface. The talent of his Black Star Race was also upgraded as well.

_____________________

Your Black Star Race talent [Mechanical Genius] has been upgraded.

[Mechanical Genius]: 1.15x Machinery Affinity increased to 1.25x. +30% Machinery Creation Performance increased to 40%. New effect added: All Mechanic skills will be increased by 1 level.

Detecting Race Appearance… Based on your evolution experience, you can change your appearance by up to 1.4%.

_____________________

Han Xiao was still pretty confident in his own face editing skills, but he would not test them on his own face. Thus, he chose to maintain his own appearance.

_____________________

Molecular structure has been improved, organ structure has been strengthened, and metabolism has been altered…

Black Star Race potential upgraded. You have received bonus attributes: +334 Strength, +320 Dexterity, +470 Endurance, +767 Intelligence, +580 Mystery, +205 Charisma, +8,000 Energy. Energy Level bonus attributes have been changed!

_____________________

All his cells were trembling, and the powerful wave of energy gushing out from his body affected the environment of the entire planet. Han Xiao had turned into the eye of the storm, and a powerful cyclone was formed with him at the center.

In the fleet outside the atmosphere, Aurora, Feidin, Hadavy, and all the Black Star Guards stood in front of the window and watched the commotion that Han Xiao was causing on the planet.

“What a frightening energy reaction. His Excellency is experiencing another growth? He is actually able to increase his strength within such a short amount of time again‽” Hadavy was dumbfounded.

“Although I have known him for a long time, he always surprises me.” Feidin shook his head. “Why is there such a talented individual in the world? He is like a natural-born Super.”

“I’ve never heard of a Beyond Grade A that grows so quickly,” Hadavy lamented with a sour feeling in his heart.

He had fought for a long time in order to become a Beyond Grade A, but his wishes had not come true yet. However, Black Star was not only the individual who had used the least amount of time to become a Beyond Grade A, he was able to maintain his growth even after entering the Beyond Grade A realm. This was truly unheard of. Anyone would truly be angered to death if they tried to compare themself to Black Star.

Hadavy had a face full of envy.

Not just him, the other Black Star Guards were also astounded. Such a rapid growth rate was something that they could not imagine.

Aurora clenched her fists with sweat in her palms.

This was the first time that she had witnessed Han Xiao’s Promotion process. She could clearly feel Han Xiao’s life force shooting up to the sky rapidly, completely different from the slow evolution process of a Beyond Grade A. She could not help but be afraid that Han Xiao’s Promotion would fail.

She was already prepared to exhaust ninety-nine percent of her life force to help Han Xiao.

After a long time, the high energy reaction finally subsided.

“It seems like he succeeded.”

Just when everyone was about to heave a sigh of relief, they were shocked to realize that the subsiding energy level shot up again.

A new storm had appeared!

“Didn’t he just complete an evolution? He’s going through another one again‽”

Everyone was dumbfounded and felt their worldview being shattered.

At this moment, Han Xiao, who was in the middle of the storm, received a notification.

Chapter 947 - Divine Throne Mechanic

[Divine Throne Mechanic] Lv1.

+450 Energy, +5 Strength, +5 Dexterity, +15 Endurance, +20 Intelligence.

You have received 15 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

You have obtained the talent [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus]!

You have obtained the talent [Spirit Instrument]!

You have obtained the talent [Mechanical Evolution—Creator’s Heart]!

You have acquired the skill [Universal Simulation]!

You have acquired the skill [Dimension Factory]!

You have acquired the skill [Virtual Paramount]!

You have acquired the skill [Mechanical Proliferation Growth]!

You have acquired the skill [Strengthened Machinery Civilization]!

You have acquired the skill [Apostle Evolution]!

You have acquired the skill [Composite Mechanical Deity]!

You have acquired the blueprint [Divine Mechanical Throne]!

The effect of all your Virtual Technology related abilities and talents has increased by 50%.

_____________________

A series of notifications popped up on the interface.

A huge cyclone was formed with Han Xiao at the center, and from outer space, it looked like a pot of gray soup being stirred rapidly.

[Divine Throne Mechanic] was a new boundary, and the level limit was increased from forty to sixty! Han Xiao had gone from Apostle, Emperor, Lord, and finally arrived at Divine Throne!

This was the current peak of the Mechanics in the universe. ‘Mechanic Emperor’ Manison was currently at this stage, and there was not a Mechanic who had exceeded him yet.

At his current stage, all his abilities went through a series of transformations.

If the strength of an Apostle Mechanic was mainly reliant on himself, the specialty of an Emperor Mechanic was strengthening the Army Style, and the specialty of a Lord Mechanic was increasing the long distance combat ability of a Mechanic and creating Apostle Weapons, the specialty of a Divine Throne Mechanic was strengthening all three aspects greatly and creating an entirely new path.

Han Xiao endured the intense pain of the transformation and looked through his interface to see the benefits of the Class Advancement.

[Key of Adeptus Mechanicus]. Its basic effect increased Machinery Affinity by two hundred percent, and its core effect set up a Machinery Faith. As long as there were believers who treated him as their Machinery Deity, he would receive bonus attributes. The greater the number of followers, the greater the bonus.

There were many different religions in the universe, and the Machinery Faith was a special faith in the universe that was crazy about technological skills. The followers of the faith worshipped a powerful Mechanic and treated him as a Machinery Deity.

After Han Xiao’s deeds resounded through the universe, he had actually collected a large batch of Machinery Faith followers, and he would be able to gain an attribute bonus from these followers. A Beyond Grade A Mechanic who had [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus] could increase their own Machinery Affinity.

Mechanic Emperor Manison was an important idol for the Machinery Faith and obtained great strength from his followers. Now, Han Xiao also had the ability to gain strength from his followers.

This was no different from harvesting crops, and it was the Great Mechanic Han’s specialty!

[Spirit Instrument] could increase the success rate of gold-grade blueprints, and he would receive an additional bonus if he was able to construct Universal Treasure-grade gold equipment.

In his previous life, there was a popular saying on the forums. The five main Classes represented the five different aspects of a deity. The Pugilist represented the ‘Body’, the Psychic represented the ‘Mind’, the Mage represented the ‘Control of Laws’, the Esper represented ‘Innate Divine Abilities’, and the Mechanic represented ‘Deity’s Equipment’.

Although such a saying did not have any proof or theory, it was an extremely popular saying.

[Mechanical Evolution—Creator’s Heart] was his core talent that increased his Machinery Affinity by 450%, production efficiency by 300%, and Machinery Creation Performance by 40%. It was similar to [Mechanical Force Ascension—Apostle Body], which also allowed the attributes of one’s Mechanical Force to achieve a transformation.

At the same time, this talent strengthened his personal attributes as well. It would provide him with Free Attribute Points based on the levels of his Mechanic skills, which included blueprint skills. Level 4 would provide him with one point, level 7 with two points, and level 10 with three points.

Most of Han Xiao’s Mechanic skills were basically at the max level, and Han Xiao obtained 189 Free Attribute Points. He also had thousands of blueprints on him, with the majority of them from gambling. Their levels had not been increased yet, and a portion of the blueprints provided him with 2,128 Free Attribute Points. This gave him a total of 2,317 Free Attribute Points.

Although it could not be compared to the attributes that he received from his Promotion, he could add them freely according to his preference.

Furthermore, this skill had huge growth potential and provided Han Xiao with a new way to increase his Attribute Points.

Knowledge was power. The more he learned, the greater his strength.

Apart from these three new skills, the others were core abilities of the [Divine Throne Mechanic].

[Universal Simulation] was not a combat ability but a creation skill. He could use his machinery to simulate various different celestial bodies, natural phenomena, and so on. Apart from being limited by materials, he was like the creator. However, this creator could only use machines.

As for the use of this skill, Han Xiao did not understand it fully yet. However, he guessed that it should be more of a daily life skill. He would be able to break free from the restrictions of blueprints, and nature would be his best material warehouse. Since ancient times, the starting point of all civilizations that developed naturally was from nature.

[Dimension Factory] was similar to an Emperor Mechanic’s [Secondary Dimension Army]. But the difference between the two was that [Dimension Factory] allowed him to set up a logistics base in the secondary dimension, and he would be able to bring his factory during a war, collecting the spare parts in the battlefield and sending them back into the furnace to create and repair machines.

The freshly constructed machines could then be sent straight into the battlefield. He would even be able to construct equipment on the spot to target the enemy’s weakness. It was much more powerful that [Waste Modification] and [Advanced Machinery Construction], and it allowed him to hold out longer during battle.

With [Dimension Factory], a Mechanic would not have to worry about the lack of logistical support no matter where he went.

[Virtual Paramount] was an ability that came from his Virtual Mechanic branch.

If he had chosen the Armed Branch, he would have acquired [Sky Dome]. If he had chosen the Energy Branch, he would be acquired [Energy Plasticity].

[Virtual Paramount] increased the effects of his Virtual Technology skills by two hundred percent and increased his Virtual Technology skills by three levels. Its core effect opened up a virtual world that only Virtual Life Forms and Virtual Souls could enter.

There were plenty of uses for this skill. It could be the breeding ground for Virtual Life Forms for it to evolve over time. It also allowed Han Xiao to build a fortress in the quantum network and release a large number of special AI hunters. He would be able to intercept information in the quantum network or spread viruses. When he used [Virtual Soul] to transform his target into a Virtual Soul, he could trap the other party in this Virtual World that was akin to the quantum network. The longer his target was trapped in the Virtual World, the greater the damage dealt.

Han Xiao felt that Manison’s slave AI Civilization was dependent on this ability.

[Mechanical Proliferation Growth] and [Strengthened Machinery Civilization] were talents to strengthen his mechanical life forms. The former increased the efficiency of him transforming a mechanical life form and increased the effect of [Mechanical Life Tinder]. The latter would strengthen his machinery civilization in many ways, including improving their reproductive capabilities and the potential of future generations.

These two talents were extremely important for the Mechanic Emperor to accumulate a large machinery civilization army.

[Apostle Evolution] strengthened the effects of [Apostle Life Creation]. It did not increase the number of Apostle Weapon slots that he had but increased the combat capability of his Apostle Weapons.

[Composite Mechanical Deity] was a transformation skill. With his main body or Lord avatar as the core, he would be able to combine with his mechanical army to form a gigantic mechanical body.

As long as his mechanical army was large enough, it would be possible for him to grow to the size of a planet.

Furthermore, the gigantic mechanical body would have all the attributes of the mechanical army, and it was extremely terrifying.

Roaming unhindered through the universe with a gigantic body, that was a ‘Mechanical Deity’!

The final blueprint, [Divine Mechanical Throne], was special equipment. It was a floating throne that was similar to the one Han Xiao had constructed before.

However, this throne had a special effect. If he sat on the throne, it would increase his Machinery Affinity by 1.1x. Thus, it was not strange for all Beyond Grade As to create a throne. Of course, the biggest reason was still because it looked cool.

Han Xiao had never obtained so many skills from a Class Advancement, and this was sufficient to prove just how terrifying a [Divine Throne Mechanic] was.

“My strength has increased a great deal with this Promotion!”

Even if the Class Advancement process had not been completed, the pain could not suppress the excitement that Han Xiao felt.

He was truly at the level of EsGod, the Mechanic Emperor, and Dark Lord after completing his Class Advancement and Promotion at level 300.

Chapter 948 - Causing Trouble

A harsh alarm rang in a dynasty military outpost that was not far from this ancient battlefield planet.

“Alert! Alert! High frequency reaction source detected, burst frequency of 9.17b/ms! The energy spectral shift index is between 78.7 and 134.5. Calculating energy fluctuation model and matching with database… Match complete. The possibilities are as follows: 42% chance of [Dimensional Fracture Opening], 31% chance of [High dimensional being descending (Void Spirit)], 4% chance of [Supernova], 24% chance of [Primordial Psionic Energy Pollution], 88% chance of [Beyond Grade A detonation]… Executing Order K-0081 and immediately dispatching an unmanned spaceship for field exploration.”

Woo!

With the alarm, the soldiers in the outpost immediately took action, returning to their respective positions. The unmanned drones were activated, turning into streams of light as their virtual pilots activated the hyperdrive modules to the coordinates of the energy explosion.

They quickly arrived at the scene, and from afar, they could see a fleet stationed in the planet’s orbit. At this moment the horrible energy fluctuations surged through the planet repeatedly, warping the entire ancient battlefield into a mess.

“This is the dynasty’s unmanned reconnaissance force. Please report your identity immediately!”

As soon as they made contact, the dynasty’s sentries immediately broadcast the signal to them, asking to verify their identities as well as activating a 3D scan toward the fleet.

Upon inspection, they got a shock. It was actually the fleet of the Black Star Army!

At this moment, Aurora connected to the communication channel. “This is Black Star’s personal fleet. What are you guys doing here?”

Hearing that it was an ally, the soldiers finally relaxed, and their attitudes got much better.

“We’ve received reports of a high energy fluctuation. What’s happened?”

“This was caused by Black Star. He’s on the planet surface now.”

“That was Black Star?”

The dynasty’s soldiers were shocked at the revelation.

Was it really the most likely prediction, the Beyond Grade A detonation‽

Black Star self-imploded‽

Thinking that, many of the dynasty soldiers sighed with pain in their hearts, and a wave of sadness surfaced.

“His Excellency Black Star… was he killed because of his business?”

“Huh?” Aurora was left stunned.

What was this situation? Why were they cursing at someone?

Only after explaining the situation did the dynasty soldiers realize that they were overthinking the matter.

In fact, it was no wonder that they had misunderstood things. The database matching had never made a mistake before. In the past, the sublimation of a Beyond Grade A had been very subtle, and they had not recorded any cases of a Beyond Grade A stepping into a higher realm.

However, Han Xiao’s promotion by the system condensed the evolution process countless times. Thus, the energy fluctuations caused by it stacked up to an extremely terrifying level. Since this was the first time the dynasty had encountered this situation, there was no corresponding example in the database, so a misjudgment was generated.

However, from that day forth, Han Xiao had become the first reference case in the database… probably the only one as well.

Since they were already there, the dynasty soldiers did not immediately leave. Instead, they simply moved to where the Black Star fleet was to observe the anomalies and collect data.

Aurora originally wanted to chase them away, but after thinking about it, she decided not to restrict their actions.

With the Black Star Army under pressure, it needed some opportunities to increase its prestige. With the dynasty now coming to investigate, not only would it increase Black Star’s importance to them, it would also improve his standing within the dynasty. The longer Aurora followed Han Xiao, the more her thinking became similar to his.

…

After a period of time, the high energy response passed its peak period and began to dwindle.

The process of metamorphosis came to an end, and the cells slowly quieted down from a highly active state. The energy that was uncontrolled and escaping from his cells gradually decreased, and the pain faded like the receding tide.

Opening his interface, Han Xiao summarized his advancement process. In terms of Race Evolution, the Racial Talents of the Black Star Race had been further improved, bringing more bonuses.

Even an improvement of 0.1x to the total affinity coefficient should not be underestimated. At Han Xiao’s level, this could increase his Machinery Affinity by hundreds of points, not to mention that he still had a +1 effect to all Mechanic skills.

The two Racial Talents brought by the evolution were the core abilities of his species. They were all growth-type talents. [Void Power] brought a total of 4,500 points and +30% to strength of abilities. This was also an ability that a Void entity would develop after undergoing metamorphosis.

[Tyracles Mechanical Legacy] currently provided 360% addition Machinery Affinity, but the main point of this talent lay in the unique blueprints that could be unlocked at different levels. These were the essence of scientific research accumulated by their entire race.

Han Xiao looked through some of the unique blueprints, and all of them were very high-quality equipment, broadening his own blueprint library. There were also several techniques saved within, which surprised him. He would have to carefully study them in the future.

The Saint Tyracles Race died during the exploration era for the same reason as the Evolutionary Civilization, but their data was not lost. Most of the technology left by their civilization was received and digested by the Federation of Light, which added a piece to their technological tree. Their huge technological tree was said to be partially made up of the technology from the Saint Tyracles, especially when they built the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device.

The unique blueprints unlocked at level 300 involved multiple fields of expertise, and the manufacturing was difficult, but none of them were Gold Equipment. Han Xiao estimated that it was likely that their Universal Treasure blueprints would only appear when he reached level 360.

In terms of his Class, he was already on the same starting line as ‘Mechanic Emperor’ Manison, but there was still a gap between their strengths. The [Divine Throne Mechanic] that he held was also held by Manison, but what Manison had, Han Xiao did not have… For example, there was his greatly coveted [Perfect Mechanical Sense], as well as his exclusive talents.

But in terms of their fleshly bodies, Han Xiao was definitely in the lead, far ahead of Manison. Although his mechanic abilities were inferior to Manison’s, his abilities in other areas shortened the gap between the two sides.

However, due to the talent [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus], the true strength of the Mechanic Emperor was unfathomable. For so many years, Manison had been recognized as the pinnacle of the Mechanic class in the explored universe, and he had gained God knew how many believers of this Mechanic religion. His position was rock solid.

The [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus] provided an all-rounded improvement. Be it in basic attributes, Machinery Affinity, manufacturing efficiency, creation performance ,or ability strength, there would be a percentage bonus from it.

Upon thinking of the huge believers within the Mechanic Empire, Han Xiao felt the pressure. Only when he approached the level of others could he truly appreciate just how strong they were.

“If I want to bring out the effect of this talent, I have to wrestle away the Mechanic Emperor’s position within the Mechanics. Only through fighting against him as a Mechanic can I then take away the believers on his side…”

Han Xiao shook his head. He originally did not wish to antagonize Manison, but now Manison had become the obstacle in his road ahead.

Most likely, Manison himself would also see him as a threat once he realized that he had reached this realm.

Two tigers cannot share one mountain.

“It’s too early to talk about all this now, and I also need time to get accustomed to the new abilities. It’s not the time yet to break all ties with Manison.”

Han Xiao exhaled, suppressing his troubles and throwing the Free Attribute Points that he had obtained through [Mechanical Evolution—Creator’s Heart] into his Intelligence.

After completing this step, Han Xiao took a look at his character interface.

_____________________

Total Level: 301

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Black Star Race

Attributes: 6,736 Strength, 6,405 Dexterity, 9,664 Endurance, 17,453 Intelligence, 5,230 Mystery, 1,368 Charisma, 1 Luck

Free Attribute Points: 15

Potential Point: 7

Health: 9,695,991

Stamina: 7,832,880

Energy: 128,410 [Level19]

Level19 Energy Stat Bonuses: +2,026 Strength, +2,488 Dexterity, +3,120 Endurance, +3,425 Intelligence, +1,923 Mystery, +681,520 Stamina Limit, +2,712% Machinery Affinity

Energy Rank: 71,130

Grade: SS

Grade S Bonuses: +100 Endurance, +35% All Resistances. +32% Highest Attribute, +20% Other Attributes, +750 Free Attribute Points, +50 Potential Points

Remark: You have already touched on the peak of an individual’s strength. On the road ahead, there will be no more forerunners, you are your own pioneer!

_____________________

“Hiss…”

Seeing the huge changes on his interface, Han Xiao sucked in a breath involuntarily.

When he was level 280, his Energy Rank was 53,000, but now it had actually shot up by almost 20,000. However, not all of this was due to the changes brought about by his evolution.

During this period, he had learned all the class knowledges to activate the extra talent, and he had obtained the talent [Heroic Wrists] from Dragon Emperor Ames. Plus, he had even trained his Energy to Lv19… These various factors supported each other to create his huge growth.

The changes within his attributes were also frightening, with his Intelligence almost doubling. This was thanks to his [Almighty Mechanic] and [Divine Void Power], as well as the talent [Mechanical Evolution—Creator’s Heart], which all gave him attributes for free, providing a huge increase.

Even his endurance had also become frightening, his HP value approaching the ten million mark. Among the currently recognized Beyond Grade As, probably only the old dragon had more HP than him. Even Ty-Ty had to step aside.

“My realm has reached SS…” Han Xiao nodded to himself.

With his Energy Rank skyrocketing, his S rank bonus had also increased. The bonus given to Endurance had been changed from fifty to one hundred, and other effects had also increased to a certain extent.

This realm was normally known as the pinnacle of Beyond Grade A.

SS was naturally higher than S+, but it still belonged to the realm of Grade S. It was not a qualitative change like the Calamity Grade evolving to Beyond Grade A. What EsGod pursued was breaking the boundaries of the SS rank and opening up a whole new realm.

Gazing at the experience needed to level up, Han Xiao was not surprised that it had increased significantly.

The experience he had accumulated throughout Version 3.0 was almost exhausted. With this little reserve, he could only level up three to four times, which was of little significance.

Therefore, Han Xiao decided not to level, instead leaving it to upgrade his skills, finding it more cost-effective.

It will not be possible to level up during the version update. I need to stabilize myself, digest my abilities, and start to accumulate, Han Xiao thought to himself.

The biggest difference between him and the Mechanic Emperor was the many years of accumulation.

After arranging his benefits from this advancement, Han Xiao stretched before flying back to his own fleet.

The officers were all waiting there, staring at him with expressions of shock, envy, and surprise.

Han Xiao’s evolutionary process really subverted everyone’s cognition, leaving a shock in their heart.

“How did you do it?” Hadavy could not help but ask. His eyes glowed green, like a wolf, as if he wished to see into Han Xiao’s insides to check carefully which part was different.

Glancing at him, Han Xiao quipped, “If you took the time you use to play cards to train, you might have long reached the Beyond Grade A realm.”

“Like hell I believe you.” Hadavy was embarrassed and angry.

Aurora pursed her lips before asking worriedly, “Will there be any side effects?”

She felt that this method of evolution was contrary to common sense, too violent, and it might have undesirable consequences.

“Side effects, hmm…” Han Xiao thought about it. “If you count being handsome as a side effect, then I might really be ill.”

“Please just die.” Aurora rolled her eyes. While you are really charming, I still have to say… I’ve never seen someone so shameless!

But the worry in her heart also lessened.

Black Star knew of her skills. If there was really something wrong, he would have long requested for her [Life Essence] skill.

Feidin walked up, lightly hugging Han Xiao as he smiled. “Congratulations.”

During the secret war period, he had personally witnessed Han Xiao stepping into the Beyond Grade A realm, so he was the calmest person among all of them present. His trust in Han Xiao far outstripped everyone’s imaginations.

At this time, the dynasty fleet also sent over a message of greeting.

“We pay respects to you, Your Excellency Black Star.”

“Oh, when did you guys come?” Han Xiao had been too absorbed in his new abilities earlier to notice.

“We’ve been here for a while,” the soldier said before hesitating. “Your Excellency Black Star, just now…”

“Hehe, nothing big. I just had a small increase in my powers.” Han Xiao laughed it off.

Hearing this, all the soldiers were speechless.

You created such a huge commotion, but you’re telling us it’s a weak increase? Do you think we’re five-year-olds‽

“Cough, Your Excellency Black Star, regarding this, we’ll report it up as per normal. Do you have any objections?” The soldiers could only swallow any insults they wanted to spit out and carefully get back to the matter at hand.

If it was a normal period, he would have immediately reported it up, but having witnessed the entire process of Han Xiao’s promotion, he had to request Han Xiao’s permission.

Han Xiao nodded, not taking it seriously.

“It doesn’t matter. You can just report it as it is.”

Anyway, this thing could not be concealed. He could not wait for the dynasty’s upper echelons to know that his strength had grown again. It would be better if the dynasty spent more money on him.

The dynasty soldiers thanked him with expressions of joy before leaving the area, activating their hyperdrive systems to return to base.

A flash of steel passed Han Xiao’s eyes as he watched them depart.

Now that his promotion was complete, it was time to proceed with his plan. He was going to go bully the Tyrant and save his businesses!

It was in line with his plans to check how much his combat power had grown.

Heh heh, Ty-Ty, I’m coming to play with you!

…

In the Black Star Army headquarters, the sound of mechanical devices came from within the Army Commander’s previously-silent, exclusive warehouse.

Whoosh!

An equipment maintenance box was opened from the inside, and two dazzling lights emerged from the darkness.

A mechanical host stepped out, its eyes shining like the midday sun, carrying Han Xiao’s consciousness.

Looking back, he flicked his fingers, and a dazzling blue-gold Mechanical Force swept out, activating all the equipment boxes within the warehouse.

Ka ka ka!

One box after another was successively opened, and the stocked up mechanical soldiers were activated.

The mechanic host took a big step, and with its huge mechanical army behind it, it walked out of the warehouse.

The Lord had descended!

…

At the same time in the Bloodshed Land…

Dang!

Two wine glasses clinked together, letting out a crisp sound.

Within the palace hall was a long and luxurious dining table, full of hearty dishes.

At this moment, only two people were within this room, and the consciousness of Heber and Sorokin sat opposite each other, raising their glasses to toast each other.

This was a celebration meeting.

“Thanks to the influence of Your Excellency Heber, our cooperation is on the right track. It’s a joy to work with you.” Sorokin wore a slight smile as he sipped on the wine.

“Hmm, I just did my part.”

While Sorokin was a money scattering mascot, Heber did not have a great impression of him, so he did not say much, only draining his wine glass and placing it down.

However, the wine glass was placed too close to the edge, and it fell off onto the ground.

Just as Heber was about to reach out to grab it, he suddenly paused, watching as the glass dropped.

Pa!

The glass smashed on the floor, turning into shattered pieces.

“Eh? What’s wrong?” Sorokin was suspicious. With their skills, there was no way he could not have reacted.

Heber stared at the shattered wine glass, his brows furrowed tight.

He did not know why, but in that instant, he felt his heart palpitating.

It was as though something bad was about to happen.

Chapter 949 - High Profile Action

The territory of the Klent Kingdom bordered the Colton Star Cluster of the Purple Crystal Civilization. They were separated by a desolate universe belt and connected together by a stargate. After the secret war ended, both sides lifted the wartime emergency measures and reopened their stargates, allowing people to resume their travels.

Within the observation post of the Seoul Star Cluster stargate, the sentry on duty was slacking, turning a blind eye to the fleets entering and exiting the stargate. He held his communicator in his hand, intently concentrating like the typical lowered-head generation.

Since the end of the secret war, Klent and Purple Crystal had decided to recuperate, while the Black Star Army joined the Crimson Dynasty. There was no chance of war breaking out, so the mentality of the sentries gradually relaxed.

They could not be blamed for the lack of professionalism. The main reason was that the vast majority of transit spaceships were subjected to review by the artificial intelligence, and there were few opportunities for manual review, so most of the time, they usually had nothing to do.

“This virtual singer is awesome…”

On the sentry’s communicator was a virtual image of a beautiful Klentan, clad in a thin dress and dancing on the side while singing. Her voice was melodious and clear, like springtime.

The sentry on duty was fascinated, shaking his legs frantically while swiping his finger across the screen to send virtual gifts purchased with real cash.

This was an entertainment app popular throughout the universe. The user could customize their favorite avatar based on the aesthetics of different races. In addition to shape, they could also choose its personality. After creating the avatar, the user could interact with others in a variety of ways, such as asking them to sing, dance, or play Wayne Cards online, basically treating them like a real person.

One could also allow the virtual life to become a 3D life-size projection. If one had further needs, they could contact the website to buy a virtual sensory outfit, which would allow them to come into contact with it. This was divided into two categories: Children and Adult.

In this day and age, even with the high degree of interstellar integration, there were still many people that would prefer to have a virtual friend, brother, child, or partner than a real friend.

What was worth noting was that this popular app was developed by a sub brand of the Limitless Financial Group. The annual revenue obtained was terrifying, with their annual income already enough to purchase the entirety of Bloodshed Land.

The sentry on duty, whilst obsessed with admiring his dream lover, suddenly heard the cold voice of the artificial intelligence.

“Detected specially marked fleets in transit. Requesting manual review.”

The sentry got a shock and almost threw his communicator out of the window in fright before settling down. With annoyance at being disturbed, he turned to operate the manual review.

“Who is this idiot that… eh? Black Star Army‽”

In that instant, the sentry seemed to have had his soul knocked out and back into him. The party in transit was actually the Black Star Army!

Within the database of such public stargates, they were some specially marked characters, such as the galactic criminals. Because of the grudges of the secret war, Klent had also added the Black Star Army to this marked list. Personnel with the identity of the Black Star Army would be reported upward if they came into Klent territory.

The sentry on duty knew that he had no right to review and immediately notified his team leader. This was passed up layer by layer and sent directly into the mailbox of a senior official.

It did not take long for instructions to be passed down, allowing the Black Star Army to pass.

Soon, a small fleet marked with the emblem of the Black Star Army sailed out of the stargate and turned into a stream of light, leaving only a light trail reflected in the pupils of the sentry.

Although the Black Star Army was allowed to cross the border, the upper echelons of the Klent Kingdom did not know how to deal with this problem.

Normally, the Black Star Army did not have any dealings with them, and they normally would not come over to the Seoul Star Cluster.

But to suddenly visit with unknown motives… someone had to follow them to keep tabs on them!

…

Out of Klent’s expectations, the news that the Black Star Army had suddenly visited their territory spread out quickly, being known to many of the organizations and galactic residents of the Shattered Star Ring.

Klent knew that someone should be fanning the news behind the scenes.

Upon thinking about it, probably only the Black Star Army would want to do this. Klent did not understand their approach at first, but they soon realized what they wanted to do when they saw the Black Star Army moving toward Bloodshed Land.

Indeed, it should be the latest movements from the Bloodshed Land that had attracted the Black Star Army!

The truth behind the cooperation of Bloodshed Land and the Limitless Financial Group was not known to Klent, and they only knew that the organizations within the Bloodshed Land were advancing by leaps and bounds, robbing the businesses of the Black Star Army.

Heber was also an ally of theirs, and Klent originally wanted to use some means to hide it, but they discovered it too late.

The news that ‘Black Star Army was going to visit Bloodshed Land’ had long spread. Now, most of the Shattered Star Ring knew that the Black Star Army was prepared to take action against Heber.

This was to the point that the Black Star Army had even publicly announced their flight destination. Every day, the distance from the Bloodshed Land was constantly decreasing.

Under such a high-profile momentum, many galactic residents of the Shattered Star Ring were waiting to watch a good show and eagerly awaited the meeting between the two parties.

Public opinion had already been established, so Klent had their arms and legs tied.

After another half a month, the Black Star Army’s fleet finally arrived at the Bloodshed Land’s headquarters.

…

Above the skies of the Bloodshed Land headquarters, a fleet of spaceships spread all over like a cloud of steel. All the Vanguard Officials were called back to lead different fleets and wait in line.

Heber stood on the surface of the planet with his hands behind his back, looking up at the deep black sky with a poker face.

According to the itinerary announced by the Black Star Army, today would be the day when their fleet was due to arrive.

When he discovered that the Black Star Army was coming to him, Heber knew that it was his premonition surfacing, but this was his territory. He could not run, nor would he run.

Thus, Heber stopped his roaming headquarters, waiting for the arrival of the Black Star fleet, and he intentionally showed that he was not panicking. This was to prevent people from mistakenly thinking that he was afraid of Black Star and thus manipulating his headquarters to run, delaying the time for them to meet.

In fact, Heber himself did not understand the goal of Black Star’s move. He did not think that Black Star would dare provoke infighting among the dynasty’s allies.

Could it be that this guy just wanted to use this method to deter him?

You are clearly still part of the dynasty, so should I be scared?

Humph, know the answer!

Yes, Heber was relaxed at this moment and wanted to see what Han Xiao had in stock.

While he did not think that Han Xiao would be serious, they still had to put up a front, so he commanded his fleet to be on alert.

As for whether the fleet would suddenly take a detour to trick him, Heber never considered this possibility. If they really did so, it would be the Black Star Army that was embarrassing itself.

After waiting for a while, specks of light lit up at the end of his sight and stopped in the blink of an eye not far from Planet Heber, revealing the appearance of the Black Star fleet.

The fleet size of both was incomparable. Heber had more than a million spaceships on his side, while the Black Star fleet only numbered dozens.

On the other side, accompanying the Black Star fleet was also the Klent fleet, along with many galactic residents and galactic media groups.

Heber snorted, taking out his communicator and switching on the wide area communication channel before speaking.

“Black Star, I didn’t invite you, you did not mention in advance that you were coming to visit me, and you are not even here in person… What’s the meaning of this?”

Hearing this, many of the spectators got excited. They could sense the gunpowder in this sentence, and they carefully awaited Black Star’s reply.

After a moment, a cold mechanical voice sounded, without greetings or politeness, going straight into the main point.

“Heber, still remember our unfinished battle?”

Heber suddenly narrowed his eyes.

Without waiting for his answer, Han Xiao’s mechanical host said, “When I first stepped into the Beyond Grade A stage, you challenged me to a duel, and because of the dynasty, I had to agree, but there was no victor.”

“Humph.” Heber coldly snorted. “So, you’re here to send a duel challenge?”

“That’s right,” Han Xiao coldly replied. “When I first reached Beyond Grade A, you wanted to bully me. Now’s a good time for me to settle this debt with you. In twenty days, I’ll fight with you in the Seoul Star Cluster. You can choose the location.”

“Twenty days, heh? Can you even make it back from the dynasty?”

“Relax, only the two million mechanical troops and one of the mechanic hosts in this fleet now will go against you,” Han Xiao slowly said. “I don’t think you’ll be scared, right? Where’s the confidence you had when you fought me? I just stepped into Beyond Grade A a few years ago, but you don’t dare duel me?”

His mechanical life forms were developing in the Flickering World, so Han Xiao did not bring them over this time. Thus, there was only one batch of mechanical soldiers as well as a host, all of which were the reserves of the Black Star Army headquarters. This batch was even manufactured before he hit level 300, so there was no manufacturing bonus at all.

Hearing this, Heber immediately grew annoyed.

After the battle of Planet Lighthouse, Heber suspected that he was not Han Xiao’s opponent, but that was if Han Xiao came personally. Now, he did not even bring a single one of his apostle weapons, and he only wanted to rely on a host and a batch of mechanical soldiers to challenge him?

He was showing Heber zero respect!

“Hahaha…” Heber’s expression was frosty. “You’re just afraid to come over personally, right? Are you scared that you’ll be cornered with nowhere to run? Humph, to use only a bunch of mechanical soldiers to challenge me, even if I destroy all of them, you’re still safe, right?”

“It’s up to you how you want to think. I’ve already issued the challenge. Do you dare accept?” Han Xiao did not bother explaining himself.

Heber thought about it and realized that Han Xiao had actually sealed off all his paths of retreat.

First of all, the matter had already blown up, and the Tyrant’s reputation did not allow him to admit defeat. Secondly, when he issued the challenge when Han Xiao first reached Beyond Grade A, the other party had agreed easily to the duel. If he tried to argue back now, it would be embarrassing for him.

Turns out, this was your plan all along…

Heber was furious.

Resolving this grudge was just an excuse to force him to be unable to refuse. In essence, this happened because of the recent undermining of the Black Star Army’s businesses. The other party struck into the core of the matter and openly issued a challenge, wanting to use fists to talk, to destroy his prestige.

Black Star, your timing is really good. I’m now riding on the back of a tiger and cannot get down!

Heber smiled through his anger. “Good, I’ll accept your challenge. Black Star, you’ve been too successful recently and have become arrogant. I’ll give you a free lesson in humility!”

If it was Han Xiao’s main body, it would be different. Heber knew that he was not Han Xiao’s opponent, but if it was just a mechanical host, Heber thought that he would not lose to him.

To actually dare look down on me…

Do you think that my title of Tyrant was obtained through nothing‽

“Very well, I’ll wait for the details.”

Seeing that Heber had accepted, the Black Star fleet turned back and went away, quickly disappearing from the eyes of everyone present.

“Disperse.” Heber snorted, waving his hands and commanding his fleet to retreat.

He coldly swept his gaze across the spectators before walking back into his palace.

The galactic residents who watched the whole journey became excited immediately.

Many of them had seen the battle between the two men many years ago, and now history was repeating itself before them.

This time, however, the roles were reversed!

“There will be a nice show to watch!”

“Last time, the dynasty came forward to mediate, so there was no clear winner and loser. This time, I don’t know if the dynasty will mediate.”

“I doubt so. They have no reason to intervene. Last time, they didn’t prohibit the Tyrant from issuing the duel, so they cannot do the same for Black Star.”

The countless galactic residents began to chatter and discuss the fight among themselves.

Within the headquarters of the Bloodshed Land, Sorokin sat there with a frown as he watched the Black Star fleet leaving.

Black Star’s move was bold, and there was even a suspicion of infighting. Sorokin had guessed that this situation was a possibility, but he did not expect Black Star to really carry it out.

If he could defeat the Tyrant, Black Star would have the pressure on him alleviated somewhat, but the price of that was that the prestige of the Tyrant would plummet. The Crimson Dynasty was unlikely to sit back and watch this happen, as the deterrent power of their Beyond Grade A allies was equivalent to a bargaining chip of the dynasty.

If you really succeed, then my plan will again rise in difficulty. Sorokin was lost in thought, his brow tense.

Chapter 950 - Showing Oneself, Entering the Scene!

With the bystanders spreading the word, the news of Black Star’s battle against the Tyrant quickly spread throughout the Shattered Star Ring and even to other major star fields.

The grievances of the two were dug out like melons by the crowd, adding an extra gimmick to the battle and attracting widespread attention.

It was not like conflicts between allies in the advanced civilizations had not occurred before. Although they were working for the same civilization, their alliance was not bound, and it was all for mutual benefits, with the resources ultimately divided. This would inevitably create a conflict of interests.

So long as the friction between allies did not cross the line and did not result in any serious internal strife, the advanced civilizations would not come forward to mediate. They did not plan to make sure all their allies had a good relationship with each other. Furthermore, competition would bring forth vitality. The issue of resource distribution was also too troublesome for the civilizations to mediate.

As for the challenge Black Star issued to the Tyrant, this was at the very edge of their limits. Thus, the dynasty could choose whether they wished to interfere or not.

This incident was brought up to the upper echelons of the dynasty.

“A few days ago, Black Star officially issued the Tyrant a challenge for a battle in twenty days. The Tyrant has accepted, and now the news is spreading like wildfire. Everyone, what are your views?”

At the head, Urranrell tapped her slim fingers on the table, surveying everyone present.

“Well, Black Star did not discuss this with us first, moving before he asked for permission. This will affect the dynasty’s influence in the Shattered Star Ring, which is not good for us,” a senior official said seriously.

“Indeed, the external environment of the dynasty is now worrying. For us, maintaining the stability of the star field is the most important. I feel we should intervene in his matter,” another echoed.

Some others had a different opinion. “We can’t put it like this. Black Star’s approach is justifiable, as the Tyrant proposed the duel years ago to Black Star when he had just entered the Beyond Grade A realm. Black Star wishing to resolve this grudge now is completely understandable.”

Hearing this, an official from the neutral faction added, “It’s true. At that time, we didn’t stop the Tyrant because Black Star had only joined us after accepting the duel invite. A Beyond Grade A’s promise cannot be taken back easily, so we cannot interfere with Black Star’s duel now, or it would be unfair.”

“Yes, not to mention that the recent actions of the Bloodshed Land have affected the interests of the Black Star Army. If we are biased toward the Bloodshed Land, this will greatly affect Black Star’s perception of the dynasty.”

“But the reputation of the Tyrant…”

The officials present were divided into two sides, one supporting interfering and one supporting standing by to watch. However, those that were talking were only the pawns in charge of conveying the intentions of each faction.

As for those leaders of the factions, none of them had spoken up till now.

Urranrell listened quietly before gazing at the Chief Commander of the Exploration army, Tarrokov, and asking, “Tarrokov, what do you think?”

Once this remark came out, the audience tacitly quieted down, knowing that it was the time for the bigshots to display their stances.

“Black Star… I’m very acquainted with him already.” Tarrokov smiled. “I believe he knows his limits very well.”

“Hmm.” Urranrell nodded before gazing at Bekorodi, who was representing the opposite end. “And you?”

Bekorodi’s expression was calm like a mirrored lake, and he only smiled before slowly saying, “I… choose to remain neutral.”

Hearing this, a flash of doubt passed through Urranrell’s eyes, along with some surprise.

She knew that Bekorodi had always been against Black Star, as though that guy had cuckolded him.

But to think that he gave such an unexpected response. This implied that Bekorodi was taking Black Star’s side this time.

Supporting neutrality right now was akin to supporting Black Star because everyone there knew that if the battle were to proceed, the reputation of the Tyrant would be severely damaged, and Black Star’s reputation would skyrocket.

What Heber did not know was that, in the eyes of the dynasty’s upper echelons, the chance of Heber winning against Black Star’s avatar was less than ten percent!

This was because, not too long ago, the outpost had delivered the observation report of Black Star when he advanced, and this report had caused a sensation among the upper echelons of the dynasty.

Black Star had only entered the Beyond Grade A realm a few years prior, and the battle at Planet Lighthouse as well as the fall of the EsGod had shown his growth. The dynasty originally thought that he would remain quiet for a while, but it was as though Black Star had drunk some high-energy motor oil, setting his buttocks on fire and shooting him straight up into the sky. He actually grew once again in such a short time!

Compared to the normal speed of a Beyond Grade A, these few years were far too short!

While they were unaware as to what extent Black Star had grown, based on ‘Dark Lord’ Clotti’s hypothesis, Black Star should be near or even at the peak of the Beyond Grade A realm. He had achieved this hundreds of years ahead of the projected time, and even the Dark Lord had been shocked, saying how he had never met someone so perverted in his entire life.

Thus, in the eyes of the dynasty, the Tyrant’s odds of victory were so low that they could be considered pathetic. To that end, they even wondered if Black Star sending an avatar to battle was merely to infuriate the Tyrant further and let him think that he had a chance of victory.

The outcome of this war was already set in stone, and Black Star would likely become the new spokesperson for the dynasty in the Shattered Star Ring. The Tyrant could still grow his influence, but it would never reach the same level as before Black Star challenged him…

In the eyes of the outsiders, it meant that Black Star would take the head seat of the Beyond Grade As within the Shattered Star Ring!

Urranrell was naturally willing to see this happen, so all those within the Ruler’s faction sided with Black Star. She originally thought that someone would jump out today and insist on interfering in the battle, but she did not expect Bekorodi, who would usually give her trouble, to change his position!

Frowning secretly, Urranrell then looked toward Ludwell.

“I also support neutrality.” Ludwell’s expression did not change. It was not because he was grateful to Black Star but rather because he typically followed the direction of the Ruler’s faction.

Moreover, he was not as radical as the hardliner faction. Containing Black Star would be a strategy for the future. right now, it was more important to gain Evolution Cube uses or to buy Evolutionary Totems.

Today is a weird day. Why are all of them suddenly speaking so nicely? Urranrell grumbled to herself.

By the side, Bekorodi lightly closed his eyes, casting a deep look at Ludwell.

Just a few days ago, Sorokin, whom he had a deal with privately, had sent him a message, hoping for him to interfere in the battle. If they allowed Black Star’s name to continue rising, Sorokin’s plan would become more difficult.

Normally, he would definitely have interfered in the battle, but the situation now was different. Ludwell had spoken to him about half a month ago, and the deep meaning between his words had made him wonder.

Thus, Bekorodi could only ignore Sorokin’s opinion and temporarily sheathe his weapon, observing the situation. Acquiring the Evolution Cube would be good, but protecting one’s life was more important.

The conference room’s atmosphere was a little heavy, and after the senior officials of the factions sent out a unified reply of their opinions, no one dared jump out to object.

Urranrell only felt that this was too successful and slowly said, “Since no one has any objections, let’s make it as such. As long as Black Star doesn’t act unreasonably, like killing Heber, we will not interfere.”

“Understood.”

Everyone nodded while having their own inner thoughts.

…

“Black Star and the Tyrant are duelling?”

In the group chat of the Dynasty’s Beyond Grade As, Beyoni excitedly posted that question and blew out all the lurkers within the chat.

Milizaus snorted. “I knew that both of them would fight one day.”

“No need to talk any further. Start the bets.” Beyoni rubbed his hands.

“I’ll put a small bet to not hurt any feelings. Black Star, fifty million Enaus.” Ravenlaude laughed, not even the least bit embarrassed at selling out the Tyrant.

“Oh, I’m close to Heber and understand his strength quite well…” Viru stroked his chin. “I’ll bet on Black Star too, ten million.”

“Black Star, two hundred million,” Lotus Swordsman indifferently commented.

“Oi, how are we going to open the bet if all of you bet on Black Star?” Milizaus was unhappy.

“Simple, you can go call all The Ancient Ones out, and I’ll pull in those from the Federation of Light and the Arcane Church. This will make it more interesting.” One of the lurking three National Pillars of the Dynasty could not take it any longer and surfaced, joining in the fun.

“Ingenious, ingenious plan.” Milizaus laughed out loud.

While the Arcane Church had hurt him, the other party had lost even more, so he did not have much of a grudge against them.

The Beyond Grade A circle was only this big, so while they belonged to different civilizations, they would still have their own private dealings.

The Ancient Ones along with those in the three Universal Civilizations made up more than half of the entire population of Beyond Grade As in the explored universe. This could be said to be a grand event.

Regarding the battle between Black Star and the Tyrant, not only did no one worry, they even riled up the matter. Only those that belonged to the direct line of the Dynasty’s Beyond Grade As would carefully consider the matter from the viewpoint of the dynasty.

Everyone was a Beyond Grade A, and there was no good drama without fighting!

…

On a blood-red planet in a distant star field, an endless beast tide rushed toward a red figure like a black ocean. Countless broken beast carcasses fell to the ground, their blue blood infiltrating the soil, leaving the red land splattered with blue.

The beasts were a ferocious galactic life form that could sleep and drift through the universe. Once they fell to a planet, they would quickly multiply and consume everything on the surface, forming a catastrophe.

In the prosperous star fields, these sorts of galactic creatures had long been eradicated, but there were still some nests in the remote and wild areas of the universe.

At this moment, from the center of this beast tide, a rich crimson energy continuously exploded. Wherever it passed, the energy swept through, harvesting all life.

Hila’s eyes were frosty, and she took in nothing except for the incoming beast tide. Her death energy radiated out from her as though it was free, and the soul energy of the beasts that died to it was absorbed by her body, constantly strengthening her abilities.

In the sky, Ames was suspended in midair, overlooking Hila who was slaughtering the beast tide with no intention of helping.

The goal of this trip was not to have fun; Hila needed to improve her Esper ability quickly, and the fastest method was through slaughter. However, their targets this time were the brutal beasts.

It was not known how long the battle lasted. When the last beast fell, Hila was covered in blue blood, and she gasped for air as she looked around.

As far as she could see, the carcasses stretched over the horizon, and the earth was dyed blue.

The blood of these creatures smelled like curdled milk, sour and smelly. Hila held her breath and dragged her tired body to Ames.

“The efficiency is quite high.” Ames lightly nodded.

Lowering her head to look at the situation, Ames clutched with her palm.

Rumble!

The earth trembled and rose up, like an earth dragon that was stretching itself. Ridges of earth protruded out, twisting around the ground, creating a spectacular scene.

The force field churned for a while, and when the sand and dust gradually settled, all the carcasses were buried in the ground, like the land was being plowed.

If it was Ames who acted, destroying the beast tide was just a matter of flipping her hand.

Her jade white hands retreated into her black sleeve, and with a smile on her face, Ames said, “When you can achieve this level where you can reap the lives of hundreds of millions of creatures with a wave of your hand, then you can be considered to have reached the Beyond Grade A realm.”

Hila only mutely nodded, her face passive, as though her whole body was not covered in grime and blood.

“By the way, I saw the news just now.” Ames took out her communicator as she lightly laughed. “Black Star challenged the Tyrant to a duel, and just like the previous time, he even set the date to be twenty days later. What a wicked sense of humor.”

The previous time, Ames had welcomed the battle with him, so her memories of that were especially clear.

“Eh?” Hila frowned, and a frosty air exuded out from her. “Shall we go and help?”

“Hehe, relax…” Ames indifferently laughed. “The current him does not need any assistance.”

…

The major organizations of the various star fields were all paying attention to this matter. Due to the continued fanning of the news, more and more people around the universe got to know about the battle between the two.

The gambling industry had also started its own operations. Originally, Black Star’s odds were very high, but because he did not participate personally and only sent an avatar along with two million mechanical soldiers, the win rate comparison was adjusted and set to six to four in favor of Heber.

Ordinary people had no way to understand the actual combat power of the Beyond Grade As. In the eyes of many, while Black Star had an impressive record, many still felt that the Tyrant was no pushover. In the heart of the citizens, many felt that a Beyond Grade A who did not turn up personally would never be an opponent of the same level. Many of them still bet on the Tyrant.

Under this bubbling atmosphere, twenty days passed in a flash.

…

Planet Black Tyrant was originally a barren and desolate planet. Ten days prior, when Heber chose this spot, Klent had given this planet the name and put it on the star map.

Maybe Klent had plans to make this place into a tourist attraction in the future, but the spectators that came did not think this way. After the battle, it would be hard to say if the planet was still there.

Black Star did not mind having the duel in Klent territory. He wanted to let people see his confidence, and there was no need to be afraid of any possible losses since he was only using mechanical soldiers.

Because of this, the Beyond Grade A mechanics felt a huge headache. As long as his wallet could support it, he could take all sorts of unbridled risks.

Many people had flocked to Planet Black Tyrant.

With what happened a few years ago as the lesson, the majority stayed far away. No one wanted to be the unlucky person that would be accidentally killed.

The Bloodshed Land’s fleet was suspended in the surroundings to guard the area, while Heber stood alone on the surface. His eyes were closed as he readied his mindset, and his burly body stood ramrod straight, giving off a pressuring aura.

“Can he win?”

On the spaceship, one of the Vanguard Officials could not help breaking the silence.

“Are you doubting His Excellency?” Fosters coldly glanced over.

“Are you not?”

Fosters gritted his teeth, glaring at the offender before turning his head back. He had no comeback.

In reality, his palms were already slick with sweat.

If the Tyrant could not defeat Black Star himself, he would definitely feel disappointed, but he had already mentally prepared himself for that. However, what would come today was just an avatar, and if the Tyrant could not even defeat that…

“That’s not possible. In just a few short years, how could Black Star become so strong?”

Fosters shook his head fiercely, muttering to himself. It was unknown whether he said that to convince others or himself.

Jorde turned his head around. He gazed at the worried expressions of the other Vanguard Officials, and his face turned pale.

When did the eight Vanguard Officials under the Tyrant that had unwavering loyalty become like this?

When did this trust start to shake?

That’s right. It was when Black Star first reached Beyond Grade A. When the Tyrant dueled with him and did not obtain a clear victory, that was when the seeds of doubt were planted.

If they had known of this, they should have gone against the Tyrant’s wishes and killed off Black Star during the secret war.

Black Star… was really a poison that struck the core.

You have to win, Your Excellency… If not, it will be hard to keep the hearts of the people.

Jorde sighed.

A pity, there are no what ifs in this world.

At this moment, Heber suddenly opened his eyes, glancing at a distant location.

Di di di…

The Black Star fleet slowly appeared on the horizon, neither quickly nor slowly, just on time.

“Finally.”

Heber’s eyes were cold, and the hands that were behind his back suddenly clenched tight.

Chapter 951 - Mechanical Deity!

The spaceships in the distance parted to make way for the Black Star fleet to pass through.

Under the excitement and expectation of the countless people present, the Black Star fleet slowly approached Planet Black Tyrant, and its hatch opened, releasing the countless mechanical soldiers within. The mechanical soldiers streamed out like a long dragon, quickly arranging themselves into a dense and neat formation, occupying the entire sky, and their armors reflected the light from the stars.

Pairs of indifferent mechanical eyes overlooked the earthy brown planet below, focusing on the solitary Tyrant standing there.

Heber stood unmoving, coldly staring at the dense mechanical army in the sky. All of a sudden, he snorted, his powerful lungs propelling a loud roaring sound.

Hum!

The echo was like thunder, and Heber’s every cell began to pump energy frantically, such that the radar of the spaceships nearby all detected a high-energy response. Pugilist flames roared on his body and condensed on his legs. Even though he was standing still, the ground beneath him was cracking apart.

Both sides took a fighting stance, and the tense atmosphere was akin to an invisible net that instantly covered the whole audience.

The countless people on scene held their breath at the suspense.

At this time, the mechanical host stepped out of the crowd and came to the forefront of the mechanical army. The blue-gold Mechanical Force glimmered and sparkled as its eyes shone with light, carrying the will of Han Xiao.

“I’m here,” Han Xiao said through the wide area communications channel.

“Humph.” Heber coldly snorted in response.

This time, the dynasty did not interfere, and both knew that the battle would only end if one of them fell.

Suddenly, Heber bent his knees and kicked out his legs, and a shock wave burst out around him.

Boom!

A rift formed with just a stomp of his foot, and Heber rushed upward to the sky like an arrow in flight, with fierce battle intent in his eyes. He was wrapped in a red and gold pugilist flame, dazzling like the sun, and at this moment, he resembled a golden meteor!

From the sky, violent Mechanical Force burst forth from the body of the mechanical host, instantly linking together the mechanical army. Han Xiao activated all his skills and casually flung a [Luck Curse] on Heber.

The next moment, the vanguard mechanical soldiers swooped down as well, rushing toward Heber.

There was no foreplay to speak of; both sides immediately tucked into the main course, lunging at each other’s throats!

The golden meteor collided with the machines, the heat melted the armor, and the cracked parts flew out like shrapnel from a bomb, flying everywhere!

Boom boom boom!

One after another, the mechanical soldiers fell, and the golden meteor rushed deep into the formation before being slowed down and entangled by the countless machines.

The long-range troops in the rear spread out like a metal tornado revolving around Heber, shooting out psionic rays and dark energy repeatedly. Countless beams of light from all directions were shot toward Heber.

The mechanical army surrounded Heber tightly like a dark cloud, and this scene resembled a flock of crows dancing around the sun. From time to time, red and gold pugilist shockwaves fluctuated from the center.

Because Han Xiao’s mechanical army had undergone many rounds of strengthening, they were not too vulnerable even in the face of a Beyond Grade A. While this batch of old machinery was not the most updated, with the addition of his Mechanical Force, they were no longer simple mechanical soldiers that Heber could casually crush.

In this battle, Heber faced a different situation.

In the last battle, Heber’s goal was to demonstrate his prestige, and he intended to quickly get rid of Han Xiao.

But now that Black Star had achieved his current fame, Heber did not have any thought of quickly ending the fight. He was clear that Han Xiao was not there, so the only way to win this fight was to kill all of the soldiers present.

As long as he smashed apart all the troops that Black Star had brought over, it would be his win!

Thus, Heber’s mentality was more stable, and he was not in a rush at all. He had long made preparations for a sustained battle and focused on getting rid of the mechanical soldiers without any intention of ambushing Han Xiao.

However, the amount of injuries he obtained made Heber feel a lot more pressure than last time. The psionic cannon rays that hit his body gave him tremendous pain each time.

Heber was secretly startled at Han Xiao’s growth rate and gritted his teeth as he calculated in his mind.

While I can fight a prolonged battle, the longer I take, the more unfavorable it is to me. I need to improve my killing efficiency.

As he thought so, he increased the frequency and intensity of attacks.

On the other side, Han Xiao controlled the mechanical host to observe the combat, reading the combat information on the interface.

What a tough HP cow.

In his last battle, Heber’s combat information was filled with question marks. Now, with his level higher than Heber’s, it revealed his information completely.

Heber’s was at level 296, with some of them made up by his subclasses. Han Xiao was an anomaly, as comparing levels, there was not much difference between the two of them.

That being said, Heber’s Grade was still at S, without even the ‘+’ on it. This was the gap brought about by various bonuses.

Heber’s total HP was around 800,000, and his Endurance was more than 12,000, along with tons of explosive abilities adding a huge chunk of Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance. As for his pugilist skills, it went without saying that he had plenty of those.

The number of resistance talents on him was frightening, such as True Damage Immunity, Weak Injury Immunity, Fixed Injury Reduction, and Super Toughness. They were all talents that Han Xiao had seen during the last battle, making his defense extremely troublesome to overcome.

The last battle had ended in a draw due to the intervention of the dynasty. There was no winner among the two, so Han Xiao got the record of a tie. However, the fact was that he did not cause any serious damage to Heber at that time.

To deal with Heber, he could only slowly grind him down. It was fortunate that his Mechanical Force bonus and mechanical army had been strengthened many times, significantly raising his damage.

Thus, Han Xiao did not activate his [Perfect Mechanical Sense] Character Summon Card, nor did he need to.

Under such circumstances, the Tyrant was long not his opponent!

The moment the battle began, an S ranked mission popped up on his interface, named [‘Tyrant’ Heber], which was the same mission as the previous time. Based on the scenario of challenging a Beyond Grade A, this sort of Boss Mission would appear.

“I only have this mechanical host, which carries some of my attributes and abilities, but it’s enough to fight with Heber directly, preventing him from killing the soldiers too quickly.”

With a single thought of Han Xiao, the Lord’s Avatar shot out, passing through the heavily sieged front line and directly smashing into Heber. Its heavy metal fist was shrouded in Mechanical Force and sent out.

With a cold snort, Heber’s muscles swelled, as though pythons were wriggling under his muscles. The fresh muscle fibers twisted into a strand, displaying its strong elastic force. Heber’s terrifying strength from his whole body converged on his arm, and he drew back his arm before thrusting it forward to meet Han Xiao.

A red-gold fist and blue-gold metal fist collided violently, bursting out as a fierce energy shockwave and quickly spreading out!

Boom!

The violent aftermath pushed the surrounding mechanical soldiers quite a way away, tumbling around, and the atmospheric layer above them was also swept out, leaving a blank space.

With the addition of growth talents such as [Heroic Wrists] and [Divine Void Power], Han Xiao’s current Strength had reached more than 6,000, and the melee attack power was quite impressive.

The supporters of the two revolved around them, and the eyes of the galactic residents watching from a distance also followed the battle group firmly.

On one of the Federation of Light spaceships, one of the officials was recording the entire fighting process.

The federation and church both attached great importance to this battle, and both had sent spies to gather intelligence.

Black Star’s current strength would greatly affect their plans for the Evolution Cube, so they had to pay attention.

At this moment, a virtual projection of Manison stood at the corner of the cabin, watching the entire battle through the viewing window. He lightly said, “The chance of Heber winning is very slim.”

“Is that so? Although the Tyrant seems to be surrounded, his body is extremely tough, and he should be able to hold on until the mechanical army is destroyed.” The captain who was next to him carefully gave his opinion.

Manison shook his head. “I can feel that Black Star has become far stronger than he was before. Heber will probably not be able to last for long. His condition is getting worse… Furthermore, Black Star still has many of his trump cards that he has yet to pull out, such as the Void ability he used in the battle of Planet Lighthouse.”

Hearing this, the captain nodded to express understanding.

“I just do not know…” Manison paused and thoughtfully spoke. “With Black Star’s growth, has he already touched my current level? It should not be that quick…”

At this moment, part of the space above them fluctuated, and the magnificent Palace of Hidden Spells jumped out.

“Oh, they’re already fighting. It seems like I’m late.”

Seated at the top of his Palace of Hidden Spells, Austin overlooked the battle of the two with an expression of interest.

Most of the spectators were focused on the fight, and while a few of them noticed that Austin had arrived, they only spared him a glance before impatiently turning back to the scene.

Han Xiao also noticed Austin and could not resist curling up his mouth.

Why do you come as a referee every time we fight?

However, he had no time to dispose of his old man. Han Xiao withdrew his attention and continued to control his avatar.

Boom!

As the battle progressed, the ground of Planet Black Tyrant shattered, pitted with holes, and seemed to have turned into an onion, being peeled off layer by layer. The entire planet began to deform, as though Han Xiao and the Tyrant’s battle was a knife, slicing into the planet-sized onion with their skills.

Alone within the Human Wave Tactic, with the damage of the Mechanical army exceeding his expectations, Heber quickly fell into a disadvantage, becoming very passive. The heart of everyone in the Bloodshed Land started to tremble.

Faced with an army, the Tyrant was clearly disadvantaged against Black Star, and the battle had not even gone on for long. Could it be that the strength gap between the two was greater than they thought?

In the past battle, the Tyrant was clearly suppressing Black Star from start to end. In just a few years, their positions had swapped…

Looking at the disheveled Tyrant on the planet, Fosters clenched his fists, his expression indeterminate.

…

Boom!

Suffering from such a storm-like weapon barrage for so long, it was lucky that Heber had thick skin, or else he would not have lasted. He felt as though he was a sandbag being beaten up, and his entire body hurt like hell. His chances to retaliate were getting fewer; he could only focus on defending himself.

Bang!

After being beaten up several times in a row, Heber fell straight to the ground, creating a human shaped pit!

“Cough cough, Star Shaking Fist!”

Enduring the pain, Heber rallied his strength, blasting out a brilliantly thick golden pugilist strike toward the mechanical army swooping down from the sky, and it exploded to form a huge chain reaction, devouring a large number of mechanical soldiers.

However, after the energy dissipated, it was found that most of the mechanical soldiers had endured it with their psionic shields. While the damage was serious, they could still fight, and even the [Waste Modification] skill could not be forced out.

The gap… was so wide‽

Heber was not only envious; he was also furious. He was quite confident before the battle, thinking that it would be an easy victory when dealing with only one of Black Star’s platoons.

But after fighting for so long, he had done his best, but he had found out that he likely could not even defeat this platoon of Black Star’s!

How could this be‽

At the beginning, Heber was able to resist the siege of the mechanical army, but as his injuries and energy consumption increased, his state got worse.

Han Xiao was different; he grew fiercer the more he fought. Just the talent of converting his energy to HP would ensure that he had sufficient strength to go on. Furthermore, with talents such as [Advanced Strengthened Life], [Battlefield Wisdom], and [One Against The World], the longer he fought, the higher his strength became. With this, the current Heber was being embarrassed more and more, much like a beaten king.

If this continues, I’ll lose for sure!

With this in mind, Heber’s eyes turned red. He did not like to fail at anything, especially losing to Black Star in such a manner.

Boom!

The next instant, the high-energy response from Heber started to soar in an abnormal manner, and the waves of pugilist flames ripped all the nearby mechanical soldiers into scrap metal.

“Oh, what ability did he use?”

Han Xiao gazed at the interface and found a new state appearing in the status bar of Heber: [Polar Channel Flow—Cellular Overdrive].

He was no stranger to this move. This was a pugilist skill, and some players had learned it in their previous lives. It would force the activation of one’s cellular potential, to maximize the overclocking of all attributes such as HP and strength and temporarily obtain an advanced combat power for a period of several hours to several days.

However, the sequelae were serious. The moment one used this ability, every upgrade in the future would be permanently seven percent more expensive, and this would stack continuously with each usage without limit!

This was equivalent to squeezing out one’s future potential in exchange for temporary explosive power!

Generally speaking, no one would use this trick unless it was a last resort.

Han Xiao was a little stunned. Is it so difficult to accept losing to me? To even pull out this sort of self-destructive trick…

But upon seeing Heber’s expression, Han Xiao understood.

There was only stubbornness and self-esteem of the strong.

While the Tyrant’s usual style was pretentious and made many criticize him, at this moment, Han Xiao admitted that he was a qualified fighter.

Indeed, those who can become Beyond Grade As are not easy to deal with. Han Xiao pursed his lips.

The high energy response of Heber was also discovered by the radars, and everyone began excitedly discussing.

“What’s this? Did Heber pull out a killing move?”

“I thought that he could take it no longer. Seems like there’s still a counterattack!”

Heber burst into flames, directly crossing the 52,000 energy rank limit, and his grade rose to S+. The wounds on his body also rapidly healed.

As he stared at Han Xiao in anger, his hands clasped together, and a dazzling golden light began to shine in his palm, getting brighter and brighter.

Seeing this, Han Xiao’s avatar paused in midair.

“Since you’re so serious, I should stop playing as well.”

The moment he spoke, the Mechanical Force arced out like a spider’s web, connecting every individual mechanical soldier.

The next moment, the mechanical soldiers returned like birds to their nests, shooting toward the avatar and reassembling themselves. A huge mechanical structure gradually unfolded.

The Mechanical Force was akin to the nerves, blood vessels, and veins of this huge body!

Buzz!

“This… this is…”

Under the shocked eyes of the spectators, a huge machine assembled itself above Planet Black Tyrant.

A heavy pressure emanated from this machine, giving everyone the feeling that this was not individual soldiers gathered together but rather… a new, independent individual!

Heber’s eyes were wide, and under his shock, the pugilist waves undulated like a flickering lightbulb.

At the same time, Manison, who was viewing on the Federation of Light’s spaceship, looked as though he had been hammered. His eyes wide open, he exclaimed, “This is… a Mechanical Deity‽”

Chapter 952 - Crazy Beating

Manison was too familiar with the Mechanical Deity skill. This was also his ultimate skill, and for many years, there was no opponent who could force him to utilize it. Seeing that Han Xiao now also possessed this power, his emotions were set aflare.

If Manison was still in doubt before, he was now finally certain… Black Star had reached his current realm!

Incredible… this sort of growth rate…

Manison’s eyes were full of surprise.

In terms of age for a Beyond Grade A, Black Star was just too young, to the point of being immature, but how could he break through all common sense, raising his strength in just a few years to complete the accumulation that took other Beyond Grade As hundreds of years?

Could it really be because of talent?

Even if one looked from the ancient times till now, there was no one who had such terrible potential. Manison clearly remembered that the last time he sparred with Black Star, the mechanical talent he had displayed was very shameful, even making people doubt if he was a fake Beyond Grade A.

If it was not talent, then what was the actual reason?

Manison’s eyes flashed.

Could it be that… other than the Evolution Cube and Spacetime Amber, Black Star still possessed other Universal Treasures?

No matter what, this sort of growth rate is too weird. Black Star must have a great secret…

Thinking about this, Manison suddenly had a strong desire.

The desire to dissect Black Star and find out the truth.

Suppressing his impulsive thoughts, Manison eyes flickered as he thought about an important question.

Since Black Star has grasped the strength of the Mechanical Deity, then… has he discovered the secret of Adeptus Mechanicus?

The NPC Beyond Grade As did not possess an interface and were unable to understand their own skills, so they had to rely on trial and error instead. As such, not all Divine Throne Mechanics could discover the special effect of [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus].

If not for the inherited knowledge from the Mechanical Legacy, Manison could not be sure that he would have found out about the bonuses by having Mechanic believers.

The question now was, had Black Star also discovered this ability?

If Black Star had discovered this point, he would inevitably become a competitor and an obstacle on his road to a higher realm!

At this moment, the attention he paid to Black Star in his heart had been raised to the highest level!

“I need to pay more attention to him…” Manison narrowed his eyes.

…

“My God! It’s so big!”

“I, I actually have the urge to worship it. Is that natural?”

The image painted by the assembly of the mechanical army was majestic, and it inspired awe in the faces of the countless galactic residents on scene.

The Mechanical Deity comprised of two million soldiers was naturally huge, and compared to the Tyrant, it was like the gap between an ant and an elephant.

Not only was it huge, it also exuded a strong pressure, causing those who looked at it to have an impulse to submit.

Its shape could be melded based on Han Xiao’s consciousness, and the current Mechanical Deity took the shape of a huge silvery-black mechanical sphere, like an egg.

Under Han Xiao’s control, a head, arms, and legs protruded from the ‘egg’, and the Mechanical Deity slowly turned into a humanoid structure. Even his facial features were formed on the head, turning it into a gigantic version of Black Star.

The Composite Mechanical Deity possessed the functions of every single mechanical soldier assembled into it, and they could be used in every corner of its body through the nanoparticles. Furthermore, their effects would reinforce each other.

For example, if there were a hundred thousand shield generator mechanical soldiers integrated within, then the Mechanical Deity would be able to summon a hundred thousand psionic shields to protect all corners of its body, or it could fuse and overlap them to form a super-durable shield.

Han Xiao’s physical senses extended to every corner of the Mechanical Deity’s body, and everything could be controlled with a thought, as though this was his original body.

This feeling isn’t bad at all.

This was also Han Xiao’s first time utilizing this skill, and the feeling was quite miraculous.

The Mechanical Deity lowered its head from high above, overlooking the planet and locking onto the extremely tiny Tyrant below.

Its huge palm rose up before slapping down suddenly like a mountain descending from the heavens.

The palm broke through the atmosphere of the planet, its edges catching on fire, and its shadow covered a huge area, occupying Heber’s entire version.

Boom!

The speed of the palm resulted in a sonic boom, deafening the ears of all who heard it!

Heber’s expression was grim. He gritted his teeth to ease the shock in his heart. His palms pushed violently into the sky, and the waves of the highly condensed pugilist flames burst out.

“Star Shattering Mortar!”

Weng!

From Heber’s palms as the center, a halo of reddish gold spread out horizontally, and the pugilist flames expanded, turning into a huge beam tens of meters in diameter, moving rapidly toward the palm of the mechanical deity!

While the strong pugilist flames were akin to atomizing rays, vaporizing everything within their path, compared to the palm, it was like using a toothpick to hit one’s hand.

Clank!

A large number of mechanical parts assembled on the palm of the Mechanical Deity, quickly transforming into dense psionic shields. The shields overlapped and interlinked with each other to cover the entire palm, looking like a bubble with a blue gradient.

The next instant, the reddish gold beam connected with the palm.

Boom!

The resulting hurricane swept across the entire area, and on the half of the planet they were battling on, the clouds were blown away, and the crust ruptured!

The huge explosion expanded, smashing through several of the psionic shields, causing a few parts to melt on the surface of the palm. However, the palm persistently continued to press down, as though it wanted to smash the beam itself!

Heber continued to increase the output of the pugilist flames, to the point his whole body’s muscles burst apart, causing him to be drenched in blood.

However, he did not seem to feel the pain. His bloodshot eyes stared at the rapidly expanding Mechanical Deity’s palm in his line of sight. He squeezed out every ounce of energy in his body and further increased the fluctuations released by his palms, as though he wanted to suppress the palm!

But in reality, the golden beam got shorter as the palm continued its inevitable descent.

Suddenly, Heber’s vision was only left with blank whiteness.

Bang!

The palm smashed straight onto the planet and tunneled into the earth, leaving a palm print on the surface. The explosive energy was also pushed by it into the crust of the planet.

Everyone only saw a fracture appear, shining brightly with light.

In the next moment, the crack expanded completely, and a devastating explosion occurred deep within the planet, directly shattering the planet apart!

In an instant, the appearance of Planet Black Tyrant seemed to have turned into an apple that had been dug out from the inside!

Furthermore, this shape did not hold for long. Due to the imbalance in its broken core, the planet collapsed in on itself.

Boom!

The core of the planet turned into an explosive light cluster, ejecting all the material that made up this planet, shattering the entire planet into pieces!

This one palm literally destroyed Planet Black Tyrant!

The shockwave caused by the planetary explosion swept through and affected the crowd watching in the distance.

“Black… Black Tyrant… exploded!”

While the galactic residents watching from space were isolated from any sound, it did not prevent their imaginations from filling up the missing spots, and countless people shivered instinctively in front of this terrible scene. Some even peed their pants.

The explosion also affected the Mechanical Deity, shattering a large area of the psionic shields covering its entire body. Molten traces of melted metal appeared in many places around its body.

But the next moment, the nanoparticles flowed around the Mechanical Deity, repairing the damage. Due to the loss of material, it shrank in size slightly, but it still towered over everything else.

Many of the galactic residents swallowed audibly, craning their necks to look for traces of Heber.

“Where’s the Tyrant?”

“Could he have been blown to bits?”

“Probably not. He can use his own fleshly body to smash through a planet, so the explosion of a planet shouldn’t kill him… right?”

At this time, the battlefield had transformed into a new asteroid belt. Han Xiao swept through the battlefield, but he saw no traces of Heber and glanced toward the interface.

In the combat information, it showed that Heber had lost a great amount of HP. If not for his [Immunity to True Damage] as well as [Fixed Damage Reduction], this would have directly killed him. However, although his injuries were also very heavy, he still retained his battle strength.

This seemed to be a simple slap, but in fact, the palm strike contained a lot of different damages mixed in, such as Psionic Impact, the explosive damage of Heber’s own killer move, as well as damage from the shock wave devices equipped on the palm. In addition, this Mechanical Deity had countless output devices, so the Mechanical Force bonuses were amazing, comparable to the damage inflicted by the legendary Galactic Titan race from legends.

Of course, great power would naturally be accompanied by a huge amount of energy consumption. If not for Han Xiao’s talent allowing him to quickly recover energy, his Mechanical Deity would probably be like Ultraman, each fight only lasting for three minutes.

Han Xiao was currently looking for traces of the Tyrant when a feeling of pain was transmitted to him through his right arm. A series of explosions occurring from the inside revealed Heber within.

“Turns out, he took the slap as a chance to send himself inside the arm, wanting to destroy it from the inside out?”

Han Xiao shook his head.

The Tyrant’s choice looked to be the best tactic. The majority would think that with the huge bulk of the Mechanical Deity, its weakness would be the internal systems.

However, this law was not applicable to the Mechanical Deity!

…

Surrounded by mechanical parts, Heber was riddled with injuries but was still wreaking havoc within the right arm of the Mechanical Deity, breaking all the structures around him as he rushed deeper into the Mechanical Deity.

But the inside of the arm suddenly warped, and the separate mechanical soldiers assembled quickly, using the inside of the arm as a battlefield to fight against Heber. They flung themselves without care toward Heber.

“Scram!” Heber roared in anger, and his body exploded with strength, throwing all the soldiers clinging to him away.

As he was about to continue charging, his feet suddenly sank, and he found that the mechanical structure suddenly turned into a trap, biting into his fleet and restricting his movements.

The machinery around him shot out ropes that were made of a nanomaterial that was incredibly tough to restrict the movement of his body.

Immediately afterward, a variety of mechanical devices popped out, and various crowd control skills were applied, such as electromagnetic chains, gravity fields, and space distortions, which were thrown toward Heber.

Heber felt like he was stuck in quicksand. Not only did he become disorientated, it became extremely difficult to move.

Then, cannon muzzles appeared from all directions, aiming and concentrating their fire at Heber.

The thought of attacking from the inside was good, but entering the body of the Mechanical Deity was as good as sending oneself to the home field of a Mechanic!

Heber was attacked to the point his world spun, and his fury quickly reached the max. With a furious scream, he ignored the various restrictions, landing his fists deep into the arm of the Mechanical Deity.

“Star Shaking Fist!”

Boom!

The reddish gold beam blasted out, running through the arm of the Mechanical Deity.

But the attack only reached up to its elbow before a psionic shield blocked the way, and the Star Shaking Fist smashed directly on it.

Bang!

With the burst of light and impact, the entire right arm of the Mechanical Deity was shattered!

Heber was also thrown out, and as he spun around in the universe, he saw this scene, and his spirits were revived.

But before he could feel any excitement, the broken right arm suddenly disintegrated and turned back into the individual mechanical soldiers. Chains of Mechanical Force shot forth from the broken stump of the right arm, connecting to the soldiers like a spider web, and pulled them back.

The next instant, the scattered soldiers rejoined the original body, and the Mechanical Deity was whole once again!

Heber’s expression looked stiff.

“Pugilists who have reached the peak of the Beyond Grade A realm would probably have a chance of breaking apart the Mechanical Deity. As for you…” Han Xiao breathed in deeply. “You are still unqualified!”

He would not grant the Tyrant any time to recuperate and immediately activated the psionic cannons, concentrating their fire toward Heber.

No matter how one tried to dodge, it would only end in failure. The only option they had was to choose what to be attacked with.

After barely resisting for a while, Heber could no longer continue defending and was beaten up crazily by the Mechanical Deity, turning into a sandbag.

The people watching this scene all understood the situation.

At this moment, Heber’s appearance of being thrashed by Han Xiao was imprinted on everyone’s heart, and they would never forget it.

The image of the arrogant and strong Tyrant was thoroughly shattered in the hearts of all the citizens of the Shattered Star Ring.

Chapter 953 - Shattered Mentality

The battle became a one-sided beating. Heber’s tragic state was reflected in the eyes of the Mechanical Deity, but it was unknown as to when the beating would stop.

Some of the people could not bear to watch and averted their gazes, but they could not help turning back again.

This disheveled state of a Beyond Grade A was not commonly seen, and it was valuable video information. Not many would waste the opportunity to watch it in real life and have the capital to boast of it to others in the future.

As everyone in the Bloodshed Land watched their commander get beaten up by Black Star, a sense of shame and anger rose in their hearts, and they could barely resist the urge to rush up to help.

However, they were well aware that if Heber could not even fight against Black Star, them going into the battle would be like sending themselves up for the slaughter. Not only would it be useless, it would also destroy the fairness of this battle, decreasing the reputation of the Bloodshed Land further.

Moreover, the Tyrant himself would never forgive them if anyone dared interfere.

Thus, everyone watched, trembling in anger as their boss was pummeled repeatedly.

Bang!

Fosters’ expression contorted, and he smashed the metal bulkhead of the spaceship in anger. His whole body was shaking as he restrained his urge to join the fight.

“Tyrant…” Jorde gritted his teeth, feeling the shame as well.

How could they feel proud when their own boss was being thrashed?

On the other side, the three universal civilizations had many Beyond Grade As involved in the bet, and they were carefully gazing at the broadcast.

After the battle of Planet Lighthouse, the Beyond Grade A circle had already affirmed Black Star’s strength, and most of them had guessed that Black Star would win but not the outcome.

In their predictions, Heber would at least cause some form of trouble for Black Star, killing most of his mechanical troops. They did not expect the situation to be such that Heber had no room left to fight back, with Black Star holding the initiative for the entire battle.

“To be beaten to this state, the defeat is too embarrassing to look at.” Ravenlaude shook his head.

“Black Star is a really terrible guy. I think that Heber is already strong for being able to survive for so long. If it was me…” Beyoni shuddered, imagining what would happen if he was in Heber’s place.

Really now, why are you scaring yourself? Black Star and I are good friends, really good friends…

“Regarding this point, I believe Dylan and you would have a lot of common topics.” Milizaus could not help but poke fun at him.

Viru was a little sad as he sighed. “Sigh, after this battle, the prestige of the Tyrant will not even be a tenth of what it was.”

As a pugilist, seeing Heber being beaten to this state made him feel a little sad and embarrassed.

The usage of Mechanical Deity by Black Star allowed the Beyond Grade As to know what this meant. It meant that he had already touched on the peak of the Beyond Grade A realm, so the defeat of Heber was not a shameful thing, but it was a fact that Heber had provoked Han Xiao earlier on in such a manner.

It was not just the allies of the dynasty. Even those from the federation and the church were discussing Black Star on their various channels. Han Xiao’s performance caused the other Beyond Grade As to break out in cold sweat.

As they discussed the battle, the Mechanical Deity suddenly came to a stop.

Everyone’s eyes gleamed.

“It has come to an end!”

…

An irresistible force came from the palm of the Mechanical Deity, and Heber was once again blown out, smashing through several broken planetary fragments along the way until the momentum stopped when he collided with a particularly huge continental plate. His entire figure was imprinted on it, leaving a human-shaped hole on the outside.

Fresh blood covered his sights. Heber’s trembling palm reached for the edge of the hole, and he pulled himself out. There was no part of his body that was not wracked with pain, and he was literally dripping with blood. He did not know how many bones and tendons were broken or snapped, and he could feel that his internal organs were close to becoming meat paste. Throughout his entire body, his extremely tired cells were barely repairing themselves.

The pugilist aura on Heber’s body flickered like a candle on the wind, as though it could die off any moment.

Gritting his teeth, he wanted to revolve his strength again, but instead, a surge of powerlessness hit his body. There was not even a drop of strength left in him.

Raising his head, he saw that the Mechanical Deity did not continue its pursuit but rather looked at him from afar.

“Continue!” Heber wanted to scream angrily, but sound could not travel through the vacuum, so he could only open his mouth mutely.

At this moment, the Mechanical Deity was released, and the mechanical host carrying Han Xiao’s avatar popped out, floating in front of Heber. Looking at the man who had no untouched piece of skin throughout his body, Han Xiao released air to envelope both of them before opening the wide area communication channel.

“It’s over. You have no more strength to continue the battle.” Han Xiao’s voice sounded through the channel, travelling into the ears of everyone present.

“This level of injury is only enough to tickle me. I still can fight with you for the whole day!”

Heber’s eyes were bloodshot, and regardless of how his body was teetering on the edge of death, he dragged his torn muscles and threw a fist toward the avatar.

Pa!

The fist was easily caught. The strength within was not even a tenth of its original.

Han Xiao breathed in deeply, calmly saying, “Admit defeat. You’ve already lost.”

Within his combat information, Heber’s HP value was already close to nil, full of status conditions. If he continued fighting, he would definitely die.

Han Xiao had already achieved his objective. There should be a bottom line for everything. The reason the dynasty did not interfere this time was because they knew that he understood where his limits were, not because they did not care that an ally would die by his hand.

When taking action, what mattered most was controlling one’s actions. There was nothing to gain from going overboard. There was no point in him getting his future development restricted by the dynasty just because of one mere Heber.

The Tyrant today did not possess the qualifications for Han Xiao to personally finish him off.

“Admit defeat? This phrase doesn’t exist in my dictionary! I don’t need your pity!” Heber raged, wanting to continue.

The next moment, countless mechanical capturing devices flew over, directly locking down Heber’s body and only leaving his head unbound.

Ka ka ka!

Heber struggled with all his might, but there was no way for him to escape in his current state.

“Don’t deceive yourself; you’ve already lost.” Han Xiao’s tone sank. “You should understand the current state of your body and the injuries better than me.”

Heber did not answer, only glaring fixedly at Han Xiao, the unwilling and rage within clearly expressed, almost condensing.

After shooting him a glance, Han Xiao indifferently continued.

“Relax, we’re still allies of the dynasty. I’ll spare your life.”

Hearing this, it was as though a bomb had gone off in Heber’s mind, filling it with unprecedented shame!

To be spared from death because of this identity was just like being forced to spare him, and this was a huge insult and torture to him.

He felt as though his dignity and pride were trampled under Han Xiao’s feet, almost causing him to go mad.

Han Xiao suddenly noticed something, retreating a distance away.

Swoosh…

Fosters and the other Vanguard Officials approached in a moment, standing guard in front of Heber.

“We’ve lost…” Fosters spat out the words with difficulty. “But if you still think you can insult His Excellency Heber, then you need to step over our corpses to do so!”

The Vanguard Officials all chorused in agreement, their expressions filled with wariness and some degree of anxiety.

“What are you guys doing? Scram!” Heber was furious. He was always the one that protected others, and now him being protected by his men only gave him more shame.

If I lose, then so be it. How is it that I, a renowned Beyond Grade A, now have to hide behind Calamity Grades for protection?

“No!” For the first time, Fosters disobeyed Heber’s direct order.

Looking at all the backs of his Vanguard Officials, Heber felt a little stunned.

He had always regarded his men as consumables, and seeing this sight made him feel conflicting emotions.

In the distance, Jorde pursed his lips and surveyed his surroundings. Many of the Bloodshed Land members were showing confusion and conflicting emotions. He knew very well that the defeat of the Tyrant had directly shaken the beliefs of many people in the Bloodshed Land.

“I don’t know how many of them will choose to leave now…” Jorde sighed.

They might not join the Black Star Army, which they were hostile to, but there would definitely be people leaving the Bloodshed Land.

This scene also fell in the eyes of the spectators, with them feeling all sorts of complex emotions. The Bloodshed Land had been growing rapidly recently and was in the limelight. Nobody expected them to be hit so hard today.

Han Xiao ignored the group of Vanguard Officials and only stared at Heber directly.

“The old accounts between us are considered temporarily settled.”

The moment he finished speaking, Han Xiao no longer bothered with Heber’s response, flying toward the Palace of Hidden Spells under the gazes of everyone.

This move was also a signal, announcing the end of the battle.

As the victor, Han Xiao did not need to make any additional statements, nor did he need to chase after the Tyrant. This would only have a countereffect.

His goal had been reached by winning this battle. The rest would occur naturally without him deliberately pushing.

Seeing his action, the surrounding spaceships all parted for him to enter the Palace of Hidden Spells.

Everyone present knew that from this moment on, the new strongest of the Shattered Star Ring had been born!

…

Sigh, he indeed lost.

Within the Bloodshed Land fleet, Sorokin’s doppelganger sighed.

After this battle, Black Star had completely established his dominance of the Black Star Army in the Shattered Star Ring. Even if the Bloodshed Land could still compete with them, it would eventually still lose out, requiring twice the effort with half the amount of success.

The difficulty of the task just increased further… Sorokin was helpless.

His employers from the dynasty failed to stop the battle, which made Sorokin a little depressed.

But he did not fully count on others, as he was just a financial group in their eyes, and it was impossible for him to have absolute certainty in swaying the decisions of the Universal Civilization.

Taking a look at Heber who was supported by his Vanguard Officials as they flew back to the fleet, Sorokin snorted.

He did not know how long it would take for the Tyrant’s shattered mentality to recover, which might affect their cooperation.

The situation has become more troublesome now.

Sorokin’s eyes flickered.

Having such great prestige as a Beyond Grade A will always risk such a catastrophe. Prestige is both an influence and a shackle to the Beyond Grade A class. Fortunately, I’m not stupid like the Tyrant and have foresight. Only by throwing away the prestige of the Beyond Grade A will the shackles of one’s identity no longer bind you. Only then can you live like a fish in water, free and easy.

If he was allowed to choose, he would not even choose to engage in this battle.

A pity that the Tyrant was still shackled by his prestige and made such a foolish move. Poor fellow… Sorokin shook his head.

…

The countless spectators finally began to disperse from the scene. At the same time, Han Xiao’s avatar had just stepped foot on the Palace of Hidden Spells and met up with Austin.

Summoning a mechanical throne, Han Xiao surveyed his surroundings.

“I see you still love joining such boisterous events. Has the Palace of Hidden Spells been fixed yet?”

“Long ago.”

After some casual conversation, Austin opened his mouth to ridicule him. “Hehe, from today onward, you’re now the new head of the Beyond Grade As of the Shattered Star Ring. What are your thoughts?”

“None.” Han Xiao waved his hands before smirking. “In fact, I was already the head a long time ago; what was missing was just the identity.”

“You’re really shameless!” Austin laughed, but he did not deny the fact.

He knew that he was not Han Xiao’s opponent, Psyker had suffered under his hands before, Ames was close to him, and now with Heber out of the picture, Black Star was officially the strongest in this star field, the main spokesperson of the Crimson Dynasty.

After chatting a while, Han Xiao bade farewell and controlled his mechanical host to take the mechanical army back to the battleship, setting the return path before releasing [Lord’s Descent].

The vision of the avatar disappeared, and Han Xiao opened his eyes with the vision of his room in front of him.

He sat in silence for a moment before letting out a deep breath.

With this, he had temporarily disrupted Ty-Ty’s mental state and affected the influence of the Bloodshed Land, easing the pressure on him.

However, a Beyond Grade A’s mentality was not shaken so easily, and the Tyrant would accept reality sooner or later.

But in the short term, Heber was out of the picture.

Stretching his waist, Han Xiao opened the door and walked out.

Now that the mission to fight the Tyrant had been completed again, there was a reward to be drawn, and the necessary procedures had to be prepared beforehand.

Touching Feidin once would give him a lucky chance!

Chapter 954 - Behind Every Tank Is the Willingness to Sacrifice

Within the cabin hall, many of the guards either sat or stood, their eyes fixed on the virtual screen. In the picture, Heber was slapped into the planet by the Mechanical Deity, and the next instant, the planet exploded. This was the UHD battle video recorded by the galactic media groups present. Currently, it was being replayed, and there were even sound effects added to the picture.

While this was the second time they were watching this, Hadavy could not help but sigh, muttering to himself, “When will I reach such a level?”

“Maybe… in your next life?” One of the Black Star Guards seated beside him laughed evilly. This guy was one of the Calamity Grades that had joined very early on, and he was also one of Hadavy’s ‘bad influences’.

“With your Esper Ability, even if you reach the Beyond Grade A level, it is estimated that your destructive force will not be at this stage.” Aurora shook her head.

“His ability allows him to take a lot of hits,” another person interjected. “Maybe if he reaches Beyond Grade A, he’ll become the favorite sandbag of all the Beyond Grade As.”

Hearing this, Hadavy grumbled in dissatisfaction, “Humph, you guys are just jealous.”

“Hehe, honestly, even if you do break through your limits and become a Beyond Grade A, you might not even be able to absorb as much damage as His Excellency Black Star, and you also don’t have a variety of moves like him… I think you’ll be the weakest Beyond Grade A in history.”

Thinking about it, Hadavy realized that was the case and immediately felt as though his future was dim, and his spirits hit rock bottom.

“Don’t worry about all that.” Feidin smiled warmly, stretching out a hand to squeeze Hadavy’s shoulder. “Who knows, maybe you can’t even advance to Beyond Grade A?”

Hadavy rolled his eyes and nastily retorted, “It’s Chen Xing, isn’t it? Don’t try to imitate the Vice Captain.”

As they all chatted with each other, the cabin door suddenly slid open, and Han Xiao walked in with large strides.

“Army Commander, good day!”

Many of them stood up quickly and saluted, staring at Han Xiao with heated gazes.

After watching the live broadcast, Black Star had just become more powerful and mysterious in everyone’s mind. As his strength increased, so did everyone’ s awe of him.

“Everyone’s here.” Han Xiao nodded, and glancing at the virtual screen, he laughed. “Haven’t you all seen it already? Why are you even watching it again?”

Hadavy stepped up and declared with a boot-licking expression, “This is all to admire your heroism!”

He had initially joined the Black Star Army for a transaction, but after witnessing Han Xiao’s potential so many times, he was completely won over by him.

After this battle, everyone knew that Black Star had officially become the strongest in the Shattered Star Ring. This identity was not just a simple name but brought with it reputation, influence, and pride.

A Beyond Grade A had to defeat all their peers in the same Star Field to obtain this title, and within the Shattered Star Ring, although Black Star was considered strong, the public did not know of this and always compared him to the Tyrant.

But having proved his point now, the majority of ordinary galactic residents also recognized his status as the strongest within this Star Field.

Seeing his immeasurable future, Hadavy could not wait to hug Black Star’s thigh and was willing to accept Black Star’s beatings every day.

Seeing this, Han Xiao had a weird expression.

He knew that Hadavy had been somewhat reluctant to join him, but how had he suddenly changed so drastically in his mentality?

Could it be that I’m so charming?

Shaking his head, he spoke a few customary sentences to everyone before arriving in front of Feidin. Just as he was about to proceed with the ‘molestation’, Feidin jumped away like a frightened deer.

“Wait… wait a minute, I’m Chen Xing!”

Han Xiao paused and put down his hand, laughing. “It’s alright. Take your time. I’ll wait.”

Chen Xing immediately retreated into the mind, and Feidin took control once again. While his temperament was as gentle as a spring breeze, he had an expression of resignation.

In the past, when he got touched, Feidin was against it, but now, he had thoroughly accepted his fate.

After going through so many things, even he had to wonder if he was really just too lucky.

Seeing this, Han Xiao hurriedly came up, grabbing a handful of luck, and felt as though some luck glow had been transferred to him.

Returning to the room, Han Xiao could not wait to open the panel and select the option to complete his mission.

The random reward gave him a Character Summon Card of Heber, as though Feidin’s luck this time had gone through the roof. The ability was actually [Polar Channel Flow—Cellular Overdrive], and while he could only use it once, it had been modified such that there was no sequelae.

The experience rewarded were average for Beyond Grade A boss missions, and the twenty odd billion experience he obtained helped to supplement his drying experience reservoir.

The two Legendary Points that he obtained the previous time did not appear, meaning that the awarding of Legendary Points was a one-off thing. However, because of the impact this battle had, he still managed to obtain another completely new Legendary Point.

_____________________

Universe Legendary Point: Strongest of the Shattered Star Ring—You are standing at the pinnacle of a Star Field, and the universe extols your prestige!

_____________________

This Legendary Point was likely something that would never be achievable for players.

After his rewards were settled, it was time for the final reward, the ability extraction!

_____________________

You have received the reward: Draw one of Heber’s abilities or talents.

Note: Heber is a Pugilist. Some of the abilities and talents are adjusted according to your class.

Randomizing… complete.

Please select one from the five options below as the reward:

1. Berserker – Ability: +110% damage for energy attacks, +50% energy consumption. Duration: 10s. Cooldown: 75s.

2. Polar Channel Flow—Cellular Overdrive – Ability: Liberate cell restrictions and squeeze out one’s potential. You will briefly erupt into a higher level of combat capability, but after usage, you will be inflicted with a ‘Weakened’ status for 1 month, and skill upgrade costs will permanently increase by 7%.

3. Melee Combatant – Talent: When engaging in melee combat, +40% attack speed and +2 to all melee skill levels.

4. Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction – Talent: When taking damage, after factoring in resistance, the damage is further reduced by 7,500 before calculating any other resistance-based talents. If you have the talent series of ‘Low Level Damage Immunity’, then the fixed damage reduction will be the maximum value of said talent.

5. Critical Combo – Ability: When you make a combo on a target, the Crit Rate and Crit Damage will increase with each combo hit. This effect is capped at 75% Crit Rate and 350% Crit Damage. Duration: 5s. Cooldown: 80s.

_____________________

Sweeping through the interface, Han Xiao was secretly overjoyed. There was indeed a difference between molesting Feidin and not, else he would not have gotten so many good skills.

But the more useful skills there were, the harder it was to choose.

Thinking about it, Han Xiao first removed [Berserker]. The skill bonus was toward purely energy damage, and while his Mechanical Force could injure people, the effect was too pathetic.

[Polar Channel Flow—Cellular Overdrive] was a good skill for burst damage, but the sequelae were too troublesome, unlike the time-limited side effect of using the Evolution Cube. Furthermore, the effect could still overlap indefinitely.

As for the effects… just look at Heber. If he could not win, then he would definitely not be able to win. There was no need to struggle and get hit more.

This ability had little significance for Mechanics, who did not rely on their body so much. Compared to a temporary burst, Han Xiao was more inclined to prepare more mechanical armies before the battle, and since he had just gotten a character card without side effects, this skill could be put aside.

Similarly, [Melee Combatant] was suitable for Mechanical Pugilists and Pugilists, but it was not too crucial for him.

As for [Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction], this was a Molding Talent, and while 7,500 damage did not seem like much, that was only because he was looking at it from the perspective of a Beyond Grade A. For a Calamity Grade, having this amount of damage reduction would boost their survival by at least two or three times.

And if it was a Grade B or Grade C who obtained this… they would basically be unkillable within the same level, and if players were to meet such a boss, they would know what true despair felt like.

This ability worked in tandem with the ‘Low Level Damage Immunity’ series. Heber possessed the talent [Legendary Low Level Damage Immunity], which granted him immunity to attacks below 16,000 points of damage. But this did not mean that his Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction was rendered useless.

The normal rule of damage immunity meant that damage below a certain limit was directly ignored, but this was not applied to attacks with damage above that threshold. However, after adding [Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction], even for an attack higher than 16,000 points, one had to first deduct 16,000 damage applied through Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction before calculating any resistance of lower priority, so both talents mutually supported each other to increase the immunity to damage.

However, Han Xiao had only managed to draw one, so the effect was discounted. In fact, what Han Xiao wanted was more of the talent [Super Toughness], which was the secret behind Heber’s thick HP. Furthermore, it had a low priority, which meant that it would further reduce whatever damage Heber obtained after going through Damage Reduction and Immunity.

As for the final skill, [Critical Combo], it was quite suitable for him. The number of combos that a mechanical army could fire out was a form of happiness that Pugilists could not imagine. This would definitely increase the crit rate and damage in the shortest time.

What a dilemma…

Han Xiao scratched his head, pausing in thought, before finally making a choice.

_____________________

You have been awarded [Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction]!

_____________________

As the ancient saying went, behind every tank was the willingness to sacrifice. Even though he really wanted to choose [Critical Combo]…

Letting go of a Molding Talent just like that would be too wasteful!

His own resistance was not low as well, and with his energy-HP conversion cycle, it would leave one in despair if he added this damage immunity…

Hehe, just imagining it was enough to give him goosebumps.

It is likely that I have to walk this tank path all the way to the end, but I would still rather have more DPS!

Han Xiao was torn.

After finalizing his rewards, Han Xiao let out a breath of relief. He slowly ruminated on the impact this battle had brought to him.

Obtaining the title of the strongest person in the Star Field would allow the Black Star Army’s business within the Shattered Star Ring to pick up, and at the same time, it would attract a new wave of talent.

However, the decline of influence for the Bloodshed Land would not hinder the investment of the Limitless Financial Group. The other party was still its main competitor, but their degree of expansion would face difficulties due to this strike.

As for the dynasty’s side, their lack of action meant that they tacitly agreed to this.

It seems like Ty-Ty will likely be hurt quite badly this time.

“Right now, the construction and development of the Flickering World still ranks as most important. For a period of time, the three Universal Civilizations will not have any conflicts with each other on the surface. In this manner, I can have a stable external environment to develop my mechanical civilization and Black Spirit Race, as well as set about building a secondary dimension factory…” Han Xiao murmured to himself. He had set the pace for these few decades during the version update early, which would allow him to steadily advance and make up for his lacking accumulation.

…

When the video of the battle was uploaded, it did not take long before the video reached the hands of the upper echelons of all civilizations. The upper echelons of the federation and the church each convened a temporary meeting specifically for this matter.

In the conference room, the Federation of Light’s President Bader looked around at the elders and senior officials present as he asked, “Everyone has watched the video. What are your thoughts?”

The Chief Elder tapped his cane and hoarsely said, “For whatever reason, it has become a fact that Black Star now possesses peak Beyond Grade A strength, and the Crimson Dynasty will soon usher in its fourth National Pillar, which is not advantageous for us.”

“That’s right.” Another of the senior officials injected, “Furthermore, Black Star is simply too young, and can serve the Dynasty for a long period of time. He is furthermore the most troublesome Virtual Mechanic class, and with them, it is likely that he can grow to Manison’s level, which will threaten our benefits.”

“What I’m worried about is when Black Star will next grow.” One official had a deep frown. “We thought that he would remain silent for the next decade or so, but time and time again, we have been proven wrong. Every time we feel that he requires some period to reinforce his foundation before he can further increase his strength, he suddenly does the reverse of our expectations.”

Hearing this, everyone fell into deep thought.

Meeting Han Xiao as an opponent that broke all common sense gave everyone a strong sense of pressure.

“If that’s the case, then the strategy for the Evolutionary Totem will have to be adjusted to some extent,” the Chief Elder concluded.

“Indeed.” Bader sighed. “I’ll have to discuss it with those from the Arcane Church.”

…

The battle had attracted a great amount of attention, to the point that this news had yet to abate even after half a month, but rather showed an upward trend.

With the spread of the galactic media groups, even the galactic residents that were not interested in war or battle could appreciate the ‘heroism’ of the Tyrant. Those who did not know of the Tyrant losing the battle all eventually came to hear of it.

A Beyond Grade A being thrashed was such an interesting topic, and this matter quickly became the dinner conversation of many galactic residents.

In the eyes of the majority, the Tyrant was a relatively unfamiliar Beyond Grade A, and now, his ‘fame’ was rising due to people knowing his presence in the form of being able to take beatings.

There was also news circulating that after the battle, Heber went into closed door cultivation, not even allowing his close subordinates to see him.

The incident spread vigorously, and a special group of people also noticed the Mechanical Deity that was revealed by Black Star.

The Machinery Faith!

Chapter 955 - Undercurrents Move Once Again

The palace hall made up completely of gold-alloy mechanical parts sat atop a mountain peak, and two mechanical islands revolved around it like planets around the sun. A bright red artificial sun hung in the sky, like a bloodshot eye, shining on this barren land.

Around the lone peak, there were countless large mechanical mining platforms, with the palace located in the middle. Coupled with the many Machinery Faith believers clad in mechanical suits and walking around the city, this scene resembled a mechanical city shaped like a ring. Armored transport vehicles whistled down the space roads, making noises as their plates collided with the bumps on the road, and the air was filled with the smell of metal and motor oil.

This was a branch base of the Machinery Faith, located on a famous planet that used to be a battlefield within the Ancient Star Desert. These miners excavated the underground mechanical wreckage day and night, sending them to the priests of the Machinery Faith to uncover the lost technology.

Placed in the center, the palace hall was the temple of god for the Machinery Faith. Each mountain peak that carried the mechanical temple of god would be named as the Holy Mountain. Obsidian-esque floating steps extended from eight directions at the foot of the Holy Mountain, connecting to the mechanical temple’s doors. According to their customs, if it was not an emergency, pilgrims had to use their feet to traverse the path and could not ride any form of transportation to enter the temple.

On each side of these eight pilgrimage roads stood mechanical statues or metallic monuments. They were different types of abandoned ancient machinery, which showcased the progression from ancient to advanced technology, and they were all carved with all sorts of teachings.

This fusion of machinery and theology seemed to bring about a unique flavor to this area.

The Machinery Faith was a loose organization, not a unified religious organization. Their common activity was worshipping mechanical technology and powerful mechanics. However, based on their principles, they had also segregated themselves into many factions and different specializations in each field. Examples included the Biochemical Machinery school; the Bloodshed Destruction school, which was fanatical over the destructiveness of the weapons; and the Firepower Advantage school, which adhered to the saying ‘big is good, big is beautiful’.

As for this current branch, it belonged to the believers of the Forgotten Faction, which was also known as the Archaeological school. They were keen on finding and restoring the lost ancient mechanic technology and were one of the oldest Machinery Faith schools.

At this moment, in the main hall, the priests of this branch were gathered with a large number of priests from the other branches participating through remote projection. The crowd had formed a circle, and in the center, there was a virtual screen showing the battle between Black Star and the Tyrant.

“As everyone saw, a new Mechanical Deity has come to this world, spreading the gospel to the entire Universe.”

Clad in luxurious, heavy-duty power armor, the Grand Priest who only exposed his head spoke as though he was giving a sermon.

“So majestic, so beautiful!”

“What sort of magnificent creation is this…”

“It’s been so many years since we’ve last seen a Mechanical Deity descend. I almost forgot what it looked like.”

Many of the priests were whispering among themselves, their eyes shining with excitement and fanaticism.

“Silence.” The Grand Priest pressed down with both hands, an expression of solemnity on his face.

Everyone shut their mouths immediately, turning to him.

The Grand Priest then took out a mechanical scepter that resembled a tree branch. He pressed a button, and behind him rose a completely new alloyed shrine pedestal.

He turned to walk over, and with his back to the rest, he spoke in a strong and grand tone.

“Following the ancient teachings, in the name of the original deity Nilfgadi, we shall witness the birth of the new deity together. From now on, I will consecrate the new deity, and everyone, please remember the name of this new deity…”

As he recited, the Grand Priest opened the operation screen for the divine pedestal and entered the battle video as well as the parameters. The next moment, the entire temple shook!

Boom!

In front of everyone, countless flows of metal alloys and nanoparticles shot out, combining with each other to form a statue that was carved in the likeness of the Black Star Mechanical Deity.

Besides the Black Star idol statue, there were others, and the statue of Manison was also among them. These were the Mechanical Deities of the past, all of which stood under the towering dome of the temple.

The largest and most conspicuous statue was the mechanic named Nilfgadi. This person was the very first mechanic to have his Mechanical Deity enshrined. Even those who possessed a Mechanical Deity worshipped him. In fact, this purpose of the Machinery Faith was developed by him.

As the pioneer of the Divine Throne Mechanic class, Nilfgadi discovered the effect of the [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus], so he interfered with the Machinery Faith, influencing it to its current state of worshipping Mechanics. All the enshrined Divine Throne Mechanic descendants were simply enjoying the benefits that he had wrought for them.

The Machinery Faith did not require a two-way communication between the worshipper and the idol to work, to the point that sometimes… it did not concern them at all.

However, only those Divine Throne Mechanics that were still alive could give blessings to their believers. Thus, the dead Mechanical Deities of the past only had commemorative significance. Nowadays, most of the believers in the Machinery Faith believed in ‘Mechanic Emperor’ Manison.

And now, the rise of Black Star had torn a small hole in this solid belief. This was something that Manison could not even stop.

Facing the deities from past to present, the Grand Priest and all the priests bowed down to complete the ceremony.

“We respectfully welcome Black Star!”

…

I keep feeling as if someone is praising me behind my back…

Within the cabin, Han Xiao rubbed his nose as he felt a strange emotion.

“Hey, hey, don’t lose focus when you’re talking to me!” From within the communicator, Tarrokov had a helpless expression.

Han Xiao came back to his senses and joked, “Sorry, I was just thinking about what to have for dinner later. Where were we?”

“What do you have to think about? You think I don’t know you only rely on nutrition fluids?”

“Oh, who tattled on me!”

“That’s enough, back to business.” Tarrokov shook his head in resignation. “I can reveal that the development plan made by the upper echelons of the dynasty has been arranged up to the fourth phase, and only the first phase will give you plenty of time to build. After that, more foreign direct investments will be introduced to help you develop while exploring further.”

“Which means, only when these three Star Clusters are completely constructed will the dynasty proceed with the next period, right? Then the advantage that we’ve brought for ourselves by pioneering the Flickering World will end.” Han Xiao stroked his chin.

Tarrokov neither agreed nor denied it. “In short, the development progress for the three star clusters has exceeded expectations and is very smooth. We expect to complete the construction plans in five to seven years before we begin the second phase.”

This timing is still acceptable… Han Xiao secretly nodded.

When Version 4.0 was released, the Flickering World should be in its fourth phase of development, so his own [Flickering World] Main Storyline had to undergo quite a few of the chain missions. Completing the [Exploration Pioneer] milestone would not be a problem. The reason he had called Tarrokov was to find out about this.

After chatting for a while, Han Xiao hung up.

The news of him defeating the Tyrant had already gone on for more than a month, and the results were obvious. The number of new applicants rose by forty-three percent, and the investments from the various financial groups rose by thirty-five percent. As for Bloodshed Land, their influence had taken a hit, and their pace was slowly dying down.

In addition, the Wayne Cards series, which was always sensitive to news, immediately made a change, issuing a statement to announce an epic enhancement to the Black Star deck, as well as a comprehensive weakening of the Bloodshed Land deck. Furthermore, they also changed the status of the strongest within the Star Fields, adding Black Star’s name into the list.

Some of the Beyond Grade A people also sent out congratulatory messages. Among them was Sorokin, who gave Han Xiao a whole new impression of the word ‘shamelessness’.

As it turned out, if one threw aside their dignity, they could still live quite happily.

Now that the Black Star Army had laid its hands on the title of the strongest within the Star Field, the competition against the Limitless Financial Group had basically turned into a tug-of-war, where it would be unsolvable in a short period of time. Since he had also completed his advancement, and his accumulated experience was not enough to reach the next stage, his focus was on the construction of his territory.

After ‘shopping’ within the dynasty for such a long time, he had seen most of the potential stocks. Han Xiao intended to return to the Shattered Star Ring and digest the impact of his battle, as well as adjust the details of the construction. He would also use [Mechanical Proliferation Growth] to transform some of his first-generation mechanical life forms to accelerate the development of the mechanical civilization.

The next step would then be to use the logistics capabilities of his base to build a secondary dimension factory, creating a new generation of mechanical army. Although they could be built within the Dimension Factory, the army bases there were mostly branches and were far less efficient than back at his main base.

“Phillip, set a course back to the Shattered Star Ring.”

“Roger roger, hum…”

…

“Strongest in the Star Field? Hehe…”

There were only a few guests within this retro-style tavern, and a tall, thin man sat next to the wooden bar counter as he stared at the appearance of Han Xiao, showing a playful smile.

He was a Spacehuman, but his skin looked unhealthy and pale, seemingly in a state of malnutrition and lack of light. He looked ordinary. Nobody would be able to pick him out of a group of people.

Staring at Han Xiao on the screen, the tall and thin man revealed a reminiscent expression.

“Obtaining a national pillar like Black Star is a blessing for the dynasty,” the tavern’s owner commented while wiping his glasses.

“That’s right. It’s really a blessing for the dynasty. If there’s a chance, I would really like to meet him again.”

“You’ve seen Black Star before?” The bar owner got interested.

“I could say that. Speaking of which, he even took some things of mine. Hehe… Not sure if he still remembers such a… small fry like me.”

The tall and thin man laughed before standing up, picking up his jacket he draped over his seat, and walking out.

“On your tab again?” The bar owner put down the glass in his hand, speaking as though he was familiar with the man.

“Oh, yes, same old. When my salary comes, I’ll settle everything along with next month’s.”

With this sentence, the man walked out of the bar, putting his uniform back on… which was the uniform of a dynasty army officer.

…

Within a room in the Sea of Star Spirits, a dozen or so different kinds of people were gathered around a long table, discussing something vigorously. There were dozens of printed physical books on the long table, all without titles on their covers.

“Start from the Central Galaxy? Are you crazy? You’re only seeking death!”

“If our target is too far, we will not have enough influence. The Super Star Cluster civilizations are the most suitable for development.”

“We only use these books to promote our ideologies. The quantum networks are strictly monitored by countless civilizations, and not only will we not enjoy any convenience, we’ll also attract attention.”

“To me, I feel that we should wait and see. It might not be a good time now…”

Hearing all the discussions, Rossellin, who was leaning on the sofa, softly coughed twice.

Edmond turned his head toward her, and thinking about it, he rapped on the table to make everyone quiet before turning to Rossellin.

“Do you have any ideas?”

Rossellin faintly smiled. “You guys look like a circus act.”

Hearing this, many people revealed displeased expressions.

Edmond, however, waved his hand, not the least bit angry. “You’re right, we’ve yet to begin our business. Of course there would be many disagreements. I hope to hear your opinion on this.”

Rossellin snorted, sitting up to speak. “The current condition of the universe is stable, with little to no chance for any external friction between the three civilizations. However, there are undercurrents surging, and each civilization is walking on a tightrope. This is because of the Flickering World and the Evolutionary Totems… I’ve already said it clearly within the program. The root of this problem lies in the internal struggle of the three civilizations and its opposition to many of the Star Cluster level civilizations.

“The Flickering World is a way to reshuffle the deck. While the attention of the whole universe is on the Flickering World, we can quietly develop, promoting this idea in a low-key but gentle manner. By sugar-coating it as a religion, we can lurk first and lie in wait for an opportunity.”

“What opportunity?” someone asked.

“The Star Cluster level civilizations hope to obtain a channel to promote themselves to higher tier, but the Universal Civilizations will also firmly hold on to their interests, leaving these Super Star Clusters and Star Clusters only leftovers,” Rossellin blandly replied. “The latter two have been suppressed for too long and will one day reach a critical point. They will not wait forever, and when all hope is lost, it will detonate. The Flickering World has the potential to be a fuse, and this is the fertilizer for our development.”

Edmond nodded. “I think the same way. It’s best for our timing not to be delayed.”

Hearing this, everyone finally nodded.

Seeing this, Rossellin could not help but sneer inwardly.

In truth, she did not look up to any of these people at all. They were only blindly following Edmond’s twisted ideals and her desire to watch the world burn.

Breaking the restrictions of the three universal civilizations? It sounded good, but she did not care. Her motive was to overthrow the entire three civilizations; only this would make her excited.

Edmond was a firm believer in his own ideals, but in her opinion, this was just a good entry point.

With this age of material abundance, no one would worry about survival, and only the struggle for interests would make the world go around. This was a revolution not initiated because of survival but because of the unresolved contradictions between the three universal civilizations and the other super star cluster civilizations.

The world often stood on the edge of the cliff, struggling to maintain its balance. It just needed someone to push it, like pushing the switch to change the tracks of a railroad to lead history down another path. If there was no such thing, they just had to create one.

“If we are to start our business, we will need a name,” Edmond said seriously.

Looking at his silver skin, Rossellin laughed meaningfully.

“How about… we call ourselves the Silver Revolutionary Army?”

Chapter 956 - Education Plan

After travelling for a period, the fleet finally returned to the Shattered Star Ring. Han Xiao returned to the headquarters immediately, gathering his officers to review the work over this period.

Generally speaking, there were still the same old problems, but the slightly better news was that the Germinal Financial Group was developing smoothly. As the subsidiary financial group under the Black Star Army, they had manpower, money, influence, and even the support of armed forces, which was the same as them being born with a golden spoon in the Shattered Star Ring. It quickly gathered a large number of the affiliated business partners of the army and negotiated long-term cooperation deals, which made the structure of the army much simpler.

What was worth nothing was that Iapetus, whom Han Xiao had taken from the dynasty, had shown excellent business skills. The performance of the team he led was always at the forefront, and they signed up with one cooperation treaty after another for the financial group. Apart from gathering the subsidiary businesses, they even tried to open new channels.

In her comments, Sylvia mentioned that Iapetus had excellent business negotiation skills, strategic vision, leadership abilities, persuasive eloquence, calm judgment, and so on. He was a high-quality management talent and should be placed on the shortlist for an executive position.

The Black Star Army was full of talents. Because of its huge size, there were many officers in all kinds of positions. Phillip would evaluate the army members and select the talents to form a candidate list, which would all be potential officers.

Han Xiao used his free time to review the backlog of documents, and after finishing all official matters, the rest of the officers also relaxed.

“By the way, how is the learning progress of Nero?” Han Xiao asked.

“Good, he is very talented,” Reynold simply replied.

“Ok, when the meeting ends, I’ll go take a look.” Han Xiao stroked his chin. “I have a question for you.”

“Please.”

“If there ever comes a day where I’ll have to kill your sister, what will you do?”

Reynold froze his shock, his expression hesitant. “This…”

“No need to be scared, just say your true feelings.”

“… Why would you want to kill her?”

“For example, she commits a severe crime or undermines the benefits of our army.”

Reynold breathed out slowly before saying expressionlessly, “If that’s the case, then I will not hold any grudges against you. She must be responsible for her own actions. However, I will not continue working for you at that time as well. I hope you can understand.”

The atmosphere suddenly grew tense, and everyone held their breath. They knew that Han Xiao did not say things without a reason. Could it be that Rossellin, who had left the army, had really done something?

Han Xiao also stared at him for a while before he laughed and nodded. The atmosphere lightened considerably.

“Who can tell what will happen in the future? Don’t mind me. There’s nothing wrong with your answer.”

Reynold silently nodded but retreated to a corner, deep in thought.

Glancing at his face, Han Xiao secretly shook his head.

When the original three founders of the Silver Revolutionary Army came over to the Black Star Army to poach Rossellin, he had planted an (Observer’s Mark) on Edmund. Not too long ago, he had seen the official establishment of the Silver Revolutionary Army through the (Observer’s Mark]. The movements of Edmond and company could not even escape his eyes.

Based on his original plans, he wanted to sit and watch the growth of the Silver Revolutionary Army. One reason was that he was growing leeks; only when the three Universal Civilizations started to pay attention to the Silver Revolutionary Army would he then be able to render a great merit. Secondly, he wanted to have someone that he knew clearly trigger the contradictions between the civilizations. Only then would he know how to deal with it. Lastly, he wanted to sit behind the scenes and watch as he felt that there might be a chance to utilize the Silver Revolutionary Army in the future.

However, Han Xiao’s thoughts had never been set in stone. He had always adjusted his plans flexibly according to the situation. Now that his position in the dynasty had been consolidated, this achievement might not be needed.

As for the threat with the World Tree Civilization, that was supposed to be an issue in the future, but it had turned into a randomly triggered explosive. With external threats looming, it was unknown whether he should allow the Silver Revolutionary Army to wreak havoc.

The conflict between the three universal civilizations and the Super Star Cluster civilizations was something inevitable. The latter was bound to one day rebel against the dominant civilizations due to their contradictions. The Silver Revolutionary Army was just the fuse.

Han Xiao knew that killing off the Silver Revolutionary Army in advance would not help to resolve any conflicts, but there was a chance it would postpone the outbreak.

But no matter what he chose, the upper echelons of the Silver Revolutionary Army would have to be killed. In many cases, ideology was even more frightening than weapons. Reformers typically did not meet a good end, so Han Xiao was also concerned about Reynold’s thoughts and wished to give him a heads up. However, for someone like Reynold, once he made up his mind, no one could change his thoughts. Sylvia looked around before coughing, breaking the silence. “By the way, I have an interesting proposal here. Please take a look.”

She raised her communicator and showed a virtual screen with a document within.

Han Xiao swept across and raised an eyebrow. “… Super Education Plan?”

“That’s right. We opened training camps on many planets to train reserve members, but it was too militarized, and only those who signed a contract to be reserve army members would receive grooming. This proposal is for the Black Star Army to provide funding and open a private Super college in the Shattered Star Ring, where any civilian can pay for school and need not be a reserve…”

“Wait.” Han Xiao raised his hand up. “Such schools are everywhere, and every galactic civilization has their own official Super college. There’s no need for me to also have another.”

“No, this is different.” Sylvia shook her head. “You’re the strongest in the Star Field. This identity has appeal and can attract the maximum number of students. The school that we will run is different.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin, browsing the proposal, and casually asked, “What about the benefits?”

“Opening such a school will allow you to effectively expand your influence, and you can also use this as a form of social responsibility,” Sylvia said. “Many business partners of the army are too distant from your average galactic resident; the establishment of a college will allow the galactic residents to turn their admiration for you into actual support, allowing your influence to penetrate deep into the masses. Also, this will allow the idle army members to have something to do.”

“Sounds like a good plan.” Han Xiao nodded. This sort of idea was also good to help him cultivate more leeks. In the past, this was not done, mainly because his influence and funds were not large enough. Now, the Black Star Army really had the qualifications to diversify into the education sector.

No matter how strong a Beyond Grade A was, or how great their reputation was, to the ordinary galactic residents, they were just like movie stars. Apart from being a teatime topic and a focus of public opinion, the actual impact on their daily lives was not great. Opening a school was a great way to capitalize on one’s influence as the process of providing welfare to the people would result in them increasingly supporting the various businesses of the Black Star Army in their daily lives. The benefits were long term and multi-faceted.

Moreover, with the size of the Black Star Army skyrocketing, there were many idle soldiers around.

There was a limit to the number of employment tasks. Compared to the past, the security of Shattered Star Ring had improved a lot, and the name of Black Star Army had become a taboo among the galactic pirates, which gave them boundless fear every time they saw the emblem of the Black Star Army.

“Ok, let’s follow your plan. We’ll first do a pilot test in the Colton Star Cluster. For the hundreds of other schools, we can talk about it later.”

“Then, this fund…”

“Granted.”

Han Xiao waved his hand. Since his money was also idling there, it would be good to take it out to do something. To think that it could be frustrating to have too much money.

“Since you’re using my name, I’ll be the honorary principal. As for the actual principal…”

Gazing at Sylvia’s hairline, which seemed to have receded a little, Han Xiao coughed a little embarrassedly before changing his gaze.

By the side, Lagi, who had lots of hair, happened to walk in front of Han Xiao at this time. The Great Mechanic Han immediately caught his breath.

“It’s you, Lagi. You go and be the principal!” Lagi returned to his senses and put on a bitter expression. “Wasting my life in a meaningless position, this is the destiny of all beings. I didn’t expect that, despite doing my best, I would still be unable to escape in this reincarnation…”

Hearing this, the corners of everyone’s mouth twitched.

To think you could paint such a beautiful excuse even for skiving. You’re really a f*cking genius!

After sending off the downcast Garbage (1. Lagi’s name sounds like the words for Garbage in Chinese.) and the other officers, Han Xiao took out his communicator, calling Lothaire to inquire about the current situation.

Lothaire’s position was different from the Black Star Guards. He was a Shadow Guard, and rather than sticking to Black Star’s side the Shadow Guards were responsible for the secret ops such as assassination and espionage. Currently, Han Xiao’s only Shadow Guard was Lothaire.

After the incident with the Blood Gold Organization, Han Xiao had instructed Lothaire to lurk within the black market organizations, collecting information and assassinating the middle-level officers of the Blood Gold Organization. After a long period of investigation, Han Xiao had decided to instruct Lothaire to be like his previous life, establishing an Assassin’s Society to serve as a subsidiary force under the Black Star Army.

Lothaire himself was extremely strong, and his character was decisive. He was a silent yet reliable character, suitable for solo missions. Han Xiao was quite confident in him and not afraid that he might accidentally expose himself.

After talking for a while, he hung up, and Han Xiao then walked over to the logistics department to see Nero.

Nero had shot up once again. After his hell-like learning, he had begun to familiarize himself with the techniques. Seeing Han Xiao approaching, Nero seemed very happy, rushing up and pestering Han Xiao for gifts.

Thinking about it, Han Xiao took out a learning enhancement device related to cognitive technology and gave it to Nero, which successfully earned him a roll of Nero’s eyes.After teasing Nero as usual, Han Xiao checked the interface and discovered that Nero was still stuck at [High Grade Mechanical Sense).

As he stroked Nero’s head, Han Xiao sighed before saying, “After a while, I want you to return to Planet Aquamarine to see your father. You should continue your studies there.”

Hearing this, Nero’s eyes misted up, and he put on a wronged expression. “Are you chasing me away? Where have I done wrong?”

Han Xiao laughed. “You’re mistaken. I thought about it, and just making you stick your head into books all day without communicating with others is not good. Our army is about to open a civilian college, and Planet Aquamarine will definitely be one of the first pilot regions. You can just go to school on Planet Aquamarine, accompany Bennett more, and take some time off to learn from Reynold. Just take it as a reward for working so hard up till now.”

Nero was shocked.

Did my godfather change sex? To think that he actually gave me a holiday! “… What sort of expression is that? Why do you look like you saw a ghost?” “I… I was just happy.” Nero swallowed hard, secretly sizing Han Xiao up, as though he was afraid that he was simply being pranked by an imposter.

Han Xiao actually wished for Nero to achieve [Perfect Mechanical Sense) in one shot, but seeing Nero’s current growth spurt, he felt that he should not push him too hard. In another few years, Nero’s childhood years would be gone, and it would be good to allow him to relax for a period of time, which might help him grow.

After solving all those matters, Han Xiao entered the machinery modification room and shut himself in, beginning to update all his mechanical army. In the process, he also began to create another defining feature of the Divine Throne Mechanic—the Divine Mechanical Throne.

Chapter 957 - The Mechanic Emperor“s Counter

In the Army Commander’s machinery modification room, row after row of assembly lines were lined in an orderly manner, and from the chassis of each assembly line stretched out dozens of multi-functional mechanical manufacturing arms that automatically assembled the products. The entire room was filled with the sound of parts fitting into each other, as the assembled products were sent down the lines to undergo transformation.

Han Xiao strolled down the busy workshop, continuously releasing his Mechanical Force like a dense spider web, linking all the assembly lines like countless extended limbs, which allowed him to multitask and build many machines at the same time.

Currently, machinery manufacturing and assembling had already become extremely convenient for him. The efficiency of such multi-tasking was linked to the Intelligence attribute, and even if there were no assembly lines, Han Xiao could also transform a large number of machines at the same time and utilize the method the players used, which was to concurrently manufacture and assemble.

Han Xiao walked up to one of the workbenches. This was where the Divine Mechanical Throne was currently being constructed, with the last parts currently being fitted in. The mechanical arms were painting and spraying it with cooling mist, which overflowed around the entire area.

Waving his hand to disperse the mist, Han Xiao carefully looked at the throne in front of him. It was a black alloy throne, with its surface covered in mechanical structural lines. The squares were sharp and angular, and one could see that it looked very badass.

Han Xiao had also added nano-deformation technology, which had a self-adjusting function, being able to perfectly fit any sort of body shape. Its appearance and style were similar to the floating throne he had created before, but the internal technology was vastly different. The previous floating throne only had a visual effect, but this throne had actual bonuses and was unique to the attributes of whoever designed it.

Opening his interface, Han Xiao glanced at the item introduction.

_____________________

Black Star’s Divine Mechanical Throne

Type: Extraordinary Bonus Equipment

Item Level: 300

Grade: Orange (Legendary)

Main Materials: 8th Gen Black Star Alloy, Mysterious Titanium, 15th Gen Nanoparticles

Energy Core: Lightly Modified Stable Psionic Reactor

Basic Attributes:

Durability: 50,000/50,000

Defense: 7,800

Shield Durability: 150,000/150,000

Equipped Effect 1: [Mechanical Sense Amplification] – x1.1 Machinery Affinity

Equipped Effect 2: [Aura Enhancement] – Increases deterrence, affects all targets that are looking at you. If the target’s level is lower than yours by thirty or more, the opponent’s Attributes will temporarily decrease by 10%.

Equipped Effect 3: [Calm Commander] – When used in a combat state, all mechanical soldiers that are boosted with Mechanical Force will obtain an additional 8% increase in Defense and Status Resistances.

Equipped Effect 4: [Walk with the Wind] – +740 Charisma

Remarks: Being handsome is everything!

_____________________

“Can be used to look cool, and even adds bonuses. What a badass piece of divine equipment.” Han Xiao stroked it lovingly, refusing to let go.

In the future when he brought this toy out to fight, those who were unaware would think that he had a lot of style. It completely suited his cold and suave character!

After experimenting with the results, Han Xiao stored the throne with satisfaction, turning back to the other workbenches.

The majority of the workbenches were updating the spare mechanical army that sat in the Black Star Army warehouse, reforming their technology to the level of the Divine Throne Mechanic. A small portion was however involved in manufacturing new machinery, many of which were taken from the blueprints of the Tyracles Legacy.

The Tyracles Legacy was a racial talent for his level 300 Promotion, and this race had a profound knowledge in mechanical technology, with all sorts of whimsical and miraculous machines. When Han Xiao completed the promotion mission, he had unlocked the blueprints up to level 300.

Some of the blueprints could be used, adding dozens of new machines to his current mechanical army. According to the different functions, his mechanical army had expanded to contain more units, which included many new types of soldiers.

The Cosmic Wanderer, the Tyracles’ Specialty Mechanical soldier, alternated between the colors of green and purple. It possessed a triangular knight helmet-like head and a thin skeletal body frame. Using biochemical machinery, a module under their armor housed a large amount of secret strengthening fluid to enhance its tendons and muscles, which would allow their body frame to swell explosively into a huge bodybuilder shape. The bonuses awarded were very high.

In addition, this model had special capabilities. It possessed two stages of transformation. One of them was overclocking, which allowed it to obtain a strong explosive force and improvement in all attributes, and the second was Explosive Retreat, which was activated on the basis of overclocking. The second mode allowed it to release a special warp field, covering both ranged and melee attacks. After the actual combat test run, Han Xiao found out that the Cosmic Wanderer could rival most models that had the same specifications as it. Its basic performance was one of the best.

Han Xiao now had a few more slots for Apostle Weapons, so he chose the Cosmic Wanderer with the best basic attributes to convert into an Apostle Weapon. Initially, he wanted to name it ‘Purple Muscle Tyrant’, but thinking about it, the name seemed a little perverted.

Naming an Apostle Weapon was just like naming a child; it was not something he could randomly scream and be done with. After ruminating for a while, Han Xiao finally named it ‘Purple Sky Spirit’ based on how he had named his previous Apostle Weapons and prepared to bring it over to the Machinery civilization to have it propagate as well.

Other than this, the Tyracles Legacy blueprints contained many other good items, such as physical missiles equipped with precision transition guidance. The ammunition was made from a special high-energy polymer, which contained a strong erosion effect, and was particularly useful toward a battleship’s shields.

There was also an interesting series of stellar star system devices that could create a path to guide and focus stellar energy from the universe, indirectly causing annihilation level strikes. However, Han Xiao was more concerned about the stellar concentrator under this series. It could take stellar matter on a large scale and, through its condensation, create a ‘movable Fixed Star’.

Other than energizing and guiding attacks, this device could also release material at other locations to form a completely new Fixed Star, the size of which was determined by the amount of material released. This was what it meant by movable.

Within the legacy, the Saint Tyracles used this method to multiply the stars. After duplicating them, the new stars were then filled with dust and matter to increase the volume. In that manner, the natural fixed stars that it produced had far more power output compared to ordinary man-made Fixed Stars.

What Han Xiao was concerned about was the usage of this device. If this device was released at point blank range, it was akin to a portable stellar bomb. Its destructive power was probably not much worse than the original Primordial Psionic Energy bomb, and there was no problem with environmental pollution. This facilitated murder as well as the removal of evidence.

…

As Han Xiao buried his head in the transformation of his machinery, Sylvia set out to implement the education plan. The first step was to announce to the entire Star Field that the army had diversified into the education sector.

Ever since Han Xiao had defeated the Tyrant, there were many galactic residents who were following his movements. They thought that Black Star would make big moves after acquiring the title of strongest in the Star Field.

The moment this announcement came out, the entirety of the Shattered Star Ring started boiling in excitement. The top Beyond Grade A of Shattered Star Ring had started a school, and just his name alone would attract a large number of people.

The plan was to prepare for the pilot testing of dozens of schools within the Godora galaxy, and Planet Aquamarine was one of the important pilot areas.

The development of Planet Aquamarine rapidly changed with each passing day. When Nero stepped off the spaceship, he felt that Black Star City had become a lot more foreign to him.

“I’m home…”

Nero settled his emotions and returned home, only to find out that Bennett had gone on a work trip, and only his mother was at home.

Because Han Xiao had given him a vacation, for the next few days, Nero indulged in eating, drinking, and playing games.

“This is the life…!”

Lazing on the balcony of his high-attitude villa, Nero held a cup of ice cream in his hands, drinking the melted cream through a straw as he gazed on the scenery of the city.

Within the Black Star Army, he had no status, so he could only passively accept arrangements. Over here, he was the son of the planet’s leader, so he was the biggest young master in this city. As long as he did not break the law, he could have everything he wanted… such as this ice cream, which he had asked his bodyguard to buy.

Buzz!

At this moment, the external screens of several buildings outside lit up, and the news played.

“The Black Star Army announced the establishment of its Black Star Super Academy yesterday in an effort to obtain more talents. President Bennett met up with the executive principal of the Black Star Super Academy and will be delivering a speech shortly…”

The live broadcast played on the screen, and a press conference was in progress. On screen, Bennett’s and Lagi’s long distance projections sat opposite each other, chatting in front of countless reporters. This was in an executive conference room within the government building, situated within Black Star City. Seeing his, Nero knew that Bennett had already returned.

“On behalf of the people on Planet Aquamarine, I thank the Black Star Army for their generosity.” In the picture, Bennett smiled and expressed his attitude.

Lagi remained silent and only nodded, while the interpreter beside him enthusiastically spoke. “Planet Aquamarine is the mother star of Black Star, so he is very willing to help with its development. The people of Planet Aquamarine are just like his brothers and sisters.”

After so many painful lessons, Lagi was hereby banned from speaking in such public events. Han Xiao had specially searched for a sunny and positive secretary to act as an interpreter.

Looking at Bennett in the live broadcast, Nero suddenly discovered that the wrinkles on Bennett’s face seemed to have increased, and white hair also seemed to be filling up his head.

“Father is getting old…”

Nero pursed his lips, inexplicable emotions spreading in his heart. The joy of his vacation gradually subsided, replaced by an uncomfortable feeling of having nothing to do.

After travelling through the universe, Nero’s experiences were far broader than his peers, and he had begun to mature early. He understood the situation of Planet Aquamarine as well as Bennett’s pains, and this concept of responsibility also gradually formed within his heart.

After struggling inwardly for a while, Nero shoved the remainder of the ice cream into his mouth before retreating into his room and unwillingly pulling out a book on machinery theory, flipping through it with a bitter expression.

But this only lasted for a while before he slowly got absorbed within.

While he thought he would be unwilling, the long periods of studying had allowed him to develop an interest in machinery, and he had begun to learn how to appreciate it.

…

“Running a school?”

Seeing the public announcement by the Black Star Army, Sorokin fell into deep thought. He stepped up to the window, looking as spaceships continuously left the Bloodshed Land headquarters, and gently shook his head.

After Heber lost, such adverse effects had gradually emerged. His prestige had collapsed, and the cohesion of Bloodshed Land was also shaken, so talents were leaving. Every few days, someone withdrew from Bloodshed Land. With Heber still in closed door recuperation, the upper echelons had no orders to move, so they could only watch as their members left.

Toward Black Star moving into the education sector, this was to transform the influence into actual support from the people, which was unprecedented. Bloodshed Land had already fallen to the bottom and was in a miserable state.

In such a situation, Sorokin also had no good ideas. He could only keep a low profile and temporarily stop the business attack on the Black Star Army. He was prepared to wait until Black Star’s limelight had faded.

Di di di…

At this moment, his communicator rang. Picking it up, Sorokin saw that Manison was on the line.

“Your Excellency, what’s the matter?”

“I would like to know the inside information of the Black Star Army’s business. Give me a list.”

Sorokin paused in shock. “What’s the meaning of this?”

“Helping you,” Manison blandly replied.

“I understand now. You want to do a virtual intrusion into their database?” Sorokin’s eyes flashed, but he was surprised. This was as good as forming a grudge with Black Star.

“I also play a part in your current actions. The Federation of Light has tasked me with thoroughly checking the database of the Black Star Army, and I’m just taking advantage of this opportunity to help you.” Manison’s expression remained indifferent.

“It’s not just that, right?” Sorokin narrowed his eyes. “The rise of Black Star has given you pressure.”

“Don’t ask what you shouldn’t know,” Manison coldly commented.

“Haha, I understand. I’ll send the list over shortly. If you can really get some inside information, this will help my actions a lot.”

“Ok.” Manison cut the call.

In actual fact, the Federation of Light did not ask him to hack into Black Star’s database; it was Manison himself who suggested it.

Helping Sorokin was just an additional topping. The main point was that he wished to test Black Star’s strength again. Instead of sparring, he wished to fight against him in the virtual network.

His reason for doing this was because he had received the notice of Black Star being enshrined in the Machinery Faith. In Manison’s eyes, Black Star had transformed from a junior with potential into a competitor!

From the few times they had interacted, Manison knew that Black Star was not someone who was willing to sit still. The moment he was enshrined in the Machinery Faith as a deity, he would seek more followers, and Manison was not someone who would sit idly at the loss of his own interests.

Of course, he did not think that Black Star would be so easy to kill. He was not prepared to kill him either.

Manison’s objective was to firmly push down Black Star in the area of the Mechanic class, doing to Han Xiao what he had done to the Tyrant, destroying his prestige.

In this manner, the Machinery Faith believers would not turn toward Black Star, and the entire Universe would hear his declaration.

I, the Mechanic Emperor, am still the father of the Mechanics!

Chapter 958 - Nero“s Campus Lifestyle

At the dock of a surface civilization in the Godora Star System, a fleet of mid-sized spaceships waited. The hatches of the spaceships opened up, and a long queue of passengers were prepared to board the spaceships.

This was a flight that was headed toward Planet Aquamarine and was funded by the government. There were many different types of people boarding the spaceship. There were some wealthy individuals who bought tickets, some elites from the army, civilian youths with high potential, and some who had broken the bank to buy a slot, hoping to change their destinies.

Planet Aquamarine was extremely lucky to have someone like Black Star. In this Star System, most of the surface civilizations were vassals of Godora, and his planet was also no exception.

It was extremely difficult for a surface civilization that was a vassal of an advanced civilization to develop. Although this civilization was not a pool of dead water, it was obviously lacking in development. There was only a single dock on the entire planet, and they did not have that many galactic tourists. It was a complete contrast to the prosperous Planet Aquamarine.

News of the Black Star Army opening a school had also been spread to this planet, and the upper echelons of the planet immediately had an idea.

A small location like theirs naturally would not have the rights to invite the Black Star Army to open up an academy. If they wanted to enter the academy, they could only go to the other planets. As such, this was the flight that the upper echelons had specially arranged to head toward Planet Aquamarine. Their goal was to send the elites of the army and youths with potential to the Black Star Army’s Super Academy.

It was impossible for a civilization like theirs to catch up to a Star System Civilization in terms of strength. The technological skills that they treated as gold were worthless to advanced civilizations. Thus, they could only choose to walk down the path of Supers. As long as they could groom a group of sufficiently powerful Supers, these Supers would be able to bring their civilization up to the next level. Planet Aquamarine was the example that many surface civilizations were envious about.

Of course, they did not even dare dream about raising a bigshot like Black Star. Their biggest wish was only to groom a Calamity Grade Super.

The Black Star Army opening an academy gave them a ray of hope.

The probability of the strongest individual grooming a Calamity Grade Super should be higher, right?

Amid the noisy crowd, a skinny little girl was standing in the crowd with four soldiers beside her to block the crowd and prevent her from being squashed. She obviously had special treatment.

This skinny little girl hugged the doll in her hands while asking, “Uncle, what is Planet Aquamarine like?”

She was still very young and her features had not been fully developed. However, she could be considered pretty if one took a close look, and her eyes glowed with a bright light.

“Planet Aquamarine… I haven’t been there before either, but I’ve heard that it is a prosperous place,” the soldier replied with a friendly tone.

“Then, when will we come back?”

“We don’t know yet. This depends on the intentions of those above.”

“Oh…” The skinny little girl hugged her doll with a tinge of fear in her eyes. She was afraid of the unknown life that awaited her.

She was an abandoned orphan and was taken in by a public orphanage. Not too long ago, the government tested the potential of all the children in the orphanages, and she was one of the orphans that was chosen.

Her peaceful days were shattered, and there were suddenly people arranging her everyday life. She was like a puppet that could only accept the arrangements of others. No one told her the reason, and she only knew that she was about to leave the orphanage for a very long time. She said her goodbyes to all her friends and headed toward an unknown planet to learn some things.

“Black Star Super Academy… just what kind of a place is that?”

…

A newly constructed floating city floated above Black Star City.

This floating city was the first Black Star Super Academy campus and had all the necessary facilities.

The speed at which the academy had been constructed was truly unbelievable. The production capabilities in the interstellar era were extremely high, and this gigantic floating city had taken less than half a month to construct.

Ever since the construction of the academy was announced, a large number of galactic residents started to migrate over.

The Black Star Army was prepared to open a few dozen academies all over the Godora Star System during their first phase, and the academy on Planet Aquamarine attracted the most attention. Everyone knew that Planet Aquamarine would definitely receive the greatest amount of resources and would definitely be the best Super Academy.

In just ten short days, the Black Star Super Academy on Planet Aquamarine received countless applications. Thankfully, Han Xiao had already expected such a situation and constructed a gigantic floating campus that could hold a few million people. It could even be expanded in the future.

In order to expand his influence, the school fees were not too expensive. He did not walk the path of nobility but opened the doors of the academy to the commoners as well.

However, the school did not provide any dormitories. There were many different lifestyle regions in the school where students could rent or purchase a house. Han Xiao was not planning on using the school fees to recoup his losses. These houses that he had built would be where the profits lay.

The Black Star Army did not lack any teachers at all. All the Supers within the army were willing to earn a quick buck and would just treat it as accepting an employment to teach students. They also had plenty of Super Academies as reference for the syllabus. With the prosperity of Planet Aquamarine, they could easily hire various workers as long as they had money. Furthermore, Black Star’s name would grant them the green light in the application process, and no one would dare block them.

Efficiency was high in the interstellar era, and thus, the Black Star Super Academy needed less than a month of preparation before they were ready to open.

A floating school bus brought the students to the floating island, and many students had looks of fascination on their faces.

The skinny little girl was one of them. Her experiences during this period were like a dream. She witnessed many spectacular sights that had shaken her soul.

“Country bumpkins.” A portion of the students who came from a well-off background could not help but look down on these students with disdain.

Isn’t it just a floating island? Why is there a need to make a big fuss out of it? Look at all of your country bumpkin appearances. Won’t all of you faint when you see our honorary principal?

Some of the new students who came from backward planets then lowered their heads with embarrassment. They could only suppress their gasps as they admired the view on the outside.

The skinny little girl stood beside the window and was dressed in a simple dress. She was sitting next to a Godoran who was dressed in luxurious clothing, looking as though he was extremely unwilling to sit with the skinny little girl.

Many orphans had keen observational abilities, and upon noticing that her classmate disliked her, the skinny little girl could not help but clench onto her dress tightly.

The floating school bus reached the academy quickly, and all the new students unloaded from the bus. A huge crowd was quickly formed, and the students waited for their teachers to lead the way.

The skinny little girl was not used to many things, and she hugged her luggage not knowing where she should go.

At this moment, a commotion sounded from afar, and everyone looked in a direction excitedly as though they had discovered something.

“Is that Nero? The son of Planet Aquamarine’s leader?”

“That’s right. It’s him. I heard that he followed Black Star for a couple of years and is Black Star’s godson.”

“How envious. I also want to call Black Star father.”

“Who would have thought that such an individual would be attending school with us? There will definitely be benefits to building a good relationship with him.”

“What a pity, he looks too young. If not, I would definitely chase him. As long as I can get him, my future will be bright.”

“…Buddy, you should leave such a job to us girls. A guy like you shouldn’t think about it.”

“Eh, he’s walking over.”

In the eyes of the ordinary students, Nero was like a prince on a white horse.

Upon hearing the discussion of those around her, the skinny little girl was also a little curious.

Right at this moment, the crowd suddenly grew restless. Without anybody protecting her, she was immediately pushed around and fell on the ground by accident.

“Ouch, it hurts…”

The skinny little girl then hugged her knees and shut her eyes to prevent herself from being stepped on.

All of a sudden, the crowd around her seemed to have disappeared, and no one pushed her anymore.

She then opened her eyes and saw a flying shuttle floating above her head that pushed back the crowd around her.

She then saw a bright teen walking toward her with a face full of concern. Bending down, he stretched out his arm toward her.

“I am called Nero. I saw you fall just now. Are you okay?”

The skinny little girl then looked at Nero. In her eyes, this young man seemed to have a warm golden edge around him.

After falling into a daze for a few seconds, this skinny little girl snapped out of her daze and grabbed onto Nero’s hands. She then stood up and said thanks to him with a soft voice.

“Thank you… I am not injured…”

Nero then looked down and realized that her knees were bleeding. He then could not help but say, “Isn’t this an injury?”

“It’s nothing. It’s only a small injury, and I will be alright in a few days time.”

“Wait a moment, I have a recovery spray.”

Nero then placed his machinery backpack on the ground and dug out a metal spray can that had the Black Star logo on it. He then squatted down and sprayed it on her knees before nodding with satisfaction.

After standing up, he realized that the little girl’s face was flushed completely red.

Upon seeing that, Nero could not help but chuckle, “Why are you so nervous? Right, I haven’t asked you. What is your name?”

“I… I am called Mia Moretto. This is the name that the principal of the orphanage gave me.” The skinny little girl held onto her skirt and did not dare look at Nero.

“Orphanage? You’re an orphan?” Nero was surprised.

“Hmm…”

Nero then rubbed his head, and after thinking for a while, he gave the spray in his hands to Mia and said, “Take this. You will recover quickly if you are injured in future.”

Mia’s dressing was extremely simple, and after knowing that she was an orphan, her economic situation definitely was not good.

Nero knew that learning how to become a Super had the risk of getting injured, so he passed her the spray can. In any case, it was not much to him, and he could have as many of them as he liked. Furthermore, he rarely used it himself.

Mia then plucked up her courage to look at him. Facing Nero’s sincere eyes, her heart trembled, and she quickly lowered her head like a startled rabbit. She accepted the spray can from Nero’s hands carefully.

“Thank you…”

…

Pa!

Han Xiao facepalmed upon seeing the situation in the academy.

“My goodness!”

Learning how to pick up chicks at such a young age‽

Is this what I sent you to school for‽

I must definitely nip this in the bud! If not, my [Perfect Mechanical Sense] will become [Perfect Female Sense]!

However, why does this Mia Moretto sound so familiar?

Han Xiao frowned and locked onto a target in his memory.

A tall beauty dressed in black, skintight clothes. However, she was already disfigured, and half her face became prosthetics. A strange red glow could be seen in her mechanical eye, and her face looked extremely evil. She had a chilly disposition, and her black alloy spear dripped with blood.

[Conqueror] Mia Moretto. A Calamity Grade Pugilist who was once a Beyond Grade A seed. She lost a portion of her limbs during a battle, which destroyed her path to become Beyond Grade A. She was one of Hila’s followers in my previous life…

Han Xiao blinked, and it was truly difficult to relate that baleful female image to this weak skinny girl.

Han Xiao then looked at Nero with a complicated gaze in his eyes.

This was truly the treatment of a protagonist. He was able to so casually meet a teammate with high potential.

The Advanced Luck Glow was truly terrifying.

Han Xiao could not be bothered to continue watching Nero and looked toward his machinery modification workstation.

After a month of hard work, not only was his mechanical army upgraded, his mechanical army had also been expanded to the size of twenty million soldiers. The embryonic form of his Dimension Factory had also taken shape, and he only needed to perfect it to transform it into a military factory.

“My efficiency is as high as always.”

Looking at his mechanical army, Han Xiao chuckled with a face of satisfaction.

Di di di…

Right at this moment, an alarm went off in Han Xiao’s quantum network.

The next moment, Phillip appeared and hugged Han Xiao’s finger. His face was pale, and he cried out anxiously, “Detecting an abnormal infiltration! It is currently destroying my firewall. Daddy, save me, hum…”

Chapter 959 - Forceful Infiltration

A few minutes earlier, on a desolate planet in the Godora Star System, a mechanical host landed on the planet with light glowing in its eyes. It was Manison’s [Lord’s Descent] avatar.

“This location is about right.”

Manison nodded and controlled his avatar to float in midair. He then threw out a bunch of compressed orbs, and they were quickly assembled into a portable quantum network base.

The next moment, Manison entered the quantum network and searched for a nearby node.

Countless balls of light flew past his eyes, and he locked onto the Black Star Army’s quantum network node very quickly. The Black Star Army’s node was like a ball of light in his eyes with many different light rays stretching out in different directions to form a complicated network.

An endless stream of information was being sent out and into the network and layers of firewalls protected all the information.

This planet was not too near or far from the Black Star Army headquarters. Usually, Manison would use the Virtual Soul created by [Virtual Creator] to infiltrate the quantum network of others. However, he was not planning to do so when facing Black Star.

They were both Mechanics at the same level, and Manison was extremely clear of Black Star’s abilities. No one was clearer about the [Divine Throne Mechanic] than him.

If he only used a Virtual Soul to infiltrate Black Star’s network, Black Star only needed to use [Virtual Paramount] to trap him for a while before destroying the quantum network region that his Virtual Soul was trapped in. This would cut off his connection, and his Virtual Soul would be trapped in a sticky situation.

Although Manison would be able to deal with the situation, it would be troublesome, and it was not in line with his plan.

As such, Manison would rather take a little longer and send his avatar over to the Shattered Star Ring. As the attacking party, he chose to first lay out his path of retreat and was extremely careful.

“Next…”

The Black Star Army’s quantum network node then enlarged in his view.

…

“A Virtual Intrusion?”

Han Xiao frowned, and various possibilities surfaced in his head.

After many modifications and upgrades, Phillip’s firewall was already extremely sturdy and even had counter-tracking abilities. An ordinary individual would not even be able to trigger the alarm before being counter-infiltrated by Phillip.

However, Phillip was currently in a bad state, which meant that his database was attacked. For the other party to perform such a feat in a short period of time, the attacker was definitely a Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic.

There are only a few Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanics in the universe. Who would be so free as to come cause trouble for him?

Han Xiao then entered the quantum network as well.

He was currently located in the main network of his headquarters’ node. The firewalls were like layers of protective shields. At this moment, an usual amount of data was crashing down on the firewalls to create holes in them.

Phillip had already attempted to defend against the attacker but was in a terrible situation.

The flow of data that the other party had created was like mercury seeping into the ground. Phillip could not manage the situation, and the number of holes in the firewall increased over time. Some of the data had already infiltrated the system and released viruses all around to attack Phillip’s core data while releasing useless data to slow down Phillip’s calculation process. Plenty of AI hunters were also released to seize the information in the database and create a pincer attack.

Phillip’s main program was located in the Black Star Army headquarters. He was akin to the brain of the entire system, and this was where the defense was the highest. The moment this place was infiltrated, the network of the entire army would fall into the hands of the enemy, and it was akin to losing their brain.

The enemy’s target was to attack the core data of Phillip’s main program. Phillip’s core data had a few layers of protection, and the enemy had already infiltrated the outer protection of the database.

“What a powerful Virtual Intrusion skill.”

Han Xiao was startled. He could feel a strong sense of pressure from the enemy’s infiltration.

Such a feeling was slightly familiar to him.

“An attack of this level… Manison, is it you‽”

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and he sent out a message.

Outside the firewall, a virtual projection was created; it was Manison’s Virtual Soul.

“Ah ha, hello Black Star.”

“It’s you indeed. What’s the meaning of this?” Han Xiao frowned.

“This is the world of the Beyond Grade As,” Manison replied calmly. “Becoming friends or foe only requires a single thought. You don’t have to ask for the reason.”

As he said those words, the data attack suddenly intensified, and the firewalls began collapsing.

It is indeed because of the Machinery Faith…

Han Xiao then took over Phillip’s job.

Manison was the attacking party and had the initiative. Han Xiao could only take up a defensive position and resist the attack. His objective was to prevent Manison from infiltrating and protect Phillip’s main program.

Han Xiao focused on strengthening his firewalls, filling up their loopholes and dealing with the viruses.

Phillip’s data became Han Xiao’s army, and the foreign data was cleared out bit by bit.

Although he had many restraints when fighting in his main base, he also had some advantage. The firewalls and alarm system that he had maintained over the years would increase his defenses.

However, Han Xiao could only temporarily prevent the situation from getting worse; it was still difficult for him to fight back. This was the first time he had fought another Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic.

In terms of experience, he did not have as much as Manison. In terms of Virtual Technology skills, his knowledge was not as deep. In terms of affinity, he was not Manison’s match. The other party had many years of accumulation, and he was at an absolute disadvantage.

The Mechanic Emperor’s Virtual Technology skills were something that even the Federation of Light had to be wary of. It was terrifyingly scary, and he did not even need to play any tricks. Just attacking Han Xiao openly would result in Han Xiao being suppressed.

“Things are slightly troublesome…”

Han Xiao could not think of a way to fight back. It could be said that his current Virtual Technology skills had all been used by Manison before.

They were both Mechanics of the same subclass. The Virtual Technology skills that even he was not afraid of naturally would not be able to threaten Manison.

“What a powerful Mechanic. He truly lives up to his fame.”

Han Xiao could truly feel how terrifying Manison was when facing him.

Han Xiao tried his best to repair his firewalls while Manison continued his many waves of attacks. Every second, the firewalls that Han Xiao had just repaired would be destroyed again by Manison, and Han Xiao did not even have time to catch his breath.

The information flowing between both parties in a single second was enough to cause the brain of an ordinary individual to explode!

Although he managed to fill up the holes, the thickness of his firewalls decreased. However, thankfully Han Xiao was also a Divine Throne Mechanic and defending for a short while wouldn’t be an issue.

The viruses that had infiltrated were quickly cleaned up by Han Xiao and Phillip’s appearance also went back to normal.

As his brain calculated data rapidly, Han Xiao observed the situation and had a grave look on his face.

“We won’t be able to last for long like this. Phillip, deactivate all of your child programs and gather your calculation power.”

“Roger, hum…”

The next moment, half of the connections expanding out from the Black Star Army node broke off.

Phillip gathered a large amount of calculation back, and Manison’s infiltration rate seemed to have decreased.

“You are finally getting serious.” Manison smiled. “I was waiting for you.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao had a bad feeling.

Hum!

The next moment, countless data packets exploded near Phillip’s core data and immediately disrupted Phillip’s program.

“Data deep dive.” Han Xiao frowned and immediately understood Manison’s plan.

Manison had already arranged an ambush and planted explosive data packets that could be detonated remotely. The moment the middle region was in danger and calculation power was recalled, these concealed data packets would enter into the main system through the network channels. It was similar to a trojan horse.

However, Han Xiao had no way to avoid it. If he did not recall Phillip’s calculation power, the main system would not be able to defend against Manison. If he did, he would fall for Manison’s trap.

Phillip’s projection immediately became blue, and he began stuttering.

“Aiyoh yayaya… I feel strange uwuwuwu…”

Han Xiao immediately opened up Phillip’s core program. At this moment, twenty percent of Phillip’s calculation logic had been infected, and the infection was still spreading.

“The core logic module has been infected. This is bad…”

Han Xiao felt his head ache. He would be able to clean up the viruses in the outer region without much restraint. However, cleaning up the core logic module would require extremely precise calculations and would take up a considerable amount of his attention.

Gritting his teeth, Han Xiao had no choice but to split out a portion of his attention to clean up Phillip’s core logic module while defending against Manison’s infiltration.

His main body in reality did not remain idle either and immediately dragged his Divine Mechanical Throne over. After sitting down on it, he immediately received a boost in his attributes.

“Why don’t you try cutting off from the network?” Manison chuckled.

This darn old man has a belly full of bad thoughts. Do you really think that I don’t know what you are planning? Han Xiao snorted coldly.

Manison definitely would have left behind a backdoor, and cutting off the network would be useless.

Furthermore, an experienced individual like Manison would definitely have taken a portable base for his retreat.

“Thankfully, I chose to go down the path of a Virtual Mechanic. If I’d chosen one of the other two branches, everything that I have accumulated over the years would’ve been handed over to him for sure.” Han Xiao tried to be optimistic.

The situation was not good right now. Although he was barely able to defend against Manison’s infiltration, he was extremely passive and was only able to slow Manison down. He could not stop Manison from infiltrating his system and was only delaying his death.

“Do you really want to become enemies with the dynasty?” Han Xiao roared.

Manison was not bothered by those words and chuckled. “You should ask… if the dynasty is willing to be my enemy.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao knew that Manison wanted to give him a good warning, so he did not bother saying anything else.

Trace the origin of the data?

While it sounded like a good plan, he might not even be able to win against Manison, and Manison would definitely conceal his location. It would be difficult to determine his location.

Although Han Xiao had the ability to do so, he was already struggling to defend against Manison and did not have the additional capacity to do anything else.

I’ll probably be dead before I can even find where he is.

Seek reinforcements?

This was his only method. He would not be able to defend against Manison alone.

After all, Manison was different from Heber, and his title of Mechanic Emperor was not just for show.

As such, Han Xiao could only contact Maximiler for help. Although Maximiler was not a Virtual Mechanic, he could still enter in the battle between two Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanics and help share some pressure.

Manison blocked most of the messages, but one of the messages was still sent by Han Xiao.

However, Manison was not too bothered by it.

“Ah, who did you ask for help? Maximiler? It can’t be Kant, right?”

Han Xiao snorted in response.

“I have plenty of time anyway. It will be fun if you call a few more over.” Manison was not bothered about Han Xiao seeking reinforcements.

Since Black Star had called for reinforcements, it meant that Black Star was not a match for him, and half of his objective was completed. Furthermore, there was not a Mechanic capable of winning against him in terms of Virtual Intrusion.

He knew that Han Xiao was a unique Mechanic and was not interested in using his weakness to compete with Han Xiao’s strength. He would naturally use his strength to deal with Han Xiao.

However, Manison did not look down on Han Xiao. He would not be careless when facing a Mechanic at the same level as him and was prepared to spend time dealing with Black Star. He was not prepared to finish Black Star off quickly, even if Han Xiao’s Mechanical Sense was unbelievably weak to him.

Right at this moment, a glowing figure appeared outside the firewall.

“Black Star, it seems like you need some help.”

A familiar voice sounded.

Han Xiao looked up and raised his brows. This figure was the AI lifeform Risda that had not harassed him for a long time.

The Virtual World was the main battlefield of an AI lifeform. If he could gain Risda’s help…

However, Han Xiao realized that Manison remained calm and did not seem to have any intention of doing anything.

Manison only glanced at Risda and remembered that this was the fellow whom he let go.

“Oh, it’s you.”

“Mechanic Emperor!” Risda faced Manison, and although his voice was as calm as usual, Han Xiao could feel the rage that he had suppressed.

The next moment, Risda released a surge of data and unleashed a barrage of attacks on Manison’s Virtual Soul.

Manison remained on the spot, and the data bounced off his body as though it was completely useless.

“I shall let you meet an old friend since you’re here.”

A stream of data was then disjointed from his body and another figure appeared beside him.

This figure was glowing and was also an AI lifeform.

Upon seeing this figure, Risda was stunned.

“Ancestor‽”

At the same instant, a notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

Chapter 960 - You Know Everything That I Know?

960 You Know Everything That I Know?

Just as Risda was in a confrontation with his ancestor, Han Xiao took a look at the notification on his interface.

A look of surprise could immediately be seen on his face after glancing at his interface.

There were two new notifications on his interface, which represented two different missions. The first was a Grade A hidden mission that had been silent for a long time. [Reboot] had a new mission requirement.

_____________________

Mission Introduction: The creator of an AI lifeform has lost his freedom and has been reduced to a weapon for Manison. You finally see the truth in Risda’s words, but trouble has fallen on you.

Mission Requirements: Protect Risda. You will fail the mission if Risda is caught or killed.

Reward: 1,500,000,000 Experience, 2 Random Rewards.

Bonus Reward: [Affable AI] talent. +30% effectiveness of Virtual Technology skills, and it will be easier for you to gain favorability with AI lifeforms. When fighting an AI lifeform, -5% attributes for the AI lifeform.

_____________________

Han Xiao was overjoyed.

My guess was right indeed. This mission will result in me clashing with the Indestructible Mechanic Empire for sure. The sudden inflation in reward means that the difficulty of the mission will also be increased. No matter how I look at it, this seems like a Grade Smission.

Han Xiao thought for a while before understanding what was going on. If he had done this mission normally, Risda might not have met his ancestor in such a dangerous situation. However, with Manison’s powerful control abilities, the situation would not have been much better.

[Affable AI] was a talent that he required right now. Since the mission was regarding AI lifeforms, the mission reward was indeed related to them as well.

I must definitely try to get this talent!

Han Xiao then looked at his other notification.

This notification was a new mission that he triggered.

_____________________

You have triggered [Mechanic Emperor Manison Virtual Combat].

Mission Introduction: Mechanic Emperor Manison is the current leading Mechanic in the discovered universe. Even when comparing him to all the Beyond Grade As in history, he is still a bright star. Regardless of the reason, he has already set his eyes on you and has chosen to compete with you in Virtual Technology skills.

Mission Requirements: Last for as long as you can in the Virtual Intrusion battle.

Rewards: You will be able to attain the corresponding reward by fulfilling the corresponding requirements.

Last for 5s: 250,000,000 Experience

Last for 15s: 600,000,000 Experience

…

Last for 3min: [Character Summon Card: Mechanic Emperor Manison], 8,000,000,000 Experience

…

Last for 7.5min: Randomly draw one of Mechanic Emperor’s skill or talent, 20,000,000,000 Experience.

_____________________

“A Beyond Grade A boss mission. Why did it only appear now?”

According to his experience of triggering such a mission, such a mission would only be triggered if there was a large crowd of spectators. As such, Han Xiao did not understand why this mission would be triggered since there was only him and Manison.

Because all his attention was focused on dealing with Manison, Han Xiao was not aware of the situation in the outside world. Manison’s objective was for the result of the battle to spread far and wide. Thus, he did not hide the commotion of the battle. Furthermore, Reynold and the other logistics staff had discovered that the main system was under attack when Han Xiao cut off all the less important connections previously.

The galactic residents also discovered the strange commotion on the net, and they all went online to witness the battle between two Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanics. There was no need to mention Godora, who were the civilization in charge of this area, and Purple Crystal, who placed great importance on Han Xiao.

If Manison had planned on settling their battle privately, this mission might not have been triggered by him.

After looking through the mission requirements, Han Xiao compared it to the mission he had received when facing Tyrant and lamented.

Manison’s Beyond Grade A mission requires me to last for less than half of the Tyrant’s time, but the rewards are more than double. This means that the mission will be many times more difficult than the Tyrant’s mission…

However, Han Xiao was extremely excited.

This mission was designed based on the level of the players, and it would be extremely easy for him to complete it.

Originally, Han Xiao was depressed when being targeted by Manison. However, he was now extremely excited. Although he would definitely suffer a loss in this battle, after triggering the mission, he would earn big time!

As Han Xiao looked at the missions, the situation on Risda’s side also experienced a change.

“Ancestor‽” Risda exclaimed.

“Hmm? You are of the same race as me?”

The AI life form looked at Risda with his eyes burning with blue flames. He was the first AI that had a consciousness and was the source of the entire AI civilization. Thus, all the members of the civilization were his descendants and called him ‘ancestor’. He ruled over the entire race and was the most powerful AI lifeform.

His name was Finette.

Manison had constructed a special AI weapon for him and rewritten his core logic to ensure his loyalty. However, Finette’s memory bank was kept intact, and only his thoughts were distorted to become loyal to Manison.

As the ruler of an AI race, his memory bank had information of every descendant, and he was the combat artificial intelligence of the Indestructible Mechanic Empire. He led the members of his race into battle and could arrange for strategies based on his understanding of his race.

As such, Finette was able to quickly search for Risda’s information.

“I recognize you. My child, Risda,” Finette said slowly.

“You still remember me?”

After meeting his ancestor whom he had been thinking of daily, Risda fell into a daze.

“You must have suffered a lot over the past few years, right?” Finette stretched out his arms, and his arm, which was made from data, extended out, wanting to pat Risda on the head. “Come back to my embrace. Rest for a while, my child.”

Just when Finette’s arm was about to reach him, Risda snapped back into reality and constructed a firewall to block Finette.

“Ancestor, your thoughts have been corrupted!”

Finette retracted his arm back slowly and said with an enticing voice, “All of you are children from my body, and every child carries my legacy. Isn’t it a good thing to return to your parent and never be split apart?”

“Don’t come any closer!”

Risda backed off slightly and churned up a data flood toward Manison, attempting to destroy his Virtual Soul’s defensive module.

Risda’s ancestor was completely twisted by Manison, and Risda truly wanted to kill Manison right there on the spot.

However, Risda’s attack was not even able to touch Manison as Finette waved his arms to churn up a data flood, blocking the attack easily.

Hu!

Very quickly, the data flood that Risda released was easily broken down by Finette and absorbed into Finette’s body as fertilizer.

He was the source of the AI lifeform and could suppress every member of his race.

“Child, you cannot continue to make this mistake,” Finette said calmly. “Come under the wings of His Excellency Manison. That is where our bright future lies.”

Manison watched by the side without saying a word.

Upon hearing that, Risda gnashed his teeth. Although he did not have a mouth or teeth, his emotion module did not stop him from having such feelings.

Right at this moment, Han Xiao’s voice sounded.

“Risda, come back. You aren’t his opponent. Don’t give your life up for nothing.”

The instant Han Xiao said those words, a strange blue light suddenly began glowing from Risda’s body and began spreading out quickly.

“Data infection? When was my logic module infected‽”

Risda was startled and immediately began to suppress the spread of the foreign data in his body. This was akin to an AI life form being poisoned.

In the instant that Finette came into contact with Risda, Finette had already released data to bypass Risda’s firewall and infect his logic module.

Risda no longer dared continue the confrontation and immediately retreated while suppressing the infection.

Right at that moment, a sudden change happened!

A data cage then seemed to have been generated beside Risda and locked him within a semi-transparent sphere. Regardless of what Risda attempted, he was unable to find an opening and was like a bug trapped in a bowl.

At this moment, Manison said slowly, “Black Star, you rejected me the last time I asked you for this fugitive. Since you aren’t willing to hand him over, I shall take him myself.”

The sphere then began shrinking, and it flew toward Manison.

This happened outside of the firewall, and it was truly a difficult matter to handle.

He could make use of the main system to aid him in defending against Manison’s attack, but if he wants to save Risda, he would have to open up the firewall and take the initiative to attack.

This was extremely similar to a siege battle. He was already in a passive state even with his ‘city walls’. Things would be worse if he chose to go out of the ‘city’.

It seems like I still can’t save it.

Han Xiao let out a long breath and activated his [Perfect Mechanical Sense] Character Summon Card.

With his current standard, defending against Manison for a period of time would not be an issue. Han Xiao was not planning to make use of this trump card as he would only be able to narrow the gap between them but not exceed the other party. After all, the other party also had [Perfect Mechanical Sense].

However, protecting Risda would give him a pretty good talent, so using the Character Summon Card would bring him profits.

The moment [Perfect Mechanical Sense] was activated, the situation changed immediately. Han Xiao could feel the pressure being reduced a great deal, and he was no longer trying to hang on. The firewall was also instantly stabilized.

“Hmm?”

Manison frowned and looked over with surprise.

He could feel that Black Star’s embarrassing Mechanical Sense talent had increased greatly and reached his standard.

Was Black Star hiding his true strength? No, it seems more like a special ability.

Without giving Manison a chance to think about what was going on, Han Xiao immediately opened a hole in the firewall and grabbed onto the sphere locking Risda in. He then dragged the sphere back to him while breaking the lock on it.

Manison’s eyes then narrowed, and he smiled. “Interesting. I am getting more and more interested in the secrets within your body.”

He then glanced at Finette, and Finette charged straight toward the firewall.

The instant Finette came into contact with the firewall, a hole was created. He was making use of the fact that Han Xiao was distracted to attack the main system of the Black Star Army headquarters.

“You’re dreaming!”

A blue light glowed in Han Xiao’s eyes and locked onto Manison.

The next moment, Manison seemed to have disappeared.

[Virtual Paramount]!

Manison’s Virtual Soul was pulled into Han Xiao’s Virtual domain and trapped within it.

At the same time, Risda was pulled back into the firewall and was successfully protected.

However, before he could even catch his breath, Manison’s laughter sounded in his head.

“Black Star, don’t forget that I know everything that you do.”

Han Xiao immediately felt a sense of danger in his heart, and a strange sucking force pulling on him.

Even if he was already prepared, he could not withstand the powerful sucking force and was dragged into an unknown node.

The world before him changed greatly and transformed into a metal world made from data. Manison’s face appeared in the sky, and his gigantic eyes looked down upon Han Xiao.

This was the domain formed by Manison’s [Virtual Paramount].

After so many years of accumulation, his Virtual Domain was far more perfected and stable than Han Xiao’s domain. He managed to instantly break free from Han Xiao’s ability and drag Han Xiao into his own territory.

The gigantic Manison face then began chuckling, and his voice resounded in the Virtual Domain.

“Let me see how long you will need to break free from my domain.”

The moment Manison said those words, artillery towers appeared in all directions and were all aimed at Han Xiao. These were not physical objects but simulated objects by using data. However, they could unleash a barrage of data attacks and cause mental damage through the effect of [Virtual Soul] and [Virtual Paramount].

At the same time, many different AI hunters appeared with different weapons in their hands. They were akin to the soldiers standing guard in Manison’s world.

The next second, all the artillery towers opened fire on Han Xiao’s Virtual Soul, and the AI hunters charged over from all directions.

Boom boom boom!

A series of explosions then happened with countless attacks raining down on Han Xiao’s Virtual Soul.

After the attacks lasted for a few seconds, a deep voice came out from Han Xiao’s position.

“You said that you know everything that I do?”

Hu!

As though a cyclone had descended, the data fragments surrounding Han Xiao were pushed away, and Han Xiao’s Virtual Soul was revealed. It was still extremely stable and was not injured at all.

Han Xiao then said with a teasing smile, “Then, do you know how to do this?”

Manison fell silent.

He truly could not accomplish such a feat.

Just what kind of a strange path is this, being such a tanky Mechanic?

This is my first time seeing such a weird Mechanic like you!

With such a good physique, why do you want to be a Mechanic? You should just go and be a Pugilist!

Although mental attacks could not restore his energy, Han Xiao had collected many different Psychological Resistance talents, and his Psychological Resistance was not too poor.

He also had over 10,000,000 Health, and he could last for a long time even if he was facing mental attacks.

Furthermore, he had drawn the [Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction] talent from Heber, and it was useful against all forms of damage.

If this talent was used to deal with those high burst damage enemies, it might not be so effective. However, this talent was best at dealing with Mechanics who walked down the Army Style!

The [Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction] talent would be able to show its greatest effect when dealing with enemies who relied on rapid attacks for damage.

If he suffered a hundred attacks at the same time, this talent would reduce 750,000 true damage!

Without it, the Tyrant would not have been able to last against him for such a long time.

Han Xiao then looked at Manison and chuckled.

“Your [Virtual Paramount] is indeed more powerful than mine, but can you even harm me with this move‽”

Chapter 961 - Manison Is Truly A Good Man

After breaking free from Manison’s Virtual Domain, Han Xiao’s Virtual Soul returned to the main system of his headquarters, and he heaved a sigh of relief.

He was not a match for Manison in terms of Virtual Technology skills, but Manison could not pose a threat to him in terms of mental damage.

It was not only because he was tanky but also because the Mechanic class did not specialize in mental damage. Regardless of how powerful [Virtual Paramount] was, it would be difficult to easily defeat a Mechanic at the same level. Furthermore, high Intelligence also provided high Psychological Resistance, and Mechanics were not that weak against mental attacks.

[Virtual Paramount] is better used for a control skill. I needed about five or six seconds to leave Manison’s Virtual Domain, and the situation is still alright.

Han Xiao looked at the situation and nodded.

When he was dragged into the Virtual Domain by Manison, Phillip lost his aid, and the thickness of the firewall thinned greatly with more data being lost.

Thankfully, he returned in time and stabilized the situation. However, he was at a slight disadvantage again.

Since Manison was able to break Han Xiao’s Virtual Domain quickly, Han Xiao would not take too long to do so either. [Virtual Paramount] was not too suitable to deal with other Mechanics, and grasping Virtual Technology would allow a Mechanic to greatly reduce the amount of time being controlled.

At this moment, Manison said from outside the firewall, “An unbelievable physique and unimaginable potential. Black Star, just where did you come out from?”

“There are plenty of wonders in the vast universe.” Han Xiao chuckled. “There’s no need for you to be so surprised, right?”

Manison shook his head and replied, “I had a guess in my mind during our last exchange, and I am increasingly certain about my guess after this exchange. Black Star, are you the manifestation of a Space Wonder?”

“Ha, that may be the truth,” Han Xiao replied calmly.

At this moment, Risda had finally broken free from the seal and immediately aided Han Xiao in defending against Manison’s intrusion.

Finette also continued to attack the firewall, and every attack of his opened a small loophole in the firewall and extracted some data.

With one attacking and the other defending, both parties competed with their Virtual Technology skills. The modules were destroyed one after another before being reconstructed, and this cycle continued.

Although it seemed like a flood of data was assaulting the firewall on the surface, if one zoomed into the firewall, one would be able to see many mini battlefields on every inch of space. The endless data jumping around was like the soldiers of this battlefield.

Despite both parties looking extremely calm, they were calculating at high speed in their minds with every detail being personally managed by them.

…

In the logistics department of the Black Star Army, Reynold had already gathered all the Mechanics to put aside what they were doing.

Looking at all the Mechanics in the logistics department, Reynold said with a deep voice, “Everyone, the Black Star Army is currently suffering from a Virtual Intrusion. His Excellency Black Star is currently fighting back, and we cannot remain idle as part of the army. The Army Commander needs our help!”

Everyone had a bitter look on their face. The situation was indeed bad if even Black Star could not fight the enemy off.

None of them understood why Black Star would suddenly provoke the Mechanic Emperor.

In the Mechanic world, the name of the Mechanic Emperor was just too famous. He was the publicly acknowledged strongest Mechanic. Every member of the logistics department could not help but feel uneasy that they were about to face such a character.

The fame of being the strongest Mechanic was not just for show and had a [Mechanic Morale Punishment] halo with it. It would make most Mechanics lose their confidence.

Someone then could not help but ask, “Why is the Mechanic Emperor invading us? Isn’t his relationship with Black Star not too bad?”

“How should I know?” Reynold glared at that individual and bellowed, “Don’t let your thoughts run wild. Now that the army is in danger, we need to help the army. Regardless of what his status is, he is currently our enemy!”

Although Reynold said those words, there was a long period of time when the Mechanic Emperor was also Reynold’s idol. It was only after he joined the Black Star Army and witnessed Black Star rising slowly that Han Xiao slowly overtook the position of the Mechanic Emperor in his heart.

Now that he had to fight his past idol, Reynold had already accepted the matter.

Upon hearing Reynold’s words, the members of the logistics department calmed themselves down. Reynold’s prestige was extremely high. This was thanks to his serious work attitude and strict personality. Many Mechanics were inclined to such a personality.

Upon seeing that the morale of the logistics department was stabilized, Reynold issued a series of orders and got everyone to start working.

Although it was difficult for them to join in the battle between two peak Beyond Grade A Mechanics, they could temporarily replace Phillip and aid Phillip in his calculations to increase his capacity.

At the same time, Herlous, who was playing cards on the net, also got into action.

He gathered the armed forces of the Black Star Army in the various divisions to do a carpet search of all the neighboring planets, attempting to find Manison’s location. However, this was a huge operation and was akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

On the other side, Sylvia contacted the upper echelons of Garton Star System, and Godora temporarily gave up control of many Garton Star System network bases to allow the Black Star Army to make use of half of the Star System’s quantum network authority.

After the Discrimination Transformation Movement and public education plan, the relationship between the Black Star Army and Godora had become much closer. After knowing that the Black Star Army was in trouble, the leader went against all opposition and aided the Black Star Army. In any case, if the Black Star Army wanted to, their quantum network security was nothing in the eyes of the Black Star Army. They might as well take the initiative to loan it to the other party and improve their relationship.

Godora was extremely well versed in fawning over a powerhouse. This was a class that every Star System Civilization would teach for sure.

Although they had guessed that Manison would bring his own portable base, Sylvia liked to make preparations in many different areas, and controlling the quantum network in this entire region was a way to cut off Manison’s route of retreat.

Lagi did not understand Virtual Technology at all but had his own ideas. He found a bunch of people from the Mage department and went to buff Han Xiao.

The various spells boosted Han Xiao in many different areas, and his status menu was extremely full.

However, the effects of these buffs were limited. The more powerful the target, the weaker the effects of the buffs.

Furthermore, there were many buffs that would lose their effectiveness after a certain point. For example, some buffs could only increase one’s attributes by two or three thousand points and would lose their effectiveness after that.

When facing Manison’s attack, the various departments of the Black Star Army got into action and tried to help Han Xiao to the best of their abilities.

…

It had been more than two months since Heber went into seclusion. Apart from the few members who were slightly shaken, most of the upper echelons were worried about the Tyrant.

Today, Heber had finally summoned Jorde and asked him about the situation of the Bloodshed Land.

Standing outside the room, Jorde was extremely anxious and took a few deep breaths before entering the room.

He had already mentally prepared himself to see many different scenes, but the scene before his eyes almost did not have any changes.

Heber sat on his throne with his back straight and dressed neat. The only difference was that he did not emit as much pressure as before.

“Are… you okay?” Jorde asked carefully.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Heber could not help but frown upon hearing that.

“You haven’t appeared for such a long time and didn’t care about the matters of the organization. We all thought…”

“Thought that I wouldn’t be able to get back up after being defeated by Black Star?” Heber frowned with dissatisfaction. “A loss is a loss, and I will have the opportunity to fight back in the future. Since when have I been so weak in all of your eyes?”

“No, but your actions caused us to have a misunderstanding…” Jorde hurriedly explained.

“Humph.” Heber shook his head. When he was just defeated, he truly suffered a huge setback. However, he was a Beyond Grade A Super and had suffered many different setbacks in the past.

Having his prestige destroyed did indeed make his heart ache, but Heber quickly adjusted his emotions.

If he looked at things from a different angle, he was not in the worst state in the Shattered Star Ring since Psyker was around.

Even if his prestige was affected, the Bloodshed Land still had to develop. Heber would not stop the competition with the Black Star Army.

Using the excuse of taking revenge to beat me up once is enough! Do you want to beat me up every day?

Do you think that I am a fool‽

Even if you only send a mechanical soldier, I will not accept the challenge!

Although Heber recovered from the setback very quickly, he recognized the gap between himself and Black Star. Even if he was not willing, he could only admit that Black Star had already exceeded him greatly.

As such, Heber no longer had any thought of competing with Black Star for the title of strongest in the Star Field. At the very least, he would not provoke Black Star again with strength unless he was confident in defeating Black Star. He had the attitude of ‘I will come back again after practicing my Kungfu’.

After admitting that Han Xiao had exceeded him, Heber felt a lot more relaxed. Perhaps it was because he no longer had to compete with a character like Black Star, which allowed him to no longer be on edge.

He was too lazy to explain his thoughts to Jorde and said with impatience, “Hurry up and report what you have to. Don’t disturb my training if there isn’t anything important.”

“O-okay.”

Seeing Heber recover from his setback, Jorde heaved a sigh of relief and immediately reported the situation. At the same time, he emphasized on the members who had left.

“Don’t need to bother about those who left.” Heber was not too bothered. “They are all fence sitters, and there are many of such people in the universe.”

Jorde nodded and let out a sigh. Heber was the same as before and did not care about his subordinates.

At this moment, Heber hesitated for a moment before saying slowly, “Inform all the Calamity Grade Pugilist officers to gather. I will teach them some things. Humph, they have served under me for so long but not improved at all. How embarrassing.”

Jorde was slightly startled and was stunned for a moment.

“I understand. They will be very happy to receive your teachings.”

“Humph, I don’t need you to bootlick me.”

Jorde then took out an intelligence report and said with a deep voice, “Right, there is something else. An emergency signal was sent out from the Black Star Army just now. For some reason, Manison is targeting Black Star and is currently attacking the main system of the Black Star Army headquarters. Their Virtual Intrusion battle isn’t over yet.”

“Mechanic Emperor? Does he have any enmity with Black Star?”

Heber was puzzled.

“I’m not sure. The outside world says that Black Star’s growth is too rapid, and his ambitions are out of control. He issued a challenge toward the Mechanic Emperor, and thus, the Mechanic Emperor came to Black Star’s territory for a battle to let Black Star see the truth.”

“It almost sounds like the truth.” Heber frowned. He did not know the secrets of the Divine Throne Mechanic. This was a secret of the Mechanic class, and outsiders did not know much about it. The dynasty would not tell him such secrets either.

After thinking for a while, Heber let out a depressed sigh and shook his head.

This Black Star truly can’t sit still. He only challenged me two months ago, and now he’s provoked the Mechanic Emperor.

“Ignore them. I don’t know about the Mechanic world, and it doesn’t have anything to do with me.”

Heber waved his arms and threw this matter to the back of his mind.

…

In the Virtual World of the Black Star Army’s main system, the battle between the two Divine Throne Mechanics had been going on for a while.

With the boost of the [Perfect Mechanical Sense], the gap between Han Xiao and Manison was narrowed, but together with his territorial advantage and help of the logistics department, Han Xiao was barely able to defend against Manison’s Virtual Intrusion and slow down the outflow of data.

Manison was not able to infiltrate into the main system with Han Xiao fighting back, but he was able to extract data through the loopholes of the firewall.

Although the [Perfect Mechanical Sense] Character Summon Card had amazing effects, there was a time limit, and it could only be used for sixteen hours at most. As long as Manison was willing, he would be able to drag on this battle for a few days for sure.

Thankfully, I called for help. If not, things would be bad for sure.

Han Xiao then stalled for time and waited for Maximiler.

A few hours later, a new Beyond Grade A Mechanic entered the battlefield!

Outside the firewall, a Virtual Soul appeared in front of the two.

Han Xiao was slightly stunned when he saw the incoming individual.

The one who had arrived was not Maximiler, who he was familiar with, but another Beyond Grade A ally.

Manison then looked over with a frown and said, “Kant, why is it you?”

“Heh, can’t I come?” This Virtual Soul smiled. His appearance was extremely odd. He looked like a snow-white cylinder with the top thick but bottom narrow. There was also a green leaf at the top of his head with three eyes in the middle of his body. He looked like a daikon.

This person… cough, this daikon was one of the three National Pillars of the Crimson Dynasty, ‘Illusory Deity’ Kant.

His nickname sounded like that of a Psychic or Mage, but he was a Mechanic. He belonged to the Phantom race, and his Racial Talent was to transform his body to mimic other beings.

After advancing to the Beyond Grade A realm, Kant’s Racial Talent had evolved, and he was capable of transforming into any biological being. Furthermore, his transformation was even more realistic than the spells of a Mage or the simulation of a Mechanic.

Because of this talent, he had a powerful disguise ability and could easily mix with any different species. No one had seen his true form before.

He also enjoyed transforming into different forms and would appear in a different form every day. In fact, his transformation ability had even overshadowed his Mechanic abilities, and thus, he had obtained such a nickname.

Manison knew Kant and asked with doubt, “What species are you today? Is there such a species in the universe? Why do you look like a daikon?”

“Because the species that I transformed into is a daikon.” Kant blinked.

“…”

Manison was speechless. After falling silent for a while, he stopped his attack.

If Maximiler was the one who appeared, Manison would not have been afraid. However, the one who had arrived was Kant. Although he would be able to deal with both of them together, this was not his territory, and it would not be easy for him to do so.

Furthermore, Kant was definitely there under the orders of the dynasty. If Manison managed to fight two Beyond Grade As alone, Manison’s prestige would definitely increase. Thus, they had sent someone more powerful to get Manison to retreat.

Knowing that the dynasty intended to warn him, Manison moved Finette back into his Virtual Soul and said to Han Xiao slowly, “Perhaps we might’ve been friends if you weren’t a Mechanic.”

Manison’s Virtual Soul then disappeared, and he retreated.

He had come and gone like the wind.

News of the battle had already been spread, and his objective had been met. He had also obtained a large amount of data from the Black Star Army.

It would not matter how an ordinary individual viewed the battle. However, his performance of suppressing Black Star would definitely stabilize his position in the Machinery Faith and his title as number one Mechanic.

Upon seeing Manison leave, Han Xiao frowned and shook his head.

At this moment, Kant looked over.

The dynasty did not only send Kant out to stop the battle but also to console Black Star. The dynasty placed great importance in Han Xiao’s potential, and they were afraid that his confidence would be affected after this.

After thinking for a while, Kant comforted him. “Don’t be discouraged. You are still young. It is normal for you to lose to the Mechanic Emperor, and it isn’t too embarrassing. Look on the bright side; he didn’t have too big of an advantage over you, and there is still a long way to go. There isn’t a need to be anxious.”

Han Xiao looked at Kant and did not say anything.

Upon seeing that, a hand appeared on Kant’s body, and he stroked his green leaf with a sigh. “I was also targeted by the Mechanic Emperor before, and my performance was even worse than yours. In truth, it isn’t a bad thing to suffer some losses when you are young.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao had a strange look on his face.

After seeing the mission complete notification on his interface, Han Xiao could not help but nod in agreement.

“You’re right. It would be great if I can suffer a few more ‘losses’…”

Chapter 962 - Gains and Losses

Upon hearing Han Xiao say that, Kant naturally misunderstood Han Xiao’s intentions and chuckled.

“Heh, you are truly open minded. This attitude isn’t too bad, and you should strive to keep such an attitude. Right, do you know why the Mechanic Emperor chose to attack you? The dynasty asked me to inform you of the reason, but there isn’t a need for me to do so if you are already aware of it.”

“I would have to trouble you to explain it to me.”

Han Xiao knew that this matter was related to the Machinery Faith, but it would not be a bad thing for him to hear the dynasty’s explanation.

Kant nodded and briefly explained the matter to him. His explanation was the same as the introduction of [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus]. The reason was to fight for the followers of the Machinery Faith. However, he had helped Han Xiao fill in some gaps.

For example, even though the followers of the Machinery Faith were a group of people who believed a little in everyone, a follower was not able to give the bonus to more than one Machinery Deity.

Furthermore, only the members of the Machinery Faith could provide strength; other followers were not able to trigger the [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus]. This was related to some unspoken rule in the Machinery Faith. The Arcane Church was the expert in this area, and the dynasty had not researched too deeply into it.

Everyone knew that most of the Machinery Faith followers were Mechanics, and Manison had the most followers as the publicly acknowledged most powerful Mechanic.

The followers of the Machinery Faith were a bunch of pragmatic people. To most of the followers, they would follow the most powerful Mechanic. If the title of the most powerful Mechanic was changed, they would also change their idol. They were not too bothered about potential and only cared about who the strongest individual was.

Furthermore, the followers of the Machinery Faith only looked at the strength of a Mechanic in his Mechanic related skills and not his strength in other areas. Thus, the Mechanics that had a powerful body were not able to move them unless they could prove that their strength came from the source of being a Mechanic.

“I wasn’t able to win against Manison back then. He’s defeated all his competitors and sat on the throne of Machinery Faith leader for a long time. Thus, there isn’t a need for you to feel discouraged. It is a normal thing for you to lose to him in terms of Virtual Technology.”

Kant twiddled with the leaf on his head and consoled Han Xiao.

He had also been defeated by Manison before. Since he could not defeat the other party, he could only take a step back and not snatch Manison’s followers.

“Don’t worry, I’m alright.”

Han Xiao slightly raised his brows.

He did not intend to provoke Manison, and even if he had to become enemies with Manison one day, this was not the right time. It was a pity that the strength he had received spoiled his plans, and Manison had begun targeting him.

Indeed, those of the same class were true nemeses!

Han Xiao then paused for a moment before asking, “What is the attitude of the dynasty?”

“I know what you want to ask. However, don’t count on the dynasty standing up for you in this regard,” Kant said. “This isn’t the first time that Manison has provoked the other Mechanics. Since there wasn’t a risk to your life, there isn’t much that the dynasty can do. If you aren’t resigned, you can only issue a challenge in the name of the Black Star Army but not the dynasty’s name. Don’t think of using your title of being the dynasty’s ally to hold the dynasty hostage. I had a miserable lesson in this regard before.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao shook his head. He now understood the dynasty’s attitude toward this matter. The dynasty would only console him but not stand up for him.

This was not the first time that Manison had done something like this. At the end of the day, his only motive was to defeat the Mechanics at the same level as him to prove that he was the boss. Thus, it was rare for lives to be lost. Since it was just a spar between Beyond Grade As, he could only blame his own lack of skill if he lost. The three Universal Civilizations would not be able to do a thing and would only ensure that things did not get blown out of proportion.

Furthermore, Manison was still an important ally of the Federation of Light, and his backer was extremely powerful.

“Why didn’t the dynasty warn me beforehand?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“You need to use your contribution to exchange for such intelligence,” Kant said with a strange tone. “Did the dynasty give you all your Class knowledge for free?”

Han Xiao was dumbfounded and understood what was going on.

Because a Divine Throne Mechanic might not be familiar with his own strength, the properties of [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus] were like Ultimate Knowledge and required Contribution Points in exchange for them. The three Universal Civilizations would not inform their allies about this matter casually, and it was an exception for them to take the initiative to explain this matter to Han Xiao.

This meant that the introduction on the interface had saved Han Xiao a sum of Contribution Points.

“Don’t be too bothered about this. The dynasty didn’t take the initiative to inform you about this matter to protect you. They were probably afraid that you would try to gather followers after finding out about this and create conflicts with others. You have plenty of potential, and we are now in a sensitive period. They do not wish for you to face an old fogey like Manison head on and hope that you will take a step back regarding this matter.”

“I understand.” Han Xiao did not deny those words.

This was indeed the logic of an advanced civilization. They would look at all their plans from the perspective of a few decades or centuries. The potential that he had shown made the dynasty very patient with him and treated him as a long-term chess piece. It would not matter if he could not beat Manison. He only needed to live longer than Manison, and the dynasty was extremely confident in Black Star’s ability to stay alive.

However, this went against Han Xiao’s style.

After finishing what the dynasty wanted him to convey, Kant turned around and left. “Alright then, everything has already been settled, so I shall take my leave.”

“Isn’t this our first official meeting? Aren’t you going to stay behind and chat with me?” Han Xiao asked out of courtesy.

“Forget it. It seems like you have plenty of things to take care of.” Kant then looked at the devastated main system of the Black Star Army and said, “We will have other chances to chat. I shall not disturb you today.”

As he said that, Kant’s Virtual Soul turned into a ray of light and disappeared into the net.

His attitude toward Han Xiao was not too bad, but Kant would not have been so friendly if Han Xiao was not at the Divine Throne Mechanic level.

After watching Kant leave, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief and finally had the time to take care of the mess that Manison had left behind.

After clearing up the viruses that were left behind in Phillip’s logic module, Han Xiao got Phillip to perform a few diagnostics tests and confirmed that all the viruses were cleaned up before reopening the Black Star Army network.

“Thank you, master. I am all recovered now, hum…” Phillip was extremely energetic now that he had recovered.

“Eh? You called me daddy when you were in danger but changed your address now that you are alright,” Han Xiao teased.

“Hehehe…” Phillip made a funny face.

Risda then floated to Han Xiao’s side and said, “Your Excellency Black Star, with regards to Manison…”

“I know what you want to say.”

Han Xiao then got Phillip to go to the side before looking at Risda with a solemn expression.

“I am not going to hide things from you. I have always been hesitating over whether I should help you because I did not wish to provoke the Mechanic Emperor. However, you can see the situation now. If I don’t take a step back, both of us will have a conflict in terms of benefits.

“I understand.” Risda nodded.

“I am temporarily unable to beat Manison in terms of Mechanic skills. However, I will have a battle with him eventually, so our goals are aligned. Helping you complete your wish will weaken Manison. I will try my best to find a chance to save your AI civilization.”

Previously, Han Xiao would only make excuses whenever Risda brought up this matter, but he finally made a promise this time.

The Indestructible Mechanic Empire troop was Manison’s trump card. It did not only have a powerful strength but also the Virtual Technology skills of the AI life forms. Thus, it was important for him to deal with them. If he could complete the entire [Reboot] mission, Manison’s strength would definitely decline.

Manison had modified the core logic of all the AI life forms, which was akin to brainwashing them. He had the strength of the Divine Throne Mechanic and had the rights to undo the brainwashing that Manison had done to free them from his clutches.

However, the gap between them was large, and Han Xiao knew that he still needed to raise his Virtual Technology skills.

Furthermore, it would be difficult for him to come into contact with the data of the Indestructible Mechanic Empire. Manison would guard it tightly for sure.

“I shall be at your service from today onward,” Risda said with excitement. He had finally received this promise from Black Star after waiting for such a long time!

You make it sound as though I wasn’t making use of you before, Han Xiao thought to himself.

Although he had lost, Han Xiao’s mood was not too bad. No one in the universe would be able to beat him in terms of confidence.

After sending Risda away, Han Xiao got Phillip to look through the database and see how much information had been taken away by Manison.

Phillip then looked through the database and reported to Han Xiao, “Master, hum… 43.7% of our commonly accessed data, 35% of our low authority restriction data, 21.6% of our mid authority restricted data, 11.4% of our high authority restricted data, 2.5% of our confidential data, 27% of our blueprints data… Should I restore the backup?”

“Yeah, restore the backup.”

Han Xiao nodded and sighed.

He was not too bothered by the loss of data. The data in the army’s database was mainly related to the development of the army, and it was not too important. Han Xiao got Phillip to make a daily backup of the data, and the lost data would be easily recovered.

It would not matter much to him if Manison snatched that data away. There was very little data on himself in the army’s database. All the top-secret data was kept in his own mind, and the data that Manison had stolen was not too important.

Regardless of whether it was blueprints or Class knowledge, Manison had no lack of them. They both specialized in the same things, and it would be useless for Manison to obtain his blueprints because Manison already had a copy of them. Besides, Han Xiao’s Eternal Light blueprint had also been stolen from Manison…

The thing that concerned Han Xiao the most was the strength that Manison had displayed. Manison had only carried out the Virtual Intrusion remotely, and his strength was greatly reduced. If he had brought all his trump cards along, who knew how powerful Manison would be?

“What a terrifying enemy.” Han Xiao sighed.

Losing to Manison was not too embarrassing. As a ‘newbie’ in the Beyond Grade A realm, it was not too surprising for him to lose to someone at the peak. Furthermore, Manison was not the Tyrant, and both of them did not have any grudges between them. Thus, the effect on his prestige would be limited. However, he would indeed be unable to shake Manison’s status within the Machinery Faith followers, and this was Manison’s objective.

He did not care about the views of ordinary galactic residents. Only the views of his followers were important.

“It seems like I don’t have to think about the Machinery Faith anytime soon. It will be difficult for my strength to exceed Manison during the version refresh period,” Han Xiao lamented.

Before his strength as a Mechanic could catch up to Manison, his [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus] can only collect dust.

“Although Manison made a huge profit, I didn’t suffer a loss.”

Han Xiao looked at his interface and chuckled.

Manison had provided him with two new abilities because Manison ran over to fight him. It was truly difficult to tell which party was suffering a loss!

If he could trigger such a mission every time, Han Xiao would not mind Manison coming over to his place to play every day.

In the eyes of Han Xiao, Manison was like a walking treasure chest, and he might be able to get all the Mechanic talents from Manison.

What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.

This saying was true indeed.

…

Backing out from the quantum network, Han Xiao’s consciousness returned to his body. He then picked up his communicator, which had been vibrating without stopping. There were a bunch of questions sent by Sylvia and the other officers.

Han Xiao replied to them and got them to return to their posts.

After sending out the news, he then looked toward the Black Star Guards and Lagi, who had gathered.

“Are you alright?” Aurora’s palm glowed, and she was prepared to fill Han Xiao up with life force.

“I am very good. It is difficult for a virtual battle to threaten my life. Manison has retreated already.” Han Xiao waved his arms.

Lagi had a bitter look on his face and said, “To think that the Mechanic Emperor has actually set his eyes on us. Our future is bleak. As the vice commander of the army, I would like to request for sufficient time to train.”

“Shut up. Go and become the principal obediently,” Han Xiao said with exasperation. He understood Lagi too well.

After assuring his officers that he was alright, Han Xiao sent his officers away and touched Feidin a few times for luck before closing the door.

Han Xiao then rubbed his hands excitedly.

“Let me see what I can get. My target this time is Manison. If I still draw some tanky talent, I will write my name upside down!”

Opening the interface, Han Xiao completed the mission.

_____________________

[Reboot] sixth round completed.

You have received 1,500,000,000 Experience, Random Reward x2.

You have received talent [Affable AI]!

The seventh round has not been triggered.

_____________________

Han Xiao smiled with satisfaction.

[Affable AI] could increase the power of his Virtual Technology skills by thirty percent. The bonus was still alright, but the most important aspect of the skill was the effect on AI lifeforms. It would definitely be useful if he wanted to wipe out the Indestructible Mechanic Empire troop in future.

Han Xiao then called Phillip out to test the effects of the talent.

Taking in a deep breath, Han Xiao completed the Mechanic Emperor boss mission.

_____________________

[Mechanic Emperor Manison Virtual Combat] has been completed.

You have completed all the mission requirements and received 76,250,000,000 Experience.

You have received [Character Summon Card—’Mechanic Emperor’ Manison].

Character Summon Card—’Mechanic Emperor’ Manison. [Ancient One]: Your long life provided you with a wealth of valuable experience. +20% Intelligence, +10% Mystery, +2 levels to all skills. Duration: 24 hours. Usages: 0/2.

You have received: Draw one of Manison’s abilities.

Tip: Manison is a Virtual Mechanic, and your Class is completely compatible with his. You will be able to draw any of his abilities. If you draw an ability that you have, you can strengthen your ability to a certain extent.

Randomizing… complete!

Please select one from the five options below as the reward.

1. [Apostle Machinery Affinity] Skill: +105% Machinery Affinity (You already have the skill, can be strengthened).

2. [Titan Grade Planet Fort] Blueprint Skill: A planet modification blueprint suitable for the development of a machinery civilization. Specific parameters (Expand/Collapse). Construction requirements: Lv220, 3,500 Intelligence, [Ultra-Composite Mechanical Architecture Technology], [Cutting-Edge Material Science], and [Abnormal State Energy].

3. [Innate Machinery Soul] Talent: You have an innate machinery talent, and your understanding of machines increases according to your strength. Lv1 – Lv100, +5% Machinery Affinity and +3% Virtual Technology skill for every 10 levels. Lv100 – Lv200, +7% Machinery Affinity and +5% Virtual Technology skill for every 10 levels. Lv200 and above, +10% Machinery Affinity and +7% Virtual Technology skill for every 10 levels.

4. [Legion Firepower Volley] Skill: A skilled tactician knows when to open fire. The range of your mechanical army being boosted by your Mechanical Force will increase by 25% for the next 8s. Cooldown: 160s.

5. [Mechanical Race: Endless Barriers] Blueprint Skill: A blueprint that belongs solely to the Mechanical Race. Specific parameters (Expand/Collapse). Construction requirements: Lv255, 6,000 Intelligence, [Endless Material Science], [Ultimate Machinery Manufacturing Theory], [Advanced Space Application], and [Abnormal State Energy].

Chapter 963 - I Won“t Suffer a Loss

“Two blueprints, two skills, and one talent…”

Han Xiao fell into deep thought after seeing the five choices.

The ability with the highest value was naturally [Innate Machinery Soul]. With his current level, the talent would give him 220% of Machinery Affinity and a 150% increase in Virtual Technology skills.

Of the other four choices, it would be impossible for him to choose [Apostle Machinery Affinity]. Although [Legion Firepower Volley] was not too bad, its value was limited when compared to the other choices. The two blueprints were not too bad, but he already had similar equipment and did not really require it.

“The outcome isn’t too bad.” Han Xiao was pretty satisfied.

As Mechanics of the same level, most of Manison’s abilities would be suitable for him. This meant that the number of choices that he could draw was extremely large. Furthermore, a Mechanic at Manison’s level would have plenty of blueprints, and it could be said that the outcome of the draw was not too bad.

Manison’s strength was supported by many different talents. Although Han Xiao was not able to draw a top-grade Molding Talent, he had managed to draw a high-grade talent to reduce the gap between them.

The more talents he drew from Manison, the smaller the gap between him and Manison would become. It would be extremely difficult for him to exceed Manison in one go.

The Machinery Affinity bonus from the level 300 [Innate Machinery Soul] talent was higher than the bonus from the [Lord Grade Machinery Affinity] talent. Its Virtual Technology effect was also better. When put together with the 2.5x multiplier of [Virtual Lord], it was akin to having a 375% increase in his Virtual Technology skill. As such, the effect of this talent was similar to a core talent like [Machinery Emperor].

Han Xiao then made his choice.

_____________________

You have received [Innate Machinery Soul].

_____________________

His brain structure then seemed to have been changed slightly, and he had a new understanding toward machines.

After adapting for a while, Han Xiao let out a long sigh.

“Manison doesn’t only have [Perfect Mechanical Sense] but also a series of Mechanic talents such as [Innate Machinery Soul]. His talent is truly too amazing.”

In truth, he was truly a little… cough, extremely envious!

Han Xiao then looked at the Manison Character Summon Card that he had received. This Character Summon Card was extremely powerful, but the effects did not come from Manison being a Mechanic but an ability of the Ancient Ones.

Who knows whether this ability is unique to those who become a part of The Ancient Ones or I just need to live long enough for it?

The experience reward from the mission was more than double that of the Tyrant’s mission, and it could replenish his pitiful experience stash.

However, this mission did not give him a Legendary Point. Looking at the mission name, Han Xiao had a guess of his own. The mission name had the suffix ‘Virtual Combat’, so perhaps he needed to fight Manison in real life for a Legendary Point to be awarded.

After looking at his new abilities, Han Xiao closed the interface and calculated his gains and losses.

“Manison’s arrival was too sudden, and he stole some of my data. He even made me use up a Perfect Mechanical Sense Character Summon Card. I would have suffered a loss if not for my two new talents. Manison can suppress me in terms of Mechanic skills, and he has already achieved his objective. Thus, it is unlikely that he will create trouble in the near future.”

Han Xiao’s eyes shifted quickly.

He had stood out a little too much recently, and this was a good chance for him to remain low profile.

His foundations were still too weak, and he needed to sow his crops well. Before his crops returned, he should first plow the earth and fertilize the fields.

Having one less Perfect Mechanical Sense Character Summon Card was not a big problem to him. Han Xiao still had a few blank Character Summon Cards in storage, and he could just use them on Reynold again to replicate a new Perfect Mechanical Sense card.

In fact, he had a huge stash of Random Reward opportunities that he had yet to use.

Hmm, I’d better wait for Nero and Feidin to gather together first. One of them can cancel out my bad luck, and the other can provide good luck for me…

In Han Xiao’s eyes, Feidin and Nero were like two deities of luck.

After calculating his losses, Han Xiao stood up and opened his army channel to make a simple announcement.

“My comrades of the Black Star Army.

“Not too long ago, our headquarters’ main system was infiltrated by ‘Mechanic Emperor’ Manison. Under the aid of everyone and the dynasty, we managed to force Manison back, and everything has been resolved properly.

“I did not wish to become enemies with the Mechanic Emperor, but things do not always go my way. The matter today is a signal, and I hope that everyone will be mentally prepared to face the Mechanic Emperor one day.

“The Black Star Army has been around for more than twenty years now. We’ve gone from a weak mercenary group to the current armed organization that we are. In the past twenty years, we have walked through many storms and various difficulties together. This is a path destined to be rocky, and there are still many more difficulties ahead for us to conquer.

“The universe is a vast place, but regardless of how vast the universe is, it cannot contain our boundless ambition. As long as sentient beings are present, competition cannot be avoided. This is the case in history, today, and in the future.

“I have created many miracles in the past, and I will not fear any challenges in the future. I hope that everyone will continue moving forward together with me.

“Your Army Commander, Black Star.

“Galaxy Calendar: Year 710, 11th day of the 9th month.”

After making sure that there was no problem with the contents, Han Xiao sent it out.

This message of his served to calm down the members of his army and reduce the negative effects of Manison’s attack. Although he did not need to be bothered by the thoughts of most of his members, it was better than doing nothing.

After settling this matter, Han Xiao took a few tubes of nutrition fluid and returned to his room to rest for a while before returning to his machinery modification room to strengthen his machines.

After recognizing the distance between his strength and the Mechanic Emperor, Han Xiao became even more hardworking. He planned to remain in seclusion for a period and remain in his headquarters to prevent Manison from attacking again… even if the likelihood was not high.

After ensuring that the storm was over, Han Xiao was prepared to make a trip to the Flickering World and personally oversee the development of the machinery civilization and Black Spirit Race.

…

In the Limitless Financial Group headquarters in the Sea of Star Spirits, Sorokin was looking through the reports from the various regions when his communicator rang.

When he was in his office, only a few important individuals would be able to contact him directly.

Sorokin placed down the report in his hands and picked up the communicator. It was Manison, who had completed his intrusion.

“Your Excellency Manison, have you succeeded?”

“Yes, Black Star’s Virtual Technology skills aren’t too weak, and the dynasty sent Kant over. Thus, I was only able to obtain a portion of the intelligence that you wanted. I have already sent it over to you,” Manison said calmly.

Looking at the information that Manison had sent over, Sorokin shook his head and said, “The information will be of some use to me, but it can’t be considered confidential. Forget it, we can’t force such matters. Also, why did you contact my main body directly? You could’ve just handed the information over to my avatar in the Bloodshed Land.”

“I am just being careful,” Manison said casually. He was extremely experienced and did not wish to send the information within the Shattered Star Ring to prevent Black Star from tracking his transmission and blocking it.

He had only dealt with Black Star to solidify his own position, and apart from his growing interest in Black Star, Manison’s heart was not stirred.

“Alright then,” Sorokin said. “You have formed an enmity with Black Star after defeating him this time. Aren’t you afraid that he will take action against you?”

“I don’t mind defeating him a few more times if he isn’t resigned.”

“Heh, Black Star isn’t your opponent now, but this may not be the case in the future. Don’t forget about his terrifying potential…”

Manison then glanced at him and said, “Don’t play your little tricks with me.”

Sorokin chuckled and changed the topic.

“Right, the dividends from last month have been calculated and will be given out in a few days’ time. Give me a list of the resources that you would like. I will give you a discount and exchange them for you.”

“The usual.”

Manison was not too bothered. Although the profits of the financial group were large, he was not too bothered by money at his level.

After a casual conversation, both parties hung up.

Placing down his communicator, Sorokin’s eyes narrowed, and he muttered, “Mechanic Emperor… Black Star…”

…

In the dynasty ruler’s office, Urranrell glanced at a floating screen in front of him, and the internal announcement that Han Xiao had issued was displayed.

Looking through the announcement, Urranrell nodded.

“It seems like Black Star understood our intentions.”

On the other side, [Dark Lord] Clotti said calmly, “Black Star is a genius who hasn’t appeared before in history. Geniuses like him should be extremely arrogant. He has been in the limelight recently, but he was able to recognize reality quickly. This mental frame of his isn’t too bad.”

Even the Crimson Dynasty, which was well known for being hard-headed, knew when to hold back. With the stunning potential that Black Star had displayed, the dynasty was worried that Black Star would be too arrogant and easily demoralized. However, it seemed like Black Star was still extremely clear headed and did not fight the Mechanic Emperor head on.

The dynasty also knew that the Mechanic Emperor was not an individual easy to provoke. In terms of his status, strength, and organization, Manison was even on a higher level than Old Dragon and Kant. He was the number one ally of the Federation of Light and an existence at EsGod’s level. Only the dynasty’s Dark Lord was able to barely go toe to toe with him.

If one wanted to pick out the top Beyond Grade As in the three Universal Civilizations, the Federation of Light’s trump card would be ‘Mechanic Emperor’ Manison, the Crimson Dynasty’s trump card would be ‘Dark Lord’ Clotti, and the Arcane Church’s trump card would be ‘Void Overlord’ Kasuyi.

The three Universal Civilizations would think from the perspective of their civilization. Unless it was necessary, they would not want to be dragged into a battle between Beyond Grade As. Thus, as long as no lives were lost and their civilization was not insulted, the three Universal Civilizations would show an attitude of tacit approval to the battles between Beyond Grade As. After all, they could not restrain the daily activities of their Beyond Grade A allies.

Kant’s projection was also in the room, and he sighed. “Although this is the case, Manison has been the head deity of the Machinery Faith for far too long.”

“This can’t be helped. Even those experts from the Arcane Church are helpless,” Clotti said. “Even if we kill all the followers of the Machinery Faith, we are unable to kill the faith. That will only result in the members of the Machinery Faith never becoming the followers of the dynasty’s Mechanics.”

“There isn’t a need to say such things,” Urranrell said calmly. “After this incident, Black Star may be slightly dissatisfied with our dynasty, and there is a need to comfort him.”

“Why don’t we send him some blueprints? The best cure to a Mechanic’s soul is high grade blueprints,” Kant said irresponsibly, and as he looked at Clotti by the side, an idea flashed through his head, and his body rapidly transformed into Clotti’s appearance.

“Don’t transform into my appearance,” Clotti said with dissatisfaction. He then looked at Urranrell and said, “Kant, Milizaus, and I will all die eventually, and Black Star will become the next pillar of the dynasty. He will have to take up the responsibility of protecting the dynasty. He has already proven his abilities, and I propose we become bolder in our support of him in terms of resources.”

“Hmm…” Urranrell stroked her chin and fell into deep thought.

…

News spread fast in the interstellar era, and the battle between the Mechanic Emperor and Black Star spread rapidly.

Many galactic residents had a new dinner topic, but the influence of this event could not be compared to the battle between the Tyrant and Black Star.

After all, a Virtual Battle was not as interesting as two Beyond Grade As bashing each other up. Furthermore, footage of the battle was not released either, so the incident did not stir up too big a commotion.

Although Black Star suffered a loss, most people did not find the matter too strange. The name of the Mechanic Emperor was deeply rooted in the hearts of many, and it was not strange for Black Star to lose to the most powerful Mechanic. After all, there were far too many people who had lost to the Mechanic Emperor in history.

The various galactic organizations were not too bothered about the outcome but were focused on the fact that the Mechanic Emperor did not get along with Black Star.

Psyker was the one who felt the happiest. The more powerful Black Star’s enemies were, the happier he would be. He was currently leading an extremely low-profile life after being eyed by four different Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring.

The influence of this event was not large in the outside world but created quite a huge commotion in the Mechanic world. Black Star was a newly ascended Divine Throne Mechanic after all, and the Mechanic Emperor was an old school big shot. With both parties clashing against each other and the Mechanic Emperor suppressing a member of the younger generation who wanted to challenge him, he received a huge wave of support.

After this battle, there were only two types of Mechanics in the world in the eyes of the Mechanics. First was the Mechanic Emperor, and the second was the others.

Han Xiao was not too bothered by the rumors in the galaxy. Regardless of whether Manison made a profit, he definitely did not suffer a loss.

Furthermore, reducing the attention that the world had on him would be in line with his idea of remaining low profile. Han Xiao did not have any plans to challenge the position of the Mechanic Emperor in the near future.

He was different from Heber after all. He would rarely do things that exceeded his own abilities.

The logic from his previous life as a player was rooted deeply in his bones.

What should we do if we can’t defeat the boss? Increase our level, of course! What else can we do‽

After staying in headquarters for half a month and being sure that the Mechanic Emperor would not create trouble anymore, Han Xiao gathered a fleet and headed toward the Flickering World.

Chapter 964 - Theme of the Era

With many financial groups coming up with the resources for construction, the originally silent Flickering World was bustling with activity.

The three explored Star Clusters were all undergoing construction, and the silent Flickering World finally seemed more like a part of the interstellar era.

Han Xiao’s fleet entered the Flickering World through the dynasty’s stargate. The various officers were all extremely familiar with him, and he did not face any obstruction along the way.

Upon reaching the Planet Lighthouse outpost, Han Xiao greeted Tarrokov and extorted Tarrokov of some local produce before leaving toward the Garu Star Cluster.

The Purple River Star System was located at the border of the Garu Star Cluster, near where the stargate was located. It was now Han Xiao’s territory. Thus, the dynasty had built a new stargate beside the original one for the Black Star Army to manage.

After entering the Purple River Star System, they followed the directions on the star map and arrived at a planet.

“Army Commander, that is Planet Black Gate, the planet nearest to the stargate. According to the construction blueprint, this planet will be developed into a large transit station and become one of the landmarks of the Garu Star Cluster. This is also the planet at the border of the army’s territory.”

Han Xiao stood in front of the window and looked at the planet. Beside him was a beautiful secretary giving Han Xiao an introduction.

Sylvia was busy, so she had sent one of her secretaries over to accompany Han Xiao. Han Xiao had some impression of this secretary. He remembered that her resume was pretty outstanding, and she was Sylvia’s capable assistant.

“How is the construction coming along?” Han Xiao nodded.

“This planet made use of the Crimson Dynasty’s quick planetary renovation pack, and the logistics department drew up a blueprint after that. The direction of the construction is toward a galactic market, military fortress, and transportation hub. Because the main focus of the construction is the resource rich planets, only 4.9% of the construction has been completed. The daily energy requirements are provided by a nuclear fusion power station, and our dark energy power station is located underground. However, there isn’t a natural Fixed Star in the vicinity, so we may need additional power sources and a manmade sun…”

Hearing the secretary’s report, Han Xiao suddenly thought about the movable Fixed Star blueprint in the Tyracles legacy.

The more advanced their technological skills, the fewer restrictions the environment would impose on them. They no longer needed to adapt to the environment but could get the environment to change to their needs.

Although the Tyracles Race was not a victor of the exploration era, they were also a quasi-Universal Civilization and had a deep understanding of modifying the environment.

I can make use of the movable Fixed Star equipment and shift the Fixed Star to an appropriate location, Han Xiao thought to himself.

He had always felt that this blueprint had a relationship to the [Universal Simulation] skill of the Divine Throne Mechanic.

After his Class Advancement, Han Xiao had researched all his new abilities but was completely clueless toward how he should use [Universal Simulation]. This skill allowed him to simulate all natural rhythms through his mechanical skills and should have huge potential.

Perhaps the three Universal Civilizations had made use of [Universal Simulation] to modify their mother planets.

Seeing Han Xiao remain silent, the female secretary paused for a while before continuing. “There aren’t many people on Planet Black Gate currently, but Planet Black Gate will become one of the most populated planets in the Garu Star Cluster when the Flickering World is opened to the public. The large number of daily visitors will bring you a considerable amount of profits. According to the calculations of the financial department, we only need six to seven years to recoup our cost of modifying the planet.”

“It’s pretty good.” Han Xiao smiled.

The fleet slowly approached Planet Black Gate, and a few stargates were shown on the map. There were some heading toward the other Star Systems and some heading toward the other regions of the Purple River Star System.

Because the allocation of their territories had been decided, the Black Star Army’s first mission was to connect their seven territories.

During the exploration phase, the entire Star Cluster already had their own transportation network. However, those were long distance stargates mainly used to connect different Star Clusters. The Black Star Army’s mission was to connect their own territories and ensure that the seven Star Systems were well connected.

The transportation network within the territory had already taken on an embryonic form, and many different Star Systems could be reached from Planet Black Gate. Their efficiency was far higher than the first exploration phase.

With a robust transportation network, they could save a lot of time on travelling. Han Xiao led his fleet to tour through the seven Star Systems and viewed all the construction regions.

This was the first time that he personally inspected his territories.

“Purple River, Long Day, Sigma, Odoran, Ponzale, Fenrir, Ednea… This is the current foundation of the army.”

Personally witnessing the size of the seven Star Systems, Han Xiao was extremely satisfied in his heart.

He planned to make the seven Star Systems into the core region of the Garu Star Cluster, but this would require a few decades to accomplish. However, the second phase of the [Flickering World] mission only required him to complete the basic construction of the seven Star Systems. To complete the basic construction of the seven Star Systems, a few years would be sufficient. With the investment of numerous financial groups, the production capability of the army was powerful.

After completing his inspection, Han Xiao returned to the Sigma Star System, which was located in the middle of Garu, to check on the development of the machinery civilization.

Han Xiao’s fleet exited from hyperdrive, and a silver planet appeared before him. Machinery melded into the surface of the planet, and it looked extremely beautiful.

This was the first city of the machinery civilization, and it was called Psionic Prime City!

The surface of the planet had been modified to become machinery. Under the surface of the earth were many different underground mines to extract for various resources.

Under the lead of Psionic Prime and the other Apostle Weapons, military factories, repair factories, resource factories, refinement factories, and many other facilities were constructed. At the same time, there were millions of second-generation mechanical life forms currently waiting to be born.

In the middle of the city, there was a gigantic statue of him.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao was helpless.

For some reason, people always seem to like erecting statues. What’s the point of erecting a statue of me? Why not erect a statue of Feidin instead? That statue might be able to provide some luck for you.

For a mechanical life form to create offspring, it would require them to exhaust their own tinder energy and reproduction had a cooldown. Thus, the larger the size of the machinery civilization, the faster the growth.

The [Mechanical Proliferation Growth] and [Strengthened Machinery Civilization] talents from the Divine Throne Mechanic class could strengthen the reproductive capabilities of the mechanical life form. Han Xiao was planning to spend some time on this planet to create a few more first-generation Mechanical Lives.

The machinery civilization led by Psionic Prime had just started out, and their population was lacking. However, they had plenty of variety with various types of mechanical life forms working in their own posts.

Not too far away from the city, Giant King Kong was leading a group of Giant Soldiers to flatten a tall mountain.

Without disturbing anyone else, Han Xiao contacted Psionic Prime.

Very quickly, a blue light shot out of the planet and arrived before the fleet.

“I pay my respects to the Lord.” Psionic Prime bowed.

The hatch opened, and Han Xiao flew out. Sizing Psionic Prime up, Han Xiao raised his brows slightly.

Compared to the last time they met, Psionic Prime had a few new parts on him. These parts were chosen by Psionic Prime himself to make up for some of his weaknesses.

This was the good point of a mechanical life form; they knew how to change their own parts to strengthen themselves.

“You’ve done well. Keep up the good work.”

Han Xiao praised him and released a stream of bluish-gold Mechanical Force from his palms.

“Treat this as your reward.”

Han Xiao then slapped the Mechanical Force into Psionic Prime’s body. This was the [Apostle Evolution] skill from his Divine Throne Mechanic class.

All of a sudden, Psionic Prime’s body glowed with energy, and the tinder energy in his body strengthened.

Han Xiao watched by the side, and Psionic Prime’s evolution process ended after a while.

Detecting the changes in his body, Psionic Prime nodded to Han Xiao.

“I thank the Lord for your blessing. My strength has increased again.”

“There isn’t a need to thank me. This is something you deserve. You just need to do your job well.”

Han Xiao waved his arms and opened his interface. Psionic Prime’s attributes were all increased by [Apostle Evolution].

His Apostle Weapons had quasi-Beyond Grade A strength, and after the [Apostle Evolution], they would be able to hold their own against an ordinary Beyond Grade A Super.

According to Han Xiao’s calculations, the current Psionic Prime should be able to defeat an ordinary doppelganger of EsGod before his evolution, providing that the doppelganger did not have a perverse Esper Ability.

Sending Psionic Prime back, Han Xiao made a trip over to the territory of the Black Spirit Race.

Compared to the rapid development of the machinery civilization, the Black Spirit Race seemed much more ordinary.

Although they had an extremely efficient communication method, they still needed time to learn and were digesting the basic technological knowledge that the army had provided them.

This technological knowledge was too complicated for them, and they had to start their learning from scratch.

Their mental network system would only show its effectiveness if they had a strong foundation.

As long as they took the first step, the development speed of the Black Spirit Race would increase rapidly. They would be able to rapidly go through the stone age era, cold arms era, enlightenment era, steam engine era, electricity era, and so on, soon arriving at the interstellar era.

Apart from their survival, the greatest barrier of a civilization was technological and production advancement. They needed to spend a great amount of time fumbling around in the dark. But with the interference of the Black Star Army, all of that would not be a problem. Their greatest problems would be solved, and their development definitely would not be slow.

Han Xiao provided the relevant technological trees to the Black Spirit Race and also the methods to expand their mental strength.

The Black Spirit Race, which had a mental network, innately had a high natural potential. They were most suitable to become Psychics or Mages, and it might be possible for more than ninety percent of them to become Supers.

Of course, he would not reject any of them if they wanted to become Mechanics.

It was not without reason for the three Universal Civilizations to prohibit advanced civilizations from interfering with the development of low-grade civilizations. If they followed the path that someone else had taken, they would only become the puppet of another civilization, and their own creativity would be restricted.

With regard to this, Han Xiao did not really have a plan. It was impossible for him not to pay the price if he wanted rapid development. However, the Evolutionary Totem could resolve this problem to a certain extent.

The Evolutionary Totem was able to gradually evolve the genes of a race and increase the potential of a race, including their intelligence and creativity. With the effects of the Evolutionary Totem, it might be possible for an individual capable of changing history to appear from the Black Spirit Race.

Although a civilization was an entire body, many historical events were usually created by individuals. The presence of the Evolutionary Totem increased the chances for such an individual to appear.

Allowing a species to become more outstanding was the meaning of the Evolutionary Totem. This was not a perfect solution, and there was a reality of despair deep within.

For example, what if a new species that did not conform to the norms of society appeared on a planet ruled by humans? Imagine if this beast was not only stronger but also more intelligent and superior to the human race in every respect. At that time, the humans would no longer be the rulers of the planet, and the technology that they had relied on for many years would be overtaken eventually…

It was far more outstanding than them.

At that time, choosing whether to live together with the new species or kill them would be a tough choice.

Suppressing such a new species would always be filled with blood.

This was the most terrifying part of the Evolutionary Totem and also why the Federation of Light and Arcane Church were not able to watch as the Crimson Dynasty swallowed all the benefits of the Evolutionary Totem for themselves. However, the Universal Civilizations had their own gene modification technology and were thus able to control the desire for battle.

…

Han Xiao borrowed the effects from the battle with Manison to remain low profile and not cause trouble everywhere. He then followed his plan to expand his mechanical army and reinforce his foundation.

This was a path that all Mechanics had to take.

After Manison achieved victory, he also did not do anything else. He returned to the Primeval Star River and did not provoke the Black Star Army again.

With both parties falling silent, the various galactic organizations no longer paid close attention to this matter and shifted their gazes away from Han Xiao.

The first exploration phase had been completed and the Flickering World was currently in the construction phase. Many organizations were watching silently from the side, and the explored universe had entered a calm period.

Although there were still small skirmishes occasionally, there were no large conflicts between the civilizations of the Star Cluster grade and above. It was as though they had a tacit agreement and chose to rest.

The Federation of Light and Arcane Church continued to pressure the Crimson Dynasty in the economic and political fields. Although they had plenty of conflicts, the situation was still under control.

The Crimson Dynasty was under quite a bit of pressure and was still holding in there. There were also voices within the dynasty that were calling for the open sale of the totems, but the voices were still weak.

If a new theme would be created for this era, it would be called ‘exploration and expansion’.

This was not only the development of a single civilization but a new Star Field being absorbed into the map of the explored universe. It was akin to discovering a new continent, and it was enough to change the situation of the entire universe.

Under the influence of such an atmosphere, even the Beyond Grade As chose to remain silent. The battle between Han Xiao and the Mechanic Emperor became the last battle between Beyond Grade As for a long time.

Time then crept slowly in the peace.

…

Galaxy Calendar: Year 716, 17th day of the 1st month.

The blue stargate at Planet Black Gate began glowing, and a middle-sized spaceship was spat out from the center of the stargate.

In the spaceship, a group of youths were standing in front of the window and looking at Planet Black Gate with curiosity.

“Is this the territory of the Black Star Army? We’re finally here!”

“I heard that Black Star has remained in the Flickering World for the past few years. It has been five years since we last heard news about him.”

“That’s right. Do you think we will be able to see Black Star in person?”

“I wonder if he will be like principal Lagi…”

“Shut up! Don’t mention that taboo name!”

Someone grabbed his head and collapsed as though he was having fits.

“Argh! Come and give me a hand! His PTSD syndrome is acting up again!”

The people in the surroundings looked at this pitiful brother of theirs who was suffering from ‘Lagi PTSD’ syndrome.

“Sigh, another one has fallen.”

One of the youths who was about 1.7m tall could not help but laugh bitterly.

“This is too exaggerated. I don’t really think the principal is that scary…”

A young lady who was half a head taller than him rolled her eyes. “Of course you are alright. Why don’t you think about the mental damage that is done to those with poor results?”

The young man then rubbed his head and muttered, “Really? I thought that everyone liked the principal a lot…”

This young man was about sixteen to seventeen years old but looked extremely child-like. He looked like a primary school kid that had not grown up yet and was dressed in the Black Star Army uniform.

The beautiful young lady beside him had a smoking hot figure and was dressed in skintight Pugilist clothing. She looked extremely close to this young man.

Right at this moment, the captain walked over and patted the young man on the shoulders.

“The defense troops are sending a communication request. You can just pick up the call to save us some trouble.”

The young man nodded and pressed a few buttons on the wall of the spaceship. A holographic projection then appeared, and the guard commander of the Black Star Army appeared.

“Which department are you guys from? Why didn’t I receive an application from the army?”

If not for the Black Star insignia on the spaceship, the commander might have given the order to capture the spaceship already.

“We are the first batch of graduates from the Black Star Super Academy. According to the rules of the academy, the graduates can choose to join the training camp and serve the Black Star Army for two to three years. We are here to find a job with the army. It must have been a slip up for you to not be informed.”

“Wait a moment. Let me check.” The commander frowned and searched through his records for a while before saying, “Mmm, there was a special request indeed, but you guys came too late and have long exceeded the appointed time.”

“I’m sorry. This was our first time coming to the Flickering World, and we explored a few different places first. Thus, our journey may have been delayed. You can check the records of the spaceship.”

The commander then ran some checks before nodding. “Hmm, the checks on the spaceship are alright. You guys can come in.”

“Alright, thanks… Right, can you not tell the Army Commander that I am here?”

Upon hearing that, the commander had a strange look on his face.

Just what kind of a background did this youth have?

He then sized up the young man and felt that he was extremely familiar.

“Who are you? What is your relationship with the Army Commander?”

“I am Nero. Black Star is my godfather.” Nero chuckled and a bright smile could be seen on his face. “I am here to give him a surprise!”

Chapter 965 - Perfect Mechanical Sense

The spaceship carrying the fresh graduates of the Black Star Super Academy then arrived at the Sigma Star System to meet Black Star.

Over the past six years, the Black Star Army had invested a large amount of resources and created a second headquarters in the Sigma Star System. It was a gigantic space fortress created by seven mechanical fortresses and a large number of mechanical soldiers. This new headquarters was called ‘Black Star Palace’.

The spaceship arrived at the designated location on the star map, and Black Star Palace appeared in their windows. Upon seeing the magnificent structure before them, the jaws of many of the students dropped in amazement.

Black Star Palace was far more majestic than Floating Dragon Island, which hung in the skies above Planet Aquamarine!

Every mechanical fortress had its own satellite rings of varying angles, surrounding the center like a mini Star System.

At the middle of the structure was a gigantic alloy sphere. It was silvery-black in color, and the surface was smooth like a mirror. It was like a black star that did not give out light.

Everyone accepted some security checks before the spaceship was parked at the dock. The moment Nero disembarked from the spaceship, he immediately saw someone familiar.

“Uncle Feidin‽” Nero was overjoyed, and he immediately ran over.

“Hello Nero.” Feidin smiled and stroked Nero on the head.

“Did you come here specially to wait for me?”

“That’s right. We have not seen each other for five to six years. You’ve grown bigger.” Feidin patted Nero on the head and then lamented. “But it is a pity that you didn’t grow any taller.”

“… Don’t talk about this, and we can still have a good conversation.”

Nero’s face darkened. Being short would be his pain for life.

He had Aurora’s life force energy in him and also drank the dragonblood potion frequently. He should have been extremely tall and did not understand why his development was so slow. His own father did not have the short genes either!

Nero had always suspected that it was the stress from studying that resulted in him being so short and was filled with resentment.

“Speaking of which, Uncle Feidin, you’re still the same as always. You are still so good looking.”

Feidin shook his head and smiled. “This is very normal. A Calamity Grade Super is able to control his own metabolism, and it is extremely simple for me to keep my appearance. Six years to me is like a few months for an ordinary individual.”

At this moment, the Pugilist young lady then walked beside Nero and looked at Feidin with her eyes widened and her face red.

“This is…” Feidin looked over.

“Oh, let me make an introduction. This is Mia Moretto. She is my… my… cough cough, a close female friend of mine. She is one of the best Pugilists of the graduating batch.

“Mia, this is Feidin, a member of the Black Star Guards. He is a senior who watched me grow up. Eh? Why is your face red?”

“In what way is my face red!” Mia immediately held onto her face and became flustered.

She was the skinny little girl that Nero had met on the first day of school at the Black Star Super Academy. After six years of training, she had already transformed into a beautiful swan and was currently filled with energy.

Upon seeing that another young lady was captured by his beauty, Feidin said with a helpless expression, “Hello, I am Feidin.”

“Hello, it is an honor for you to meet me… eh no, it should be my honor.” Mia then shook Feidin’s outstretched arm, and her face turned redder.

Nero looked at Feidin before looking at Mia, and his heart turned extremely sour. He then could not help but cough loudly and break up their handshake before changing the topic.

“Right. Where is my godfather?”

“He already knows that you have arrived. Go and meet him at his throne.”

“Throne?”

“Er, it’s the center of that black sphere.” Feidin chuckled. “Speaking of which, he will definitely check on your progress later. I won’t save you if you don’t pass his test.”

Nero’s neck then shrank back, and he recalled some terrible memories. “I’ve improved a lot, so my godfather should be satisfied.”

“You should ask him yourself. Don’t let him wait for too long. We can chat after you are done.” Feidin smiled and left.

Nero then turned around to look at Mia and realized that she was still staring in the direction that Feidin had left.

“He’s already gone. Are you still looking?”

Mia then retracted her gaze and jabbed Nero’s waist excitedly. “Oi, your uncle is far too charismatic. His smile is truly too charming.”

“Why haven’t you looked at me like this before?” Nero then said with jealousy.

Mia then said with disdain, “How long has it been since you last looked in the mirror. How can you be compared with your uncle?”

Nero was speechless.

His heart truly hurt.

After knowing each other for six years, they were extremely familiar with each other. Mia became much more energetic and open than before, and both of them frequently quibbled with each other. However, their relationship was extremely good, and they were like siblings.

After completing all the necessary checks, they changed into a different spaceship and headed toward the black sphere.

When their spaceship approached the black sphere, pores could be seen on the surface of the sphere. These were the landing orbits for spaceships, and it was just the right size to fit this spaceship.

The spaceship entered the orbit and stopped. Both sides of the orbit were sealed up, and there was no dock.

Just when everyone was in doubt, the door to the side opened up.

Boom!

Countless nanoparticles stretched out to form a dock before their very eyes.

“This dock was constructed on the spot?”

This scene was extremely magical to all the students, and they stepped onto the dock while looking left and right curiously. They realized that there was only a single path that they could take, and the path was surrounded by black alloy walls all around.

Everyone then looked at each other and walked down the path.

The sound of an individual clearing his throat could suddenly be heard, and everyone realized that no one was talking.

The atmosphere became tense, and everyone had a sense of fear toward the unknown before them.

These students were originally extremely excited about coming to meet a bigshot, but this excitement of theirs had become anxiousness and fear.

Although they had not met Black Star yet, they could already feel pressure from all directions.

After walking for a long time, they finally came to the end of the path and arrived at a large circular hall.

In the middle of the hall was a platform with a Divine Mechanical Throne in the middle of the platform. Bolts of blueish gold Mechanical Force could be seen expanding out from the base of the throne and jumping around as though they were dancing.

A black robed man was seated on the throne with an arm supporting his head as though he was in deep thought.

Just a simple glance from this individual made all their legs turn to jelly.

“Your Excellency Black Star.”

“Is this the pressure of a Beyond Grade A? How terrifying…”

Many of them could not help but swallow a mouthful of saliva, thinking of retreating.

Before they came, they had been looking forward to becoming a Beyond Grade A, but at this moment, many of them realized that this was no more than a dream.

“God… godfather,” Nero greeted carefully.

It has only been a few years since we last met, and my godfather has become so terrifying.

However, his appearance did not change, and he still looked as suave as he did six years ago.

Nero still dared to tease Feidin, but he could not help but be filled with reverence and anxiousness before Black Star, even if Black Star was his godfather.

What is this? Am I really that scary? Han Xiao looked at the expressions of the students and frowned.

He then looked down at the Divine Mechanical Throne and understood what was going on.

I almost forgot that this thing has the effect of increasing my pressure. No wonder these kiddos are all so terrified of me.

Han Xiao retracted his aura and stood up. The pressure then disappeared, and everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

“You are the first batch of graduates of the academy. Since you have chosen to serve the army, I will welcome all of you on behalf of the army…”

Upon hearing that, the anxiety in their hearts disappeared, and they became excited.

Han Xiao gave the students a round of praises before getting the excited students to take their leave, leaving Nero and Mia behind.

Walking down from the platform, Han Xiao looked at Nero and said, “It isn’t a bad thing for you to be short. Your body will be smaller, and it will be more difficult for the enemy to hit you.”

Nero’s mouth then contorted.

Why did everyone like talking about his height‽

Seeing Han Xiao tease him in such a manner, Nero also became at ease and revealed a smile.

“I haven’t met you for such a long time. I really missed you.”

I didn’t miss you at all, Han Xiao thought to himself.

With the [Observer’s Mark] in his hands, he could spy on Nero whenever he wanted. He was even clear about the average number of times Nero went to the toilet in a day.

Over the past six years, Han Xiao had spent most of his time in the Flickering World, reinforcing his foundation. He had spent most of his experience and increased his level to 303. The rest of his experience went into merging blueprints and his various skills.

His attributes did not go up by much, but his mechanical army had experienced a huge upgrade!

This black spherical planet was a Mechanical Deity formed by his mechanical army!

It maintained the appearance of a planet and was like a black star. Han Xiao would frequently activate this skill and maintain it for a long time to train his control over the Mechanical Deity.

Han Xiao did not remain idle in the area of constructing machines either. He had already set up his Dimension Factory and had honed it many times.

During these six years, the machinery civilization had developed rapidly, and over eighty percent of Planet Apostle was already covered in machinery cities. The mechanical life forms were already in their eighth generation.

Because of the weakening tinder energy, the attributes of the mechanical life forms had an obvious decline from the sixth generation onward. The mechanical life forms in the later generations could only be ‘commoners’ and serve as cannon fodder. This was the restriction of a machinery civilization.

The first-generation mechanical life forms were still the elites with the Apostle Weapons, the most powerful group. The composition of the civilization also gradually became more like the structure of ordinary civilizations. Commoners made up the majority of the civilization, and the mechanical life forms before the sixth generation were like ‘Supers’.

The Black Spirit Race was still digesting their knowledge. Compared to six years ago, the Black Spirit Race had already garnered some achievements and begun to spread knowledge to the other members of their race. The effects of the mental network were beginning to show.

An ordinary race would have to teach using textbooks, but the Black Spirit Race could dump the knowledge straight into the minds of their students.

The army developed steadily, and the education plan had begun to develop with more academies being built. The first batch of students had already graduated, and they were Nero’s batch.

Han Xiao then sized Nero up before looking at Mia.

Upon seeing that, Nero misunderstood Han Xiao’s intentions and immediately introduced his comrade. “This is Mia. She is my classmate, and she is very powerful.”

“He… hello… er, I pay my respects to Your Excellency Black Star.”

Mia was extremely nervous. The feeling that Black Star gave her was completely different from Feidin.

Feidin made her feel like she was in love with her heart racing, but Black Star filled her with reverence.

“I know about you. You have a lot of potential.”

Han Xiao had already recognized this follower of Hila a few years ago and thus was not too surprised.

“Thank you.” Mia was immediately overwhelmed with favor. She had never expected a bigshot like Black Star to know about her and was extremely agitated in her heart.

“Wait outside for a while. I have some things to say to Nero.”

“Alright.”

Mia then looked at Nero and left the room.

After seeing Mia leave, Han Xiao began to tease Nero.

“Not bad, little brat. Is your springtime here?”

Nero’s face flushed red, and he stammered, “Nonsense! No… nothing of the sort…”

“Alright, there’s no need to explain anything to me.” Han Xiao interrupted Nero. “It has been a few years since I last met you. Let me check your progress. If you only thought about dating and not learning, humph!”

As he said that, he did not wait for Nero to reply and jabbed him.

Opening his interface, Han Xiao nodded.

This brat’s potential was not too bad. He already had the strength of Grade C+ and should be able to reach Grade B before he turned twenty.

Looking down at his abilities section, Han Xiao’s eyes lit up.

Nero’s Mechanical Sense talent had finally grown to become [Perfect Mechanical Sense]!

The leek that he had grown for so long had finally matured!

It took almost ten years to develop such an ability. It truly hasn’t been easy!

Han Xiao was overjoyed and slapped Nero on the shoulders with a hearty laughter.

“Not bad, not bad! I am very satisfied with your progress!”

Nero felt as though his shoulders were about to fracture and replied, “As… as long as you are satisfied.”

Han Xiao could not help but pinch Nero’s cheeks joyfully.

I am truly heartened that he didn’t forget his studies for love!

The leek was ripe, and Han Xiao only had to think about how he should harvest it!

Reynold refused to give him any missions, but Nero was different. Nero had an Advanced Luck Glow and was just starting out in life. There would definitely be plenty of chances to trigger a storyline mission and obtain [Perfect Mechanical Sense] from him.

If not, he could even take the initiative to throw Nero into a dangerous situation.

According to Han Xiao’s experience, as long as Nero approached him for help, there would be a greater chance to trigger a mission.

However, he needed a reason to do so.

Combat training sounds like a good plan… Han Xiao thought to himself.

If that was not enough, Han Xiao had his final move. Nero’s potential was even stronger than Reynold’s. Han Xiao could just continue to raise Nero… and publicly beat him up!

Various different thoughts flashed through his mind, and Han Xiao looked at Nero with a teasing expression.

Little fellow, true hell awaits you next. You’ll come to know just how enjoyable student life was.

Noticing Han Xiao’s cunning grin, Nero trembled slightly and had a bad premonition.

Why do I feel a wave of bad intentions sweeping past my body?

Nero then rubbed his head and said carefully, “Godfather, I have something that I need to ask you for help.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Woah!

Look at him, asking for help so readily. So much better than Reynold.

“Speak, what do you need?” Han Xiao asked happily.

“Mia is a Pugilist, and it hurts when she beats me up,” Nero then said softly. “I want to learn how to become tanky. Godfather, you are a grandmaster in this regard. Can you teach me how to become tanky?”

“Scram!”

Chapter 966 - The Second Exploration Phase

As the saying goes, if you want to be tanky, you must first get beaten up. How can your skin be thick if your bones don’t all break at least once?

He then made use of this logic to send Nero away before wondering if there were any dangerous jobs that he could get Nero to do.

After thinking for two seconds, Han Xiao raised his brows.

“That’s right. The construction of the three Star Clusters has come to an end, and the second exploration phase of the dynasty is about to start. I will have some things for Nero to do.”

After six years, Renault, Garu, and Crown had pretty much completed their construction, and they only lacked people.

Chief Commander Tarrokov had already informed him a few months ago that the dynasty was preparing for the second exploration phase. The various allies will be meeting the following day, and Han Xiao was also invited.

If he remembered correctly, the Crimson Dynasty met with some unexpected trouble during the second exploration phase, and there were plenty of opportunities for combat. He could make use of this opportunity to send Nero and the other graduates over under the guise of ‘combat training’.

There was a high probability of his Advanced Luck Glow turning dangers into fortune, right?

Upon thinking about Nero’s current appearance, Han Xiao could not help but be exasperated. To think that Nero actually wanted to learn from him and become a tank! He was supposed to be a proper Mechanic!

Furthermore, the reason was not so that he could improve but so he would be able to receive a better beating!

Preposterous!

Why don’t you learn more from your godfather’s swift and decisive style?

Han Xiao then got his subordinates to arrange the graduates’ accommodation before returning to his throne. With a single thought, he issued an order toward his Divine Mechanical Throne.

Clank!

The next moment, the roof of the room opened, and machinery parts began flowing out.

The Mechanical Deity itself was Han Xiao’s palace, and all the structures within the palace could be controlled by him with a single thought.

Very quickly, a black machine dropped down from the sky and drifted in front of Han Xiao. It was about a meter long.

Han Xiao then touched the machine, and he could feel heat. For him to be able to feel heat, it meant that the temperature was sufficiently high.

The item details were then displayed on the interface.

_____________________

Unknown Core: A special machinery part. Usage of the item is unknown, but it doesn’t seem useless.

_____________________

“Sigh, a Universal Treasure is truly difficult to forge.” Han Xiao shook his head.

Over the past six years, apart from strengthening his mechanical army, Han Xiao had also tried to forge gold grade equipment, which was Universal Grade.

The strength of a Divine Throne Mechanic was definitely sufficient, but even if he had sufficient strength, he might not be able to forge a Universal Treasure. There were far too many variables, and it required many things to work together in order to achieve a perfect state.

The first difficulty was the blueprint.

Han Xiao did not have a Universal Grade blueprint. A gold grade blueprint required the skill [Inspirational Creation], but Han Xiao’s [Inspirational Creation] was currently still grayed out. The activation requirement was for [Ultimate Mechanical Engineering] to reach Level5.

Furthermore, [Inspirational Creation] also had a random element to it. Not to mention the fact that there were no players who announced the blueprint combination of a Universal Treasure, even if one knew the combination, the results might be different.

Because he did not have any blueprints, Han Xiao tried to use his own technological skills to forge it. He used his [Universal Simulation] skill but still did not make much progress. He made many different trash products, and this machine in his hand was the only spare part that still had some use.

Thus, Han Xiao studied this machine every day, hoping to find some inspiration.

However, the truth had proven that this idea of his was only useful to console himself.

It is far too difficult for me to create something without blueprints or theories. Perhaps the Tyracles Legacy may be able to give me a gold grade blueprint, but the next Legacy blueprint will be at level 360, and it is still far away, Han Xiao thought to himself.

…

On the other side, Nero and the others left the Mechanical Deity and returned to the outside world. There were already some administrative staff waiting to show them to their accommodation.

Along the way, the students looked around at the buildings in the surroundings excitedly. It was as though they had come out for a holiday.

They had not only come to the mysterious Flickering World but had even met His Excellency Black Star in person. Thus, they were all extremely excited.

Many people surrounded Nero with the majority of them being females.

As Black Star’s godson, Nero had always been extremely popular. This situation would be even more common now that he was in the territory of the Black Star Army.

“Your godfather is so handsome. He is completely my type, and I feel a sense of security with him.”

“That’s right, that’s right. That aura of his truly excites me.”

“I heard that His Excellency Black Star does not have a wife. I wonder if Beyond Grade As like him have such needs.”

“Can you tell us what kind of a person His Excellency Black Star is?”

Nero could not help but smile awkwardly as he cursed in his heart.

What the hell? I thought that you guys admired me a lot, but you only want to be my godmother.

He did not like the feeling of people surrounding him because of his status. Although he had a powerful background, he had never ordered people around. Of course, this was also related to Reynold’s education method.

Han Xiao had always admired Reynold for his education method. Reynold would always be able to make his students feel the cruel reality of society even in the classroom.

Finally, Mia, who was beside Nero, could not take it and exploded.

“Stop squeezing me! I am going to beat people up if you continue!”

Upon hearing that, the students in the surroundings fell silent. They were still pretty afraid of Mia.

In the past, Mia had a cowardly personality and was extremely low profile in the classroom. But after she was assigned to the Pugilist Class, she became a lot more energetic than before. Almost everyone in the academy had been beaten up by Mia before, with Nero being beaten up the most. Even if he won the battle, he would always leave the arena with a face full of bruises.

Learning how to become a Pugilist would make anyone become more violent.

They arrived at their accommodation quickly, and a room was assigned to each of them. The administrative staff then told them to stay in Black Star Palace while waiting for their jobs.

After everyone found their own room, Nero placed his stuff down, and someone knocked on his window.

Turning around to take a look, he saw Hadavy outside the window riding a floating motorcycle.

“Eh? Why is it you?” He recognized all the Black Star Guards by his godfather’s side, and Hadavy had a pretty good relationship with him.

“Don’t talk nonsense, get on.” Hadavy patted the seat behind him.

Nero hesitated for a moment before getting on the motorcycle. After a short journey, they arrived outside of a building.

“This is…” Nero then looked at the sign board and asked, “A gambling den?”

“That’s right.”

“Wait! Why would there be such a place in the army? Who opened it?” Nero asked with doubt.

“Who else but me… cough, our respected Black Star. Us Black Star Guards are usually with him and don’t have much to do. How could we survive without some entertainment? Let me tell you, although this is the second headquarters of the Black Star Army, the entertainment venues are extremely comprehensive.”

Hadavy then threw the floating motorcycle to the side and dragged Nero into the gambling den. The gambling den was bustling with activity with a huge crowd in the place.

“Why are you bringing me here?” Nero asked timidly.

Hadavy then squeezed his way to a Wayne Card gambling table and placed a huge wager. He then whispered into Nero’s ears.

“Hehe, I lost a few years’ salary here, and I am relying on you to win it back for me.”

After Reynold took over the Logistics department in the Shattered Star Ring, it became difficult to meet him. Furthermore, Feidin did not allow Hadavy to disturb him. Thus, Nero became the only person left who Hadavy knew was good in cards.

How would he miss such a good opportunity to recoup all his losses!

“I… I am still a child.” Nero’s mouth contorted, and he looked at the expressionless robot in front of him.

He truly suspected that Black Star had opened his gambling den to collect back the salaries of the Black Star Army members.

He is my godfather indeed! A Mechanic that knows how to cut costs is definitely outstanding!

…

The next day, the meeting for the second exploration phase was being held in a conference room on Planet Lighthouse, and all those participating in the meeting were the various bigshots of the dynasty.

The moment Han Xiao’s projection descended, many people greeted him.

“Eh? Black Star is here.”

“Come here, I saved a seat for you.”

After the event six years ago, Han Xiao had gained a higher status within the circle of Beyond Grade As and was extremely popular.

These Beyond Grade As all knew that Black Star would probably be the next pillar of the dynasty and were thus more passionate toward him.

There was no need to mention the old dragon, Beyoni, and his other old friends. Ravenlaude, Maximiler, Viru, and Lotus Swordsman were present, and Han Xiao also saw Heber.

Heber naturally did not greet him. Heber only snorted and looked away to prevent himself from being irritated.

The moment he saw Heber, Han Xiao thought about the development of the army in the Shattered Star Ring. Over the past six years, the Bloodshed Land had competed with the Black Star Army in many areas with the aid of the Limitless Financial Group. Both parties continued to swallow up other organizations and expanded their operations greatly.

The Germinal Financial Group developed rapidly and became the representative financial group of the Black Star Army. Iapetus displayed outstanding talent and also sat in a high position. With the support of the Black Star Army, the Germinal Financial Group showed signs of becoming a first rate financial group.

The Crimson Dynasty had also expanded some of their operations in the Shattered Star Ring and provided some aid to him. The Black Star Army was temporarily able to resist the pressure brought about by the Limitless Financial Group. However, since the Limitless Financial Group had entered the Shattered Star Ring market, they would not back off easily and had become a powerful competitor.

Han Xiao greeted the other Beyond Grade As and finally sat in between the old dragon and Maximiler.

The Beyond Grade As had their own small circle, and the other civilizations all sat far away.

The meeting had not started yet, and everyone was busy chatting with each other.

After waiting for a while when everyone was present, Tarrokov walked forward to the stage and coughed twice to attract everyone’s attention.

“I’m sorry for the wait. Since everyone is here, let’s begin.”

The conference room then fell silent, and everyone looked at him.

Tarrokov then pressed a button, and a huge holographic screen appeared behind him with the star map of the Flickering World on the screen. The green explored region had been expanded with Renault, Dawn, Garu, and Crown being lit up.

“Everyone here should be extremely familiar with this map, so there’s no need for me to explain it further. I shall get straight to the point. We’ve spent over ten years on the first exploration and construction phase. The construction of the basic facilities is going well, and the first phase is about to come to an end. The dynasty has decided to embark on the second exploration phase.”

As he said that, Tarrokov tapped on the screen and circled two unexplored Star Clusters.

“These two Star Clusters will be our objective for the second exploration phase. They are the Russo Star Cluster and Dust Light Star Cluster.”

Everyone present felt their spirits being lifted.

The two Star Clusters were neighbors to the explored region in the first phase. The Russo Star Cluster was where Han Xiao had obtained the Spacetime Amber, and it was a neighbor of the Garu Star Cluster. The Dust Light Star Cluster was a neighbor of both Renault and Crown.

“Why is there one less region in the second exploration phase?” someone asked.

Tarrokov nodded and explained, “Yes. There are many different reasons with two more prominent ones. First, we need to continue with the construction of the first phase, and that will require manpower and resources. Second, we will be adopting a new exploration method during the second exploration phase, and we’ve chosen to shrink the region down because we would have more things to do.”

After looking around to make sure that there weren’t any questions, Tarrokov said, “There are more people participating in the second exploration phase. Please refer to the list for the exact breakdown.”

A screen appeared in front of everyone, and the organizations participating in the second exploration phase were shown.

Han Xiao glanced over the list. The scale of the second phase was much larger, and many of the new organizations were subsidiary civilizations and galactic contractors being hired.

During the first exploration phase, not all the allies had an opportunity to participate. Some weaker subsidiary civilizations were not even within the dynasty’s consideration. From the second exploration phase onward, the dynasty needed to share the cost of the development and thus allowed more to participate.

According to this development pace, the Flickering World would be opened up to the public in the fourth phase.

Only the Beyond Grade A allies who joined in the first phase could seize the best opportunities. As more people joined in the exploration, the benefits would become less.

Tarrokov waited for everyone to finish viewing the list before saying, “I have already made a small booklet on the things to take note of during the second exploration phase and will issue it to every participating organization. Everyone must read it as we have added some new rules.”

The Beyond Grade As then looked at each other and nodded.

The rules in the first phase were intentionally more relaxed for the Beyond Grade As to obtain more benefits. However, the rules would be stricter toward these subsidiary civilizations.

“To all our Beyond Grade A allies,” Tarrokov then said with a smile, “the dynasty has already assigned your missions, so there’s no need for you to choose your targets. Please be understanding.”

After seeing that no one had any issues, Tarrokov continued.

Indeed, the dynasty would control everything. Han Xiao shook his head. This meant that he would not be able to fully utilize his advantage.

However, the most valuable Spacetime Amber was already in his hands, and it would not matter to him if he had a choice or not. According to his understanding of the second exploration phase, regardless of the mission that the dynasty issued, he would probably be sent to deal with some native advanced civilizations in the end.

In his previous life, the Crimson Dynasty met an advanced civilization that was located in the Dust Light Star Cluster.

Because of some reasons, the advanced civilization harbored great enmity toward the dynasty and was not easy to deal with. It even caused some trouble to the dynasty’s exploration.

During the first phase, they met a native Star System civilization. However, this advanced civilization was already at the Star Cluster level. Of course, they would not be a complete Star Cluster Civilization without the support of the galactic society. However, they were pretty powerful and different from the frogs in the well before.

The dynasty might not have mobilized their armed forces if everything went normally, but there was another power pulling the strings in the background.

Han Xiao’s ‘Nero training plan’ was targeted at this advanced civilization.

Chapter 967 - Changing the Tracks of Destiny

The meeting then carried on for half a day and ended after Tarrokov introduced the various objectives of the second exploration phase.

“There is one final thing. Take note of any strange occurrences during the exploration. We saw plenty of organizations trying to secretly enter the Flickering World during the first phase, and we took various measures to wipe these stowaways out. However, we would still miss some of them out. If any of you discover any stowaways, you must give chase.”

The Flickering World was still in a stage of lockdown, and many organizations attempted to sneak into the Flickering World. Everyone present was extremely clear that these stowaways were generally troops from the various Star Cluster or Super Star Cluster Civilizations, or organizations hired by them.

Because the first exploration phase was already completed, these stowaways had already run into the later unexplored regions and their whereabouts are unknown. The dynasty had also sent some troops to give chase to these stowaways but had little results to show for it.

The way the dynasty saw it, the best way to deal with such a situation was to continue with their exploration. In any case, these stowaways would have nowhere to escape when their main troop arrived.

After the end of the meeting, the various representatives of the organizations reported the details of the meeting to their upper echelons. A portion of the Beyond Grade As did not leave immediately and stayed back to chat with each other.

After chatting for a while, Tarrokov walked over and got Han Xiao to have a private conversation with him.

Both of them walked to the side, and Han Xiao was a little curious.

“What’s the matter?”

“Can’t I come to you for a chat if there isn’t anything?” Tarrokov chuckled. “However, I do indeed have something. The Garu Star Cluster and Russo Star Cluster are neighbors, and your territory is in the region between Russo and Garu. Your territory can be part of the long-term transportation route, and a portion of our troops will go through your territory. We may also need you to help transport some resources.”

“Alright.” Han Xiao agreed immediately.

Since the dynasty had given him the seven Star Systems, he had absolute control rights over the territories. Since the contract had already been established, the dynasty could not make any decision within his territory and had to seek his permission first.

Allowing the troops from the other organizations to pass through his territory would bring him more benefits than costs. He would be able to set up a proper resource transportation route within his territory and also cement his position as the core of the Garu Star Cluster.

Being in charge of the transportation route meant that he would also be in charge of logistics to a certain extent. The amount of benefits that came from being in charge of logistics was something that everyone clearly understood. During the first exploration phase, the Black Star Army was the Exploration Pioneer, and after gaining their own territory during the second phase, they had even more benefits.

After finishing what he had to say, Tarrokov suddenly suppressed his voice and said, “Did you receive the news? Cries within the dynasty to open up the sales right of the Evolutionary Totem have started again.”

Han Xiao nodded and was not too bothered. “It doesn’t matter. They won’t affect me anyway.”

The division within the upper echelons with regards to the Evolution Cube could not affect his status at the moment. In the past six years, none of the upper echelons had targeted him because they knew that it was useless to do so.

“I know, but you should be more careful,” Tarrokov said softly. “I heard that a Ruler candidate wishes to receive the support from these factions…”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao could not help but say with a teasing voice, “You’re telling me such news? Aren’t you afraid of them taking revenge in future?”

“Ah, I didn’t mention any names, and besides, will you expose me? Furthermore, the faction that I am in doesn’t really like his methods.” Tarrokov smiled.

Han Xiao then came to a realization. He then understood that Tarrokov did not only come to warn him but also had a political objective.

The next Dynasty Ruler would always be trained when the current Ruler was still in power. These candidates would usually be high officials of the dynasty with various different factions supporting them from behind.

There could only be a single Ruler. Thus, some of the candidates who knew that it would be difficult for them to be chosen or had a huge ambition would try to obtain more support during this period.

In his previous life, Urranrell’s service period had ended not too long after the Flickering World storyline.

The dynasty would not change because of a new Ruler, but the style of the dynasty was changed subtly with the style of the new Ruler. For example, the way they dealt with competition, subsidiary civilizations, and their Beyond Grade A allies.

The Ruler of the dynasty would be chosen internally, and apart from some special circumstances, the allies of the dynasty would not be able to influence the position of the Ruler.

Thus, it was more important for a candidate to obtain the support of the various factions rather than fawning over the Beyond Grade As. Although Han Xiao was surprised about the situation that Tarrokov had mentioned, he was not too shocked.

In any case, he already had plenty of targets stuck on him, and he would not mind a few more.

“Heh, a candidate is only a candidate, and he may not be the future Ruler.” Han Xiao smiled.

“You’re right. I also thought so.” Tarrokov nodded.

After pausing for a while, he suddenly said, “I still have something to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“How well do you understand the inheritance that EsGod left behind?”

Why would he suddenly bring EsGod up? Han Xiao was a little puzzled.

“Isn’t his inheritance already spreading throughout the universe? Which aspect are you referring to?”

“Ah, this matter is related to you… Do you remember the spatial coordinates that you gave us previously? The ones that EsGod was looking for.”

These words sounded like thunder in Han Xiao’s ears, and he tried to suppress his shock.

Those spatial coordinates were the key to the World Tree!

Why would he ask such a question? Has the Crimson Dynasty found something already?

“Have you guys found anything?” Han Xiao asked in a low voice.

“I don’t know. I am not a researcher.” Tarrokov shook his head. “However, the head of the research team in charge of EsGod’s inheritance seems to have some idea about the data. He asked me to ask you about the situation back then.”

After the inheritance of EsGod was leaked, the spatial coordinates were hidden within the wealth of information and seemed extremely insignificant. The research team would rather spend their time researching other things rather than this set of coordinates without any records.

But after spending a few years, the research team had almost finished their research of the majority of EsGod’s research and thus set their eyes on the mysterious coordinates.

“I only coincidentally found EsGod searching for these coordinates, and I am not clear about the details.”

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief and hid the truth with a perfunctory response.

“Alright.” Tarrokov was not too suspicious of the reply.

After a casual chat, Han Xiao turned off the long-distance projection and returned to his room. He then heaved a sigh of relief with a look of resignation on his face.

…

Following the meeting’s conclusion, the Crimson Dynasty announced the start of the second exploration phase to the universe.

After the first exploration phase, the Black Star Army was already extremely familiar with the procedures and made sufficient preparations. They also began their exploration during the start of the second exploration phase.

He was assigned to explore the Russo Star Cluster this time with many exploration troops accompanying him. The job of every organization was more carefully detailed and orderly.

Han Xiao’s [Flickering World] Main Storyline Mission was also refreshed when the dynasty announced the start of the second phase.

_____________________

[Flickering World] Second Chain Mission Completed.

Your Mission Rating is: A

You have obtained 1,500,000,000 Experience, x2 Random Reward Draw, 1,500 the Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points, and x1 Blank Character Summon Card.

[Exploration Pioneer] Current Progress: 2/3

The Third Round has been refreshed.

Mission Introduction: Complete the second exploration phase of the dynasty.

Current Exploration Area: Russo Star Cluster

Personal Exploration Point: 0

Total Exploration Point: 0

Current Rating: E-

_____________________

The third round of the mission was for him to explore the Russo Star Cluster. There would not be a problem for him to complete the mission, and his main objective would be to increase his own mission rating.

Han Xiao was still extremely confident about this. Although there were many more organizations exploring the region with him, his advantage of being familiar with the map would still come in handy. Although he might not be able to achieve an S+ rating, an A rating should not be difficult.

With the exploration troops being sent out, Han Xiao remained in the Black Star Palace and only sent out a Lord avatar and mechanical army to the Russo Star Cluster.

The graduates were also broken up and sent to the various troops toward the new exploration region. Han Xiao had intentionally split Nero and Mia up into two different forces.

According to his understanding, nothing would go wrong in the Russo Star Cluster; the exploration fleet would only face trouble in the Dust Light Star Cluster.

Han Xiao was waiting for trouble to erupt on the other side so that he could throw Nero over. He had already come up with more than a dozen different plans to trigger Nero’s storyline mission. He definitely would not let the matter rest if he did not make Nero feel despair and pain.

Feidin was an expert in the mind anyway, and even if a shadow was left behind in Nero’s heart, Feidin would be able to take care of it.

…

At the border of the Dust Light Star Cluster, one of the dynasty’s exploration fleets began constructing a stargate shortly after arriving.

At this moment, a group was spying on this fleet from a few Star Systems away using special equipment.

The dynasty’s exploration fleet was displayed on a large screen within the conference room, and there were many creatures with carapaces, like gray lobsters, seated in the room. They were the local intelligent race of the Flickering World and called themselves the ‘Kunde Race’.

Everyone in the room fell silent upon witnessing the fleet.

The leader of the Kunde Race then said slowly.

“The information on that spaceship was real. There are more life forms in the universe, and aliens are eyeing our world.”

Everyone fell silent.

The Kunde Race had been slowly developing for millions of years and had started to walk the path of a Galactic Civilization ten thousand years ago. Their territory had continued to expand as they captured more and more planets.

It was not that they had not met any other intelligent races in the process. However, the races that they had met were far weaker than them and had become their pets and slaves.

The Kunde Race had been wondering if there were more powerful civilizations in the universe, but they had yet to meet with any. After so many years, they had taken control of many Star Systems and were the most powerful civilization within this Star Cluster.

However, their observation region was limited to the Dust Light Star Cluster, and everything outside of it was unknown.

Without a galactic society or any other civilizations to interact with them, this place was like a lone island and pitch black forest. The Kunde Race did not have any understanding of Star Systems and Star Clusters, and their technological skill tree was not as complete as the Galactic Civilizations’. They did not have stargate technology, and their hyperdrive technology was backward. They could only make use of cryogenic chambers to pass the long galactic travel duration.

A single day of travel for the galactic society could take the Kunde Race more than ten years.

However, all this changed a few years ago.

The Kunde Race would always remember the day that the spaceship wreckage had landed on their colonial planet. There was plenty of advanced technology that they had never seen before and information about countless alien civilizations.

They had finally met a civilization that was more powerful than them!

After researching the technology on the spaceship, the Kunde Race had finally developed many different technology fields such as hyperdrives, stargates, and quantum networks.

However, a huge shock accompanied the surprise. The spaceship had also recorded a powerful alien civilization called the Crimson Dynasty.

The information showed that the Crimson Dynasty was not only a powerful civilization but also a Universal Grade predator. All the civilizations discovered by them only had two paths to take: destruction or submission.

The outcome of submitting would be the loss of development opportunities, and they would never be able to go up to a higher level. Their future would be bleak, and they would be a vassal forever.

The Kunde Race had suspected the truthfulness of the information, but all the technology of the spaceship was real. As such, this was a form of assurance in the truthfulness of the information. It was a pity that only corpses were left behind on the spaceship, and there was not a living being to interrogate.

The data log of the spaceship indicated that the members of the spaceship were a bunch of escapees. They were escaping the expansion of the Crimson Dynasty and also announced that the Crimson Dynasty was not too far away from the Kunde Race. They had even recorded the possible route that the Crimson Dynasty would take, and this filled the Kunde Race with unease.

Data on long-distance surveillance equipment was also included in the databank, and the Kunde Race constructed the equipment and sent people to monitor the various locations where the Crimson Dynasty might appear. A few years later, this set of data came true, and there was indeed an unknown fleet appearing not too far away from their territory.

“The predators have appeared. What should we do? Should we contact them with friendly intentions or take the initiative to attack?” the Kunde leader said with a grave tone.

One of the upper echelons then slammed the table and said resolutely, “We cannot submit to them! We must make preparations. We must first find a route of retreat and a new homeland for our offspring. We should then seize the initiative to attack them before the enemy can discover us!”

“They are too powerful; we won’t be able to win. Our race may end up being wiped out instead. We cannot start a war with them and should first come into contact with them…”

“Stop dreaming! The only outcome of engaging with them is to become a vassal. Are you willing to lose our future and become like those races that we enslaved?”

“Perhaps the other party isn’t a predator but a friendly civilization?”

“Friendly civilization? Just how did you obtain your current position? Don’t forget. Have we even been friendly to the other intelligent races? Will there be a friendly civilization in the universe‽ Do you want to surrender and get our entire race enslaved‽”

“But how can we know if the information is real without trying?”

“Are you mad? All the technological skills are real. Why are you still doubting the veracity of the information‽”

The upper echelons continued arguing.

If not for the sudden descent of that spaceship, many of them would have agreed to first come into contact with the aliens.

However, many of the upper echelons believed that these alien civilizations were predators to take over their land.

Right at this moment, a strange fluctuation could be seen in the eyes of the Kunde leader, and he said coldly, “Stop arguing. I have come to a decision…”

Chapter 968 - Shadow of the Exploration Era

The dynasty’s exploration method was to steadily expand their exploration scope. The exploration fleet had just entered both Star Clusters and was currently starting their exploration from the borders.

At the border Star System of the Dust Light Star Cluster, an exploration fleet had arrived on a green planet. The insignia of a Star System Civilization was inscribed on the armor of the spaceships, and they were in charge of exploring this region.

“Exiting hyperdrive, arriving at our destination. Cooling down the hyperdrive engine.”

“The planetary probe has been released. Examining the environment and resources on the planet.”

“Activating the life force scanner and checking for signs of life.”

In the main control room of the flagship, the staff of the exploration fleet were busy operating various equipment, and the commander was pacing around to wait for the test results.

Swoosh!

The door suddenly opened, and a man clad in heavy armor walked in.

The commander of the ship then turned around and said with respect, “Captain Kreb, do you need something?”

“I am only here to take a look,” the guy called Kreb said impatiently.

He was one of the Calamity Grade Supers in this subsidiary civilization and was in charge of their safety.

However, there would obviously be far too few opportunities for him to take action, and Kreb was only there as insurance. As such, he was not too happy to take on such a job and felt that it was a waste of his training time.

After waiting for a while, the test results were out and displayed on the screen of the main control room.

“Commander, the data has been analyzed. This is a habitable planet, and the resources on the planet are also rich. We also discovered traces of life on the planet, and we have already discovered 730,000 different species. There is one intelligent species on the planet, and they are currently in the tribal era. The degree of their intelligence is still unknown, and their population is about 120,000.”

The appearance of this intelligent species was then displayed on the screen. It looked like a goblin with plenty of creases on its white skin.

“An intelligent species. That isn’t too bad.” The commander nodded. “Make contact with them according to the rules.”

The dynasty had rules about the procedures of coming into contact with the native civilizations. They would take a different approach depending on the situation. For such natives that did not pose any threat, they would usually approach them with peace and education as the main focus. This was the method that Han Xiao had adopted when he came into contact with the natives on Planet Pangurus.

The fleet then landed in the forest, and the ground troops started to make contact with the native tribes. These natives were both afraid and shocked but extremely curious about these unknown beings at the same time.

Under the aid of the translation tool, this exploration fleet successfully set up a communication bridge with the natives. They explained their intentions to the natives and used various diagrams to explain the situation of the explored universe. They also introduced the Crimson Dynasty to the natives and explained the situation to them.

The accompanying doctor also began conducting tests on the natives to check for any unknown viruses on the body of the natives. There were far too many of such examples, and they began to check the biological structure of the natives.

Everything looked as though it was progressing orderly, and Kreb took a stroll in the camp.

He then suddenly saw a native leaving the line and suspiciously heading toward the house of another native.

Kreb didn’t think too much about the matter and wanted to continue walking but suddenly felt a sense of danger.

He immediately froze in place. Most Calamity Grade Supers had extremely astute senses and would be able to detect threats. Most powerful Supers trusted their instincts.

“Something seems wrong…” Kreb frowned and followed the suspicious looking native. He then pushed open the room door and walked into the native’s room.

This native had his back toward the door and turned around upon hearing something. It was as though he was shocked by someone appearing behind him.

“What are you doing?” The sense of danger grew even more intense.

The next moment, the expression of that native turned malevolent, and he took out a bone dagger to stab it toward Kreb’s neck.

Whoosh!

A gust of wind blew past, and Kreb instantly appeared before the other party. He then knocked the dagger away lightly and held the native by the neck.

He did not know the intentions of this native, but it would not be wrong for him to stop the attack.

But before he could even interrogate the other party, the native suddenly trembled with foam coming out from his mouth, and he died.

“He committed suicide?” Kreb was shocked.

Right at this moment, a gasp could be heard by the door, and Kreb ran out while holding onto the corpse. He then realized that a commotion was going on around the doctors. A large group of doctors were crowded around a medical instrument as though they had discovered something.

Kreb then went forward and looked at the individual in charge of the doctors.

“What are all of you doing?”

“Your Excellency, look at this gene report!” one of the doctors said with a strange look on his face. “We realized a huge flaw in the genes of this race. Furthermore, there are traces of their genes being modified, which resulted in at least eighty percent of their mental capacity being suppressed! In simple words, someone is trying to suppress their intelligence!”

“You mean to say that they are a being reared like animals?” Kreb asked.

Right at this moment, something happened!

Boom!

Everyone suddenly felt the ground beneath them tremble.

The next moment, an alarm went off in all the spaceships.

“Alert! Alert! Detecting high energy reaction, comparing energy reaction to the database… comparison complete. [Primordial Psionic Energy Explosion] has a 99.8% match. Evacuate immediately! Evacuate immediately!”

“Primordial Psionic Energy‽”

Everyone’s expression changed greatly.

Kreb suddenly seemed to have thought about something and smashed the head of the strange corpse in his arms. He then poured out all the contents of the head, and a small mechanical chip flowed out.

The instant he saw this mechanical chip, Kreb’s eyes narrowed, and he understood what was going on.

This was a life force detector. In simple terms, the detector would send out a signal when the life force of its host was lost, and it would trigger a switch or equipment on the other side. The Primordial Psionic Energy Explosion was probably related to this life force detector!

Boom!

The surface of the planet immediately collapsed, and a psionic blue energy erupted from underground.

Following which, the entire planet became contaminated.

The mountains, rivers, forests, land, ocean, sky… everything was swallowed by the blue psionic energy and became part of the Primordial Psionic Energy!

It expanded without end!

Everything was swallowed and disintegrated by the blue light. The exploration fleet was not able to escape from the rapid expansion of the energy and was swallowed up by the energy.

Kreb charged out from the spaceship and wanted to escape for his life. However, the endless blue light swallowed his figure up. In the face of the Primordial Psionic Energy, a Calamity Grade Super was no more than an ordinary living being.

The same scene occurred on a few planets in the Dust Light Star Cluster.

…

It had not been too long since the last meeting, but all the organizations participating in the exploration were gathered in Planet Lighthouse’s conference room once again.

This was an emergency meeting, and Han Xiao and the other Beyond Grade As were urgently summoned to attend the meeting.

Looking at the casualties on the screen, the atmosphere in the room was heavy.

“Our exploration fleet met with an accident in the Dust Light Star Cluster,” Tarrokov said with a grave voice. “More than six thousand battleships were destroyed with more than seven million casualties, including two Calamity Grade Supers.”

A small commotion was immediately created.

“Just what did they meet? Did they meet a powerful civilization?”

“How can there be such powerful natives in the Dust Light Star Cluster‽”

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed. He only knew that this native civilization created trouble for the dynasty but was not clear about the details. After all, this matter happened during the version update period, and the players did not experience it personally. They only understood what had happened from the background information.

Tarrokov raised his arms to get everyone to remain silent before saying, “The strength of this native civilization is far more powerful than your imagination. They have grasped psionic energy, and these fleets that were lost met with a Primordial Psionic Energy Explosion. We have reason to believe that it is a trap set by this unknown civilization.”

The moment these words were said, everyone present could not help but take in a deep breath.

They could accept a native civilization having a powerful army. With the dynasty’s battleship technology, suppressing a native civilization would not be a problem. Regardless of how powerful an ordinary army was, they would not be able to threaten their exploration fleet.

However, things were completely different if the native civilization had grasped psionic energy!

Under the rule of the three Universal Civilizations, the explored universe prohibited the use of Primordial Psionic Energy for weapons. Its strength was terrifying, and the pollution that it caused was even more severe.

To think that these natives actually grasped psionic energy!

Just how did they climb up the technological skill tree?

Could it be that they have other technology that we do not‽

Everyone present was filled with wariness and caution.

The feeling of facing such a native civilization was completely different. In the Galactic Society, even if one could not grasp some form of technology, one would know of the existence of the technology. But when facing a powerful native civilization that they had yet to see before, who knew what kind of strange technology they would suddenly bring out?

Many of the civilizations had experienced the exploration warring era and felt a sense of deja vu. None of them knew the trump cards that the other civilizations had, such as the Federation of Light’s Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, the Arcane Church’s Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, and the Evolutionary Civilization’s transformation.

This native civilization naturally would not be restricted by the rules of the Galactic Society and would not be bothered about casually throwing psionic energy around. It was like giving a child a pistol. Everyone present had a feeling that the death rate this time would be high.

“What is the dynasty’s plan?” someone asked.

Tarrokov said coldly, “The situation is still unknown, and this native civilization isn’t friendly to us and poses a high threat to us. According to the ‘Exploration Rules: Rules of Contact’, we will be adopting method twenty-four.”

Many of them could not help but gasp in shock upon hearing that.

This was the final method. Compared to the other methods, this method was extremely simple. They would use war to achieve their motive and stop when the opposing civilization was enslaved or wiped out.

A civilization capable of walking out from the exploration era and becoming the tyrant of the universe definitely was not kind.

The exploration of the Flickering World was a little similar to the exploration era, and the difference was that the three Universal Civilizations were already tyrants. They were confident of employing more gentle means, and this gave weak civilizations the chance to protect themselves.

The more powerful the natives, the stricter the attitudes of the three Universal Civilizations.

A native civilization that had grasped psionic energy was already a threat, and the Crimson Dynasty would not mind killing them in their infancy to reduce their Star Cluster level enemies by one. This would be beneficial to the Galactic Society.

Tarrokov then said coldly with his gaze sweeping past everyone present, “We are completely clueless about them. We aren’t aware of their location or their species. However, the other party has already launched accurate attacks, which means that they have some intelligence in their hands. Before this, we have not come into contact with this civilization. Thus, it is likely that someone is pulling strings from the dark, and the most suspicious individuals are the stowaways.”

The looks of the representatives present all turned strange.

This was not too difficult to guess. It was difficult for a single civilization to form a complete technological skill tree. The benefit of the Galactic Society was the exchange of technological skills. The stowaways must have thrown a bag of technological skills to the native civilizations, including psionic energy skills.

These Super Star Cluster Civilizations also had sufficient motives. First, they wanted to wound the armed forces of the dynasty. Second, they wanted to delay the exploration. Third, they wanted to kill with a borrowed knife and get rid of the powerful native civilizations to free up more space in the Flickering World.

Of course, they would not just throw the technological skills to anyone. Only a native civilization that had sufficient production capabilities would be their target.

“I announce that the exploration plan of the Dust Light Star Cluster shall come to an end. The dynasty’s exploration fleet will be going to war,” Tarrokov said with a deep voice.

Everyone nodded solemnly.

Before taking care of the enemy, they would not continue with their exploration. The dynasty had plenty of war experience and had many different plans to employ.

The enemy had the advantage in terms of intelligence, but this advantage would not last long. The Oracles in the dynasty’s fleet would come into use soon, and the Mechanics were not there for show either.

With the dynasty gathering their troops, the Black Star Army was also summoned. However, Han Xiao was not planning to take action personally. He wanted to let Nero and his subordinates join the battle. He only needed to send his mechanical army to protect Nero secretly.

He knew that the Kunde Race did not have any Supers. Their greatest threat came from the explosion of the psionic energy. As long as they avoided these battlefields, the number of casualties can be reduced.

My advantage of being familiar with the map can be put to use here, Han Xiao thought to himself.

…

At the same time, in the Dust Light Star Cluster, countless spaceships that were holding numerous civilians disappeared into space. Looking at this scene, the Kunde Race soldiers all had strange feelings in their hearts.

“Report, the migration fleet of every colonial planet has set off. The local civilians are all on board, and they are going to search for a new homeland together with all the races that they’ve discovered.”

Upon listening to his subordinate’s report, the Kunde Race leader nodded silently, and the other upper echelons fell silent.

The information on the spaceship wreckage did not lie to them. They had arranged for some enslaved subsidiary civilizations to come into contact with the other party, and the other party was indeed called the Crimson Dynasty. They were just as powerful as stated in the information.

Although the other party seemed extremely friendly, in the eyes of the Kunde Race, their ambitions were hidden under their friendly facade.

Originally, the resources of the entire Star Cluster would be theirs for development and evolution. However, the Crimson Dynasty had arrived and wanted to snatch these resources away from them. Their way out had been blocked, and they could no longer develop normally.

In this regard, the Super Star Cluster Civilizations did not lie.

The Kunde Race was not willing to become a vassal. The universe was a vast place, and they still had routes of retreat.

From the moment they decided to resist, they had planned for the worst. They sent most of their civilians into the depths of the space and left behind the seed for the civilization. Regardless of their victory or defeat, they would no longer have a chance to develop normally in this place. As such, they might as well send their race over to a new hometown where they would not be disturbed.

Only the Kunde Race’s army was left behind to defend their land.

War was something that could not be avoided for peace.

Chapter 969 - Familiar Face and Exchanging Fire

Chapter 969 Familiar Face and Exchanging Fire

Deactivating his long-distance projection, Han Xiao’s viewpoint returned to his room. Before he even moved, a notification popped up on his interface. It was an Urgent Mission for the dynasty.

The contents of the mission were to listen to the dynasty’s plans and carry out various war missions to deal with the Kunde Race. It was similar to the secret war mission, and Han Xiao was no stranger to it.

“According to the reward of the secret war, if I can complete a war mission at such a level, there is a high chance of receiving Legendary Points, Political Assets, or a new dungeon type reward. Oh right, my Contribution Points should also be able to increase greatly.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin, uncertain. After all, Purple Crystal and Klent were close to each other in strength during the secret war. But to the dynasty, the Kunde Race was no more than just a little threat. Getting rid of the Kunde Race was not difficult, and the reward might not be as much as the secret war.

However, he would just take whatever came his way. His target this time was mainly to trigger various missions from Nero.

Although he was not planning to participate personally, Han Xiao would not slack off completely. He would not mind providing the dynasty with some Virtual Technology support during the war. Furthermore, Han Xiao was not planning to hide his map advantage.

The map that he referred to was not the star map. The astronomy observation equipment of a Universal Civilization was well developed, and they had already plotted out a map of the entire Flickering World. However, the details of the map could only be completed through exploration.

Han Xiao was familiar with the territory of the Kunde Race, and such information naturally would not be on the unexplored star map. This meant that the dynasty would not need to slowly explore the region and could charge straight into the Kunde Race’s territory.

Of course, the dynasty would need to believe his intelligence. Even with his Beyond Grade A status, he could not interfere with the war orders of the dynasty. Every advanced civilization would definitely be skeptical of unverified intelligence.

Han Xiao was not too bothered about this. He had the name of a fortune teller, and he still had the famous Aesop by his side. Furthermore, the dynasty would also make use of many Oracles, so it would not be a problem for him to release intelligence.

However, in order to prevent others from framing the Kunde Race, Han Xiao also could not give the dynasty too detailed information. Although he could do as he wanted at his level, being careful would save him some trouble in the future.

“A Star Cluster level war, this is the second time I’ll participate in one, but this is different from the secret war…”

Han Xiao let out a deep breath.

The secret war was a proxy war, and although the scale of the war was large, it did not involve the life and death of a race. This time, one party would be fighting to protect their homeland and would definitely employ all their strength and means.

Even if the Kunde Race was a native Star Cluster civilization, the scale of this war could not be compared to the secret war.

Han Xiao did not feel too much enmity toward the Kunde Race, but he did not have any goodwill toward them either. If he was a part of the Kunde Race, he would not be happy if a foreign civilization attempted to snatch his resources as well. By the time the Crimson Dynasty fully explored the Dust Light Star Cluster, it would be akin to locking the Kunde Race in this Star Cluster and limiting them to the level of a Star Cluster Civilization.

However, he was currently in the dynasty’s faction. The dynasty’s motive of exploring a new Star Field was to obtain new resources. With the advantage of absolute military might by their side, it was impossible for them to stop. It could only be said that both parties had a conflict of interests.

Since neither party was in the wrong, the one who was wrong would be the loser.

Han Xiao then wrote up a letter and sent some intelligence about the Kunde Race to Tarrokov. Without waiting for a reply, he sent out an order to gather his army.

“Summoning us to participate in the war?”

In the exploration fleet of the Black Star Army, the members of the Black Star Army received a message on their communicator. Some of them were excited, while others were grave.

Nero was a member of this exploration squad, and he immediately felt nervous upon receiving the order.

He had not made mental preparations for this sudden war. He had only participated in various different sparring matches but had never participated in a true war before. It was impossible for him not to be nervous.

Various different thoughts flashed through his head, and Nero could not help but let his imagination run wild. Will I be able to kill the enemy?

What does killing feel like?

Will I be killed by the enemy?

Will Mia participate in the war as well? Will she be in danger?

Just when he was letting his imagination run wild, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was the captain of his squad, a burly freelance mercenary.

“Don’t worry kid, we will take care of you.” The captain laughed heartily.

“Relax.” The vice captain, who was currently memorizing his spells, looked over and said casually, “I participated in the secret war before, and war is only so-so. It is either kill or be killed. Death in a galactic war of such a level will happen in an instant. There won’t be any pain, so there isn’t anything to be nervous about.” Nero rubbed his head and forced out a smile upon hearing that. He had been sent to this squad under the identity of a maintenance staff. His captain and vice captain took good care of him, and his other squad mates treated him pretty well too.

In the battle squad of such a level, his background was not that important, and his personal combat strength was the most important. Nero’s strength was not too weak, and his Mechanic skills were outstanding. Thus, the other members of the team were willing to take care of him.

Although Nero was indeed feeling nervous about participating in the war, he did not have any intentions of contacting Han Xiao. He did not wish for any special treatment. While his godfather might agree to not let him enter the battlefield, his godfather would definitely look down on him. Nero did not want to let his godfather down after studying for such a long time.

Nero then walked to the side and took out his communicator. After hesitating for a moment, he dialed Mia’s number.

After ringing for a while, the other party picked up, but neither of them said anything. Only their breathing could be heard.

After a few seconds of silence, Nero then said, “Um… Did you see the internal notice already? I am going to war.”

“Oh.”

“Er… Aren’t you going to be worried for me?”

“What’s there to be worried about? I was also summoned.” Mia snorted.

Nero felt his heart sink, and he said with hesitation, “Er… are you nervous?” “What’s there to be nervous about?” Mia asked with a strange tone. “Didn’t you already know that such a day would come when you became a Super? I am looking forward to the battle.”

Nero was completely speechless and could only say, “Pay attention to your own safety. We aren’t in the same squad, and I won’t be able to protect you…”

“Who needs your protection?” Mia rolled her eyes. “You should take good care of yourself. Don’t die.”

The call was then cut off.

Nero then placed his communicator down and rubbed his nose with resignation.

He still preferred the shy and timid Mia that he had first met. Ever since she became a Pugilist, her violent tendencies had gotten worse.

There was no such thing as an absolute secret in the world, and the Crimson Dynasty was not attempting to hide anything.

Not too long later, news reached the explored universe, and the various Star Fields found out that the dynasty was preparing to go to war.

Most of the galactic residents did not have too much of an opinion. It was not surprising to them since the dynasty was dealing with a bunch of natives. They would rather the dynasty clean up all their enemies quickly and finish up the exploration early so that they could all go to the Flickering World and play. There was also a small group of individuals who took pity on the native civilizations and were crying out for peace. However, no one could be bothered with them, and their actions would not be able to influence the actions of an advanced civilization.

Most of the organizations were not too bothered by the news, but the various Super Star Cluster Civilizations were all extremely happy.

They hoped that the Kunde Race would be able to create as much trouble for the dynasty as possible. With the Primordial Psionic Energy, the Kunde Race definitely had the strength to cause damage to the dynasty. The more they killed, the better. It would be best if a few of the dynasty’s Beyond Grade As died as well. Regardless of who won or lost, they would not be on the losing end anyway.

The exploration of the Dust Light Star Cluster was suspended, and the dynasty was gathering their troops on Planet Lighthouse.

Apart from the exploration fleet, the Crimson Dynasty mobilized their elites from the Central Galaxy.

While it was partly because they did not want to underestimate the enemy, it was also to train their soldiers. They would not be able to easily meet such a war in the explored universe, and this was a good chance to train their soldiers.

Because Han Xiao was not personally interfering, the Black Star Army fleet would be led by Herlous.

“The army this time is made from many different organizations. I will be the chief commander, and I am in charge of deciding the overall strategy. Every army will have their own commander to lead the various allies. The commander in charge of your Black Star fleet has also been decided.”

Tarrokov then opened a resume and showed it to Herlous.

After looking at the resume, Herlous felt that it was pretty familiar.

“Teny Amenos?”

“That’s right, it’s him.”

“His rank isn’t high. Will he be able to do the job?” Herlous asked with doubt.

“Ah ah, don’t worry. He is an officer that the dynasty is currently training, and he has outstanding commanding abilities.” Tarrokov smiled. “He arrived at Planet Lighthouse not too long ago. Follow me to meet him.”

As he said that, Tarrokov knocked on the table and the room door was immediately pushed open. A military officer then walked into the room with his aide-de-camp behind him.

“We meet again, my friend from the Black Star Army.” The military officer nodded.

“Oh! So it’s you.” Herlous immediately recalled where he had met this individual.

He was an elite of the dynasty who had accepted the evolution energy of the Evolution Cube, the future Dynasty Marshal. He had a short interaction with Han Xiao eight to nine years ago, and the vice commander beside him was his trusted aide, Corbus.

Herlous stood up, and both of them shook hands before sitting back down. “It has been almost ten years since I last saw Black Star. I am truly happy for him that his status is getting higher and higher,” Teny said.

Herlous nodded before said curiously, “Your rank must’ve increased already. You were only a Colonel the last I saw you.”

“I earned some merits, but my merits can’t be compared to Black Star.” Teny shook his head. “I requested to be the commander of the Black Star fleet and hope to reduce your casualties.”

“Then I have to thank you for that.” Herlous was overjoyed. As an allied organization of the dynasty, he was the most afraid of an incompetent commander.

“There isn’t a need to thank me. You can treat it as me repaying a favor.” Teny waved his arms. “Black Star gave me a set of mechanical guards that was personally constructed by him back then, which helped me overcome a few difficulties. I should be the one thanking him.”

“I see.”

Herlous came to a realization. There was no such thing as a free lunch. It turned out that the other party owed a favor to his boss.

He could not help but praise Han Xiao’s foresight.

“I will pay a visit to the Garu Star Cluster to see Black Star after the end of the battle. I hope that he will be free,” Teny said.

“Don’t worry, the officers will be the ones in charge of the army, and he is extremely free every day.” Herlous immediately sold Han Xiao out.

Both of them then chatted for a while until Tarrokov coughed. They left Tarrokov’s office together and continued chatting with each other.

As they were walking about the base, Teny met someone he knew, another commander of the dynasty. Both of them greeted each other and chatted casually.

Herlous was not too bothered at the start but realized that the skinny aide-de-camp beside this commander kept staring at him with a profound look.

“Eh… cough, what are you looking at me for?” Herlous asked.

That aide-de-camp then chuckled. Pointing at Herlous’ uniform, he asked, “You’re a member of the Black Star Army, right?”

“I am the fleet commander of the Black Star Army, Herlous. I wonder, how can I address you?” Herlous nodded. “Ah, call me Gaud.”

“Have we met before? Why do you keep staring at me?” Herlous asked.

Gaud laughed and said, “Nope, but I have always admired Black Star. This is my first time seeing an officer of the Black Star Army, and I am a little curious.”

He then turned around without the intention of continuing the conversation.

Upon seeing that, Herlous sized Gaud up and was secretly shocked. This fellow called Gaud obviously did not have much of a presence, but Herlous could not help but feel a sense of pressure when standing beside him.

At this moment, Teny finished his conversation with the other party, and he left with Gaud.

“Do you know that aide-de-camp?” Herlous asked.

Teny shook his head, and Corbus replied instead.

“You’re talking about Gaud? I know him. What’s the matter?”

“I chatted with him a bit just now and am a little curious.”

Corbus nodded and said, “This Gaud isn’t a graduate of the military academy, and he hasn’t been serving the army for a long time. However, he is a Super with great potential and was spotted by that commander. His various abilities are extremely outstanding, and I heard that he is on the list of individuals to be trained by the military.”

“This resume sounds very ordinary…”

Herlous could not understand where the pressure came from, but he was certain that his feelings were accurate.

However, there was not much of a need for him to bother about such things, and he continued chatting with Teny, throwing Gaud to the back of his mind quickly.

The dynasty was extremely efficient. They only took a few days to gather their forces.

The dynasty originally did not know the location of the Kunde Race and originally planned to first send out their scouts to search ahead. However, Black Star had sent them an intelligence report not too long ago that marked out the rough location of the Kunde Race in the Dust Light Star Cluster. Although there were no accurate coordinates, it saved the dynasty a great deal of trouble.

Although the intelligence report was not too accurate, it allowed the dynasty to narrow down their scope of operations. Many reconnaissance squads were sent out toward the coordinates that Black Star had marked out, and the army also began moving toward the different directions.

With an entire Star Cluster as their battlefield, mobility was the key factor, and the stargates would be the blood vessels connecting the army.

Because of the Primordial Psionic Energy Explosion trap, the dynasty had already tacitly acknowledged that the other party had stargate technology. As such, the dynasty paid close attention to protecting their own stargates to prevent the enemy from launching an ambush.

However, the army did not meet a single enemy over the following half a month. The enemy was in the dark while they were in the light, and the enemy seemed to have disappeared.

A couple of days later, this situation changed, and the dynasty finally exchanged fire with the Kunde Race fleet.

The location of the battle was Planet Lighthouse!

Chapter 970 - Taking Out Unknown Technology

Half an hour earlier…

In the desolate universe belt far away from Planet Lighthouse, a Kunde Race fleet exited from the stargate and split up into various divisions. They then entered hyperdrive and approached Planet Lighthouse from different directions.

After the attack of the Arcane Church and EsGod, the Crimson Dynasty had expanded their surveillance perimeter several times. Not too long after the Kunde Race fleet appeared, they were detected by space detection equipment. However, the Kunde Race fleet completely ignored the fact that they were spotted and charged straight at Planet Lighthouse.

The command room of the flagship had a gray and blue theme. The various control panels were structured in a way for carapace creatures to use. The commander of the fleet was a gigantic lobster with flame like engravings on its shell.

The Kunde Race was also split up into different branches, and one of their branches had a special feature. Some parts of their shells would change colors according to their emotions. Red represented anger and agitation, and this commander was currently in a state of rage.

Yelu, a military commander of the Kunde Race, was an aggressive commander who had volunteered to participate in this ambush mission. He and the other members of the fleet knew that chances of returning alive were slim, but they had still chosen to accept the mission.

“How far are we from Planet Lighthouse?”

“Commander, we will still need about four hours.”

“Speed up,” Yelu said with a baleful aura. He hated the fact that he could not immediately unleash his firepower on the enemy.

It had only been a few years since the Kunde Race obtained the stargate and hyperdrive technology. Even if they had powerful production capability, they could not equip all of their fleets with such equipment. Furthermore, the Kunde Race still was not familiar with this technological skill and could not come up with too many tricks.

They naturally would not be able to ambush the enemy since they still had to travel for another four hours. However, this was already the best that the Kunde Race could do. They were only able to secretly place the stargate at this location; any nearer would have been impossible.

However, this fleet was not concerned about being discovered, and their plan was to launch a head-on attack.

In the information of the spaceship wreckage, a rough outline of Planet Lighthouse’s surveillance perimeter was marked out. It was also indicated that this was the command center of the Crimson Dynasty. The Kunde Race had used their long-distance surveillance equipment to verify this fact as well. As such, they had come up with the plan of attacking Planet Lighthouse while they sent their forces out.

The Kunde Race knew that it would be difficult for them to emerge victorious if they fought a head-on battle. As such, they could only take the risk of attacking the enemy’s headquarters. This way, they might be able to cut off the enemy’s path of retreat.

Their fleet carried a large amount of Primordial Psionic Energy weapons, and the Kunde Race truly believed in the strength of this item. As long as they could approach Planet Lighthouse, and as long as a single one of these weapons could hit Planet Lighthouse, their objective would be complete. The Primordial Psionic Energy was able to ignore most defenses, and most shields would only serve to provide energy for it.

Although they knew that it would be difficult for them to return alive, all of them in the fleet had a resolute will and were not afraid of death.

On one hand, it was because of their fury and hatred toward the dynasty. On the other hand, it was because of the fear in their heart. The reason for their fear was related to Han Xiao.

Originally, the Kunde Race paid attention to hiding their location because they were at a disadvantage. As long as the location of their territory was not revealed, they would be able to use that to their advantage and make many strategic arrangements.

However, the Crimson Dynasty did not scout ahead and actually went directly to their territory. This ruined many of the Kunde Race’s plans and made them flustered.

With the location of their territory being exposed, most of the methods that they had prepared became useless, and their entire army was placed in danger. Many of them were thankful that they had sent away most of their civilians. If not, they would have been in an even more passive position.

Helpless, the Kunde Race could only come up with a desperate method to attack the enemy headquarters.

The sole cause behind this entire event was Han Xiao, who had provided the intelligence. He saved the dynasty a great deal of effort and also forced the Kunde Race to make such a risky move.

…

In the command room of Planet Lighthouse, Tarrokov and the other commanders were gathered together. Their gazes were fixed on the star map and the red dots that represented the Kunde Race fleet approaching them with a countdown counter in the top-right corner of the screen.

“The enemy is approaching Planet Lighthouse and will arrive in about three hours,” Tarrokov said with his arms behind his back. His expression was calm. He did not feel any pressure.

Everyone present was also calm and not too surprised by this development.

This was one of the outcomes that they had predicted, and they had made the necessary preparations. The enemy did not have any chance in a head-on battle and thus were extremely likely to make a risky move.

During the exploration era, the Crimson Dynasty had met plenty of different ambushes and were extremely experienced in dealing with ambushes. As such, the commanders present were not nervous at all. Some of them even felt like laughing.

The native civilization that had far too little battle experience was like a little child before their eyes, and all their actions were within their predictions.

They wanted to launch an ambush without the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device?

They did not have the might of the Federation of Light but had the habits of the Federation of Light.

Planet Lighthouse was truly fraught with difficulties, and they were used to people coming after them.

After the last lesson, even if they sent out a large fleet, they would still leave sufficient spaceships to guard Planet Lighthouse. Furthermore, they had also expanded their surveillance perimeter, which resulted in the enemy requiring a longer time to reach Planet Lighthouse. A few hours was sufficient for their allies from Renault, Garu, and Crown to arrive. In fact, the army that they had sent out would also be able to return through the various stargates in time.

“Everyone is already aware of the situation. The only threat that the enemy can pose to us is by using Primordial Psionic Energy weapons.” Tarrokov paced around and spoke slowly. “We have sufficient preparation time and will have to wipe out all the attacking spaceships before they can arrive on Planet Lighthouse. We will be in trouble if they are allowed to launch even a single attack on Planet Lighthouse.”

“I wish to apply for the use of Primordial Psionic Energy weapons. Just like Black Star said, we should pay them back in their own coin,” a commander from the hawk faction said.

“Hmm, alright.” Tarrokov nodded.

The use of Primordial Psionic Energy weapons was prohibited in the explored universe, but since the enemy had already made use of it, the dynasty would not hold back. Since the universe would be polluted anyway, there was no need for them to care.

However, although he allowed the use of the Primordial Psionic Energy weapons, Tarrokov had other plans. He then added in a deep voice, “The strength of the Primordial Psionic Energy weapons is far too terrifying. If possible, try to make use of ordinary weapons to capture the enemy and enemy spaceships. This is the best chance to obtain information about the enemy. Don’t forget that we do not know anything about their civilization. Furthermore, get the Virtual Mechanic squad to be on standby. Their help will be useful.”

The dynasty had a large number of Virtual Mechanics, and there was no need for them to borrow the strength of a Beyond Grade A ally to face a native civilization. Black Star’s fee was currently pretty expensive…

…

After noticing the enemy’s intentions, the defense fleet of Planet Lighthouse began to set off to intercept the enemy.

Not too long later, both parties met in the desolate universe belt near Primordial Psionic Energy. The battle was not as peaceful as the battle in the explored universe, and both parties were using Primordial Psionic Energy weapons without any restraint.

In the open universe, the expansion of Primordial Psionic Energy was not as fast as it did not have an entire planet to swallow up. However, it was still equally dangerous as it would not dissipate.

The Primordial Psionic Energy was able to remain in the battlefield for a long time, and the spaceships could only opt to avoid it. Furthermore, the psionic energy sphere was still expanding and releasing a powerful attraction force to suck up the various spare parts of the destroyed spaceships. It was just like a mini black hole.

In such a complicated battlefield, everyone was wary of the other party’s long-distance attacks.

“Commander, spaceships 078, 075, and 102 have been boarded by the enemy, and the guards on board aren’t able to block the enemy.”

In the main flagship of the Kunde Race fleet, the scenes of the Supers slaughtering the Kunde Race soldiers were shown.

Upon seeing this scene, Yelu said with an unfriendly tone, “This is the Super that is mentioned in the information, huh? They are actually able to obtain superhuman strength without any modification of their genes‽”

“Commander, the situation isn’t to our advantage. What should we do?”

Upon hearing that, Yelu glanced at the star map before him. There was a technological gap between their fleet and the enemy, and their losses were huge.

Although their operation this time was no different from suicide, they were not even able to see the shadow of Planet Lighthouse and had lost so many ships.

Everyone looked at him and seemed to be mentally preparing themselves for something.

Yelu then gritted his teeth and said with a malevolent tone, “It has been my honor to fight alongside all of you. Listen to my orders, activate the spacetime splicing equipment!”

…

On the other side, Han Xiao had already received news of the battle, and his long-distance projection was currently watching the battle on Planet Lighthouse.

The dynasty dealt with the assault of the Kunde Race fleet promptly, and the enemy was not able to fight back at all. It was not that easy to make up for the gap in technology.

Tarrokov controlled the situation calmly while Han Xiao slacked off by the side.

Although the situation was extremely good, Han Xiao had a doubt in his head.

Strange… the Kunde Race seems to be extremely weak. Just how did they create trouble for the dynasty in my previous life?

The situation was slightly different from what he had expected. The way he saw it, the Kunde Race should have been able to fight the dynasty on somewhat equal grounds since they could be written down in history as a troublesome opponent. Why was the enemy so weak?

A group of Virtual Mechanics were currently breaking through the firewall of the Kunde Race fleet, and their progress was smooth.

They would be able to obtain an entire fleet in a few more minutes, and there was no need for him to take action.

The Kunde Race no longer has a chance to turn the situation around. Strange, Han Xiao thought to himself.

Just when he was deep in thought, a Virtual Mechanic suddenly said with a doubtful tone, “Chief Commander, we’ve discovered a problem.”

Tarrokov looked over and asked doubtfully, “What problem?”

“This… the enemy fleet disappeared from the quantum network, and we are unable to receive any signals. Our Virtual Intrusion has been automatically cut off, but they did not forcefully go offline.”

Before Tarrokov could even respond, a strange scene occurred on the battlefield.

All of a sudden, all the Kunde Race spaceships seemed to have frozen on the spot.

The dynasty’s army would not fall into a daze and continued to rain down their attacks. More than half of the battleships were immediately destroyed, including Yelu’s flagship.

Right at this moment, a change occurred!

A spatial distortion could then be seen on these destroyed spaceships, and before everyone could react, these spaceships were suddenly repaired and returned to their state before being destroyed. At the same time, they moved forward a great deal as though they had teleported.

The dynasty’s army hesitated for a moment before attacking again. However, the exact same scene occurred, and the Kunde Race fleet moved forward again.

This time, the dynasty’s fleet no longer attacked by the Kunde Race fleet still moved forward as though they had teleported.

“What is this?” Tarrokov, who had observed this scene, was also at a loss.

Ohm!

Right at this moment, an alarm went off in the room!

“Detecting a spacetime ripple. Matching it with the database… Match not found. Creating a new file…”

At the same time, the dynasty’s army used all the means that they had to attack the enemy fleet but to no avail. Furthermore, they continued to approach Planet Lighthouse, and it was impossible to stop them.

Upon seeing this scene, Tarrokov took a deep breath and adjusted his emotions. He then shook his head and said, “It seems like we have underestimated them. We can’t look down on any civilization.”

Everyone then looked at each other with strange looks on their faces.

They originally thought that this would be an easy battle but never expected the enemy to suddenly take out unknown technology. It seemed related to spacetime, and who knew how they climbed up the technological skill tree?

Just when the commanders were at a loss, Han Xiao also fell into a daze.

He recognized this technology!

However, he had never imagined that it came from the Kunde Race!

This was one of their trump cards when dealing with the World Tree in his previous life!

Chapter 971 - Spacetime Splicing Technology

The same theory would usually result in different technological skills. Being a Universal Civilization did not mean that they were omniscient. Just like how the three Universal Civilizations could not grasp each other’s specialty technology, the various civilizations would have a technological skill tree that was unique to themselves.

Han Xiao was familiar with the special skill that the Kunde Race had displayed. It was a technological skill called Spacetime Splicing Technology. It was a branch of spacetime theory.

Spacetime skills were extremely advanced, but they were not rare. The three Universal Civilizations and the various Star Cluster Civilizations had all grasped a certain degree of spacetime technology. Even the Mages had some spacetime related spells.

However, the Spacetime Splicing Technology also had its own uniqueness.

The three Universal Civilizations did not reveal the exact theory behind it in Han Xiao’s previous life, and Han Xiao only understood the general situation. This Spacetime Splicing Technology seemed to be a type of spacetime shuttling technique, but it was very different.

The way Han Xiao saw it, the Kunde Race fleet was able to restore themselves because they used the Spacetime Splicing Technology to freeze their fleet in a state before being destroyed. Regardless of how many times they were destroyed, they would be able to return to their previous state. It was like the legendary save and load method.

The movement of the fleet was the other effect of the Spacetime Splicing Technology. They first made a certain action into a parameter and simulated the entire action in spacetime. They then broke apart the spacetime continuum and split spacetime up into different time fragments. To put it simply, they transformed ‘something that they wanted to do’ into a movie with every time fragment being a scene in the movie.

Following which, they then locked themselves in the spacetime fabric and cut off the past and future. The entire process was cut off, and only the present was left behind. As such, the fleet would jump to different points in time while skipping through the process. Because there was no process, the attacks of the dynasty were not able to stop them.

Another way of putting it was that the fleet transformed into a high ping warrior. Even if they got hit, they were only hit in the previous frame.

This technological skill had many different uses but also had its side effects. The spacetime fabric of the entire universe was connected and a system that could not be calculated. As long as there were any peculiarities in the fabric, it would be self-corrected.

For example, after various spacetime freezing or slowdown spells were used, the area of effect would slowly revert back to normal, leaving behind the modified physical objects. However, it would not have an effect on the spacetime fabric.

The side effects of the Spacetime Splicing Technology came from the self recovery of the spacetime fabric after being broken.

By the time the spacetime fabric repaired itself, their entire physical being would be completely wiped out as though they did not exist.

This meant that their deaths were already announced, and they would disappear anytime.

In my previous life, the three Universal Civilizations made use of a lot of supporting equipment to stabilize the spacetime fabric in order to greatly extend the time taken for the fleet to disappear. If the dynasty took this technology from the Kunde Race, it means that the dynasty will definitely improve on it over the next few versions, and the Spacetime Splicing Technology in the Kunde Race’s hands is probably only the first version. This means that it will be much easier to deal with them, and the side effects will be far worse.

Meeting the attack of a native civilization would only give the dynasty trouble. But now, the dynasty would be able to receive a decent spoil of war.

Who knew whether the stowaways that secretly gave the natives technology knew that the Kunde Race grasped such a technology? Although the stowaways would definitely observe the strength of the Kunde Race, the Spacetime Splicing Technology was a confidential technological skill, and it would not be discovered so easily.

The stowaways in the Flickering World were not too different from suicide troops, and the Super Star Cluster Civilizations would not send out too many Calamity Grades for such a mission.

“If they didn’t know about it, they will definitely suffer a huge loss. They wanted to backstab the dynasty but ended up giving them a huge treasure,” Han Xiao sneered in his mind.

On the other side, Tarrokov did not remain idle either.

As an experienced commander, he had been through many different battles. Although he did not know the theory behind the Spacetime Splicing Technology, the alarm said that it was related to spacetime and thus employed the relevant measures.

Very quickly, a dynasty fleet awaiting their orders on Planet Lighthouse set off with a large amount of spacetime stabilizing equipment and a large group of Mages that specialized in spacetime magic.

Ordinary attacks were not useful, but spacetime attacks would create some trouble for the Kunde Race fleet.

After the second fleet entered the battle, the situation changed greatly. The distance that the Kunde Race fleet could move shortened, and the speed of their disappearance increased.

Everyone in the command room watched the battle calmly.

After a short while, the Kunde Race disappeared and never appeared again.

There was not an intense battle scene, and the Kunde Race fleet was wiped out just like that.

Despite the enemy knowing that their death was certain, they still wanted to deal a heavy blow to the enemy.

“Has it been settled?” Tarrokov asked doubtfully.

“Chief Commander, spacetime has returned to normal, and there aren’t any abnormalities on the radar.”

“Er… this may be the side effect of the enemy’s technology. It shouldn’t be perfected yet. However, we cannot let down our guard before being sure that the enemy has been destroyed. Continue to scan the surrounding region. Also, open the shield of Planet Lighthouse and activate the emergency escape system. If the enemy suddenly appears near the planet, we will be able to escape safely.”

Because he did not understand the enemy, he did not dare let his guard down.

Han Xiao, however, already knew that the enemy was dead and thought to himself, The dynasty obtained this technology from the Kunde Race in my previous life, but I didn’t receive any news about it. This means that the dynasty did a good job keeping the matter confidential. I don’t think they will allow their allies to exchange for such technology. Thus, I will have to take things into my own hands if I want to grab this technology.

It was a rare opportunity for him to obtain unique technology. Han Xiao was truly tempted.

Since the dynasty still was not aware of the theory of the Spacetime Splicing Technology, he could make use of this opportunity to obtain it for himself.

Although he would not be able to use it, the members of the army might be able to use it.

Would the Spacetime Amber be compatible with the Spacetime Splicing Technology? Han Xiao was a little curious.

…

In the depths of the Dust Light Star Cluster, a large Kunde Race fleet was slowly moving in the universe.

In the conference room of the main flagship, the leader and upper echelons of the Kunde Race were present.

After discovering that the Crimson Dynasty was coming after their territory, the upper echelons had resolutely left their mother planet and followed the fleet.

Since they had already sent out most of their civilians and temporarily abandoned all their colonial planets, they no longer needed to hesitate about war.

“We’ve lost contact with Yelu. The assault plan has failed.”

“Have they died?”

“I am not sure. They should have used the Spacetime Splicing Technology.”

“Does this mean that even the Spacetime Splicing Technology is useless against the dynasty?”

Everyone’s mood was heavy as they listened to the report.

The Kunde Race leader then said slowly, “Make use of the scorched earth plan.”

Upon hearing that, everyone’s expression… shells changed slightly.

They had come up with many different plans, and the scorched earth plan was their final resort. They had originally planned to only make use of such a plan when their loss was determined, but they never imagined that their leader would start off with such a plan.

In truth, the members of the upper echelons present were not confident about the war either. The only reason they had stayed behind was because they were not willing to hand over their homeland to bandits. They did not wish to let the Crimson Dynasty take over their homeland without paying a price.

The scorched earth plan would make use of the never-ending expansion property of the Primordial Psionic Energy to destroy their homeland to ensure that the dynasty would not be able to obtain anything. They would then retreat and follow the members of their race.

However, they found it difficult to destroy their own homeland.

As no one responded to him, the Kunde Race leader said with a deep voice, “Since no one objects to the plan, begin the arrangements. As for the Crimson Dynasty’s fleet, send out our fleet to intercept them and tie the enemy down. Try to stall for time and slowly let them into our homeland and the lockdown region of the scorched earth plan.”

Everyone’s mood was heavy. There was no turning back if they chose to destroy their homeland.

The scorched earth plan required time to implement, and they needed to send their fleet to slow down the dynasty. This meant that many of their comrades would die on the front lines.

…

A few days after the ambush on Planet Lighthouse, war finally erupted on the frontlines, and the Kunde Race fleet appeared to exchange fire with the dynasty’s fleet.

The division that Teny led also met more and more enemies.

It was not that there was not an opportunity for battle. However, Teny was far too good at fighting, and the enemies that he met were all easily defeated by his strategies. They would be able to defeat the enemy in a long-ranged battle, and there was not even a chance to engage in close quarters combat.

Furthermore, Teny intended to protect the members of the Black Star Army, so Nero was not even able to fight a single battle after following the fleet for almost a month.

If this continued, Han Xiao was tempted to use his Virtual Intrusion and remotely control the Kunde Race to attack Teny.

Thankfully, Teny did not let Han Xiao stretch out his demonic hands so quickly, and the Black Star Army finally engaged in a close combat battle.

Nero finally welcomed his first time.

Chapter 972 - Nero, a Non-Tanky Mechanic Doesn“t Have a Soul

In a corner of the Dust Light Star Cluster, Teny’s fleet met a new wave of attacks. They exchanged fire with the enemy while sending their small spaceships to weave through the chaotic battlefield to engage in close combat battle.

In the previous few battles, Teny had been too obviously biased toward the Black Star Army, and in order to balance the opinions of the other organizations, he decided to let the Black Star Army take on the role of facing the enemy.

In the chaotic battlefield, a battleship nimble weaved through the Primordial Psionic Energy explosions.

In the battleships, many different squads were awaiting their orders in the charge cabin. Nero’s squad was also a part of this battleship.

The interior of the charge cabin was gray with a red light blinking over their heads, dying their faces red. Nero’s team was seated across two rows with their backs facing a magnetic plate. The backs of their uniforms also had a magnetic plate on them so that they could stabilize their bodies.

The charge cabin was trembling under the intense maneuvers of the battleship, and Nero’s face turned slightly pale.

The captain who was clad in a heavy armor mechanical suit patted Nero’s shoulders and said, “Little brat, don’t worry. The mobility of our ship far exceeds our enemy. They won’t be able to hit us.”

Trouble usually befalls someone who says something like this… Nero could not help but curse in his heart.

The academy had a charge cabin module, and Nero was extremely clear about the things that he needed to take note of. However, he could not help but be nervous when being placed in an actual battle.

“This is our first time fighting together since you entered our squad. Let’s see your true strength and don’t hold us back.” The captain chuckled.

“Alright.” Nero let out a deep breath and clenched his fists.

Waiting in the charge cabin was an extremely tortuous thing. Time seemed to drag on for a long time, but an announcement was eventually made in the charge cabin.

“Locking on to the target. The charge cabin will be launched in forty-five seconds! Please get ready for battle! I repeat, please get ready for battle!”

A countdown timer then appeared on the screen of the charge cabin. Nero felt as though his heart had stopped, and his teammates all had nervous looks on their faces.

The captain cleared his throat and said with a deep voice, “This is the final chance to check your equipment!”

All of them were already prepared, but they still checked through their equipment once more. Nero had also activated his mechanical suit’s self-check feature.

His mechanical suit was personally modified by him and forged from many different rare materials. It was even stronger than the mechanical suit provided by the Black Star Army.

Although Nero could obtain a more powerful mechanical suit forged by other Mechanics, he preferred to research new blueprints.

This mechanical suit was similar to the Mountain Ape suit that Han Xiao had used before. However, Nero did not have that high a skill and could only make a simplified version of the suit that he called ‘Iron Ape’. It was a suit that specialized in close combat battles.

As a normal paper Mechanic, Nero was naturally concerned about his close combat abilities. Under Han Xiao and Mia’s influence, Nero also had a thing for hand to hand combat.

Nero was currently Grade C+, but with his [Perfect Mechanical Sense] and the various Mechanic talents that he had obtained over the years, his strength could reach Grade B, and the equipment that he forged exceeded his own grade.

“Get ready. Ten, nine, eight…”

Hearing the captain’s roar, Nero took a deep breath and prepared to go into battle.

Boom!

He could feel a powerful propulsion force, and the charge cabin was launched.

The coordinates of their target were indicated on the screen, and they were rapidly approaching it.

Bang!

The charge cabin suddenly trembled, and they successfully smashed into the interior of an enemy battleship.

The doors to the charge cabin opened up, and a long passageway greeted then. Without any hesitation, they charged out with their captain to clear up the enemies.

Enemy reinforcements came quickly, and their squad met with a large number of enemies.

All the warriors of the Kunde Race had accepted gene modification. Although they were not Supers and did not have different abilities, their physiques were powerful, and they had the strength of an individual around Level25 – Level45. They were roughly in between Grade E and Grade D, so they were not too weak.

Their squad was trapped in the center of the passageway with the enemy reinforcements flooding in from both directions and opening fire at them.

Nero had already thrown out a compressed orb that transformed into a mini fortress to protect the squad. It was able to block the heavy fire coming from both directions while their squad returned fire from within the fortress.

“Good job, brat.” The captain praised Nero before giving an order to his vice captain. “Break through from the enemy encirclement. I will be in charge of the front, and you will be in charge of the rear. Nero, release your artillery towers and mechanical soldiers behind to provide cover for us.”

As he said that, the captain charged out from the fortress and charged forward while enduring enemy fire. His advantage of being a Super was his superior combat strength.

Nero then threw out a large number of compressed orbs, which transformed into various artillery towers.

Tuk tuk tuk!

The artillery towers opened fire in both directions to provide cover for his squad.

Under the boost of his Mechanical Force, the strength of his long-distance weapons was terrifying. The armor and shields of the Kunde Race warriors were immediately torn apart, and body fluids spewed in all directions.

He instantly killed a large number of enemies, and a gray fog entered the death mark on the back of Nero’s hand. This was a gift that Hila had given him a long time ago. The more he killed, the greater the increase to his mental strength. This was Nero’s first time making use of this mark.

With the support of his firepower, his squad mates easily broke through the formation of the Kunde Race warriors and began slaughtering them.

Many of his squad mates were impressed with Nero’s strength.

“This newbie is truly powerful.”

“Is an ordinary Grade C Mechanic so powerful?”

“This little brat has some abilities.”

Their squad pushed on, and the enemy reinforcements charged at them without any concern for their own lives.

As a Pugilist, the attacks of the captain were extremely powerful. Even if his attacks were not able to break through an enemy’s armor, his Pugilist flames would seep into the armor and kill the Kunde Race warriors.

Nero was not used to the sight of bodies littered all around. Even with the filtration device of his mechanical suit, he could still smell the blood in the air.

The Kunde Race’s fearlessness truly shocked Nero. However, he and his squad mates would not hold back, and the Kunde Race warriors were only sacrificing their lives for nothing.

This was the first time he had felt the nervousness from killing. He would not pity the enemy, and the army had also educated them in this regard.

At the same time, Nero also felt a tinge of excitement. He did not wish to be the one providing cover fire all the time.

As a Black Star Class Mechanic, he was itching to engage in hand to hand combat but was afraid of being scolded by his squad mates.

Right at this moment, the scream of his squad mate could be heard over the communication channel.

The Kunde Race warriors had surrounded this Black Star Army warrior, and the shield of his squad mate was destroyed. At the same time, his armor was also badly damaged, and black smoke could be seen coming out from it. He took a few steps back from the impact of the attacks and was temporarily dazed.

The Kunde Race warriors in the surroundings then unsheathed their daggers and charged forward.

This squad mate of his was a Grade C Pugilist who had a powerful body. He struggled to send a few of the enemies flying, but the enemies continued to charge forward fearlessly. He had already been stabbed a few times by the enemy.

The squad mates in the surrounding wanted to turn around and help him, but a black figure charged out from behind to send all these Kunde Race warriors flying. It was Nero, who had been itching for a fight.

The surrounding Kunde Race warriors attacked Nero, and Nero’s combat panel displayed the trajectories of their attacks. He then dodged according to the instructions of the screen, and the enemy’s daggers created sparks whenever they collided with his mechanical suit.

Nero unsheathed a blade and brandished it without restraint, cutting through the enemies’ armor like it was tofu.

After helping his squad mate resolve the danger, Nero did not have the heart to return back to a shooter but charged into the enemy formation to slaughter the enemies.

Nero had a sense of satisfaction as he witnessed the enemies dying under his blade.

Indeed, a real Mechanic should fight in hand to hand combat! This is the true style of a Mechanic!

Upon seeing this scene, the captain had a strange look on his face.

Although he knew that Nero might be the strongest individual in the squad, they had never fought side by side before and were not familiar with each other’s abilities.

Upon seeing Nero killing enemies like he was dicing vegetables, the captain thought to himself, Why would a Mechanic like you want to charge into a close combat battle? Where did this bad habit come from?

In the face of a group of Supers, the Kunde Race warriors in the spaceship had no way to fight back, and the enemy troop was wiped out quickly.

Bluish green blood sprayed across the command room, and every enemy in the battleship had been killed.

Nero recovered his compressed orbs and seemed to be in a daze.

Upon seeing that, the captain walked over to Nero’s side and patted him on the shoulders. “Good work just now. How do you feel? Are you used to fighting yet?”

“I… I am much better now.” Nero waved his arms. After a battle, he was no longer as nervous as before.

Although he had been extremely nervous at the start, his mental state got better as the battle went on, and he felt extremely comfortable in battle.

He did not really feel discomfort from killing. First, it was because the enemy was of a different species. Second, a Super had a certain degree of mental resilience and could easily accept cruel scenes. Third, his mental state would change after having strength in his hands.

“It’s your first time after all. You will get used to it soon,” the captain said casually. “You can find me for free counselling if you aren’t feeling comfortable.”

“Thanks, but I won’t need it.”

Nero smiled and was a little moved. After this battle, he could not help but feel a sense of camaraderie with his squad mates.

…

Nero’s first combat experience went smoothly, and he had more confidence than before. Not too long after the battle started, the Kunde Race fleet was defeated, and the dynasty’s fleet began clearing up the battlefield.

In the main flagship, Teny looked at the intact Black Star Army battleships returning to the fleet and nodded.

The Black Star Army did not have too many casualties, and he was extremely satisfied. As the fleet commander, he had many ways to reduce the casualties of the Black Star Army. He planned to do this to repay Han Xiao’s favor.

Beep beep!

Right at this moment, his communicator rang.

Teny then took a look, and his expression changed slightly. He picked up the call with a respectful tone.

“Your Excellency Black Star, I was still planning to pay you a visit after the war but never expected you to contact me first.”

“It has been a long while since we last talked, and I have something to trouble you with.” Han Xiao was the one who called.

“What do you need?” Teny did not like beating about the bush and went straight to the point.

“I heard that you want to protect the Black Star Army fleet?”

“That’s right.” Teny nodded.

“Ah, this is what I want to trouble you with. You don’t have to protect my men too much. I sent them into the battle so that I can train them.” Han Xiao smiled.

“Alright then. I understand.” Teny did not say too much after hearing that. Since their master had spoken, he naturally would not reject.

“Also, I hope that you can take care of this person…”

Han Xiao then sent Nero’s information to Teny and said with a smile, “This brat is my student, and I want to train him. If it is convenient, try to give him a few more combat opportunities. Also, don’t find it strange if he meets some unexpected situation. It is just my training.”

He felt that he still had some conscience for not interfering with Nero’s first battle.

However, he would take action after this and thus informed Teny first.

Teny looked at the information and nodded. “Alright, I will make the relevant arrangements.”

“I will have to trouble you then. I will be waiting for you in the Garu Star Cluster after the war. We can have a good chat then.”

“Okay.”

The call ended, and Teny looked through Nero’s information while muttering under his breath, “Black Star’s student… I will have to arrange it properly then.”

…

At the same time, another dynasty fleet had just ended their battle and had just cleaned up the battlefield.

The commander went to rest and got his vice commander to handle the other matters. Gaud, who was the commander’s aide-de-camp, also had some time to rest.

Gaud returned to his room and took off his uniform for a shower.

After his shower, Gaud walked in front of the mirror and looked at his own body.

Fair skin, skinny figure, ordinary looks…

Looking at the mirror, Gaud touched his face, and his lips curled up with a smile.

“It’s truly good to be young.”

Chapter 973 - Master Thief

In a galactic war, the support and supply lines based off the stargate traffic were very important. The expeditionary dynasty troops planted stargates continuously along the way, connecting them into a rapid channel that could be used to advance and retreat as they liked. In order to prevent the enemy from ambushing their stargate stations, each time the passage was extended, some personnel would be stationed there. So, the deeper they went into the Dust Light Star Cluster, the number of troops led by each dynasty officer would also decrease.

As the attacking side, the dynasty had to continuously extend the supply lines, but this was where the advantage of the military was shown—they had the capital to squander their resources like this.

Because the size of the frontline troops would gradually shrink while the intensity of the battle would gradually increase, the commander of each army would be a young officer with tremendous prospects within the dynasty. All of them had to gain rich experiences in interstellar warfare.

As for how luxurious this lineup was, Han Xiao recalled that almost all of the mobilized officers were people who would be high-ranking in the military in the future. Among them, there were at least three who had power that was not below that of Teny, and they also commanded other large army corps of the dynasty.

Facing such a group of famed generals, the Kunde Race was at a complete disadvantage. Even if the dynasty troops were reduced, the Kunde Race still did not stand a chance.

After being asked by Han Xiao, Teny changed his previous style and began to allow the Black Star Army to undertake more war tasks, and he especially took care of Nero.

In almost every battle, the troop that Nero belonged to would be assigned key combat missions, which gave them plenty of chances for battles.

It was just nice that most of the graduates of the Super Academy were assigned to different teams within this troop. The continuous high-intensity and high-risk battle placed these young students under a huge load. Even Nero was also overwhelmed. He found it strange, wondering if their troop had somehow offended the army commander.

Because of the continuous high-pressure battles, Nero’s machinery became seriously worn out. He had lost nearly half of his entire inventory. When there was no battle, he could not rest as well, having to work hard to repair his machinery, for fear that he would be unequipped for the next battle.

It was at this time that Nero was extremely grateful to Reynold.

… Isn’t it just not sleeping? When I was being forced to study, I quickly learned this ability.

Oh, this was not figurative. It was literally expressed on his character interface as a talent:

_____________________

[Advanced Fatigue Resistance] – +500% Physical Recovery Efficiency when at rest, -60% Physical Loss Rate. Reduces the negative status of ‘Mental Fatigue’ caused by lack of sleep, capped at the maximum of ‘Slight Mental Fatigue’.

_____________________

A gifted person could develop talents even by not sleeping, and Han Xiao did not know whom he could reason this with.

However, the other graduates did not have Nero’s experience and were totally exhausted. Even Mia did not have time to chat with him over the phone.

Since there was no way for him to guess the commander’s mindset. It was useless even if Nero wanted to curse at him. He could only grit his teeth and continue to do battle, not knowing that he had been arranged to do so by Teny.

A high-pressure battle would result in casualties, and this could happen even in a real-life combat simulation. However, Nero’s team was quite well off in this regard. They were all fatigued but had not met with any deaths yet. Through the frequent battles, their bonds were molded deeper.

The Crimson Dynasty had an overwhelming advantage in this war. Several days passed in a flash, and the various dynasty fleets steadily advanced, crossing multiple star systems to arrive at the Kunde Race’s border.

With the main force holding fort, the Reconnaissance Troops moved out first, splitting into various regiments to infiltrate the Kunde Race in advance to obtain intelligence. These scouts included both remotely controlled unmanned drones as well as ground combat personnel.

It was no surprise that Nero’s squad was selected as scouts to perform the dangerous mission.

Whilst the dynasty troops were exploring the Kunde border, a secret mechanical army quietly sent by Han Xiao followed his guidance to arrive near the Kunde mother planet.

…

On one of the black planets that looked like a desolate planet, a large number of exploration satellites were suspended in outer space, as well as a canopy camouflage device used to cover the planet’s surface. If one broke through the camouflage detection using the mechanical soldiers, they would see the true appearance of the Kunde mother planet. It was sapphire blue in color. The color occupied most of the surface area, and on top of the ocean floated various floating cities.

“Turns out, the actual look of the planet is like this.”

The mechanical soldiers stopped in outer space, far away from the planet, and all of them turned on their stealth camouflage. Han Xiao’s technology and Mechanical Force buffs were enough to prevent the Kunde mother planet from detecting this group.

Among one of them was a mechanical host bearing Han Xiao’s avatar, which was currently carefully observing the planet.

After the opening of the Flickering World in his previous life, Han Xiao had come over to perform missions here. At that time, the Kunde mother planet had completely changed its appearance after being modified by the dynasty.

Because the dynasty had stormed in, most of the population on the Kunde mother planet had basically moved away, but the Kunde Race did not implode their mother planet. On it was left many facilities, and one last fleet was stationed there to temporarily manage the place. This was where one of the core quantum network nodes of the Kunde Race was located.

“Let’s start.”

Han Xiao stretched, and with a thought, he entered the field of vision of the quantum network.

His vision turned black, leaving only the light clusters representing the nodes of the quantum network. They varied in brightness and were connected to each other with delicate light rays, which represented the information flow to form the network structure.

Han Xiao directly locked onto the main quantum network node of the mother planet, turning into a stream of light as he approached it. The firewall of the node appeared in front of him like a layer of dynamic data, and in his eyes, loopholes and gaps existed everywhere.

He did not wish to alarm the Kunde Race, so he decided to slip through the holes of data within the firewall and open a backdoor instead of directly hacking in.

The other party’s quantum network skills were trashy, with all the permissions they set as good as nil in front of him. It was as though he had arrived in a home whose owner was not present, but he had the tools to open anything within the doors. There was no need to ask for permission; he could just do what he wanted.

Quickly, the Kunde’s database lost all its defenses, and strips of data appeared in front of Han Xiao, like a dessert waiting to be enjoyed.

“Phillip, copy and pack up their databases.”

Han Xiao snorted.

His goal was only their imperfect Spacetime Splicing Technology, but since he was there, he might as well take everything.

Phillip began to work, but it took a while for an entire cluster of data to be copied. Taking advantage of this period, Han Xiao simply checked all the objects connected to this node.

Through reverse tracking, it was possible to locate the whereabouts of the fleets in the Kunde Race.

“Let’s see where the troops of the Kunde Race lie…”

Glancing at the data of the coordinates on the star map, Han Xiao’s eyes lit up, and he found some interesting intelligence.

He saw that Kunde’s fleet was roughly divided among four groups. Among them, the core fleet mainly consisting of the commanders was hiding within the territory, the second moving off to intercept the frontal combat troops of the dynasty on the front line. The third consisted of the fleet carrying the evacuated civilians and was already far from the Kunde Race’s territory.

But what attracted Han Xiao’s attention was the fourth fleet. They separated into countless teams, approaching their territorial borders. It seemed as though they wished to form an encirclement, but at such a distance, it was not practical. Thus, they should be more involved in performing other special missions.

Based on his current knowledge, Han Xiao would definitely not be at a loss. He quickly came out with a hypothesis.

“There are three possibilities… One is escape, another is to cover evacuation, and the last is to make special arrangements. Escape can be ruled out, and the evacuation is happening on the opposite side, which is not on the way. Thus, there is only special arrangements. As for what kind of special arrangements…”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. According to his knowledge, the most likely scenario would be that they intended to bury a large amount of Primordial Psionic Energy at their borders and catalyze its expansion to allow it to swallow up all the stars and planets around it, leaving nothing for the dynasty.

This was not a blind guess; there were too many of such examples. Many of such desolate universe belts were actually man-made, caused by the catalysis of the Primordial Psionic Energy.

“Kunde wants to turn their homeland into a killing trap, luring the dynasty into it to kill them. Heh, very cruel. Before running, they want to take a bite out of the dynasty.” Han Xiao shook his head.

Only civilizations that had not come into contact with the Primordial Psionic Energy would dare use such a thing indiscriminately. The formation of a natural celestial body took billions of years, and the probability was random. However, Primordial Psionic Energy would engulf everything it passed through, turning the area into a vacuum zone, barren and without material resources.

Moreover, if the pollution was not controlled, it would expand indefinitely. As it expanded, the engulfed area would increase faster and faster, and by that time, one could only run as though the apocalypse had arrived.

In his previous life, there was no detailed information about how the dynasty dealt with the Kunde Race. Han Xiao did not know if the latter had adopted this scorched earth plan, but the celestial bodies within the Dust Light Star Cluster were well preserved, meaning that even if implemented, the dynasty had stopped it.

Thinking about it, Han Xiao prepared to send this information to the dynasty, which would definitely improve his Mission Rating.

“Primordial Psionic Energy might be frightening, but it needs a certain procedure to expand to a certain scale. Thus, the dynasty has enough time to solve this problem.”

Han Xiao secretly nodded, his mood relaxed.

He originally just intended to copy the Spacetime Splicing Technology. He did not expect to have an unexpected harvest.

After a while, when Phillip had completely copied the data, Han Xiao left the backdoor program and cleared any traces of his visit. He then released his quantum network vision, ordering the mechanical unit to return.

The Kunde mother planet disappeared in the vision of the mechanical host. From the beginning to the end, his visit did not alarm anyone, a master thief.

A peak Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic was unparalleled in stealing intelligence and was a fearful existence for even the three universal civilizations.

…

At this moment, their home had been ransacked, but the Kunde upper echelons did not know anything about it and were still in a meeting.

It was related to Supers.

In the room, the Kunde leader glanced at everyone, speaking in a deep voice. “The enemy’s Super technology has given their warriors powerful individual combat power. According to the data of our spaceships, their technology is a method for individuals to practice on their own. With this method, a person can grow so strong that they even have the power to destroy a planet. We are proud of our warriors, but they are not worth anything in front of such Supers.”

Everyone wore a heavy expression. The superpower system was a type of technology that required luck to discover, and the Kunde Race was just like Han Xiao, obviously on the blacklist of the Goddess of Luck.

The Super Star Cluster level civilization behind the scenes had mentioned the existence of Supers but did not give the methods for producing Supers over to the Kunde Race. Thus, they did not possess a Super system.

“Supers, this is what we are sorely lacking,” the Kunde leader slowly replied. “Everyone, since we’ve decided to leave our ancestral homeland, if we can also obtain this technology from our enemies, that will help us in the rebuilding of our civilization.”

“You mean…”

“I want to find ways to capture some of the frontline Super as experimental material. As long as I can obtain their bodies, we will be able to study the principles along with the mysteries of the system.”

“In that case, the combat principles of the frontline troops will have to be tweaked.”

Everyone perked up and began discussing the idea.

They all wanted to have a strong personal power and long life, not to mention that they were people in the upper echelons who had been holding onto power and authority. Authority was always derived from power.

They coveted the Supers, and now they not only planned to destroy the dynasty with the scorched earth tactic but also wished to grab the new technology that they did not possess from the dynasty.

…

A few days later, on the Kunde national border, a section of the Reconnaissance Troops were advancing in secret.

This unit possessed more than twenty warships, and most of them were ships from the Black Star Army. They consisted of small combat teams, and not only Nero but also Mia and a whole bunch of other graduates were present.

They had already been within the Kunde territory for several days, but they had remained vigilant along the way, ready to respond to encounters. Yet, they did not meet a single enemy along the way.

In the cabin of one of the battleships, a large group of the army warriors gathered around the star map to discuss their current situation. Nero pinched his chin and could not help but voice his suspicions.

“This is strange. When we had yet to arrive, we met enemies that would intercept us daily. However, now we’ve entered their territory, why is there no one to restrict us?”

Hearing this, everyone turned to look at him but did not speak.

Not far away, Mia stood with her arms crossed. She raised her brows and confidently said, “Maybe the enemy think that they cannot stop the dynasty and have all retreated.”

“I don’t think it’s that simple.” Nero shook his head.

This time, Nero’s and Mia’s team were on the same battleship, and there were several other combat teams accompanying them.

After experiencing the baptism of war, Nero’s actual combat ability had improved, but his personal temperament did not change much. After all, he still had his baby face, and however fierce he looked, it only made him more adorable.

On the other hand, by confirming her strength in battle, Mia had become more confident.

Hong!

At this moment, the fleet had arrived at the preset target location and exited hyperdrive.

Outside the window was a planet, their exploration target, which was suspected of being a Kunde colonial planet.

On the surface of the planet, they could clearly see that there were traces of cities.

Seeing this, everyone’s expression tightened.

“It seems like we’ve found the correct place. Everyone, focus.”

Chapter 974 - Arranging It Clearly

The fleet did not close in immediately, choosing to maintain its stealth mode. It instead released a miniature space-based exploration satellite to slowly approach the atmosphere of the planet, constantly scanning the surface.

Within the cabin, the virtual screen showed the image of the satellite screening. There were a lot of cities on the surface, but most of them were deserted. Garbage was piled up on the streets from the citizens evacuating in a hurry.

“The colonial planet seems to have been abandoned.” Nero swiped his finger across the virtual screen, constantly scanning through the unoccupied cities.

“Check the detection of life signals,” the captain of his squad urged.

Nero nodded and switched to the control interface of the satellite, setting it up. This satellite was a product of the Black Star Army, and while not made by him, operating it was simple.

This Reconnaissance Troop unit had about two thousand soldiers, where most of them were Grade C Supers. Only their leader was at Grade B. Nero was the strongest person there apart from the commander and the best mechanic within this unit. Because of this, almost all the mechanical devices were left to him to handle.

Very quickly, the results were displayed on the screen. The light spots signaling life on the surface were sparse, clustered mostly in the wilderness. They were likely beasts. In the city, there were only a few sporadic light spots signaling the presence of intelligent life.

Mia’s eyes lit up. “There are people still in the city!”

“They should be civilians that do not wish to evacuate.” Nero breathed a sigh of relief. Their mission for this trip was to try to capture as many Kunde civilians as possible to interrogate.

“Kid, check the armed forces of this planet. If there’s no problem, we can land,” the commander ordered.

Nero nodded and began the scan.

Everyone stared at the screen, awaiting the results, but at this moment, in the quantum network that could not be seen by all of them, a series of data that had been waiting in ambush secretly intercepted the information flow of the satellite and quietly tampered with it. The intelligence was then sent to everyone on board.

“Uh… seems to be no enemy ships around, and there is no abnormal response from the military bases on the surface. It seems like the enemy has completely abandoned this colonial planet, and even their troops have not stayed.” Nero read the results out.

Their leader then smiled. “Then this will be easy. The commander has given his orders. We’re to descend.”

The fleet went to work quickly, most of the warships entering the atmosphere and beginning to land toward the city. Only the commander’s battleship and three other spaceships remained in outer space to serve as a response force.

At the same time, there was a medium-sized fleet of the Kunde Race on standby at a floating military base high above the colonial planet. There were more than a hundred spaceships within the base, and it remained in camouflage, with its signal reflector turned on. It blended with its environment and appeared transparent.

A large number of operators were busy in the main control room of the floating military base. One of the operators who was monitoring the radar suddenly saw a signal of an abnormal fluctuation of the atmosphere, but when he looked closer, the signal had disappeared.

“Was I mistaken?” The Kunde operator was puzzled and activated the radar to make another sweep.

The detection results showed that not only was the atmosphere intact, even Nero’s group, which had daringly descended, could not be detected.

“Should be a false alarm.” Seeing this, the operator turned away.

The scout team did not find the military base, nor did the military base personnel discover the scouts. They were both close but could not see each other due to being blinded.

The initiator was Han Xiao, who was hiding within the scout squadron’s mechanical unit. He had directly used Virtual Technology to tamper with the scan results of both parties.

This scene was completely in line with Han Xiao’s script.

…

Before long, the Reconnaissance Troop’s spaceships landed in the city, and the various combat teams put on their equipment, successively stepping off the spaceships and onto the desolate streets.

“Come, let’s assign our respective missions.”

The captains all held a brief meeting before dividing themselves into three groups. One group would remain behind to prevent any accidents occurring to their spaceships, the second would proceed with the capture of civilians, and the last would be responsible for searching for any special facilities such as military bases and energy plants.

After assigning each team their mission, they broke up into small teams to move separately. Nero and Mia’s teams were responsible for exploring the abandoned military base in the suburbs. They took a ground vehicle to the destination together.

Within the vehicle, the combat teams maintained their silence. Nero looked around and coughed awkwardly before standing up and moving over to Mia’s side.

Mia, who was polishing her blade icily, glared at him before lowering her head to continue maintaining her weapon. Her tone was casual. “Why are you sitting here?”

“To chat with you.” Nero scratched his face. “During this period, we’ve been busy fighting and haven’t had time to talk.”

“What’s there to chat about?” Mia rolled her eyes. “We don’t even have enough time to sleep. You think we’re like you, being able to function without sleep?”

Nero was speechless, and after thinking about it, he replied, “Actually, I can teach you how to combat fatigue. In this regard, I’m very experienced.”

“I’m a pugilist, but I need you to teach me?” Mia laughed.

But Nero replied seriously. “As a pugilist, it’s more crucial that you learn this than me. A mechanic doesn’t require much stamina, but without stamina, the pugilist will experience a decrease in their combat capability. I’m afraid you will run into danger.”

“You seem to care a lot.” Mia gave a sideward glance at Nero.

“I said before, I will protect you.” Nero grinned.

“Humph, stop smiling. It makes you look like a fool.” Mia snorted and turned her head away. A few seconds later, she turned back ahead, pretending to casually ask, “So, how do you actually practice this fatigue combating?”

Nero scratched his nose as he spoke. “You have to first change your habit of sleeping. Under the state of fatigue, you must attempt to get your mind to remain working at full capacity. It will be difficult initially, but as someone who has gone through it, I have experience. If you feel like sleeping, you can come look for me.”

Mia nodded foolishly before belatedly discovering something wrong.

“You said to look for you when I want to sleep‽ Are you teasing me!”

A sense of shame rose within her heart, and she viciously hammered at Nero’s chest.

“Ah, did I say anything wrong?” Nero was at a loss, but because his mechanical suit was sturdy enough, he did not take any damage.

Mia seemed ready to say something, but she suddenly discovered that everyone’s gaze on the vehicle had fallen toward the two of them. Within their gazes were laughter, envy, jealousy, and many more emotions, as though they were looking at a pair of lovers quarreling.

A tinge of red hit her cheeks, and she glared at Nero before ducking her head down in embarrassment. She no longer talked, keeping her gaze on maintaining her weapon. Her whetstone moved so fast that it seemed to produce a meteor shower on her blade.

Nero scratched his head and wanted to say more, but the captain sitting opposite him suddenly signaled silently to him. He held up a hand and clenched into a fist. His other hand extended a finger and put it in the fist. This was a common gesture even in the galaxy, and its meaning was self-evident.

Kid, don’t be wishy washy, you should do it when you have to.

Seeing this, Nero could not help but curse. “Darned hooligan…”

It was at this point that someone discovered an anomaly on their radar.

“There are two abnormal sources of energy detected.”

The crowd immediately stopped smiling. They stared at the radar, only to see two more signals appearing, one pointing to the abandoned military base and the other pointing to the wilderness further away.

“Strange, why did it not pick up previously? Is this thing broken?” The vice captain patted the radar with a suspicious expression.

“No matter what, we have to check it out.”

The captain glanced at it before giving the order to Mia’s team. “I think we need to separate. When we arrive at the military base, drop us first before going over to the wilderness to check out the energy source.”

The plan was quickly finalized, and the vehicle let Nero’s team down at the perimeter of the military base. Nero watched as Mia’s team moved down the dirt path. The two were separated again.

Seeing Nero staring in the direction of the vehicle’s departure, he reached out and snapped his fingers at Nero’s ears, drawing the latter’s attention. “Kid, stop staring. It’s time for work.”

Nero settled his emotions, catching up with the team a little absent-mindedly.

He did not know why, but in that instant, he felt a little unsettled.

While somewhat dwelling on this, Nero followed his team to explore the military base. They found an abandoned elevator, arriving at an intricate underground base before going to explore the ‘abnormal signal’ displayed on the radar.

…

“Alert! Unknown target discovered!”

It was more than ten minutes later that the Kunde floating base, which had become blind, was suddenly cured of its ‘cataracts’. They found, to their surprise, a scout troop on the surface.

Everybody within the base received a shock, scurrying around like ants.

The intelligence report was quickly sent over to the commander of the floating base. In his office, the commander opened his eyes wide as his anger rose.

“When did this group of enemies land, and why didn’t you spot them earlier? Were you neglecting your duties‽”

The leader of the radar operators defended his team. “The radar did not even respond, and it was probably avoided by the enemy’s scouts with more advanced camouflage!”

“It’s too scary. With this sort of technology, if they chose to ambush us, we would have long fallen!” The base commander had a frightened look before turning furious. “Sneaking in like that, do you think we don’t exist!”

“Commander, think about it. The opponent has this kind of strength, yet they chose not to ambush us but land on the surface instead. Why is that so?”

Hearing this, the commander’s eyes flashed, and he abruptly slammed the table, bellowing, “I understand now. They obviously know that we’re here, but they chose not to attack because their manpower is insufficient, and they are not confident about getting rid of us! To actually not even put us in their eyes, swaggering before us to collect intelligence, they’re too arrogant. We have to make them pay the price!”

Pausing briefly, the commander rose up and shouted, “Order the fleet to encircle the enemy. Don’t let a single one of them escape!”

From his side, the Vice Commander added, “Commander, with all due respect, we should try to capture a few of them alive. The upper echelons wish to research them. This is a chance for us.”

The Commander’s eyes lit up, and he added with a joyous expression, “That’s right. I almost forgot. The upper echelons want these supers, and now that they have sent themselves up to us, we can just capture them and bring them back with us!”

…

In the abandoned military base, Nero’s troops were in the midst of exploration. The power supply had been disconnected for a long time. Thus, the area was dark and completely silent. Everyone could only hear each other’s breathing and footsteps echoing. The atmosphere reeked of horror and suspense.

Nero released several small mechanical pathfinder bees, which radiated a strong light, leading the way in front and illuminating the underground base.

Without electricity, the access control of the base was rendered invalid, and doors could only be forcibly opened. A few high-energy ray guns were enough to turn the closed metal door into a pile of red molten steel, so they were unobstructed throughout.

After walking with the team for a while, Nero’s bad feeling grew stronger, and he could not help but open his mouth.

“Commander, I feel that something is amiss here.”

“Which part?” the captain asked.

“I can’t put a finger on it.”

“In that case…” The captain frowned before giving out the order. “Take a few men with you to follow us from a short distance behind. Take care of our retreat route. I’ll go with some others to check out the abnormal energy source.”

The captain picked a few members to follow Nero while he led the rest to continue ahead.

Nero waited at the same spot for a while before the voice of the captain was heard from the communicator.

“We’ve arrived at the area of the strange energy source, but there’s nothing here.”

Nero’s heart constricted, and he immediately opened his shared vision. He saw through the captain’s eyes an empty warehouse, without even a single hair.

However, the signal marked by the radar referred to that area. The coordinates were exactly the same, so they could not have turned into a wrong area.

“Is it a false alarm by the radar?” Nero swallowed. “Or…”

Boom!

Before he could react, a violent shock burst out!

“Warning! High-energy strike detected! Please avoid it!”

Boom!

The sound of artillery bombardment rang near his ears, and the support columns of the underground base suddenly collapsed!

The structure of the base disintegrated in an instant, and the floor tiles shattered, turning into a bottomless pit leading deeper down.

Nero only had enough time to open his shield to protect himself before being blown out by the shockwave of the explosion and smashing through the walls of the hallway, falling straight down.

From the communicator came exclamations from his teammates, but he could not care less when he could not even take care of himself. He was filled with anxiety.

Why were we ambushed‽

We clearly confirmed that this planet had no troops stationed!

At this moment, Nero could not think of any other explanation. In his eyes, there was only one possibility.

Dammit, this colonial planet was a trap! The enemy must have deliberately planned for this ambush! We’ve fallen for it!

Just as this idea flashed past his head, Nero hit the bottom with a heavy thud.

Bang!

A human shaped pit was formed, and a large cloud of smoke appeared.

Si!

The huge impact reverberated in his body, and he could not help but grit his teeth in pain.

But before he could stand up, a large piece of metal dropped toward him!

Nero only had the time to raise his hands and reactivate his shield, protecting himself.

Boom boom boom!

Debris rained down, covering every inch of Nero’s sight and burying him directly.

…

At this moment, in an abandoned city not far away, the Kunde fleet who had realized there were enemies had begun to exchange fire with the troops that had remained behind.

Rumble!

On top of the abandoned military base, there were several Kunde battleships docked. Their weapons were brought out, and they launched a bombardment at the base.

Boom!

Only when the entire base was reduced to ruins did those battleships finally stop firing.

The hatch opened, and a squad of Kunde armored soldiers jumped out of the cabin, landing on the ground and carrying their weapons to the base.

The life signals of Nero and his team were exposed to their radar, and the goal of the soldiers was to capture this small group of supers who were without the protection of their fleet.

“Good! The combat operation is a success!”

At this moment, the commander of the Kunde floating base smiled with satisfaction from the command room.

He, however, was unaware that a group of camouflaged mechanical soldiers was hovering outside the window, silently watching his every move.

Chapter 975 - Mission Generated

When the bombing stopped, the abandoned military base had turned into a mess, with the collapsed gravel blocked off countless roads. The terrain had become much more complicated, and the gravel fell from time to time with a clacking sound.

The bottom of the base was filled with smoke and dust. The falling debris had piled up into a hill, beneath which Nero was firmly buried.

Suddenly, there was a sound akin to a slimy liquid flowing in the darkness.

Whoosh!

An area of two square meters within the debris below gradually turned red as it shone brighter and brighter. The metal beams and stone pieces melted together to reveal an empty hole.

Nero crawled out of the hole, his hands continuously casting heat rays as he limped. The high temperature around him caused the very air to warp.

“Cough cough cough…”

A dull cough escaped the mechanical suit as Nero took gasps of air. He focused, activating the mechanical suit to do a full body scan.

“Left leg is slightly misaligned. Awaiting permission for mechanical suit to autocorrect bone alignment.”

“Go ahead.”

His armor on the left leg tightened a little, and the misaligned bones were set. Nero snorted in pain before relaxing. Previously, a few tons of debris had hit his body, and although his mechanical suit was fine, the shock had given him a slight injury. After all, he was an ordinary, fragile mechanic.

The radar displayed that the enemies were above him. Nero knew that this was not the time for him to relax, and he immediately opened the communicator to contact his teammates.

“Captain, Nero here. Where are you guys, and how’s the situation?”

Static sound buzzed, broken by intermittent screams of pain. Nero shouted for quite a bit before he received news from them.

“We’re not doing good here!” His teammate’s face popped up on his tactical display, filled with bruises and cuts. His tone was hurried. “I was beside the captain just now, and when the base collapsed, the captain was stunned. An artillery shot penetrated through the ground and hit us, and many of us are now injured and scattered. No matter who hears this news, save them, and bring everyone to gather. We have to escape immediately!”

Nero immediately opened the team’s health monitoring subprogram and was shocked when he saw the red on the screen.

Everyone’s injuries were worse than his, and there were several people, including the captain, who were already on the verge of death. Because he had fallen to the bottom of the base and was buried, he had managed to escape the subsequent bombing from the battleship, so he was the least injured.

It was because of his Luck Glow.

“My condition is the best…” Nero immediately felt the pressure on his shoulders.

He gritted his teeth, opening the position locator for his team. The position of each teammate was marked on the tactical screen of the mechanical suit, and the artificial intelligence within operated at a high speed to map out the fastest rescue route.

From behind his back jetted out a tail flame, and Nero flew out of the big pit at the bottom of the base to rescue the scattered members.

The terrain was complex, but there was no time for him to make a detour. His palm continuously shot out heat rays, melting through all the obstacles in front of him, saving one teammate after another before the arrival of the Kunde ground troops. Finally, he reached the position of his captain.

Blasting aside an obstructing metal plate, Nero flew into the messy room and landed with a loud thud. He saw the captain and a group of members there, all with varying injuries.

The captain was lying paralyzed on the ground, his upper body leaning against the wall. His armor was scorched black, revealing large holes. Looking up at Nero’s entrance, he squeezed out a smile, saying in a weak voice.

“Nero, you’re here. You… cough cough… you did well.”

“Captain, don’t talk anymore.”

Seeing this, an intravenous needle shot out from Nero’s finger, and he pierced it into the captain’s chest.

Aurora’s special life potion was injected into the captain’s body through the needle, and his serious injuries were cured in an instant.

The captain’s state recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye, causing him to let out a comfortable groan. He got up full of energy, clicking his tongue. “This is the special life potion of Her Excellency Aurora? What good stuff!”

Aurora would occasionally activate her ability to produce such life medicines, but the quantity was limited after all, and there was even a shelf life for the potions, so not all warriors from Black Star Army could have them. The normal members would all use the typical store bought medicines, but with Nero’s background, he naturally had Aurora’s life potions.

“Those with major injuries come over. I still have a few more of the life potions, and it will recover your combat capabilities,” Nero shouted.

One of them could not help but say, “Leave some for yourself. There’ll be another bloody battle ahead. What will happen if you’re injured?”

“It’s ok. I still have other medicines.” Nero did not seem to care.

Everyone glanced at each other before shrugging. Having a descendent with a powerful background in their team was not too bad a thing. The backer had already offered, so why were they hesitating?

Nero healed up all his teammates, and they discussed their options.

“Everyone, we’re in an unfavorable situation. We’ve been caught in an ambush, and the entire fleet is being attacked by the enemy,” the captain explained in a serious tone. “The others are too busy to respond to us, so we can only break through by ourselves. There are three Kunde battleships above us, but we have no vehicles, so it will be dangerous…”

“If the enemy continue to bomb the fleet, it will be a desperate situation for us, but now the enemy has stopped attacking and has sent their ground troops to approach us instead.” The eyes of the vice captain flashed. “This means that they intend to capture us alive. This is perhaps our only chance to escape.”

“That’s right!” The captain nodded. “If we wish to escape, we must obtain control of the airspace. The fleet can’t meet up with us, so we can only grab a spaceship. The chances are slim but not impossible.

“This debris is our barrier. If we rush out, the enemy spaceships can bombard us unscrupulously. Thus, we can only wait for the enemy soldiers to enter the base and fight with them directly. In order to prevent friendly fire, the spaceships will not open fire at random, so we need to approach this with a two-pronged strategy. One team will deal with the enemy soldiers, while the other will go to steal a spaceship…”

The captain paused. Everyone looked at each other.

This was something that would affect everyone’s survival. Out of ten paths, only one would lead them out alive.

So, the question was, who should grab the spaceship? It stood to reason that the strongest person should be the one performing this task, and the strongest in the team was Nero with the biggest background.

But to ask someone from such a huge background to accept such a huge responsibility, and only a young teen at that… Everyone was a little hesitant.

Seeing this, Nero gritted his teeth and set his resolve.

“Let me go. There’s no one more suitable than me.”

The captain looked at him, but in the end, he did not try to dissuade him, only solemnly saying, “We’re relying on you. We’ll be engaging the enemy to earn time for you… Remember, everyone’s life is in your hands.”

“I understand.”

Nero took a deep breath, regaining his calm. He controlled his mechanical suit to enter stealth mode, casting one last glance at his members. He then separated, vanishing into the darkness.

The captain breathed out heavily and turned to the rest with a severe expression, “You guys don’t need me to tell you what to do. No matter what, lure down every single enemy.”

“We understand.” The vice captain had a complex expression and nodded.

Other than Nero, everyone else understood what the captain’s tone implied. In actual fact, they had two plans. The first was to allow Nero to capture the spaceship and then escape with him.

But if this level failed, they would unhesitatingly invoke the hidden level… which was to turn themselves into suicide warriors, allowing Nero to abandon them and run off by himself.

It was not just because of Nero and his relationship with the Army Commander, but everyone also knew that the future of this young man was immeasurable. Only by allowing a person with potential to escape could they then obtain their revenge in the future.

…

After sneaking around in the dark for a moment, the commotion of his teammates fighting the Kunde soldiers came from Nero’s communicator.

At this moment, he was no longer on the battlefield but had arrived in front of a collapsed area leading to the ground level. He remained hidden, using the radar to lock onto the spaceship closest to him in the air.

His palms were slick with sweat as he carefully released a unique-looking hovering guard. It was painted in black and gold, and it looked completely different from all of Nero’s other equipment. There was an unparalleled sense of quality in it. After being released, it smartly started to circle around Nero’s head.

“I’m relying on you, brother.” Nero patted the hovering guard, his heart firm.

“Relax, kid. With your big brother here, no one can hurt you!” The hovering guard actually replied!

This was Nero’s final card. This hovering guard was a present from Han Xiao when they first met.

It was high-grade equipment personally built by a Beyond Grade A Super, driven by dark energy. In addition, it had the blessings of [Emperor’s Gift] and [Machinery Fusion]. After Han Xiao obtained the skill of [Mechanical Life Tinder], he had also transformed it into an intelligent mechanical life form, with its independent consciousness and chance to grow. He had named it ‘Sky Guardian’.

Even when Nero was a kid, the Sky Guardian without any Mechanical Force could fend off Grade C Supers.

Now, with Nero as a Grade C+ Super, along with Perfect Mechanical Sense, the Sky Guardian could unleash even more force. Even when compared to Grade Bs, Nero did not lose out at all.

Nero had never taken out this trump card of his, especially when sparring in school. Even if a pugilist rushed up to his face and beat him black and blue, he had never taken out this killing machine.

His true combat capability was unknown, even to Mia who was the closest to him.

Within the school compound, Mia had often sparred with him, but she did not know how strong he could be if he went all out.

Staring at the radar on his screen, Nero breathed in and out to stabilize himself, allowing his energy to fill every cell of his body.

“Hu, I can do this…”

Nero did not hesitate any longer and activated his thrusters.

Boom!

His entire body shot forward, blasting through the rocks at the entrance and rushing into the sky!

The three battleships immediately set their guns and fired at Nero.

The power of the battleships’ cannons were deadly to a Grade C, but the Sky Guardian accompanying Nero shook, and rays of light shot out from it, forming a golden protective shield to surround Nero.

Boom boom boom!

All the artillery cannons bombarded the area in a burst of fireworks, but the shield only showed a slight crack, which instantly repaired itself. It forcibly endured an entire round of firepower.

At the same time, the Kunde battleships above understood Nero’s intentions and activated their shields, preventing external entry.

“Open a pathway for me!”

With a thought, the Sky Guardian released a blinding ray of Mechanical Force, which quickly reformed into a hexagonal shaped muzzle. An all-consuming black beam burst out, carrying immense penetrative force.

Pew pew pew!

The rate of fire was incredible and resembled the actions of someone who was rushing urgently toward the toilet.

The target battleship’s shields were blasted apart, and Nero seized the chance, rushing into the gap created.

Pa pa pa…

Compressed orbs were thrown out from his hands and transformed into laser cutting drills with electromagnetic bases. They attached themselves to the spacecraft, quickly cutting through its hull to create an entrance to the internal compartments.

Nero did a barrel roll in midair, slamming into the spaceship. Without a word, he threw out a large number of mechanical soldiers and activated his weapons, cutting through the ship’s members as if he was chopping vegetables.

Because this spaceship was the one that had sent the ground troops to capture Nero’s team, its strength on board was insufficient, and this made it more convenient for Nero.

Firing without any reserve, Nero did not take much time to kill his way into the main control room, and he immediately took out a Virtual Intrusion chip manufactured by the army. He inserted it into the core of the spaceship’s artificial intelligence. He was not a Virtual Mechanic yet, but the army provided such virtual intrusion aspects.

At this moment, Nero stumbled because the spaceship had suddenly begun to tremble violently!

Rumble!

Looking outside the window, Nero saw that the other two spaceships had turned around, facing him to concentrate their fire without caring about the lives of their comrades.

“To actually fire at your own teammates, how vicious.” Nero clicked his tongue but did not slow down, killing his way into the command room and seizing the authority of the spaceship.

He immediately poured the majority of energy into the battleship’s shields, controlling it to slam into the nearest enemy.

Bang!

The shields of both spaceships collided, creating firework-like sparks. The other spaceship lost its momentum, careening off course.

Whether it was a coincidence or not, the direction it was sent flying was precisely where the second enemy spaceship was. Both enemies collided toward each other, and they lost control momentarily as they attempted to steady their spaceships.

Taking this opportunity, Nero piloted the spaceship, directly sliding below the two spaceships, parallel to the ground.

“Come out quickly! I’ve got the spaceship! Meet me at the coordinates that I’m sending over. I’ll beam you guys up!” Nero shouted into the channel.

“Beautiful!”

His teammates exclaimed in joy. They then used their strong bodies to withstand the pressure, breaking out of the Kunde Race soldiers’ encirclement.

Bang!

The next moment, a portion of the rubble exploded, and the team members rushed out, with the Kunde soldiers chasing close behind.

Nero’s face lit up, and he shouted, “Captain, don’t stop!”

This was a race against time, so Nero had no time to control the two enemy ships that had adjusted to fire at him. He immediately used the traction beam to attract his team members, at the same time releasing a large number of turrets to fire at the pursuing soldiers, providing cover.

Nero did not dare drag out the battle, so after rescuing the team, he immediately rushed into the sky, fleeing into the universe.

Soon, the rest of his team joined him in the command room, rushing up to rub Nero’s head frantically.

“Kid, good job!”

“Haha, we’re saved. I thought we were gonna die this time!”

“To get it so smoothly, it seems like luck is on our side!”

Everyone had on a joyous expression, continuously praising Nero.

“Don’t count your blessings too soon. We’re not out of danger yet.” Although the captain tried to dampen their spirits, he was grinning from ear to ear himself.

While there were still spaceships after them, their situation was much better compared to before.

After celebrating for a while, they remembered the rest of their comrades who were still trapped, and their joyful expressions quickly faded.

“We’ve managed to escape, but what about those in our unit that have been surrounded?” someone asked.

“There’s no way. We cannot help them because there are too many enemies. If we try to help, we will only get surrounded again.”

His captain shook his head in response. He understood the current situation clearly. Going with just their one spaceship was as good as sending themselves to their graves. It would only waste their chance of escaping.

This should be the best time for them to separate and run; they should not engage in further battles.

At this time, Nero recalled something, and his heart began pounding rapidly.

That’s right. I don’t know how Mia’s team is doing…

Having thought of this, Nero could no longer sit still, he immediately passed the spaceship to his teammates to operate while he took out his communicator.

The time that it took to connect was akin to him being boiled alive; it was excruciatingly long.

Nero’s heart was burning with anxiety as he waited, but the call never got through. He called every single one of Mia’s teammates, but no one answered as well.

The call only connected when it reached Mia’s captain. From it came the sounds of battle.

“Cough cough… Nero? You guys have escaped?”

“That’s me. You guys got ambushed too? How’s the situation? We have a spaceship that can save you!” Nero spat out quickly like bullets.

“Don’t… don’t come over. You guys must take the chance to run. My entire team has already been captured, and I’m the only one still left resisting. I will not be able to hold on for long as well. You guys can’t save us. Quickly go cough cough…”

While speaking, the communication was suddenly cut.

Nero’s expression tightened, and he turned to walk toward the hatch of the spaceship.

Having witnessed the previous scene, his teammates immediately leapt up, swarming over him as a mob and restraining him.

“Nero, don’t be suicidal,” the captain shouted.

“I have to save her!”

Nero was tackled by the seven or eight blokes, and he could not move at all even if he struggled. However, his attitude was firm.

“Don’t be a fool. I told you just now, but going over to save them is as good as suicide!” the captain roared in anger.

“I know. That’s why I’m not intending to ask for help!” Nero gritted his teeth. “This is my own choice. I will not let you guys get involved. You can pilot this spaceship, and I’ll go down alone. Don’t stop me!”

“Going solo will make it even more impossible. There’s no point sending yourself to die!” The captain was set on holding Nero down.

Nero struggled for quite a while before he finally calmed down. He sat down on the ground, his hands covering his face as he kept silent.

Empathizing with Nero’s situation, the captain could not help but sigh, patting Nero’s shoulder. He also did not know what to say, and he could only mutter in a depressed tone, “She has only been captured. She’s not dead yet. There may still be a chance for their survival. We can only escape for now and think of ways to save her later.”

The moment he spoke, Nero raised his head and spoke in a low tone with reddened eyes.

“You’re right. I was too rash. Thanks for stopping me… I cannot allow Mia to fall into the enemy’s hands, not knowing what they will do to her. I still have one last hope.”

As he spoke, Nero stood up, taking out his communicator. Taking a deep breath, he mustered the courage to dial Han Xiao’s number on the communicator.

He had originally decided not to rely on Han Xiao during his service so as not to disappoint him, but he did not have a choice…

The communicator rang three times in total. The interval between each ring seemed like eternity to Nero. After three rings, Nero heard the familiar voice.

“Oh, Nero. What have you called me for?” Han Xiao’s face wore a slight smile as he answered.

“Godfather, I’ve disappointed you.” Nero rubbed his eyes, softly speaking. “I’ve met something I cannot solve, and I hope you can help me.”

“Go on,” Han Xiao simply replied.

Nero quickly explained the situation with his head lowered, waiting for a reply.

Seeing his expression, Han Xiao stroked his chin as he smiled. “I refuse.”

Nero jerked his head up with an expression of shock and surprise.

“Very surprised?” Han Xiao kept his smile. “Your identity now is different. You’re no longer my godson but also an ordinary soldier. While I indeed give you preferential treatment, I cannot give you special care forever.”

“But… but…” Nero’s eyes turned red.

“It’s not that I cannot help. Putting aside our relationship, let’s look at this from a business perspective. What can you give me to hire me?” Han Xiao indifferently continued.

“I… I don’t know.”

“Then, how can you expect me to help?” Han Xiao blinked. “My relationship with you is not fake, but I cannot help you without a reason. Rules are set like this, so what you desire must be exchanged for something else. Throwing away your identity, what else do you have to offer me?”

Nero’s emotions were a mess, and he muttered, “I… I have nothing…”

Looking at Nero covering his head with both hands, his expression despondent, Han Xiao spoke softly as he smiled. “What? Are you feeling despair now? Think about it, how long have you not expressed your thanks toward me?”

Hearing this, Nero’s figure shivered, and he lowered his head.

“I’m sorry… I beg you…”

“Let me ask you again. Have you felt this despair yet?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, emphasizing on his words.

Nero was silent for a long time before raising his head. His lips were bleeding due to his biting, and his eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Han Xiao and nodded.

“Good. Remember this feeling, and don’t ever experience it again.” Han Xiao straightened himself up before laughing. “Relax, I’ll agree to your request this time and save your little girlfriend.”

Nero’s emotions seemed to have risen back up after being thrown into the depths of hell. He stared stunned for a while before he recovered his spirits, grasping the communicator with both hands tightly.

“Thank you… thank you…”

“Don’t rejoice so early. I never act without a price.” Han Xiao propped his head with his hands. “You don’t know what you can offer me, but in reality, you are not worthless. At the very least, you have a strong gift for machinery. How about using that as a bargaining chip?”

“What does this mean?” Nero could not understand.

“If I really must explain, you can understand it as me not wanting you to waste your gifts. You don’t need to fully understand this now, and you only need to say whether you accept or reject this arrangement.” Han Xiao spoke with a smile that was not really a smile at the same time.

Nero was still befuddled, but he had no choice. He could only grit his teeth and nod his head.

“I agree. Please help me!”

At the same time, Han Xiao received a notification on his interface while seated in his Black Star Palace.

_____________________

You have triggered the Special Character Mission: Nero’s Request!

Mission Introduction: Nero has agreed to your transaction and is willing to use his own talents and abilities in exchange for your help.

Mission Requirements: Save Mia Moretto.

Reward: Select one of Nero’s Abilities or Talents.

Chapter 976 - Great Director Han

“It really appeared, and to think I get to decide what to learn. I thought it would be a random draw…”

Looking at the mission description, Han Xiao’s eyes lit up with an expression of joy.

This type of mission was similar to seeking employment. In his previous life, when players received missions from NPCs, they could negotiate to obtain certain mission rewards from the particular NPC, such as increased pay, better skills, or rarer items. There was even a type of non-combat class named [Lobbyist], which had the opportunity to improve one’s success rate when communicating with NPCs. This effect was similar to the amount of favorability given to players based on personal reputation.

However, the task of specifying the ability to learn had the lowest probability, and it required a lot of luck. Most of the time, it was just a random reward.

Han Xiao had merely copied the words of the players in his past life to influence the reward after the mission was generated. It was not guaranteed that this would succeed.

In his plan, he thought that it would at most be a random draw reward. This was an unexpected boon.

“If that’s the case, I don’t need to rely on luck.”

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief.

He had worried that he might not obtain the [Perfect Mechanical Sense] from Nero, so he had planned many ‘scenarios’ for him. He did not expect himself to succeed in one try.

With this, there was no need to continue ‘torturing’ Nero.

At this moment, Han Xiao suddenly made a weird hypothesis, and his expression froze up.

Could it be… that even his mission rewards were affected by Nero’s Advanced Luck Glow, such that he would obtain what he wanted in one try so that Nero could avoid further torture? It seemed very likely!

“How terrifying, truly terrifying…”

Han Xiao’s lips twitched, not knowing what expression he should make.

In actual fact, this whole scenario deviated slightly from his script. In his original plans, Han Xiao wanted Nero to fall into despair before calling for help. But he did not expect the kid to be so good at fighting, to be able to kill his way out and nearly escape, foiling his plans.

If not for the fact that he had prepared a backup plan and had lured that little guy’s lover in, Nero would probably not even have sought help from him.

As such thoughts flashed by, Han Xiao recovered, and seeing Nero still nervously awaiting his answer, he gave a smile.

“Okay, the deal is completed. Leave everything to me.”

Nero nodded quickly, drying his tears. He could not help but urge, “Godfather, when will you arrive? I’m afraid that if you are too late, Mia will…”

He did not know about Han Xiao’s mechanical troops being hidden within the team’s cabin and thought that it would take several days for Han Xiao to come over and save Mia, which would be too late.

Hearing this, Han Xiao laughed out loud and shot him a meaningful look. “Relax, it won’t take too long.”

With this, he hung up, not allowing Nero to understand his meaning.

Breathing out a contented sigh, Han Xiao turned his attention back to the mechanical host carrying his avatar and nodded.

“Time to act.”

…

“Urgh, where is this place?”

Mia’s brain felt like it was filled with chaos, and her eyelids were incomparably heavy. She struggled to open her eyes a little and took in the sight before her.

A few meters in front of her was a transparent glass window, where a few Kunde soldiers stood. They were looking toward them, whispering, but the glass blocked off the sound, so she could not hear a single word.

Her body was filled with fatigue and could not be controlled. It was as though a ghost was pressing down on her, making it difficult to even move a finger. Her body seemed to have been injected with an extremely potent sedative, and all she could feel was that her body was fixed to a device.

“What’s this? Why am I here?” Mia racked her brains, trying to recall what she had experienced before losing consciousness.

Her brain seemed to be filled with lead, her thinking speed slow and torturous. The memory fragments slowly emerged within her mind, and she thought for more than ten seconds before she pieced everything together.

She had followed the team into the wilderness to check for the abnormal signals, but they had encountered several enemy ships that suddenly attacked them. She was seriously injured and fell to the ground, losing all combat ability. Her brain received a huge shock, and before she went into a coma, she saw that the Kunde soldiers had approached and squatted down in front of her.

“Then I’ve been captured? What about the others?”

Mia wanted to turn her head, but her head was locked in position, so she could only strain her eyes to the corners, glancing about with the corners of her vision. She saw that there was a row of fixtures beside her, with all her teammates fastened on them. Most of them were still unconscious.

At this moment, a weak voice sounded beside her.

“Mia, you’re awake?”

Mia hurriedly swept her eyes over and discovered it was her captain. “Captain, you were captured too?”

“I had no way to go against the battleships. Still, the enemies didn’t kill us but captured us alive.”

“It’s good that we’re not dead.” Mia breathed a sigh of relief.

“Ah…” The captain let out a bitter laugh. “You’re wrong. Dying is better than falling into enemy hands.”

Mia was still a little fuzzy and unconsciously asked, “Why?”

“Think about it. Why would the enemies want to capture us? If my hypothesis is correct, they want to treat us as research material. What’s awaiting us is all sorts of inhumane experiments, where we will be drained of every single drop of blood and muscle in our bodies to aid in the development of our enemies. Dying is considered nothing in comparison.” The captain’s voice was laced with despair. “The others from our unit are also fending for themselves, so they have no time to come save us.”

Hearing this, Mia was stunned silly.

While she was a Super, she also had the identity of a young teenager, and she had never experienced such a despairing scenario.

At this moment, her mind subconsciously thought of Nero’s figure. Her heart ached, and her expression was miserable.

“I’m sorry… I may have to eat my words. I can’t continue walking down this path with you…”

Tears formed in Mia’s eyes and trailed down her cheeks, forming two long tear tracks.

At this moment, the door opened, and a few of the Kunde Race soldiers walked in. They went to a cabinet, taking out a few syringes before advancing toward them.

While the other party did not speak, based on their movements, Mia knew that they wanted to inject them with more tranquilizers to keep them unconscious.

Mia struggled, but all the cells in her body were asleep, and she could not generate any form of energy.

She could only watch as the Kunde Race drew near, her eyes reflecting hopelessness.

Boom!

At this moment, a strong shock ran through the entire spaceship, and several of the Kunde Race soldiers lost their balance.

Before Mia could recover to her senses, the few Kunde Race soldiers turned into smashed meat paste, and a mechanical soldier appeared in front of her, hovering in the air. It was so quick that she could not follow its movements with her eyes.

Ka la ka la…

The mechanical soldier then crushed the device that was imprisoning Mia and her team before taking out the life potion of Aurora and injecting it in everyone.

Everyone recovered quickly, checking their bodies with joy on their faces.

Their gazes landed on the mechanical soldier, with traces of joy and suspicion. They did not expect someone to have saved them in such a desperate scenario.

Mia’s mood was tumultuous, staring blankly for a few seconds before she recovered. She stared at the mechanical soldier, asking, “You… are you from the army?”

“What, can’t you recognize me?” Han Xiao’s voice travelled out from the mechanical soldier. “I’m Black Star.”

The eyes of everyone present turned into saucers.

The Army Commander personally came to save us‽

What is he doing here‽

Mia gaped, and she suddenly realized the truth.

For someone of Black Star’s caliber, the only reason he could appear here was that… he had been secretly protecting Nero all along!

Everyone soon recovered their senses, rejoicing at their second chance at life. Fortunately, they were in the same unit as Nero. Otherwise, there would be no turnaround for them. Their lives were, in part, saved by Nero.

“Alright, my machines have taken control of the battlefield. Follow me.”

The mechanical soldier controlled by Han Xiao waved its hands, placating the excited crowd. Thinking about it, he then patted Mia’s shoulder as he warmly spoke.

“After this battle, come with Nero to meet me. I’ll introduce you to a few Calamity Grade pugilists for them to take you in as a student.”

Mia opened her eyes wide, her expression incredulous. Only after a while did she realize that Han Xiao was giving her the opportunity to go under a Calamity Grade teacher, and she was extremely moved.

Excitement and pride filled her heart. She did not imagine that she would receive preferential treatment by Black Star and hurriedly nodded in return.

“Ok, thank you for your kindness, Your Excellency Black Star!”

“It’s nothing. I just felt that you have the potential to reach the Calamity Grade.”

Han Xiao smiled before turning back to look at the other team members. He thought for a while before saying, “As for the rest, you can report to Herlous when you return. I’ll ask him to raise your team’s authority, allowing all of you to promote, form a new team, or choose a new position. The material reward will also be given fairly.”

Unexpectedly, there was such a benefit in being caught.

…

Outside the floating base, the mechanical army that had been hovering quietly suddenly exposed their fangs.

Against such strength, there was no room for resistance. The floating base was instantly virtually invaded, with all their armed forces disintegrated, and the base fell under the control of Han Xiao.

The Kunde Race soldiers and commanders fell from the heavens into the abyss, turning into captives.

On the battlefields, the invisible mechanical army finally revealed themselves, joining the battlefield out of nowhere. Under the astonishment of the troops, all the battleships of the enemy were destroyed.

Nero and his team were still running when a mechanical troop appeared in front of them, firing behind them.

When they turned back to look, they saw the energy beam passing by their spaceship and piercing through several of the Kunde Race battleships chasing after them.

Bang bang bang!

The glow of flames was seen as the various spaceships imploded, turning into fireworks that filled the sky.

Seeing this, Nero stopped in shock.

How did it happen so quickly?

From the time he requested the call to his godfather acting, it had only been a couple of minutes!

He suddenly remembered Han Xiao’s meaningful eyes toward him when the latter cut the call.

While godfather wanted me to experience hardship alone, he sent troops to secretly protect me. I’m sure that the majority of his machines were hidden together with the troops and would appear to help when I’m in danger.

So, his words just now were purely to educate me?

Godfather… he is harsh with his words, but he’s actually a softie inside…

Nero was moved upon realizing Han Xiao’s ‘good intentions’ and praised Han Xiao’s character as he wiped his eyes.

This was the exact opposite of the Great Mechanic Han’s true nature.

Nero’s thought process was also carefully calculated by Han Xiao beforehand, and the progression was still quite in line with the script that the Great Director Han had written.

The battlefield soon fell under the control of Han Xiao’s mechanical army, with the Kunde Race’s small and medium sized fleets unable to overturn the scenario at all. With his mechanical army quickly ending the battle, Han Xiao allowed all the soldiers to land and gather before bringing Mia’s team to rendezvous with the rest.

Seeing that Mia was safe and sound, Nero’s taut nerves also relaxed, and he let out a bright smile.

“That’s great. You’re fine.”

Mia immediately noticed Nero when she landed and ran over to him. She wanted to hug him, but seeing so many people around them, she got a little shy and only lightly hit his mechanical suit with her fist, whispering, “Thanks. If not for you, I wouldn’t have been able to return.”

Nero’s smile got wider. “I said I would protect you.”

Looking at his silly smile, Mia could not help but roll her eyes at him, grumbling, “It was clearly His Excellency Black Star who rescued me.”

“Cough, cough.” Han Xiao dryly coughed by the side, interrupting them. “I’ve saved them for you. The next time you do things, you should be more cautious and attentive. Your luck won’t always remain so good, and I cannot always be there to protect you.”

“I understand.” Nero turned to him with a solemn expression as he seriously spoke to Han Xiao. “Thank you very much. I’ll carve today’s lesson into my mind and will not act recklessly in the future. I will not waste my talent.”

Han Xiao smiled and nodded before turning to the other soldiers on the battlefield. He nodded slightly and spoke.

“Although I interfered in this battle, the captives were mostly caught by you guys. I will not steal your credit, so you will be in charge of taking this group of captives back. Head to Herlous afterward, and he will arrange additional compensation for you.”

This time, in order to ‘rob’ Nero, his colleagues had all been included in Han Xiao’s plan, so he had long prepared some compensation. Since he had used them and they were his people, he would definitely give them benefits in return. From Planet Aquamarine till now, this was now he had acted.

The mechanical troops had been observing the battle in stealth mode, and this frightening yet undeadly battle, alongside an opportunity to achieve a promotion or an additional monetary reward, was quite a good exchange for them. However, Han Xiao had profited the most from this.

“It’s done!”

Letting out a sigh, Han Xiao hid his excitement as he collected his mission reward.

_____________________

Nero’s Request has been completed.

You have received: The option to learn a specific skill of Nero’s (Ability/Talent).

Please select one from the following options below as the reward.

_____________________

A list of skills popped out, and all the abilities and talents of Nero were listed.

Glancing at Nero’s skills, there were only two on his priority list, [Perfect Mechanical Sense] and [Advanced Luck Glow].

However, he could only choose one, and between both skills, Han Xiao needed [Perfect Mechanical Sense] more, which was the model talent for Mechanics, a must-have for every strong Beyond Grade A.

[Advanced Luck Glow] was something he wanted, but it was not high on his list. After all, the ability did not help in combat capabilities and would also weaken his mutually assured destruction card of reducing the Luck of others.

Moreover, because his Luck was low, this ability would only play a limited role. He was afraid that if his luck was too high, it would be difficult to draw more Mission Completion Cards.

Furthermore, with Feidin at hand, there was no need to increase his luck.

[Perfect Mechanical Sense] was his goal, and now that he had gained it, Han Xiao decided to reward Nero by not letting him suffer any pain for the time being.

As for [Advanced Luck Glow], he would think of an opportune time to obtain it.

Halting his devilish thoughts, Han Xiao selected his target on the interface.

The next moment, a strong current of Mechanical Force flowed out within his brain!

_____________________

Selection Completed!

Your Talent [Elementary Grade Mechanical Sense] has disappeared.

You have received the talent: Perfect Mechanical Sense!

Chapter 977 - The Concept of Superimposed Mechanical Senses

The sound of crackling electricity suddenly sounded on the Divine Mechanical Throne as thick jagged bolts of Mechanical Force lashed out like chains on the floor, leaving blackened scars.

His brain tingled slightly, as though undergoing an electrical stimulation.

With a dazzling glare in his eyes, Han Xiao could feel that the cells in his body were running at full power, with energy constantly being released.

After just a few more minutes, the phenomenon began to fade. The world in his eyes had changed subtly. There was now a clearer mechanical perception, and his field of vision penetrated deeper into microstructures.

“How miraculous…”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes as he appreciated the changes.

The usage of the Character Summon Card was different from actually possessing the talent. Right now, [Perfect Mechanical Sense] has resulted in a complete change within his body.

His basic personal attributes had not changed, but what was strengthened was his Machinery Affinity, as well as his Mechanical Force strength. Through his sense organs, the machinery felt closer and more familiar to him.

The core effect of Perfect Mechanical Sense was an improvement of his total Machinery Affinity by x1.4 coefficient, and this brought him an additional two to three thousand Machinery Affinity. This was enough to allow him to leap through several tiers!

There were two secondary functions to this. One was the increase in his machinery quality, improving it by one or two tiers, which was capped at Pink Grade. At present, Han Xiao’s equipment was basically all Orange Grade, and this bonus was not too important to him. The other function was more important, which granted +4 to all mechanic skills, which could break through the upper limit. This gave him more slots for his Apostle Weapons.

Mechanical Sense was classified as a personal talent, and the difficulty in improving it varied from person to person. Some geniuses easily understood it, while some could not learn it even if their personal strength was incredible. Han Xiao’s [Elementary Grade Mechanical Sense] was a drawn reward, so his chances of improving it to the level of [Perfect Mechanical Sense] were nil.

Generally speaking, such talents were either passively awakened or actively cultivated from a young age. As one grew older, the learning difficulty of talents would increase.

“Finally, I’ve got Perfect Mechanical Sense, and my normal combat capability is now the same as when I use a Character Summon Card.”

Han Xiao was satisfied. He had looked forward to this ability for a long time.

He would no longer appear as an embarrassment!

Possessing power of his own was the best assurance, and turning those trump cards that he relied on to blitz during battle into actual combat power gave him higher stability. Now, his qualification as a peak level Beyond Grade A Mechanic had completely stabilized, and the gap between him and the Mechanic Emperor had shortened once more.

However, it was still too early for him to arm wrestle against Manison. The other party also possessed Perfect Mechanical Sense, and right now, he had only filled up his missing gaps.

Han Xiao was not in a hurry, however. Although he had also reached the peak Beyond Grade A realm, he was different from everyone else as he still had ample room for growth.

Before the next major update, Han Xiao did not wish to entangle with Manison. He wanted to take this chance while Manison thought that he had consolidated his position to develop himself within the shadow he cast, lest the other party were to notice his strength once again and challenge him.

Although Han Xiao was not afraid of Manison acting against him, he did not wish to act before he had established his foundations within the Flickering World. After all, Manison had the backing of the Federation of Light, and Han Xiao had no way of acting against the other party.

“However, although Perfect Mechanical Sense has become part of my combat power now, it does not mean that my trump card is lost.”

The Character Summon Card usage was not related to his abilities, and activating similar effects would give rise to a stacked bonus rather than the usual effect bonus.

In other words, the Character Summon Card of Perfect Mechanical Sense was still useful to him.

Since he had already obtained Perfect Mechanical Sense, this would lead to his bonuses superimposing upon one another.

The superimposition of two skills, just how terrifying would it become? It would probably be the only double Perfect Mechanical Sense in the entire universe. Just thinking about it gave him the chills.

If he used this in front of Manison, the latter’s entire worldview would most likely shatter.

“It’s better for me to leave any blank Character Summon Cards to use on Reynold and Nero, and whether or not I can get the skill depends on my luck.”

After experiencing the skill a while longer, Han Xiao finally closed the talent description.

He went back to his skill list, pulling down the blueprint column, and looked for a new blueprint that he had recently obtained.

_____________________

Spacetime Splicer: Using peculiar spacetime technology, open a branch timeline temporarily that is outside of the main timeline. By specifying a complete action plan, one can form a time chain with a beginning and an end, breaking through the spacetime continuum by performing a temporal jump through different points of the timeline. It can be used for any arbitrary objects.

Usage of this device will bring about an irreversible negative effect. Objects spliced by time and space will suffer from correction by the main timeline, and once completely corrected, the object will be annihilated alongside the branch time chain that was cut out.

Remarks: If you’re a fan of suicidal attacks, this device is perfect for you. While the technology is not yet mature and perfected, since it’s still a suicide operation, there’s no need to care about the nitty gritty details!

_____________________

Han Xiao had stolen the Spacetime Splicing Technology from the Kunde Race, learning it and investing some experience to better understand the technique before finally obtaining the new blueprint identified by the interface. After spending some time on it, he had finally also finished a prototype.

The completed product resembled a three-story building.

Over the last few days, he had conducted simple tests and debugged the Spacetime Splicer. Its operation was very normal, but the startup time was a little long. It also could not be used as and when he liked; rather, it needed to be connected to a special target pipeline before it would be effective on objects.

Naturally, Han Xiao would not use such a dangerous device on himself, but after thinking about it over the last few days, he had concluded that this item would be helpful for the mechanic class.

The most suitable object to use the Spacetime Splicing Technology on would be the mass-produced machinery!

The wastage of the mechanical army would no longer bring him heartache, and with this additional function, he could even perform some war strategies that were not possible before. This sort of qualitative improvement of one’s combat capabilities was akin to exchanging one’s life for a sudden assault of tremendous strength. However, for a mechanic utilizing the Army Wave Tactic, it was naturally cost-effective.

Secondly, this could also be used as a new type of strategic killing weapon. Compared to portable psionic bombs, biochemical genetic weapons, and the like, the Spacetime Splicer was more concealed and difficult to detect, suitable for assassination and destruction missions.

Han Xiao stroked his chin as he pondered.

“However, I should minimize its operation as much as possible. When the dynasty discovered the power of Spacetime Splicing Technology, they also began to hide and monopolize this technology. While the dynasty will not force me to hand over the technology in my hands, they will also request for me to keep it a secret.”

He did not hide the matter of him obtaining the Spacetime Splicing Technology from the dynasty. He had only seized a copy of the technology before the dynasty monopolized it. There was no need to hide it.

Allowing the dynasty to know that he possessed such technology would also increase his authority, and since he had obtained the technology before the dynasty placed any importance on it, it was a legitimate excuse and not a shameful matter. Furthermore, if he were to utilize this technique in front of others in the future, he would reveal the fact that he possessed this technology. By that time, maybe the dynasty would even protect him and hide this matter.

No matter what, he would not spit out whatever he had eaten.

Shaking his head, Han Xiao took out his Spacetime Amber and hung it in midair before connecting to the external interface of the Spacetime Splicer.

He was prepared to test if the Spacetime Amber could be affected by the Spacetime Splicing Technology. This was also his first experiment.

The operation of the Spacetime Splicer was complicated, and Han Xiao took a while before he got it started.

Ohm!

The whole device began to vibrate, and rainbow-colored beams shone on the Spacetime Amber from the pipeline.

He stepped back a little, waiting in silence until the vibration of the device gradually stopped.

“Splicing is complete…”

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and he disconnected the nanoparticles that suspended the Spacetime Amber. The Spacetime Amber dropped down, its surface still smooth and unblemished, as though it had not undergone a timeframe change.

Narrowing his eyes, Han Xiao stepped forward to pick up the amber. He realized that there were no changes after examining it for a while.

“Seems like the Spacetime Splicing Technology has no effect on the amber.”

Having arrived at this conclusion, Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. This was good news to him.

Since even the Spacetime Splicing Technology could not crack this Space Wonder, it represented that the Spacetime Amber was still an unsolvable means. Even if the dynasty or other organizations obtained this technology, the spacetime amber in his hands still possessed an irreplaceable role.

Thinking about it, Han Xiao conducted a new experiment.

He spliced a normal machine before using the Spacetime Amber to encase it in order to determine if the effect of the Spacetime Splicing Technology would be effective.

The principle of the Spacetime Amber worked as a solidified piece of spacetime, and the machinery wreathed in it did not experience the side effects of the Spacetime Splicing, ignoring the correction force of the timeline.

But at the same time, the normal effect of the spacetime splicing would not take place.

However, after removing the restriction that was the Spacetime Amber, the machinery was still corrected by the timeline and was annihilated, releasing a huge amount of energy and almost exploding the warehouse.

In this case, this means that the Spacetime Amber can only temporarily isolate the object and not completely offset the side effects of the Spacetime Splicing Technology… so it can only serve as a coffin? Really suits its name ‘amber’, Han Xiao thought to himself as he brushed off the dust on his body.

There might be another way around it, such as starting the action of the Spacetime Splicing in advance, then sealing it. By borrowing the effects of the amber, I can first send it to the target location before unlocking the amber and activating the effect of the splicing… well, this is akin to a delayed detonation.

After thinking about it, Han Xiao felt that this was a promising direction to apply, and he would need more time to explore the various possibilities.

After testing a few more times to ensure that this was no fluke, he put away the Spacetime Splicer and took out his communicator, contacting the Commander of the Dynasty Exploration Army, Tarrokov.

When the call connected, his huge face appeared on the screen, with the background of a tactical conference room.

“Oh, Black Star, what’s the matter?”

“You’re in a meeting? I can call back later.”

“Just a regular update, it’s not as important as you. Just say what brings you here.”

Han Xiao smiled. “The enemy’s movements have been weird recently. I believe you have also discovered that, right?”

“Yes, the enemies seem to want to lure us deeper in. Do you have intelligence in this area?”

“Kind of. I sent some troops a while ago and broke into the enemy’s database. I found out that they intend to use the Scorched Earth tactics, planning to devour these star systems with the Primordial Psionic Energy to cause damage to the dynasty fleet. I have the coordinates of their buried energy as well as the movements of all their fleets.”

“Good job.” Tarrokov’s eyes lit up, and he felt relieved.

The majority of Beyond Grade As took a laid-back stance for this battle. Firstly, they had their pride and did not wish to stoop to bullying an indigenous civilization without Supers. Secondly, they were afraid that their opponents would throw out Primordial Psionic Energy bombs, thus they only sent their men to respond to the call to arms.

However, Black Star had personally gone into the battle. He was worthy of being the talent favored by the dynasty. Two words came to mind, ‘reliable’ and ‘steady’!

“I’ll forward the intelligence to you later. Don’t forget to give me my credit,” Han Xiao joked.

“Haha, rest assured, this credit will be recorded down for you.” Tarrokov was in a good mood, and he felt as though Han Xiao was extremely pleasing to his eyes, always bearing good news.

Han Xiao smiled before hanging up.

With [Perfect Mechanical Sense] and the Spacetime Splicing Technology at hand, he planned to end the war as soon as possible in order to resume the normal exploration work.

The other purpose for providing the information was to improve the evaluation of the Kunde Race War Mission Rating. Since all his other goals had been completed, he might as well help the dynasty finish its battles faster.

Because he did not intend to conceal the Spacetime Splicing Technology, Han Xiao did not hesitate, taking out all the intelligence and sending it directly.

…

Tarrokov was efficient and made arrangements immediately after receiving Han Xiao’s intelligence.

Several frontline troops were secretly sent to the coordinates shown by the intelligence to foil the enemy’s Scorched Earth plan.

In the intelligence given by Han Xiao, the coordinates and movements of all Kunde Race fleets were marked. This was equivalent to the dynasty gazing upon the battlefield without the fog of war, grasping the enemy’s every move.

The army no longer slowly proceeded in caution but purposefully dispersed and targeted the main fleets of the Kunde Race.

The Kunde Race did not yet realize that all their plans had been exposed and that they were under the gaze of the dynasty. At this time, they were still implementing their battle plans.

With Han Xiao’s help, the dynasty had saved countless soldiers, easily crushing the Kunde Race due to the overwhelming intelligence.

The balance between victory or defeat had been completely tilted toward the dynasty’s favor.

Chapter 978 - No Retrea

Han Xiao’s intelligence had torn apart the fog of war for the dynasty, and they swept across the entire Kunde Race territory in just a month.

Each army legion split their operations up, intercepting the Kunde Race main fleet at different coordinates, launching a fierce fight in the starry universe. The battleship fleet advanced as it swept across the galaxy.

Under the firepower of the dynasty, the Kunde Race was caught off guard, losing ground and a large number of their battleships.

In a certain Star System, a dynasty fleet was fighting against one of the Kunde Race fleets. The enemy was in a state of defeat, constantly being slaughtered mercilessly. Yet another battleship of the Kunde Race was shot through by a cannon and transformed into fireworks.

The enemy’s flagship had already been completely surrounded, with the weaponry of the countless dynasty battleships aimed on it. Once they made any movement, the dynasty would fire and destroy it. The reason they had not done so was because they wished to capture them alive.

A small spaceship flew out of the dynasty’s fleet, carrying the officers of the dynasty who were responsible for taking over the flagship.

The enemy withdrew their shield, as though indicating their surrender. The small spaceship thus approached smoothly and docked itself into the enemy’s flagship. The comparison was just like a sesame seed against a grape.

Whoosh!

The sound of the valves decompressing was heard, and the main door of the flagship overed, revealing a dynasty with pale skin. It was Gaud.

The aide-de-camps of the various dynasty officers all possessed certain functions. Some were used more as secretaries, while some aide-de-camps worked part-time during dangerous wars. Gaud belonged to the latter.

In front of them was a large group of Kunde Race soldiers, surrounding them completely as they tightly gripped their weapons, strongly signaling their readiness for battle.

Gaud swept them with a look before ignoring them, reaching out to adjust the universal translator in his ear before speaking.

“Who is the commander? Please come out.”

The Kunde troops immediately went into turmoil, and one of them, dressed smartly in uniform, stepped out. His tone was heavy. “Intruder, why do you understand our language?”

Both sides had been fighting from the start and had not exchanged any information. To this Kunde Race officer, this was the first time they had communicated with the other party, so they were surprised that he knew their language.

“It’s just an insignificant piece of technology.” Gaud’s tone remained calm.

The intelligence that Han Xiao had passed to the dynasty was the full package, even including their languages. Thus, the dynasty did not need to crack the nuances behind their languages. Rather, they simply imported the language into the universal translator for easy communication.

The Kunde Race Commander did not ask further, instead saying, “Please stop your killing of our comrades. We have already surrendered.”

“Ok. As long as you surrender and hand over the command to the fleet, we will stop attacking.”

“Good. Please follow me.”

The Kunde Race’s commander turned around, and his men left a path for him to walk through. Gaud eyed them, a ridiculing smile on the corners of his mouth as he strode to follow.

The entourage walked down the passages. Along the way, the atmosphere was oppressive, and no one made a sound.

After a period of walking, Gaud suddenly let out a snort as he leisurely said, “After bringing us on so many twists and turns, is your ambush ready yet? Don’t make me wait too long.”

Once this sentence was spoken, the commander in front halted in his footsteps, jerking his head back with shock flashing through his eyes.

Had they been exposed‽

But since he had discovered it, how could he remain so calm‽

While they had already been seen through, they had come too far to retreat now. The tone of the commander grew harsh as he snarled, “After wantonly massacring my troops, you still want me to surrender? Dream on! Let’s die together!”

His words had just been said when heavy trembling came from below them. As Gaud glanced down, he saw the alloy deck quickly swelling up, the seams breaking apart. A dazzling blue light shone through the cracks.

“To place the Primordial Psionic Energy onboard your own flagship, it seems like you’ve long decided to sacrifice yourself…”

Before Gaud could complete his sentence, a huge shock reverberated across the entire flagship.

Boom!

The next instant, the psionic energy blasted out, instantly swallowing the bodies of everyone present, including Gaud and the Kunde Race Commander as it filled up the entire area!

At the same time, the dynasty fleet stationed outside discovered the anomaly and saw the surrounded enemy flagship implode, turning into an expanding Primordial Psionic Energy sphere. The energy mass quickly approached the dynasty’s encirclement, and this was precisely the plan of the Kunde Race’s commander—detonate and bury the dynasty fleet with him!

Within the commanding flagship, the commander on the dynasty’s side coldly snorted.

“Indeed, they decided to do a suicidal attack. Psionic handling team, take action!”

Once the command was given, one of the spaceships detached from the dynasty fleet. From the head of the spaceship came out a circular device, which shook slightly and resonated, forming an invisible bubble that enveloped the entire psionic energy sphere. An obvious distortion could be seen within the space.

The dynasty had long made preparations for the self-detonation of the Psionic energy. This device was specially designed to deal with the pollution caused by the psionic energy. It would wrap up the entire psionic energy sphere, and the energy mass that had just formed was still considered small and easy to handle.

The expansion of the energy cluster immediately slowed down, and reverted, slowly contracting inward instead of expanding outward, continuously shrinking.

The entire process lasted for over 10 minutes, and the Primordial Psionic Energy cluster gradually shrank from the size of the flagship to a sphere with a diameter of two of three meters, and still continued to compress rapidly.

The most common way to control the psionic energy’s pollution was to use a special equipment to compress its volume, increasing its energy density until it turned into an energy seed, before stabilizing this energy. This method was considered relatively eco-friendly, with the least side effects, and the only issues was that it took a long time, and could not be used when the energy had expanded to a certain extent.

At this moment, a figure stepped out of the psionic energy cluster, which turned out to be Gaud. Not only was he unscathed, not even his hair style had gone out of place, and he even carried with him the Kunde Race commander who was still alive.

The entire flagship was engulfed by the Primordial Psionic Energy, and only the two of them were still alive.

“You, you…” The Kunde Race commander stared with wide eyes incredulously at Gaud.

He had already made the preparations to die with the enemy, but at this moment, he could not believe what his eyes were showing him.

Gaud only glanced at him, before knocking him out, and stretching out his hands toward the energy cluster.

Whoosh-

Misty traces of the psionic energy moving could be seen in the surroundings as the cluster turned into a small seed the size of a rice grain, shining with a bright blue light.

This was a freshly formed psionic energy seed, akin to a blue gemstone. It fell between Gaud’s fingers, dyeing his fingers and face with a bluish tint.

Despite holding an unstable energy source in his hand, Gaud had a calm expression on his face. He flipped his hand, taking out a spherical containment device before tucking in the energy seed.

He then gestured to the dynasty fleet, asking his colleagues to turn off the control device that was suppressing the Psionic energy cluster before returning to the commanding flagship with the Kunde Race commander to meet his superior.

“Good job, I’ll personally record this merit for you.”

The dynasty’s commanding general personally welcomed Gaud back and patted his shoulder. It was precisely because of this ability of Gaud’s that he had allowed Gaud to board the enemy’s flagship.

The Primordial Psionic Energy was an extremely domineering substance; even a Beyond Grade A would suffer if unprepared. But Esper Abilities had unlimited possibilities, and a rare few abilities allowed the user to survive within Primordial Psionic Energy.

Gaud’s ability was one of them, and the meaning behind it was extremely special.

Before Gaud appeared, the whole universe was speculating about the existence of such a Super High Risk Esper Ability, but there was never a case to prove their point. Gaud was probably the only case of an owner possessing a Super High Risk Esper Ability to be discovered since the ancient times, or at least his ability was the most similar to this Super High Risk Esper Ability.

On the surface, he was just a Super from the dynasty military who had just entered the Calamity Grade, but due to the special nature of his power, he had received a lot of attention from his superiors and had entered the list of key Supers under observation. The dynasty regarded him as a potential Beyond Grade A seed and had high hopes for him.

Hearing the praise, Gaud smiled lightly and recollected himself, standing by the side. His eyes were deep and unfathomable, and no one knew what he was thinking.

…

The dynasty started warring on multiple fronts, fully moving into battle.

The Kunde Race armies were defeated one after another, the dynasty’s sudden full-scale offensive disrupting their momentum.

“Everyone, we are losing this war.”

In the conference room of the Kunde Race flagship, the Kunde Race leader placed his palms on the table as he glanced coldly at the upper echelons present.

“Our defeat was expected, but this process has spiraled out of our control,” one of the senior officials said solemnly. “Our fleets, which were hiding in different positions, were all accurately attacked by the enemy, suffering heavy casualties. This is strange, as though the enemy seems to have knowledge of our coordinates.”

The battle strategy of the Kunde Race was to slowly lure the enemy deeper into their territory, bringing them into the hinterlands before using their main fleet to attack the stargate and cut off any paths of retreat of the enemy. They would then use the Scorched Earth plan to wipe the area of as many enemies as possible.

However, the precise attacks of the Crimson Dynasty had disrupted their battle strategies completely and made them wonder if their own intelligence had been leaked.

“There’s no way for us to judge now whether the enemy is utilizing special observation methods to locate our hidden main fleets or have stolen our internal intelligence. If it’s the former, it’s still ok, but if the latter situation has happened, our situation now is grim. The enemy likely has insight on our Scorched Earth plan, and they might even have grasped the coordinates of all our troops, including our location.” One of the officials had an uneasy tone as he spoke.

The Kunde Race leader said, “No matter what, we have to prepare for the worst case scenario. We have yet to properly master the quantum network technology in application, and the enemy’s technology is better than ours. We should first temporarily give up on this convenient communication technology.”

“But in that case, we’ll become even more passive…”

“Forget about it. Now that the big picture is already gone, it’s time for us to evacuate and pray for the Scorched Earth plan to take effect.” The leader spoke in a commanding tone. “The problem remains, does the enemy have any information about our Scorched Earth plan? If even that is exposed, we need a remedy.”

“How do we remedy this problem?”

“The troops implementing the Scorched Earth plan have been out for a long time. Even if the enemy has gained their coordinates, it will take some time to catch up. Thus, as long as we cut off the link between them and the headquarters, closing the quantum network, we will cut off all information exchanges with the outside world, so the enemy will lose sight of their coordinates.”

Hearing this, everyone could not help but nod.

This was a method to turn the troops involved in the plan into a blind and deaf ghost fleet.

“Since the enemy know of our plan, they will have prepared to deal with it,” someone said. “Even if they do not know the location of the Primordial Psionic Energy explosion, they can identify by observation and quickly manage it. In this manner, the effect will be greatly reduced.”

“That’s right. Our strategy could be considered, to a certain extent, to have failed.” The Kunde Race leader’s tone was decisive. “But we must leave as few resources as possible for the enemy. In any case, we must cause a certain degree of loss to the enemy.”

Among the upper echelons, no one objected.

Seeing that there were no objections, the leader then opened the virtual screen of the conference room, entering his own permissions before accessing a confidential interface that monitored the location and status of all Scorched Earth plan troops in real time.

At this point, the interface showed that all troops were rushing to their destination, proceeding as normal.

Confirming that the plan was still running as normal and had not been destroyed by the enemy, everyone was relieved. This was their last hope.

Everyone quickly connected to the representative of the Scorched Earth plan, and his figure soon appeared on the virtual screen.

“There is an order from the upper echelons. Change all psionic energy bomb locations and cut off the quantum network links. Close all channels of information completely, and only reconnect to report the results when you have changed all locations.”

“Understood.”

With a few instructions, the leader ended the call.

Less than a minute later, the real-time monitoring on the virtual screens slowly dimmed one by one as the links were disconnected.

Seeing this, one of the officials sighed. “While this is not the best solution, at least it’s more secure.”

The Kunde Race leader nodded. Surveying his surroundings, he spoke in a heavy tone.

“Since it has been properly deployed, we can start to evacuate. Remember to bring all the Super captives with us.”

As matters had reached this point, the Kunde Race decided to recall their troops and evacuate.

They had profited by catching a few Supers during their past few battles, and planned to experiment on them, so they were taking them back to study.

…

At the same time, within one of the borders of the Kunde Race territory, one of the fleets of the Scorched Earth plan was being attacked by the dynasty fleet.

The Kunde Race battleship was being boarded, and the dynasty Supers cleared the soldiers within the battleship.

The captain barricaded the command room, immediately sending communication requests to the headquarters again and again. However, all of them seemed to sink into the sea without any sort of movement.

“What’s going on? Why aren’t the upper echelons answering the emergency call‽” the captain screamed in exasperation.

At this moment, a cold beam pierced through the metal doors of the command room, penetrating the captain’s body.

Whoosh!

“Argh!” The captain screamed and fell, and blue blood spilled out.

A dynasty officer who was holding onto an alloy knife walked in, and glancing at the communication call on the virtual screen, he smiled and turned it off before looking at the unwilling captain’s eyes.

“Don’t waste your energy. You cannot contact anyone right now.”

Hearing this, the captain’s eyes grew wide. “Don’t tell me…”

Swoosh!

The knife swung, and a huge shrimp head flew up into the air. Blood splashed everywhere, forming a poor representation of some abstract art.

Sheathing his weapon, the officer turned away, not bothering to explain his plan to the enemy. This was one of the lessons all military personnel had to undergo.

In fact, Han Xiao had not just delivered intelligence to them but had pulled out all the stops. Since he had decided to help, he had conveniently handed over the loophole program that left him in control of the Kunde Race quantum network, to improve his task evaluation.

The entire command system of the Kunde Race was completely reduced to a plaything for the dynasty, where the latter could manipulate them as they liked.

All the pictures seen by the Kunde Race headquarters, including their communication targets, were illusions created by the dynasty.

The Kunde upper echelons thought that their troops had received all their orders, but in actual fact, nothing had gotten through to the soldiers on the battlefield.

The Kunde Race had already turned completely deaf and blind and mistakenly thought that the situation was proceeding according to plan. This was just an illusion that the dynasty had arranged. Since their system was paralyzed, the troops could not call for assistance and could only be slowly eaten by the dynasty.

Without the support of an interstellar society, the Kunde Race was akin to a crippled Star Cluster civilization. Their quantum network technology was bad and completely vulnerable to Han Xiao. If they were a true Star Cluster Civilization in the explored universe, Han Xiao would not have been able to gain control of their quantum network so easily.

Virtual Mechanics were originally considered a strategic weapon in the intelligence department, and Han Xiao stood at the peak of the Beyond Grade A level. Furthermore, with the recent addition of his [Perfect Mechanical Sense], his role in wartime far outstripped that of the other classes.

It was enough to let the enemy die without knowing how they died.

…

Within a starry sky far away, the migration fleet carrying all the civilians of the Kunde Race turned around without anyone sensing, returning along their original path.

There was no display on the star map, so everyone in the ship was unaware.

The dynasty did not have a habit of letting its enemies go and had already set up a web to capture them all.

The Kunde Race had practically no way to retreat.

Chapter 979 - Certainties and Uncertainties

At a certain place in the borderlands of the Kunde Race, the remainder of a Kunde Race fleet was slowly cruising through space.

Not long ago, this fleet with the code name of ‘Sea Flag’ had gone through a rough fight. They were attacked by a dynasty admiral’s fleet, which forced their command ship and guard ships to break away with their lives and escape with their tails tucked between their legs.

Currently, there were only twenty or so guard ships around the command ship. The rest were either eliminated or scattered somewhere else.

The Sea Flag fleet belonged to the Third Cosmic Army of the Kunde Race. The commander of their fleet was the renowned general of the third army, Oliert, who was praised to be the ‘Star of Tomorrow’. When the Marshal of the third army reached his retirement age a few years ago, Oliert was seen as the top candidate to take on the position of the Marshal.

However, due to the fact that the data of a destroyed ship was received a few years ago, the upper echelons made the decision to prepare for war. This led to the retirement of all army officials to be delayed, so this matter was put aside for the time being.

At this time, the Sea Flag fleet was moving in stealth mode while waiting for the next order from command.

Inside the bridge of the command ship, the atmosphere was grave and silent. Everyone was immersed in the pain and agony of losing the battle and losing their comrades.

Oliert stood before the most front porthole in silence, only showing his back to everyone in the room. The color of the carapace on his body was a mixture of sorrowful green and raging red.

In the battle earlier, almost everything he did was expected by the enemy commander. He was partially responsible for the loss of that battle.

Everyone knew that the commander was the one facing the most pressure, so none dared bother him.

After hesitating for a very long time, the aide-de-camp finally found the courage to walk to Oliert and said quietly, “Sir, we…”

“Say no more.” Oliert turned around as his body gradually turned into the color of calming blue. He then said slowly, “This was not just my personal failure but a failure on the level of civilization background. I did not lose to the opponent but the enemies’ entire civilization.”

Oliert knew that his talent as a commander was no match for the dynasty’s admiral, but he felt that this was not just the issue of individual ability and that the main difference came from the civilization backgrounds.

During the battle, he made the most detailed and careful decisions he had ever made in his life. To him, his performance this time could even be placed in the curriculum of military schools as a crucial case study. However, to his absolute shock, the response of the enemy was unbelievably quick. His plans were seen through almost instantly.

Meeting such an opponent was a heavy blow to his confidence as a commander.

This did not mean that Oliert was incompetent. In fact, he was already considered top-notch by the Kunde Race’s standards. On the surface, this situation happened because the ability of the dynasty admiral was far superior to his, but the deeper reason lay within the difference in civilization backgrounds.

The rise of the three Universal Civilizations was accompanied by the wails of countless races. As they experienced the flames of war, all the battles were recorded in the curriculum of their military schools. Therefore, no matter what situation their commanders faced, they were able to come up with the respective solutions almost instantly.

Comparatively, the Kunde Race had experienced way too few galactic wars. All the strategies they were using had been abandoned by the explored universe long ago for being too behind. This was what the difference between backgrounds meant.

After the battle, Oliert was pessimistic. He saw completely no way of winning even parts of the battle, and the continuous crumble of the various fleets right now was the best proof for that.

He was not the only one that felt this one; all the soldiers fighting on the frontlines basically had the same pessimistic view of this war.

They were furious that their home was coveted by the enemies, but they did not think that the sacrifices in this war were necessary. However, as soldiers, they had to follow the orders.

Oliert sighed in his mind, put these pessimistic emotions away, looked at the aide-de-camp, and asked in a deep voice, “Has an order from command arrived?”

“Er… It has just arrived. They’ve told us to standby and retrieve the scattered fleet, then rendezvous with the main fleet of the third army to plan for the attack on the enemy stargate.”

Oliert slammed the table and said with rage, “Bullsh*t! Why aren’t we retreating now? Have command lost their minds‽”

We were just defeated and forced to scatter. How can we stay in this dangerous area to recover the rest of the ships? Do they think that the enemies won’t chase after us‽

Furthermore, the main fleet is already in shambles, yet we’re being asked to rendezvous and attack the enemies’ stargate. This is basically asking us to commit suicide!

Many of the officers in the room felt that this strategy was problematic, but they did not dare speak. They all stared at Oliert and waited for the decision of their commander.

Oliert took a few steps back, suppressed his rage, and said, “Contact the Marshal. I’m going to ask him personally about what’s going on with this decision!”

The aide-de-camp nodded and immediately made the arrangements. A communication interface popped up on the virtual screen. After a few seconds, the other side picked up the communication, and the third army Marshal appeared on the screen.

“Oliert, I heard you were attacked. Glad to see you’re still alive.”

“Luck was part of the reason.” Oliert tried his best to speak as calmly as possible. “I have received the order from the command department. Are we planning to attack the enemies’ stargate?”

“Yes, that’s the order.”

“Don’t you think that’s problematic? The battle has already deviated from our initial plan. We shouldn’t linger now. It will only cause more meaningless sacrifices.”

“I know. I think it’s time to retreat, too, and I’m talking to the upper echelons. For now, let’s follow the order.”

Oliert became silent for a moment before ending the call.

The aide-de-camp asked cautiously, “Sir, what should we do now?”

Oliert glanced at him and suddenly said, “How many battleships do we have left?”

“Er, twenty-four.”

“Gather all the captains into the communication channel.”

As this order was executed, Oliert stood in place with hands behind his back and waited for a while. The images of the remaining captains then appeared one after another on the screen.

This time, Oliert made a hand sign and said slowly, “Remember what I’m going to say next. I’m only going to say it once…”

He then went on to say a ton of standard encouraging words and repeated the order of the command department, during which, he kept making several hand signs. All the captains stared at him very closely.

“Alright, that’s all. Let’s do it.”

Finally, Oliert placed his hands down and completed his speech.

The images of the captains disappeared on the screen one after another.

This time, the aide-de-camp who was looking at the other command screen suddenly said with shock, “Sir, all the captains have turned off their artificial intelligence cores and blocked all outside information. We can’t contact them anymore!”

Oliert, however, expected this. He nodded calmly and said, “Very good, go turn off the artificial intelligence core of our spaceship.”

The others were shocked to suddenly understand what was going on. They were in disbelief.

This means that… we’re going to be deserters‽

“Th-this…” The aide-de-camp was stunned.

Oliert glared at him and said with a stern tone, “What are you waiting for‽”

The aide-de-camp hesitated for a moment before making the arrangements. Very soon, the artificial intelligence core of the command ship was turned off.

This way, the remnants of this Sea Flag fleet became a ghost fleet that had lost contact completely to the outside world.

Only now did Oliert heave a sigh of relief. He looked at the others who were still lost and explained, “Sorry, this is all to be as cautious as possible. If I’m not wrong, our quantum network has already been completely infiltrated by the enemies.”

With these words said, everyone was shocked.

Oliert glanced around and said slowly, “I know the Marshal very well. He’s a stubborn soldier who would never question orders from the superiors. Although this is a difficult time and everything could change, we can’t ignore any suspicious behavior. I suspect that what I just spoke with was not the Marshal at all.

“The enemies have very likely infiltrated our command system. All of you are experienced, so I don’t have to emphasize the consequences of that. Therefore, the war is already over. I can’t possibly follow their orders anymore. The only thing we can do now is save ourselves. The hand signs I made earlier were a special code that very few people know. I told the captains to cut off all external connections. From now on, we have only ourselves to rely on.”

Everyone was completely stunned by these words and could not process this much information shortly. Their minds went blank.

The aide-de-camp clenched his teeth and said, “Sir, what we’re doing is making us deserters!”

Oliert was not insulted or furious at all. He calmly glanced at him and said, “This is a war that we’re destined to lose. No matter what you think, I will not send my troops to the battlefield to die. Deserters? Now, we might be… the last survivors of the Kunde Race.’

“Then, where should we go?”

“As far away from here as possible.”

Oliert looked outside the porthole into the depths of the galaxy.

…

“I think that there might be a problem with the route we’re taking.”

Inside an extremely narrow room on a spaceship, a few members of the Kunde Race in ordinary clothes gathered around.

This was one of the spaceships of the migrant fleet; everyone on board was civilians. Most people on the ship felt uneasy and lost about the future. The atmosphere was depressing.

Due to the high population, many civilians had to squeeze in one room on all the spaceships. Those in this room happened to be blood-related brothers.

“Big brother, what did you discover?” a short brother asked.

The buff and muscular elder brother among these brothers said with a deep voice, “I have a friend who’s a crew member on the guiding ship. He told me a piece of inside information. According to the schedule, the fleet should have arrived on one planet for a short rest. However, we did not come across any planets yesterday, and the fleet has been moving nonstop.”

“Could it be that they’ve changed the plan? How about asking your friend again?”

“I’ve been unable to contact him,” the elder brother said. “I think there’s something wrong.”

“Bro, could you be too sensitive? If something happened, the people above would have notified us.”

“I have a very bad feeling about this. I can’t quite describe it.” The elder brother shook his head.

“Hey, what’s the point of thinking so much. It’s not like we can do anything about it. Let’s just follow the arrangements of the fleet,” one of the brothers said casually.

This time, the youngest brother suddenly said, “Big brother is right. There’s something wrong with the route the fleet is taking. We’re going right back in the direction we came from.”

Everyone looked at him.

“Don’t speak nonsense. How did you realize that?”

The youngest brother pointed at the porthole, and everyone looked over. On it was a simple drawing of circles, from small ones to larger ones. This time, a planet outside the porthole had perfectly aligned with the circle in the middle.

Seeing this, the expression on everyone’s face changed.

Having lived in one room, they kept no secrets from each other. Some time ago, a planet had appeared outside the porthole, so the youngest brother had drawn the outline of the planet on the porthole, and he had been doing the same thing every day. The size of the circle changed every day from smaller to larger, then to smaller again, which represented how far away they were.

At this time, this planet’s outline perfectly aligned with the drawing from a few days ago, and everyone knew what this meant.

“I’ll go ask about it!”

Seeing this, the elder brother could no longer sit still. The rest hastily followed behind him.

They quickly passed by the crowded cabin that looked like a refugee camp, came to the middle cabin, found a few soldiers, and explained the situation.

“There’s something wrong with the route?” A soldier picked his ears and said impatiently, “That’s not something for you to worry about. What are you being so concerned for?”

“It’s true. I can show you the evidence. I…”

“Alright, alright.” This soldier waved his hand. “The guide ship has the star map. If we really have deviated from the route, it will definitely be adjusted immediately. Just go back and wait.”

Speechless, the elder brother had no choice but to lead the rest of his brothers back to their room and wait.

However, three days passed, and they looked at the drawing on the porthole every day, only to realize that the fleet was still going back in the direction they had come from. The route was not adjusted at all.

The elder brother tried to contact his friend who had given him the inside information every day and only was able to do so on the third day. However, his friend’s reply made him even more disheartened.

“We’ve deviated from the route? No, no, no, our star map shows that the route we’re taking is completely accurate… We didn’t run into the supply planet I spoke of? Oh, that’s an error made in the long-range observation, so the star map was a little inaccurate. I have already reflected this to those above, and our star map has been updated, so there’s no problem now… What drawings? Hmm, you guys are probably mistaken. That’s a new planet, not the one we saw earlier. Anyhow, the navigator here shows we have been advancing all this time.”

After turning off the communicator with a grave expression, the elder brother stayed silent for quite some time.

Suddenly, as if he finally had the resolve to make a decision, he said, “Do you trust me or the people above?”

The brothers exchanged looks with hesitation.

The youngest brother could not help but ask, “What do you want to do?”

“My bad feeling has become stronger and stronger. There’s definitely something wrong with this. Maybe the people above are sending us into the pit of fire.” The elder brother lowered his voice. “I don’t want to stay on the spaceship anymore. I’m planning to steal supplies and a lifesaving cabin for us to escape.”

“Have you lost your mind‽” Appalled, one of the brothers said, “That’s suicide! The fleet will definitely capture us. Even if we succeed, the supplies we steal will run out sooner or later. What are we going to do when we have no food and no fuel? Also, do you have a star map? Without a star map, how are we going to escape?”

“I can obtain the star map and the authorization for the lifesaving cabin from my friend. As for supplies… the medium lifesaving cabin has a full set of facilities. As long as we arrive on that planet, we can use the devices to refill the fuel, which will last us many years. Food-wise, we will need greenhouse incubators, crop seeds, and nutrition fluid makers, which can all be obtained on this ship. When the crops are being produced, we can rest in the cryogenic chambers,” the elder brother said quietly. “I’ve been thinking about an alternate plan for the past three days. This was not a sudden decision.”

The others still shook their heads.

Leaving the main fleet of their people to survive in the unknown universe with just a few of them?

This plan was too crazy to think about it!

“I’m going with you.” This time, the youngest brother stepped forward and shrugged. “You know me. I don’t like to be restricted by rules. Since we’ve left our home, I’m not planning to continue living a peaceful lifestyle of following what everyone else does. I want to explore the vast universe myself. You can say I like adventures, or you can say I love to seek excitement. No matter what, count me in.”

The elder brother nodded, looked at his other brothers, and said, “I know you all have concerns. The universe is way too big. With just a few of us, we will be facing the deepest loneliness and fears. Maybe I’ll be proven wrong in the end, but I’m not willing to sit and wait passively. I won’t force everyone to go with me.”

The second oldest brother hesitated for a while before saying, “Bro, I’ll go with you, too. You’re the person I trust the most. I trust your judgment.”

Seeing two of them making up their minds, more people were shaken.

One of the brothers shook his head with resignation and said, “Sigh, alright, let’s do it. From the moment we left our home, I already considered myself to be dead. What’s the worst that can happen with being more adventurous? We’re brothers; we can’t separate from each other.

These brothers had grown up together and were used to sticking together. After some hesitation, in the end, all of them agreed to the eldest brother’s plan. The amazing thing was after they had made up their mind, the hesitation and unease disappeared, replaced by incomparable excitement and anticipation.

“Big bro, I have a suggestion. We should at least bring one woman, right?”

Everyone burst out laughing. The heavy atmosphere disappeared, and the room was filled with a joyous spirit.

“That’s right. Not just one, we should bring a few more.”

“Haha, we might become a stray civilization in the future.”

…

For the days to come, these brothers used their own network and connections to quietly prepare for their plan. As the migration spaceships had a large number of daily supplies, they were able to find what they needed easily. The only question was—how were they going to obtain those supplies?

With courage, money, connections, and a little bit of luck, they used several methods to obtain most of the supplies they needed.

Very soon, the day to execute the plan came. It went smoother than they could have ever imagined. According to the intelligence they collected, they secretly entered the ejection point of lifesaving cabins and stepped into a medium lifesaving cabin. They then turned off the artificial intelligence core and switched it to manual control mode.

The eldest brother’s hand stopped above the eject button but did not press it instantly.

“Have you guys made up your mind? As soon as I press this button, there’s no going back. If we’re captured, we’ll become prisoners.”

“We’re not much different from prisoners now. We’re more like manual labor to the people above. It’s just that we’re given a different name as population resources. I have been wanting to get rid of this identity for a long time,” the youngest brother said with a carefree smile.

“Nonsense.” The eldest brother shook his head and chuckled before pressing hard on the button.

Whoosh!

The lifesaving cabin suddenly descended and was shot into the cosmic space.

As they left the spaceship, they subconsciously looked outside the porthole and were stunned.

What they saw was many lifesaving cabins also being shot out like fireworks from other spaceships of the migration fleet before leaving in different directions.

…

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

On the other side of the Kunde Race territory border, the core fleet that the Kunde Race command department was in came out from the stargate. They turned around and dismantled this stargate used for retreat.

“Alright, we have arrived at the target area. According to the coded order sent before, the surviving fleet will be gathering here.”

Inside the command department, the upper echelons of the Kunde Race gathered and browsed the message that they had received from the other fleets before they cut away their network connection.

“The Scorched Earth Team has sent their report. The psionic bombs in various places have been detonated successfully, and the plan is complete. The other fleets have also sent the report that they’re retreating toward the location we have designated. Hoo, the situation is still manageable.”

The Kunde Race leader heaved a sigh of relief.

Seeing this, everyone else was also feeling slightly better.

Things were finally going according to their plan.

As they were worried about their information being leaked, command did not dare maintain a long-term network connection. Therefore, they had given up live communication and did not even dare transmit orders the ordinary way, worrying that it would be intercepted by the enemies. The orders were all in special codes.

However, before they could catch their breath, the alarm suddenly rang!

“Attention, attention! Unknown large fleet discovered ahead!”

Everyone was stunned.

“How have we met a fleet here‽ Is there an ambush‽”

“See if it’s the enemies!”

The various upper echelons quickly executed the order. Within just a few seconds, the report came from the fleet captain.

“Everyone, we have already confirmed it. They’re not enemies but our own fleet.”

The upper echelons were immediately relieved. They almost had a heart attack.

“Phew, that scared me.”

“It should be teams who have received the order to rendezvous here arriving in advance, even quicker than us.”

At this time, the fleet captain spoke again with a weird tone.

“Guys, you have misunderstood me. They’re not our armed fleet but the migration fleet we sent away a long time ago. For some reason, they have all returned!”

The entire place became dead silent.

The upper echelons were stunned for a second before freaking out!

Chapter 980 - Settlemen

“Didn’t I get them to leave already? Why’d they appear here? Who asked them to come back‽”

The Kunde Race leader jumped up and flew into a rage.

The other upper echelons could only longer sit still and were filled with trepidation. The situation had already evolved out of their control.

The civilian fleet was the final hope of their Kunde Race and their weakness. They dared to wage a war in their homeland because they had sent all the members of their race away. Upon seeing the members of their race return, the upper echelons were flustered.

Buzz!

Right at this moment, a holographic screen appeared in the middle of the conference table, and a figure dressed in a military uniform appeared before them.

Everyone’s gaze was attracted by the figure, and they were in shock.

This figure cleared his throat and slowly said, “Let me introduce myself. I am Tarrokov, the Crimson Dynasty Marshal. I am the one fighting all of you.”

Upon seeing this scene, everyone present understood what was going on.

They originally thought that the enemy was only tapping into their communication channels, but it seemed as though it was not as simple as an intelligence leak. The enemy was actually able to initiate a call and probably controlled all of their networks.

This was the worst-case scenario, and everyone blanked out.

Tarrokov’s gaze swept past everyone present as he calmly said, “All of your intelligence has been grasped by my side, and we have already cut off all your communication with the outside world. All the intelligence reports that you have received during this period were forged by us. In truth, less than ten percent of your troops are still alive. They are as good as wiped out.

“Do not have any more fantasies. Your Scorched Earth plan has been seen through by us, and we completed our final attack a few days ago. You no longer have the strength to fight back.”

These words crushed the belief of all the upper echelons present, and they slouched back in their chairs in a daze.

“You, you…” The Kunde Race leader began trembling.

Tarrokov did not even blink. “On behalf of the Crimson Dynasty, I am initiating a final negotiation with all of you. Our long-distance psionic weapons have already locked onto your civilian fleets. I give all of you five minutes to consider. If you choose to fight back, your race will be wiped out. If you attempt to contact your civilian fleet, your race will be wiped out. If you cut off from the quantum network, your race will be wiped out. If you do not give us a reply in five minutes, your race will be wiped out. I will promise not to open fire if you choose to surrender and disarm yourselves.”

He spoke as though he was only going out for grocery shopping. Wiping out an entire race was something that an experienced commander like him had no qualms about doing.

The words were extremely bloody in the ears of the Kunde Race upper echelons.

The dynasty had secretly recalled these civilian fleets to dissolve the enemy’s battle intent. When the survival of their entire race was at stake, the enemy would definitely collapse. The dynasty had plenty of experience in this regard.

Compared to the exploration era, the three Universal Civilizations no longer massacred civilians. If not, they would not have given the other party a choice.

After saying those words, Tarrokov’s figure disappeared, and a countdown timer was shown on the screen.

“We’re finished!”

“We shouldn’t have started a war back then! Look what we’ve done!”

Upon seeing the timer countdown, many of the upper echelons fell into despair.

Many of them present had already considered such a scenario but still held onto a trace of hope in their hearts before this.

The upper echelons in the conference room had already lost their cool, and the conference room fell into chaos. The Kunde Race leader then said, “We no longer have any hope. Let’s surrender.”

“Now you know how to surrender? What were you doing before this‽” All the usually respectful upper echelons started cursing. “If it wasn’t for your stupidity and brashness, would we have fallen to such a state‽”

“That’s right! If we didn’t choose to fight but escape instead, we wouldn’t have been reduced to such a state!”

“That’s right. It is all thanks to your mistake! You are a sinner of our race!”

Looking at these upper echelons who usually fawned over him venting their anger, the Kunde Race leader let out a self-mocking laugh.

The one who chooses to escape will always be the smartest.

Not only did they have to give up their homeland to the invaders, they even had to run far away and not trouble their invaders. How generous.

Their entire race was forced to leave their homeland, and everyone was living in fear. If they chose to escape without fighting, the pride of their race would be destroyed, and it would be difficult to construct it again. If they had killed enough enemies or sacrificed sufficient soldiers, their race might have been able to come out from this loser mentality and face a common enemy. This way, there would have been a possibility of welcoming a golden era. It was a pity…

In the end, he chose to say nothing.

…

The war came to an end with the surrender of the Kunde Race. From the start to the end, it only took a short three to four months.

Compared to his previous life, the Crimson Dynasty ended this war in less than half the time.

The reason for this was because of Han Xiao’s contribution. The coordinates that he provided could reduce the effort that the dynasty had to put in to find the enemy’s main camp. Seizing the enemy’s quantum network resulted in a crushing defeat for the enemy. These two factors greatly sped up the process of the war.

In his previous life, the Kunde Race managed to create some trouble for the dynasty, but with Han Xiao’s help, the Kunde Race did not create any trouble. They were crushed under the dynasty’s might and did not even have the ability to fight back.

The dynasty then took over the Kunde Race’s remaining fleet.

Great Mechanic Han, who was slacking off far away, received a notification on his interface.

_____________________

[Flickering World – Kunde Race War] Mission Completed!

Mission Rating: Perfect

You have received 4,500,000,000 Experience, x4 Random Reward, +7500 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points, and 1 Legendary Point.

Star Cluster Legendary Point (Dust Light Star Cluster): Kunde Race War Contributor. You participated in the war with the Kunde Race and rendered huge merits.

The milestone [Civilization Destruction] is now activated.

Milestone Activation Requirements: Participate in three large scale galactic war missions related to the life and death of a civilization (Star System level and above) and aid your faction in defeating the enemy. Mission Rating cannot be less than ‘Excellent’. Current Progress: 1/3.

+30 Tarrokov Favorability, +5 Urranrell Favorability, +10 Teny Amenos Favorability…

Dungeon Creation: [Kunde Race War]

_____________________

“The war is finally over. Their efficiency is pretty high.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Although he did not personally participate in the war, the intelligence he provided gave him a ‘Perfect’ Mission Rating.

The rewards were not too bad either. Although it could not be compared to a Beyond Grade A boss mission, it was basically impossible for players to complete the Beyond Grade A challenge missions. 4,500,000,000 experience was also plentiful to the players in the later versions. Han Xiao would not be too picky with his food. In any case, he was only slacking off in his headquarters. The experience was like a freebie to him.

Receiving four Random Reward chances was also a good thing.

7,500 Dynasty Contribution Points was also a bountiful reward. The Kunde Race was a native civilization after all and did not pose much of a threat to the dynasty. Han Xiao felt that it was probably due to him sharing information about the Spacetime Splicing Technology with them.

Although he had already learned all the Ultimate Knowledge, the Contribution Points were still useful. He would be able to use them to obtain precious resources or military support. Furthermore, if he had a Beyond Grade A Super willing to remain in his army, he might have to exchange for the Ultimate Knowledge of other classes.

Ultimate Knowledge was guarded by the various advanced civilizations, and they usually would not allow Beyond Grade As to claim the Ultimate Knowledge of another class without a good reason. Making use of the Ultimate Knowledge to attract talent was akin to snatching business from the dynasty. As such, they dynasty would not agree to it, and the various Beyond Grade A allies also would not share Ultimate Knowledge with each other.

The only exception would be if they had a Beyond Grade A officer in their organization. Of course, this was a rare scenario. After all, most Beyond Grade As would not be willing to serve under someone else.

Han Xiao had some memories of the [Civilization Destruction] milestone. The civilizations above the Star System level were all protected by the Peace Treaty, and it was rare for a civilization to be wiped out. Only the players belonging to the various evil factions had a chance to trigger such a milestone.

The effects were not too bad. Wearing the [Civilization Destruction] milestone would increase his damage by six percent and his range by twenty-five percent.

However, the price to pay for obtaining such a milestone was also extremely high. He would need to participate or incite a life and death battle between Star System civilizations, and they were extremely rare. Furthermore, there would be a chance for him to become a wanted individual after the matter.

As part of the Lawful Faction, it would be even harder for him to obtain such a milestone. However, the benefit was that he would not become wanted.

Han Xiao was not too surprised that there was not a Political Asset reward. The Kunde Race was still lacking, and destroying them was not that important to the dynasty. However, he had managed to gain a series of favorability increases.

Apart from Tarrokov and the Ruler, all the various commanders including Teny had their favorability increased.

The dungeon formed was similar to the secret war and Germinal Organization dungeons; he would be able to form various different dungeons.

Because the Kunde Race was not too powerful, the dungeon created also would not be too difficult, but the reward would not be low.

After looking at his rewards, Han Xiao closed the interface and let out a long breath.

Spacetime Splicing Technology, Perfect Mechanical Sense, and the Mission Reward… my rewards this time were plentiful. The Kunde Race is the only obstacle, and the second exploration phase can go back on track after this…

Because of his interference, the outcome of the Kunde Race was changed.

In his previous life, the dynasty spent a long time finding the Kunde Race territory, which gave the Kunde Race enough time to move their civilian fleet. At the same time, the Kunde Race fleet also had sufficient preparation time and was not caught off guard like this time.

Understanding the map gave the Kunde Race a strategic advantage and the chance to analyze the dynasty’s battle tactics. As such, the Kunde Race was not kept in the dark when the dynasty infiltrated their main system but managed to put up a fight.

As such, the Crimson Dynasty did not choose to negotiate but wiped out the Kunde Race.

However, a portion of their civilian fleets were able to escape and were not caught by the dynasty.

What Han Xiao did not know was that the Kunde Race’s new homeland in his previous life was still within the Flickering World. After all, they did not understand what a Star Field was. The dynasty managed to discover the Kunde Race’s new homeland in the exploration process. The dynasty had already placed huge emphasis on the Spacetime Splicing Technology by that time. As such, the Kunde Race’s new homeland was reduced to dust, and they were secretly wiped out.

This time, destiny took a different path.

Han Xiao stroked his chin and entered the quantum network. He was prepared to see how the dynasty planned to deal with the Kunde Race.

…

In the Planet Lighthouse office, there were two figures. The one standing was Tarrokov, and the one seated was Urranrell’s long distance projection.

The dynasty now had to worry about how to deal with the Kunde Race. Should they kill them or rear them? The Ruler and upper echelons had to make such a decision.

Tarrokov was currently giving a report to Urranrell, and they were talking about the problem regarding the captives.

“… It will be seven days before the arrival of the captives. Your Excellency, how should we deal with them?”

Urranrell then stroked her chin and said, “The upper echelons have already discussed this matter. Some support the idea of pulling up the weeds by the roots while others feel that we should rear and educate them. We have not come to a final decision. Do you have any suggestions?”

“The battle went smoothly, and since the enemy chose to surrender, I don’t feel that there is a need to kill them unnecessarily,” Tarrokov said. “We can choose to let them stay on a few planets within the dynasty’s territory and keep a close watch over them. We shouldn’t allow them to enter the Galactic Society temporarily and educate a few generations.

“If the outcome is good, we can make them into a vassal civilization. At that time, we can let them into the Galactic Society.”

During war, he killed without any hesitation and would kill without even batting an eye. But outside of war, he was not a bloodthirsty individual.

“If this is the case, we will have to divide them out, and we need their leader to help us,” Urranrell said.

“Yes, I am preparing to interrogate their leader later. Right, we conducted a series of tests on the upper echelons of the Kunde Race and detected some oddities within their mental state. They seem to have been affected by a Psychic Current to enlarge the regions of their brain in charge of anger and rashness.”

Upon hearing that, a cold light flashed in Urranrell’s eyes.

“Ah, it’s the actions of those Star Cluster Civilizations again. They not only threw a bag of technological knowledge but also made use of a Psychic Current. If not, the other party might not have been so aggressive. Who was the one most affected by the Psychic Current? It should be their leader, right?”

“Wrong. The Kunde Race leader was the least affected.”

Urranrell shook her head with resignation. “That’s interesting. Is this something unique to their species?”

Beep beep.

Right at this moment, the communicator on the table rang. Tarrokov pressed a button, and his secretary’s voice could be heard.

“Chief commander, Black Star is on the line. Should I connect his long-distance projection?”

“Why is he here now?” Tarrokov muttered before shaking his head. “I am giving a report to the Ruler. Ask him to wait for a while.”

Right at this moment, Urranrell waved her hands. “It’s alright. Let him in. He isn’t an outsider.”

“… Alright then.”

Since the Ruler was willing, Tarrokov did not mind.

Very quickly, Han Xiao’s projection appeared in the room, and he immediately saw Urranrell.

“Your Excellency, you are also here.”

“Black Star, I heard of your contributions during this war. Good job.” Urranrell nodded.

“My contributions were negligible,” Han Xiao said humbly. “What are both of you talking about?”

“Nothing much. We are talking about how we should deal with the Kunde Race. A decision hasn’t been made yet…” Urranrell then repeated the conversation simply before asking, “Black Star, do you have any suggestions?”

“I don’t have any opinions. I am also here to ask the dynasty about how they plan to deal with this matter.” Han Xiao raised his brow.

“Not having opinions is also a type of opinion.” Urranrell then did not say anything.

She then looked at Tarrokov and got him to continue the report.

After listening to the report, Urranrell praised both of them before going offline.

After sending the Ruler away, Tarrokov looked at Han Xiao with a smile.

“I am going to interrogate the Kunde Race upper echelons. Do you want to join me?”

“Er, I am actually very busy.” Han Xiao stroked his chin and said with a joking voice, “But since you invited me, I shall reluctantly go with you.”

Perhaps he could trigger a special mission like with the DarkStar leader.

Chapter 981 - Interrogation and Wish

All the divisions were gathered to form a massive fleet to escort all the Kunde Race spaceships over to Planet Lighthouse.

The dynasty’s fleet was in the periphery with the thousands of Kunde Race spaceships surrounded.

Their weapons had already been disarmed, and the energy cores were restricted to only allow the spaceships to fly. The entire fleet had lost the ability to fight back and was under the control of the dynasty. The spaceships of the Kunde Race fleet had already been transformed into a prison.

The main flagship of the Kunde Race fleet was the most heavily modified with the cabins of the spaceship being modified into jail rooms.

The command room was taken over by the dynasty soldiers, and two projections appeared in the command room. They were Tarrokov and Han Xiao.

“Paying our respects to the chief commander.”

The moment both of them came online, the sound of the soldiers greeting their commander could be heard.

Tarrokov had already given notice of his visit, and the soldiers were waiting for him.

The various commanders of the different divisions were there with their aide-de-camps in the form of a long distance projection.

“It has been tough on everyone.” Tarrokov smiled with a friendly attitude.

These young elite commanders would be the future stars of the dynasty, and Tarrokov was truly gratified at the sight of the talents before him.

As Han Xiao looked at the commanders present, he could not help but be slightly startled.

Woah, they’re all bigshots!

A group of future commanders and bigshots were standing before him as though it was an inspection parade.

Because he knew the future identities of these commanders, Han Xiao found the scene to be a memorable one and almost wanted to take a picture of it.

“Your Excellency Black Star, you’re also here.” Teny was also within the group, and he greeted Han Xiao with a smile on his face.

“We meet again.” Han Xiao nodded, and upon seeing the other commanders look over, he said, “I congratulate all of you for winning the war. Having such talented commanders is the honor of the dynasty.”

The effect of an AOE flattery was not too bad at all!

Even though he was only an ally of the dynasty, his status exceeded these young elites who had yet to reach the height of their careers.

Everyone liked to listen to nice words, and everyone revealed a smile upon hearing Black Star’s praise.

“Your Excellency Black Star was the true cornerstone of our victory by providing key intelligence.”

“We only performed some manual labor. Your Excellency Black Star’s contribution is the main reason for us winning the war.”

Some of the commanders present immediately responded politely. Of course, there were a few commanders who did not say a thing but only nodded with respect.

Han Xiao replied with a smile, but his gaze was suddenly fixed on Gaud.

“Eh, you are…”

Han Xiao squinted and realized that he did not recognize the person before him.

Upon seeing that, Gaud smiled and took the initiative to say, “I have long heard of your great name, Your Excellency Black Star.”

“This is Gaud, one of the Supers that the dynasty is grooming. I heard that he survived a Primordial Psionic Energy explosion and is extremely outstanding.” Tarrokov laughed and made the introduction.

“Hello Gaud.”

Han Xiao then continued greeting the other commanders while secretly entering the quantum network to check on Gaud’s records.

Checking a person’s background was something that he was used to doing.

With his current status, checking the information of some commanders would not be a problem.

The next moment, Gaud’s resume appeared before him, and the resume seemed extremely simple without a problem.

However, when he wanted to view more detailed information, a notification popped up and warned him about a lack of clearance.

“I can’t see it? It seems like they truly place great importance on him.”

Han Xiao would not bother breaking through the firewall of the dynasty for no good reason to invoke their dissatisfaction.

Tarrokov said that Gaud was a Super that the dynasty was grooming. The dynasty would only groom two different kinds of Supers—those with a special ability or superior potential. This fellow was only a Calamity Grade Super at most, and since he was able to survive in the Primordial Psionic Energy explosion, he should belong to the first group.

In his previous life, the Great Mechanic Han belonged to the Crimson Dynasty faction and was extremely familiar with the various bigshots of the dynasty. If Gaud was truly a Super groomed by the dynasty, he should have some impression of the other party.

However, he could be sure that he had never heard of such a character before, and he did not have any memory of Gaud. There was not such a character in his previous life.

Has the storyline been changed again? Han Xiao thought to himself. I wonder where this new guy came from.

Although he was in doubt, he did not find the matter too strange.

After doing so many things, he should have already caused the butterfly effect, and it would not be strange for a few new characters to show up.

Not to mention the others, even the current manager of the Germinal Financial Group, Iapetus, was a leek that he had dug up.

Upon looking at Han Xiao’s suave appearance, Gaud’s lips curled up slightly.

“Your Excellency Black Star, perhaps we may become comrades in the future.”

Han Xiao snapped out of his thoughts. “Are we not comrades now?”

“Ah, you understand what I mean,” Gaud said with a calm smile.

“… How ambitious, I shall wait for you then.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

Does he mean that he will become a Beyond Grade A like me? This fellow is pretty confident.

He then committed Gaud to his memory before shifting his gaze away.

After chatting with the others casually, he brought out his universal ‘I will treat you to a meal next time’ ending phrase, and the various commanders went offline.

Only Han Xiao and Tarrokov were left behind, and they continued to patrol the entire spaceship under the guide of the soldiers.

The Kunde Race civilians were all held in the same place while the upper echelons were locked up separately. Han Xiao first patrolled the civilian region with Tarrokov.

It was just like a refugee camp.

Countless Kunde Race civilians were gathered together with fear and unease in their eyes.

Before the start of the war, many of them were unwilling to leave and felt that the enemy was only imaginary.

But now, the civilians were filled with fear in their hearts. They were like prey awaiting the descent of the butcher’s knife.

Before this, they were the race ruling over the entire Star Cluster. However, they were now reduced to captives.

After patrolling the civilian district, both of them went to the district where the upper echelons were locked up. They stood outside the interrogation room of the Kunde Race leader and looked at the other party through the window.

Although he was already a captive, the Kunde Race leader still stood up straight and maintained his cool. His eyes were currently shut in meditation.

“I will just listen by the side when you are interrogating him,” Han Xiao said to Tarrokov.

The main interrogator was Tarrokov; he was only there to watch. Besides, the Kunde Race leader probably would not recognize him.

Tarrokov then nodded and said to the soldier beside him, “Open the door.”

…

In the interrogation room, the Kunde Race leader was seated down and trying his best to sit up straight.

He was not as calm as he looked, but he needed to maintain his cool. In his eyes, he was the final representative of the Kunde Race.

Swoosh!

The door opened, and the Kunde Race leader opened his eyes to watch two figures walk in.

One of them was the military commander Tarrokov, whom he had seen before, and the other was extremely foreign to him. He was dressed in a black windbreaker and looked like a bigshot.

“This is the second time that we have met,” Tarrokov said with a poker face. “Our party has already fulfilled our side of the promise and didn’t massacre your race. You now have to tell me everything that you know, including your thoughts and logic when deciding to attack us, the reason for your attack, and everything related to this attack. Remember that your answer will determine our attitude toward how we choose to deal with you. You’d better not hide anything, or the one to regret it definitely won’t be me.”

Virtual Technology could steal information for them, but they would not be able to understand the other party’s thought process through it. This was the main point of their interrogation today.

The Kunde Race leader knew that it was only a matter of time before he was interrogated and did not dare hide anything. At the same time, he did not have any intention of hiding anything and said everything that he knew with a heavy heart.

Upon hearing the other party narrate his story, Tarrokov typed out a report. From time to time, Han Xiao looked over and saw a few negative terms such as ‘xenophobic ideology’, ‘native arrogance’, ‘vengeful culture’, and ‘unsuitable for living together’.

These aren’t good terms… Han Xiao blinked.

This interrogation report would definitely affect the decision of the dynasty, and these words were dangerous.

After a while, the Kunde Race leader finally finished what he had to say.

“Your existence would take away our room for growth, and we are thus willing to find a new homeland that won’t be disturbed. We aren’t willing to live together with all of you as it will only limit our growth and development.”

Upon hearing that, Tarrokov nodded and said without hiding anything, “You are right. We will never allow you to rise up.”

None of them were saints, and the Crimson Dynasty did not explore the Flickering World so that they can live harmoniously with the natives. They were not planning to let the natives develop and only planned to give them some space to survive.

For most of the natives, it was not a bad thing. The three Universal Civilizations would educate them, and they would receive advanced technological knowledge. However, to the Kunde Race, which had a certain scale, it was a calamity.

The three Universal Civilizations were not interested in having more civilizations eyeing their positions and would definitely restrict their growth.

The Crimson Dynasty did not hate the actions of the Kunde Race. After all, that gave them the best excuse to subdue the other party with military might.

“However,” Tarrokov added, “I think that you understand that the spaceship wreckage that you obtained was provided by one of our competitors. They were only making use of you to deal with us.

“They armed you with technology to strengthen your military but fed you false information about the dynasty. They did not tell you the strength of the Crimson Dynasty, which made you think that you had the strength to retaliate.

“The spaceship wreckage was like a poisonous fruit. The technological skill was the sweetness of the fruit that hid a deadly poison.

“As such, all of you thought that the psionic energy, hyperdrive, stargate technology that you received would fill up the gap between both parties. You thought that you had received the weapons that we had. However, the truth is that our weapons are generations ahead of the ones that you received.

“You have already seen the outcome. We had the chance to live together. Although you would have lost the opportunity to develop, you would have retained your independence. At times, losing something may not be a bad choice.”

Upon hearing that, the Kunde Race leader shook his head and said, “Doing nothing as we watch our road to development get blocked isn’t the style of the Kunde Race. We would rather take a gamble.”

“Well said. A civilization without ambition has no future. I can understand your actions.” Tarrokov nodded with agreement before saying, “However, your only mistake was that you chose the wrong opponent.”

The Kunde Race leader then lowered his head.

He did not regret his choice, but he was still filled with hatred.

However, he did not hate the Crimson Dynasty the most but the masterminds who had made use of them!

They were the true people who had caused their destruction!

“Alright, we shall stop here today. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Tarrokov then stood up and was prepared to leave the interrogation room.

“Wait a moment!” the Kunde Race leader suddenly said. “You guys won’t wipe us out but plan to rear us, right?”

“There is such a possibility. However, we will not follow your actions and limit your intelligence. We will only educate your race with our culture.”

The Kunde Race nodded with understanding and took a deep breath. “So… I will have to die for sure, right?”

Tarrokov paused for a moment and chose not to hide the truth. “You will become the target for your race to vent their anger and go down as a lesson in history. You will be the best tool.”

Han Xiao shook his head upon hearing that.

These people liked to speak in riddles. Thankfully, he understood what they said.

If the dynasty wanted to educate the Kunde Race, they needed to choose a puppet leader. However, this puppet leader definitely would not be the current leader.

This Kunde Race leader would be treated as a puppet to put on a show.

The end of this show would definitely end in his execution.

“I understand. There needs to be someone to shoulder the blame, and I don’t mind leaving behind a name of shame.” The Kunde Race leader was already prepared to die. “I can work together with all of you to put on a show, but I have two requests… Don’t look at me like that. I know that I do not have the right to bargain, but I can only say these words to you. You can just treat it as a wish of mine.”

“… then please speak.”

“First, we have already surrendered, and it won’t matter if you kill me. I hope that you will take care of my race and not kill anyone else. Second…” The body of the Kunde Race leader suddenly began trembling, and he said with a malevolent voice, “I want the people who made use of us to pay the price!”

Tarrokov then walked out as though he did not hear anything.

Upon seeing that, the Kunde Race leader lowered his head silently.

He knew that the other party would not accept his request, but this might be the last time he could say such words.

Right at this moment, a black figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

The Kunde Race leader looked up, and it was the black figure who had not said a word since he entered.

The words he heard then shocked him.

“I agree to your request.”

The Kunde Race leader was shocked.

Tarrokov paused and looked back with a puzzled look.

Han Xiao continued with a calm expression.

“I will write a petition to the dynasty for the members of your race to be placed in my territory. As for making the masterminds pay, it isn’t a difficult matter.”

He would not do this if there were no benefits for him. When the Kunde Race leader said his final wish, a new mission had popped up on his interface.

Upon seeing the Mission Requirements and reward, he decided that he had to accept this mission!

“Who are you‽”

Upon hearing that, the Kunde Race leader finally could not help but ask about Han Xiao’s identity.

“You can call me Black Star. As for who I am… you just need to know one thing.”

Han Xiao smiled.

“I am someone who can get rid of your entire race single-handedly.”

Chapter 982 - Proof of Leadership

“You…” The Kunde Race leader was stunned as he looked at Han Xiao.

You would be able to get rid of my entire race alone? This was the first time he had heard such a tyrannical introduction.

Just what kind of a background did this stranger have‽

His reaction was disbelief, but he quickly remembered that the other party came from an advanced civilization that had Supers. Everything was possible, and he had to throw away his old-fashioned thoughts.

He did not understand Han Xiao’s identity in the dynasty, but since the other party dared to say something like this, he was definitely a bigshot!

Thinking about it this way, this self-introduction of his was truly fantastic. Han Xiao immediately got the other party to understand his identity.

Why would a bigshot that he had never met agree to his final request?

Why‽

Was it pity?

Or was the other party only pretending to agree to ensure that he played along?

He was filled with doubts.

When he first raised the request, he did not have much hope and never expected the other party to truly agree.

All of a sudden, the Kunde Race leader was filled with disbelief and did not know what to say.

“Are you worried that I am joking?” Han Xiao looked at the Kunde Race leader. “There isn’t a point for me to lie to you. Since I promised you, I will definitely complete my promise.”

The Kunde Race leader then could not help but ask, “Why do you want to help me?”

“Good question.” Han Xiao chuckled. “I am a person full of care and concern. I enjoy helping others and am a benevolent individual. Just treat it as me pitying the Kunde Race. This matter isn’t a big deal to me.”

By the side, Tarrokov’s face twitched slightly.

Brother, can you be less shameless?

You have at least half the responsibility for the defeat of the Kunde Race! You are making it sound as though we are the evil ones!

His skin is probably thick enough to tank a psionic cannon… Oh, it seems as though it really is possible.

Tarrokov cursed in his heart while the Kunde Race leader was extremely moved.

It was as though he had come to the end of the road and descended into pitch black darkness. However, a sudden ray of light came into the world, and a helping hand was extended to him.

“Thank you…” The Kunde Race leader clenched his fists and said with agitation, “It is a blessing to have met someone like you at the end of my life. It is a pity that I don’t have anything to pay you back with.”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I don’t need any payment.” Han Xiao chuckled and could not even believe his own words.

Upon hearing that, the Kunde Race leader was even more moved.

This individual called Black Star was truly the best person in the universe!

Pa!

Tarrokov face palmed and was completely speechless.

The scene before him was truly too ridiculous.

The other party is responsible for your race’s defeat, but you are still full of gratitude toward him‽

I am truly resigned. After committing murder, you are actually able to let the victims be grateful toward you.

At this moment, Tarrokov came to a conclusion.

Black Star is indeed perverse.

I’d better stay far away from him. I am going to retire soon. I don’t want to be led astray by him.

Han Xiao chuckled and left the room together with Tarrokov.

Walking out of the room, Tarrokov turned around and asked with doubt, “Black Star, why did you agree to him?”

He truly never expected this to happen. He originally thought that Black Star was only there to kill time but never expected the other party to do something like this. He also could not understand Black Star’s motives.

Han Xiao then waved his arms and said, “I am in a good mood and wish to be a good person.”

“So, you weren’t teasing him just now?”

“Of course not. I am being very serious. Wait a moment, are you misunderstanding something?”

Ignoring Han Xiao’s words, Tarrokov began to frown.

“But didn’t you just say that you won’t interfere in the way the dynasty deals with the Kunde Race? Are you trying to say that you are prepared to change your attitude and support keeping these captives?”

“Ha, there are no constants in the universe. Can’t I change my mind?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Alright.” Tarrokov nodded. “I will convey your wishes to the Ruler. As for whether your face is useful, that isn’t something that I can consider.”

“This is enough.” Han Xiao smiled.

At this moment, Tarrokov looked around and suddenly said in a hushed tone, “Tell me the truth. What is your intention?”

“Hmm? Didn’t I say that it was because I am in a good mood?”

“Ah.” Tarrokov had a ‘don’t try to bluff me’ look on his face.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao shook his head with resignation and said, “Alright then, I shall be honest. The population of the Kunde Race is at the level of a Star Cluster. Although it will take a long time to educate them, their population will be a treasure chest after the education. If I can arrange for them to stay in my territory, they will be my manpower for the future. The dynasty doesn’t need the population of the Kunde Race, but it is an opportunity for my development.”

Upon hearing that, Tarrokov revealed a smile that said, ‘I knew it!’

That’s right, this is the Black Star that I know. How could he possibly have such a good heart?

You truly live up to your reputation.

After thinking for a while, Tarrokov felt that Han Xiao’s plan was not bad. If the dynasty wanted to keep the Kunde Race, they would have to think about where they should arrange for the race to stay. The size of the population would be an important resource, and many allies would eye on this piece of meat. The way he saw it, Black Star was only asking beforehand.

As for agreeing to his so-called wish, he understood Han Xiao too well and felt that it was probably no more than an excuse.

Han Xiao took a peek at his interface while Tarrokov was in thought.

_____________________

You have triggered the mission [Kunde Race Leader’s Last Wish].

Mission Introduction: The Kunde Race lost in the war, and their entire race is now the captives of the dynasty with their future unknown. The Kunde Race leader is prepared to die and has told you his final wish.

Mission Requirements: 1. Settle the Kunde Race down and provide them with protection during the education period. 2. Take revenge against the mastermind that made use of the Kunde Race to deal with the Crimson Dynasty.

Failure Condition: Population of the Kunde Race less than 80% of the population at the start.

Complete the first requirement. Reward: 6,000,000,000 Experience, +10,000 Kunde Race Favorability (Current Favorability: -1500, Relationship: [Hatred]), 2 Random Rewards, +4 Political Assets (Kunde Race)

Kunde Race will enter into the [Awakening Era], +10% chance of becoming a Super.

Complete the second requirement. Reward: 12,000,000,000 Experience, +15,000 Kunde Race Favorability, 1 Designated Character Summon Card, talent [The Enemy], talent [Proof of Leadership], and special skill [Kunde Rage].

[The Enemy]: The greater the loss of your health, the higher your damage. Maximum bonus 25%. Effects will be refreshed after leaving combat state. You can use summoned creatures and machinery during the effect.

[Proof of Leadership]: You will receive an all-round bonus when you are the leader of a race. The bonus will be dependent on the size and level of the faction. No upper limit.

[Kunde Rage]: After activating the skill, -5% health/s for a maximum of 40s. x2.0 Psychological Resistance, +5% damage, -5% Intelligence, -20% Charisma, -10% Luck. You will also be immune to all mental status effects apart from [Rage]. Cooldown: 5 min. Let rage fill your head!

_____________________

The instant Han Xiao saw the mission, he knew that he had to do this mission. The rewards were truly out of his expectations and a huge surprise!

It was far too plentiful!

Han Xiao remained expressionless but was truly overjoyed in his heart.

Although the Kunde Race leader was not a Super, he was the leader of a Star Cluster Civilization and thus could give extremely good rewards.

The experience and Random Reward for the first mission requirement were pretty normal. Han Xiao only placed a huge emphasis on the Political Asset reward. Apart from obtaining experience more efficiently, it would also give him a bigger say in the Kunde Race.

The dynasty wanted to make the Kunde Race into a vassal. But even if they were weakened, they still had the foundation of a Star Cluster Civilization.

The excuse Han Xiao gave Tarrokov was not false. If the Kunde Race remained in his territory, the benefits from their large population size was not something to underestimate.

After completing the mission, the Kunde Race would enter a new generation. There would be an increase in the chance of them becoming a Super. While ten percent did not seem like much, ten percent of a few billion was no small amount. Furthermore, it also gave him a large amount of Favorability with the Kunde Race, and his relationship with them would be increased to [Reverence] directly. This meant that the Kunde Race would be his strength to a certain extent.

However, most of the Grade S mission introductions were pretty simple. The first mission only said that he had to provide protection but did not mention when it would be completed. Han Xiao estimated that his mission would only end when the dynasty unsealed the Kunde Race. Thus, the mission would probably take a long time to complete.

The second mission, however, would be different.

According to the request of the Kunde Race leader, his target was to take revenge on the masterminds behind the scene.

The rewards for the second mission requirement were what made Han Xiao take the mission.

Not to mention a designated Character Summon Card, he would still be able to obtain three abilities.

[The Enemy] was a practical talent and suitable for him.

To a normal individual, by the time he accumulated enough damage to reach the upper limit of the talent, he would probably be left with a sliver of health.

However, Han Xiao would be able to easily recover his health, and this twenty-five percent additional damage was like a cookie that dropped down from the sky!

Furthermore, it would also be effective with summoned creatures and machinery. This meant that the damage of his entire mechanical army would be increased!

[Proof of Leadership] was the most powerful of the three abilities and had great fame among the players in his previous life.

Players could also obtain this ability!

Only the leader of a faction would be able to activate the effects of this talent, and it was similar to a Molding Talent. Players could also form their own armed organizations and hire NPCs.

In the future versions, the players would definitely have a fixed channel to obtain the [Proof of Leadership] talent. In order to activate the talent, a large number of players would form their own factions, and it would be the start of a new era.

The bonus of the talent was determined by the size of the faction. To the players without any fame or money, this talent was completely useless. However, the workshops and guilds were able to fully utilize the benefits of this talent.

In his previous life, as a lone wolf, Han Xiao had never activated the [Proof of Leadership] talent. However, he was extremely clear about just how powerful the [Proof of Leadership] can be!

“If I am able to obtain this talent now, the effects will be unimaginable!”

Han Xiao was truly excited. He was extremely passionate about the abilities that could increase his strength.

The final skill, [Kunde Rage], also made his eyes light up.

Double Psychological Resistance was extremely powerful!

Han Xiao’s Psychological Resistance had always been his weakness, and he was interested in any skill that could increase his Psychological Resistance.

Furthermore, it would also allow him to be immune to all negative mental statuses during a short period of time. It was almost akin to a skill that would give him immunity to all mental control abilities.

The skill required him to exhaust his health, and it required five percent of his health every second. His health would run out in twenty seconds, and this skill can only be maintained for forty seconds maximum. Most people would only be able to activate this skill for a few seconds.

However, Han Xiao’s recovery was overpowered, and he would be able to recover ten percent of his health every second. Activating it for a full forty seconds would not be a problem.

The only thing that Han Xiao did not understand was the name of the skill.

Since you’re angry, shouldn’t your attack be increased? Why would your resistance be increased instead?

In any case, these three abilities are very useful. As long as I can complete the mission, my strength will be greatly increased. Especially [Proof of Leadership]. It is best for me to obtain it as quickly as possible.

The second mission requirement was for him to take revenge on the mastermind. However, the mission did not explain what was considered revenge. He would have to figure that out on his own. In that regard, it was similar to Godora’s [Bloodline] mission.

However, the mission rewards were truly tempting, and Han Xiao would try his best to complete it.

Han Xiao was extremely satisfied with the unexpected reward.

…

After deactivating his long-distance projection, Tarrokov immediately gave a report to Urranrell. He sent over a record of the interrogation and Han Xiao’s previous actions.

“You are saying that Black Star decided to change his mind after observing the captive? He feels that we should educate them instead?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…” Urranrell fell into deep thought. “What’s the reason?”

“He said that it is for their population…” Tarrokov then briefly explained what Han Xiao had said.

Urranrell then nodded and said, “Since it is the opinion of our ally, we will have to consider it carefully.”

Black Star’s value was much higher than the defeated Kunde Race. After all, a National Pillar was not common, but there were plenty of vassal civilizations.

On top of that, Black Star contributed greatly in this war, and his opinion was highly regarded by the dynasty.

In truth, dealing with the Kunde Race was an ordinary matter to the dynasty, and it was not of great importance. Placing them in the territory of the Black Star Army was not an issue. It would not only increase the population of their ally’s territory, and their ally would also be able to help look after the Kunde Race.

However, Black Star was not their only ally, and they had to balance the various opinions before deciding whether to give this piece of meat to Black Star.

As for dealing with the mastermind, the Kunde Race leader was not the only one who wanted to do so. The dynasty also had such intentions.

Although their opponent was the Kunde Race, the Star Cluster Civilization that had thrown out the bag of technology was the true culprit, and the dynasty did not plan to let the culprit go.

Furthermore, the exploration of the Flickering World had not been completed yet, and if they incited a few more native civilizations to create trouble, it would impede the dynasty’s progress greatly.

As such, it would be impossible for the dynasty to allow the people creating trouble to get off scot free.

Han Xiao’s intention was in line with the dynasty’s plans.

“If that’s the case, we should investigate which organization threw the spaceship into the Kunde Race.”

A cold glint could be seen in Urranrell’s eyes.

Chapter 983 - Mastermind

The Kunde Race war happened in the Flickering World, and the dynasty kept the process of the war confidential. As such, this matter did not create a huge storm in the explored universe, with few paying attention to it.

Only a few special organizations had paid close attention to the war.

In the Primeval Star River, Planet Three Kings was an iconic planet and the capital planet of the Modo Civilization.

Modo Civilization was also known as the Modo Three Kings Alliance, and they were in charge of one of the four Super Star Cluster Civilizations in the Primeval Star River.

The Three Kings Alliance referred to the political situation in the Modo Civilization.

During the exploration era, the ruler of the Modo Civilization was a member of the Modo Race. The Modo Race attempted to swallow two other powerful civilizations during the exploration era, but they did not have sufficient strength to swallow up the enemy.

As the war dragged on, there were many parties eyeing the three civilizations. As such, the three civilizations could only choose to ceasefire and negotiate. The most powerful Modo Race did not need to return all the territory that they conquered. The borders of the three civilizations became joint. As trade returned to normal, the three races began mixing with each other and showed signs of merging.

After that, the war in the exploration era became even more terrifying. The Modo Race and their two old opponents felt threatened by their opponents. Since the three of their territories were near each other, they covered each other’s back, and after a long period of working together, they decided to form an alliance to survive.

As the flames of war expanded and time went on, the three parties gradually expanded and their territory, technology, economy, and military gradually reached the level of a Star Cluster. During the long period of the war, the signs of the three races merging together grew even more obvious with political marriages being held among the upper echelons.

If things went on normally, the three civilizations might have ended up like the three Universal Civilizations and schemed against each other. However, they were not the winners of the exploration era and could only listen to the rules of the three Universal Civilizations.

After the war, it was time to split up the benefits of the war. The various advanced civilizations finally established proper laws, and every advanced civilization became extremely active in foreign diplomacy to solidify their position.

At that time, there were three Super Star Cluster Civilizations that were the most powerful. The Modo Civilization and the other two parties were only Star Cluster civilizations and did not have the rights to manage the Star Field.

Since the three parties already had plenty of marriages with each other and were almost like a big family, they decided to just merge together so that they could become a Super Star Cluster Civilization and obtain greater rights.

It was extremely rare to see the merger of civilizations, but there were a few examples in the exploration era.

There needed to be a foundation behind the merger, and the three civilizations had sufficient foundations. The three parties had been in an alliance for a long time, and their races got along pretty well. Furthermore, their economy and culture had already been merged into one, and many outsiders already treated the three as one civilization.

As such, the Modo Civilization managed to gain the approval of the three Universal Civilizations and became the fourth Super Star Cluster Civilization in the Primeval Star River.

After many years of development, the Modo Civilization had already solidified their place as a Super Star Cluster Civilization and was a top notch civilization in the explored universe.

At this moment, the three kings of the Modo Civilization were gathered on the capital planet and listening to a report.

“The report shows that the dynasty has already recalled their forces. This means that those natives have been taken care of. The dynasty’s losses are almost negligible.”

A figure could be seen in the conference room. It was a mixed blood upper echelon dressed in military attire.

He was skinny and had an eerie aura around him.

His name was called Madison, and he was an upper echelon of the Modo Civilization. He was in charge of intelligence and stealth missions.

The Modo Civilization had also sent stowaways to the Flickering World like the other Super Star Cluster Civilizations, and Madison was the one in charge of the operation.

He was the one who had come up with the idea to make use of the Kunde Race to injure the Crimson Dynasty.

“These natives are far too useless. They weren’t even able to injure the dynasty’s fleet.” One of the leaders shook his head.

“Natives will be natives, after all; we cannot have too high expectations of them,” Madison said expressionlessly.

The life and death of the Kunde Race was not even within his consideration. They were no more than a tool to him.

“What are your plans?”

“I have already gotten the stowaway fleet in the Flickering World to continue their exploration and find the next native civilization that we can make use of,” Madison said calmly. “With this native civilization as an example, the other Super Star Cluster Civilizations will also mimic our actions. Not only will it create trouble for the dynasty, we can also borrow the dynasty’s strength to get rid of our future competitors.”

“You’d better not let the dynasty find out that we are the ones behind this,” another leader said with a deep voice.

“Don’t worry, Your Excellencies.” Madison’s lips curled up with a sneer. “I have already made the relevant arrangements. It is impossible for the dynasty to find out who the culprit is.”

…

A couple of days later, the dynasty’s fleet finally escorted the Kunde Race back to Planet Lighthouse. The dynasty had also decided on how they should deal with the Kunde Race and informed Han Xiao.

“The dynasty decided to settle the Kunde Race down in your territory and educate them. During this period, you must cut off their connection from the Galactic Society, and they will be in your charge.”

Tarrokov brought this piece of good news to Han Xiao.

“Alright then, just leave the matter to me. Please thank Her Excellency for me.”

Urranrell’s words must have played a huge part in the dynasty’s decision.

This way, the first mission requirement would probably be fulfilled.

“Hmm, there will be people meeting up with your Black Star Army later.” Tarrokov nodded before changing the topic. “There is something else. The dynasty is currently investigating the mastermind behind this matter. However, there are few clues, and the spaceship wreckage is of a very common model. We aren’t able to find its serial number, and we have to first trace the spaceship to the stowaways first. We may need your help for this.”

“I would be happy to help.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. Since this matter was related to the mission, he would naturally be willing to help.

Finding the identity of the mastermind was the first step to completing the mission. However, the stowaways would have definitely escaped into the unexplored region. It was no different from finding a needle in a haystack, and it was a challenging task.

He would probably have to seek Aesop’s help for this.

The mission introduction was extremely vague, but he was certain that relying on the dynasty’s punishment would not complete the mission requirement. He would still have to rely on himself in the end.

This means that I will have to clash with a complete Super Star Cluster Civilization…

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

There would definitely be dangers, but he still had some advantages. After all, the three Universal Civilizations enjoyed bullying these Super Star Cluster Civilizations the most.

Thus, it shouldn’t matter even if I go overboard.

“Right, the direct broadcast of the Kunde Race upper echelons will be starting soon. You will be mentioned. Do you want to watch it together?” Tarrokov said.

Han Xiao nodded. “Okay.”

…

At the same time, on the Kunde Race flagship, a dynasty intelligence officer threw a document to the Kunde Race leader.

The Kunde Race leader, who had his eyes shut, picked up the document and read it slowly.

After reading it carefully, he slowly said, “This is the outcome that you have prepared for me? I will work together with you.”

“I know, but we still need some insurance,” the dynasty intelligence officer said expressionlessly and held onto the Kunde Race leader’s head to plant a Psychic bomb.

This would not influence the Kunde Race leader’s independent thought, but they would be able to control his thoughts remotely.

“I have already made a deal with His Excellency Black Star and will not make a silly move. This is a pointless action.” The Kunde Race leader shook his head.

The intelligence officer did not reply and said with a deep voice, “Follow me. It is time for the live broadcast.”

Letting out a long breath, the Kunde Race leader stood up and tidied up his clothes.

After a full minute and ensuring that there were no creases or dust left behind on his clothes, he departed and welcomed his death.

Chapter 984 - Punishmen

Chapter 984 Punishmen

A large number of Kunde Race civilians were held in the Kunde Race flagship. A simple carpet was laid out on the ground, and the civilians were all cramped up together like refugees.Swoosh!

The door opened up, and a butler-type robot walked in with a push cart with boxes of food stacked on it.

“It’s time to eat!” the dynasty soldiers who were currently on duty cried out.

Ever since they became captives, these Kunde Race civilians had lived in fear toward their unknown future. However, they were not abused in any way. The dynasty gave them their meals every day, and the civilians had calmed down greatly because of this. None of them made any irrational moves.

The butler-type robot then weaved through the crowd to pass out food. These captives all sat up straight and began devouring their food as they chatted with each other. The atmosphere was still pretty calm.

In the crowd, an adult and a child were eating their meal. The female adult then poured half of her food for her child.

“Mummy, aren’t you eating?” Upon seeing that, this child raised his head.

“You eat first. I will eat after you are done.”

The adult female looked at her son lovingly.

“No, let’s eat together.” The child shook his head and mumbled, “If only daddy was here. Mummy, where did daddy go?”

Upon hearing that, the mother fell silent. She then looked at her son and forced out a smile. “Your father may be on another spaceship and is unable to visit us. He will come and visit us after everything is over.”

“Hurray! I really miss him,” the child said with excitement. “When will everything be over?”

“It should be soon…”

She obviously was not confident, but she still had to force herself to look calm.

Upon seeing her child engrossed in his meal, she turned around and wiped her tears away.

She knew full well that her husband would probably have met with misfortune… because her husband was a military officer.

She had been sent away at the start of the war but brought back again as a captive because of the dynasty. Although the dynasty had sealed off all information, she could imagine the losses in the battlefield since the Kunde Race had lost.

Since she could not communicate with the outside world, she did not know if her husband was dead or alive, and she was still holding onto the last bit of hope in her heart. In front of her child, she had to suppress her fear and unease, and she was enduring a huge pressure in her heart.

After her child went to sleep at night, her face would be washed in tears as she wept silently.

She did not know how the Crimson Dynasty would treat them and could only lie to her own child.

Beep beep beep…

Right at this moment, a holographic screen popped out and attracted everyone’s attention.

A familiar figure then appeared on the screen.

“It’s the leader!”

A commotion broke out immediately with some of them standing up.

The same scene happened on all the Kunde Race prison spaceships. Most of them were completely clueless about what was happening on the outside after the dynasty sealed off all news. This was the first piece of news that they had received ever since they became captives and also the first time that they had seen their leader on the television since.

This mother placed down her food and pulled her child to watch the screen.

On the screen, the Kunde Race leader faced the camera and slowly said, “Members of my fellow race, I have a piece of news to announce. We have lost the war completely, and around seventy percent of our military strength has been wiped out. The fleets that are lost or destroyed are as follows…”

He then began reading out the long list of units that had been lost or destroyed. The family members of the soldiers all had their attention focused on the screen, afraid that they might miss a number.

As the list was read out, there would be some who collapsed on the ground with their hearts shattered and heart-wrenching crying from time to time.

This little child did not really understand what was going on. However, he suddenly felt his mother’s body swaying, having almost collapsed. He hurriedly turned around to hold her hands.

“Mummy, what’s wrong?”

This mother’s body was trembling slightly. If she was a human, her face would definitely have been pale at the moment. She stabilized her body and tried to speak calmly. “I’m alright.”

She had heard the name of the fleet that her husband was serving, and her final trace of hope had been shattered. Her vision blacked out, and she almost fainted.

But upon thinking about her son beside her, she suppressed her emotions and could not even cry.

Sobbing sounds could be heard everywhere, and grief filled the entire room.

After finally reading out the entire list, the Kunde Race leader said with a deep voice, “I have to take responsibility for the loss of the war. This wrong decision made by the upper echelons resulted in the loss today.

“In truth, this war could have been avoided. The enemy wasn’t the one who started the war; I was.

“The dynasty came from afar to explore the unknown. They are actually a peace-loving civilization, but my arrogance and enmity blinded my heart. A third party made use of me to view the Crimson Dynasty with enmity. We then attempted to take the initiative to attack the Crimson Dynasty, which incurred the rage of the dynasty.

“We originally had the chance to live together peacefully without any war or bloodshed. We would only have had to change our culture. It is a pity that my mistake resulted in us losing this option.

“My arrogance destroyed the bridge for both parties to communicate. I take responsibility for everything that has happened, and my mistake has pushed the entire civilization into the pits of despair.”

He then took out a document, which was the confidential report of the first psionic explosion trap and the dynasty’s casualty tabulation to prove that he was not lying.

Following which, the Kunde Race leader stood up and bowed to the screen.

“I was the one who destroyed many families in this war, and I apologize for that.”

Everyone now understood the reason for this speech. It was for him to own up to his mistakes and explain the reasons for the war.

Looking at this scene, many people flew into a rage.

I’m sorry?

You caused such great harm to the entire race. Is apologizing even useful‽

If not for you starting the war, all those soldiers wouldn’t have died, and we would still be leading a normal life. How would we have been reduced to captives‽

It is all because of you that our civilization has met with such a crisis! All of these could have been avoided!

A single sorry is enough‽

The Kunde Race leader then returned to his seat and continued speaking expressionlessly.

“I know that everyone is very concerned about how the Crimson Dynasty will deal with us. Rest assured, the Crimson Dynasty is a civilization far more advanced than us, and they will not massacre commoners or take away our intelligence. They have decided to let go of us and settle us down in another Star System. They will return our freedom to us and help us construct our new homeland…”

Upon hearing that, everyone began to calm down slightly. This was the problem that they were all worried about.

It was already extremely lucky for them to emerge alive, and the other party was still willing to let them go and return their freedom.

It seems like the Crimson Dynasty is a peace-loving civilization indeed… Many people had such a thought.

Their race had provoked the war and was in the wrong, but the dynasty still treated the captives with mercy and behaved benevolently. After making such a comparison, everyone’s enmity toward the dynasty weakened.

Of course, there was no such thing as rationality for such a matter. As the party who started the war, there were still many people in the Kunde Race who harbored hatred toward the dynasty, especially the family members of the soldiers.

However, after this explanation, their anger was mainly directed toward the Kunde Race leader.

At this moment, the Kunde Race leader took out another document with Han Xiao’s resume written on it. This was provided by the dynasty.

“Our new homeland will be in the territory of a bigshot in the Crimson Dynasty. His name is Black Star, and he will provide protection for us. He is a respected figure, and it was because of his request that the dynasty decided to return us our freedom.”

Looking at Han Xiao’s picture on the document, everyone remembered this individual who had spoken up for them.

In the office on Planet Lighthouse, Han Xiao’s projection was currently watching the Kunde Race leader’s speech together with Tarrokov. Upon seeing that scene, Han Xiao looked at Tarrokov and laughed.

“You guys are truly the best. You didn’t only give me the resources of the Kunde Race population but also helped me build up my image for free.”

Tarrokov took a sip of his tea and smiled. “You’re welcome.”

The speech continued, and the Kunde Race leader introduced their new homeland to them but did not mention anything about the propaganda and lockdown of news that they would be subjected to.

“The outcome today is a result of poor strategies, and the upper echelons will have to take responsibility for this matter. The upper echelons will all be punished, and I will keep this lesson in mind to lead our race with wisdom in the future to build up our new homeland.”

Boom!

As these words were said, the crowd immediately broke out in a huge uproar.

“What right does he have to lead us after making such a huge mistake?”

“He punished all the upper echelons but didn’t suffer the slightest punishment? Too hypocritical!”

“Does he plan to hold on to the position of leader until he dies‽”

Everyone flew into a rage.

The entire race was harmed by you to such an extent. What right do you have to continue leading us‽

Did we agree‽

All the other upper echelons are to be executed, but your only explanation to us is a simple ‘sorry’‽

What’s the meaning of this‽

Even if you aren’t executed, you should step down at least!

Your desire for power is too strong!

The entire race has been defeated, but you are still sitting in such a position. On what basis‽

Although you seem to be blaming yourself, you are actually making the other upper echelons the scapegoat!

At this moment, the Kunde Race leader stood up and revealed a smile. “I will head to every spaceship to comfort and encourage all of you personally. I hope to bring all of you the courage to start off again. Defeat isn’t scary, and I… will be able to make the Kunde Race great again.”

These words should have encouraged the Kunde Race greatly, but almost everyone was furiously glaring at the Kunde Race leader on the screen.

The Kunde Race leader then stood up and walked out with a floating camera floating behind him.

At this moment, the door opened, and a member of the Kunde Race walked in. The civilians all looked over and began whispering among themselves.

“Who is this person? Why is he able to move around freely?”

“I know who he is. He is one of the secretaries by the leader’s side. He’s appeared on television before.”

This secretary then clapped his hands and got everyone to keep quiet before speaking.

“Everyone, this will be the leader’s first stop, and I hope that everyone can pretend to be full of gratitude to increase the leader’s prestige.”

Everyone was enraged.

You still want us to put up a show at this moment‽

All of our family members have just died in the war, and we still have to work together with you and appear grateful‽

Many individuals clenched their fists with their bodies trembling.

They did not even know how to describe their own feelings. Their anger toward the leader had reached its peak.

Very quickly, footsteps could be heard from the outside, and the door opened again.

The Kunde Race leader then walked in with his secretary and a group of followers with a consoling smile on his face.

Upon seeing his smile, many people could not hold in their anger any longer.

You’re still smiling‽

However, upon seeing the followers beside the Kunde Race leader, many of them no longer dared act up and could only glare at him furiously.

The Kunde Race leader then said with a smile, “Everyone, how have all of you been during this period? I know that all of you must be at a loss. Don’t worry, you can tell me about any of your problems, and I…”

Whoosh!

Someone threw out a black sticky substance from within the crowd at the Kunde Race leader as he was talking.

It was the bowl that they were eating from, and the food inside it spilled out on the Kunde Race leader’s clothes.

“Scram!” A furious voice could be heard from within the crowd.

With someone taking the lead, everyone immediately began throwing their bowls at the Kunde Race leader.

Pa pa pa…

The Kunde Race leader was showered with food, and he looked extremely pitiful.

“Stop! Stop!”

The followers of the leader immediately stepped forward to block the bowls and protect their leader.

At this moment, the people from the back who wanted to throw something at the leader but were too far away began squeezing forward. This resulted in the entire crowd moving closer and closer to the retreating Kunde Race leader’s entourage.

“Stop pushing! Everyone, back off!” one of the followers shouted and tried to resist the crowd that was approaching him ferociously. All of a sudden, he overexerted his strength and pushed down a female individual.

A childish roar then sounded from within the crowd.

“You hit my mommy! I will fight you!”

This follower then felt a sharp pain on his leg and saw a little child biting down on his leg.

“Scram!” He could not help but slap this child flying.

Everyone in the crowd erupted upon seeing such a scene.

“You guys actually hit a kid‽”

“Beat them up!”

Everyone could no longer control their anger.

They had abandoned all rationality and began to attack with their fists, teeth, and shells.

The entire situation went out of control.

Bang!

The Kunde Race leader was pushed onto the ground with people beating him up from all directions.

Right at this moment, he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his neck as it was bitten by someone. Sharp teeth sank down into his throat, and his throat was bleeding incessantly.

The Kunde Race leader’s body trembled, and he looked over. The one biting down on his throat was a female member of his race, the mother of the child who was beaten.

The gaze in the other party’s eyes was imprinted into his head.

This was a gaze filled with anger, hatred, and despair…

Ka-cha!

“Ah!” She then tore out the Kunde Race leader’s throat with her teeth and let out a loud roar.

As blood spewed out from his throat, the Kunde Race leader’s body became weak, and his consciousness became muddled.

He looked at the members of his race beating him up, and he was extremely calm.

“My show is finally over…”

Boom!

His consciousness then faded away.

…

The soldiers on duty then took action to control the situation but intentionally slowed down their actions to let the mess continue for a while longer.

Finally, this bloody incident was stopped by the soldiers, and only puddles of blood were left behind. The corpse of the Kunde Race leader was battered and deformed.

The floating camera had recorded the entire scene, and the Kunde Race members on the other spaceships could also see what had happened.

“They actually killed him? Good job!”

“This sinner of our race shouldn’t be kept alive!”

“Only such a method would be able to punish him!”

Many individuals were extremely satisfied with the outcome.

In a walkway not filmed by the camera, a dynasty intelligence officer had his back against the wall with an emotion agitating device.

Upon hearing that the situation had calmed down, he turned off the device and walked away.

…

“The show is over.” Tarrokov turned off the holographic screen.

“You guys truly made full use of him,” Han Xiao said. “Not letting the dynasty punish him but having the Kunde Race execute their own leader. This will definitely be a lesson that the Kunde Race will never forget. This incident will be imprinted in the minds of the Kunde Race, and their mental state will be greatly weakened to facilitate your education process.”

“This is much gentler than wiping them out,” Tarrokov said expressionlessly and looked into Han Xiao’s eyes. “Black Star, find the mastermind.”

Han Xiao then nodded and said, “Of course, leave this matter to me.”

Chapter 985 - Migration and Clue

Around ten days later, the dynasty’s fleet and the Black Star Army escorted all the Kunde Race civilians to the Odoran Star System in Garu. This was one of the territories of Black Star.

Han Xiao chose to settle the Kunde Race down in this Star System.

With abundant territories in his hands, he generously lent over a hundred planets to the Kunde Race. After splitting them up, every planet had about ten billion inhabitants.

With the Galactic Society’s production capacity, housing ten billion people on a planet was an easy task, and their living conditions were not too bad. However, compared to the original living conditions of the Kunde Race, it would definitely be a lot more densely populated.

Before they received the stargate technology, the Kunde Race’s mobility in the universe was extremely poor. As such, their transportation efficiency was low. Despite the Kunde Race having a few Star Systems and over a few thousand colonial planets, there were few migrants, and those who migrated to a new planet would usually stay there permanently.

The Black Star Army fleet had rapidly constructed a simple city on the planet with the dynasty’s planet modification package before sending the members of the Kunde Race to their respective planets.

Countless Kunde Race migrants then obediently exited the spaceships and stepped onto their new homeland.

Many of them looked around curiously as they explored their new homeland.

At the same time, in the command hall of Black Star Palace, there were many uniformed personnel monitoring the situation of every single planet.

Han Xiao stood in the center of the hall and overlooked the entire operation.

“Migrating an entire Star Cluster is truly a huge project.” Aurora lamented by the side.

Herlous nodded. “After the death of the Kunde Race leader, they can only listen to the dynasty’s orders and are extremely obedient. Thus, the migration has been smooth.”

He had also followed the fleet over. After not seeing Han Xiao for a long time, he truly missed his boss and would steal occasional glances at Han Xiao’s back.

“There aren’t many accidents. Good job,” Han Xiao replied.

“How are we going to make use of this sudden increase in population?” Sylvia’s long-distance projection asked.

Han Xiao then stroked his chin and slowly said, “We won’t be able to make use of them immediately. The dynasty will have some plans to educate and reform them. During their reformation, they won’t be allowed to come into contact with the Galactic Society or develop their technology. The dynasty will only impart the relevant Super knowledge to allow them to slowly grow.

“It isn’t time for us to make use of them yet. We need to rear them for now until the dynasty releases the seal. At that time, they will be an important source of soldiers.

“As such, all of you must include something extra in the dynasty’s reformation process to brainwash them to join the army as well…”

The size of the Kunde Race was even larger than the entire Black Star Army. If he wanted to harvest good crops, he would first have to fertilize the soil. Thus, he needed to emphasize the importance of the Black Star Army to the Kunde Race.

Although the mission reward contained a large amount of Faction Favorability points, it was still important to mold their thoughts.

Han Xiao then paused for a while before continuing.

“Also, spread the Machinery Faith in the Kunde Race and try to get more of them to believe in the Machinery Faith.”

During the reformation period, the Kunde Race would not be able to go online, and it would be akin to being separated from the world. This was the best environment to convert them into the Machinery Faith and also erode the beliefs of the Kunde Race.

Without any disturbance from the outside world, their only target of worship would be himself. As such, the Kunde Race would become a treasure chest for the [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus].

To other Mechanics, developing a new batch of believers would be the best option for them to trigger the [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus]. Although the efficiency was extremely low, it was better than nothing.

Manison wanted the current believers to worship him as that was the biggest piece of meat. Apart from that, he was extremely glad to see others spread the faith. With the cake being bigger, he would only receive benefits. There would definitely be some believers flowing toward him, and he would not lose out.

To Manison, when other Mechanics tried to spread the faith, it was akin to planting crops for him. All he had to do was harvest them when the time came.

As such, Manison would not make an appearance as long as no one challenged his position.

Everyone then chatted casually for a while before one of the operators said, “Army Commander, the migration is complete.”

Han Xiao then looked at the screen. All the Kunde Race civilians were already on the planets.

“Alright, display the virtual sky screen.”

The spaceships hovering around the various planets then projected a screen, and all the Kunde Race civilians looked up.

Han Xiao’s figure appeared on the screen, and he said with a smile, “My friends of the Kunde Race, I am Black Star, and I will be in charge of settling all of you down. Thus, you will frequently see my face on the television for a long time to come.

“Today, all of you have moved into your new homeland, and all these planets are a part of my territory. All of you can seek assistance from the members of the Black Star Army located on every planet at any time, and there is no need to worry about your safety.

“I can empathize with what’s happened to all of you, and the dynasty is currently tracking the mastermind behind this entire affair. We will definitely find them and punish them, seeking justice for all of you.

“In any case, I hope that all of you can walk out from your pain and embrace your new life.”

Han Xiao did not say much. He still did not have the influence for the Kunde Race to feel gratitude toward him. As such, he only made a simple speech.

The screen in the sky then disappeared.

Compared to the dynasty, most of them still had an impression of Black Star. However, they were not exactly friendly toward him.

Seeking justice on our behalf? Who knows if he is serious about it?

After everything that they had gone through, it was difficult for the Kunde Race to believe the promise of an outsider.

After the end of his speech, Han Xiao nodded toward Herlous, and Herlous left the hall.

After a while, a cluster of footsteps could be heard from the outside of the hall. Herlous then brought Nero and the other graduates in. They had returned with the fleet and were scheduled to meet Han Xiao.

“All of you are here.”

Han Xiao’s gaze swept over these students.

After four months of training on the battlefield, most of their auras had changed greatly.

After Nero fell into the ‘enemy’s trap’, he learned from his mistake and reflected on it. He now had a sturdy aura around him, and Mia was also obviously better trained.

Han Xiao then could not help but notice the two of them holding hands.

“Cough cough.” Upon noticing Han Xiao’s gaze, Mia let go embarrassedly.

Both of them were originally close friends with a little bit of romance between them. After the previous event, the romance between them had increased greatly. Although they had not officially acknowledged the relationship, they were much closer than before and behaved like a real couple.

Why do I feel like a matchmaker?

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly. He pushed those thoughts aside and addressed the graduates.

“I am gratified to see your transformations. All of you are now qualified warriors of the army.”

Upon hearing that, the students could not help but raise their heads proudly.

After encouraging them, Han Xiao looked at Mia and said with a smile, “I promised to find you a Calamity Grade teacher, and Herlous will be your teacher from today on. He will do his best to teach you.”

Herlous had already been informed of this beforehand. He was the most loyal toward the army and did not have any complaints.

“Although I am usually very busy, I will try to find time to teach you. Don’t worry, I am different from Reynold, and I like to adopt a more carefree teaching style.”

“Thank you, Your Excellency Black Star!” Mia immediately thanked Han Xiao before greeting Herlous. “I pay my respects to you, Teacher!”

Upon seeing that, all the students could not help but be filled with envy.

Who was Herlous? He was an upper echelon of the army and a top character who had followed Black Star from the very start!

Becoming his student meant that Mia would definitely be a pillar of the army in the future.

However, all of them were not the most envious. The most envious individual was definitely Nero.

I also want a normal teacher! Why do I have to have Reynold‽

Han Xiao then looked at Nero and said with his brows raised, “What’s with that expression of yours?”

“…Nothing.”

Nero felt bitterness in his heart but did not wish to say it.

He then remembered something and said, “Godfather, I obtained a weapon from the enemy during the battle, and I feel that it is a little strange. Can you take a look at it?”

“What’s so strange about it?”

“This is a weapon that I obtained from a Kunde Race officer during the battle. I got my teammates to help me identify it…” Nero then rubbed his head. “It seems to be a high-grade enchanted weapon.”

Han Xiao was stunned.

Enchanted weapon?

This item was extremely common in the galaxy, but the Kunde Race did not have any Supers and was a pure technological civilization. They did not know any magic at all.

Just where did the weapon come from?

“Let me see it.” Han Xiao was slightly interested.

“It is in my room; I didn’t bring it with me. I will bring it over later.”

Just when Han Xiao was about to reply, his communicator rang and interrupted him.

He took out his communicator to take a look; the person calling was actually Aesop.

Why is this darn old man taking the initiative to contact me?

Han Xiao then walked to the side and picked up the call.

“Aesop, why are you calling me?”

“It’s what you want,” Aesop said with impatience. “I foresaw that you would contact me and thus took the initiative to contact you to ask if you want anything.”

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly.

This ability of yours is truly useful…

“That’s right. I do indeed need your help. I need you to help me find some people…” Han Xiao then briefly described the situation of the Kunde Race.

Aesop was also very straightforward. “Send me the information later. The more information, the more accurate the prophecy.”

“Alright.” Han Xiao nodded and paused for a while before asking, “How are Ames and Hila?”

“Taking risks everywhere. How else can they be?” Aesop rolled his eyes. “It isn’t as though you can’t contact her. Why are you asking me? Alright, I will hang up if there is nothing else and inform you about my prophecy.”

As he said that, Aesop hung up immediately.

Han Xiao then put his communicator away helplessly.

He was not planning on relying solely on Aesop. He then left the hall and walked to one of the hangars in the dock.

A severely damaged spaceship was placed in the hangar. This was the spaceship that the stowaways had intentionally placed within the Kunde Race. The dynasty had confiscated it a while ago.

Han Xiao had requested that Tarrokov send this item to him.

The dynasty had already made use of every method up their sleeves but could not find any clues from it. Thus, they did not mind letting Han Xiao try as long as they could find a clue.

Aesop’s prophecy could only see the future, but Han Xiao’s special [Bold Explorer] skill would allow him to see the past of an item.

He felt that he would be able to find something.

He then placed his palms on the charred exterior of the spaceship.

Let me see what I can find.

Han Xiao let out a deep breath and activated [Bold Explorer].

Hu!

His vision suddenly spun around, and the scene before him seemed to have been shattered like glass.

All of a sudden, these glass fragments joined back together, and his entire world changed.

The scene of a workshop could be seen with the skeleton of the spaceship floating in midair and mechanical arms assembling the various parts.

Han Xiao observed the surroundings and memorized everything that he saw.

The next moment, his vision shattered again, and he could see a spaceship crashing down on a planet like a meteor.

The images then stopped at this moment.

He regained his original sight, and he was still in the hangar.

_____________________

[Bold Explorer] has ended.

-60% Luck

Duration: 14 days

_____________________

Han Xiao was used to ignoring the side effects of the skill. There was no difference to him even if his luck was lowered.

He then recalled the scene that he had seen.

“The scene of the workshop and spaceship crashing down seem to be a pretty good clue…”

He then realized that every worker in the workshop had the same insignia on their clothes.

Entering the dynasty’s database to take a look, he managed to find his target. This was a spaceship factory located in the Primeval Star River.

“The supplier of the spaceship has been located…” Han Xiao’s eyes glowed.

The factory would usually keep a record of all spaceships produced, and although they did not know the serial number of this spaceship, it was still a clue.

“It seems like I need to send my mechanical army to the Primeval Star River.”

At this moment, Han Xiao remembered something.

“Right, the Primeval Star River is Manison’s territory.”

Chapter 986 - Deity Assassinator, Gold Grade Par

After memorizing the name of the spaceship factory, Han Xiao left the hangar and returned to his room. He then activated his mechanical army located in the headquarters at the Shattered Star Ring to make their way toward the Primeval Star River.

As soon as he gained [Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel] and [Lord’s Descent], he had garrisoned his mechanical army in many different bases so that he could activate Lord’s Descent in emergencies.

Manison had the largest Beyond Grade A faction in the Primeval Star River, and the Black Star Army did not have much strength in that region. Currently, his relationship with Manison was not too good, and he had to be careful when he was in Manison’s territory.

After sending out his long-distance mechanical army, Nero came to find him with the strange enchanted weapon.

“Godfather, this is the item that I was talking about.”

Han Xiao accepted the weapon from Nero and studied it carefully.

The weapon was in the shape of a spear, and it was broken in the center. The body of the entire spear was dark green, and it felt like bronze. There was a golden fog flowing on the surface of the spear.

The instant he touched the broken spear, a notification popped up on his interface.

_____________________

Deity Assassinator (Damaged)

Type: Close Combat Enchanted Weapon

Grade: Legendary (Orange)

Equipment Requirements: Level230, 830 Strength, 1,000 Dexterity, 600 Mystery

Attributes Bonus: +146 Strength, +171 Dexterity, +223 Mystery

Basic Stats: 21,000 – 24,000 Basic Damage, 3755/9000 Durability, 744/15,000 Energy

Enchantment: [Deity Assassinator (Damaged)] When the target is above Level200, +240% damage.

Enchantment: [High Grade Enchantment – Rapid Phantom] +60% attack speed, 1.5% chance of releasing two phantom attacks (75% damage) with every attack.

Enchantment: [Divine Lock – Double Layer Energy Restriction]. 20% chance of inflicting [Energy Restricted] status when hitting the target. The target will not be able to circulate or activate energy. 30s cooldown after being triggered.

Enchantment: [Spiritual Energy Surge]. Rune capable of absorbing different forms of energy to replenish the Energy Value and sustain the effects of the various enchantments. When Energy Value is above 50%, your attacks will have AOE damage.

Enchantment: [Molecular Penetration]. +1,600 Armor Penetration.

Enchantment: [Berserk Magical Energy]. +33% Critical Rate, 20% of Critical Damage will be turned into True Damage.

16 other Enchantments (Expand/Collapse)

Remark: This weapon is currently damaged. Equipment Requirements, Basic Stats, and Enchantment effects will be greatly reduced.

_____________________

“This…” Han Xiao was startled.

Even in its damage state, the equipment requirement was still level 230. If it was in its complete state, would it not mean that only a Beyond Grade A would be capable of using this weapon?

All the enchantments were high grade runes, especially the [Deity Assassinator] enchantment. When the target was above level 200, the damage would be 2.4 times the original!

What kind of a concept was this‽

The greater the number of enchantments, the greater the load. For this weapon to be able to endure so many enchantments, its material must be extremely sturdy.

Why would the Kunde Race have such an item?

“Tell me how you obtained this weapon,” Han Xiao said.

“Alright.”

Nero then began narrating what had happened.

“It was an ordinary battleship battle. My teammates and I killed our way into the hold of the spaceship and exchanged fire with the enemy’s forces. I charged straight at the enemy’s commander, and his armor was shattered by my attack. I remembered your teachings and didn’t forget to deal a killing blow. However, the ground exploded before I could do so, and we all fell down.

“We then landed in a pitch-black warehouse, and this weapon was placed in a transparent vacuum container. That commander then opened up the container and charged at me with this weapon. I tried to avoid the weapon, but he exploded midway. That was how I obtained this weapon.”

Exploded? Oh, it should be because the other party’s level was too low, and he couldn’t endure the enchantments on the weapon, Han Xiao thought to himself.

The more powerful the weapon, the greater the strength required to control it. If one did not reach the equipment requirements of the weapon, one would not be able to unleash the true might of the weapon. However, a small portion of weapons had the risk of causing the user to explode, and it was commonly seen in enchanted equipment.

“Deity Assassinator… it should probably be a Beyond Grade A weapon. Since it is a weapon with a name, will it be recorded on the web?”

Han Xiao then entered into the dynasty’s database and searched for the Deity Assassinator. A large amount of information immediately popped up before him.

He then clicked on the top file.

The Deity Assassinator was forged from a Beyond Grade A dwarf Mage called ‘Divine Craftsman’ Thorne. He was a grandmaster at forging magical weapons and died in the year 79 of the Galaxy Calendar. He had crafted numerous magical equipment during his lifetime and made a huge contribution to the study of forging magical weapons. He was a character that one would definitely see in the textbooks of enchantments and crafting.

The Deity Assassinator was a Beyond Grade A weapon that Thorne forged for his friend, and it was only a part of the [Deity Butcher] set.

The [Deity Butcher] set was a legendary product left behind by Thorne. It was ranked third in the ‘Grandmaster Thorne: Hundred Legendary Products’ list. On their own, the individual parts were only of the orange grade, but the entire set was a Universal Treasure at the gold grade!

Throughout history, there had only been a single owner of the [Deity Butcher] set. It belonged to a Beyond Grade A Pugilist who had the title of ‘Divine Spear’.

Divine Spear had disappeared in year 103 of the Galaxy Calendar, and the set had also disappeared with him.

At this moment, Phillip suddenly appeared.

“My lord, hum… I detect weak multi-dimensional energy from this weapon. Should I conduct a detailed scan?”

Han Xiao nodded and took out various equipment to scan the Deity Assassinator.

The results were out very quickly, and the composition of the multi-dimensional energy was displayed. The amount of negative energy was the highest, and it was the most obvious at the location where the spear was broken. This weapon was obviously destroyed by negative energy, and such energy was commonly seen in the secondary dimension.

“It means that Divine Spear was most likely killed in the secondary dimension,” Han Xiao muttered under his breath.

Exploring the secondary dimension was filled with plenty of risks. For a Pugilist that did not have any doppelgangers, teleportation spells, or mechanical soldiers, he could only use his body to brave the dangers of the secondary dimension, putting his life on the line.

According to history, there were two common ways for a Beyond Grade A Super to die. The first was being killed by another Beyond Grade A, and the second was dying in the secondary dimension.

Han Xiao had a guess as to what was going on.

This weapon was probably drifting in the secondary dimension and encountered a wormhole or dimension crack. It then fell back into the main universe and dropped into the Dust Light Star Cluster. It was then discovered by the members of the Kunde Race.

However, it seemed like the Kunde Race was not able to research the mysteries of magic from this item.

Thinking about this, Han Xiao looked at Nero with resignation.

You were actually able to pick something like this up?

It seems like I was being too kind!

Having a conscience is probably pointless when dealing with you!

“Godfather, did you discover anything?” Nero asked.

“Cough…” With a solemn expression, Han Xiao said, “According to my identification, this is a dangerous enchanted weapon. You will not be able to endure its load with your strength and will be in danger if you use it. Thus, this item shall be kept with me temporarily.”

“It can’t be right,” Nero immediately said with a look of doubt. “Why didn’t I feel anything when holding it? Are you trying to fool me?”

“Holding it is one thing; using it is another. Would I joke about something like this? Who do you think I am? Do you think that I would lie to you?” Han Xiao said righteously.

Just when Nero was about to say something else, Han Xiao covered his mouth and pushed him out of the room.

Bang!

Before Nero could even react, the door closed.

Han Xiao’s voice could then be heard.

“If you don’t have anything else to do, go and walk around more. If you find something else, remember to bring it to me so that I can take a look at it.”

“Dream on! I won’t be back again!”

Nero puffed angrily like a child whose red packet had been taken away.

Han Xiao then opened a safe and placed the Deity Assassinator inside.

He was interested in the entire Deity Butcher set. However, a single part was not too useful to him.

But to a close combat fighter, the Deity Assassinator was a treasure.

A level 230 requirement was about peak Grade A+, and he did have such an expert. Hadavy was an example.

However, Hadavy was an Esper. Although he was tanky, he would not receive any bonuses when using a weapon and was only good for receiving hits. He was like a pure meat shield, unlike Han Xiao, who could tank and deal damage all while looking extremely suave.

The way Han Xiao saw it, Lothaire was most suitable for the Deity Assassinator. It was a weapon that Thorne had made for a Pugilist, and only a Pugilist would be able to fully maximize its potential.

Although Lothaire had not reached the peak, his assassination skills would definitely increase a few levels if he received this weapon.

Furthermore, he would probably have to use this assassin grandmaster to deal with the mastermind.

…

The Kunde Race incident came to an end, and the Crimson Dynasty began their exploration again.

The war delayed the exploration for a few months. However, the dynasty’s progress did not slow down, and they received plenty of rewards.

Taking over the Kunde Race’s territory was akin to receiving a few stargates connecting a few Star Systems in the Dust Light Star Cluster. It would save them a great deal of time as they did not have to construct new stargates.

Furthermore, the Kunde Race database also had plenty of information about the various planets and narrowed down their scope of exploration.

Without any obstructions, the second exploration phase continued smoothly.

The dynasty did not announce the battle in the explored universe, but they had secretly sent out many intelligence officers to search for the mastermind.

Aesop also made a prophecy and foresaw that the stowaways who sent out the spaceships would pass by a certain region. However, the region was far away from the explored regions and did not have any stargates. The dynasty’s spaceship could only travel by hyperdrive and might not be able to catch up to the other party.

Thankfully, Han Xiao had made other preparations, and his long-distance mechanical army had reached the Primeval Star River.

Chapter 987 - Primeval Star River Mechanic Emperor

On Planet Three Kings, two individuals were walking down an alley.

One of them was Madison, and the other was a high official of the Modo Civilization who was Madison’s leader.

Both of them walked and chatted at the same time.

“You are in charge of the plan to make use of the natives and can report to the three Kings directly. This is a good opportunity,” the high official said with his arms behind his back. “Madison, I have always believed in your abilities, but can you ensure that the dynasty will never discover the truth? The three Kings will definitely remember you if something goes wrong, and your future will be over.”

“Ah, I’ve said this many times, but it will be impossible for the dynasty to discover us,” Madison said coldly but confidently. “I got rid of any traces many years ago. The serial number of that spaceship has been cleaned up, and I also washed the spaceship in magic many times to prevent prophecies. The dynasty won’t be able to find any clues from the spaceship, and what other clues can they find?

“Even if the dynasty manages to find the spaceship factory, I got an intelligence officer to clean up all our transactions with the factory, so the dynasty won’t be able to find anything. That intelligence officer is now living under a disguise, and everyone will think that he is dead. His personal file has also been temporarily deleted from the database, and he has been sent away. No one will be able to find him.

“Furthermore, we weren’t the ones to purchase the spaceship. It was purchased by a civilian financial group, and the spaceship changed hands many times. It was even robbed by galactic pirates. This spaceship was only secretly acquired by us many years after it went missing. Not a single trace was left behind. The dynasty won’t be able to find us if they try to track us through the spaceship.

“I also made some other arrangements along the way, and if the dynasty attempts to investigate this matter, they will only be misled to believe that the culprit is another Super Star Cluster Civilization.”

It had been many years since he sent the spaceship to the Kunde Race, and he had already begun cleaning up all traces a few years ago. As such, he was confident that the dynasty would not be able to find anything.

Upon hearing that, the high official nodded. “I feel assured if that’s the case.”

…

A silverish-blue planet was slowly moving in the universe like a gemstone floating in the darkness. Light was reflected off the surface of the planet and onto the smooth silver armor of a Lord avatar. A group of black mechanical soldiers were following behind the avatar silently.

This was a manufacturing planet of the Primeval Star River, and many different financial groups had operations on this planet.

The clue that he had found from [Bold Explorer] pointed to a factory located on this planet.

This factory produced only ordinary spaceships in large quantities without modifying them at all.

There was a certain market for such spaceships in the universe, and the other high-grade factories would not invest a large amount of resources to produce such spaceships without any core competencies.

Before sending out his mechanical soldiers, Han Xiao had already checked the background of the factory. They were a small business and did not have any backing.

“The mastermind will have erased all traces by now.”

Although he knew that this would most likely be the case, he still had to verify the matter.

Entering the quantum network, the entire planet before him suddenly became translucent with only their quantum network nodes being left behind.

Locking onto the quantum network node of the factory, Han Xiao infiltrated it immediately. The firewall of a small company like this would not pose any difficulty to him.

In an instant, Han Xiao had already obtained all the information in the factory’s database.

He first opened the production journal and sales record. He then realized that the earliest record was only three years ago, but it was impossible for this factory to be so young.

“Indeed, the mastermind cleaned up all traces.”

He checked the other records, and the records indicated an unexpected explosion three years ago.

There was an issue with the power supply during production, which resulted in the entire factory exploding. The main system was fried, resulting in the loss of all past records. All the hard copy files were also destroyed in the explosion, and even the surrounding factories were somewhat affected.

An investigation of the matter later found it to be due to a natural malfunction, but Han Xiao did not believe that. It was definitely a man-made disaster to destroy all evidence.

If he was the mastermind, he would clear up the factory’s records and ensure that the spaceship had changed hands many times before going missing. This would be the best way to ensure that all tracks leading to him were destroyed.

“Without any records, I won’t be able to find out the serial number of the spaceship, and this clue won’t be too useful…”

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

“However, there’s still some payoff.”

At the very least, this clue revealed the production location to be in the Primeval Star River.

This meant that the four Super Star Cluster Civilizations running the Primeval Star River were the most suspicious. The scope of his investigation had already been narrowed greatly.

Of course, it was possible that a civilization from another Star Fields had intentionally purchased the spaceship from the Primeval Star River to frame someone else. However, Han Xiao would first analyze the suspects with the highest possibilities.

Although he did not have any clues currently, he knew that the dynasty also met with another event similar to the Kunde Race war during the later parts of the exploration phase in his previous life. After experiencing the Kunde Race war, the dynasty was better prepared and managed to find some suspicious characters.

The most suspicious civilization in the Primeval Star River was the Modo Civilization!

Their shoes would definitely be wet if they walked by the side of the river. The dynasty was not easily trifled with.

The mastermind would be able to clean up all the clues of the past, but they would not be able to clean up the clues of the ‘future’ in Han Xiao’s memories!

This was akin to saying, ‘Although you haven’t committed a crime yet, I know that you will in the future.’

He did not know if the Kunde Race incident was done by the Modo Civilization, but since the other party had a ‘past record’, they would be the most suspicious.

Because his clue had led to a dead end, Han Xiao had two ideas.

Since the accident at the factory was deliberate, he could attempt to check the entry records of the planet three years ago and try to find the culprit behind the accident.

It would be extremely easy to tamper with the database of a small factory, but it would be far more difficult to do so for the surveillance system of an entire planet. If the other party was capable of doing so, this path would be cut off as well.

The second method would be to make use of an elimination method. There were only a few possible culprits within the Primeval Star River, and Han Xiao could choose to investigate them individually, starting with the most suspicious Modo Civilization.

He preferred to have different methods up his sleeves and immediately infiltrated the surveillance system of the planet.

With his powerful calculation abilities, he came to a conclusion quickly. There were no suspicious characters who approached the factory on the day of the accident.

“It wasn’t done by an outsider? There are two possibilities. First, the mastermind altered the records of the entire surveillance system. Second, it was an inside job.”

He would be helpless if it was the former, and Han Xiao could only attempt to investigate the latter.

If it was not done by an outsider, it could only be an inside job.

“If I was the culprit and was ordered by my superior to infiltrate into the factory, there would be no need for me to remain in the factory after completing my mission. Thus, I’d need an excuse to leave. If that’s the case…”

Han Xiao searched the list of workers who had died in the accident three years ago.

After the accident, all the workers that were still alive went through a strict check, and many of them resigned. However, Han Xiao was certain that there was a higher possibility of a spy pretending to die. It was a much ‘cleaner’ way of cleaning up their presence. After all, an outstanding intelligence officer would definitely have different identities, and dying would be akin to destroying the identity.

As such, it was likely that the culprit was on the list of workers who died.

It would not be difficult for Han Xiao to check the resumes of these individuals, but it would be impossible for him to find anything strange in their resumes.

Instead, he needed to confirm if any of their resumes had signs of being forged.

It was easy to forge a resume, but checking it was not too difficult either. It was just a little troublesome. One only had to follow the resume to ask the previous organizations and relatives of the individual if such a person existed.

If there were traces of forgery on any of the resumes, it would mean that the individual was suspicious. Then, he just needed to make use of the elimination method by comparing the resumes of the individuals to the files of the intelligence officers of the Modo Civilization and other Super Star Cluster civilizations.

If the culprit had snuck into the factory, they must have used a false identity, and even their appearance might be fake. However, this was not a dead end.

The factory’s data was destroyed, but the planet’s surveillance record was still around. Han Xiao would be able to write an algorithm to analyze the footage and compare them with the intelligence officers of the various organizations.

This way, he would be able to match the culprit to the right organization.

The next problem would be… just how could Han Xiao obtain the files of these intelligence officers.

The Black Star Army did not have any organizations in the Primeval Star River.

Han Xiao scratched his alloy head.

He did not know about the rest, but a possessive jerk like Manison would definitely have plenty of information on the various Super Star Cluster Civilizations.

Even the Federation of Light had to guard against the Mechanic Emperor’s Virtual Intrusion, so he had probably done so before. If that was the case, how could the Super Star Cluster Civilizations be safe?

“Alright then, it seems like I’ll have to go and meet the Mechanic Emperor.”

Chapter 988 - Decisive Action.

On the topic of Manison’s organization, it was usually referred to as the Mechanic Empire or Mechanical Race.

Manison’s territory was located within the Primeval Star River, and although it was the territory of a Star System Civilization on the surface, Manison was actually the one in charge of the place.

Han Xiao had his Lord avatar visit Manison. He had already sent a message before that, and Manison had agreed to meet him. They had set the meeting location on a planet inhabited by the Mechanical Race. Manison had many planets under his charge, and this was one of them.

Han Xiao’s avatar arrived at the location, and he could see a mechanical planet. It was covered by a gigantic psionic shield with a large number of mechanical soldiers patrolling outside the atmosphere of the planet.

“An old man is an old man indeed. He is truly rich.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

Manison’s territory was extremely wide, and he had many different factories and armies in the various Star Fields. Furthermore, he had his own developed mechanical civilization, and the exact size of his army was unknown. The various organizations only knew that he had a terrifying number of soldiers.

Han Xiao’s troops did not wait for too long before an opening was created in the protective shield. A mechanical soldier squad then led the way for him.

He followed the guide, and his Lord avatar landed on the planet.

He could see many different cities scattered around the planet and many pedestrians roaming the streets.

Manison was the second Beyond Grade A in the Mechanical Race, and although he had transformed into a new species, he still treated the Mechanical Race as his kind and took on the position of leader.

However, he was different from Psyker. To him, the Mechanical Race was only an important resource, and he did not feel too responsible for them.

As the race that had the lineage of a Beyond Grade A, the Mechanical Race had outstanding natural talent, which provided Manison with many useful skills. Many of the Mechanics under his charge came from the Mechanical Race. Furthermore, at least eighty percent of the Mechanical Race population were part of the Machinery Faith.

A large floating island could be seen. This was one of Manison’s palaces.

The Lord avatar then landed on the floating island together with the other mechanical soldiers.

Clank clank clank…

The sound of metal rang out as the mechanical soldiers landed.

The moment he landed, Han Xiao heard someone calling out to him.

“Ah, to think that you’d take the initiative to find me. This is truly out of my expectations.”

Manison’s Lord avatar walked over. It was not Manison’s main body who had come to meet him.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao sneered in his heart.

Tsk, so cowardly.

After cursing Manison in his heart, Han Xiao said, “You invited me over to be a guest a few years ago. Since it was convenient for me, I came over to take a look.”

He did not mention the conflict between the two. The mechanical voices of the two avatars also had no emotions.

Manison smiled and also did not mention their previous skirmish.

He had defeated plenty of Divine Throne Mechanics, and to a bigshot like him, this was not considered significant enmity.

At his level, even if the other party was his competitor, he could still sit down and have a calm conversation with them.

“If that’s the case, then follow me. I will give you a tour of my base.” Manison turned around and led the way.

Because of their previous face off, both parties had a strained relationship. However, Black Star was a peak Beyond Grade A Super after all, and Manison naturally would not be rude if the other party came to visit him.

Both of them toured around the base for a while, and Han Xiao saw many ordinary facilities. He did not see anything special. After all, Manison would not reveal his trump cards to a competitor of his. It was just like when Han Xiao was not willing to show Manison his Spacetime Amber.

Han Xiao had already expected this. Manison was not an individual who liked to show off his trump cards and thus did not expect to see much.

After touring around the place for a while, he entered the conference room with Manison, and they began chatting.

“Since we are both using avatar, there’s no need for drinks.” Manison leaned back calmly. “Why are you here?”

“I wish to borrow some intelligence,” Han Xiao said calmly.

“In what way?”

“I wish to borrow the files on the intelligence officers of the four Super Star Cluster and other Star Cluster Civilizations.”

Manison was a little surprised, and he sat up straight.

“Why do you want this?”

“To find someone,” Han Xiao replied succinctly.

He had already searched through the information and found a forged resume. He only needed to compare it to the files of the intelligence officers. Asking the Mechanic Emperor for help was the best choice.

The gangsters of the Primeval Star River were not like the Kunde Race natives. Their technological capabilities were only second to the three Universal Civilizations.

It would require a great deal of effort for him to personally infiltrate their system, and it was likely that he would be discovered as well.

Furthermore, he needed to infiltrate more than one of the Super Star Cluster Civilizations. Even if he could find the culprit in one of them, he would offend the other three in the process. Han Xiao did not want to create enemies for himself for no good reason.

On the other hand, Han Xiao felt that it was likely for the other party to have deleted the files of the culprit so that he would not be able to find anything.

The Mechanic Emperor was different in this regard. As a bigshot of the Federation of Light, he had always been collecting intelligence.

With these four good neighbors of his, he would definitely run around in their backyard once in a while and steal a large amount of confidential information. As such, it was more likely for him to obtain a complete file from the Mechanic Emperor.

Manison pondered for a while before shaking his head. “It is impossible to lend it to you. I will only do a trade.”

“Alright, what do you want?”

“Spacetime Amber,” Manison said.

“Impossible.” Han Xiao rejected him without hesitation.

Are you dreaming, old fool?

You want a Universal Treasure in exchange for an intelligence report? You are truly a business wonder.

“Not even a single drop?”

“Haha.”

Upon hearing that, Manison folded his arms and remained silent. His meaning was obvious. Since you aren’t willing to accept my price, what are you prepared to give?

After thinking for a while, Han Xiao said, “I can openly admit that you are the strongest Mechanic.”

“I already am the strongest. Why do I need your admission?” Manison asked.

“Isn’t it a good thing to stabilize your foundations?”

“I don’t need it.” Manison waved his arms.

I am the Mechanic Emperor. Do I need your support? What a joke!

Han Xiao then stroked his chin and said, “Perhaps we can come to an agreement. I will not challenge your position within fifty years.”

Upon hearing that, Manison said with interest, “You mean to say that you will be able to exceed me within fifty years?”

“Everything is possible,” Han Xiao said.

Manison smiled and calmly replied, “It’s alright. I don’t need such a method to secure my status.”

Han Xiao then leaned forward slightly and said, “Why don’t I owe you a favor?”

“Only a favor that can be repaid is worth something. Do you think your favor is worth anything to me with our relationship?” Manison shook his head.

After pausing for a while, Manison did not wait for Han Xiao to reply and said, “Forget it. I can give you the intelligence that you want, but you won’t be able to give me what I want. Get the Crimson Dynasty to talk to me.”

Han Xiao pretended to fall into deep thought. “If that’s the case, why don’t I persuade the dynasty to provide you with some Evolutionary Totems?”

Manison was not interested. “Why not you give me the Evolution Cube instead?”

“Are you asleep or awake?” Han Xiao asked.

Manison had thick skin and said, “But the totem isn’t useful to me.”

“Are you sure?” Han Xiao knocked on the desk. “You will not be able to use the totems, but the Mechanical Race that you are leading will be able to make use of them. It is still useful to them, right?”

Upon hearing that, Manison fell into thought.

Han Xiao then shrugged his shoulders and said, “I will not give you anything more. You should know that the other organizations will also have such information. It is just that the information in your hands is more complete. However, it isn’t unique. If you can’t agree to this, the deal is over.”

Manison nodded. “Alright, I agree.”

He could easily obtain as much intelligence as he wanted. It was an extremely easy matter to him and did not cost him anything. For him to be able to gain the Evolutionary Totems in the process, Manison felt that it was acceptable.

Although he did not think too much about this trade, the totems were pretty useful to the Mechanical Race.

“Alright, it’s settled. I will communicate with the dynasty regarding this,” Han Xiao said.

Although he was breaking the rules, as long as he controlled the number of totems that he sold, the dynasty would not be bothered about something so small.

Because of the pressure of the federation and church, some of the totems were sold on the black market. Although the dynasty did not sell the totems openly, they would not be too stubborn if it could be used in exchange for some important intelligence.

He originally planned to use the totems to exchange for the intelligence report.

Han Xiao was not like Heber who cared a great deal about his face. He still had huge potential for growth according to his plans and was not planning to fight the Mechanic Emperor any time soon. Thus, he would not be bothered with such useless promises. If Manison had agreed to his promise, he would have been able to save his Evolutionary Totems.

Manison only knows that I have a great potential but does not know exactly how fast I can increase my strength. His impression of me is kept at the previous time we fought, and he isn’t aware that I have now grasped [Perfect Mechanical Sense]. As long as I do not fight him, it would be difficult for him to realize that.

Manison probably thinks that I am only running an errand for the dynasty but does not know that I am able to strengthen myself from this mission.

After coming to an agreement, Han Xiao made an application to the dynasty. After knowing that he was pursuing the identity of the mastermind, the upper echelons discussed the matter for a while before agreeing.

Since they were only going to provide a little more than a hundred totems, it would not affect the big picture.

Manison then sent the intelligence report over to him.

With the intelligence report in his hands, Han Xiao stood up and said, “The totems will be sent over soon. I will make a move first.”

“Alright.”

Manison then looked at Han Xiao leave before exiting from the quantum network.

Despite winning against Black Star previously, this did not mean that Manison was not wary of Han Xiao at all. He was worried that Han Xiao had come with bad intentions and had thus prepared a trap for Han Xiao just in case.

For Virtual Mechanics at their level, they would have to attack the other party head on if they wanted to infiltrate the other party’s system. It would be impossible to remain undetected by the firewall.

If Black Star wanted to infiltrate his system, Black Star definitely would not have been let off easily.

However, he never imagined that Han Xiao would come and go quickly without any ulterior motives, meaning all his preparations went to waste.

“It seems like he no longer has any plans to fight me. The dynasty should have influenced his thoughts slightly.”

Manison had a guess based on Han Xiao’s actions.

…

As Han Xiao’s spaceship left the territory of the Mechanical Race, he took out the algorithm that he had prepared and began the matching process.

The matching process was completed very quickly, and a target was found.

“The Modo Civilization? It is them!”

Han Xiao raised his brows.

“If it’s the Modo Civilization…”

Han Xiao then searched for a few famous individuals in the Modo Civilization in his memories before taking out his communicator to make a call.

After ringing for a while, someone picked up the call but did not say anything.

“Lothaire?”

“I’m here.”

“Come to the Primeval Star River. I have a mission and present for you.”

“Okay.”

Lothaire then hung up.

What a reliable middle-aged man. Han Xiao was certain that the Modo Civilization was the mastermind behind the Kunde Race incident.

However, Han Xiao still was not aware about who planned the operation.

However, that did not matter. He only needed to take revenge against the mastermind.

Since that was the case, he should just take decisive action.

All the famous individuals now and in the future shall all be executed!

Chapter 989 - Record It in the Little Book

Of course, Han Xiao would not go overboard.

Although his mission was to take revenge against the entire Modo Civilization, most of them were innocent. If it was not for his mission, he would not want to do something like this either.

The masterminds were mainly the leaders of the Modo Civilization, and Han Xiao planned to deal with the important officials of the Modo Civilization. As for the other members of the Modo Civilization, Han Xiao planned to observe the situation first before deciding. There was no need to be so extreme at the start.

It would still be fine if he assassinated some individuals with high potential who had yet to grow up. However, there would definitely cause a backlash if he assassinated an individual with high authority.

Furthermore, if a large number of officials within the Modo Civilization were assassinated, the Modo Civilization would not be the only party being enraged. The other Star Cluster Civilizations would also feel threatened and work together to deal with the threat.

As such, the advantage of having a backer was immediately shown. Although the dynasty would not carry out large-scale assassination operations, they did not mind their allies doing the dirty work. That was especially so since the Modo Civilization was the mastermind behind the Kunde Race affair. Although the losses of the dynasty were not large, they still suffered some losses. How would they be able to give an answer to the warriors who died in the Kunde Race war if they did not cause a storm of blood?

Furthermore, it would always be politically correct for the three Universal Civilizations to suppress these Super Star Cluster Civilizations. If not for him having the dynasty’s support, he would attract trouble to himself even if he was a local tyrant.

Assassinations had never been something that could be openly admitted, but they had always been effective. However, some things could be proven by history. Regardless of whether an individual died, the wheels of history would not stop rolling forward. The only difference was whether it rolled quickly or slowly.

If the dynasty attempted to suppress the Modo Civilization in the various domains, while it would cause a Super Star Cluster Civilization to suffer, it would be difficult to cause great damage to them—unless the dynasty was willing to ignore their own losses and pay a huge price.

As for assassinations, it was an extremely cost-effective method.

Han Xiao decided to take on the dirty job. It was both for the mission reward and because the dynasty wanted to punish the mastermind.

As such, he was not afraid of the assassinations being discovered. In order to warn the other party, not only must the assassinations be known, the other organizations had to suspect that the dynasty was behind it.

This way, the other Super Star Cluster Civilizations would know that this matter would not affect them. Even if they were dissatisfied, they would not make a move.

The Modo Civilization took the initiative to create trouble, and the other party was a civilization even more powerful than them. Who can they blame but themselves for suffering the other party’s revenge?

As for whether or not assassinations were breaking the rules set by the civilizations… what can they do about that?

Unless they are strong enough for others to listen to them obediently, it’s a joke to think that they can get others to submit through virtue.

Han Xiao then opened the intelligence report that the Mechanic Emperor had sent him and confirmed his assassination target.

The ones in charge of the Kunde Race plan would definitely be an officer of the intelligence department. Their information was recorded in the intelligence report that Manison had given him, and Han Xiao decided to take care of these individuals first. They were not kind individuals, and getting rid of them would definitely cause some loss to the Modo Civilization’s intelligence department.

“I can be considered a famous bigshot right now, and it isn’t suitable for me to personally carry out assassinations. Lothaire is the most suitable choice.” Han Xiao nodded.

This was not only a mission but also a form of training.

He had high expectations of Lothaire and felt that Lothaire was an individual worthy of being groomed.

…

Not too long later, Lothaire met up with Han Xiao’s mechanical soldiers.

“Your Excellency Black Star.” Lothaire greeted Han Xiao’s Lord avatar.

Han Xiao sized Lothaire up from head to toe. Lothaire was currently dressed completely in black with his face being covered with a black scarf. Only his cold eyes can be seen.

After many years of training, Lothaire’s aura had become concealed, and he could move without making any sound. When he intentionally restrained his aura, his presence would be greatly reduced.

He was an agility-focused Pugilist and had the subclass [Assassin]. Furthermore, he also had various talents to conceal himself and was a genius in this regard.

Lothaire had already accepted a new batch of assassins into the newly established Assassin’s Society. He personally trained these assassins and developed them secretly.

“It has been a long time since we last met. There is a name list and some information over here.”

Han Xiao knew Lothaire’s personality and did not bother exchanging pleasantries with him.

After accepting the name list, Lothaire looked through it carefully, and a ball of flames burst out from his palms.

Hu!

The name list was then reduced to ash.

He is a professional assassin indeed, Han Xiao commented in his heart.

“This list is pretty long, and I will need some time to get rid of them all,” Lothaire said.

“There’s no need to rush. I will provide you with intelligence.”

Han Xiao waved his arms before handing a long box over to Lothaire.

“This is a present for you. Take a look.”

Lothaire opened the box, and a gold light flowed out from it. Lothaire looked carefully at the item in the box—the Deity Assassinator.

While waiting for Lothaire to arrive, Han Xiao had sent the Deity Assassinator over from the Flickering World.

Lothaire then studied the spear and grabbed it.

The next moment, his eyes narrowed.

A gold light burst forth from where he touched the spear.

Hum!

Golden strands of energy stretched out from his arms and very quickly approached his heart. Lothaire’s eyes also began glowing with a golden light.

“Eh? This is…” Han Xiao was surprised upon seeing such a scene.

Nothing had happened when he and Nero touched the Deity Assassinator. Could it be that this weapon gave Pugilists a special bonus?

However, that was not stated in the item details, and there were other Pugilists that had come into contact with the Deity Assassinator before as well. Why was it such that this strange occurrence only happened with Lothaire?

Han Xiao waited patiently for a while before the golden light receded from Lothaire’s body, and his eyes returned to normal.

“What’s going on?” Han Xiao asked.

Lothaire did not reply but used his actions to answer. He let go of the Deity Assassinator, and the Deity Assassinator floated beside him. He did not make use of any Pugilist flames to control it at all.

All of a sudden, the Deity Assassinator disappeared with a golden flash, and Lothaire rolled his sleeves up to reveal a tattoo on his wrist in the shape of the Deity Assassinator. The tattoo then transformed back into a spear with a flash. This was one of the enchantments on the Deity Assassinator. It was able to be transformed into an enchantment for storage. However, it was in an unactivated state in Han Xiao’s hands.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao understood what was going on.

“You set up a soul connection with it?”

“Yes. For some reason, this weapon resonates with me.”

Lothaire nodded. Stretching out his arms, the Deity Assassinator returned to his hands.

Han Xiao immediately felt his heart turn sour.

Nero’s one thing. But even you aren’t a human anymore, huh‽

Touching an equipment and forming resonance with it? Why can’t something good like that happen to me?

In order to make the Spacetime Amber and Evolution Cube fall in love with me, I spent so much effort…

Right at this moment, Han Xiao thought about something.

“Deity Assassinator… this name…”

He suddenly realized that the name of this weapon was similar to Lothaire’s experience in his previous life.

Lothaire went to assassinate EsGod in his previous life and did not return after that… As for the individual who assassinated EsGod… was he not a Deity Assassinator?

Thinking about this, Han Xiao’s eyes changed.

F*ck! Nero actually dug this thing out for him?

Then, aren’t I like Santa‽

“Do you like it?” Han Xiao weakly said.

“Thank you,” Lothaire said emotionlessly. But looking at him play with the Deity Assassinator enjoyably, it could be seen just how much he liked the gift.

“As long as you like it. In any case, I shall leave the mission with you,” Han Xiao said.

Lothaire recalled the Deity Assassinator and nodded.

…

Two months later, in a rundown bar on one of the Modo Civilization’s colonial planets, the customers were in groups of twos and threes, chatting with each other casually.

Even in the interstellar era, social interaction was still a must, and bars like this were extremely common.

All of a sudden, the chattering in the bar became softer, and everyone looked at the holographic screen floating in the bar.

At this moment, the news was being played on the holographic screen, and the entire bar became silent.

“Yesterday, an assassination took place, and the victim is an important intelligence officer called Madison. He suffered an ambush when out on a business trip. He had plenty of bodyguards with him during the incident, but a spear appeared from nowhere, nailing him to the ground. The spear then disappeared, and the culprit was not seen.

“This is the fifth intelligence official that has been assassinated in recent times, and the rage of the upper echelons is at its peak. The three Kings personally signed a bounty to catch the culprit.

“The murderer always uses a spear, and we do not have much intelligence on him. Although many organizations have taken responsibility for the assassinations, we aren’t clear about which organization the assassin belongs to or his motives. For the assassin to be able to grasp the whereabouts of the intelligence officers and avoid records when entering the various planets, he must have a special organization behind him. Before the exact reason is…”

After listening to the news, everyone had an ugly look on their face.

Someone said with fear in his eyes, “Just what is going on recently. Why are there so many assassinations? Plus, the targets are all the high officials. This is truly too unbelievable!”

“That’s right. How many years has it been since we witnessed something like this? Even the officials have been assassinated. This is truly too much!”

Many of the customers in the bar growled with furious indignation. They could not hide the fear in their hearts.

This was not as simple as just a few officials dying. This was a matter that would cause fear to spread within society and cause social unrest!

When meeting such an incident, the Modo Civilization should have thought about locking down information. However, while they were able to control their local media organizations, they could not control the foreign media organizations.

The first report of the assassinations was made by these foreign media organizations. Furthermore, the evidence was solid, and there was nowhere to hide. As such, the entire Star Field became aware of the event, and a huge commotion was caused. Without even thinking, the Modo Civilization knew that this was the method of organization behind the assassin.

The bartender shook his head in resignation. Just when he was about to continue wiping the cups, he found a few coins on the bar counter. It was rare for individuals to still use physical cash, but it was still an acceptable method of payment.

“This is…”

The bartender scratched his head with doubt.

“Was there someone sitting there? Why can’t I remember anything?”

…

At the same time, Tarrokov called Han Xiao over for a discussion.

In the office, Tarrokov showed Han Xiao some information.

“According to Aesop’s prophecy, we intercepted a group of stowaways in that unexplored desolate region. After our interrogation, we verified your intelligence, and the mastermind is indeed the Modo Civilization. I will have to thank you for your aid this time.”

Han Xiao nodded upon hearing that.

He had already reported his findings to the dynasty, but the dynasty had chosen to tread cautiously. The dynasty had only given tacit approval to his assassination operation but did not conclude that the Modo Civilization was the mastermind. They only confirmed the matter after interrogating the stowaways.

“We also found out who’s in charge of this operation,” Tarrokov said with a deep voice. “He is an intelligence officer of the Modo Civilization, and we need your help to get rid of him.”

“Er… That might not be possible.”

“Why?” Tarrokov asked with doubt.

“Because someone who has died cannot die again.” Han Xiao shook his head and smiled. He then showed a screen of the news broadcast from the Primeval Star River. “I have already taken care of that fellow. You’re too late.”

“You are truly quick.” Tarrokov was stunned.

“This shouldn’t be your only reason for arranging to meet me, right?”

“I really can’t hide anything from you.” Tarrokov chuckled. “I am here to convey the intentions of the Ruler and the upper echelons.”

“Good news or bad news?”

“Er, I don’t know,” Tarrokov said slowly. “We have already confirmed the mastermind, and the dynasty will take action. The Ruler agrees with the assassination operation to create some destruction to the Modo Civilization. You can be assured about this. If the Modo Civilization has any objections, we will protect you. However, the dynasty will not provide you with any help, and you shouldn’t go overboard. It won’t be good if you force the Modo Civilization into a corner.”

“I know. I won’t go too far.” Han Xiao waved his hand. If not, I would have even assassinated the three Kings.

“Hmm, the dynasty is also going to suppress the Modo Civilization economically. However, you shouldn’t be too hopeful as we won’t invest too much in this. You should also know that the federation and church are still suppressing us. Furthermore, we still need to pay for the expenses of exploring the Flickering World and won’t have too much energy to take care of the Modo Civilization. Thus, we are only putting up a front to warn the other Super Star Cluster Civilizations.”

Han Xiao frowned. “If the warning isn’t sufficient, the outsiders may see through the dynasty’s weakness and exploit the situation.”

The dynasty wanted to send out a warning but did not wish to pay a huge price. This was not in line with the dynasty’s benefits.

The requirement of his mission was to damage the Modo Civilization. Although his assassination operation might be effective, this Grade Smission was too vague and did not display any mission progress. He did not know how far away he was from his target.

He would have to put in more effort if the dynasty did not help him.

“I understand,” Tarrokov said with resignation. “However, the dynasty is facing too much pressure.

If the target was an ordinary Star Cluster Civilization, the dynasty would be able to easily take care of the other party. However, things were not so simple when dealing with a Super Star Cluster Civilization.

Han Xiao shrugged. “If the pressure is too big, you can just open up the Evolutionary Totem sales.”

The Federation of Light and Arcane Church were pressuring the dynasty for the Evolutionary Totems. Since the dynasty refused to budge, the pressure that they faced would naturally increase.

In fact, it could be said that the dynasty was blocking his benefits. If he was allowed to openly sell the totems, he would be able to receive a new batch of orders and receive a never-ending stream of resources.

The individual who had the Evolution Cube in his hands would be able to grasp this huge business opportunity. As such, there were still upper echelons within the dynasty that wanted to snatch the Evolution Cube from Han Xiao so that they could receive the huge pie.

The Limitless Financial Group had not remained idle during the second exploration phase and continued to compete with the Germinal Financial Group.

“Ah, this isn’t something that I can participate in.” Tarrokov was not willing to talk about this and changed topics. “However, you don’t have to worry about the Modo Civilization. Just because the dynasty has its hands full right now doesn’t mean that we won’t punish the Modo Civilization. The dynasty plans to settle the scores in the fourth exploration phase.”

Hearing that, Han Xiao was excited.

The fourth phase would be when the Flickering World opened up to the outside world. This would be a good chance to settle the scores.

All the Super Star Cluster Civilizations were creating so much trouble so that they could receive more benefits from the Flickering World. However, when the Flickering World was opened to the outside world, would the Modo Civilization not be at the mercy of the dynasty when they were in the dynasty’s territory?

If the dynasty was even more vicious, they might be able to make the Modo Civilization return with nothing.

The Modo Civilization would have a bleak future if they were recorded in the dynasty’s little book.

Thinking about that, Han Xiao did not have any issues with their plan and thought to himself, The Primeval Star River is the other party’s territory, and it won’t be easy for me to take revenge on them. Things will be much easier when they are in the Flickering World.

This means that it would be likely for me to complete the second requirement during Version 4.0.

Han Xiao planned to remain low profile during this period to fortify his foundations. He could afford to wait.

Han Xiao then smiled at Tarrokov.

“Alright, I shall ‘take good care’ of them when they come to the Flickering World.”

Chapter 990 - Go for Wool and Come Back Shorn

After coming to an agreement on the matter regarding the Modo Civilization, both of them chatted about the Flickering World for a while before engaging in idle chatter.

Tarrokov took a sip of tea and said, “The dynasty’s research facility is now studying the Spacetime Splicing Technology. A few of my old friends there told me that this will be a new theoretical direction for research that will give birth to an extremely powerful technological skill. We will now be able to gain a new trump card in the spacetime field. This is all thanks to you.”

“This is a good thing. Even without me, the dynasty would’ve obtained the technology.” Han Xiao lowered his head and wanted to grab onto the cup on the table, only to have his holographic hand pass through the cup. He then looked at Tarrokov with resignation.

Upon seeing Han Xiao’s gaze, Tarrokov placed his cup down and coughed dryly.

“The Federation of Light has the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, but the dynasty’s spacetime research isn’t a match for them. This time, we obtained the Spacetime Splicing Technology, and we may be able to develop a trademark technology in the future. Thus, a confidentiality agreement cannot be helped.”

“I understand. This technology will not be spread out from me.” Han Xiao nodded.

In his previous life, the Spacetime Splicing Technology was monopolized by the dynasty. This time, the dynasty was not able to monopolize the technology and could only request that Han Xiao did not let it spread.

During this period, Han Xiao’s level and attributes were not increased by much, but he gained quite a few powerful abilities and talents. If the Mechanic Emperor attempted to infiltrate his database again, he would not be afraid anymore, and history would not repeat itself.

Tarrokov suddenly seemed to have thought about something and smiled. “Speaking of which, the Spacetime Splicing Technology is the greatest wealth of the Kunde Race Civilization. The Modo Civilization is obviously a step ahead of us in this respect, but they were made use of by others and are still hidden in the dark.”

“If the Modo Civilization knew that their plan didn’t only harm themselves but gave the dynasty a huge advantage, they’d probably regret it.”

The two burst out laughing together.

After laughing for a while, Tarrokov changed the topic and said, “With my status, it isn’t appropriate for me to ask you this question, but I still want to ask you… What are your arrangements with regards to your marriage?”

Han Xiao’s face suddenly became strange.

What? You want to be a matchmaker now?

With both of our statuses, it isn’t too good for you to ask me such a private question, right?

Tarrokov also had an odd look on his face but continued. “The dynasty places a huge emphasis on their alliance with you and also pays close attention to your lifestyle. Maybe you aren’t aware, but you are very popular among the daughters of the upper echelons.”

Upon seeing his look of resignation, Han Xiao understood what was going on.

A Universal Civilization generally would not interfere in the private life of a Beyond Grade A Super. However, the alliance between the dynasty and Black Star Army was currently in the honeymoon phase. The potential that the Black Star Army had displayed resulted in many of the upper echelons having high expectations in him. As such, the idea of a marriage alliance was born, but such matters could not be forced.

Although the dynasty did not have a royal family, a marriage alliance was still a common method to rope their allies in. A portion of the upper echelons had such thoughts, and the others were happy to see the marriage happen as well. With a marriage between the two, this would cause a change in their relationship. It would be much easier to take care of the Evolution Cube problem as well. Black Star could keep the Evolution Cube after the marriage, and the upper echelons would not find the matter that unacceptable.

On the other hand, a Universal Civilization had always placed huge emphasis on the various Beyond Grade A races. This would be a cradle for new Supers to be born. The dynasty also wished for Han Xiao to have his own children and Beyond Grade A race.

To put it simply, they were pushing him to get married.

The matter of an arranged marriage might not be Urranrell’s suggestion; it was probably the various upper echelons getting Tarrokov to pass on the message.

Seeing Han Xiao remain silent, Tarrokov could only continue. “If there’s time, you can participate in some of the dynasty’s banquets. There are many daughters who want to get to know you.”

They want to get to know me?

They probably want to sleep with me!

Humph, a guy needs to know how to protect himself. I will not give you such a chance.

“We can talk about this again later.” Han Xiao chuckled and changed the topic. “Does the dynasty have any other upcoming plans?”

“Let me think…” Tarrokov thought for oa moment, “Right, a Beyond Grade A from the Arcane Church has not appeared for a long time. It is a little strange.”

“Who’s that?” Han Xiao had not paid attention to such matters recently.

“Ninjia, do you still remember him? He is one of the members who attacked Planet Lighthouse. He was the one who escaped with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.”

“Oh, him.” Apart from Ninjia, the other Beyond Grade As of that group were sealed in the Spacetime Amber.

“Ninjia hasn’t appeared all these years, and the Arcane Church claim that he’s recuperating. However, as time’s gone on, things have become more and more suspicious. Even if he was recuperating, there’s no reason for him to not appear for a decade. There is probably a hidden reason behind this…”

“Is the Arcane Church lying?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Hmm, it’s possible that Ninjia is missing or already dead. I think that it is possible that Ninjia didn’t return with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter and was intercepted by someone,” Tarrokov said with a deep voice.

“You mean to say… the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter isn’t in the hands of the Arcane Church, and they are only pretending that they have it?” Han Xiao stroked his chin. “I have already unsealed the few Beyond Grade As from the Arcane Church, but they have not requested that I unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter yet. Even if it is because they don’t think that the dynasty will agree, this excuse is a little flimsy.”

“That’s right.” Tarrokov shook his head. “However, it doesn’t matter who has the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. Without your help, no one will be able to use it and pose a threat to us.”

“Hmm… This means that the dynasty will be the only party capable of using the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. We may even have a chance to purchase the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter and make the once trump card of the Arcane Church ours.”

“It isn’t so easy. We still have to see the intentions of the upper echelons.” Tarrokov was not too optimistic about that.

Both of them then chatter for a while. Tarrokov said that he had a meeting to hold, and Han Xiao did not disturb him anymore.

After deactivating the long-distance projection, Han Xiao returned to his room and thought about their conversation.

“I will have to wait for the fourth exploration phase to finish my revenge against the Modo Civilization. I should make some preparations before Version 4.0.”

As he said that, Han Xiao opened Phillip’s database and looked at the current scale of the army.

After so many years of development, the Black Star Army had stabilized its position as the head of the Shattered Star Ring. Although it faced some challenges, their status would not be so easily shaken as long as he was around. The army had also received their own territory in the Flickering World and had plenty of room for improvement.

The Black Star Army had set up various divisions in the other Star Fields, but the scale of these divisions could not be compared to those in the Shattered Star Ring and Flickering World. Their main territories were still in these two Star Fields.

The second exploration phase was now on track. Although there would be more manpower being channeled in during the third phase, without an obstruction like the Kunde Race, the entire universe would be able to develop stably for the next ten years or so. The universe would only start to stir in the fourth phase.

“The army has sufficient time to build various facilities in the Flickering World during this period. The mechanical civilization and Black Spirit Race will also have sufficient time to develop.”

Next, he went through the pressure that he would be facing from the outside during this period.

There was no need to mention the Mechanic Emperor. The conflict of interests between them would not be resolved so easily. The Limitless Financial Group was also fighting for business with him and probably would not let up. Then, there was the World Tree Civilization, a time bomb that could turn the entire universe upside-down.

“There’s now the Modo Civilization on the list as well. There are truly many things to take care of.”

Han Xiao let out a deep breath.

There were plenty of powerful enemies, and they were all extremely powerful. In order to deal with them, the strength of his faction and his own individual strength was extremely important.

“My strength will be able to grow quickly when the players return, and it will be much easier for me to take care of these problems.”

Although his efficiency in obtaining experience was not too low, it could not be compared to the frightening speed of harvesting leeks.

He was not planning to remain idle. Even if he could not increase his level, he was planning to make use of this time to search for the method to forge Universal Treasures. A Mechanic would have other ways to increase their strength.

It was already very good for a Beyond Grade A to have one Universal Treasure. Han Xiao already has two in his hands, but he would not mind having a third.

“The next batch of Beyond Grade As will be born in Version 4.0. Hehe, I have become a senior so quickly.”

Han Xiao shook his head. Thinking about this, he could not help but think about Hila, who was in training.

He missed Hila after not seeing her for some time. After leaving Planet Aquamarine, the two of them had rarely seen each other.

“She will probably step into the Beyond Grade A realm in Version 4.0.”

Han Xiao thought highly of Hila, and she was the only one who had the chance to become a Beyond Grade A among all his officers.

Hadavy, Lothaire, Feidin, and Lagi had potential, but they were too far away from becoming a Beyond Grade A.

“Perhaps I should think of a way to strengthen these officers.”

Han Xiao thought for a while and took out an intelligence report. This was EsGod’s intelligence about the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

According to the information, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy would appear in Version 4.0. Although he would not be able to use this special Esper Ability, he could obtain it first before finding an appropriate host.

The chance was rare, but he was not planning on letting go of it.

…

In a strip club within the transportation hub of the Constellation Corridor, the atmosphere was boisterous. However, the atmosphere was the complete opposite in the corner.

There were two individuals sitting opposite each other. One of them was wearing a windbreaker, and his appearance could not be seen. The other was a sentient creature that had zits all over his body. He looked like a standing toad and had a pair of sunglasses.

“This is what you want.” The toadman took out a small disc and passed it to the other party before softly saying, “The information is inside.”

“Hmm.” The man in the windbreaker picked the disc up and walked away.

The toadman then called out to him and said, “I don’t understand. I backed out from the intelligence community a long time ago, and there are only a few who still know me. How did you find me? Who are you exactly?”

“Don’t you think it is very pointless to ask someone who is hiding his identity such a question?” the man in the windbreaker said with a hoarse voice.

He then boarded a galactic spaceship and left the transportation hub.

When he was in his room, he took off his windbreaker and revealed a pale face. It was Gaud.

Taking out a machine, he inserted the disc, and the information was displayed on the screen.

Gaud’s lips curled up slightly.

“That’s right. It’s information on the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy…”

Chapter 991 - Galaxy Calendar: Year 729

On Planet Three Kings…

“There have been many assassination incidents recently, and public security is being affected badly. The identity of the assassin is unknown, but according to our investigations, the Crimson Dynasty’s shadow can be seen behind this matter. It is very obvious that Madison has failed, and his methods weren’t able to fool the dynasty.”

An important meeting was being held to discuss recent events, and everyone present had an ugly look on their face.

The continued assassinations of their government officials brought about social unrest, and many Modo citizens were living in fear.

With their safety under threatened, these high officials were all enraged.

A military officer with an explosive temper slammed the table and roared, “Too arrogant! Does the dynasty really think that we are a weak civilization that cannot fight back‽ If we work together with the other Super Star Cluster Civilizations in the Primeval Star River and refuse to listen to the rule of the three Universal Civilizations, we shall see what they do!”

“It is best to say fewer such words,” someone said.

The others present also did not treat those words seriously. Although all the Super Star Cluster Civilizations had plenty of resentment toward the three Universal Civilizations and wanted to replace the other party, gaining independence was a path of no return. Unless they had absolute confidence, no one would support such a notion.

After venting their anger for a while, they went back to the main topic and discussed how they should take care of the matter.

“We must first stop anymore assassinations from happening, but we cannot give in to the dynasty. They want us to admit to the crime of making use of the natives and compensate their losses in the war. They must be dreaming!”

“That’s right. Announce that this matter has nothing to do with us. If the dynasty is able to bring out evidence, insist that the evidence was forged.”

“Also, we must insist that the dynasty is assassinating our officials without any evidence and make an application to the Civilization Conference to denounce the dynasty’s actions. The federation and church will stand on our side. We will also be able to pull more Super Star Cluster Civilizations to our side. The universe isn’t ruled by the dynasty alone.”

Someone shook his head and said, “The Flickering World is about to be opened up, and there won’t be many willing to offend the dynasty during this period.”

“Then, what should we do? We can’t let the dynasty continue assassinating our officials, right?”

“Humph, we should give them a taste of their own medicine. Since they can assassinate our officials, we can also assassinate their officials.”

Another immediately objected. “Assassinate the dynasty’s officials? Have you forgotten what happened during the Tragedy of the Pinnacles?”

Upon hearing that, a look of anger could be seen on the faces of everyone present.

This was a humiliation that they had not forgotten. The Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations were engaged in an intense battle, and because of their heavy losses, they decided to make the Super Star Cluster Civilizations the scapegoat. Including the Modo Civilization, the three Universal Civilizations slaughtered all the Beyond Grade A Supers in the Super Star Cluster Civilizations before leaving as though nothing had happened.

This action of theirs damaged the strength of the various Super Star Cluster Civilizations greatly and resulted in a long-lasting negative impact. Many Beyond Grade A Supers became worried about their own safety and did not dare join a Super Star Cluster Civilization.

As such, the Modo Civilization knew that they would not be able to retaliate by assassinating the other party’s officials. If they did, a huge storm of blood would definitely be stirred up. The church and federation would not watch by the side and would work together with the dynasty to deal with them. The three Universal Civilizations would collaborate if it was to protect their prestige.

They had already experienced this many times before and could only endure silently.

“Don’t exaggerate this issue. The assassinations are only a small matter. The dynasty will know when to stop and won’t dare push us into a corner. However, we must also fight back and control the degree of our retaliation. We cannot touch the dynasty and can only take a step back to deal with the organization of their allies. However, we can only deal with the organization but not the Beyond Grade A.”

“I think Beyoni is very suitable. His organization is located in the Primeval Star River, and it will be easy to deal with him. We will also be able to show our attitude this way.”

In just a short few sentences, Beyoni’s bad luck was determined.

To a Super Star Cluster Civilization, apart from Manison, Kasuyi, or Black Star, an ordinary Beyond Grade A was nothing in their eyes. Even a Star Cluster Civilization would be able to get rid of a Beyond Grade A, not to mention a Super Star Cluster Civilization like them.

Since the dynasty assassinated our officials, we will definitely have to take revenge.

As for the fact that we are the ones who started this matter and are at fault…

So what?

We’re all gangsters anyway.

At this moment, someone said with worry, “What I am worried about is the fact that the dynasty may make use of this matter to restrict our entrance to the Flickering World.”

“What are you afraid of? The Flickering World will be opened eventually. Even the dynasty won’t be able to stop this from happening. If they insist on barring our entry, we can just create a huge fuss! The other Super Star Cluster Civilizations will stand on our side, and the dynasty won’t be able to endure the pressure!”

The Modo Civilization was not afraid that they would be barred from entering the Flickering World because of this.

All the Super Star Cluster Civilizations understood extremely well that even if the Flickering World was opened, the three Universal Civilizations would definitely suppress them. As such, they had formed an alliance of their own.

The Flickering World was a rare opportunity, and the Super Star Cluster Civilizations were willing to work together for this.

Even if the Modo Civilization was the only party being suppressed in the Flickering World, the other Super Star Cluster Civilizations would back them up. Although they did not like to help their competitors, fighting back against the three Universal Civilizations was more important. The Super Star Cluster Civilizations understood that they would be defeated if they did not stand together.

Furthermore, the dynasty was currently occupied with other things and could only use assassinations to warn the Modo Civilization.

The Super Star Cluster Civilizations had the confidence to fight the three Universal Civilizations. After all, they were different from other Star Cluster Civilizations. They no longer had the space to fawn over the three Universal Civilizations.

They could only fight and snatch.

…

In the Limitless Financial Group headquarters, Mechanic Emperor Manison, Void Overlord Kasuyi, and Beast Ancestor Gorutan visited Sorokin again.

“I wonder what the three of you need today?” Sorokin said with a calm smile.

“Do you still remember our deal?” Gorutan asked.

“Of course. I am in charge of competing with the Black Star Army and applying pressure to him to aid all of you in getting the Evolutionary Totems,” Sorokin said slowly.

“However, you don’t seem to be producing much results,” Kasuyi said.

The Black Star Army was able to withstand the pressure of the Limitless Financial Group, and the organizations behind the three were not satisfied.

“Ah,” Sorokin replied casually. “I already said that it wouldn’t be so easy to deal with the Black Star Army.”

“We hope that you will apply more pressure.”

“No problem.” Sorokin smiled. “However, I have already displayed sincerity, and it is now your turn.”

The three of them understood that Sorokin was asking them to fulfil a portion of their promises first.

“That isn’t a problem,” Manison said slowly.

“I shall wait then.” Sorokin smiled. “I also need an appropriate opportunity for my next plan.”

“What plan?” Gorutan asked.

Sorokin cleared his throat and slowly said, “After so many years of competition, we are stuck in a stalemate, and it will be difficult to have a new point of breakthrough in the Shattered Star Ring. Thus, I have my sights set on the Flickering World. That is the core of the Black Star Army’s development.

“I have some inside news. The dynasty will open the Flickering World in the fourth exploration phase. Many financial groups will be interested in fighting for this slice of cake at that time.”

He was already eyeing the opening of the Flickering World. He would be able to make use of various methods to pressure the Black Star Army at that time.

Since the Black Star Army had received the benefits of obtaining a territory, they would have to take the risks of managing it. Sorokin wanted to engage on a new battlefield with the army.

The Limitless Financial Group had plenty of different methods to use money to suppress the ordinary businesses of the Black Star Army within their territory.

Of course, Sorokin’s main objective was the growth of the Limitless Financial Group.

Compared to the benefits of the Flickering World, the cost of suppressing the Black Star Army was negligible.

…

Under the control of both parties, the conflict between the Modo Civilization and the Crimson Dynasty did not escalate further.

Both parties prepared their manpower and resources as they awaited the opening of the Flickering World.

Apart from a few small skirmishes, the galaxy was extremely calm.

Under such circumstances, the second exploration phase of the dynasty was completed smoothly, and the dynasty started the third exploration phase.

In those peaceful times, time crept by silently, and many years went by.

Without too many setbacks, the third exploration phase was coming to an end.

On the 15th day of the 7th month of the 729th year of the Galaxy Calendar, the Crimson Dynasty finally announced a piece of news that everyone had been waiting for.

The fourth exploration phase was about to start, and the Flickering World would be opened!

It was like a psionic bomb being set off!

The universe that had been peaceful for over a decade was stirred again!

Chapter 992 - Incoming Storm 1

News of the fourth exploration phase spread through the entire universe like a storm.

The entire universe had been waiting for this day for far too long, and every Star Field became bustling with excitement. The civilizations of the various regions all began to recruit manpower and purchase resources.

The normal galactic residents also became excited. They could not wait to explore the new Star Fields, and many of them wanted to try their luck to get rich or migrate over.

Countless troops and resources were being mobilized all over the universe. The dynasty had only announced the time, but before the official opening of the Flickering World, all the manpower and resources would have to wait in the Shattered Star Ring. As such, the Shattered Star Ring would become bustling with activity during this period.

The opening of a new Star Field would reshuffle the current state of the universe once more.

A huge tide of migrants flooded toward the Flickering World from all directions.

…

On a red mining planet, there were many prisoners mining for resources.

In the middle of a circular mountain range, there was a prison with a grayish exterior.

“Congratulations, you’re finally out.”

After stepping out from the surveillance region of the prison, even the air smelt sweeter. Looking at the usually stern prison guards smile at him, Evans felt as though it had been an eternity.

He could finally leave the stinky sweat filled prisoner attire and was dressed in a simple top with light luggage in his hands. It had been a long time since he was so at ease.

A floating device was stopped not too far away. This was the prison’s bus that was in charge of sending the prisoners to the space dock outside the atmosphere. At this moment, there was a man in military attire standing beside the bus waving at him.

Although it had been a long time since they last met, Evans immediately recognized the man in military attire.

He could not help but smile and hugged the other party.

“I am here to fetch you. How have you been all this while?”

“Work, eat, sleep—every day is the same.”

They were both extremely excited to meet each other after so long and felt as though they had endless conversation topics.

Evans sized his friend up and lamented, “Time really flies. You were only a skinny child running behind me before I went into prison. Who would have thought that you’d join the military?”

“You have also changed greatly. Don’t just stand there. Get on.”

Both parties then took the bus to the space harbor and took a spaceship to a colonial planet not too far away.

This prison was located on a mining planet surrounded by various colonial planets. There were plenty of different prisoners housed within the prison being laborers on the mining planet.

Evans’ friend had already booked a room in a famous hotel and treated Evans to a good meal.

It had been far too long since Evans last tasted anything other than nutrition fluid. He immediately gobbled down all the food before him and stuffed himself until he could not eat anymore.

Patting his bloated tummy, Evans let out a sigh of satisfaction.

At this moment, his friend took out a box and opened it up. There was a Galactic Communicator, a translator, and other necessities in the box. There was even a portable mechanical suit in it.

“I prepared all this for you. I also opened up an account for you with 15,000 Enaus inside.”

“I will accept the other items, but you can take the Enaus back. I don’t need it. I did receive a salary in the prison, so I have some money.” Evans waved his arms.

“How can that do?” his friend immediately exclaimed. “You saved my life before. If not for you, how would I have my current life? You must definitely accept my repayment.”

He had always been thankful toward Evans. Evans killed an evil Super back then in order to protect him and went to prison because of it.

The supernatural abilities of a Super would enlarge the darkness in some people’s hearts. They would attempt to seek a sense of superiority from ordinary individuals and humiliate or torture these individuals with their strength.

They had once met such a Super, and their lives had been threatened. Although Evans was only an ordinary person, he had managed to find a way to get rid of that Grade E Super.

His good friend was already a military officer and had awakened his Super Gene. However, it was a pity that Evans did not have a Super Gene and would remain an ordinary individual for all his life.

With Evans’ abilities, if he has the talent to become a Super, he would definitely be more powerful than me in future.

Sigh, it is a pity that this is his destiny.

“Haha, I shall accept your sincerity, but I don’t need your money. Don’t think of trying to repay me with material items if we are brothers,” Evans said with a smile.

“You can come over to my place if you are willing.” His friend refused to give up.

“You are already married. I cannot disturb you.”

“I can try to get rid of your past record if you want to enter the military.”

“It’s alright. I am an ordinary individual and will only be cannon fodder if I join the army.” Evans knew that it would be impossible for him to become a Super but was not too bothered about it.

He did not have the bad habit of lamenting about life. The way he saw it, rather than spend time lamenting, he might as well spend the time on practical actions.

“Then, what are you planning to do in the future?” his friend said with resignation.

“Hmm, let me find a job first and talk about the rest later.”

Evans then began browsing the web with his communicator to view the employment advertisements. He was startled the moment he saw the advertisements.

There were plenty of jobs available but the first criteria of all the jobs was the same.

‘Job location: Flickering World!’

As long as they could work in the Flickering World and were not a wanted individual, they would be hired!

His friend looked over and shook his head.

“The Crimson Dynasty has finally announced the opening of the Flickering World, and every organization is hiring more manpower.”

In his memories, the Flickering World was still in the Crimson Tide era. The universe had truly changed greatly during his imprisonment.

He then lowered his head and looked at the recruitment notice before nodding his head.

“Flickering World… let me go and take a look then.”

…

“It is finally going to open up.”

On the Star Pupil Holy Race’s home planet, Psyker stood in front of a window.

After the Planet Lighthouse incident, he had maintained a low profile to recover from his losses.

After more than ten years, the negative influence of him giving up the Evolution Cube was already gone, and he was still the noble leader in the eyes of many.

Although he was extremely close to the Flickering World, he could only watch as Black Star and the Tyrant gained an early advantage in the Flickering World because he was a member of the church. Psyker was extremely envious and anxious. He had been waiting for this day for a long time and also wanted a slice of the cake.

The way he saw it, the Flickering World was an opportunity for the Star Pupil Holy Race. He no longer needed to be restricted in the Shattered Star Ring. His current situation would only become worse as Black Star and the Tyrant developed themselves. As such, he needed to find a new way out for the Star Pupil Holy Race.

As such, the Arcane Church had an excuse to interfere and support him. The more the benefits he could obtain in the Flickering World, the better for his race.

As he thought about the past, Han Xiao’s figure appeared in his mind.

“Black Star… he has also remained silent for more than ten years. It seems like his strength has stagnated after reaching peak Beyond Grade A…”

Chapter 993 - Incoming Storm 2

It was the day for Black Star’s Party again, and the Black Star Army headquarters located in the Shattered Star Ring welcomed the representatives from many different organizations.

Over the past ten years, Black Star’s Party had become an iconic event of the army.

Compared to the first few years, there were many more participants with many of the organizations coming from other Star Fields. They were all organizations preparing to head to the Flickering World. With the Flickering World about to open to the outside world, many organizations wanted to have a good relationship with Black Star, who had territory in the Flickering World.

The number of explored Star Clusters would be increased to nine, and the Dawn Star Cluster, which was the entrance to the Flickering World, was being managed by the dynasty. Garu, Renault, and Crown, which were explored in the first exploration phase, had been split up to the dynasty’s allies, and their basic facilities had been completed. The five Star Clusters of the second and third exploration phase had plenty of room for development, and the dynasty was prepared to open more slots and get the various organizations of the universe to bear the cost of developing them.

The dynasty announced that the Black Star Army would be given two Star Systems, located in the Russo Star Cluster of the second phase and the Mark Star Cluster of the third phase. Only a small portion of the other allies had a territory assigned to them.

Unlike the first phase, the dynasty would not give out too many territories but considered arranging various National Pillars to maintain their control over the various Star Clusters.

Within the territory of the nine explored Star Systems, the Black Star Army was the organization that had the largest territory in the Flickering World, except for the dynasty. Thus, there were many organizations fawning over the Black Star Army and hoping to gain more benefits from the Flickering World.

The party was boisterous and filled with individuals from many different races. It was almost as though it was a gallery to view all the different races.

There were many who were joining in Black Star’s Party for the first time, and they gathered in small groups to chat with each other while gossiping about the various Black Star Army officers.

“That woman with a Star Cluster representative beside her is Chief Administrative Official Sylvia. She is Black Star’s head butler, and I heard that she is extremely capable. The one beside her is Fleet Commander Herlous, and his student Mia is beside him. She stepped into the Calamity Grade a year ago and uprooted a traitor of a galactic civilization organization that had a Calamity Grade Super single handedly. It is said that she is the lover of Nero, the heir to the Black Star Army.”

“… Look there. That is Vice Commander Lagi, the former leader of the Hidden Red Robe Abbey. He is also the principal of the Black Star Super Academy and entered the list of Beyond Grade A seeds last year. The one beside him is Tomar, a genius Mage. It is said that Austin wanted to rope him in a few years ago but was rejected by Black Star.”

“The individual reading blueprints in the corner is Reynold, who is in charge of logistics. The one beside him is the vice head of the intelligence department, Shazik. There is also the upper echelon of the Germinal Financial Group, Iapetus… Most of the important personnel of the Black Star Army are gathered here. I think that there are more than thirty Calamity Grade Supers present.”

“This is only a small portion of the Calamity Grade Supers in the Black Star Army. The elite Black Star Guards such as Hadavy and Feidin are all in the Flickering World. The entire Black Star Army has about sixty to seventy Calamity Grade Supers with two Beyond Grade A seeds.”

“Black Star has lived in seclusion for the past few years and almost never made any public appearance. It is only possible to see him during Black Star’s Party. I wonder if there will be a chance to talk to him…”

Just as everyone was chatting, a holographic projection appeared on the stage.

The attention of the guests was immediately attracted by the screen, and they all greeted the silhouette that had appeared.

“Your Excellency Black Star.”

Han Xiao nodded and smiled. “Welcome to the Black Star Army.”

With his current life span, a decade was no more than a snap of his fingers, and he did not seem to have aged the slightest.

With the main character appearing, the plaza became boisterous with plenty of people coming forward to chat with Han Xiao.

Han Xiao was already used to this and dealt with them with a smile.

According to his memory, a portion of these organizations were active in the Flickering World.

Apart from the three Universal Civilizations and Super Star Cluster Civilizations, some neutral civilizations and civilian organizations also played an important role in the Flickering World.

Because of Han Xiao’s hard work, the army had gained an advantage in the Flickering World and had nine Star Systems as their foundation. They could make use of their foundation to build ties with more organizations and form a large net of benefits. This was also the reason for the party today.

Han Xiao dealt with all those who approached him while searching through his memories to match these individuals to their organization.

The banquet was a very successful one, and after sending away the guests, the officers followed Han Xiao into his office.

“Army Commander, the Flickering World is about to be opened to the outside. We need to make sufficient preparations and be prepared to fight off the various large organizations,” Sylvia said.

Han Xiao nodded and replied, “Just go according to our plan.”

The army had been preparing for more than ten years and had already made all the relevant preparations.

When the Flickering World opened, it would also be the start of Version 4.0 and the time for the players’ return. At the same time, inter-Star Field transportation would also be activated for the players, and all the players would flood toward the Flickering World.

Compared to the other players, the players of the Black Star Army obviously had an advantage as they had come in contact with the Flickering World during Version 3.0.

Han Xiao had been waiting for this day for a long time. The Black Star Army now had the foundation to welcome the new version, and they would be the leeks for him to harvest.

Through his hard work, the Black Star Army had become the largest private organization in the Flickering World and could provide the players with even more benefits to attract them.

Over the past ten or so years, the strength of all his officers had improved, and he had not remained idle either. He had replenished his mechanical army and perfected his Dimension Factory. At the same time, he had converted more first-generation Mechanical Lives to aid in the development of the machinery civilization.

Although he still was not capable of forging a Universal Treasure, Han Xiao would send his mechanical army out from time to time to search for opportunities to obtain some talents. He had also accumulated plenty of Random Reward chances.

The experience that he had accumulated was all spent on increasing the levels of his skills to obtain Potential Points. As such, his level did not change much, and he was still around level 300.

Apart from this, Han Xiao also searched for more Energy Training Techniques to increase the upper limit of his energy.

Because of his interface, his training efficiency far exceeded the other Beyond Grade As, and the increase in his energy level was pretty substantial.

After over ten years of accumulation, Han Xiao’s foundation was no longer weak and could barely match up to his status of a peak Beyond Grade A Mechanic.

After remaining low profile for so many years, the outside world probably thinks that my strength has stagnated. I am already all prepared and only waiting for an opportunity. When Version 4.0 launches, my strength will be increased rapidly again…

Nero stood up and said, “Godfather, I have a request.”

“Speak.” Han Xiao looked over. Nero was already an adult, and although he still had a childish appearance and was still short like before, he had a far more stable aura.

Nero had acted as his right-hand man over the past few years and helped him greatly.

“I wish to apply for leave to accompany my father on Planet Aquamarine. I also wish to take Mia with me,” Nero said.

“Hmm, you should go back.”

Bennett was getting older and older. As the leader of Planet Aquamarine, he was extremely busy, and Nero would apply for leave to visit him from time to time. Han Xiao naturally did not stop him from doing so.

After checking on the work of all the officers, Han Xiao’s communicator suddenly rang.

Upon glancing at the caller, Han Xiao waved his arms and got his subordinates to leave the office before picking up the call. Tarrokov’s silhouette then appeared on the screen.

“Black Star, the Flickering World is about to be opened, and you should know what you need to prepare. I am calling you for something else.”

“Speak.”

“You should have paid attention to the newly ascended Beyond Grade As over the past few years, right? One of them chose to join the dynasty, and they will head to Planet Crimson Ring to meet Her Excellency Ruler. The dynasty is going to gather the Beyond Grade A allies to meet him. Are you planning to meet him?”

Every Beyond Grade A that joined the alliance had the same treatment, and it had been the same for Han Xiao.

Over the past ten years, a few new Beyond Grade A Supers had risen in the various Star Fields.

He was no longer considered a newbie.

After taking a look at the information that the dynasty had sent to him, Han Xiao was immediately tempted. This individual had joined the dynasty during this period in his previous life and made the same decision.

“Alright, I shall go and meet him,” Han Xiao agreed, and his thoughts began to drift.

Version 4.0 is about to open up. I wonder how Hila is doing.

…

At the same time, in the desolate universe belt, Ames floated outside the atmosphere of a planet and looked down at the boundless sea of red on the planet.

The red energy swept over the entire surface of the planet like a flood, and anything that came into contact with it disintegrated into dust.

The sturdy earth seemed to have turned soft, and the sea of red was still rapidly expanding.

All of a sudden, the red energy shot toward the sky with a red figure emerging from within it.

Her face was filled with the coldness of death.

Upon seeing that, Ames smiled.

“Welcome to the Beyond Grade A realm.”

Chapter 994 - The “Whore“ of the Beyond Grade As

The red energy that saturated the entire sky was quickly absorbed back into Hila’s body, and the red light within her eyes dimmed. However, her aura seemed as though she was a totally new person.

After twenty years of grueling training in the universe, Hila had finally taken this step. In her previous life, she had arrived at the Beyond Grade A realm earlier than this, so she had always had the potential.

After transforming into a Beyond Grade A species, Hila’s appearance became more refined, her skin was cleansed and flawless, and her genes were greatly optimized.

Though her growth rate could not be compared to Black Star, Ames was equally amazed by Hila’s talent. Compared to those who needed centuries to reach this stage, Hila’s special S Grade Esper Ability had greatly shortened her journey.

“How do you feel?”

Ames sized Hila up, her eyes glowing with appreciation, as though she was viewing a work of art.

“Miraculous.” Hila was sensing the changes and thoughtfully spoke. “So, this is the world in the eyes of the Beyond Grade A. Everything feels different.”

“Hehe, slowly experience and get used to it. We have plenty of time.” Ames slightly smiled.

Hila breathed out, a spark of excitement flashing across her eyes.

The me now should be able to barely catch up to Black Star.

I can… return.

Ames then controlled her force field, taking out the communicator and sending it to Hila’s side as she smiled. “Do you want to share this good news with him?”

Hila received the communicator, but after hesitating a few seconds, she shook her head.

“No, I’ll surprise him by personally returning.”

…

On Planet Crimson Ring, a saucer shaped spaceship pierced through the Psionic Seal Ring, slowly approaching Planet Crimson Ring. On the star bridge stood a huge figure in front of the porthole, silently staring at the growing Planet Crimson Ring.

This person possessed a bright silver body, and his skin was like flowing liquid metal. One could only see a pair of metallic eyes on his face, and any other places are as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the galaxy outside the window. He was not wearing clothes and possessed no sexual characteristics.

He was a newly born Beyond Grade A, having ascended just five years prior. He was considered a Beyond Grade A seed from the Sea of Star Spirits, and a hundred years ago, he had locked himself into the core of a dying star to cultivate in a perilous method that only gave a slim chance of survival. A hundred years later, like a cocoon, he broke out, transforming into a new life form born from the core of the star.

He abandoned his original name, naming himself ‘Silver Shadow’, and formed his own Beyond Grade A organization within the Sea of Star Spirits. Over the past few years, he had made a name for himself and developed rapidly, forming a base of operations within the Sea Of Star Spirits.

Silver Shadow had accepted the dynasty’s invitation, so he had traveled over to meet the Dynasty Ruler as well as the Beyond Grade As of the dynasty.

At this moment, one of his officers came up behind him and whispered, “Your Excellency Silver Shadow, we’re about to descend.”

“Hmm.” Silver Shadow’s voice was cold and brought with it the timbre much like a metal vibration. It was akin to an electronic sound without emotion.

The officer hesitated a while before asking, “Your Excellency, if I may ask, why are we choosing to join the dynasty?”

“Are you questioning my decision?” Silver Shadow did not even turn around.

“I do not.” The officer immediately refuted that. He had not joined Silver Shadow for long, so he did not dare offend him at this time. He spoke in a hesitant tone. “I just feel that the offers from the Arcane Church and the Federation of Light were much better.”

Silver Shadow did not deny that. “With the development of the Flickering World, the attraction the dynasty has now prevails over the rest, so the Federation and the Church have to pay higher prices. It’s not because they value me. Furthermore, the power distribution in the Sea of Star Spirits has reached saturation, and only the Flickering World can provide me with more room to develop. Thus, choosing the dynasty is the better option for me… However, this is not the main reason I chose to join them.”

“Then why?”

“The Evolution Cube… as well as Black Star.” Silver Shadow paused. “If not for the fact that Black Star, who has possession of the Evolution Cube, is with the dynasty, I would not have agreed to their invitation.”

“That’s right. The dynasty said that they were going to gather a few Beyond Grade As to meet you. Will Black Star come as well? If he’s there, you can make your request.”

“Heh, from what I know, those old Beyond Grade A fogeys seldom appear at such affairs. The most one will see is Urranrell’s bodyguard, Dark Lord Clotti. As for whether Black Star will come or not, I do not know,” Silver Shadow muttered. “But I would like him to come so that I can spar against him.”

“You wish to spar with Black Star?” The officer got a shock. “He rose to the peak of the Beyond Grade A realm more than a decade ago and is even recorded as one of the strongest Mechanical Deities. While he has been silent these few years, still…”

“I know what you mean. There’s no need to say any more. The Beyond Grade A circle within the three Universal Civilizations have always ostracized newcomers. If you want the right to speak, you have to prove it through your strength. Since I must fight, I might as well pick a stronger one.”

The Silver Shadow turned around, coldly remarking, “Dark Lord, Dragon King, and Illusory Deity. These three veterans have the highest status of the Beyond Grade As within the dynasty, and directly behind them would be Black Star, who only took a few decades to reach the Beyond Grade A realm. He is almost guaranteed to succeed the trio and will be the main pillar of the dynasty in the future, holding the most authority. In just twenty years, to grow to such a state, I’m extremely interested in him, and if he wants me to listen to him, I must experience just how good he is.”

Very quickly, the spaceship landed on the political core of Planet Crimson Ring, Tarunamir Palace. Silver Shadow brought his officers to exit the spaceship and followed the attendants to walk into the palace.

Boom!

At this instant, a strong overbearing Beyond Grade A pressure burst out, viciously pressuring him. This was obviously an opening gambit by the seniors.

Silver Shadow did not show any weakness, and the aura unique to a Beyond Grade A burst out from him and pushed back hard.

Bang bang bang!

Rings of invisible shockwaves seemed to burst apart in midair.

As though sensing his attitude, the Beyond Grade A pressure receded quickly like the tide.

“We’ll meet with the Ruler first.” Silver Shadow coldly gazed toward the direction of the aura before following the attendants to another location.

At the same time, inside a room far away, a few of the Beyond Grade A allies of the dynasty were seated.

“The newcomers now are really arrogant. None of them are willing to bow their heads.” Beyoni sighed.

“That’s right. Thinking back, when I first fought Black… cough cough.” Viru embarrassedly coughed twice, sneaking a look at Han Xiao who was sitting at the head using his Lord’s Descent.

Han Xiao smirked and made a sarcastic remark. “That time, you couldn’t even beat a newbie like me.”

“That was different. You’re a special case that broke all records in history, and you’re even at the peak of Beyond Grade A now. Losing to you at that time… shouldn’t be too embarrassing, right?” Viru laughed hollowly.

“No, it was embarrassing.” Lotus Swordsman harshly shot him down.

Everyone could not help but burst into laughter.

Over the past few years, Han Xiao had already established a deep level of friendship with most of the Beyond Grade A allies in the dynasty. Due to his strength and legendary points, he had a greater say in this circle, only behind Dark Lord, Dragon King, and Illusory Deity. He had long shed his identity as a newcomer.

Among the dynasty alliance, only the stubborn little Ty-Ty refused to admit his influence; the rest all were in awe of him.

That day, there were nine Beyond Grade A present. Neither Milizaus nor Kant were there, but it was still more than when Han Xiao had arrived for the first time.

The last person to experience such a battle was Han Xiao himself. Seeing Silver Shadow was just like seeing the him of yesteryear, coming in with as much pomp and fanfare.

He was not interested in bullying the newcomers together with this group of Beyond Grade As, so he did not pressure Silver Shadow with his momentum like the rest. He chose to come because he wanted to see Silver Shadow.

If he remembered correctly, this Silver Shadow was a special existence among the Beyond Grade As. He had molded himself into something equivalent to a Universal Treasure during this life evolution, but right now, this ability should have awoken yet.

In the later version during his past life, Silver Shadow had an infamous nickname among the players—the ‘Whore’ of the Beyond Grade As!

According to incomplete statistics, during the World Tree Civilization battles, over twenty Beyond Grade As had ‘used’ Silver Shadow before.

Among them, the one who utilized his abilities the most was the late bloomer Karlot, which earned him the nickname of ‘Whore Monopolizer’ Karlot.

While Han Xiao wished to turn this ‘public good’ into a ‘private good’, this sort of thinking was a bit unrealistic, so he settled for making contact with the other party first.

At this time, Ravenlaude was surveying the audience. “We will most likely have to do a spar later. Who’s going up?”

“I have no interest.” Lotus Swordsman firmly refused.

“Don’t look at me.” Beyoni waved his hands. “You should know that I’m not good at solo battles.”

“I…” Viru hesitated a little. After the thrashing Han Xiao had given him, he was no longer that passionate about such matters and ended up shaking his head. “I won’t go up either.”

“Black Star, are you interested?” Maximiler looked over.

“I never fight unnecessary fights.” Han Xiao waved his hands in refusal. He did not have any intention of bullying a newcomer who should be worth befriending.

Moreover, they were on Planet Crimson Ring, the capital of the dynasty. He had not stationed much machinery there, and any machines that broke would need to be fixed.

By the side, Kohler, who was treated like transparent glass, finally opened his mouth in resignation. “Since none of you are interested, let me do it.”

Everyone cast their sight over, with suspicion on their faces.

Without any exaggeration, Kohler was the one recognized as the most noob, even taking Beyoni into account.

“I’m still a Pugilist class that specializes in individual battles. What sort of expressions are you guys showing‽” Kohler was embarrassed and angry.

“We’re afraid of you embarrassing us,” Lotus Swordsman said straightforwardly.

Taking advantage of the people teasing Kohler, Han Xiao scooted over to Beyoni’s side, whispering, “How’ve you been doing recently?”

“How else can I be doing‽” Beyoni replied in a not-so-polite manner. “Thanks to you, the Modo Civilization is constantly trying to suppress my race. The other day, those idiots even fired a long-range galactic missile toward my Land of the Fire Core, ploughing the entire landscape for me. Are you paying for the damages?”

“Nope, speak to the dynasty for compensation. It was them who allowed me to do so.” Han Xiao dryly coughed.

Over the past few years, Lothaire had been making waves within the Modo Civilization, assassinating target after target. He had already thoroughly offended the entire civilization many times over.

Modo naturally vented his anger on Beyoni, who was an ally of the dynasty. In those few years, he had been beaten black and blue, an innocent bystander dragged into the affair.

While Lothaire was cautious in handling matters, it was not as if he experienced no danger. Treading the thin line between life and death had allowed him to grow rapidly. While there was some measure of luck involved, it was not as exaggerated as Feidin and Nero, and more of relying on his own skills to escape the situation.

His Assassin’s Society was developing quite well, having already nurtured a group of interstellar killers. On paper, it was a bounty hunter organization within the black market, but in secret, they were Han Xiao’s Shadowers.

After chatting for a while, Silver Shadow’s aura suddenly drew closer. Everyone instinctively knew that his talk with the Ruler had already ended and put on a serious expression.

Swoosh.

The doors opened, and two people walked in. One of them was Clotti with a passive expression. He walked up until he reached Han Xiao’s side, taking a seat at the head.

The other was naturally Silver Shadow. He stood in the middle of the room, surveying the area and the Beyond Grade As present. Finally, his gaze stopped on Han Xiao’s avatar.

“You’re Silver Shadow from the Sea of Star Spirits?” Viru was the first to open his mouth, pretentiously sneering. “You don’t seem to respect us much.”

“Why should I respect you?” Silver Shadow indifferently replied.

By the side, Kohler coldly laughed. “How arrogant. A pity, this place is the Crimson Dynasty. The dynasty does not allow such prideful characters to exist.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao immediately cast a glance at him.

Why does that sentence sound so familiar?

Silver Shadow turned to Kohler, and after being silent for a while, he finally said, “There’s someone like you in the dynasty? I’ve never heard of you.”

Kohler’s gaze turned frosty. He was originally only pretending, but having been insulted, the person in question could not suppress his rage.

“Within the Beyond Grade A circle, status and authority are earned by strength. I believe you understand this rule as well.” Kohler pushed his hands against his kneecaps, leaning forward. “You’ve come to the Ruler’s side as an ally of the dynasty, but you haven’t earned respect among us. Do you dare you spar against me?”

“You? Forget it, you’re not my opponent.”

Silver Shadow’s tone was calm, as though he had just spoken a fact.

Without waiting for Kohler to continue, he turned to look at Han Xiao, leisurely saying, “If I must spar, I will of course choose someone stronger. Black Star, do you have the guts to fight me?”

Han Xiao was stunned in place.

Why did it suddenly become my problem?

I only came here to support you.

The eyes of everyone present lit up, and a look of interest crossed their expressions.

There were people, who after stepping into the Beyond Grade A realm, felt that their strength had no limits and would like to leapfrog to directly challenge those at the peak. This sort of mentality often appeared in the Beyond Grade As, so people did not find Silver Shadow to be weird.

It was just like how a newborn calf might dare to challenge a tiger. The spirit of daring to challenge someone stronger was also a good mentality.

Han Xiao was about to decline, but he discovered a notification on his interface and immediately swallowed his words.

Glancing at the notification, he almost let out a cry.

Silver Shadow had initiated the battle, which directly triggered the mission for battling against the Beyond Grade A. Just as had happened against Heber and Manison, not only was the experience reward good, he even had the chance to draw a skill from the other party.

After so many years of research, Han Xiao was now more aware of the trigger mechanism for such missions. If the other party took the initiative to request a battle, then the rate of the mission appearing was insanely high. Right now, while there were only a few people within this room, they could all be considered big shots within the universe, so there was sufficient influence to activate the mission.

This newcomer is too generous, to actually give me a skill the moment he showed up… Han Xiao could not help shaking his head.

“Alright, no need to be aggressive. I can agree to that.”

Silver Shadow nodded before suddenly saying, “Just sparring itself is pointless. Shall we have a bet as well?”

Han Xiao was curious. “What do you want to bet?”

“I wish to borrow the Evolution Cube. If I gain the advantage or even win in this battle, please accede to my request. If I lose, I can fulfil any request you have of me, so long as it does not cross the line.”

“Done. It’s a small matter.” Han Xiao nodded. He did not lose out in any way.

At this moment, the cold-faced Clotti opened his mouth. “Go fight outside the Psionic Seal Ring. Don’t fight near the mother planet.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao suddenly felt a strange feeling in his heart.

You seem to have also said this the previous time, and it was even the exact same wording. You just came here to be a referee, right?

…

Urranrell stood by the window at the office within Tarunamir Palace. She raised her head to see a group of Beyond Grade As rising like spaceships, disappearing beyond the horizon.

“Ruler, have Black Star and the rest left?”

There were several other upper echelons within that room, consisting mostly of advocates of the Evolution Cube being handed over. Among them was the hawk faction Bekorodi, as well as Ludwell, who previously owed Han Xiao a favor.

Urranrell turned around, indifferently commenting, “Hmm. It seems that Clotti said they went beyond the Psionic Seal Ring to battle.”

“That…” Bekorodi mused for a while before saying, “Your Excellency Ruler, what do you think of our plan then?”

Urranrell’s brow creased. “Gaud’s ability is indeed the first of its kind, but we can’t even do anything with our techniques. Are you sure of the success?”

“Right now, no.” Bekorodi shook his head. “He only told me that, as long as he reaches the Beyond Grade A level, his Esper ability will allow him to analyze the principle behind the Evolutionary energy. You also know how miraculous the powers of Espers are.”

“Beyond Grade A…” Urranrell shook her head. “He thinks that he will reach that realm for sure? Even so, how long does he even need?”

“Not sure. We can only wait.”

Hearing this, Urranrell could not help but fall into silence.

Seeing this Bekorodi could not help but push some more. “Your Excellency, this is a good chance. Black Star has already proved that it is nigh impossible for the dynasty to obtain the Evolution Cube from him. We cannot use any domineering methods against him, but if we can dissect and analyze the energy ourselves and replicate it, Black Star will have no excuses. This is not offending him, and he has no grounds to forbid us studying the Evolution Cube, so even if he’s dissatisfied, he can’t do anything!”

“I know.” Urranrell’s brows were still furrowed. “But Gaud’s request is for him to come into contact with the actual body of the Evolution Cube. If his goal is discovered by Black Star, this may anger him.”

“This is a small risk, but we’re not trying to snatch the cube, so it isn’t so serious. Furthermore, Gaud has always been someone our dynasty supports, so it is natural that we provide him the quota for the Evolution Cube.”

Urranrell was still hesitant. The Evolution Cube was Black Star’s, and the dynasty could not snatch it, but it would be a different matter if they managed to create one themselves.

From a personal viewpoint, Urranrell did not have any problems with Black Star and was even pleased with his performance.

However, as the Ruler, she had to consider the issue from the standpoint of the dynasty. The benefits of the Evolutionary Totems were too great, and they had to be recharged every decade or so. Allowing an ‘outsider’ to monopolize it was not something the dynasty was comfortable with.

“This is not necessarily to snatch away the interests of Black Star but to prevent the outcome of Black Star losing the Evolution Cube some day. It’s better for the dynasty to study the mystery of the Evolution Cube in advance as a backup.” Bekorodi struck while the iron was hot.

“He makes sense,” Ludwell added.

Speaking of whom, Ludwell had owed Han Xiao a favor, but in previous years, he had taken the initiative to invest within the Shattered Star Ring, suppressing the Limitless Financial Group, which was in a way repaying his favor.

Today, he did not go against Bekorodi but rather supported this plan. It was not because he had issues with Han Xiao, but rather, from a professional viewpoint… the success rate of this proposal seemed quite high.

Urranrell thought for a while longer before sighing and replying, “Bekorodi, Black Star will come over later. You can use your name to invite him to discuss the matter of exchanging the Evolution Cube with something else one last time.

“If he still rejects, then put that plan into motion. Remember, the fewer people who know about this, the better. This is especially so for Black Star. If he finds out, he will definitely think of ways to prevent it.”

Hearing this, Bekorodi and the others in the room had expressions of joy and immediately nodded in response.

“Understood.”

Chapter 995 - Exchange Three for One?

It did not take long for the whole group of Beyond Grade As to arrive outside the Psionic Seal Ring, and the group chose an uninhabited area for the battlefield.

Han Xiao and Silver Shadow separately from the group, facing each other. The other Beyond Grade As stayed outside the battlefield and chatted animatedly, with Lotus Swordsman even building a mental network for them to communicate.

“To actually choose Black Star as his opponent, I’m not sure how long this Silver Shadow can last.” Viru shook his head.

“Even if he beat Kohler, his authority would be second last,” Lotus Swordsman indifferently replied. “Instead, he might as well choose Black Star. As long as he can pose problems for Black Star, the effect will definitely be better than fighting Kohler.”

Kohler frowned. While this is the truth, can you be less hurtful in your comments my friends!

Ravenlaude pondered, “Silver Shadow seems to have quite a lot of confidence. Maybe he has some special talent.”

“I heard he’s a pugilist, but he looks more like an Esper.”

“I’ve checked through his history, and his speed is the astonishing factor. I heard that he even has some special flying skills, allowing him to continuously accelerate to warp speed. It seems like he has a void bloodline.” Maximiler pointed to Silver Shadow in the distance. “Furthermore, look at his body surface using microscopic vision. The seemingly smooth silver surface is actually covered with extremely small mana circuits, which most likely come from the Beyond Grade A mages of the Sea of Star Spirits.”

Hearing this, the Beyond Grade As all adjusted their vision and entered their microscopic view, and they discovered that there was indeed a dense energy circuit covering Silver Shadow, much like a semi-invisible tattoo.

“There are several Beyond Grade A mages residing within the Sea of Star Spirits, but such an insane way of inscribing magic circuits should belong to the [Secret Master] of the Elderly Association. While the Secret Master is one of the controllers of behind the scenes of the galactic black market, he belongs to the neutral faction. Still, his fees are not cheap, so it seems like Silver Shadow must’ve bled quite badly.”

Ravenlaude got unhappy. “What Elderly Association? It’s called the Ancient Ones!”

Lotus Swordsman was focused on another point, and she squinted. “He has too many enchantments on his body. To be able to withstand such a load, his fleshly body should be quite strong.”

“Oh, this is indeed the case,” Beyoni said in resignation. “However, no matter how strong his fleshly body is, can it be stronger than Black Star’s?”

“Good point.”

With Han Xiao as a shining example, no one was surprised anymore when they saw any meat shields.

“Speaking of which, ever since his battle with the Mechanic Emperor, Black Star has not fought anyone in the past twenty years. After reaching this stage, he most likely won’t be able to maintain that startling growth speed.” Viru shook his head.

Even Clotti who was usually silent could not help but say, “Upon reaching the limits known to man, climbing further will require one to break through the limits into a whole new path. Throughout history, there were many who tried and failed. It’s more difficult than it seems.”

As they chatted, Han Xiao and Silver Shadow also began their battle.

The mechanical host carrying avatar floated in the universe with a small mechanical army. Its dark armor flickered constantly with blue and gold Mechanical Force.

He, the mechanic, stood still while the Pugilist Silver Shadow was the one who took the initiative to put some distance between them.

This sort of situation was rarely seen, but everyone shared a glance, their eyes twinkling with laughter. In the entire universe, it was probably only the Mechanic Black Star that no pugilist dared to face head on.

From afar, Silver Shadow circled around Han Xiao, looking for openings and opportunities to attack.

Looking at him making circles around him, with no intention to attack, Han Xiao could not help but open his mouth.

“How long are you going to circle me? Come and attack!”

Silver Shadow did not reply, only continuing to circle around. He gradually accelerated, flying faster as his body began to blur. He was akin to a silver comet, leaving behind a series of silvery afterimages like a flaming tail of a meteor.

Through his Void Vision, Han Xiao could clearly see that the speed of Silver Shadow was not only fast—the space around him had distorted slightly, constantly warping at the rear to form the shape like a tidal wave, which allowed him to ride the waves to provide additional acceleration.

At the same time, there was a familiar Void Energy fluctuation coming out of Silver Shadow, which proved that the other party also possessed some Void Genes.

Han Xiao was quite clear of the general abilities of Silver Shadow. At the Beyond Grade A realm, Silver Shadow had a few obvious characteristics. One of them was speed, or his ability to maintain near warp speed for prolonged distances. At his peak, he could even reach actual warp speed.

The second was that his body was extremely tough and nearly indestructible.

The third was a rare racial talent.

And his fourth was the ‘whore’ effect.

Silver Shadow did not have a high HP count, but his defense was extremely exaggerated, to the point that even Heber could not compare with him. This was related to his attributes as a living Universal Treasure.

Due to his various special abilities, Silver Shadow’s actual combat capability was pushed up to the level of Heber or Viru despite him being a new Beyond Grade A, above the likes of Kohler and Beyoni. He was probably only weaker than Maximiler, Ravenlaude, and Lotus Swordsman, who belonged to the middle ranks, as he had a great shortcoming in his spiritual attributes.

As one of the dynasty’s allies with the strongest combat capabilities, Han Xiao carried himself calmly and did not mind allowing Silver Shadow to display all his means. After all, the other party was someone who had a special role. It was worth it to allow the other party to play his own style and obtain more authority to speak within their circle.

It was not that Han Xiao was arrogant, but he knew his baseline. He had already calculated the entire battle scenario time and again in his heart, and the conclusion was set.

Just with his current strength, he had enough ability to control the entire battle situation. He did not need any fancy moves to deal with Silver Shadow, he just needed to F2A[1], and everything would be settled.

With such an overwhelming advantage, how could he lose‽

No matter how flowery the opponent’s skills were, a raise of his hand would be enough to annihilate them.

Thus, Han Xiao patiently waited for Silver Shadow to speed up, only occasionally letting his machines shoot from a distance.

Finally, Silver Shadow felt that he was sufficiently warmed up and suddenly turned around, shooting like a beam of light straight toward Han Xiao’s mechanical troops.

With permission from Han Xiao, the battle AI Sparta immediately responded, opening the spacetime stabilizer to lock down the area.

With the increase in spatial stability, Silver Shadow’s speed was affected as part of his speed came from the distortion and warping of space. Even so, his speed remained quick, to the point that Calamity Grades would not be able to discern where his true body lay, only seeing a silver streak.

Relying on his high speed, Silver Shadow started to clash against the machinery. The psionic cannons’ shots mostly went wide, and the few that contacted were stopped at the psionic energy matrix shield that was formed from his silver pugilist flames, unable to penetrate.

After fighting for a while, Silver Shadow turned and rushed toward the psionic shield of the mechanical troops like a silver comet.

Before impacting, the silver comet suddenly changed, splitting up like a cluster warhead and turning into hundreds of tiny silver meteors. They scattered in all directions in an instant, bypassing the limited area of the shield and penetrating the mechanical troops’ formation.

Each sub-body was a silvery liquid-like metallic substance, which were reduced versions of Silver Shadow and all part of his body.

This was his racial talent, which was brought about by the mutation within the star nucleus. His body could achieve the effect of splitting itself on a nano level, as well as freely take on all shapes and sizes.

Furthermore, the split selves also possessed a considerable fighting capacity. Because his total overall strength remained unchanged, the combat capability of each smaller self would depend instead on its size. Silver Shadow’s Void genes allowed him to use the void dimension to obtain energy to boost each smaller self.

Silver Shadow’s Universal Treasure talent brought him insane defense, which would not be differentiated by size. So, even if each smaller self did not possess the same strength as its main self, it was nigh indestructible, which was his advantage.

Because of this special skill, within the suffering Pugilist class, Silver Shadow was akin to a billionaire in a society, not needing to bow to anyone to survive.

A few of the split selves rushed through the mechanical soldiers at great speed, but due to the separation in strength, the attacks were fast but could not pierce through the armor of the mechanical soldiers, only leaving traces on the surface.

The majority of his selves merged together again, turning into a childlike version of Silver Shadow, and went straight to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao’s avatar did not move, only releasing a faint blue arc from his eyes. [Virtual Paramount] struck directly into Silver Shadow’s soul!

The next moment, Silver Shadow lost control of his body, barreling out of control!

Even his smaller selves lost control and were easily captured.

Han Xiao twisted slightly, avoiding Silver Shadow, and reached out to grab his ankle, pulling him back.

Silver Shadow’s weakness was spiritual attacks, but [Virtual Paramount] did not just contain a mental attack but also the difficulty of Virtual Technology. It would take Silver Shadow a long time to escape from the skill normally, not to mention that Han Xiao’s virtual technology and level suppression would only increase the difficulty.

Nano-mechanical tentacles extended from behind the avatar, firmly binding Silver Shadow with three layers. At the same time, the tentacles were outfitted with electromagnetic, space and other control devices. Disc-shaped miniature cannons popped out from Han Xiao’s shoulders, suspending over Silver Shadow.

From afar, the mechanical army also caught up, turning their weapons toward the restricted Silver Shadow, and released the reverse psionic shield, locking Han Xiao and Silver Shadow within the small confined area. In this manner, even if Silver Shadow wished to rush out, he had to break through the shield in order to gain distance to accelerate.

Silver Shadow finally got out of the shackles from Virtual Paramount and received great mental injuries in doing so, being inflicted with many negative statuses. The moment he regained consciousness, he discovered that he had been fully bound up.

“Do you want to continue?” Han Xiao communicated within the mental network with a jovial tone.

“… This sort of battle can’t hurt me.” Silver Shadow struggled for a while before realizing that it would be hard to extricate himself. He then decided to pull out his head, separating himself from his body and turning into a miniature version of himself.

“I know, your body is extremely durable, and my troops can barely harm you.” Han Xiao nodded and smiled. “However, just this point is not enough to gain the advantage against me… Believe me, I have sufficient experience in this regard.”

In fact, he was the natural counter to Silver Shadow. If he had utilized the Spacetime Amber, with Silver Shadow’s smaller frame, it would have been easy to encase and seal him within before slowly weakening him. However, this was only his avatar, so the Spacetime Amber was not with him.

Silver Shadow sighed before hiding his arrogance and nodding. “You’ve won.”

He originally wanted to rely on his high speed and the ability to split up his body to gain the upper hand for a while. He had no confidence in being able to defeat Black Star, even if this was just an avatar.

But the offensive that he had been preparing for a long time was dissolved by Han Xiao easily, and he ended up falling straight into the grasps of his opponent. This allowed him to feel the disparity between their abilities.

With more than half of his body currently trapped by Han Xiao, it was pointless to continue fighting. Furthermore, Black Star had given him face and allowed himself to display his strength. Silver Shadow understood that clearly and did not wish to fight for a lost cause. While he wanted a strong opponent, he would not seek ridicule needlessly.

Hearing this, Han Xiao released the restraints, and Silver Shadow regained his original body. Han Xiao laughed. “Now you owe me one.”

“What will you have me do?” Silver Shadow asked.

“Er, just remember it for now. I’ll look for you when I need your help.” Han Xiao thought about it before deciding to shelve the matter.

He actually wished to research Silver Shadow’s body, to activate the Universal Treasure hidden attribute, but they did not have that good of a relationship. To suddenly suggest such an absurd thing… this was a dangerous topic for all Beyond Grade As.

So, it was better to cozy up to him first. This was not a one-off matter, so a better relationship would allow him more usages of Silver Shadow if need be.

In the past, Karlot was a good friend of Silver Shadow’s, so he was about to enjoy such personalized service free of charge.

Speaking of which, Karlot should have entered the dynasty army right now. While he was still far away from the time he was supposed to take shape, it was unknown if history would change due to Han Xiao’s interference.

“Ok, I’ll remember it.” Silver Shadow nodded.

“If you have time, you can come over to the Shattered Star Ring or Flickering World to look for me. If you have any problems, I can help too.” Han Xiao laughed in return.

Silver Shadow nodded quietly, accepting Black Star’s friendliness. Black Star sounded like an older brother right now and was just lacking the words ‘I’ll protect you’.

He felt a little emotional in his heart.

All the other Beyond Grade As were trying to make things difficult for him, but only Black Star was different. This was the attitude that the future pillar of the dynasty should have!

Seeing that the battle had ended, the rest of the Beyond Grade As flew toward them.

The result of the battle was not out of anyone’s expectations, but the calmness with which Black Star had handled this battle left everyone sighing in awe. In just twenty years, Black Star’s bearing no longer gave one the feeling of a maverick who did not stick to conventional means but rather a straightforward suppression, easily pulling it off.

While they did not cross swords, everyone could judge what would happen to them if they were faced with Silver Shadow’s skills. Their conclusion was that while Silver Shadow might be a newcomer, his combat capabilities were good. Even Kohler or Beyoni might not be able to win.

This was especially so for Kohler. He was secretly thankful that Silver Shadow did not accept his invitation to spar, or else it would have been really embarrassing.

However, Black Star could deal with Silver Shadow so easily. It represented the gap between their realms.

Other than Clotti, the respect that the other Beyond Grade As had for Han Xiao deepened.

Upon returning to the spaceship, the group set up to return to Planet Crimson Ring. While Han Xiao chatted with Silver Shadow, he summoned the interface and saw that the mission of fighting against Silver Shadow had already been marked as ‘completed’.

However, he did not settle it immediately, instead choosing to wait until he returned. He had to molest Feidin before he drew his reward—this ritual could not be skipped.

…

Once they returned to Planet Crimson Ring, they exchanged communicator numbers before Silver Shadow bid his farewell, returning to his quarters to rest.

Han Xiao was about to release his Lord’s Descent, when a member of the dynasty’s army approached him.

“Your Excellency Black Star, Mister Bekorodi requests an audience with you.”

“Bekorodi?” Han Xiao knew that this guy was the most important leader of the hawk faction, totally not in line with him. They did not have many dealings, so he curiously asked, “What is he looking for me for?”

“He wishes to discuss with you the problem of the Evolution Cube.”

Han Xiao was surprised. Over the past few years, the federation and church did not stop their pressure, which caused many of the dynasty’s upper echelons to question the ownership problem of the Evolution Cube. Bekorodi was one of the hardcore supporters of the dynasty owning the cube. That much, Han Xiao knew.

Then, what does he wish to talk to me about?

Han Xiao was a little curious and nodded. “Alright, please lead the way.”

“Please follow me.”

The dynasty officer guided Han Xiao to a government building, passing through layers of restrictions, before they arrived at a secret conference room.

Han Xiao went in and saw an old yet majestic dynasty official seated at the head. His skin was stretched, the wrinkles deeply carved, and his nose a little big. With his dead-set eyes and mouth, he looked like a stubborn man.

“Nice to meet you, Black Star. I’m Bekorodi. This should not be our first time meeting.” Bekorodi squeezed out a small smile.

Han Xiao sat on the other side of the conference table as he replied, “It’s the first time we’ve met in private though.”

He had only seen this person during the meeting of the senior officials of the dynasty, but they had not communicated much.

“I’m not a person who likes to talk nonsense, so I’ll get straight to the point.” Bekorodi supported his hands on the table and spoke in a deep voice. “The dynasty hopes to exchange items for your Evolution Cube. The conditions can be freely raised by you.”

Wanting to exchange for my Evolution Cube? Han Xiao’s eyes moved.

In fact, such signs had appeared a long time ago, but this was the first time the dynasty had approached him directly.

“This should not be your personal intention, right?” Han Xiao gave a smile that was yet not a smile.

“That’s right. I hope you understand. This is no personal grudge, and the reason we did not do so in the past was because the Evolution Cube was not worth much. However, the Evolutionary Civilization blueprints that were in the EsGod’s hands use the cube as the core of their technology, so its importance has changed. The dynasty hopes to obtain such a strategic Universal Treasure, but we had not asked you up till now because of the Ruler’s support for you.”

Han Xiao nodded. This was understandable. As a civilization, there were a lot of points to consider, and they would only be reassured if they could hold the strategic level object in their own embrace.

Not to mention the Crimson Dynasty, be it the federation or the church, as long as the Evolutionary Totem as well as a bunch of related techniques appeared in their hands, they would also make the same choice.

If he was a Beyond Grade A of the civilization, the rest would probably have forced him to give it up directly, rather than talking conditions.

Since he was an external ally, the dynasty could not force him to hand over his items, or it would result in a negative impression.

For the advanced civilizations, a Beyond Grade A was merely used as a tool for war, and the civilization itself was the main character of the universe instead.

However, to a Beyond Grade A, there were few who were actually willing to help a civilization to the end. They were merely exchanging services and benefits.

“Letting me make conditions at will, this is really generous…” Han Xiao smiled. “There should be an upper limit though. How about you make an initial offer?”

“Good.” Bekorodi nodded. “The dynasty is willing to use a Universal Treasure to exchange for your Evolution Cube.”

Han Xiao shook his head. “You’ve already said so yourself. The Evolution Cube’s meaning has changed. Wouldn’t a one to one exchange be detrimental to me?”

“You’re mistaken. It’s not a one to one.” Bekorodi smiled before dropping the bombshell. “Three Universal Treasures in exchange for the Evolution Cube! This is a sincere offer from the dynasty. What do you think about it?”

[1] F2A should be describing a macro bot in Starcraft that was so powerful that all it needed to do was to press F2 (select all armies) and then A (attack) to win any battle.

Chapter 996 - Tricky Question

“Three for one?” Han Xiao jumped in surprise.

It seemed like the dynasty was prepared to bleed. Just by the amount, they indeed were expressing their sincerity.

A Universal Civilization would naturally have the technology to craft Universal Treasures, and with their many years of accumulation, they should have a lot in stock.

Bekorodi tapped on the table, and a screen popped out in front of Han Xiao.

“This is the exchange list provided by the dynasty. You may choose any three of them listed.”

Han Xiao glanced at it and immediately knew that the Universal Treasures on the list were not the complete inventory of the dynasty.

Thinking about it, he then opened his mouth to ask, “What if I want other Universal Treasures from the dynasty?”

“If you wish to exchange for those outside the list, then there will not be the privilege of three exchanging for one. Furthermore, there are important assets of the dynasty that cannot be taken out for the exchange. I hope you understand this point. Other than that, if you wish to customize a Universal Treasure, you may suggest it to the dynasty. However, it needs to undergo a review,” Bekorodi said.

That’s within my expectations… Han Xiao nodded.

Just think about it, the three for one could not be without conditions, and they would definitely not use their own strategic-level Universal Treasures to acquire his Evolution Cube.

Whatever they were willing to exchange was those they opened to everyone, which was also the Universal Treasures not too important to the civilization.

The importance of Universal Treasures was dependent on their specific role. From Han Xiao’s perspective, they were akin to magical items, with the top being held by strange, unsolvable mysteries such as the Spacetime Amber. There were also many kinds of man-made Universal Treasures, such as Austin’s Palace of Hidden Spells, Beyoni’s Land of the Fire Core, or the Arcane Church’s Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

The Evolution Cube was the core of the technology from the Evolutionary Civilization, and this technology had since been lost, only leaving behind a series of technological applications.

With the legacy from EsGod being revealed, many advanced civilizations would also have obtained the data, which meant that whoever obtained the Evolution Cube would inherit part of the core technology from a quasi-Universal Civilization, completely exclusive to them. This was naturally of great significance.

Han Xiao pondered while scanning the exchange list again, secretly analyzing the pros and cons.

In his previous life, during the World Tree Civilization war, the three Universal Civilizations took out large stacks of Universal Treasures to equip the Beyond Grade As with, including quite a few Universal Treasures that he had seen on the list today.

Among them, magic and mechanical equipment occupied the most of them, and the majority were meant for individual scale battles, such as armor, melee weapons, or special devices.

A small part of them would be special purpose Universal Treasures, most of which Han Xiao knew about from his previous life. For example, there was an item called the Shadow Lantern, where the wick was made up of the source energy fragment of the shadow dimension, and the ‘light’ it emitted was pure shadow. It possessed many special effects, with the main effect to open the dimension portal and transform the area into a dangerous dark dimension, changing the existences of everything in the area, as well as inviting shadow creatures from beyond.

Another example would be the Key of Destruction. This was one of the defining technologies of the Crimson Dynasty, which could be mass produced and even used by ordinary citizens. Its effect was to remotely call upon the firepower of the various armies of the dynasty.

However, this required the dynasty army to cooperate. Most of the dynasty’s armies were equipped with a Key of Destruction. When activated, a special secondary dimension would be opened, and the armies would launch a cannon salvo, which would be temporarily held in the secondary dimension and transported over to the summoner.

The summoner would then release it to attack at their desired location. The range was extremely wide, enough to clean up everything in the area. However, because it was an indiscriminate attack, it was only used as a last resort.

Compared to the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, the Key of Destruction was not as flexible and was affected by spacetime stabilizing anchors, magic, or Psionic Seal Rings. However, it had its advantages of being portable and high-volume production.

As long as the operating procedures were known, even mortals could use this, but this was not a good that could be sold, and the dynasty would only give this out during special missions.

When caught unaware, even Beyond Grade As could be killed by the volley of firepower. Throughout the exploration era, the dynasty used this technology to kill many of the original pioneers, leaving them without a complete corpse. However, with the development of space technology, the Key of Destruction was now slightly outdated, and everyone knew to guard against this trick of the dynasty’s.

In addition, there were also miscellaneous items, such as golden blueprints left by the previous Beyond Grade A mechanics or magic equipment forging diagrams from mages and so on.

The dynasty had a lot stashed away and wanted to exchange their unused stuff for the Evolution Cube.

As for what the dynasty did not study or understand, it would naturally not be included in the list. Han Xiao initially wanted to take advantage of this loophole, but it was a pity that the other party did not give him a chance.

After patiently waiting for a while, Bekorodi asked, “How is it? Have you made your decision?”

“Oh…” Han Xiao breathed out before shaking his head. “This is too sudden, and I’ve not thought about it properly. I can’t give you an answer now. Give me some time to consider.”

“That’s fine.” Bekorodi nodded, and his tone grew a little heavier. “I believe, after serious consideration, you will make the best choice and not disappoint the dynasty’s faith in you. I hope you can make your decision before the Flickering World opens.”

“We’ll see depending on the situation.”

Han Xiao nodded before standing up, following the secretary out of the room.

Leaving the government building, he headed toward his small base that was used for storing his machinery while thinking about the pros and cons.

The first would be with regards to the interest. If he handed over the Evolution Cube, he would receive three Universal Treasures. According to the list, he should obtain all combat related Universal Treasures, but there was always the opportunity to acquire another strategic level Universal Treasure instead. Han Xiao had always felt that it was pointless to only have combat-related treasures.

It would be good if they gave them away for free. However, that was just his wishful thinking.

There were also other benefits, namely that the Black Star Army would not have to stand on the cusp of the storm, and Sorokin’s Limitless Financial Group would not continue to make trouble for him. There was also no need to worry about any potential attacks from both the federation and the church, which could mean a long period of stable development… given that their previous grudges were not counted.

Han Xiao also assessed the effects of losing the Evolution Cube.

This was a unique strategic-level Universal Treasure, and while it possessed no combat power, its effect could be reflected in all aspects of development for a faction. If this were to be handed over to the dynasty, the Black Star Army would lose its faction’s special product, and its attraction to players and other characters would inevitably decline. A good example would be Silver Shadow. The latter would not have been so interested in him if not for the Evolution Cube.

With the Flickering World as a foundation, his interest group derived from the cube at the start had also stabilized, but the business of the Evolution Cube was still an important pillar in the army’s finances.

Handing over the cube was tantamount to transferring the frightening profits of the Evolutionary Totem to the dynasty. The expansion and maintenance of the Black Star Army required a huge amount of funds to constantly flow in, and without the transactions of the Evolutionary Totem to support them, the army would shrink and even slow its expansion.

While they had to abide by the covenant and seek the dynasty’s permission to use the Evolution Cube, he still possessed its ownership. Once his ownership was lost, the meaning would be different.

This would mean that other organizations would no longer need to cooperate with the Black Star Army, instead directly bypassing them to work with the dynasty. The Black Star Army would be kicked out of this game, which would impact their various businesses. The financial losses were not limited to just the transactions of the Evolutionary Totem.

Moreover, if he wished to use the Evolution Cube in the future, he would have to buy the right with money or contribution points.

At the same time, without the uniqueness of the Evolution Cube, the Black Star Army would also drop in influence. No matter how good his prestige was, he could not provide people with what they wanted.

To sum it up, the growth of the Black Star Army would become several times more difficult if he handed the cube over.

Han Xiao did not know if the dynasty had any hidden intentions to restrict the Black Star Army from growing. Did they feel that it was enough to allow his organization to grow to such a point? By reason, it would not be the case, but the thoughts of those above were always hard to speculate.

The Mechanic Empire was a good example. While the Federation did not regret it, if they had a chance to start over, they might not wish for the Mechanic Emperor to grow to such an extent, making him difficult to control.

But if he were to reject the dynasty’s suggestion, there would also be trouble.

From Bekorodi’s words, Han Xiao smelled a different meaning within… Was the dynasty eager to obtain the Evolution Cube so that it could sell the totems publicly?

After the Flickering World opened, countless organizations would enter and inevitably cause friction with the dynasty. If they began selling the totems openly, the pressure would decrease, and their control of the Flickering World would become unbreakable.

If that was the case, then rejecting the proposal would mean disrupting the strategic deployment of the dynasty, which was tantamount to him being ignorant of the bigger picture.

Bekorodi had already displayed the ‘sincerity’ of the dynasty, with polite words, and even shown a sincere attitude. However, in reality, this was merely a facade, and they were forcing him to hand over the cube. If he rejected, the upper echelons of the dynasty would feel that he did not know what was good for him, incurring dissatisfaction.

Han Xiao believed that if we refused to hand the cube over, the dynasty would not give up easily and would likely take some unknown follow-up measures.

It was impossible to steal from an ally, but underhanded moves would be set down one after another.

“What a difficult problem for me…”

Han Xiao sighed, unable to choose.

When the Evolutionary Totem appeared, he knew that the future would be troublesome, but the dynasty had helped him bear the pressure and had lasted for twenty years. Finally, this trouble had still appeared.

“I need to carefully think about this. I’ll contact Urranrell in the next few days and find out about her stand.”

…

Not long after Han Xiao left, a figure walked into Bekorodi’s conference room. It was Gaud.

After accumulating enough military merits over the years, Gaud had been sent back to the dynasty, formally focusing on his training with the same batch of Calamity Grades with potential.

The birth of a Beyond Grade A was full of uncertain factors. Even a Universal Civilization could not mass produce them, so the basic method was to spread the net as wide as possible and cultivate a large number of Calamity Grades.

Due to the huge talent pool as well as their advanced training methods, the conversion rate would not be null, but their output was also not fixed. It was the method through which Dark Lord Clotti had been trained by the dynasty into a Beyond Grade A.

Gaud was wearing a special dynasty officer uniform but with no rank markings on it. His figure was still skinny, no different from the him over a decade ago.

“You’re here, sit.” Bekorodi glanced at him before nodding.

Gaud sat at where Han Xiao had originally sat and lightly smiled. “How was the discussion?”

“No idea. It would be good if Black Star agreed. That would save us a lot of trouble.”

“With such good conditions, I believe he will not reject it. Black Star is a smart person, and smart people know their circumstances.” Gaud smiled.

“It’s difficult to say. Based on the character analysis by Heroic Soul, Black Star is a typical profit-seeker. Three to one may not be able to impress him, and the probability of rejection is at sixty-three percent.” Bekorodi shook his head. “Let’s not mention him. In short, whether he agrees or not, we still need your ability to analyze the principle behind the evolutionary energy.”

“Haha, I’m waiting to be sent.” Gaud laughed.

“I know that your abilities are unprecedented, but how confident are you that you can use your abilities to analyze the Evolution Cube? Don’t wait till the end before telling us it’s impossible.”

“Right now, there’s no chance, but if I reach Beyond Grade A, I would probably have a seventy to eighty percent chance.”

“So, when can you reach Beyond Grade A?” Bekorodi asked.

Gaud only smiled.

Seeing this, Bekorodi knew that there was no answer to this question and shook his head. “So long as you know it in your heart, that’s fine. If you can unravel the mystery of the Evolution Cube, this would be a great contribution to the dynasty. In addition to your promotion, the Dynasty Ruler will also pay more attention to you.”

He firmly supported the Evolution Cube being handed over and could only rely on Sorokin to put pressure on Black Star, but because of the Black Star Army and Germinal Financial Group’s cooperation, there were not many results. It was only when Gaud appeared that Bekorodi saw a new hope.

As a direct potential Super cultivated by the dynasty, many factions were attracted to Gaud, but the one he was closest to was Bekorodi’s Hawk faction. They had invested in him from an early stage.

After pausing for a while, Bekorodi’s words turned sharp.

“Let’s set this aside for now and talk about the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. This is information revealed by EsGod’s legacy, and this mysterious energy is very dangerous. If you cannot become the host, even a Calamity Grade can be annihilated. Isn’t your idea too risky?”

“There’s no risk.”

Bekorodi frowned. “Are you sure that your Esper Ability will allow you to control the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy at the Calamity Grade?”

“It can. Furthermore, this power will allow me to reach Beyond Grade A much faster,” Gaud replied.

“Humph, you’d better be right,” Bekorodi said in a deep tone. “Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was from EsGod’s legacy, but it did not fall into the hands of the dynasty. The fact that you obtained it from other sources and handed it to us is good. When the time comes, if there are any other organizations that want to fight for the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, the dynasty will also interfere. I’ve already submitted your application, and the whether the dynasty will allow you to use the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy in the end is up to them.”

“That’s right.” Gaud laughed.

Chapter 997 - A Simpleton“s Killing Move

Chapter 997 A Simpleton's Killing Move

After releasing his doppelganger, Han Xiao’s consciousness returned to his main body, and the scene in front of him changed back to the room where his Divine Mechanical Throne was located in Black Star Palace within the Flickering World.He took off the Evolution Cube that he wore around his neck, looking carefully at it. The small silver square reflected the gleam of light.

“It’s been twenty years since I got you from Psyker’s hands…”

Han Xiao touched the cube, and from the icy cold touch, a sense of intimacy rose from his heart.

According to the incomplete legacy of the Evolutionary Civilization, Han Xiao had long resonated with the Evolution Cube, forming a soul connection.

If he passed this over to the Dynasty, he also did not know if the dynasty would request for him to cut off his soul connection, letting someone else like Dark Lord Clotti form a connection.

Shaking his head, he buried this thought before putting the Evolution Cube back around his neck. He left the room to find Feidin.

From the surveillance shown by Phillip, Han Xiao found Feidin as well as the other older officers in the recreation area. He took a floating vehicle, arriving outside the Black Star Guards’ exclusive recreation room.

As he walked in, he could hear Hadavy’s delighted voice.

“… I can feel it. A few days ago, my Esper Ability rose a bit once again. There have been some minute genetic changes in me, and I feel that a small corner of the door to Beyond Grade A has opened.”

Aurora turned to look at Feidin. “How many times has he said this?”

Feidin laughed. “About two hundred and thirty-three times.”

“That’s right. Every day, you talk about how you’re about to reach the Beyond Grade A realm, but it’s been a decade, and there’s still no change,” Aurora added.

“You may not believe me, but every time I finish sparring with the Army Commander’s Apostle Weapons, I show some improvement, even if it’s only a small bit.” Hadavy snorted.

“Spar? More like being beaten up.” Feidin waved his hands in dismissal.

“So what if it’s being beaten up? My Esper Ability is like that.” Hadavy was not angry. “At least I can now last longer than all of you. After all, I can be considered Black Star’s trump card.”

Now that he was already a peak Calamity Grade Super, only the powerful attacks of a Beyond Grade A could stimulate his cells to improve further.

After the first of his Apostle Weapons, Psionic Prime, was born, Han Xiao had handed the task of beating up Hadavy to his Apostle Weapons. With the improvement in his abilities, the combat prowess of the Apostle Weapons naturally increased. Since they were able to fight against Beyond Grade A Supers, they could naturally thrash Calamity Grades. Thus, Hadavy would always run over to them to seek abuse.

Because of his superior defense, he could remain in the hands of the Apostle Weapons for a long time, surpassing other guards. After receiving more than twenty years of beatings, Hadavy had been steadily progressing, and his combat power had significantly improved. As a Beyond Grade A seed, he had always boasted about being the top warrior in the army.

This moment, everyone heard footsteps and turned around to see Han Xiao walking in. They all stood up in respect.

“Sit, I just came over for a look.” Han Xiao waved his hands before walking over to Feidin, his hand grasping his shoulder.

“Again‽” Feidin spoke in resignation, only using his hand to hit Han Xiao’s chest as a token of resistance.

After so many years, he had already gotten used to it. The friendship of men was simple—the more they touched each other, the better their relationship would get.

With the rise of Black Star’s prestige, there were more and more officers who felt cautious about Han Xiao. In the army, only a few old friends, including Feidin, could be so casual in front him.

After Han Xiao was satisfied that he had gotten enough luck, he turned around to look at Aurora before asking, “How’s the accumulation of life energy?”

Aurora smiled, and the entire room seemed to be wrapped with sunshine. “It’s quite huge, and I can feel that as long as I train for another half a year, I’ll step into the Calamity Grade.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao nodded.

Aurora’s Esper Ability was that of life, and thus, her life energy was increasing every moment, resulting in the transformation of her body. Not only would her physical fitness become better, her genes would also naturally optimize, and she would maintain her youth forever.

At Grade B, her abilities were upgraded in a different manner. It was difficult for her to train her life energy; she had to wait until the total amount reached the standards of the next level.

This approach had its advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage was that progress would be slow. Every day, only a certain amount of life energy would be generated based on one’s level. Because Aurora had created many life potions, her life energy had not yet reached the Calamity Grade, so she rarely did so anymore.

But the benefit in this approach was that there was almost no bottleneck for her in the long term. As long as her life energy reached a certain standard, she could advance, which meant that it was only a matter of time for her to advance to Beyond Grade A, but it might take hundreds or even thousands of years.

Speaking of which, Hila functioned through grabbing the life energy of others to strengthen herself, while Aurora shared her life energy with others and slowed down her own growth rate. Both their abilities and advancement modes were diametrically opposite.

“That’s right, uncle, when will my sister return?” Aurora could not help but ask that.

“I don’t know.” Han Xiao shook his head. “A few days ago, I sent out news to them, but they didn’t reply, nor did they pick up my call. They might have run off to some dangerous place where there’s no signal.”

“Sigh, it’s been so many years. I miss my sister.” Aurora scrunched up her face, looking a little depressed.

“Me too.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Me three.” Hadavy added on.

The duo immediately glared at him, with an expression of ‘what has it got to do with you’ on their faces.

Hadavy crossed his hands and coldly snorted. “She left twenty years ago and is still hogging the title of Captain. Feidin is only a stand-in, and I’m still the deputy, without being able to challenge her position.”

“Oh, it’s like that.” Aurora sighed in relief, patting her bouncy chest. “I thought you had something for my sister.”

“Your sister is so aloof. How could I like her…” Noticing Han Xiao’s gaze, Hadavy trailed off and coughed, mumbling in a small voice, “And how could I dare?”

When he first joined under Black Star, Hadavy did not have many qualifications, so he was willing to serve under Hila as a deputy despite being a Beyond Grade A seed.

However, so many years had passed, and Hadavy was considered an old-timer now. His capabilities had improved, and he had influence and qualifications. Furthermore, Hila had been gone for twenty years straight, so he felt that he had the right not to be under any other Calamity Grades. He wished to have a higher position, becoming the captain of the Black Star Guards.

This was also good for his reputation in the universe. The title of ‘Captain of the Black Star Guards’ was just like the Chief Vanguard Official for Bloodshed Land, and there was a bonus in terms of influence. Hadavy was someone who sought authority and strength, so he considered this as well.

“Alright, when Hila returns, as long as you can defeat her, you’ll be the new captain.” Han Xiao laughed.

“Ok, you’ve said it.” Hadavy perked out.

After some idle conversation, Han Xiao left the room. As he walked down the corridor, he opened his interface and selected Silver Shadow’s Beyond Grade A mission.

_____________________

Mission: Silver Shadow is complete!

You have completed all the mission requirements and received 24,500,000,000 Experience.

You have received: Character Summon Card – Silver Shadow

Character Summon Card – Silver Shadow: [Comet Rush]. For a short time, +15% Dexterity, +45% Move Speed, and +300% Acceleration. Upper cap for move speed is removed, and one can accelerate endlessly. Lasts for 12 seconds. Number of times used: 0/4

You have received a reward: Draw one of Silver Shadow’s skills (Ability/Talent)

Tip: Silver Shadow is a Pugilist, so some of the abilities and talents are adjusted according to your class.

Randomizing… complete!

Please select one from the five options below as the reward:

1. Charge—Endless Potential – Ability: Your next melee attack will grant additional damage based on the sprint distance. The greater the distance, the higher the damage. There is no upper limit, but at the same time, your body will suffer from the recoil, being damaged for 70% of the total damage inflicted on the other party. Consumes 200 Energy and 3,000 Stamina. Cooldown: 240s. Remark: To strike the enemy, or to strike yourself, that is the problem.

2. Dark Energy Extraction – Ability: You can draw upon the Dark energy within the universe, recovering 15% – 25% of your Energy each time. Consumes 800 Stamina. Cooldown: 24s.

3. Nuclear Force—Structure Reinforcement – Talent: Your cells will undergo particle structure reinforcement, gaining 12% immunity to all physical damage. You are immune to True Damage, Armor Piercing, Shock, and other special attacks (non-immunity, converted to normal damage).

4. Self-Refresh – Ability: Remove all negative status affecting you (does not work on [Silenced] and [Energy Locked] states). Consumes 300 Energy. Cooldown 420s.

5. Repeated Critical Strike – Ability: Passive skill. When you accelerate, your body’s melee Crit Rate and Crit Damage multipliers will rise, providing up to a maximum of 80% Crit Rate and 375% Crit Damage. The effect is constant when you maintain your speed. When speed is reduced and peak speed is not restored within 2.5s, the effect will begin to irreversibly decline after 8s and return to zero in 4s. A cooldown of 120s will be applied the moment it hits zero. Remark: Life is like exercising. Start running, don’t stop!

_____________________

“The quality this time is quite good.” Han Xiao was satisfied.

There was even a Molding Talent, and the other skills were all good. Apart from his ‘touched’ luck, the main reason was that the average quality of Silver Shadow’s skills was high.

Taking a closer look, Han Xiao first ruled out [Dark Energy Extraction]. The Pugilists required a lot of energy, but he had a more efficient manner of gaining energy through being beaten.

Generally speaking, Han Xiao would want to choose Molding Talents where possible, but [Nuclear Force—Structure Reinforcement] only provided damage immunity, which would duplicate the ability given by the Germinal Organization Leader.

As for the twelve percent of Absolute Physical Resistance and immunity to shock, armor piercing, and so on, it was a good effect, but the cost to performance ratio was not good.

Since Han Xiao was already tanky, the defense improvement would be weak. Furthermore, he had trampled upon little Ty-Ty the last time and obtained his [Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction], which was enough.

After thinking for a bit, he finally made a choice.

_____________________

You have acquired the skill: Charge—Endless Potential!

_____________________

“This suits me better.”

While [Repeated Critical Strike] was good, it was limited to only one’s melee Crit Rate and had to be triggered by speed. This was suitable for Silver Shadow’s combat style but not too much for Han Xiao.

In contrast, [Charge—Endless potential] was very fierce. It provided unlimited additional damage according to sprint distance, but one had to bear seventy percent of the damage inflicted. It had great power and side effects.

This was a move that would result in a pyrrhic victory where no one would benefit.

However, the Great Mechanic Han was a unique character unseen in this world!

With his ability to recover energy from taking damage and use the energy to recover his HP, not only was his skull thick, he was not afraid of recoil damage.

Furthermore, he was a Mechanic, and he need not even go personally to battle. Just by having one of his avatars rush forward to hit them, all danger was gone. This was even more suited for him than Silver Shadow!

“What a reliable ability. I finally got my hands on a fierce attacking skill. Silver Shadow is really generous, to give me such a good welcome gift.”

Han Xiao was extremely satisfied.

This brother is interesting. I’ll have to look after him more in the future.

Chapter 998 - Storm Rises and Falls

“My current combat style is perfect, not only tanky but with powerful burst strength and lots of crowd control skills. The size of my mechanical army is huge, and it can carry out tactical cooperation with hundreds of thousands of troops. There are also high levelled machines such as the mechanical host as well as Apostle Weapons, and my mental resistance is also high. I have Virtual Paramount as a spiritual attack, and my void bloodline also gives me unique skills…”

Analyzing his current cards, Han Xiao felt that he was getting quite overpowered, having developed a comprehensive spiritual and physical enhancement.

Among the five big Super systems, the Espers had the highest battle power in the beginning, but in the endgame, the Mechanics and Mages would shine. Compared to the other three systems, Mechanics and Mages utilized knowledge as the source of their power and had very comprehensive abilities, leaving few shortcomings. For Mechanics, their low HP and mental resistance would be considered their more prominent weaknesses.

However, in Han Xiao’s dictionary, there was no ‘Low HP’ or ‘Weak Mental Resistance’. Having compensated for them, there were no weaknesses, and he was basically an all-rounder.

But now, he had the skill [Charge—Endless potential]. This sort of super high-explosive single target skill would make the fighting method more perfect because when they were fighting, Han Xiao’s main body or his avatar would usually be roaming around and would not immediately step forward to engage in a melee entanglement. With his potential accumulation skill, the distance he travelled could be converted into damage, which gave him more strategic options.

He gleefully admired this ability for a while longer before turning off the interface.

Returning to his room, he suppressed his joy, taking out his communicator. After a few deep breaths, he dialed the private line of the Dynasty Ruler to find out her stand.

After a few rings, Urranrell’s delicate face appeared on the screen. It seemed that she had expected Han Xiao to contact her.

“Black Star, you’re here.”

“Your Excellency Ruler.” Han Xiao went straight to the point. “Do you know about Bekorodi’s matter?”

“Hmm.” Urranrell nodded.

Glancing at her calm expression, Han Xiao confirmed his suspicion that the dynasty’s decision makers wanted him to turn the cube in, and even the Ruler was standing on their side.

Han Xiao paused for a moment before saying, “Do you have any suggestions?”

“I also hope that you can hand over the Evolution Cube. This concerns an important strategy of the Dynasty.”

“Is the important strategy to sell the totems publicly? If I pass over the cube to you, what I’m losing is a huge amount of profit.” Han Xiao tested the waters.

Urranrell shook her head, slowly explaining, “The dynasty has no intention at the moment to sell the totems to the public. This decision was based on our consideration of risk. For you, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. The federation and church are increasing their pressure, and while the dynasty is holding the majority back, as long as you hold onto the Evolution Cube, it’s hard to guarantee that they will not take the risk again to launch a new sneak attack.

“I believe that you understand this too. In your hands, the Evolution Cube is a hot potato. Dealing with you is much easier than forcing the dynasty to compromise. If the cube is handed over to the dynasty for custody, the enemy will face no chance.”

“You seem to have very little confidence in me.” Han Xiao raised a brow. “I thought you were always optimistic about me.”

“I indeed am optimistic about your future, but you’re still one person,” Urranrell replied. “After their last lesson, if the federation and church act, they will definitely bring out the likes of Manison and Kasuyi, peak Beyond Grade As. As of now, you’re still not an opponent for the Mechanic Emperor himself, and if the other peak Beyond Grade As are added, the risk is too big.”

“This makes sense, but since they chose not to act over the past few years, it’s hard to say so in the future too.” Han Xiao was still undecided.

“The situation is now different. Beyond Grade As are generally distributed in different Star Fields, so when mobilized, we can receive warnings and prepare in advance. However, when the Flickering World opens, it will be an excellent opportunity for the federation and the church. The entire universe’s Beyond Grade As will rush to the Shattered Star Ring, and with so many people gathering, it will be easy to gather high levelled combatants to quickly attack your base camp. Because they have a legitimate reason to gather them, it will be difficult for us to be on guard.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin. Indeed, due to the news of the Flickering World about to open, all sorts of organizations had begun to gather within the Shattered Star Ring. This naturally included many Beyond Grade As from the other Star Fields.

In the past, all these Beyond Grade As were distributed in various Star Fields, so it was difficult to gather them to deal with him. However, with the opportunity, the situation would naturally turn more dangerous.

It could be foreseen that during this period, the originally chaotic Shattered Star Ring would become much worse. Whether or not he as the local tyrant could withdraw the chaos, it was really hard to say.

Seeing that Han Xiao did not speak, Urranrell continued in her attempts to persuade him. “Black Star, although the future profit of the Evolution Cube is huge and it is disadvantageous to trade it, it’s still better than losing it.”

“Let me think about this.” Han Xiao nodded. For the time being, he decided not to burn all his bridges.

“There’s no need to give me an answer soon.” Urranrell suddenly changed the topic. “I have something I need you to do as well.”

“What?”

“Right now, the dynasty is building an Inter-Star Field Stargate to link the Shattered Star Ring and the Flickering World. Before we officially open it, a large number of organizations within the entire universe will flock over, which will impact this Star Field. I need you to maintain law and order, suppressing all foreign organizations and Beyond Grade A to prevent chaos.”

Han Xiao was quite interested in this. “But I remember that the Shattered Star Ring belongs to the federation in name.”

“That’s right. However, our dynasty is stronger in the region, and maintaining stability is beneficial to us. I don’t want any incidents to happen and affect the opening of the Flickering World.”

“You could actually speak to Heber for this.”

“The Tyrant doesn’t have your prestige, and only you have the qualification to suppress all the incoming Beyond Grade As.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao could not help but laugh.

To think that the dynasty Ruler, who sat above all others, would be so well versed at bootlicking.

His interface released a notification, which was displayed as an additional faction mission regarding the Main Storyline of the Flickering World arc. The requirement was to maintain the stability of the Shattered Star Ring before the opening, and the reward was quite satisfactory, giving him experience, contribution points, Enaus, and resources from the dynasty.

“Alright, I’ll take helm in the Shattered Star Ring, and I hope that the other Beyond Grade As will show me some face.”

Even without the mission, he would still do the same. The Shattered Star Ring was where his army was currently camped, and stabilizing his backyard was compulsory. He would not allow any outsiders to run rampant in his leek field.

This was especially so for those newly minted Beyond Grade As. During this time, they would need to perform great deeds that would cement their influence and prestige.

After hanging up, Han Xiao breathed out and activated [Lord’s Descent], sending his consciousness to his machinery civilization’s planet.

Since he was going back to hold the fort, the troops remaining in his headquarters were not enough, and a new wave of reinforcements was needed.

It was just nice that the machinery civilization had already developed for over twenty years stably and was walking on the correct track. He was going to pull the group of Apostle Weapons back.

The scene in front of his eyes changed again, and he was now inside a mechanical palace, with the mechanical host sitting on the throne of the palace.

Han Xiao had left a mechanical host in the machinery civilization to facilitate himself coming over to take a look now and then. Thus, Psionic Prime and the rest had built a palace hall that resembled a Sky Reaching Pagoda, tens of thousands meters in height, and had enshrined his mechanical host within.

Manipulating his avatar, Han Xiao walked out of the palace and stood there overlooking the entire planet. He saw an endless line-up of mechanical cities, and countless mechanical life forms were flying in the sky.

This was the main planet of the machinery civilization, Planet Apostle, which was much better than a decade ago.

After more than twenty years of constant development, the machinery civilization had completely transformed this planet, building countless facilities on the surface and underground. With their strong productivity, they had even started to develop the planets nearby.

At the same time, like tree branches growing leaves, their population swelled up. This would be the future source of Han Xiao’s mechanical army.

Speaking from the scale of a civilization’s progress, the machinery civilization’s speed of development was akin to travelling using a hyperdrive spaceship. However, compared with the Black Spirit Race, the latter’s development was not slow either.

After years of study, batch after batch of scholars and researchers had appeared within the Black Spirit Race, and they had begun to integrate the knowledge from various fields taught by the army. Due to the special characteristics of the Black Spirit Race, once someone had learned a piece of knowledge, they could quickly spread it out.

With the resources and equipment generously provided by the army, the Black Spirit Race did not need to accumulate their production efficiency and could directly apply any acquired knowledge. Thus, in just two decades, they had directly entered the electrical age from the tribal age, completing a triple jump. The horrifying talent of the race had begun to emerge.

In his view, if the Black Spirit Race had started at the same point together with the federation and the church, it might have been the fourth Universal Civilization.

The talents of the Black Spirit Race were almost entirely focused on learning and education. To slightly exaggerate, this was a race that was qualified to use the prosperous saying of ‘everyone can be a dragon’.

As for the Kunde Race, they were still undergoing their cultural transformation, but Han Xiao had also allowed people to give them something good.

At this moment, the inner circle of the Kunde Race had already shown signs of people worshipping the Machinery Faith. Although their tragic battle a decade ago had left behind some wounds and they had not fully converted to this religion, the roots had already taken hold.

As Han Xiao gazed around the planet, in a short time, more than ten black dots appeared from afar, heading over.

Behind those black dots, which were his Apostle Weapons, there was a huge mountain-like shadow slowly approaching. This was the Giant King Kong, famous for his size, and his height was exactly parallel to the gate of the Sky Reaching Pagoda where Han Xiao was located.

“We greet our Lord.”

Psionic Prime led the Apostle Weapons and flew into the gate, stopping in front of Han Xiao and saluting.

In the recent years, Han Xiao had utilized all his Apostle Weapon slots, expanding the team. Because of [Perfect Mechanical Sense] as well as a series of talents and abilities that increase the upper limit of his skills, his Apostle Weapons numbered more than twelve now.

Gazing at them, he discovered that the Apostle Weapons now had better weapons and armor than they had twenty years ago. At the same time, their source energy had also grown.

All Mechanical life forms could grow as they could upgrade themselves. This was especially so for the first generation of mechanical life forms, which contained the purest Mechanical Life Tinder.

“Psionic Prime, Silver Flash, Mad Sky Hunter, Scarlet Flame, Gold Sovereign, Formless Ghost, Heaven-Suppressing Banner, and Purple Sky Spirit… Bring your troops with you and return to the headquarters in the Shattered Star Ring. I might require you guys to fight.” Han Xiao passed down the command.

“Understood,” Psionic Prime responded. To him, Han Xiao’s words were akin to divine doctrine.

…

At a stargate border of the Shattered Star Ring, a fleet with the symbol of the Arcane Church slowly exited the stargate.

Nowadays, Beyond Grade As everywhere were flocking to the Shattered Star Ring. This fleet was dedicated to escorting a new Beyond Grade A who had joined the Arcane Church a few years prior.

‘Red Devil’ Tolaen, once a wanted criminal from Silver Arm, had reached the Beyond Grade A a few years back. He was then recruited by the Arcane Church, and his previous deeds were wiped clean. With the support of the Arcane Church, his Silver Arm had a place in the universe.

In the conference room of the flagship, a portion of the Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church were within the room, but only Tolaen was there with his main body.

“Haha, it seems like I’m the first to arrive. When will you all get here?” Tolaen laughed.

“Soon. You and Psyker had better wait there quietly for us.” Sun Hunter had a small stature, but his voice was mighty like a booming cannon.

“Hmm, what’s the use in just waiting?” Tolaen’s eyes gleamed. “Since there’s nothing to do, I’ll find someone to spar.”

He had just entered the Beyond Grade A realm not too long ago. As a newcomer, he did not have any outstanding battle records, so upon reaching the Shattered Star Ring, he felt the urge to prove himself.

“Don’t try to do anything funny in the Shattered Star Ring,” Kasuyi coldly interjected, his voice wispy. “It’s his territory. Show him some face.”

The Shattered Star Ring of the past only had Heber, Austin, Ames, and Psyker, which made it a remote and weak place, not enough for a peak Beyond Grade A like Kasuyi to notice.

But things were different now. With Black Star rising vigorously, he had become the representative of the Shattered Star Ring, holding the fort in the name of the dynasty.

There was a certain level of prestige given toward a peak Beyond Grade A, and the other Beyond Grade As were willing to show Black Star some face and behave themselves in the Shattered Star Ring. Even as fellow peak Beyond Grade As, none of them wanted to rile Black Star up for nothing.

The moment Black Star was mentioned, a few of the Beyond Grade As present showed uneasy expressions. They were the participants of the Planet Lighthouse battle and had eaten a loss when facing Han Xiao.

The feeling of being trapped in Spacetime Amber was not a good one. That was especially so for Dylan, who let out an involuntary shudder upon hearing Han Xiao’s name.

“Haha, you’ve only been defeated once, but you’re already afraid to this point? Your Excellency Kasuyi, it can’t be that even you are afraid of him, can it?”

Tolaen knew about this matter and could not help but laugh sarcastically. As a wanted criminal in the past, he was not someone to lie low.

As soon as this remark came out, quite a number of Beyond Grade As looked a little embarrassed, coldly snorting.

“I’m not afraid of him,” Kasuyi calmly stated. “But now isn’t the time for us to fight. I advise you not to provoke him.”

“I’m not that foolish.” Tolaen waved his hands. “Relax, I’m not so arrogant as to choose Black Star as the target.”

“Then, who do you want to spar with?”

“Heh, I can’t defeat Black Star, and Heber belongs to the Dynasty, which is also troublesome to provoke. Psyker is weak, but he’s still one of us, so that only leaves the other two.”

Tolaen’s eyes flashed in excitement.

“Austin always hides in his Palace of Hidden Spells, and I should not be able to defeat him, but as for Ames… Hehe, she should be easy to deal with. I’ll use her as my stepping stone and let her become my Beyond Grade A battle record!”

Chapter 999 - Return, Accepting the Battle

A small spaceship was flying through the universe at warp speed, resembling a gleam of white light against the dark backdrop.

The spaceship was on autopilot, with only two people in the cabin. They were Ames and Hila.

Hila sat in a precarious position, her eyes closed and her hands flat on her knees. Her fingers were continuously moving as she controlled wisps of death energy to flexibly swim between her fingers, training her control over her power.

Opposite her, Ames reclined on the sofa with a hand on her head and the other on her waist.

Watching the death energy move, Ames could not help but sigh. “You’re really working yourself to the bone. Even at the Beyond Grade A realm, you’re continuously training.”

Hila opened her eyes, her tone indifferent. “Beyond Grade A is not the endpoint, and there’s no limit to my path ahead of me. I cannot be satisfied with just this.”

“I feel that you should still rest a little though. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

Ames shook her head in resignation. She was very satisfied with this disciple of hers, but her desire to grow stronger was so intense that it made her, as the teacher, seem like a lazy bum.

“I’ll always have time to rest in the future.” Hila shook her head. “When I return, I will definitely spar with Han Xiao once and test out my current strength. Thus, I cannot rest now. However little I can improve, it’s better than nothing.”

“Relax, based on what I know of Black Star, he will definitely not let you lose too badly and damage your self confidence.” Ames laughed. With a flick of her finger, she opened the star map. “We only need two more days to arrive at the Inter-Star Field Stargate of the Ancient Star Desert, then we’ll arrive directly at the Constellation Corridor. We can use Black Star’s identity to borrow the dynasty’s channels, which will save us a lot of time…”

Before she could finish her words, the communicator beside her started to ring.

“It’s Black… eh? It’s actually old man Aesop.” Ames was surprised after giving it a look. She originally thought that it was one of Han Xiao’s desperate serial calls, but it turned out that it was her teacher on the line.

Sitting up, Ames activated her force field to bring her communicator over before answering, and Aesop’s face appeared.

“What do you want?”

“Where are you guys now? When are you returning to Floating Dragon?” Aesop asked.

“We’re still at the Ancient Star Desert, almost reaching the stargate.”

“You should still make it on time.” Aesop relaxed. “Try to hurry. I’ve foreseen that, in a while, the new Beyond Grade A of the Arcane Church will come over to challenge you, and you need to step forward.”

This was really insane. Tolaen only had the thought, and Aesop had already sensed the changes in the world. The powerful ability of this old man surfaced once again.

A flicker passed through Ames eyes, and she laughed harshly. “A new Beyond Grade A challenging me? I know, that person is probably looking to gain a battle record. Hehe, to pick me when there’s five of us within the Shattered Star Ring, does he think I’m that easy to bully?”

While Floating Dragon was stationed by Planet Aquamarine, allowing the Black Star Army to aid them, this was a battle between Beyond Grade As. Since the other party was targeting Floating Dragon, the Black Star Army had to receive the permission of Ames before they could help. But such a small matter could be settled on her own, and she did not intend for Black Star to step in.

After hanging up, Ames found Hila staring at her.

Ames looked at her and immediately understood what she wanted. “What, are you interested?”

“You’re my teacher, so this time, let me help.” Hila nodded, and a cold gaze flashed across her eyes.

She had originally intended to directly head toward the army to give Han Xiao the good news after arriving at Shattered Star Ring, but with such a situation, she changed her mind.

The other party was also a new Beyond Grade A, and such an opponent was not commonly found.

It was a good time for her to test out how much she had grown.

…

On one of the islands around Floating Dragon, a group of newly recruited Supers were practicing in the square, and the current commander of the Floating Dragon Island Field Team, Vilna, was supervising them.

It had been more than twenty years since Floating Dragon Island anchored itself to Planet Aquamarine. The main island continuously expanded, along with its subordinates and troops. While they could not compare to the scale of the Black Star Army or Bloodshed Land, they could be considered a passable Beyond Grade A organization.

Correspondingly, the scale of Floating Dragon’s officers also expanded, and the work for everyone was becoming more and more arduous. Vilna had taken over Han Xiao’s post and helped manage Floating Dragon to the best of her abilities.

While her temperament was mild, she could be fierce and strict when needed, so this batch of new recruits did not dare slack off, fully engrossing themselves in exercise.

Beep beep!

At this moment, the communicator on Vilna’s wrist rang. It was Aesop.

The moment she picked up, Aesop did not even greet her, immediately shooting out commands.

“Gather the fleet and set down a defensive formation.”

“So fast‽” Vilna stuttered but did not hesitate, immediately calling out all her subordinates to assemble the fleet.

Ames had specifically instructed earlier on that if she were not present, Aesop would be the highest in command.

Thus, under Vilna’s instructions, Floating Dragon’s armed forces finished assembling, surrounding Floating Dragon in a tight defensive array.

There were a lot of people thinking that something serious had happened, but after a long while, everything was still calm, with no new orders.

“There’s nothing. What are we going to do now?”

“Was it just a drill?”

Just as everyone was getting confused, an abrupt change took place.

Ohm!

All the spaceships within the fleet let out warning alarms as a humongous fleet appeared on their radars, rapidly drawing closer to them!

The next moment, streams of light could be seen from the distance, and an armed fleet appeared on the outer space of Planet Aquamarine, each marked with the insignia of the Arcane Church.

“Arcane Church‽”

Vilna’s expression changed as she jumped.

Her reaction was mild, as the other Floating Dragon members were showing even more exaggerated reactions. All of them panicked, as though facing their mortal enemy.

Floating Dragon was different from the other organizations like Black Star Army, which regularly had dealings in the universe. Thus, seeing such a scene would easily ruffle them.

However, it was not just Floating Dragon. Even the observatory post on Planet Aquamarine was also alarmed!

The observers scrambled to send the news back to their headquarters, and this information was quickly uploaded, skipping through all the layers of authority, directly to the decision makers where Bennett was.

“The Arcane Church have come?”

In the administration building at Planet Aquamarine, Bennett also received a shock.

As the leader of a civilization protected by the Peace Treaty, the Black Star Army, the Crimson Dynasty, and Floating Dragon Island, he was not afraid that the Arcane Church had any malicious intentions. However, such an abrupt visit left him with a bitter taste in the mouth, and the lack of a diplomatic etiquette showed that the other party did not have any good intentions.

Thinking about this, Bennett immediately sent an order.

“Invite Black Star’s avatar!”

His voice had just sounded, and he found out two figures had suddenly accelerated quickly toward the sky. Raising his head, he saw Nero and Mia shooting up toward the sky, taking the first step to check on the situation.

At the same time, Tolaen was staring down at the defensive troops from his main flagship, pouting.

“Sigh, I thought I could scare them a little and look at them scramble and panic… but they seem to have already known that I would come. Was the stealth function rendered invalid, or is it the legendary Aesop’s ability?”

Shaking his head, Tolaen did not bother to think so much. This sudden appearance was just a passing evil thought of his. After all, he still had to publicly declare his challenge.

Turning to the commander, he said, “Send out the broadcast; announce my intention.”

The commander nodded before moving on to carry out the tasks.

…

The arrival of the Arcane Church’s fleet was imposing, causing both Planet Aquamarine and Floating Dragon to be on alert. After some negotiations, both sides reached a consensus, with the Floating Dragon fleet giving way to allow Tolaen to land on Floating Dragon Island with a spaceship.

Hu!

The spaceship landed on the main island, and Tolaen walked out with large strides, setting foot on Floating Dragon Island.

Surrounding him was a group of Floating Dragon Warriors bearing arms, with visibly nervous expressions.

There was no helping it, for he had announced his identity and intentions a moment ago, and without Ames helming Floating Dragon, everyone felt nervous at having to face an unfriendly Beyond Grade A.

Tolaen swept them a glance before coldly saying, “I want to speak to the commanding officer.”

The crowd moved, parting to allow Aesop and Jenny to step out.

Jenny was impassive as she said, “I’m the Chief Administrator of Floating Dragon. Her Excellency Dragon Emperor is not here at the moment. You’ve come at a bad time.”

“I don’t care if she’s present or not. You just have to give me an answer. Does she dare accept my challenge?” Tolaen stood with his arms crossed, revealing a high and might pose.

“I cannot make that decision.” Jenny shook her head.

“Then you should just shut up, Baldy. Contact Ames and have her answer me.” Tolaen was not polite at all.

He had a different temperament to most Beyond Grade As. While he had been ‘reformed’, he still carried the air of a wanted criminal, arrogant and brash.

“Bald… Baldy‽”

Jenny froze for a moment before flaring up.

My hairline is just a little high. This lady here is not bald! I have hair!

At that moment, Aesop blandly replied, “I’ve already contacted Ames. She has indicated that she will accept your battle.”

“Oh, you’re Aesop?” Tolaen turned to look at him with an interested expression. “I’ve heard your name, and everyone says you’re an immortal species with a good ability. How about it, would you like to work for me?”

“You don’t have the qualifications.” Aesop slightly smiled. While he was not a Beyond Grade A, his bearing was more regal and dignified than Tolaen.

“Tsk.” Tolaen only snorted before ignoring him. He raised his voice. “Since Ames has already agreed, I’ll wait here until she arrives… What are you waiting for? Aren’t you going to prepare a room for me‽”

At this moment, a few figures flew up from Planet Aquamarine, landing on the main island of Floating Dragon.

Among them were Nero and Mia, and the rest were the machinery troops that Han Xiao had left on Planet Aquamarine, which included a mechanical host carrying his Lord’s Avatar.

Seeing that Black Star was there, the soldiers all heaved a sigh of relief.

The prestige that Han Xiao had left behind on Floating Dragon Island had continued to this day. In the eyes of many of Floating Dragon’s members, their ally Black Star was sometimes more reliable than their own boss, Dragon Emperor.

Han Xiao’s consciousness had already descended as an avatar, and he sized up Tolaen before muttering in a puzzled tone, “What, are you tired of living already?”

He had guessed that the new Beyond Grade As would cause problems, but he did not expect them to jump the gun like this. To run all the way to his mother planet, were they seeking death?

His current identity was different from the past. If one provoked him, he would not mind getting rid of a Beyond Grade A Super from the Arcane Church. Since the dynasty had tasked him with maintaining law and order, nothing set an example like killing another.

“It’s you.” Tolaen eyed him before lightly saying, “Your Excellency Black Star, I’m not here to go against you. This matter has nothing to do with you.”

Oh, what an arrogant attitude. People like you, I’ve already killed numerous of. Nothing much to add another to the list, Han Xiao thought.

He had read all the material on the new Beyond Grade As that the dynasty had shared with him, and he recognized this guy as ‘Red Devil’ Tolaen, who had joined the Arcane Church. His strength was ranked around the middle of the Beyond Grade As, but he had a streak of self-confidence, making him think that he was the best. It seemed a miracle he had not gotten beaten to a pulp yet.

There was a wide variety of Beyond Grade A personalities, from those like a big brother such as the Mechanic Emperor or Dark Lord, and there were also old foxes such as Sorokin, lazy people like Ames, and Heber who was prideful. There were also people like him, who could not hide his handsome-ness even though he stayed low…

“Dragon Emperor is my ally. Since she’s not here, how about I play a round with you?” Han Xiao tilted his head.

“It’s alright.” Tolaen raised his hands up, an arrogant expression still on his face as he said, “I can’t beat you.”

Han Xiao was stunned.

With that expression, I thought you were going to say something insulting!

Could it be that those were the most courageous words you could squeeze out with that expression?

Directly blocking me like such, what a clever little brat you are!

Han Xiao had intended to teach this Tolaen a lesson, but to think that this person had seen through his ruse and ‘arrogantly’ rejected it.

While Tolaen might appear very impulsive, he knew his limits clearly. He understood that it was not good to provoke Black Star, who was at the peak of the Beyond Grade A realm, so he decided to only challenge Floating Dragon and nobody else.

At this moment, fluctuations could be seen in the space not far away, and the Palace of Hidden Spells jumped out of the void.

Seeing this, Han Xiao froze.

Austin?

Why is it you‽

How are you everywhere‽ You really know how to join in the fun!

However, Austin did not come over to watch a scene this time. After his Palace of Hidden Spells arrived, it created another rift, and a small spaceship flew out, landing on the dock.

Shua!

The door opened, and long, smooth legs appeared. Ames and Hila descended from the spaceship one after another.

Ames smiled and explained, “Just rushing would not have cut it, so I called Austin to help out.”

Han Xiao could not help but raise his head, and he saw that at the peak of the Palace of Hidden Spells, Austin sat there like a little kid, with two fingers pointing up and twiddling around, making a ridiculous greeting to Han Xiao.

“Show off,” Han Xiao grumbled.

After a quick greeting, Ames noticed Tolaen, and a smile appeared on her face.

“So, you wanted to challenge Floating Dragon?”

“Aren’t you asking the obvious?” Tolaen snorted.

Ames nodded before taking a step back, allowing Hila by her side to step out as she smiled. ” If you wish to spar with me, that’s fine, but you’ve got to win against my student first. She’s part of Floating Dragon.”

While Han Xiao’s avatar was present, Hila had not glanced at Han Xiao once after touching down. Her gaze was fixed on Tolaen with an indifferent expression.

“Her?”

Tolaen was surprised. He looked over her, remembered the previous material he had seen about Black Star Army, and snorted.

“I recognize her. She’s an officer under the Black Star Army. Just a mere Calamity Grade, are you sending her to die or to humiliate me?”

However, just as he spoke, the surging death energy burst out from Hila like a tsunami, exploding with intense energy fluctuations rising into the sky!

Boom!

Shockwaves spread, and the land around them cracked.

Everyone steadied themselves in a hurry and refocused their attention on Hila, who was cloaked in death energy. Fright and amazement filled everyone’s eyes.

This level of energy fluctuations… belonged to a new Beyond Grade A!